Nathan Haas signs for Cofidis
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Nathan Haas will leave a Katusha-Alpecin team mired in uncertainty and ride for Cofidis next year, signing a two-year contract with the WorldTour-hopeful French team. Haas joined Katusha in 2018 after spending two seasons with Dimension Data and three with whats now EF Education First, but has struggled for results. His only victory came on stage 2 of the 2018 Tour of Oman, and he has been unable to build on his fourth place finish at the 2017 Amstel Gold Race. The team are yet to assure the funds to continue in 2020 but Haas was already looking to move on, and liked the sound of the project developing at Cofidis under Cedric Vasseur, who took over as manager in 2018.ADVERTISEMENT The French team, created in 1997, are aiming to return to the top tier of the sport and have already stated their intent in the transfer market with the acquisitions of Elia Viviani and Guillaume Martin. "Ive always liked being in teams that have a strong drive to progress, to get better and take a next step. Thats exactly the spirit with Cofidis and Cedric Vasseur and thats what attracted me," Haas said. "What I like about this team is the opportunity to take chances in each race, to give everything so as not to have any regrets. At the Tour de France, they were pretty much in every breakaway. Naturally, I really want to ride Amstel Gold Race and the Ardennes Classics, but I also and above all want to put myself at the service of the team, notably Elia, to help them achieve new successes." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

De la Parte suffers multiple fractures after Vuelta a Espana crash
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Victor de la Parte (CCC Team) suffered multiple fractures as a result of the mass crash that saw him and three other riders abandon the Vuelta a Espaa on stage 6. The Spaniard, who was placed 13th overall at the time, was immediately taken to hospital for X-rays. His team confirmed he had suffered a fractured left scapula and rib. "Victor was involved in a crash which took down a big group of riders," said team doctor Daniele Zaccaria. "He was riding in the middle of the bunch when it happened, and there was not much he could do to avoid the riders who fell in front of him.ADVERTISEMENT "He was immediately taken to hospital where X-rays revealed a fractured scapula and rib on his left side." EF Education First were the team worst affected by the crash, which occurred when riders hit a wet patch on a descent 90km into the stage. Team leader Rigoberto Urn and key climber Hugh Carthy were both forced out of the race, with the team revealing that the pair suffered broken collarbones. Former race leader Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) also abandoned due to the accident. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Quintana insists that Valverde is Movistars Vuelta a Espana leader
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
The confusion surrounding Movistar's leadership hierarchy in the Vuelta a Espaa appears to have been laid to rest after Nairo Quintana told Spanish media that teammate Alejandro Valverde is heading the squad's bid to win the race for a second time in four years. Both Quintana and Valverde have triumphed in the Vuelta in the past, the Colombian in 2016, two years after taking the Giro d'Italia, and Valverde back in 2009. Initially it appeared that Quintana would be Movistar's main GC challenger after Valverde told theAS newspaper last Monday that "Nairo is more leader than I am," and Quintana then won stage 2 of the race into Calpe from a six-rider breakaway.ADVERTISEMENT However, in the same interview Valverde did not rule himself out of the GC battle, and said that he was taking things on the day-by-day. And Quintana, whilst clearly with options for the overall victory " something he discussed in his winner's press conference on Sunday " has now said that team manager Eusebio Unzu has made it clear that Valverde is the leader. "We had a meeting and Eusebio said that. Alejandro is going very well, and we are going to support him," Quintana said after stage six. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

George Bennett: Vuelta a Espana crash was 'real nasty'
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
New Zealands George Bennett has described as "real nasty" the stage 6 Vuelta a Espaa pile-up that saw four riders, including former race leader Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb), abandon the race. The Jumbo-Visma rider was one of three from his team who went down, including Tony Martin and American Neilson Powless " both of whom had already crashed in the stage 1 team time trial. That crash on Saturday saw Steven Kruijswijk finally abandon on stage 4 with an injured knee, whilst after the stage 6 pile-up Bennett, like Powless and Martin, could continue to race.ADVERTISEMENT "Im not sure if it was someone from EF who went down first or if it was Tony [Martin]," Bennett told reporters when asked what caused the crash. "It was real nasty. I dont feel too good after it, but I feel a lot better than the guys in hospital. "Thats part of racing " crashing. It was all going all right with [Primoz] Roglic's results, but we keep hitting the deck, and thats not good." Bennett pulled no punches when explaining that if you are well enough to continue at a WorldTour race, the only option is to go on. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Vuelta a Espana: Gilbert steadily building for world championships
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
When it comes to betting on the UCI Road World Championships Road Race in September, one rider who already has worn the rainbow jersey, Belgium's Phillipe Gilbert (Deceunink-QuickStep), is surely an option that the bookies will have high on their list of possible winners. But in this year's Vuelta a Espaa, so far, Gilbert has been flying a little bit under the radar. Deceuninck-Quick Step came within a whisker of victory in the opening team time trial " and only lost through no fault of their own " and then have taken a bunch sprint stage win with Fabio Jakobsen.ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, Gilbert is biding his time for further down the line. "Its too bad we missed the TTT you know, it would have changed a lot of things," the 37-year-old told Cyclingnews at the start of stage 6 Thursday in Mora del Rubielos. Then we had the first sprint [on stage 3] and we missed that, but we won the second, so it was nice. For the climbs we know we dont have the best team, but we will do our best. As for his personal ambitions, Gilbert said he will try to win a stage, but he said there aren't many that suit him. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Teuns says Vuelta a Espana lead part of his 'overall progression' as racer
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
The Vuelta a Espaas lead changed hands for a third time in six days on Wednesday as Bahrain-Meridas Dylan Teuns claimed his first-ever Grand Tour overall leaders jersey at the end of a long breakaway. Teuns was easily pipped to the line on stage 6 by Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) in a two-man duel at Ares de Maestrats grinding uphill finish. But having left the only other GC dangerman, David de La Cruz (Team Ineos), behind with four kilometres to go, the 27-year-old Belgian was still able to wrest the lead from Astanas Miguel Angel Lopez.ADVERTISEMENT Second last year in the Vueltas Monte Oiz stage won by Michael Woods (EF Education First), this time round the Belgians second place on an uphill finish in the Spanish Grand Tour netted him a much bigger consolation prize. It also reversed the result he achieved in the first week of the Tour de France in july, when Teuns won on the Planche des Belle Filles in another two-way battle against Trek-Segafredos Guilio Ciccone, but could not stop the Italian from taking the lead. Teuns spell in la roja also shows he's firmly moved past his freak summer accident this summer, when he fell off his garden lawnmower following the Tour de France and needed 15 stitches in a head wound. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Major crashes wreak havoc on EF Education First at Vuelta a Espana
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
EF Education First suffered a knock-out blow to their Vuelta a Espaa hopes after the squad were involved in a major crash halfway through stage 6. Team leader Rigoberto Urn was one of the worst affected, with both the Colombian and one of the teams best climbers, Hugh Carthy, forced out of the race. Others who suffered badly in the crash were former race leader Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb), and Victor de la Parte (CCC Team), both of whom abandoned.ADVERTISEMENT "A Jumbo-Visma rider lost control on a very fast descent," EF Education First team director Juanma Garate told Spanish TV later during the stage, "and a good chunk of our team went down with him. Both Rigo and Hugh are in an ambulance right now, theyre badly hurt. Weve no luck in this race." Initial reports said that both Uran, lying sixth overall, and Carthy, who had been instrumental in shredding the field on stage 5, had suffered broken left collarbones. A team communiqu said they were headed to hospital for check-ups. Urn had also crashed on stage 4, although the damage did not appear to be serious. Sergio Higuita, who also came down in the stage 6 crash, was able to continue. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

'No excuses' for de la Cruz after missing stage win and lead at Vuelta a Espana
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
David de la Cruz got Team Ineos back on the front foot after a terrible start to the Vuelta a Espaa on Thursday, but he fell short of taking the victory or overall lead on stage 6, his struggles on the final climb hardly inspiring him with confidence despite his rise up the general classification. The Spaniard started the day 23rd overall, 4:35 down on leader Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) but the best-placed of Team Ineos, whose leaders Wout Poels and Tao Geoghegan Hart lost more than 10 minutes as early as stage 2. After Poels had gone on the attack on the two early climbs, de la Cruz made it into an 11-rider breakaway that formed after 50km on the 199km road from Mora de Rubielos to Ares del Maestrat. The break went all the way, opening such a margin that the 30-year-old started the final climb " the category-3 Puerto de Ares " as the virtual leader.ADVERTISEMENT However, also present was Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida), who was just eight seconds behind him at the start of the day. When the Belgian attacked strongly 4km from the top, passing the earlier attackers and riding to the line with eventual winner Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), de la Cruz lost ground and finished in ninth place, nearly a minute down. "It was a really hard day. Honestly, I was thinking about the stage victory, but in the end I didn't have the legs to beat these guys who today were stronger than me," de la Cruz said at the finish. "What can I say? I just gave my best but, as you can see, it was not enough. You have to keep trying and let's hope a good result is coming." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Vuelta a Espana: Monster Hydro rider of the day
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
For the second day in a row, the peloton opted not to chase down the break of the day and the stage victory went to one of the four Pro Continental teams in the race, as Cofidiss Jess Herrada claimed his first Grand Tour success, compensating for his elder brother Joss defeat to Burgos-BH duo Madrazo and Bol 24 hours earlier. However, on this occasion the bunchs decision not to commit also resulted in the red jersey changing hands, Bahrains Dylan Teuns moving into the lead as a result of finishing second on the stage, almost six minutes ahead of Miguel ngel Lpez, who for the second time this week was knocked out of first place after just one day. When it became clear that Lpez and his Astana team were happy to let the jersey go and relinquish the pressure of defending it, Ineoss David de la Cruz looked the favourite to inherit it as the highest placed rider in the break, especially as the punchy finish at Ares del Maestrat would normally have suited him very well. But the Spaniard has looked some distance below his best since the Vuelta got under way, and his 11-second advantage over Teuns never looked likely to be enough once the Belgian made his attack four kilometres from the finish.ADVERTISEMENT For Teuns, this was a third big success in as many months. Winner of the second stage of the Critrium du Dauphin in June, the Bahrain-Merida rider bagged the biggest win of his career in July at the Tour de France when he outlasted Giulio Ciccone at La Planche des Belles Filles. Very talented and racing on a wave of confidence, he is now leading a Grand Tour for the first time. Analysis: Once Astana eased off with its front-of-the-peloton pace-making to allow a rider in the breakaway to move into the red jersey, David de la Cruz and Dylan Teuns were best placed to benefit. The pair appeared well matched and were clearly keeping a close watch on each other coming onto the final climb, with 6km to the line. Teuns needed to gain 11 seconds, and made a strong attack to test out his Ineos rival with 3.9km to the line, too strong as it turned out for De la Cruz. With one swoop, the contest was over. Stage 5 - Madrazo leads in the stars Teams that gain a wild card selection to big races like the Vuelta a Espana always want to prove that they are worthy of their place, and Burgos-BH did that in the best fashion on the Vueltas new summit at the Observatorio Astrofsico de Javalambre, outshining the races major stars with a 1-2 finish thanks to rider of the day ngel Madrazo and teammate Jetse Bol. Stage 4 - Jakobsen seals a superb team effort with his first Grand Tour success Stage 3 - Sam Bennett smashes the sprint Stage 2 - Armee rides with heart Stage 1 - Lopez superb in opening team time trial You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Uran, Roche abandon Vuelta a Espana after big crash
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Rigoberto Urn (EF Education First) and Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) haveabandoned the Vuelta a Espaa after being involved in a massive crash with less than 90km left on stage 6. The extent of their injuries is unknown. Urn, who was his team's principal hope for the GC, came into stage 6 placed sixth overall, 59 seconds behind race leader Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana). The Colombian finished seventh in this year's Tour de France and in the 2018 Vuelta a Espaa. He has previously had to abandon the Tour in 2018 and the Vuelta in 2014.ADVERTISEMENT It was a nightmare for EF Education First as they also lost Hugh Carthy, who had impressed on Wednesday's summit finish. The team tweeted, "Rigoberto Urn and Hugh Carthy have abandoned the @lavuelta due to a large crash on stage 6. They are currently on their way to the hospital where they will receive further medical evaluation. Further updates announced in due course." The crash saw several riders from other teams hit the deck, and Urn and Carthy weren't the only ones forced to leave the race. Roche, who led the race until Wednesday, was forced out after remounting and visiting the medical car. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Road marking reflectors likely cause of Lambrecht's fatal crash, investigators say
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Reflectors built into the side of the road were responsible for Bjorg Lambrecht's fatal crash at the Tour de Pologne, according to an investigation by the Public Prosecutor in Poland. The 22-year-old Lotto Soudal rider died from his injuries after the crash onstage 3 of the race earlier this month. "Two UAE Team Emirates riders close behind him saw him driving over a reflector that had been incorporated into the road surface," said prosecutor Malwina Szendzielorz-Pawela, according to Polish media reports. "As a result, he lost control of his bike, suddenly turning to the right and then to the left."ADVERTISEMENT Lambrecht ultimately crashed into a concrete pipe, suffering a severe injury to his liver. According to Belgian newspaperHet Laatste Nieuws, the reflectors are 10x10 centimeters, rising 1.8cm above the asphalt, and are intended to show the edge of an unlit road, serving to indicate the way in the dark. "It is sad that resources that are thought to improve road safety are the cause of such a tragedy," Szendzielorz-Pawela said. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Roglic picks up the pace on first Vuelta a Espana summit finish
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Primoz Roglic's bid to win his first Grand Tour remained firmly on track after the Vuelta a Espana's first summit finish, as the Slovenian star comfortably limited his losses on the climb to new race leader Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana). After Astana and EF Education First upped the pace on the higher slopes of the Javalambre on stage 5, Roglic was able to respond to Alejandro Valverde's searing attack with five kilometres to go. Roglic could not follow Lopez's acceleration that quickly followed but he only lost 12 seconds to the Colombian climber on the stage and he worked well with Valverde to limit the gaps.ADVERTISEMENT His consistent performance in the mountains, ably supported by teammate Sepp Kuss and the rest of Jumbo-Visma, has allowed the Slovenian to gain four spots overall, ousting Nairo Quintana (Movistar) from second on GC. Just 14 seconds behind Lopez in the overall standings, Roglic seemed satisfied with his performance, talking briefly to reporters after the finish after he put on warm weather gear and was given a whistle for the 11-kilometre ride back down the mountain to the Jumbo-Visma team bus. "It wasn't too hard, and I'm happy to get through," Roglic said. "It's a good beginning, so we'll see. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Valverde punches way back into contention at Vuelta a Espana
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Alejandro Valverde may be approaching 40, but the Movistar racer continues to deliver his trademark top-level performances at the Vuelta a Espaa, moving up to fourth overall on the Alto de Javalambre with an aggressive performance. On this occasion shortly after Astana and Team EFs Hugh Carthy had shredded the field, Valverde blasted out of the pack of shrinking favourites on the upper slopes of the Javalambre summit finish on Wednesday. Although he could not follow Miguel ngel Lpez when the Astana rider attacked to take the lead, Valverde rode steadily behind, with only Primo Rogli (Jumbo-Visma) able to match the Spaniards pace.ADVERTISEMENT The two did well to lose only 12 seconds, pushing Valverde back up to fourth overall, whilst his teammate Nairo Quintana " whom Valverde insists is "still the leader" " remains in third, five seconds up on the veteran. "'Superman' [Lpez] was very fast, but I could keep going at my own pace, so I have to be satisfied with that," the reigning world champion told reporters on the line. "Rogli was a good ally today and we worked together to go to the top. I wanted to limit my losses on 'Superman'. It's been obvious he is a key rival ever since the race began." After stage 2, it seemed clear that Nairo [Quintana] was the Spanish team's main option on the Vuelta a Espaa, and Valverde was keen to play down the idea that he might be gaining ground as a GC option for Movistar ahead of Quintana. Indeed, the team's directeur sportifs said he would target stage victories. However, at the same time, he was adamant he still had his own chances to defend. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Lopez returns to Vuelta a Espana lead after savage mountain attack
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Four days after he gained the race lead of the Vuelta a Espaa on its opening stage, Miguel ngel Lpez (Astana) is back in red again. The Colombian climber could not win on the summit finish at the observatory atop the Alto de Javalambre, but he revealed himself to be, for now at least, the strongest of the GC climbers. Lpez powered up the final four kilometres after he crowned a blistering attack by Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) with an equally savage move of his own.ADVERTISEMENT Riding solo and without any sign of weakening, the Colombian climber crossed the line with a 12-second advantage over Valverde and Primo Rogli (Jumbo-Visma), the latter the rider he " logically " fears most, given the stage 10 time trial in Pau. "Today was important because the time trial is getting close," Lpez told reporters afterwards. "I knew that the start of the climb wasn't so hard, so I decided to wait until there were only the leaders left, and finally we got to a point when only Rogli and Valverde remained. "I decided to see how they would respond, I only got a few seconds, but it's better than nothing." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Mark Cavendish to ride Six Day London
August 17, 2021 (13:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Mark Cavendishwill take to the boards again this autumn when he lines out at Six Day London, which takes place at Lee Valley VeloPark from October 22-27. The Manxman has participated in the event on two previous occasions, in 2016 and 2017. "I am incredibly excited to announce that Ill be back competing at Phynova Six Day London in October at the iconic velodrome," Cavendish said in a statement on Wednesday. "Six Day London is one of the UKs leading track cycling events, and from previous experience I know how competitive the field will be. Its a great event for elite cyclists and it allows another opportunity to prepare for 2020 in the most competitive arena, against some of the best riders in the world."ADVERTISEMENT Cavendish will share top billing at the event with Olympic omnium champion Elia Viviani, who last week confirmed his participation in London. Cavendish claimed the bronze medal behind Viviani at the Rio 2016 Olympics. The Italian will avail of the London event to prepare for the following Track World Cup in Minsk as he seeks to secure qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. "I am pleased to see Elia Viviani named as a fellow rider at Phynova Six Day London, he is a quality athlete and we have always enjoyed a healthy rivalry so Im sure we will give the fans something exciting to watch," Cavendish said. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

EF Education First sign German 'machine' Rutsch for 2020
June 24, 2019 (06:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Jonathan Vaughters EF Education First team have moved to sign U23 Gent-Wevelgem winner Jonas Rutsch for the start of the 2020 season. Rutsch, 21, currently rides for the Team Lotto " Kern Haus Continental outfit, which helped Max Walscheid through the ranks before he made the step up to the WorldTour with Team Sunweb. Along with winning Gent-Wevelgem, Rutsch has built a solid reputation as a dependable stage racer. He was eighth overall in the recent Tour of Luxembourg after finishing ninth on a key stage won by Jesus Herrada (Cofidis).ADVERTISEMENT The rise to the WorldTour means that I have reached a career goal already, said Rutsch in a press release issued by his 2020 team. I have worked towards this since I was a little boy. It was always my dream to become a professional cyclist. I have invested a lot of time and hard work, and Im really happy to make it to the top level. Vaughters is no stranger to picking up young and gifted riders and he took the opportunity of the press release to compare his new signing to a fictional character sent from the future to destroy mankind. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Podcast: Has Bernal done enough to lead at the Tour de France?
June 24, 2019 (06:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
In the last episode of the Cyclingnews podcast " brought to you by Sportful, Pinarello and Floyds of Leadville " we look at latest action from the Tour de Suisse, where Egan Bernal put in a dominant performance to win stage 7 and extend his overall lead. We debate the Tour de France leadership dilemma facing Team Ineos, and hear from Dirk Demol on Katushas rebuilding. After Jumbo-Visma confirmed that they were interested in bringing in Marcel Kittel, we discuss the merits of the move, as well as the news that Tom Dumoulin will miss this years Tour de France due to injury. Finally, we hear from Charly Wegelius on how he fell in love with cycling at a young age, and his first memories from the Tour de France.ADVERTISEMENT The Cyclingnews podcast is brought to you in association with Sportful, Pinarello and Floyds of Leadville. To subscribe to the Cyclingnews podcast, click here. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Dennis surprises himself with second overall at Tour de Suisse
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Rohan Dennis (Bahrain-Merida) surprised himself with a second place overall, behind winner Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), at the Tour de Suisse that ended on Sunday in Goms. Dennis said that standing on the overall podium and winning the opening time trial gives him confidence ahead of the Tour de France that starts on July 5. "It's been a good Tour de Suisse," Dennis said. "I really didn't expect to come here and get second overall and a stage win. With the queen stage today getting second on the stage after going off the front with Bernal was more than I ever thought I'd be able to do. But honestly a lot of work was done behind the scenes. "As you saw just even today, when the team rode with Ineos it looked like we were working with them but we had our little plan to try to take the win and do everything we possibly could but unfortunately Bernal was just a little too strong this week. But second overall, we can be really proud of that."ADVERTISEMENT Dennis took two other stage podiums during the Tour de Suisse, third on stage 7 intoSt. Gotthard and second on the queen stage 9 in to Goms behind stage winner Hugh Carthy (EF Education First). "We were going to the stage win but Hugh Carthy was a little bit too strong," Dennis said. Dennis said that he has hopes for stage wins at the Tour de France and that there are other riders, including Bernal, that will be higher up on the favourites list for the overall classification. "It's the Tour de France and it's a whole other level," Dennis said. "I'm not sure why I've got good form here ... it just happened. Sometimes you can't put for finger on why you're going so well. I'm going to take it as it is, be happy with this result and look towards the Tour for stages." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Bernal: I will try to help Geraint Thomas at the Tour de France
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Egan Bernal's assured victory at the Tour de Suisse has marked him out among the favourites for next month's Tour de France but the Colombian has said that he is prepared to ride in the service of defending champion Geraint Thomas if the Welshman proves stronger than him. "I don't know. I don't choose to say that I'm the favourite. In any case, I will go with G [Thomas] " he will be our leader," Bernal said in a flash interview after sealing overall victory at the Tour de Suisse on Sunday. "I will try to help him. If he's better than me, for sure I will help him. I don't have any problems to help him; I'm just 22 years old so I think that I have a lot of Tours in front of me." Team Ineos will be without four-time Tour winner Chris Froome in July after he sustained a broken femur in a training crash on last week's Critrium du Dauphin, while Thomas' own Tour preparation suffered a setback when he was forced to abandon the Tour de Suisse after crash in the finale of stage 4.ADVERTISEMENT Bernal, who placed 15th overall on his Tour debut in 2018, was initially slated to lead Ineos at the Giro d'Italia, but he was ruled out of the corsa rosa after breaking his collarbone in a training crash of his own a week before the race. The Colombian showed few lingering effects of that setback at the Tour de Suisse, where he stepped seamlessly into the role of team leader following Thomas' abandon. He moved into the yellow jersey on stage 6 to Flumserberg, won the following day at San Gottardo and then defended his lead in Saturday's individual time trial. "I think that things changed when Thomas crashed because he was our leader when we came here," Bernal said on Sunday. "So after his crash I became the leader and it changed a lot for me." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Kelsey Erickson to lead SafeSport at USA Cycling
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
USA Cycling announced on Friday that it has hired Kelsey Erickson to oversee the organization's SafeSport program. Erickson's main role will be tomonitor, enforce and refine the program while also providing resources to athletes and members seeking education, services and advice to address possible violations of policies and Code of Conduct. In addition, she will oversee USA Cycling's anti-doping efforts, including the RaceClean Program. "USA Cycling is happy to announce the appointment of Kelsey Erickson as SafeSport Director. Kelsey will be responsible for strengthening the USA Cycling culture that supports a safe and respectful cycling environment," said Rob DeMartini, President and CEO of USA Cycling. Erickson joins USA Cycling after nearly a decade of work in international anti-doping. As a student and professional at Leeds Beckett University (UK), Erickson led and supported multiple global anti-doping research projects, receiving funding from such organizations as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Athletics Foundation (IAF).ADVERTISEMENT Her research focused primarily on developing evidence-based anti-doping education interventions and whistleblowing policies and procedures; a combination that will serve her in her new role at USA Cycling. "I am grateful and excited for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. My goal is to ensure that every individual who engages with USA Cycling " regardless of their title or role " has the most positive experience possible," Erickson said. "Creating a culture where speaking up and reporting suspected misconduct becomes the expectation rather than the exception is a critical part of this. We all have a role to play in keeping cycling safe and I am excited and honored to be able to play a role in facilitating these efforts." SafeSport USA Cycling's announcement comes after Cyclingnews reported that three riders; Esther Miesels, Sara Mustonen and the father of Chlo Turblin, separately, filed abusecomplaints with the UCI Ethics Commissionagainst Health Mate Ladies team manager Patrick Van Gansen. Their complaints centre around the UCI Code of Ethics: Appendix 1, which covers protection of physical and mental integrity, sexual harassment and abuse. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

ZLM Tour stage 3 stopped a lap early due to traffic on finishing circuit
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Stage 3 of the ZLM Tour finished amid confusion in Landgraaf on Saturday after the race jury decided to finish the race a lap early after the police raised concerns about the level of traffic on the finishing circuit. Jumbo-Visma continued their domination of the ZLM Tour as Amund Grndahl Jansen won the 10-man sprint for stage victory while Mike Teunissen retained the overall lead, but the on-the-hoof decision to remove the final 10km lap was met with annoyance by the Lotto Soudal duo of Jasper De Buyst and Jelle Wallays, who were both part of the leading group in the finale. Wallays showed his displeasure with the situation by raising both middle fingers as he crossed the finish line in 6th place on the stage, while his teammate De Buyst took to social media to vent his frustration at the situation, though he later deleted the post.ADVERTISEMENT @ZLM_TOUR really? This is so b * llshit! You call yourself a tour preparation race ?! You want to have final laps but it's full of traffic and then you start changing the final so we know from nothing! So dangerous, De Buyst wrote on Twitter, according to Sporza. Race director Jean-Paul van Poppel expressed disappointment that the route had to be altered at such short notice but explained that the organisers had no option but to do so. As an organization we find it annoying that this decision had to be made, but the safety of the riders comes first," Van Poppel said. "We are going to evaluate this with the organization, so that hopefully this will no longer happen in the future." A police motorcycle outrider had to be taken to hospital after crashing into a car that had turned onto the race circuit, though De Telegraaf reports that he did not sustain serious injury in the incident. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Van Vleuten trains on Passo Gavia ahead of Giro Rosa
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Annemiek van Vleuten(Mitchelton-Scott) has finished putting the final touches on her form ahead of the Giro d'Italia Internazionale Femminile held from July 5-14. The defending champion just completed a mountainous training block that included a preview of the Passo di Gavia. "Giro Gavia-Mortirolo with Dutch-Ozzie bunch," van Vleuten wrote in a post on Twitter, which included images of her training companions Amanda Spratt and Lucy Kennedy (both MItchelton-Scott) and Lucinda Brand (Sunweb). "Cool to train together. All preparing for @GiroRosaIccrea at altitude around Livigno/Trepalle." Giro Gavia-Mortirolo with Dutch-Ozzie bunch. Cool to train together. All preparing for @GiroRosaIccrea at altitude around Livigno/Trepalle. pic.twitter.com/lKCwK6DdSuADVERTISEMENT " Annemiek van Vleuten (@AvVleuten) June 19, 2019 This year's race will be one of the toughest editions because it features summit finishes on the Passo di Gavia (stage 5) and at Malga Montasio (stage 9), while there will also be a tough hilltop finale to the concluding stage in Udine. Last year, Van Vleuten won the Giro Rosa ahead of runner-up Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and teammate Spratt in third. Van Vleuten not only won the overall title but three stages and the points classification. Spratt won one stage and the mountain classification. Van Vleuten started the year unsure of her form after spending the off-season recovering from a significant knee injury sustained in a crash at the Innsbruck World Championships last September. She had an outstanding spring, however, winning Strade Bianche and Lige-Bastogne-Lige, along with a series of second places at Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, and Flche Wallonne. " Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) June 21, 2019 You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Wiebes, Vos secure 1-2 for Netherlands at European Games
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Lorena Wiebes continued her out-standing season winning the gold medal in the elite women's road race title at the European Games in Minsk. It was 1-2 for the Dutch as her teammate Marianne Vos placed second. Belarussian Tatsiana Sharakova was third. The European Games come around every four years and the last to win the title was AlenaAmialiusik from Belarus ahead of Kasia Niewiadoma from Poland and Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands). This year's race hosted 72 riders from 26 nations. The race was 120km in the city of Minsk where the women completed 8 laps of a 15km circuit that included a cobbled climb.ADVERTISEMENT An early breakaway emerged to include Hannah Ludwig (Germany), Omer Shapira (Israel) and Hanna Tserakh (Belarus) but the move was brought back by the strong Dutch team. The field was back together for the last lap where Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) attacked on the climb, which served to reduce the main field to roughly 30 riders. Wiebes' teammates set her up for a perfectly-timed sprint victory with Vos crossing the line just behind her in second place, but already celebrating her teammate's victory. Wiebes has had one of her most successful seasons to date since turning professional last year. She started her career with the Parkhotel Valkenburg team and has signed a contract to remain with that team until the end of 2021. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Chris Horner joins NBC's Tour de France broadcast team
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Chris Horner will move from the bicycle seat to the broadcaster's chair this July for the Tour de France, joining the on-air team for the American NBC Sports television network during the French Grand Tour. "I'm going back to the Tour," a typically upbeat Horner told Cyclingnews Friday evening from his home in Bend, Oregon, where he had just completed a 144km ride earlier in the day. Horner will be part of NBC Sports' daily 'traveling studio' for the three-week race, providing analysis and interviews before and after each stage. Paul Burmeister will return to host the studio segments, with retired US pro Christian Vande Velde also reprising his analyst role, according to an announcement published on the NBC Sports website. Vande Velde and Horner will also be called upon to add to the the play-by-play coverage fromBob Roll, who will move from the studio to call the action with Phil Liggett after Liggett's longtime broadcast partner Paul Sherwen died in December.ADVERTISEMENT Horner said he will fly to Europe on July 2 to start preparing for the three-week race that starts July 6 in Brussels, Belgium. "They have some new material that they want us to learn for the show, so well go over and learn a little bit of that, practice on it, and then well shoot from the hip," he said. "They throw you in the deep water, the deep end of the pool, and hopefully it all works out well." Horner got an introduction to race commentary this year with NBC Sports at the Ardennes Classics Flche Wallonne and Lige-Bastogne-Lige. He said he sat in and watched Vande Velde for Flche and then picked up the live microphone for Lige with the understanding that it would also serve as an on-the-job tryout for this year's Tour de France. 'Regardless of what I do in life, I'm still riding the bike' You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Tour de Suisse stage 8 time trial start times
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
After the mighty San Gottardo on Friday, the Tour de Suisse contenders face a different test on stage 8 with a 19.2km individual time trial starting and finishing in Goms. Egan Bernal (Ineos) wears the yellow jersey and he carries an overall lead of 41 seconds on world time trial champion Rohan Dennis (Bahrain-Merid). Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) lies third overall at 1:13. Enzo Wouters (Lotto Soudal) will be the first of 138 starters on Saturdays stage, with the Belgian rolling down the start ramp at 14:31 CET. The early starters set off at one-minute intervals, while the top 10 on GC will set off at two-minute intervals.ADVERTISEMENT Dennis begins his effort at 16:56 local time, with Bernal setting out two minutes later. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Madison Genesis team set to fold at end of season
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
British Continental squad Madison Genesis confirmed on Friday that the team would end at the end of this year. The team had established itself as one of the respected and consistent domestic teams since it was formed in 2012. The likes of Andrew Tennant, Tom Scully, Ian Bibby, Martyn Irvine, Connor Swift and John Dibben have all passed through its ranks. It is with a great regret that we are announcing Madison Genesis will cease racing at the end of this season. In this open letter to everyone that has supported us over the last seven years, we want to offer an explanation and use it as an opportunity to show our gratitude to our fans and sponsors that made the dream a reality, the team announced on Friday. Who would have thought back in 2012, that an unknown team could go on to create so many incredible, lasting memories? We started out with a recently retired Roger Hammond at the helm in 2012 and achieved everything we wanted and more. With too many highlights to mention, a nod must be given to winning the Tour Series in 2015 and of course helping Connor Swift to his National Road Race title in July last year.ADVERTISEMENT The British team currenty have a 13-strong roster after Swift departed for Arkea earlier in the year. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and the team is very personal to me. We created a UK road cycle team brand loved by so many people, with a highly desirable image. We have worked incredibly hard to create a team ethos of good sportsmanship with a high level of fan base engagement which delivered some fantastic results and over the last seven years we helped some talented riders achieve their full potential, said CEO at Madison and Sportline, Dominic Langan. However, the market is constantly evolving and whilst I would be lying if I said we didnt have frustrations with certain aspects of the UK race scene, I feel, more importantly, that now is the right time to bring the team to an end so we can invest in other market segments which are now showing much more significant growth potential. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Groenewegen continues Tour de France build-up with a birthday present ZLM win
June 24, 2019 (05:45) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) continued his highly impressive build-up to the Tour de France with his second win in as many days at the ZLM Tour. The Dutchman won stage 1 and then backed that up with a second victory 24 hours later ahead of Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) and his own leadout man Mike Teunissen. The victory came on Groenewegens 26th birthday. Groenewegen, who won two stages at last years Tour de France, has now won nine races this year and will head to the Tour de France in two weeks time full of confidence. Jumbo-Visma controlled the peloton for much of the 168.1km stage, reeling in a four-man break before setting up Groenewegen for the victory.ADVERTISEMENT Winning is always nice. After my crash yesterday, I was not feeling great. The team did a perfect job and brought me in a good position for the sprint. They had the stage perfectly under control. The lead-out was perfect and that gives me confidence for the Tour. The goal is to fine-tune the lead-out and this is the ideal race for that, Groenewegen said. Third place was enough to put Teunissen into the race lead at the five-day race. Jumbo Visma have won all three stages so far, including the opening time trial through Jos van Emden, but their domination is not as easy as it looks, according to Teunissen. People might say that this race is not of WorldTour level, but that is what makes it so difficult. The whole peloton wants to surprise you, Teunissen said. Therefore, you have to make sure that you dont get boxed in. We constantly stayed together as a team. I started the sprint and I saw that there was a big gap, so I continued the sprint myself. Of course, I would like to win the ZLM Tour, but the most important thing is that someone of the team wins. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Chris Froome in surgery to repair fractures from Dauphine crash
June 13, 2019 (10:15) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Chris Froome (Team Ineos) is undergoing surgery to repair fractures he suffered in a crash during reconnaissance of the Criterium du Dauphine's stage 4 time trial route. A message posted on the four-time Tour de France winner's official Twitter account said Froome was undergoing surgery "torepair the multiple fractures", asking readers to keep Froome in their thoughts and saying they hoped to share more information on Thursday. Froome was previewing the stage 4 time trial course in Roanne on Wednesday with teammate Wout Poels when he apparently took his hands off the bars to clear his nose on a 60kph descent, and a gust of wind took out his front wheel, according to Team Ineos Principal Dave Brailsford.ADVERTISEMENT Team Ineos confirmed Wednesday evening that Froome suffered a fractured femur in the crash. In addition to the broken leg, Froome also fractured his elbow and ribs in the wreck, effectively ending his hopes of adding a record-tying fifth Tour de France title in July. In a statement released by the team previously, Brailsford said the team would turn their focus to Froome's future as he readjusts his goals. "Our primary focus now is obviously on ensuring Chris gets the very best possible care, which he will do, so he can recover as soon as possible," Brailsford said. "Even though we all recognise the risks involved in our sport, it's always traumatic when a rider crashes and sustains serious injuries." " Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) June 12, 2019 You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Chris Froome out of the Tour de France " Podcast Special
June 13, 2019 (10:15) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) won the stage, Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) pulled on yellow, but the major talking point on stage 4 of the Critrium du Dauphin was the news that Chris Froome(Team Ineos) hadcrashed out with several fractures and will miss the Tour de France in July. Froome fell heavily and at high-speed during a recon of the time trial around Roanne, and after several hours of roadside treatment he was airlifted to hospital in Saint Etienne for further treatment. It's not yet known if surgery is required, but what's clear is that Froome's hopes of winning a fifth Tour de France are over. We hear from a shocked and upset Dave Brailsford, and also from Wout Poels, who was with Frooome when the crash occurred. Generasl classification riders Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) and Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) also comment.ADVERTISEMENT As throughout this year's Dauphin, expert analysis is provided by Philippa York. The Cyclingnews podcast is brought to you in association with Sportful, Pinarello and Floyds of Leadville. To subscribe to the Cyclingnews podcast, click here. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Wout van Aert: Cyclo-cross and time trials are both full gas start to finish
June 13, 2019 (10:15) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Wout van Aert's two podium finishes on the opening three stages of the Critrium du Dauphin for Jumbo-Visma were bettered on Wednesday with the Belgian's first WorldTour stage victory on the stage 4 time trial, putting 31 seconds into Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) and 47 seconds into former time trial world champion Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb). The victory is the icing on the cake for the three-time cycle-cross world champion in his debut stage race for a WorldTour team, where a third-place finish on stage 1 and a second place finish on stage 3 saw van Aert in both the green sprinter's jersey and the white best young rider's jersey at the halfway point of the race. Van Aert has previously won a prologue time trial at the Baloise Belgium Tour in 2016, beating another former time trial world champion in Tony Martin. At only six kilometres in length, the prologue was a very different beast to today's 26.1-kilometre time trial, which featured a climb with around 200 metres of ascent at the midway point of the course.ADVERTISEMENT "I think it was a prologue that I won in Belgium a few years ago but this is a longer TT and at WorldTour level so of course, it's a bigger result," van Aert said in the stage winner's press conference in Roanne. "Obviously it's a surprise because I don't have too much WorldTour level time trials before and actually, we trained quite a bit over the last few weeks and worked on my position but not longer than a month so I didn't think that would be enough to compete on this level. It worked though, so I'm very happy." Van Aert's stellar week comes off the back of the Jumbo-Visma team announcement that van Aert will also be riding the Tour de France next month. The Belgian's consistent results during the past two Classics campaign have marked him as a serious contender during the spring but whether the performances could be replicated in a serious stage race was an unknown. Cyclo-cross star to time trialling talent You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Chris Froome: Team Ineos confirm fractured femur and elbow
June 13, 2019 (10:15) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Team Ineos confirmed Wednesday evening that Chris Froome suffered a fractured femur in a crash during reconnaissance of the Criterium du Dauphinetime trial. In addition to the broken leg, Froome also fractured his elbow and ribs in the wreck. "Chris was taken to Roanne Hospital, where initial examinations confirmed multiple injuries, most notably a fractured right femur and right elbow," Team Doctor Richard Usher said in a team press release. "He has also suffered fractured ribs. He is now being airlifted to St Etienne University Hospital for further treatment. "On behalf of the team, I would like to commend the treatment he received from the emergency services and all at Roanne Hospital in assessing and stabilising him. We will now turn our focus towards supporting him in his recovery," Usher said.ADVERTISEMENT Team Principal Dave Brailsford, who earlier ruled Froome out of the Tour deFrance before the fracture was confirmed, turned his focus to Froome's future. "Our primary focus now is obviously on ensuring Chris gets the very best possible care, which he will do, so he can recover as soon as possible,"Brailsford said. "Even though we all recognise the risks involved in our sport, it's always traumatic when a rider crashes and sustains serious injuries." Froome was previewing the stage 4 time trial course in Roanne on Wednesday with teammate Wout Poels when he apparently took his hands off the bars to clear his nose on a 60kph descent, and a gust of wind took out his front wheel, according to Brailsford. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Adam Yates: Everyone tells me how bad I am at time trialling
June 13, 2019 (10:15) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
At the end of stage 3, around the back of the Mitchelton-Scott team bus, Adam Yates quietly warmed down on the rollers. Deep in thought, his mind was already focused on the stage 4 time trial and what he labelled as the pivotal stage in this year's Critrium du Dauphin before the final days in the mountains. Twenty-four hours later and Yates' focus was rewarded as he strode into the media centre in Roanne with a fresh yellow jersey on his shoulders. He may have finished sixth on the stage " a respectable performance in itself " but he had also done enough to wrestle the race lead from Dylan Teuns. A deeper analysis only made Yates' ride look even more impressive, with time gained on Richie Porte, Jakob Fuglsang, Thibaut Pinot and a number of pure time triallists. But for Chris Froome's shocking leg break in recon and Wout Van Aert's surprise stage win, Yates was the story of the day. "I knew that on a course like this I could do a good time but to take the leader's jersey was a bit of a surprise," he admitted as he sat down to greet the press.ADVERTISEMENT "Everyone tells me how bad I am at time trialling, they do the same with my brother so it feels good to take the lead in a TT." Yates has a slender lead over Teuns and Tejay van Garderen but Fuglsang and a resurgent Steven Kruijswijk are within seven and 24 seconds respectively. French hope Pinot is just a further second down, while Nairo Quintana is poised at 40 seconds. This race is far from settled and Yates is well aware that although the time trial was important in terms of laying down a marker both here and for the Tour de France, the Dauphin is far from over. "It's hard to say if I'm the favourite yet. We've not had a proper mountain stage. Stage 2 was really hard and selective but it wasn't a true mountain stage. I'm in half-decent condition and I said before, everyone is in the same boat and wants to test themselves and see where they are before the Tour and I'll do the same. Tomorrow is a sprint stage so hopefully, the sprinters will help us control things. Then we're into the real mountains and we can have the second real battle." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Poels: Hopefully Chris Froome can come back stronger
June 13, 2019 (10:15) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
During stage 4 of the Criterium du Dauphine in Roanne, Wout van Aert's emphatic time trial victory for Jumbo-Visma was overshadowed by the news earlier in the day that three-time race winner Chris Froome (Team Ineos) had crashed during his recon and was out of the race on his way to the hospital. An hour or so later, team principal Dave Brailsford confirmed to a large group of reporters at the race, including Cyclingnews, that Froome had a suspected fracture of the femur and it was clear he was out of the Tour de France. Froome was mounting a challenge for a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title. Froome's teammate Wout Poels was riding just ahead of Froome on the recon of the course when the incident happened and described the crash to a group of journalists just after finishing his time trial, where the Dutchman finished in 19th place.ADVERTISEMENT "We were after the climb on the downhill and the wind took Chris Froome's wheel and he went down like really, really hard on the floor, and I think we were going 66 or 65kph. It was really bad," Poels said. "It was pretty windy out there and especially on a TT bike. I mean especially with the high wheels and you're also in a little bit of a less comfortable position of course. Yeah, it can happen. If you go down at 65kph, and he went down really, really hard, then you know it's not really good." Poels himself suffered serious injuries during the 2012 Tour de France, where a mass pile-up at high speeds saw Poels rupture his spleen and kidneys, bruise his lungs, break three ribs and end up in intensive care. The crash forced Poels off the bike for three months, but he has since gone from strength to strength, becoming one of Chris Froome's most important Grand Tour lieutenants, alongside winning a Monument in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Tom Dumoulin: Chris Froome's broken leg is bad for cycling
June 13, 2019 (10:15) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
A shock stage winner and a new race leader, but unsurprisingly the stage 4 time trial at the Criterium du Dauphine was overshadowed by the high-speed crash that left Chris Froome with a suspected broken femur and his Tour de France dreams over for this year at least. Even the post-race interviews from the remaining Tour de France rivals were dominated by talk of the incident that took place during the Team Ineos riders recon of the 26.1km course around Roanne. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) finished the stage in third place behind winner Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First), and the Dutchman had his own story to tell of a day in the saddle that offered signs of his improvement since abandoning the Giro dItalia, but his comments regarding Froome and the British riders certainty in missing the Tour de France were the most pertinent on such a day. "Thats devastating for him and for cycling in general," Dumoulin told Cyclingnews after Van Aert had nudged him off the hot seat with an amazingly fast ride.ADVERTISEMENT "Froomes the main character in the Tour de France that everyone looks to. Ineos still have a great team with Thomas and Bernal even without Froome, but normally he would be number one leader so its bad for him and its bad for cycling." As for Dumoulin, the signs are encouraging, despite the nagging injury he still holds from his Giro dItalia crash. He told Cyclingnews on the eve of the time trial that he would go all out on his favourite terrain, even with the shard of metal that is still lodged in his left knee. "My ride was alright. Not great, if you look at the times. I definitely have some improvements to make in the next few weeks, but I knew that already," Dumoulin said. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Pinot on track for Tour de France after Tour de l'Ain victory
May 28, 2019 (20:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) signalled that he's on track for the Tour de France, winning the Tour de l'Ain at the weekend on his comeback from a two-month absence from racing. The Frenchman, who won Il Lombardia at the end of last year, hadn't raced since ending his early season block with 11th overall at the Volta a Catalunya at the end of March. However, he confirmed the quality of the training he'd done in the interim with a stage win on the Grand Colombier on the final day that handed him the overall victory. After an opening stage for the sprinters, Pinot finished second on the Col de la Faucille on stage 2 but was left with a bitter taste as former teammate Alexandre Geniez (AG2R La Mondiale) refused to do any turns and survived his attacks before beating him to the line.ADVERTISEMENT On the altogether more difficult Grand Colombier on the third and final day, Pinot chose to strike out early, reaching the top some 52 seconds ahead of Elie Gesbert (Arkea-Samsic). "On the Grand Colombier I wanted to go on my own from early in order to climb at my own rhythm and manage my effort," Pinot said. "It's the second time I've won here, on this col that intimidates all riders." Pinot walked off with the overall title, in which he finished 1:08 clear of Mathias Frank (AG2R La Mondiale) and 1:25 clear of Rein Taaramae (Total Direct Energie) in third. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Valverde to ride Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana
May 28, 2019 (20:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is set to ride both the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espaa this season. According to a report in the Spanish sports daily Marca, the world champion will return to racing at the Route dOccitanie on June 20. Valverde was due to ride the Giro dItalia this May, which would have been just his second appearance after making his debut in 2016, but was forced to miss it due to injury. The Movistar rider crashed during a training ride in the build-up to Lige-Bastogne-Lige at the end of April and suffered a bone edema - a build-up of fluid in the bone marrow - in his sacrum as a result. Valverde was unaware of the injury and would go onto ride the monument but eventually abandoned the race, the first time he has done so in his career.ADVERTISEMENT Following further checks, the team decided to pull him from the Giro dItalia to give him time to recover from his injuries. It was the latest in a series of unfortunate incidents for Valverde, who also swallowed a bee during La Flche Wallonne. Valverde has been out of action since his early departure from Lige and the report on the Marca website states that Valverdes comeback will be at the four-day Route dOccitanie, which takes place between June 20 and 23. Valverde rode the race - formerly known as the Route du Sud - last season as part of his preparation for the Tour de France, winning one stage and taking the overall title. Following the Route dOccitanie, Valderde will ride the national championships in his home region of Murcia, where hell be hoping to win the national road race title for the third time in his career. After the Vuelta a Espaa in August and September, Valverde is also due to defend his rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Yorkshire. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Sivakov pushes on into uncharted territory of Giro d'Italia's third week
May 28, 2019 (20:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Pavel Sivakov (Team Ineos) starts the Giro d'Italia's final week, following Monday's rest day, in ninth place on the general classification, with a seven-second lead in the white jersey competition as the race's best young rider. The Russian takes a step into the unknown on Tuesday's stage 16, having only gone two weeks into his only other Grand Tour " the 2018 Vuelta a Espaa " before being forced to leave on stage 14 due to injuries sustained in an earlier crash. Sivakov came into this year's Giro in a loosely defined leader's role, alongside British rider Tao Geoghegan Hart, with a brief to try to enjoy himself and "try crazy things", to quote Ineos team manager Dave Brailsford.ADVERTISEMENT But when Geoghegan Hart crashed out of the race on stage 13 last week, heading home with a broken collarbone, Sivakov found himself in the certainly 'crazy' position that he's still in now: in the top 10 of the Giro, clad in the white jersey as best young rider. With just six stages remaining, the 21-year-old could be heading for the sort of result that many pro riders only dream about. "When I came into the race, I didn't expect to be in this position heading into the last week," he said on the Team Ineos website, speaking on the race's second rest day. "It's good for me and I hope to maintain this performance, and why not try to do even better? "If you look at the top 10, the guys up there are all established riders who have done top 10s in Grand Tours before," he continued. "So it's a bit of a surprise for me, and I think for everybody a little bit. It feels a bit weird to see myself up there, but when I'm racing, you're just there in your own bubble, doing your own thing. In that sense it's normal, and you just make the best of it." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Giro d'Italia: 'He needed us and we weren't there' says Roglic's Jumbo-Visma DS
May 28, 2019 (20:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
You've no doubt seen the TV footage by now: The Jumbo-Vismateam car had stopped for a nature break during the final 20km ofstage 15 of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday, but suddenly get the message on the radio that race favourite Primoz Roglic needs a new bike. Cue some seriously frenetic driving. Speaking to Cyclingnews on thesecond rest day of the Giro d'Italia on Monday, lead directeur sportif Addy Engels explained the sequence of events that led to Roglic having to take teammate Antwan Tolhoek's bike, which Roglic then crashed on coming down the Civiglio, eventually losing 40 seconds to main rivals Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and race leader Richard Carapaz (Movistar). With the opportunity for teams to still 'feed' their riders until the top of the climb of the Civiglio, with just under 20km of the stage still to go, teams were trying to give out bottles on the approach to the climb.ADVERTISEMENT "At that moment, each team was asked [over race radio] to give out drinks," Engels argued, keen to put the record straight withCyclingnews. Roglic was on his own in the group of favourites at that point, with no teammates, and the Slovenian had missed a bottle from a staff member standing at the side of the road on the Ghisallo earlier on the course, Engels explained. "Sometimes these things happen," he said. "But after the descent [of the Sormano], things calmed down in the group. The pace was steady, but everyone started calling for drinks. The only disadvantage we had was that Primoz was on his own. What happended to Roglic's broken bike? " Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) May 27, 2019 You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Deceuninck-QuickStep ink new two-year deal with Specialized
May 28, 2019 (20:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
American bike manufacturer Specialized announced on Monday that it has renewed its contract with the WorldTour team Deceuninck-QuickStep for another two years, supporting the team until at least the end of 2021. The team and its riders will also continue to provide feedback about the high-end bike brand's performance in top-level racing to help further develop its bikes and equipment. "We are very happy to announce that we have signed for two more years with Specialized," team owner Patrick Lefevere said in a press release. "Deceuninck-QuickStep and Specialized have had a long and beautiful history together." Specialized has sponsored versions of Lefevere's team for the last 11 years. The team, riding on Specialized bikes, has won the biggest races in professional cycling. Last year its riders secured a total of 73 victories, and this year, while it is only May, they have won 30 races, including Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and Flche Wallonne.ADVERTISEMENT "Having a company which listens to, embraces, and builds bikes and equipment to the needs of us and our riders is one of the keys to our success," Lefevere said. "We have no doubt we are racing the best bikes in the world, and the support that we continually receive from them is unrivalled. They always take on board our thoughts and feedback and use it to develop equipment that is at the cutting edge of cycling technology. We look forward to enjoying many more memorable victories together!" Scott Jackson, Specialized Road Sports Marketing Manager, added to the history behind the collaboration between Deceuninck-QuickStep and Specialized. "We have been very honored to be partners with Deceuninck-Quick-Step and Patrick Lefevere for so many years," he said. "Not only has the team achieved iconic victories on Specialized bikes, they have also been a key part of our development process for our bikes and equipment. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

O'Connor champing at bit for Giro d'Italia climbs to start
May 23, 2019 (07:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
After 11 stressful days, amidst a flurry of crashes, rain and fraught bunch sprint finishes at this year's Giro d'Italia, Ben O'Connor (Dimension Data) finally reaches his favourite terrain of the mountains on Thursday. And for the 23-year-old, who rode strongly at last year's Giro d'Italia " his rookie Grand Tour " before crashing out late in the third week, the climbs can't come a moment too soon. On the plus side of the Giro so far, in San Marino, O'Connor rode what he calls "the best time trial of my WorldTour races" " finishing 17th, well ahead of many of the top climbers.ADVERTISEMENT On the negative side was a bad day into Frascati on stage 4 when his front wheel broke in a crash, culminating in a time loss of nearly two minutes. Then he was entangled in another pile-up on Tuesday's stage 10, which left O'Connor on the tarmac with a banged-up knee, but without losing any more time. With a privileged perspective on the ongoing GC battle from inside the peloton, O'Connor feels that whilst top favourite Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) could well be the man to watch between here and Verona, the climbers will have a lot to say on the Giro's 26 classified ascents between now and a week on Saturday. So far, the Australian has come through the Giro relatively unscathed, but it's certainly not been a smooth ride, either, with the latest incident coming with O'Connor in Tuesday's big pile-up in the last kilometre. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Ewan leaves Giro d'Italia early to prepare for Tour de France
May 23, 2019 (07:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) has decided to take an early leave from the Giro d'Italia, on a high note after securing two stage wins, in order to adequately prepare for the Tour de France in July. It was a successful Grand Tour for the Australian who captured his first victory on stage 8 in Pesaro on Saturday and his second on stage 11 in Novi Ligure on Wednesday. "I am happy that I came to the Giro, the succession of the long and sometimes challenging stages will have done me good, condition-wise." Ewan said in a team press release. "Of course, I am going home with a great feeling. I came into the Giro and I really wanted to win one stage. To get two is more than I expected, so I am really satisfied with that and I am happy with how the team rode as well. Outside of his two stage wins, Ewan was also third on stage 2 in Fucecchio, second on stage 4 in Frascati, and was twice fourth on stage 5 in Terracina and stage 10 in Modena.ADVERTISEMENT "I finished inside the top four on seven occasions," Ewan said. "On day two, our lead-out was perfect, two days later I was beaten by a strong Carapaz in Frascati and on day eight, I could raise my arms in the air for the first time." Ewan came to the Giro d'Italia with a strong support team that included Victor Campenaerts, Jasper De Buyst, Thomas De Gendt, Adam Hansen, Roger Kluge, Jelle Vanendert and Tosh van der Sande. "This Giro was also very important to optimize the collaboration with Jasper De Buyst and Roger Kluge and we certainly got the chance to do so," Ewan said. "Besides, the rest of the team also cooperated very well." Tour de France You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Giro d'Italia: Stage 11 highlights - Video
May 23, 2019 (07:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
The 221 flat kilometres from Capri to Novi Ligure did not exactly make for a scintillating stage - at least for the general classification - but Caleb Ewan(Lotto Soudal) made the most of a headwind sprint to take his second stage victory of the Giro d'Italia on stage 11. Behind Ewan, the fight for the points classification heated up as stage 10 winner Arnaud Dmare snuck in two points in an intermediate sprint before muscling past maglia cicliamino holder PascalAckermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) in the finale.The resulting 12 point differential moved the Groupama-FDJ sprinter ahead of Ackermann in the competition, by 11 points.ADVERTISEMENT The race now swings back in the favour of the opportunists and climbers as the race heads into the Piemonte, with the category 1 climb of Montoso interrupting an otherwise tame 146 course on stage 12 before the first summit finale on Friday to CeresoleReale. You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Calm before the storm: Roglic stays a step ahead of GC rivals as Giro d'Italia heads for mountains
May 23, 2019 (07:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) clutches the keys of power on this Giro d'Italia without holding formal office. His performances in the time trials that bookended the race's opening week left the Slovenian with a commanding lead on his rivals for final overall victory, but the pink jersey remains on the shoulders of Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates), while he lies second overall, 1:50 down. Life as de facto race leader has its benefits. At the finish of stage 11 in Novi Ligure on Wednesday, Conti was immediately ushered towards the podium to collect a fresh maglia rosa. Roglic, by contrast, was able to freewheel unimpeded to the Jumbo-Visma bus, parked near the gates of the late Fausto Coppi's villa on the edge of town. By the time Conti had completed his media and anti-doping duties almost two hours later, Roglic was already on the massage table at his hotel. On the road, too, Roglic and his Jumbo-Visma team have enjoyed two relatively sedate stages since Monday's rest day on the Adriatic, as the Giro reached its somnambulant spot: the nervous energy of the first week has dissipated but the high mountains have not yet appeared on the horizon.ADVERTISEMENT "UAE didn't need to pull today or yesterday, because the sprint teams took control immediately, so even if Primoz had the jersey today, it wouldn't have changed much for us," Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Addy Engels told Cyclingnews. "But it's still easier, because you don't have the anti-doping control, the press conference and things like that. It's been quiet, and these two days have been good. But now the way of racing will change for the next seven stages." On the eve of the Giro's belated entry into the mountains, Roglic holds a lead of 1:44 over Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), 1:55 over Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), 3:46 over Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and 4:29 over Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana). Thursday's 158km leg from Cuneo to Pinerolo naturally evokes the poetry of the day Fausto Coppi soloed to victory on the 1949 Giro, though the parcours of stage 12 is rather more prosaic. The lone category 1 ascent, the Montoso, is a pop quiz rather than final exam, though it might provide some pointers as to the strength-in-depth of Roglic's supporting cast after he lost his key mountain gregario Laurens De Plus in the opening week. Clement You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Viviani quits the Giro d'Italia after another sprint defeat
May 23, 2019 (07:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Elia Viviani quit the Giro d'Italia after again missing out on victory in Novi Ligure, admitting he needs a time-out to find the peace of mind and self-confidence that helps him win sprints. Viviani finished fourth behind Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Arnaud Dmare (Groupama-FDJ) and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) on stage 11 in Novi Ligure, after again failing to connect with his Deceuninck-QuickStep lead-out train. He won four stages and the points jersey in last year's race but has frustratingly finished second three times this year and was relegated from victory on stage 3 to Orbetello after race judges ruled he move across the road.ADVERTISEMENT Viviani was hoping to finish the Giro d'Italia in his hometown of Verona but bravely went on Italian television to confirm he was heading home early. "My Giro ends today," Viviani said, his team soon confirming his departure. "I'm not at my best and lack the self-belief that I need. I'll head home and soon start working for the second half of the season. There's no point in carrying on in the hope of finding something that never seems to arrive." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Bahrain-Merida's Milan Erzen under UCI investigation for doping links
May 23, 2019 (07:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is investigating a Slovenian cycling connection to the Operation Aderlass blood doping ring, with Milan Eren, the current managing director at Bahrain-Merida, at the centre of their attention. The UCI has confirmed to Cyclingnews that since 2015 it has been carefully following the activities of several Slovenian individuals, including riders, rider support personnel and team management staff for potential roles in a number of different investigations, even before Operation Aderlass emerged. According to a recent profile by the Corriere della Sera newspaper in Italy, Eren is considered the Dominus of Slovenian cycling. Cyclingnews approached Bahrain-Merida for a comment from Eren, who responded through the team saying, "All and any implications regarding my involvement in Aderlass are absolutely false and unfounded."ADVERTISEMENT Eren, who has yet to receive any notification from the UCI, helped create the Bahrain-Merida team for Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain after helping him train for an Ironman triathlon in 2013. In an interview with Slovenian website Polet.delo.si, Eren boasts how he went on to introduce modern training methods to the princes horse racing stable, including the use of altitude chambers. He then helped developed a triathlon team and organise an Ironman event in Bahrain and responded to the princes desire for a WorldTour team by signing Vincenzo Nibali and creating the Bahrain-Merida team for the 2016 season. Eren keeps a low profile and has changed his job title at Bahrain-Merida several times after the UCI insisted he hold a team staff licence. He currently has a class 8 UCI staff licence " the lowest of the UCI categories - but he is the de facto boss of the team due to his close links to Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. He is known within the current team as the managing director. Slovenian cycling is small compared to other nations but has risen to 10th place in the UCI World nations ranking, thanks to the success of Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), Simon Spilak (Katusha-Alpecin), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) and, most recently, 20-year-old Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates), who won the Tour of California last week. Operation Aderlass and Dr. Schmidt You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Giro d'Italia 2019: Stage 11 finish line quotes
May 23, 2019 (07:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) " Stage winner (On getting Ackermann's wheel) "I think he's proven he's one of the quickest here, and to be honest he was the first sprinter who came past me with a good train. So I decided to jump on him. My guys got me into a really good position where I didn't have to fight for the wheels too much. That just made my run a whole lot easier. He went quite early so I could just sit there and time my sprint to perfection. "I think my team's done a great job all week. I think I was a little more relaxed going into this stage because I already had the one win. When you're a bit relaxed you save more energy and everything seems to fall into place a little easier. "I think this is the most successful Grand Tour I've ever done. It just shows my progression as a rider. In the past, I've won one stage in the Vuelta and in the Giro the last time I did it. Now, I've won two and I'm just happy with how I'm progressing."ADVERTISEMENT Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) - Points classification leader "The difference was a headwind today, and there was a narrowing of the road with 750m to go. That is where it became difficult for my lead-out men to take me to the line. "The jersey is a consolation prize. Now we will start another Giro. In the mountains it will be a different task to defend the jersey." Valerio Conti (UAETeamEmirates) - Race leader "It was a long and sunny stage. So I enjoyed it very much. Tomorrow it'll be harder to keep the jersey because the main climb is a hard one. But I want to keep the Maglia Rosa tomorrow also." James Knox (Deceuninck-QuickStep) Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal) You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Evenepoel: I still have a lot of work to do
May 23, 2019 (07:30) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep) stepped into the WorldTour this season seemingly without missing a beat. The 19-year-old Evenepoel has looked at home with impressive performances in the first half of the season, but the Belgian says that he's still got plenty of work to do as he continues to learn the ropes at the top of the sport. Though he entered the professional ranks with plenty of hype, Evenepoel would have been forgiven for having a slow start to his pro career given that he missed the under-23 ranks altogether. However, he came out all guns blazing with an impressive third-place finish in the time trial at the Vuelta a San Juan " his first race with Deceuninck-QuickStep " and a ninth place finish overall. It was a big confidence boost, but he is trying to keep his feet on the ground. "It was a big moment to start out like that in Argentina. Especially in the time trial [third place]," Evenepoel said in an interview on the Hammer Series website. "When I got in the hot seat, I thought to myself: 'Wow, maybe I can win this'. Unfortunately, the wind direction then changed and the late starting riders had a big advantage. I'm still happy for my podium place though. This was the first time that I felt I could really go hard at this level. However, I also know I still have a lot of work to do."ADVERTISEMENT Evenepoel first came to the attention of many when he won the junior road and time trial titles at the European Championships in Brno last July. He then went onto do the double again at the World Championships in Innsbruck, but by then he had already secured a contract with Patrick Lefevere's Deceuninck-QuickStep squad. On the bike, there has obviously been a massive change for the young rider but there has been a big culture shock for him off the bike, too. "The life of a pro is very different to what I was used to. Last year, I was still in school and busy the whole day. Now, I have so much time on my hands. I wake up, maybe go for a little ride on the bike before breakfast, then I eat something and then I go for another ride," he said. "In my school days, my day would be over after my afternoon ride but now, I'm back already at 3 or 4 pm and that's it. I have nothing more to do. This is when you have to be smart about recovery and I feel " maybe because I'm still young " that I have some difficulties adjusting to this part of my new life. In the first months of the season, I probably made a few mistakes in this area, not getting enough rest." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Giro dItalia: Nibali looks to limit losses to Roglic in San Marino time trial
May 18, 2019 (20:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Pesaro may have been festooned in pink to celebrate the visit of the Giro d'Italiabut, by the time Vincenzo Nibali emerged from anti-doping following stage 8,it was beginning to have the air of the coastal town they forgot to close down. Grey waves were crashing onto wet sand on the seafront, while leaden drops of rain were falling steadily over the finishing straight, where the podium and television area were already being dismantled. The boisterous crowds that had lined the final kilometres had long since dissipated in search of shelter. As Nibali soft-pedalled towards the Bahrain-Merida bus, he slowed to offer a perfunctory account of the Giro's longest day. The 239km leg along the Adriatic coast had passed off without incident " "Nothing to report," he said " and thoughts were already turning to Sunday's pivotal time trial to San Marino.ADVERTISEMENT So far on the Giro, few days have been like Sunday, where the overall favourites will face off on the 34km course from the Adriatic coast to the mountaintop republic. Nibali and his rivals have been eyeing one another closely all week. Sunday will confirm or rebut their impressions. "Tomorrow we'll take stock of the situation," Nibali said. Nibali reaches the final act of the Giro's opening week in 16th place overall, 6:03 down on maglia rosa Valerio Conti (UAE Emirates), though the gaps of greater concern the Sicilian are to Primo Rogli (Jumbo-Visma) and Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott). He will set off from Riccione 39 seconds down on Rogli and just 4 behind Yates. Rogli, an emphatic winner of the opening time trial in Bologna, is the overwhelming favourite to triumph again here. Nibali's coach Paolo Slongo acknowledged that a successful outing for Nibali would entail limiting his losses to the Slovenian and roughly breaking even with Yates, whose improvements against the clock carried him to time trial victory at Paris-Nice earlier this season. A real time trial You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Yates: Roglic is the big favourite for Giro d'Italia time trial
May 18, 2019 (20:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) remained in defiant mood prior to Sunday's time trial amidst widespread predictions that rival Primo Rogli (Jumbo-Visma) could once again rule the roost in the Giro d'Italia's second 'race of truth'. Yates has improved notably his time trial ability over the last 12 months, and even last year in the Giro d'Italia, the widely predicted big differences between himself and Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) did not materialise,although he did lose time. Second to Rogli in this year's opening TT in Bologna, on Saturday Yates was convinced he had a solid chance of defending his options.ADVERTISEMENT "I showed I was going well in the Bologna time trial and I've felt the same in these last few days," Yates told reporters. "I hope I'll be able to do well against Rogli, who's the big favourite " as we could see was the case in Bologna where he won. I wouldn't say anyone here [of the favourites] is really bad, but I think it just depends on the day." Yates added that his sensations were good, although his left leg, which he hurt when he crashed on stage four, was "a bit banged up, but hopefully that won't cause me too much pain." Yates said that his unexpected Paris-Nice time trial win this March had given him "great confidence" although he recognised he would never be as good as Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), who has already quit the Giro, "and those guys." Climb suits Yates You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...

Ewan overcomes increasing pressure to win second career Giro d'Italia stage
May 18, 2019 (20:00) [ Indexed from Cyclingnews.com ]
Third. Fifteenth. Second. Fourth. With each near miss in this year's Giro d'Italia bunch sprints, Caleb Ewan's disappointment at not being able to net a stage victory had been steadily growing. And so, too, was the pressure to win. But finally at Pesaro on stage 8 the Lotto Soudal sprinter captured the second Giro d'Italia victory of his career, just four days after a deeply frustrating near-miss when he mistimed his attempt to chase down Movistar's Richard Carapaz on the uphill finish in Orbetello. It was also Ewan's biggest win to date with his new team, Lotto-Soudal, for which he signed after a year of missing out on Grand Tours completely with Mitchelton-Scott.ADVERTISEMENT Once back on the bigger race stage, though, Ewan has proved again he can take on the world's other top sprinters. And even as he completed his Giro d'Italia winner's press conference, the 24-year-old confirmed he is already eying a debut in the Tour de France this July. "Last year was pretty average, so another average year would have been bad," Ewan added. "This time, for the first part of the season, this win is the icing on the cake. This one means a lot. "The pressure was building every time I didn't win a stage here, and it's disappointing when I can't win a stage after all the work the team has been doing for me. So I'm happy I could get this one and it means a lot to be back at a Grand Tour, too." You can read more at Cyclingnews.com More...