Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia
If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score? - Vince Lombardi
Current Racing:
- January 23 - 29: Vuelta a San Juan
Upcomng racing:
- January 26 - 29: Challenge Illes Balears - Volta Ciclista a Mallorca
Latest completed racing:
- January 15 - 22: People's Choice Classic & Tour Down Under
- January 1-3: Mitchelton Wines Bay Cycling Classic
LottoNL-Jumbo sends Groenewegen to Dubai, Kruijswijk to Valencia
The team sent me this news:
LottoNL-Jumbo is sending teams to Dubai and Spain while one team remains in Australia for the Cadel Evans race. Dylan Groenewegen will head the Dubai Tour team, January 31 to February 4, and Steven Kruijswijk the Volta a Valenciana team, February 1 to 5. Groenewegen and Kruijswijk are paving the way to their season goals after a training camp in Spain last week.
Dubai Tour:
While the classification train will head to Spain, Groenewegen leads the sprint train in the 2.HC-ranked race in the United Arab Emirates. Last year, the Dubai Tour went to German sprinter Marcel Kittel. Spaniard Juan José Lobato, who won the mountain stage to the Hatta Dam, will debut in team LottoNL-Jumbo’s colours this year.
Line up:
Dylan Groenewegen,
Amund Grøndahl Jansen
Gijs Van Hoecke
Tom Leezer
Juan José Lobato
Timo Roosen
Bram Tankink
Maarten Wynants
Sports Directors: Frans Maassen and Grischa Niermann
Dylan Groenewegen winning the 2016 L'Eurometropole
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana:Groenewegen took his first season win in the Volta a Valenciana last year ahead of French sprinter Nacer Bouhanni, but with his focus in Dubai, Kruijswijk will take an early chance to test his general classification team.
The 2.1-ranked Volta a Valenciana is serious, considering last year Sky strong-man Wout Poels took the overall classification.
For 2017, after the race against the clock on day one, the riders face four road stages in the Valencia region. Stage four climbs with a finish on the Lucena del Cid, the same climb where Gesink placed third in the Vuelta a España in 2016. The race ends in the city of Valencia the next day.
Line up:
Victor Campenaerts
Stef Clement
Twan Castelijns
Jos van Emden
Martijn Keizer
Steven Kruijswijk
Primoz Roglic
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Sports Directors: Nico Verhoeven and Sierk Jan de Haan
Porte Back at the start line for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
This came to me from BMC:
24 January, 2017, Santa Rosa, California (USA): Santos Tour Down Under champion Richie Porte will return to the start line of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, backed by the team that led him to victory in Adelaide.
Sports Director Fabio Baldato spoke of the team's confidence ahead of the one-day race. "We are going to the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race with a lot of motivation. We know that Richie is in good shape and the rest of the team is too. I think all of the other teams will be watching us given our results at the Santos Tour Down Under. We'll rest up this week and we plan to give it everything on Sunday," Baldato explained.
Porte is looking forward to a final hit out on home soil before returning to Europe. "I raced the first edition of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and I'm looking forward to getting back there. My form is good and we will see what happens on the day. One-day races can be so unpredictable and it's by no means an easy race. I'm looking forward to racing in Australia one last time this season," Porte said.
Richie Porte in the final stage of this year's Tour Down Under
Porte will be joined on the start line by Damiano Caruso, Rohan Dennis, Amaël Moinard, Miles Scotson, Danilo Wyss and Francisco Ventoso. The Towards Zero RACE MELBOURNE criterium on Thursday, 26 January will feature the same team, excluding Porte.
Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (29 January)
Rider roster: Damiano Caruso (ITA), Rohan Dennis (AUS), Amaël Moinard (FRA), Richie Porte (AUS), Miles Scotson (AUS), Danilo Wyss (SUI) and Francisco Ventoso (ESP).
Sports Director: Fabio Baldato (ITA)
Team Sunweb race preview
The team sent me this update:
CADEL EVANS GREAT OCEAN ROAD RACE (WT)
The Australian action continues this week at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, the first Australian one-day race to be added to the WorldTour calendar. The elite men will complete a 174km course alongside some of Victoria's most spectacular scenery. Starting in Geelong, the peloton heads towards Barwon Heads where some challenging conditions are expected, with winds from coast having some impact on racing. These conditions continue as the route hugs the coast, before the race joins the Great Ocean Road. As the peloton begin their climb across to Bells Beach, the climbers have their chance to get the first KOM points. The route then approaches Geelong where they will complete a three lap circuit, similar to the course of the 2010 UCI Road World Championships, before a flat finish alongside the waterfront.
Team coach Luke Roberts (AUS) said: "It is hard to predict the outcome of the CEGORR. This is due to the combination of parcours that the course has. It has a mix of everything with many open roads which are affected by wind, some climbing and then a finish on a local circuit. We are prepared for all outcomes with Wilco in good shape if there is a selection on the climbs and with Nikias as our sprinter, who is suited to a hard race. We can be confident going into Sunday's race."
RACE: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (WT)
DATE: 29/01/2017
COACH: Luke Roberts (AUS)
Team UAE Abu Dhabi Vuelta de San Juan stage 1 report
The team sent me this stage 1 news:
From Australia to Argentina for the Vuelta de San Juan.
It is a 12,000 km space leap which the calendar of races of the early part of the season plans for Team UAE, which will be at the start line of the Argentinian events relying on a top quality level line-up whose members are Darwin Atapuma, Rui Costa, Filippo Ganna, Andrea Guardini, Przemyslaw Niemiec and Oliviero Troia
The opening stage (1425 km, start and arrival in San Juan) was raced on a flat course which was suitable for the sprinters: in effect, the fast wheels of the bunch fight for the victory in a massive sprint.
For Team UAE, Andrea Guardini was the designated sprinter. Last turn at 1,400 meters to the finish line: there part of the peloton took a wrong turn, half to the wrong way on the right and half to the left.
Guardini, who had been already forced to face a flat tyre at 10 km to the arrival, was obstructed by the chaos which was originated by the error at the turn: he could not exploit his power in the sprint.
Gaviria obtained the victory, preceding Viviani and Guardini.
Sports director Mario Scirea (Team UAE) commented: "I liked the way our riders approached the stage and how we managed our energy. We gave our measured contribution thanks to Troia and Niemiec in the front of the peloton to control the breakaway of seven riders which led the stage in the central part of the course.
In the final 30 km, we collected ourselves close to Guardini and we were ready to face the situation of the flat tyre: Atapuma was very fast in handling to Andrea his wheel.
"Guardini joined the peloton at -7 km and he was approaching the sprint when the error at the turn hindered him: this morning, during the technical meeting, we studied that turn, we knew it was a left hand bend, however the mistake by many other riders damaged also us.
"Good debut in the pro cycling by Troia and Ganna, who both gave their contribution to the team in supporting Guardini".
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