Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, July 1, 2017
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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia
You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That's a part of it. - Denzel Washington
Current Racing
- July 1 - 23: Tour de France
Upcoming racing:
- July 2 - 8: Tour of Austria
Latest completed racing:
- Last week of June: National Championships
- June 21: Halle Ingooigem
- June 10 - 18: Tour de Suisse
- June 14 - 18: Ster ZLM Toer
- June 15 - 18: Route du Sud
- June 11: Rund um Köln
- June 4 - 11: Critérium du Dauphiné
The 2017 TDF startlist with backnumbers & team presentation photos are posted.
Chris Froome extends contract with Team Sky
The team sent me this update:
1st JULY 2017: Three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome has signed a new contract with Team Sky, extending his stay until the end of the 2020 season.
Confirming the new contract, Froome said that it had been “an easy decision” to extend his stay with Team Sky. Froome said: “I’ve been at Team Sky since we began back in 2010 and for me it’s home. I’m really happy here and excited that I’ll be with Team Sky for at least the next three years.
“It’s been a really successful partnership and I think one of the big reasons for that is the stability of the team. As a rider that is really important as it means you can just get on with your job and focus on winning bike races. The Tour de France wins we have achieved together have been a big part of the team’s history. Now I’m looking forward to being a big part of Team Sky’s future”.
Froome will take to the start line in Dusseldorf on Saturday (1st July) seeking a landmark fourth Tour de France victory and a third consecutive Tour win.
Romain Bardet, Pierre Latour and Oliver Naesen extend with Ag2r to 2020.
Ag2r sent me this:
Romain Bardet, Pierre Latour and Oliver Naesen have extended their contracts with the AG2R LA MONDIALE team until 2020, Vincent Lavenu announced this Friday in Düsseldorf during the pre-Tour de France team press conference.
“We are pleased and proud to be able to make this announcement. These three contract extensions will provide a solid foundation for the team with a view to the coming seasons.They are all very talented riders. And we were able to make these offers thanks to the loyalty of our sponsor.We are reaping the fruits of the hard work put in by the entire staff for years in an effort to continue to progress. Romain, Pierre and Oliver are three sure bets.Romain is a great champion, ready to succeed in the biggest races on the UCI WorldTour calendar. Pierre is a great hope, and is quickly growing and progressing. And we have not even discovered where Oliver’s limits are,” Vincent Lavenu said.
Romain Bardet racing stage eight of this year's Dauphiné
ROMAIN BARDET: "CONTINUE OUR PROGRESS“ - I am happy to extend this adventure with AG2R LA MONDIALE until 2020. It is the team of my heart, the one where I started my professional career.We have grown and matured together, and everything is being done to continue our evolution and to achieve our sporting goals.”
PIERRE LATOUR: "A MARK OF CONFIDENCE" - “I am very pleased to extend my contract with AG2R LA MONDIALE. I went through the Chambéry Cycling Training program, and I have flourished in the ranks of the team as a professional.There is a logic to the situation. I am happy with the level of confidence Vincent Lavenu and the coaching staff have in me.And I look forward to celebrate this Saturday in Düsseldorf, which will be the first day of my first Tour de France, and the first time I will have the opportunity to race wearing the jersey as the time trial champion of France.”
OLIVER NAESEN: "BUILD IN THE COMING YEARS" - “I joined the AG2R LA MONDIALE team this winter, and am really pleased to have my contract already extended for three more seasons. It gives me a great deal of serenity, so that I can focus even more on my work. The team has confidence in me, and I really appreciate that. I had a good spring with the AG2R LA MONDIALE team. Thanks to excellent team work, I was able to show that I have what it takes to be at the front. With this contract extension, we will be able to build over time. It takes time to build a competitive group, and now we can grow together.”
THE NUMBER: 9 - Having joined in 2012, Romain Bardet is guaranteed to wear the AG2R LA MONDIALE team jersey for at least nine seasons.
And, Team Sunweb extends its contract with Coryn Rivera
Team Sunweb sent me this:
Following a successful debut with the team and a spring campaign filled with excellent results, Team Sunweb and Coryn Rivera (USA) have extended their contract until 2021.
It's been Team Sunweb's ambition to close the gap to the top teams in the world, both developing its talented riders and adding top class riders to the team. On the morning of the biggest women's stage race, the Giro Rosa the team can look back on the first successful steps in this process. Rivera, the American pocket-rocket made the jump up to WorldTour level with the team in January 2017 and has already secured a number of prestigious wins; including a victory at Trofeo Alfredo Binda, a stage of the Amgen Tour of California and a historic victory at the Tour of Flanders. The new agreement commits Rivera and Team Sunweb to continue building on these results for an additional three years.
Coryn Rivera racing a couple of years ago
Of extending her time with the team Rivera said: "My transition into the team was really smooth and I've really enjoyed the past few months. It didn't take me long to gel with the riders and staff from the team and it quickly became clear that we are a perfect fit. The team and I both have the same vision and our values and goals are exactly the same. We have an incredible atmosphere and I'm honoured to be surrounded by inspiring people and strong team mates. I'm excited to become one of the core riders on the team and continue to progress with them. We have already achieved so much in a short time and I feel like we still have so much more to achieve together. I'm really looking forward to spending the next years with the team."
Team Sunweb coach Hans Timmermans (NED) added: "We're very happy with the extension of our cooperation. At such a young age Coryn is a real leader and that shows both in and outside of the race, this is a real special quality that every team needs and something that we particularly value. She fits really well in our structure and our core values and this has already brought us some impressive results during the short time she has been with the team. On top of this she's really open for feedback and always looking at how we can improve and optimise things, which is essential to us. In the coming years we will look to develop and strengthen the qualities that she already naturally possesses; her sprint and skills in the classics. I am confident that we will take the maximum out of our potential and people will see a lot more from us."
Giro Rosa (Women's Giro d'Italia) updates
The organizer sent me this news:
AQUILEIA, 30TH JUNE 2017
GOOD MORNING FROM AQUILEIA: It's the day of the 2017 Big Start of the Giro Rosa, the day of the Team Time Trial: the first Maglia Rosa will be decided along the 11.5 kms between Aquileia and Grado. The route is totally flat and it develops in the Laguna of Grado. The teams will turn on the right 100 meters after the start in Piazza Capitolo, where the Team Presentation took place last evening. The majestic scenary of the Laguna will be the second part of the stage until arriving in Grado. The final kilometers have many curves in the city centre, with an extraordinary beauty, and it ends in Largo Biagio Marin, in front of the Municipality Palace.
Many teams can reach the stage victory, the only trick today can be the wind. The first team at the start, Giusfredi - Bianchi, will leave at 4:45 PM, other teams will start every three minutes. The last will be the Boels Dolmans Cycling Team, with the last year winner Megan Guarnier.
THE TEAMS OF THE 28TH GIRO ROSA:
Boels Dolmans Cycling Team (Netherlands)
Wiggle High5 (UK)
Team WM3 (Netherlands)
Canyon SRAM (Germany)
BTC City Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Orica – Scott (Australia)
Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling Team (Germany)
Cylance Pro Cycling (USA)
Team Conceria Zabri – Fanini – Guerciotti (Albania)
Equipe FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope (France)
Team Hitec Products (Norway)
Team Veloconcept (Denmark)
Team Lensworld – Kuota (Belgium)
Lares – Waowdeals (Belgium)
Team Sunweb (Netherlands)
Astana Women Team (Kazakhstan)
Alè – Cipollini – Galassia (Italy)
BePink – Cogeas (Italy)
Servetto – Giusta – Alurecycling (Italy)
Giusfredi – Bianchi (Italy)
S.C. Michela Fanini (Italy)
Top Girls – Fassa Bortolo (Italy)
Aromitalia – Vaiano (Italy)
Team Valcar - PBM (Italy)
FLASH: Boels Dolmans wins the stage 1 of the Giro Rosa 2017, beating Team Sunweb and Orica Scott. Ann-Carole Canuel wears the first Pink Jersey.1 of the Giro Rosa 2017, beating Team Sunweb and Orica Scott. Ann-Carole Canuel wears the first Pink Jersey.
Yorkshire host towns revealed for 2019 UCI Road World Championships
The organizer sent me this update:
The towns and cities across Yorkshire being lined up as host locations for the 2019 UCI Road World Championships have been revealed. Harrogate has been named as the main competition town and finish location for each race. Race start locations have been proposed in Beverley, Doncaster, Leeds, Northallerton, Ripon, and York.
The 2019 UCI Road World Championships include a wide range of men’s, women’s and junior races, which take place over nine days. Harrogate will host two circuit races and the other races will start in locations in right across the county.
The event in September 2019 will mean cycling on a scale never seen before heads to Yorkshire. This will build even further on the county’s growing global reputation for the sport after the hosting ‘the grandest of Grand Départs’ for the 2014 Tour de France and the annual legacy race the Tour de Yorkshire which has continued to grow each year, with record breaking spectator numbers.
Yorkshire won the right to host the event after a joint bid between Welcome to Yorkshire, British Cycling and UK Sport and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The government has committed to invest £24 million into the event, £15 million of which will be used to develop 27 cycle sport facilities across the UK which will leave a lasting grassroots legacy. In addition, there will be £3 million of National Lottery funding from UK Sport.
Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, said: "The 2019 UCI Road World Championships will be a fantastic event that will see the very best cyclists competing for the coveted rainbow jersey with Yorkshire's stunning scenery as the backdrop. I know that people from across Yorkshire and beyond will support this event and the riders will receive a fantastic reception. Hosting the Championships gives us a great opportunity to leave a legacy for the sport at the grassroots, with £15 million of government investment to build facilities and encourage participation across the country."
U.S. dealer count declines, while average shop revenue climbs, study finds
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News sent me this interesting data:
LAFAYETTE, Colo. (BRAIN) — The number of U.S. independent bicycle retailers declined 2.6 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to a new report from the National Bicycle Dealers Association.
However, as the number of store fronts continues to decline, average store gross revenue is on the uptick, the NBDA's 2017 Specialty Bicycle Retail Study shows. Revenue was up 17 percent, from $916,000 to $1,068,000, according to the study.
The study estimates there were 3,700 IBDs in the U.S. at the end of last year, down about 90 stores from 12 months earlier, and down about 550 stores from 2010. The NBDA defines IBDs as stores that derive at least half their business from bike sales to consumers.
The new report also found more shops focusing on service and maintenance, and growth in the number of stores focusing on urban, used, and electric bikes. However, 83 percent of respondents still said they focus on being a family bike store.
You can read the entire article here.
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