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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, November 23, 2018

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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia

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Tom Stamsnijder retiring after 2018 season

Stamsnijder's Team Sunweb sent me this:

Team Sunweb’s Tom Stamsnijder (NED) is to hang up his wheels, retiring from professional cycling after the 2018 season due to a persistent injury which prevents him from performing at the highest level. Stamsnijder believes that now is the right time to move on and is happy to make the next exciting step in his career off the bike.

Stamsnijder

Tom Stamsnijder racing in the 2015 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo

During his time with the team, 33-year-old Stamsnijder was a part of numerous successes with 12 Grand Tours and 18 Classics under his belt. To name a few, the Dutchman was a part of Team Sunweb’s Giro d’Italia and Paris-Roubaix winning teams and was a vital support rider to many other top results. Outside of his huge value on the bike, Stamsnijder was essential to the team in supporting the young riders and guiding them with his extensive experience of racing in the professional peloton.

Stamsnijder said: “I look back on a really great career. Together with the team we’ve reached so many highs and I’m thankful to have been a part of that. After 12 years on the highest level this is my moment to quit. I’ve had some problems with an injury over the past 1,5 years which hasn’t been easy. I’m really looking forward to focusing on my career outside of being a professional rider and I’m happy to have the opportunity to start a new chapter in my career with the team’s partner, DSM. During my time on the bike I realised how important innovation is. My role at DSM will involve analysing their recent innovations in nutritional ingredients, materials and suncare products, to see if these can enhance performance within Team Sunweb. I can’t wait to work on the crossroads of elite sports, high performance and innovation at DSM as a science-based company, becoming a part of the bridge between the team and DSM.”

Originating from this approach, innovations like protective shorts have been created using Dyneema – the world’s strongest fiber alongside Fruitflow, an innovative nutritional ingredient, which was introduced to Team Sunweb during this year’s Tour de France. The addition of Fruitflow  to the riders’ diet helps to reduce stress factors in the blood caused by high intensity efforts, improving blood flow and thus recovery. A completely natural product, it is based on anti-platelet compounds from tomatoes.

Team Sunweb’s head coach Rudi Kemna (NED) said: “We’re really grateful for the years we’ve had Tom as a rider in our team. Both on and off the bike Tom was a valuable team player and had his share in many of the successes that we’ve had as a team. It’s great that he will continue to work closely with the team in his new challenge with our partner DSM; this is a really exciting opportunity for him and we are delighted to benefit from his experience through his new role.”

Spanish coach Javier Minguez let go over salary dispute

Velonews posted this report:

Just weeks after delivering the men’s elite world title, Spain’s national coach Javier Minguez was told he won’t be back in 2019.

According to reports on the Spanish wire services, the Spanish cycling federation notified Minguez on Wednesday it would not be renewing his contract for the coming season. That decision comes despite the veteran Spaniard coach bringing home five medals in six worlds he worked at the helm, including Alejandro Valverde’s world title win in September.

Alejandro Valverde

Javier Minguez coached Alejandro Valverde to a Rainbow Jersey in September. Here he wins the World Championship. Sirotti photo.

Minguez, who was a top Spanish sport director in the 1980s and 1990s, said he saved the Spanish federation a lot of money when he did not earn a salary or even get reimbursed for travel costs during two years.

Spanish cycling federation officials did not want to increase the salary — already much lower compared to such federations in France or Italy where the national coach can earn well into six-figures — and notified him this week he would not be offered a contract extension.

“Surprised, no, but personally disappointed, yes,” Minguez told Europa Press. “But if you worked without [pay] with a federation that said it had no money when everyone else was taking a salary it’s not what you hope for.”

You can read the entire story here.

Bike sales soaring across Europe thanks to super summer

Bike Europe sent me this report:

DOETINCHEM, the Netherlands – All signals indicate that the sale of bicycles, e-bikes and parts and accessories has been soaring this year across Europe. The super summer of 2018 contributed greatly to this. Earlier Bike Europe reported on skyrocketing e-bike sales in the Nordic countries; as it appears now the same goes for the Netherlands, while double-digit growth is also reported from Germany.

In Sweden e-bike sales is up by 53 percent also because it got a boost by the government’s subsidy on the purchase of an electric bicycle. It is pushing e-bikes sales in this country to over 100,000 units this year. In Denmark sales in 2018 are to pass the 40,000 units mark while from Finland a doubling of e-bikes sales is reported. Likewise strong growth figures, particularly for the sale of e-bikes this year, show the markets of the Netherlands and Germany while also in Italy something is brewing.

Dynamo Retail Group has recorded that strong sales growth. This dealer cooperative operating shop formats like Bike Totaal, Dynamo Retail Service, Fietswereld and Profile de Fietsspecialist in Holland, Belgium and Germany, has some 800 affiliated dealers/members.

A recent Dynamo Retail Group market survey involving 286 Dutch stores has revealed the following results with regard to sales during the 2018 season. In the first ten months of 2018 total turnover (on average per store) increased by 12.8 percent. The sales of city e-bikes in particular boosted the total turnover as this category grew by 37.7 percent in turnover. Also e-MTBs showed strong growth; even with 45.8 percent. However, money-wise sales of this category is still small. The sale of regular city bikes upped 7.1 percent; roadrace was up close to 20 percent while regular MTB stayed about flat. All in all overall bike sales increased on average at Dynamo Retail Group affiliated dealers and stores with 17.2 percent up to the end of October 2018. P&A was also up; by 7.9 percent.

You can read the entire story here.

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