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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, November 2, 2019

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia

Someone may ask, 'How is justice greater than all the other virtues?' The other virtues gratify the one who possesses them; justice does not give pleasure to the one possessing it, but instead pleases others. - St. Jerome

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Race legend Roger De Vlaeminck is recovering from blood infection

Roger De Vlaeminck (72) is recovering in a Belgian hospital. It was on the 12th of October, with a high fever, chills and a blood infection, that he was admitted to intensive care unit of a hospital in Eeklo, Belgium. The infection is under control and De Vlaeminck is finishing up a course of antibiotics to remove the last vestiges of the disease. He will have been in the hospital for more than a month when he is released.

De Vlaeminck won Paris-Roubaix four times and Tirreno-Adriatico six times.

roger De Vlaeminck

Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx racing in the 1973 Het Volk

Here is a Roger De Vlaeminck photo gallery.

Hernando Bohorquez re-ups with Team Astana

Here's the team's release:

Astana Pro Team confirms a new one-year agreement for the season of 2020 with the Colombian rider Hernando Bohorquez.

- First of all, I want to thank the team for this new opportunity. It means a lot for me after a hard year with all these crashes and health problems. I really like Astana Pro Team as I feel here like in a family. I am ready and motivated ahead of the upcoming season! With the help of the team and with support of my family I will give my all to represent the Astana colors in 2020 in the best possible way, - said Hernando Bohorquez.

Hernando Bohorquez (27 years old) had a very tough season due to two very bad crashes, in the beginning of the season (stage 5 of the Colombia 2.1) and in the second part of the year (GP de Fourmies). In both cases the rider was able to avoid too serious consequences, however, the first crash resulted in a back injury, while in the second crash Bohorquez got a nasty injury of his face.

Despite bad luck, Hernando Bohorquez showed himself as a strong team player and a helper for team leaders. Thus, he helped Miguel Angel Lopez to win the Colombia 2.1 and was next to Jakob Fuglsang at the successful Critérium du Dauphiné.

- Unfortunately, Hernando had a year full of bad luck. He started it with a bad crash and back injury which forced him to miss more than two months of racing and finished with another crash, which closed his season. But, in the same time he impressed us at the Tour of Colombia with the way he helped Miguel Angel Lopez and with his team spirit. Also, he did a big amount of work for Jakob Fuglsang at the Critérium du Dauphiné and for Alexey Lutsenko at the Deutschland Tour. So, we hope Hernando will recover in the best possible way both, physically and mentally and we would like to give him one more chance in the upcoming season. I believe, he can surprise us, - said Alexandr Vinokurov, general manager of Astana Pro Team.

Lone Meertens joins Lotto-Soudal for 2020

Here's the team's roster update:

Lone Meertens will be part of the Lotto Soudal Ladies team next season. The 21-year-old Belgian is a former triathlete who has switched to cycling. The past two years, Lone rode for the Keukens Redant club team. This season Lone, a student civil engineering, claimed among other two places on the top fifteen at the Czech stage race Gracia Orlová where she finished 20th on GC. Learn something more about this newcomer.

Lone Meertens: “There are several reasons why I decided to quit triathlon and to start cycling. During races I often had stomach aches and it was hard to combine triathlon with my studies. I didn’t reach the level I wanted anymore. My brother was cycling already and in 2017 I took part in a race to see how it would go. It was 40°C that day. In a triathlon I would have had problems with my stomach, but that wasn’t the case. Despite the heat, it went rather smoothly and I had fun. That’s how I started cycling.”

“I did sprint triathlons. That’s 750 metres of swimming, 20 kilometres of cycling and 5 kilometres of running. Cycling is in group and drafting is allowed. It’s the least decisive part of the sprint triathlon. And that was actually a pity. It’s not easy though to make the switch from triathlon. The distance for example is a huge difference compared to the sprint triathlon. I need to work on my stamina and power. I’ll do that in the off-season with Lieselot Decroix, who’s my trainer since this year. I also need to learn to drink and eat sufficiently in a race.”

“Another aspect that I need to work on is my knowledge of the courses. I love tough races. With the Belgian national team I already rode in the Czech Republic and there I discovered that I love riding uphill. I haven’t been able to ride the Ardennes Classics yet with my current team and that are races that I am looking forward to be riding in the future. I will definitely need to further develop myself as a rider and then my specialties will become clearer.”

Lone Meertens: “Lotto Soudal rides a really nice programme and that’s important to me. I am very happy with this transfer. I needed the past year to get experience, but now I am ready to set the step to a UCI team. I already know some of the riders, like Julie Van De Velde and Jesse Vandenbulcke. And the team is very professional. I will be satisfied at the end of next season if I have set another step forward and if I feel that I have been able to contribute something to the team.”

“I’m now in the final Bachelor year of my civil engineering studies. There are two Master years to come. I’ve taken up less study points because I want to grab the opportunity Lotto Soudal gives me with both hands. Now I have more time to train and rest. When I did triathlon I noticed that you won’t benefit from training if you don’t take enough rest. During the week I’m living in Leuven so that I can easily go cycling or go to the fitness in between classes.”

Growing importance of E-Bikes at Milan's EICMA 2019 two-wheel show

Bike Europe sent me this:

MILAN, Italy – As one of the best visited events for motorbikes, EICMA Milan is the worldwide leading fair for the world on two wheels, including bikes, motorcycles, mopeds, push scooters and urban mobility solutions. However, industry insiders expect that the growing popularity of e-bikes will also be reflected on the show floor which will open its doors next week.

EICMA 2019 will host no less than 1800 brands showcasing their latest innovations in motorcycles and e-bikes for 2020. The event will include test-driving options in a dedicated outdoor area. Although 60 percent of the exhibitors are from outside Italy, the upcoming edition of EICMA features an important focus on ‘Made in Italy’. According to the show organization this is, “A tribute to Italian quality, style, sustainability and innovation”.

You can read the entire story here.

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