Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, December 18, 2020
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2020 Tour de France | 2020 Giro d'Italia
The test of good manners is to be able to put up pleasantly with bad ones. - Wendell Willkie
Upcoming racing:
- Jan 19 - 24, 2021: Santos Festival of Cycling
- Jan 24 - 31, 2021: Vuelta a San Juan
- Jan 28 - 31, 2021: Challenge Illes Belears
Latest completed racing:
- Dec 13: Gavere Cyclocross
- Dec 12: Scheldecross
- Nov 14: GP Leuven Cyclocross
- Nov 7 - 8: European Cyclocross Championships
- Oct 31: Cyclocross Koppenberg
- Oct 24: Cyclocross Ruddervoorde
- Oct 20 - Nov 8: Vuelta a España
- October 3 - 25: Giro d'Italia
Israel Start-Up Nation & Chris Froome kick off 2021 season in Argentina
Here’s the team’s news release:
Team Israel Start-Up Nation will kick off its 2021 season in Argentina on Jan 24th, racing in the Vuelta a San Juan over eight stages with a lineup headed by Chris Froome.
It will be the first time that Froome will race in the Israeli team’s blue and white, raising the curtain on the widely anticipated new journey for the four-time Tour de France winner. The announcement that Froome would join ISN, a team that has risen to the WorldTour level in just five years, has raised expectations and there is much anticipation that he will lead the team to new heights with the help of additional world-renowned riders.
Chris Froome will be wearing different colors in Argentina in January. Sirotti photo
Chris Froome who has been training in California in recent weeks has stated: “This race will mark the beginning of a much-anticipated new chapter of my career. I look forward to racing with my new teammates and getting the ball rolling on the adventure that lies ahead”.
The team’s new sportive manager, Rik Verbrugghe, has made it clear that the opening race will be used merely as an opportunity for Froome to build up to racing shape. “He is not going to Argentina to win the race,” said the Belgian. “We see it as a perfect opportunity for Chris to start the building process towards the peak of the season down the road.”
Verbrugghe expressed confidence that the team will be hunting “for stage wins in San Juan with the solid lineup we are sending.” And indeed, racing alongside Froome will be the French sprinter Rudy Barbier, who won the opening stage in San Juan’s 2020 edition. Israeli Guy Niv, who made history as the first rider from his country to finish a Tour de France just three months ago, will be the other climber in the squad, facing the famous mountaintop finish on the Alto Colorado. Belgian Tom Van Asbroeck, Canadian Alex Cataford, and newcomer Patrick Bevin from New Zealand will round out the delegation to Argentina.
Guy Niv: “The news that I will be starting the season alongside Chris Froome has given me an unbelievable extra motivation boost . I can’t wait to get to know him and learn how can I help him as our leader”.
ISN’s general manager Kjell Carlström adds that starting in San Juan is a strategic move, saying that “In what is going to be an important season for the team and for Chris, the nice atmosphere and weather in the Vuelta a San Juan makes it a great place to start out the season. Chris will get a feel for his new teammates in a short camp before the start and will be able to build on the relationships throughout the race. Racing together as a team is always important and this race setting provides a great platform for working on that.”
Team co-owner Sylvan Adams: “I’m excited that the Israel Start-Up Nation team will kick off the 2021 season in Argentina once again, as we have raced the Tour of San Juan 3 times. Chris Froome has been training hard, and this will be his first opportunity to represent ISN as he races in our blue and white colors and returns to form.”
Vuelta a San Juan Governor Sergio Unac welcomed Israel Start-Up Nation and Chris Froome during a press conference in San Juan tonight where he presented the 39th edition of one of the biggest races in the American Continent. The cancellation of the Australian races due to the Corona crisis has made San Juan the first major race of the season. Four WorldTour teams will participate, including ISN, Deceuninck – Quick Step, Bora-Hansgrohe, and Cofidis. Four Pro Conti teams and eight national teams will complete the race’s lineup.
2021 Team Ag2r-Citroën team jersey unveiled
Here’s the team’s announcement
Vincent Lavenu, Managing Director, as well as his entire team, Ag2r La Mondiale and Citroën, are proud to unveil the new jersey for the Ag2r Citroën Team. Starting on January 1, 2021, Ag2r La Mondiale, longtime title partner, and Vincent Lavenu will welcome Citroën as title co-sponsor. The two organizations are jointly committed until 2025. This jersey embodies an unprecedented collaboration and opens the first pages of a new chapter in the history of the team.
Clément Champoussin models the new Ag2r kit.
Designing the Ag2r Citroën Team jersey represented a challenge for the cycling team and its two main partners. It took five months of graphic collaboration to create an identity which is not defined by a mix of multiple brands but that made the striking choice of a white jersey paired with brown bib shorts. The strong graphics will make it stand out as unique in the peloton. It is an ideal way to illustrate the shared sense of boldness and big ambitions that unite and ally the sponsoring partners.
“A jersey unites our entire team, from the riders to members of staff and the management. It is also a visual rallying point for our fans. This Ag2r Citroën Team jersey marks the start of a new chapter in our history. It is the result of a creative collaboration between Ag2r La Mondiale and Citroën, based on common values. I am very proud of the result. Our graphic identity evolves but our core identity does not change. We can’t wait to see our riders start racing wearing their new Ag2r Citroën Team kits. - VINCENT LAVENU, General Manager Pro Cycling Team.
“We are going to start a new adventure and this jersey is the best illustration of that! Very rarely have I had the opportunity to ride in a predominantly white jersey. I was happy to see this was the end result of the design process. It has a pleasing aesthetic, and it is atypical. I arrived at Chambéry Cyclisme Formation in 2017 before turning professional in April 2020. It was a very special year for me. I can’t wait to wear the Ag2r Citroën Team jersey in races and to contribute to this new chapter for the team.” - CLEMENT CHAMPOUSSIN
“We are proud of Citroën becoming a partner of the France Cyclisme team led by Vincent Lavenu alongside Ag2r La Mondiale. This team shares our values of audacity, performance, exemplarity and proximity to the public and all cycling enthusiasts. The revelation of the new identity of the Ag2r Citroën Team and its jersey is a founding act in our collaboration. Its graphic design and bold typographic choices perfectly illustrate our ambition in this partnership that we imagine to be promising on the roads of major international events.” - LAURENT BARRIA, Director Marketing and Communications Citroën
“AG2R Prévoyance and then Ag2r La Mondiale have been working alongside Vincent Lavenu and his team for 23 years.This long-term support has enabled him to progress and to grow. We welcome Citroën to allow the team to take a new step in its development and to help it perform well in the biggest races of the WorldTour. The evolution of the jersey, with its bold graphics, is a strong symbol of this. It is how we visually welcome Citroën to the heart of our Ag2r La Mondiale brand.” - ANDRE RENAUDIN, Directeur général d’Ag2r La Mondiale
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