Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, November 6, 2021
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2021 Tour de France | 2021 Giro d'Italia
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. - William James
Current racing:
Upcoming racing:
Latest completed racing:
- Nov 1: Koppenberg Cyclocross
- Oct 31: Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Overijse Cross
- Oct 24: Ronde van Drenthe
- Oct 23: Ruddervoorde Cyclocross
- Oct 17: Chrono des Nations
- Oct 17: Veneto Classic
- Oct 16: Grand Prix du Morbihan
- Oct 13: Giro del Veneto
- Oct 11: Coppa Agostoni
- Oct 10: Paris-Tours
- Oct 9: Il Lombardia
Les Woodland's book Cycling's World Championships: The Inside Story is available as an audiobook here.
American Time Trial Champion Lawson Craddock signs with Team BikeExchange for 2022 & 2023
Here’s the team’s announcement:
American Time Trial Champion Lawson Craddock has put pen to paper, inking a two-year deal with Team BikeExchange, boosting the squad’s depth of talent across their Grand Tour and Classics racing campaigns.
Lawson Craddock signing into 2019 Vuelta a España stage 14. Sirotti photo
Still only 29-yeara old, the rider from Texas has seven Grand Tours starts under his belt since making his debut in the WorldTour back in 2014. Craddock announced his aptitude in his debut professional season with an impressive third place overall at the Tour of California, before establishing himself as a versatile all-rounder, capable of competing on various terrains.
In recent years the American has proven to be a valuable teammate in both the hilly one-day Classic races and longer stage races, while his 2021 national time trial victory once again demonstrated his raw power.
Brent Copeland, General Manager on Craddock:
“Lawson will be a rider that can bring a lot to Team BikeExchange throughout the lengthy and varied season. We hope that we can assist him as much as possible, allow him to play his cards in races, as we really believe he has the talent to achieve some great results.
"Together we can help improve each other; he has lots of experience having raced with multiple WorldTour teams and in return, we can provide him with the platform to perform with the help of our experienced support staff. We are looking forward to having him onboard and seeing what he can bring in 2022.”
Matt White, Head Sport Director on Craddock:
“We’re really excited to have Lawson joining the team, he brings a wealth of WorldTour experience with him, and we believe his best years are still very much in front of him.
"He is a world class time trial specialist and a guy who is renowned for getting stuck in and rolling his sleeves up for his teammates. These are all qualities we were looking for to bolster next year’s roster.”
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Lawson Craddock:
“Everything came together quite late for the 2022 season, and I am very excited to be joining Team BikeExchange. The team has quite a history, it has done incredibly well and the team pedigree on the bike speaks for itself. The culture around the team is also very important for me, especially in this sport, and with their family approach I am sure we can reach top results together. It will be a big change for me after six-years with my former team, but I am very excited to be getting to know my new teammates and the new environment.
"Over the last couple of years, I felt that I was in a comfortable role and this new challenge will stimulate me even more. I will have new challenges, roles, and different calendar of races, so it should be refreshing for me and for my motivation. It’s going to be nice to be the American in the team, which from my previous experience fits quite well with the Australian mentality. I know some of the guys already but of course I am looking forward to the first camp and to get everything started in the best way possible.”
Lawson Craddock:
Date of birth: 20th February 1992 (29)
Nationality: USA
Joins Team BikeExchange: 2022
New Contract: 2022 & 2023
Top Results:
1st 2021 American Time Trial Championships
1st 2020 Tour Colombia 2.1 – Stage 1 TTT
3rd 2019 La Vuelta a España – Stage 11
2nd 2019 Tour of Utah – Stage 1
3rd 2014 Amgen Tour of California GC
6th 2019 World Championships TT
9th 2018 Amstel Gold Race
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EF Education First joins TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank as co-title sponsor in 2022
Team EF Education First-Nippo sent me this:
In 2004, Linda Jackson started working with a local women’s cycling team in Palo Alto, California. In 2006, Jackson asked a sponsor for $100,000 to get her new team to a few national races. The partner had $5,000. Her response?
“I’ll take it.”
And brick by brick over the last 17 years, Jackson, a former investment banker turned Canadian professional racer, built a team to compete on a national level and provide meaningful support to the next generation of professional women cyclists.
Over a period spanning almost two decades, the TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank team and riders have won WorldTour races, national championships and domestic races. They have produced national champions as well as Olympians and World Championship contenders. Beyond road racing, their athletes have raced gravel, cyclocross and track.
Now, the team that started at local races in 2004 with the goal of getting to a few national events will step up to the WorldTour in 2022, and EF Education First will join as a co-title partner. The team’s original mission — to help women reach their goals in a healthy and supportive environment — remains central. As a starting point, all women racing for the team full-time will be paid the men’s WorldTour minimum salary.
The team is the longest-running women’s team in North America and one of the most tenured in the sport, thanks to the long-standing support of TIBCO and Silicon Valley Bank. EF Education First is proud to be part of the team as it charts a new course into the future of women’s cycling.
“We’re excited to be part of this team and to help these amazing riders reach their goals. The salary component is incredibly important to all of us, because it allows the riders to pursue the sport full-time,” said Maria Norrman, global chief of staff at EF Education First. “We can’t wait to help add the next chapter in this team's great history.”
Jackson, who has led the team every step of the way, sees a huge opportunity, for both her team and the sport as a whole.
“I'm thrilled to be a part of the professionalization of women’s cycling. The opportunity these women have now is amazing. I've been in the sport for 30 years; I raced in the ‘90s in horrendous conditions and with very little support. It’s been a long road, but to see money finally coming into the sport so that women can make a living while racing their bikes is a very gratifying feeling,” Jackson said.
Her goal is to steadily improve the team without losing focus on its developmental roots.
“The sporting goal of this team is to be a top five WorldTour team in a few years. We don't need to be the number one team in the world. That's not my objective. My objective is to help these women reach their potential,” she said. “To become Olympians, world champions, World Championship participants, whatever their goals are. EF’s partnership has enabled us to bring on top-tier staff to provide our riders with the infrastructure and support they need to achieve these goals in a supportive environment.”
Several of the EF Education-NIPPO partners will support the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB team as well, including Cannondale, Rapha, WHOOP, and POC.
Cannondale has worked with TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank team since 2019, partnering with the team on gravel and road racing equipment.
“Collaborating with EF and other key team partners with the TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank team as they grow to WorldTour is an ideal evolution of our continued support and our commitment to women’s cycling,” said Jonathan Geran, director of sports marketing for Cannondale.
The team is composed of 13 riders from six different countries and will welcome seven new riders in 2022, two of which return to the team for the second time. The team will announce its full roster in the coming weeks.
“I’m really excited about the potential that our roster has. As we step up to WorldTour status, our strategy is to focus on finding emerging talent that we can mold into the next generation of top international riders,” Jackson said. “We have a diverse mix of multi-talented riders including climbers, all-arounders and stage winners and will build our calendar accordingly. In addition to the WorldTour we will also continue our alternative calendar emphasis, which is a great fit with EF.”
2022 promises to be an exciting season on the women’s circuit, as the Tour de France offers another marquee event, and the recent Paris-Roubaix Femmes set the stage for years to come. The EF Education-TIBCO-SVB team will also continue its pioneering spirit of racing “alternative” events across the world. Beyond the race results, the team’s dream is to inspire more women to ride.
“Women have demonstrated for years now how exciting their sport can be and what they are capable of. I truly believe that the media exposure around the new Paris-Roubaix for women and the emergence of the Tour de France Femmes next season are helping to draw more women to the sport,” Jackson said. “A friend of mine just told me yesterday how her local cycling club has seen an influx of women this past year. We're at an inflection point where young women are seeing cycling for the first time and thinking, ‘This is a sport that I can do.’ That’s exactly what women’s cycling needs, growth in the base of the pyramid. Now it’s up to us to keep pushing.”
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