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Sunday, September 18, 2022
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2021 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is. - Francis Bacon
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Current racing:
- Sept 18 - 25: World Road Championships
Upcoming racing:
- Sept 29: Coppa Agostoni
Latest completed racing:
- Sept 13 - 17: Tour de Luxembourg
- Sept 17: Primus Classic
- Sept 17: Memorial Marco Pantani (cancelled)
- Sept 16: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- Sept 15: Coppa Sabatini
- Sept 14: GP de Wallonie
- Sept 14: Giro della Toscana
We posted the report from GC winner Mattias Skjelmose's Team Trek-Segafredo with the results.
Here's the report from stage five winner Valentin Madouas' Team Groupama-FDJ:
And one more that makes it three. In just a two-week time, Valentin Madouas has scored more victories than in his first four professional years combined. Taking advantage of his incredible shape, the Frenchman conquered the fifth and final stage of the Tour Luxembourg on Saturday, in the country’s capital.
Valentin Madouas wins stage five.
Following a big effort in the last climb of the stage, the 26-year-old puncher still had enough energy left to outsprint a four-man group that also included Kevin Geniets (4th). It was not enough to also take the overall win, but he still climbed to third place while his Luxembourg teammate finished fifth. A superb week, from start to finish, and a seventeenth victory for Groupama-FDJ in 2022.
After a small loop of five days in the Grand Duchy, the riders were set to return to Luxembourg City on Saturday for the event’s conclusion. Groupama-FDJ knew this final particularly well as David Gaudu took victory in the same place in 2021. Still in the mix for the GC victory before this last stage, Frédéric Guesdon and Jussi Veikkanen’s men still took the start from Mersch with a conservative approach. “We didn’t really want to go in the breakaway,” explained the French sporting director. “We wanted to save our strength for the final. A four-rider move came out quite quickly, with one man that was two minutes away overall. We knew that the leader’s team was not going to leave them too much room. It wasn’t bad news for us as it could tire them a little, and that’s what we wanted in order to provoke a lively race.”
At the head of the race, Felix Gall (AG2R-Citroën), Sander Armée (Cofidis), Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-JTM) and Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) led the way but never enjoyed a significant gap. Entering the last fifty kilometres, their advantage was barely two minutes. Moreover, the peloton did not ease off in the back as they approached the final circuit and the last, hilly, quarter of the race. “Once the breakaway was gone, we rode together, we waited, and just before getting to the first lap of the circuit, we sent Lars up front”, said Frédéric. “Unfortunately, he found himself on his own and it was not ideal. We wanted to make the race hard entering the circuit, but nobody came along”.
Lars van den Berg therefore stayed about fifteen seconds in front of the peloton for a few kilometres before getting back alongside his teammates and setting a solid tempo. However, the selection did not prove very large on the small circuit around Luxembourg. “Eventually, the race broke down just in the end and it only came down to the final climb,” said Frédéric. “We might have been able to take advantage of our two different cards if the race would have been harder, but that was not the case”. “The guys were great, and we did a strong race as a team”, claimedValentin. “We wanted to make the final hard, but the circuit was not difficult enough and there especially was a headwind on the second climb which kind of blocked the race. We therefore preferred to wait and go for the stage win, hoping to make a gap on the last climb as well”. “We could just hope that the leader would crack”, added Frédéric. “In any case, it was important that Valentin and Kevin were in a good position at the bottom. We really had to be up there from the bottom of the climb and go all in. We knew that they would not get dropped on such a climb given their current shape”.
About sixty men approached the Pabeierbierg (700 m at 9%), and Valentin Madouas produced his attack after a few seconds. The Frenchman made a long acceleration, and only three men could follow: his teammate Kevin Geniets, Kevin Vauquelin and the yellow jersey Mattias Skjelmose. At the top, the quartet was able to make a gap to the rest of the competition, and the Breton kept the lead until the last corner. “I then left a small gap on the yellow jersey, 300 metres from the line, in order not to be directly in his wheel considering the headwind”, commented Valentin. “I came with a bit of speed, which allowed me to overtake him, and with the headwind, we then all stayed in our place”.
Full of confidence and strength, Valentin Madouas won this last stage in a sprint, after having won solo in the opening one. On the line, “it came down to half-a-bike length”, he added. “It’s a very close victory, but it’s always nice to win, especially in a reduced sprint”. “The finish line was also slightly uphill”, explained Frédéric. “Considering their speed on the climb, the strongest was set to win. Kevin was in a great position, he thought he could move up with the headwind, but his legs told him no. On the other hand, Valentin’s legs did not weaken. It comes down to detail, but I really think the strongest won today”. In the same place where his friend David Gaudu won in 2021, Valentin Madouas took his third win of the season and moved up to third place overall. “All the riders in the team did a great job in their own way, we went all in with Kevin, and it worked out”, he said. “That’s awesome. I was missing a victory, so to take three in a row is great!”
Fourth on today’s stage, the “local” Kevin Geniets also secured his fifth position in the general standings. “We can’t complain with two victories as well as a podium and a fifth place on GC”, added Frédéric. “We would have liked to win the overall too, because we are greedy, but it’s still a good week. Valentin and Kevin have surely gained confidence prior to the World Championships, but so have the others. Lars, who is coming back from a difficult year, finished this Tour of Luxembourg very well. The young Lorenzo also had a very good Tour, Clément did a good job, just like Tobias, even if he struggled a bit more today. This group will be motivated for the rest of the season”.
Like Kevin Geniets, Valentin Madouas will now fly to Australia. “I’ve got good momentum,” he concluded. “We will see what the tactics will be, what my role will be, but we will give everything to get a third consecutive jersey for the French team. Personally, I feel really good, and I hope to be able to be there in the final of the race”.
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Here's the Luxembourg Tour report from Matteo Trentin's UAE Team Emirates:
Matteo Trentin finished the Tour of Luxembourg off with a solid 5th place on the undulating run-in of stage 5 from Mersch to Luxembourg City (178km).
Stage spoils went to Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) who went clear in a group of four at 1.5km with Trentin leading in a select group behind for 5th.
The veteran showed good form all week with an impressive sprint victory on stage 2 and also comes home with the blue points jersey for his consistent throughout the week, with UAE Team Emirates winning the overall team classification.
Matteo Trentin won stage two.
Danish rider Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Trek-Segafredo) took the overall title with Trentin in 6th place.
Trentin: “It was a good week for us in the end. The team worked really well and really controlled the race when we needed it, like on stage 2 when we got the win. I was looking to snatch another win but it wasn’t to be . The condition is there and I’m feeling good heading into the World Championships.”
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Primus Classic-Impanis-Van Petegem reports
We posted the report from winner Jordi Meeus' Team Bora-hansgrohe with the results.
Here's the report from Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl:
Rain and climbs, eighteen of them, were the main ingredients of the Primus Classic – which our team won last year with Florian Sénéchal – slowly, but surely thinning out the peloton, who was controlled by those holding hope the race would come down to a bunch sprint.
Other riders had different plans, and among those who tried their luck were Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s Stan Van Tricht and Iland Van Wilder. Our neo-pro forged clear, drawing a couple of other men, in pursuit of the original breakaway, but was caught with 40 kilometers to go, while Ilan – who only last week concluded a fantastic La Vuelta, where he helped Remco Evenepoel capture the overall title – was part of a brave move that tried to hold off the peloton inside the last 20 kilometers.
Jordi Meeus wins a close one.
Once the catch was made, our team regrouped at the front and pulled for Stan, but a crash outside the flamme rouge arch blocked the Belgian and split the field, leaving only a dozen riders to fight for victory, which was nailed on the line by Jordi Meeus (Bora-hansgrohe). Around one minute later, fortunately without any injuries, Van Tricht came home as the team’s best placed rider.
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The team posted this announcement:
Bahrain Victorious is pleased to announce two development teams from 2023. Cycling Team Friuli (“CTF”) and Cannibal U19 International Development Team will officially partner with Bahrain Victorious and its technical partners to develop and utilise the team’s expertise and equipment, giving young talented riders a clear pathway to the WorldTour.
Born in Udine in 2005, Cycling Team Friuli was built to support youth through the sport of cycling. Their localised approach in the early years paved the way for CTF to become a formidable team for developing European talent in the cycling world. Since 2019, CTF has been a UCI Continental Team and, in 2020, was crowned the best Continental team in Italy. Bahrain Victorious have already signed the 20-year-old Croatian National ITT Champion Fran Miholjević, who took an impressive stage win at the Giro di Sicilia this year. This is the second rider Bahrain Victorious has signed from CTF as Jonathan Milan moved up to the World Tour in 2021, which is a testament to CTF’s work in developing their young talent.
Cannibal U19 International Team started with a group of 15 eight-year-old boys riding over ten years, with six of them stepping up to pro continental next season. The Belgian-based club, named after cycling hero Eddy Merckx, has been operating for ten years, working with the best young riders worldwide. The team have several victories to their name, most notably winning the Aubel-Thister-Stavelot GC this season. The collaboration with Bahrain Victorious is the next step to give these youngsters the right platform for their future prospects in achieving their dream of racing in the WorldTour.
Bahrain Victorious has been working on youth development in cycling with the formation of the Bahrain Cycling Academy in 2020, which develops local riders in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The addition of CTF and Cannibal will help create a clear path for young talented cyclists worldwide looking to fulfil their potential and compete in the WorldTour.
Managing Director Milan Erzen: “We are creating an eco-system that helps inspire and develop the best young riders from an earlier age to achieve their ambitions. CTF and Cannibal Team have already established excellent infrastructures over time, which is evident by their talented riders and results.
Our support will help CTF and Cannibal take it to the next level and be competitive in a growing competitive space with the help of our technical partners such as Merida Bikes, Alé and Rudy Project. We hope our team’s support will help them prepare for the WorldTour.”
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