Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. - William James
Current racing:
- Oct 8: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- Oct 8: Tre Valli Varesine
Upcoming racing:
- Oct 9: Milano-Torino
- Oct 10: Paris-Bourges
- Oct 10: Gran Piemonte
- Oct 12: Il Lombardia
Latest completed racing:
- Oct 6: GP Bruno Beghelli
- Oct 5: Tour de l'Eurométropole
- Oct 5: Giro d'Emilia
- Oct 3: Sparkassen Münsterland Giro
- Sept 22 - 29: UCI World Road Championships, Yorkshire
- Sept 22: Trofeo Matteotti
- Sept 21: Primus Classic Impanis-Van Petegem
- Sept 21: Memorial Marco Pantani
- Sept 20: Championship of Flanders
- Sept 19: Coppa Sabatini
UAE Team Emirates to ride Tre Valli Varesine, Milano-Torino and Gran Piemonte
The team sent me this:
UAE Team Emirates will face three consecutive days of racing in Italy with Tre Valli Varesine (8 October), Milano-Torino (9 October) and Gran Piemonte (Thursday 10).
In all three events, the UAE team will be led by Sports Director Marco Marzano (Ita), who will guide the following riders:
Dan Martin will ride Tre Valli Varesine & Gran Piemonte. Sirotti photo
Tre Valli Varesine (1.HC, 197 km)
– Valerio Conti (Ita)
– Daniel Martin (Irl)
– Manuele Mori (Ita)
– Simone Petilli (Ita)
– Jan Polanc (Slo)
– Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr)
– Diego Ulissi (Ita)
Milano-Torino (1.HC, 179 km)
– Valerio Conti (Ita)
– Rui Costa (Por)
– Nicolas Dalla Valle (Ita)
– Ivo Oliveira (Por)
– Simone Petilli (Ita)
– Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr)
– Rory Sutherland (Aus)
Gran Piemonte (1.HC, 185 km)
– Nicolas Dalla Valle (Ita)
– Daniel Martin (Irl)
– Manuele Mori (Ita)
– Jan Polanc (Slo)
– Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr)
– Rory Sutherland (Aus)
– Oliviero Troia (Ita)
Two riders who have been on a good run of form lately are Diego Ulissi and Aleksandr Riabushenko.
Ulissi commented ahead of Tre Valli Varesine: "Tre Valli Varesine is a race that I like and one that I always enjoy lining-up for. In 2017 I was 4th and in 2016 I was second, so I hope my current form allows me to to get another good result here."
Riabushenko: “In the second half of the season I was able to perform well and took advantage of my very good condition. I think I have held on to my form and legs are still good so I aim to be up in the mix and be one of our main guys, but knowing we have other strong options within the team for a result always helps too."
CCC Team announces Milano-Torino and Il Lombardia rider roster
CCC Team sent me this announcement:
07 October 2019: CCC Team has announced its rider roster for Milano - Torino (9 October) and Il Lombardia (12 October), the final Monument of the year, with the Polish team heading to the start line of both Italian one-day races with the same group of riders.
Sports Directors Gabriele Missaglia and Fabio Baldato explained that CCC Team will be looking to race aggressively at the team's final outings in Europe this season.
"Overall, we have a good group of riders for both Italian races, starting with Milano - Torino on Wednesday. While the first part of this race is almost totally flat, the finale is very hard and although the climb to the Basilica di Superga is not long, it is steep and typically, it's the point where the race really begins. I think we have a few riders who we can look to do something with here, including Víctor de la Parte, who has come back into some strong form at CRO Tour. Depending on how Amaro Antunes is after his crash in Croatia, he could also be a protected rider plus, I think Simon Geschke will be in good shape after a tough World Championships. We will also look to cover the early moves and represent CCC Team in any early breakaways. It's the end of the season so while, everyone is tired, we must try to race aggressively and do the best we can for a good result," Missaglia said.
"We are always motivated to race well at the Monuments and Il Lombardia is no exception. With the way Víctor de la Parte raced in Croatia, he will definitely be one of our protected riders. Simon Geschke is also coming to the race in good shape and we will see how Amaro Antunes is after his crash in Croatia. The rest of the team are all coming out of CRO Race and we saw Serge Pauwels, Joey Rosskopf, Laurens ten Dam, and Riccardo Zoidl with good legs and ready to work hard for the team. Of course, we are not lining up with a top favorite but, we have multiple cards to play which will give us the freedom to race aggressively and try to be in the different moves. I would like to see us have a rider in the top ten and finish the season well," Baldato added.
De la Parte is motivated for the challenging races ahead after a good performance at CRO Tour. "I am really happy with my shape right now and it was great to go to Croatia and race well after my Vuelta a España crash. Nobody but me knew the extent of the hard work I did to recover because I really wanted to finish the season on the bike and this will be a fantastic way to end the year. Milano - Torino and Il Lombardia are two of the most beautiful races of the year and you can definitely enjoy them when you have the legs so, the objective is to keep the good line the team has taken again," de la Parte explained.
Laurens ten Dam (shown at the 2018 Giro d'Italia), will be finishing up his career at the end of this season. Sirotti photo
Laurens ten Dam will be lining up for his final races as a professional cyclist in Italy. "I always love to race in Italy and I'm really happy to finish my career with Milano - Torino, the oldest of the Italian classic races, and Il Lombardia. It will be really nice and I think we have a good team for both races. Most of us are heading to Italy from Croatia and, personally, I felt good at CRO Tour. We raced really well together and I think the last six days of hard racing was the perfect preparation for the final races of the season. I have only finished Lombardia once before but, I think I am in the right shape to go for another finish and to start celebrating my retirement. I'm looking forward to it and I hope to finish my career on a high note with the team," ten Dam said.
Milano - Torino (9 October) & Il Lombardia (12 October)
Rider Roster: Amaro Antunes (POR), Víctor de la Parte (ESP), Simon Geschke (GER), Serge Pauwels (BEL), Joey Rosskopf (USA), Laurens ten Dam (NED), Riccardo Zoidl (AUT)
Sports Directors: Fabio Baldato (ITA), Gabriele Missaglia (ITA)
Team Sunweb previews upcoming races
The team sent me this:
Milano-Torino, OCT 9
Arthur van Dongen - Team Sunweb coach:
"It's the 100th edition of Milano-Torino so this will be a special race. Normally the race is decided on the local lap and the ascent up the tricky climb of Superga and we expect it to be decided in a similar way again. With Wilco and Marc we have two riders that we aim to play a role in the difficult finale with, and the rest of the guys will look to set them up for that."
Line-up:
Jan Bakelants (BEL)
Johannes Fröhlinger (GER)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Marc Hirschi (SWI)
Wilco Kelderman (NED)
Robert Power (AUS)
Martin Salmon (GER)
Wilco Kelderman will be at Milano-Torino. Sirotti photo
Paris-Bourges, OCT 10
Jelle de Jong - Team Sunweb coach:
"Paris-Bourges takes place on a mixed course with some hills spread throughout the day before a flatter finale. We want to be active at the front of the bunch and ride an aggressive race, making sure that we're in any of the dangerous attacks which go on the hills. A reduced bunch sprint finish is the most likely outcome and Nils will be our card to play in the finale. The team is very motivated to show its strength in the penultimate race of the season."
Line-up:
Nils Eekhoff (NED)
Leon Heinschke (GER)
Niklas Märkl (GER)
Jarno Mobach (NED)
Tim Naberman (NED)
Ludvig Anton Wacker (DEN)
Il Lombardia: OCT 12
Arthur van Dongen - Team Sunweb coach:
"It's the last Monument of the year and the last race of the season for most of the guys so everyone is really motivated to end with a good performance. Wilco is in good shape after the Vuelta and we aim to be active in the finale with him, once the race reaches the tougher climbs towards the end of the day. Last year we also had Michael in the break so if there are any large groups that go then we want to be present in them too. The team are motivated to deliver a good team performance and hopefully achieve a nice result to go with it.
Line-up:
Jan Bakelants (BEL)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Jai Hindley (AUS)
Marc Hirschi (SWI)
Wilco Kelderman (NED)
Robert Power (AUS)
Michael Storer (AUS)
Paris-Tours Elite: OCT 13
Michiel Elijzen - Team Sunweb coach:
"We arrive here with good memories from last year's thrilling edition of the race which Søren won. Once again, the riders will be faced with lots of gravel sections and the tricky climb near the end, which will make for a spectacular finale. Søren will be our leader for a good result, but we also have other options to play with Cees and the rest of the guys arriving in good shape."
Line-up:
Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Cees Bol (NED)
Roy Curvers (NED)
Nils Eekhoff (NED)
Casper Pedersen (DEN)
Max Walscheid (GER)
Paris-Tours Espoirs: OCT 13
Jelle de Jong - Team Sunweb coach:
"Paris-Tours is a very open race where a lot can happen and it features several tricky parts. The guys will have to race over gravel, some hills and there are even some more exposed sections of road where the wind can make a difference. We have good memories with the team at this race in the past and everyone is eager to show themselves again. We aim to arrive into the finale of the race with numbers so that we can race offensively and deliver a good result."
Line-up:
Leon Heinschke (GER)
Niklas Märkl (GER)
Jarno Mobach (NED)
Tim Naberman (NED)
Ludvig Anton Wacker (DEN)
Dorel (Schwinn, Cannondale, etc ) cancels dividend, blames tariff
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News sent me this update:
MONTRÉAL (BRAIN) — Dorel Industries Inc., parent of Schwinn, Cannondale and other brands, has suspended its dividend and says its third quarter results will be harmed by increased U.S. tariffs on Chinese bikes, furniture and other goods Dorel sells.
Dorel will announce full third quarter results on Nov. 8.
The company said the tariff increase to 25% in May "is having a much greater impact on the business than the original implementation of 10% introduced a year ago."
On the news Tuesday, Dorel's stock fell 23% to its lowest price since 1996, $7 Canadian ($5.28 US).
"The impact of the (tariff) increase on Dorel businesses was still unclear at the end of the second quarter. We raised prices midway through the third quarter and this has had several negative consequences," said Dorel's president and CEO, Martin Schwartz.
"Not all competitors nor retailers raised prices at the same time or rate. Retailers have also changed their buying routines. New price points have caused some consumers to opt for different items creating a considerable product mix imbalance. As well, elevated warehousing costs are still being incurred as the shift in demand has delayed our inventory balancing program. The net result of these challenges is that Dorel Home's expected gross margin improvement from first half levels will be delayed to the beginning of 2020."
The company said another factor affecting the third quarter is that some of Dorel's large U.S. customers have delayed Christmas 2019 deliveries to the beginning of the fourth quarter.
You can read the entire story here.
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