We begin this Monday’s EUROTRASH with: Stephen Roche believes Tadej Pogačar can do the double and Worlds as a former professional accuses him of doping – TOP STORY.
Racing news from the Critérium du Dauphiné, women’s Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia, UNBOUND Gravel, Brussels Cycling Classic and the Heistse Pijl – All the news, reports, results, rider quotes and video.
Rider News: Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard on altitude training camp in Tignes, UAE Team Emirates sees Jonas Vingegaard as the favourite for the Tour de France, David Gaudu has big ambitions for the Tour de France, Patrick Lefevere is disappointed with leaked transfer of Valentin Paret-Peintre and Jay Vine can train outside after eight weeks, but only uphill,
Team news: Dstny to stop sponsorship, Lotto team looking for two new sponsors, future of Roland woman’s cycling team is safe until 2029 and Remco’s S-Works Tarmac SL8: Liquid Metal Edition,
Race news: Tour de Suisse honours the late Gino Mäder with mountain prize and commemorative stage and Vuelta a España is in talks with the Piedmont region about an Italian start in 2025.
Monday EUROTRASH coffee time.
TOP STORY: Stephen Roche: “Pogačar must try to get as much time as possible in the first week of the Tour”
Stephen Roche was the last rider to win the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and the World championships in the same season in 1987. Cyclism’Actu spoke to Roche and asked him for his views on the plans of Tadej Pogačar, who could also go for the same three wins this year.
“Pogačar is very good,” said Roche about the winner of the 2024 Giro. “It’s not his fault that he’s standing out so much at the moment. There just wasn’t enough opposition for him in the Giro. What speaks in his favour is that he did not have to tap into his reserves for the Tour de France. Even though he has had some great performances. He came out of the Giro with a victory and in good spirits. All indicators are green for a repeat in the Tour.”
Why has it been so long since anyone completed the trilogy? “Not because there were no riders to do it, but because the conditions were not good. Miguel Indurain, Lance Armstrong, Marco Pantani or Chris Froome could have done it. If you finish the World championships on a flat course, you do have a handicap. But Pogačar is one of the best riders of all time. He climbs well, he descends like the best, he can race fast and sprint. He can do it all. And fortunately he dares to combine the two tours. Many riders are afraid of that. Not only physically, but also because the sponsors are desperate to win the Tour de France.”
Roche believes in the Slovenian’s chances. “I don’t think he will be too tired at the start of the Tour. His competitors, such as Jonas Vingegaard, lack competitive rhythm. But a lot can happen. We won’t know more until the first time trial or the first mountain stage. If I were Pogačar, I would try to open as big a gap as possible in the first week, because the others will probably be stronger in the last week.”
Former Professional Accuses ‘Alien’ Tadej Pogačar of Doping
Tadej Pogačar won six stages and the final overall of the 2024 Giro d’Italia. Former professional and ex-teammate of Laurent Fignon, Philippe Saudé, sees only one explanation for Pogačar’s performance. “He is not tired, he goes upstairs laughing,” said the Frenchman.
In conversation with RMC, the former rider accused the UAE Team Emirates leader of doping. The performance in the Giro was a clear for him. “I saw them in the passes I also climbed. It’s amazing what Pogačar did. He’s not tired, he goes upstairs laughing. Soon we will have to put bales of straw on the climbs.”
Saudé doesn’t hold back about possible doping use. “Doping has been around since the beginning of time, but these are not the same products they use now and what will happen in the coming years is scary.” Although, the Frenchman doesn’t provide hard evidence for his accusations.
Former coach with the Festina team, Antoine Vayer also reacted to the results of the Giro winner. “It’s inhumane,” said the Frenchman. “The other best riders in the world have 10-15% less watts and are no longer trying to keep up. If we are not complicit or intellectually dishonest and if we are clear, we will understand the extent of the underlying deception that we know all too well in this sport.”
Roche believes in Pogačar, Saudé and Vayer don’t:
Critérium du Dauphiné 2024
Out of action since the classics, Denmark’s Mads Pedersen staged the perfect return to out-sprint the rest of the peloton and win the 172.5km First Stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné for his 8th victory of the season. The former World champion, perfectly led-out by his Lidl-Trek teammates outwitted and overpowered Sam Bennett (Decathlon-AG2R) and Hugo Page (Intermarché-Wanty) on the line. It was the first stage win on the Dauphiné for Pedersen, who will wear the yellow and blue jersey in Monday’s second stage to Col de la Loge. Briton’s Mark Donovan broke clear from the start to tackle the first climbs of the race in the lead and clinch the first KOM jersey in this edition.
The start was given to 154 riders on Sunday morning. Mark Donovan (Q36.5) was the first escapee of this Dauphiné as he attacked after 4km. The peloton let him go, except Mathis Le Berre (Arkea), who chased behind him and finally caught the Briton after 32km. Donovan, who led the pack by a maximum of 4:55, took the 5 KOM points on offer in the three climbs of the day, with Le Berre collecting two. As a result, Donovan became the first holder of the polka-dot mountains jersey.
As the leading pair headed for the only intermediate sprint of the day in Chantelle (77km), Le Berre won ahead of Donovan, the bunch, led by Lidl-Trek and Decathlon-AG2R riders, had pulled them back to within 3 minutes of the break. A crash involving Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek) and Kobe Goosens (Intermarché-Wanty) at kilometre 87, and Alexander Edmondson (DSM) was the first rider to abandon the 2024 Dauphiné. The lead gradually came down as Sam Bennett suffered a puncture with 45km to go and when the peloton crossed the finish line for the second time, the gap was down to 1:20.
The leading duo were reined in with 16km to go as the peloton started gearing up for the bunch sprint. A crash 20 km from the line involved Steven Kruijswijk, Luca Vergallito, Kenny Elissonde and James Whelan (Q36.5), who was forced out of the race. With 12km remaining, Nils Politt (UAE) and Marco Haller (BORA-hansgrohe) attacked on a small hill but were reined in 2 kilometres later by the sprinter’s teams, who took turns at the front of the pack. But in the final kilometre, Lidl-Trek seized control and put Mads Pedersen in a perfect position. Sam Bennett took the Dane’s wheel but couldn’t overtake him and prevent him from clinching his 7th win in France this season.
Stage winner, points leader and overall leader, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek): “I said many times that I like to race in France. From the small races to the big, it’s always well organised and nice races so it’s nice to keep winning. Carlos (Verona) did a very good pulling, Alex (Kirsch) was controlling to perfection, Toms (Skujins) and Ryan (Gibbons) had the power to accelerate. I was led out to perfection I should say. Every win brings more confidence and I’m riding my bike to win races so that’s nice. Maybe I’ll try to win another stage during the race but I don’t think tomorrow. It’s too hard in the finale. Being in the lead, nobody will let me go in the break. Tomorrow we will control by respect for the jersey but we have one or two guys for the GC to protect and it’s going to be my job until stage 5.”
2nd on the stage and overall, Sam Bennett (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale): “Really beaten by a stronger man, he really raced perfectly, the team really put it together today, everything we put in place in the briefing this morning, they applied. The guys did a fantastic job. They did a great job controlling the break all day. They have a lot of experience, a lot of power, the moment was great. Right at the end I didn’t have good legs and unfortunately I let the team down. It was a bad day and we are looking forward to the next ones.”
KOM, combativity and 5th overall, Mark Donovan (Q36.5): “It was the plan to go for KOM points. I was hoping a couple more guys would come. And luckily the guy from Arkea caught up with me I had a bit of company for the next four hours. It was a nice first day maybe not so nice for the legs. It was only the two of us, so the numbers were against us. They had us in good check pretty early. If the profile had been different with the hills at the end, maybe, but with the flats we had in the end, it was always going to come down to a sprint. It was a goal before the start to get in a jersey. It’s good for the team and its visibility.”
3rd on the stage and overall, Hugo Page (Intermarché-Wanty): “This Dauphiné is the start of a period of racing in France that I had circled in red in my agenda for a long time, with the Tour de France and the national championships. Two years ago, I had the honour of wearing the green jersey in this race, while last year I experienced a great disappointment, forced to abandon after a crash in the first stage. With my coach Christophe Prémont we have prepared well for this period, which has been reflected in my performances in support of the team in recent weeks. For this Dauphiné I had the ambition to race for the victory myself and from this first opportunity I could rely on the support of all my teammates. After the first passages over the finish line, we refined our strategy and decided to save our efforts on the last lap until the final kilometres, which worked out perfectly. After a big pull from Tom Paquot, Vito Braet launched me in an incredible way, allowing me to sprint to my first podium of the season. I am very happy to achieve a nice result for the team in my turn. With the white jersey on my shoulders, I will give it my all on Monday, even if the final on Col de la Loge is probably too difficult for riders of my profile. I am eagerly awaiting the second big sprint chance on Thursday, I am very curious to see what I can achieve that day.”
Primoz Roglič (BORA-hansgrohe): “It’s cool not to have to train anymore and be out and about, to race with the boys. I need to get into racing situations with my teammates. We haven’t raced together much yet, so it is crucial to race together in the coming days.”
Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 1 Result:
1. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek in 4:01:30
2. Sam Bennett (Ire) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
3. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty
4. Clement Venturini (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
5. Owain Doull (GB) EF Education-EasyPost
6. Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan
7. Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar
8. Alfred Wright (GB) Bahrain Victorious
9. Clement Russo (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
10. Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Uno-X Mobility.
Critérium du Dauphiné Overall After Stage 1:
1. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek in 4:34:30
2. Sam Bennett (Ire) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 0:04
3. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty at 0:06
4. Mathis Le Berre (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 0:07
5. Mark Donovan (GB) Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team at 0:08
6. Casper Pedersen (Den) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:09
7. Clement Venturini (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 0:10
8. Owain Doull (GB) EF Education-EasyPost
9. Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan
10. Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar.
Dauphiné’24 stage 1:
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women 2024
Top three for Liv-AlUla-Jayco in Stage 1 of the Vuelta de Andalucía Elite Women. Spanish champion Mavi García gave the victory to her teammate Silke Smulders, who escaped for much of the stage. The riders of the Australian team are 2:52 ahead of the fourth placed overall, Marte Berg Edseth (Uno-X Mobility).
The first stage of the third edition of the Vuelta Ciclista Andalucía Elite Women fulfilled the forecasts in a spectacular and tough day that featured the Liv-AlUla-Jayco riders. The day began in Castellar de la Frontera heading towards the first mountain pass of the day, a favourable setting for attacks due to the hardness of the Cat.1 Hacho de Gaucín ramps, but the control of the favourites’ teams prevented any adventurous escape. Surprisingly, the passage through the mountain was with a compact peloton, which only lost a few riders. The first to cross the summit was the Australian, Alexandra Manly (LJA) ahead of Lourdes Oyarbide (LKF), she was the first leader in the mountain classification.
On the very technical descent, the Liv began to impose a strong pace that caused the main peloton to break down until it was down to 20 riders. It was then that the protagonist of the day, Silke Smulders, attacked and little by little opened a gap. She distanced the group of the main favourites, among whom, in addition to all her teammates, was the Norwegian Katrine Aalerud, the final winner of the last edition, but the Cuban, Arlenis Sierra (MOV), was no longer included.
In the continuous up and down on the way to the Alcalá del Valle, the distance between the breakaway and the group increased until it exceeded 2 minutes. It was there when, after several skirmishes, a chasing trio was formed, which included her teammates Mavi García and Ella Wylie. Near Setenil de las Bodegas, and after passing the intermediate sprint, Mavi García left her teammates in a counter-attack and caught her Dutch teammate. Now together and knowing that the distance with the small group of favourites was widening, they rode the last metres together The five-times champion of Spain and favourite for the final overall victory of the Vuelta, allowed her young teammate to take her first victory as a professional. The spectacular Australian formation Liv-AlUla-Jayco team was rounded off with third place going to the New Zealander Ella Wylie. Silke Smulders will wear the leader’s jersey in stage 2 that starts from the town of Arjona. Mallorcan Mavi García is now the number one contender for the final victory and also the strongest team in the race.
The prize for combativeness went to the Spanish rider, Mireya Benito and the leader’s jersey of the intermediate sprint also went to the stage winner of the stage, Silke Smulders. Liv is obviously leading the team competition ahead of Uno-X Mobility.
Stage winner and overall leader, Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco): “We were on fire today! From the beginning, Quinty set the pace on the climbs and Alex did amazing on the downhills. We were so strong. I went far from the finish to take the pressure of Mavi and Ella. In the end Mavi bridged over to me and we went together. I’m just so proud of what we did, taking first, second, and third, and the mountain jersey. It was a really special day for me and the whole team.”
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women Stage 1 Result:
1. Silke Smulders Liv (Ned) AlUla Jayco in 3:36:19
2. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spa) Liv AlUla Jayco
3. Ella Wyllie (NZ) Liv AlUla Jayco at 1:29
4. Marte Berg Edseth (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 2:52
5. Usoa Ostolaza Zabala (Spa) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi at 3:53
6. Henrietta Christie (NZ) Human Powered Health
7. Mereia Benito Pellicer (Spa) Spain
8. Simone Boilard (Can) Uno-X Mobility
9. Mie Ottestad (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 4:00
10. Carlotta Cipressi (Ita) UAE Development Team at 4:05.
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women Overall After Stage 1:
1. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco in 3:36:19
2. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spa) Liv AlUla Jayco
3. Ella Wyllie (NZ) Liv AlUla Jayco at 1:29
4. Marte Berg Edseth (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 2:52
5. Usoa Ostolaza Zabala (Spa) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi at 3:53
6. Henrietta Christie (NZ) Human Powered Health
7. Mereia Benito Pellicer (Spa) Spain
8. Simone Boilard (Can) Uno-X Mobility
9. Mie Ottestad (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 4:00
10. Carlotta Cipressi (Ita) UAE Development Team at 4:05.
Andalucia’24 Stage 1:
Mavi García and Liv AlUla Jayco deliver a masterful blow in the Second Stage of the Vuelta Andalucía Elite Women. In another demonstration of power, the Australian team imposed its strategy on a day marked by hardness and heat. The Mallorcan, Silke Smulders and Ella Wylie lead the general standings, doing well for the LIV-ALULA-JAYCO
The second stage of the Vuelta Ciclista Andalucía Elite Women started on Thursday in the Jiemnense town of Arjona with the feeling of overwhelming dominance that the Australian team, Liv-AlUla-Jayco had offered the day before. The day, with a single mountain pass and far from the finish, seemed destined to be calmer for the favourites, but the Australian team, aware of their power, didn’t miss the opportunity to deliver a blow of authority that could have settled the overall with two days to go.
At the start there were several skirmishes with escape attempts, among them was last year’s winner Katrine Aarelud (UXM), but her attempt, like those of the rest, was beaten by the control of the Aussie squad. Near the castle, a group of nine riders formed, among whom was the leader of the race Silke Smulders, who was once again the star of the day’s escape. As soon as they started the climb, the peloton caught the escapees and a leading group of 13 riders was formed, which included Mavi García. Most of the important teams in the race had representation in the break that didn’t distance the peloton by more than 2 minutes. The escape advanced towards the province of Granada but not before the intermediate sprint in Alcalá La Real (Jaén), in which Silke Smulders won ahead of Usoa Ostalaza (LKF) and Mavi García (LAJ). From the leading group, riders were dropped due to the effort to close the gap on a peloton led by Laboral Kutxa.
Three riders remained in the lead on the way to the finish in Otura. The tough uphill finish favoured Mavi García. The Spanish champion raised her arms, beating her teammate Silke Smulders by 13 seconds, and Mie Bjomdal Ottestad (UXM), by 35 seconds. The group of favourites led by Movistar riders Paula Patiño and Floortje Mackaij, lost 1:44 to the stage winner. In the final overall Mavi García now leads her teammate Silke Smulders by 19 seconds and her teammate Ella Wylie by 3:25. The first GC rider who is not in the Liv team is the Norwegian Bjomdal Ottestad (UXM) at 4:43, at 5:45 is Usoa Ostalaza (LKF) and 4 seconds later Mireia Benito (ESP).
The dominance of the Australian team is also reflected in the other classifications, points and intermediate sprints leader is Silke Smulders, Mavi García leads the combined classification and the mountains to Alexandra Manly.
Stage winner and overall leader, Mavi García Liv AlUla Jayco): “I was a long, hard, and very hot day! Even for me! The team is working very well together, and we are proving to be the strongest! Yesterday was the day for Silke and today it was for me. I attacked 10km to go and she came with me. It was easier for us with two and I attacked again when we were 3km from the finish. Silke let the other girl work until she attacked at the end and was able to get second place. I’m very happy to take this win. It’s my first for Liv AlUla Jayco, so it is special.”
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women Stage 2 Result:
1. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spa) Liv AlUla Jayco in 5:07:32
2. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco at 0:13
3. Mie Ottestad (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 0:35
4. Anouska Koster (Ned) Uno-X Mobility at 1:42
5. Paula Patino (Col) Movistar at 1:44
6. Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Movistar
7. Alena Amialiusik (-) UAE Development Team
8. Mereia Benito Pellicer (Spa) Spain
9. Usoa Ostolaza Zabala (Spa) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi
10. Simone Boilard (Can) Uno-X Mobility.
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women Overall After Stage 2:
1. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spa) Liv AlUla Jayco in 8:55:12
2. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco at 0:13
3. Ella Wyllie (NZ) Liv AlUla Jayco at 3:25
4. Mie Ottestad (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 4:43
5. Usoa Ostolaza Zabala (Spa) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi at 5:45
6. Mereia Benito Pellicer (Spa) Spain at 5:49
7. Henrietta Christie (NZ) Human Powered Health
8. Simone Boilard (Can) Uno-X Mobility
9. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 6:28
10. Anouska Koster (Ned) Uno-X Mobility at 7:10.
Andalucia’24 Stage 2:
Ella Wylie completed the hat-trick of Liv AlUla Jayco victories in the Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia Elite Woman Stage 3. The New Zealander made it three out of three for the Australian squad, crossing the finish line in Vélez-Málaga just ahead of her teammates, Silke Smulders and Mavi García, who put more time between herself and her competitors with one day to go.
From the beach of Torre del Mar to the finish line in Vélez-Málaga, the stage passed through two mountain passes in the heart of the Axarquía mountain range, the Liv AlUla Jayco riders offered a masterful show to be crowned winners of the third stage of the Vuelta Ciclista Andalucía Elite Women. On the first day the protagonist, the Dutch rider, Silke Smulders, who took her first professional victory thanks to her partner Mavi García. The five-time champion of Spain won stage 2 and on stage 3, it was Ella Wylie who took the win.
There was no attempts at skirmishes in the first kilometres as the race was controlled by the Liv team who, on the climb of the first mountain pass, split the peloton to deal the final blow to the race. On the Cat.2 climb of Alto Mirador de la Axarquía, the Italian rider of Laboral Kutxa, Cristina Tonetti took first place, securing the mountain jersey, followed by Prisca Savi (BPK) and Krista Doebel-Hickok (HPH). Behind them the Liv riders began to work for their victory. The strategy would work out perfectly. Mavi García, Silke Smulders and the youngest of the team, Ella Wylie attacked in search of victory, this time it was Ella’s turn to win despite on the ascent to the second climb, Alto del Zurrón, the yellow jersey suffered a mechanical. The three worked well together until they distanced the rest of the race.
In the streets of Vélez Málaga, the New Zealand national champion ahead of her companions who crossed the finish line holding their hands in the air. The chase group was at 2:30. The third stage leaves the GC with Mavi García in the lead, Silke Smulders second at 21 seconds and Ella Wylie at 3:24. The first non-Liv rider is Mie Bjorndal Ottestad at 7:24. The Spanish rider, Mireia Benito of the Spanish National Team is 8:30 behind the leader. In the intermediate sprint classification the leader is Silke Smulders, in the mountain classification it is Cristina Tonetti. Mavi García is the leader of the general classification. Liv AlUla Jayco leads the team classification with lead of 18:50 over Uno-X Mobility.
Stage winner and 3rd overall, Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla Jayco): “The girls were on fire today. It takes a team, we might have crossed the finish line first, second and third but there’s five of us here and everyone just fully commitment to the team and plan. I think it’s shows really great signs for the future, and we’ll just build off this race. We still have one final day tomorrow, but it feels good to be leading the overall classification and hopefully we can wrap it up tomorrow. It’s been an amazing few days.”
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women Stage 3 Result:
1. Ella Wyllie (NZ) Liv AlUla Jayco in 2:18:46
2. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spa) Liv AlUla Jayco at 0:03
3. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco
4. Arlenis Sierra Canadilla (Cub) Movistar at 2:32
5. Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Movistar
6. Nadia Quagliotto (Spa) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi
7. Henrietta Christie (NZ) Human Powered Health
8. Rasa Leleivyte (Lit) Aromitalia 3T Vaiano
9. Simone Boilard (Can) Uno-X Mobility
10. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco.
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women Overall After Stage 3:
1. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spa) Liv AlUla Jayco in 9:59:22
2. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco at 0:21
3. Ella Wyllie (NZ) Liv AlUla Jayco at 3:24
4. Mie Ottestad (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 7:24
5. Usoa Ostolaza Zabala (Spa) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi at 8:26
6. Henrietta Christie (NZ) Human Powered Health at 8:30
7. Simone Boilard (Can) Uno-X Mobility
8. Mereia Benito Pellicer (Spa) Spain
9. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 9:09
10. Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Movistar at 9:53.
Andalucia’24 Stage 3:
Arlenis Sierra broke the domination of the Liv team in the Vuelta Andalucia on the Final Stage 4 on Saturday. Mavi García had no problem holding on for the overall win. The third edition of the Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia Elite Woman ended in Pizarra with the victory of Cuban rider, Arlenis Sierra in an exciting sprint in which Movistar stopped the fourth victory going to Liv AlUla Jayco. Mavi García and her Liv teammates, Silke Smulders and Ella Wylie completed the final podium.
The last stage of the Vuelta Andalucia Elite Woman went from Alhaurín de la Torre to Pizarra in the province of Málaga. Liv AlUla Jayco’s ambition to achieve total victory was thwarted by a sprint finish in Pizarra in which they were beaten by the speed in the last metres by the Cuban national champion Arlenis Sierra of Movistar.
It was once again a day of heat and although the terrain in the Guadalhorce Valley offered possibilities for battle, the control of the Australian team destroyed any escape attempt. At the intermediate sprint in Pizarra, Silke Smulders cemented her win in the classification, the first step for the Australian team to win everything. The first mountain pass of the day, Alto del Caminito del Rey, Mavi García and her team controlled the race so that Alexandra Manly could take the necessary points to be the final winner of the mountains prize.
The only thing left was the stage victory. Count the Aussie team be able to finish the job in the sprint? They had a big problem with Arlenis Sierra (MOV). The Cuban, winner of the first edition of this event, managed to raise her arms at the finish line ahead of Liv’s sprinter, Quinty Ton and Alena Amialiusik (UAE). In the final GC, Mavi García kept the yellow jersey to be the first Spaniard to do so. Silke Smulders was at 15 seconds and Ella Wylie at 3:18, confirming the dominance of Liv AlUla Jayco, which also wins the overall final team, mountain, points, combined, intermediate sprints and the best Spanish rider.
Final overall winner, Margarita Victoria Garcia (Liv AlUla Jayco): “I am very happy. We worked very well at this race all together. We won three stages, we took the three podium places overall and it has been a great pleasure, and we are all very proud. Today was a really good day, all the team committed to work to try and win the stage to make it four in a row. Finally, we didn’t win the stage but almost with second place and also we fought a lot for the mountains prize for Alex and we took it. We worked to keep my overall yellow jersey and I think everything has been really great and I am very happy to take the overall yellow jersey.”
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women Stage 4 Result:
1. Arlenis Sierra Canadilla (Cub) Movistar in 2:45:06
2. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco at 0:01
3. Alena Amialiusik (-) UAE Team ADQ
4. Anouska Koster (Ned) Uno-X Mobility
5. Alexandra Manly (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco
6. Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Movistar
7. Nadia Quagliotto (Ita) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi
8. Henrietta Christie (NZ) Human Powered Health
9. Ella Wyllie (NZ) Liv AlUla Jayco
10. Rasa Leleivyte (Lit) Aromitalia 3T Vaiano.
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia – Women Final Overall Result:
1. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spa) Liv AlUla Jayco in 12:44:35
2. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco at 15
3. Ella Wyllie (NZ) Liv AlUla Jayco at 3:18
4. Mie Ottestad (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 7:18
5. Usoa Ostolaza Zabala (Spa) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi at 8:20
6. Henrietta Christie (NZ) Human Powered Health at 8:22
7. Simone Boilard (Can) Uno-X Mobility at 8:24
8. Mereia Benito Pellicer (Spa) Spain
9. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 9:03
10. Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Movistar at 9:47.
Andalucia’24 Stage 4:
UNBOUND Gravel 2024
Lachlan Morton won Unbound Gravel 200 on Saturday. The Australian, who was third in the Unbound gravel race last year, rode with Chad Haga off the front of the ‘peloton’, at the finish he was too fast for Haga in the sprint after 200 miles (327 kilometres). The Dane Tobias Kongstad finished third, just ahead of Piotr Havik of the Netherlands.
The big race in the gravel world, Unbound Gravel, is a race of 200 miles, or 327 kilometres, is mostly on gravel roads and paths. The riders had 299 kilometres of gravel on the menu. A tough race, where men like Matej Mohorič, the World Gravel champion, Dutchmen Joris Nieuwenhuis, Niki Terpstra, Laurens ten Dam and Belgians Greg Van Avermaet and Jan Bakelants were at the start along with the US specialist.
World champion Mohorič made his debut in Unbound Gravel, but was not scared to make an early move. The Slovenian of Bahrain Victorious put the pressure on in the first part of the stage, but Mohorič suffered bad luck and was nowhere to be seen in the final. Three riders who were looking good before the final were Thijs Zonneveld, Lachlan Morton and Chad Haga. This trio went on the attack and quickly managed to gain a nice lead over the first chasing group, including Van Avermaet, Nieuwenhuis and Ockeloen. Zonneveld had a mishap while in a very good position and saw a good final place disappear.
Morton and Haga had no problems and got further and further ahead of the chase group, these two would battle for the victory. After more than 9 hours of racing, Morton turned out to be the fastest in the sprint. Three and a half minutes later it was the Dane Tobias Kongstad who took third place, beating Piotr Havik and Mattia de Marchi. Norway’s Simon Nordahl Svensen was sixth and Greg van Avermaet finished in seventh place. Last year’s winner, Keegan Swenson finished fourteenth. Mohorič abandoned after a frustrating race, as did his Bahrain Victorious teammates Łukasz Wiśniowski and Matevz Govekar.
There was also a sprint finish in the women’s race, but there were nine riders in the fight. The victory went to Rosa Klöser. The 27-year-old German was too fast for the Dutch rider Geerike Schreurs and America’s Paige Onweller after a nail-biting final and sprint.
Men’s race winner, Lachlan Morton (EF Education-Easy-Post): “I feel pretty grateful to have had the ride I did. In the finale, I thought to myself that no matter what pans out in this sprint I’m really happy with myself in the way that I executed the race, but also the way I prepared for the race, I did it in my own style and stayed true to the way I like to ride. I did a lot of adventure rides and enjoyed myself. I was training when I was on the bike, but then off the bike, that was where it ended and I was just in a very happy spot and found a really nice balance which is proving harder to do as it gets more competitive. I took it as a sign that I was supposed to go back to the bunch. And to be honest, I don’t know what I was doing trying to go solo so far to go. In some ways the way it turned out, I’m actually stoked that I went the wrong way there. It’s hard when you swap off and work together with someone and then someone has to break the friendship,” said Lachlan recalling his old road racing days. “He did the first attack and I was actually happy about that because he knew then he had to stay on the front, he didn’t try and bring me through. He knew he’d broken that pact and he was going to be stuck there. It was like a road finish. A lot of the big races I’ve won have been in these small groups after a hard day, a long day off the front or something like that. So I feel pretty comfortable in those those finishes. In the final few miles there, I was like, ‘alright, I need to win this. I won’t forgive it myself if I let this one go, For me to win a sprint, I have to play it really perfectly. I don’t have a lot of watts to play with when it comes to the sprint. So, I was just pulling on all the sprint skills I learned when I was a young junior and that’s how it played out and I rode a perfect sprint. It really took me up until the last two weeks to come all the way back from doing The Divide. It was a long process of getting myself back up to speed and It was a lot harder than I thought. And to be able to come all the way back, and not just be competitive, but to win UNBOUND. It feels good. To see Tom there right after the finish, he’s put so much effort in these last few years and we’ve just slowly chipped away at it, he’s so committed to helping me. When the races go well or when they don’t. And even in the lead up to this race I changed a lot of things last minute and I played around with setups and like it was a lot of work. But, he just takes it all in his stride. It was really nice to feel like I could pay him back with that win.”
Women’s race winner, Rosa Klöser (Germany): “My day was definitely adventurous and very mixed. I was happy to make the decisive split and be in the front group with around fifteen women, but I think it was before the first feed zone that I hit a big rock, crashed and had a flat tire in the front. Luckily I was running inserts so I could try to keep going with the girls but they were really strong so it was very hard. We did a pit stop change on my front wheel and I only lost around two minutes to the leaders. I told myself I’m going to die trying to close this gap, but I made it! I got back, I was pretty cooked but in the end I was so happy that we had completely our own race that I decided I’m going to keep pushing and keep working, and give a lot of pulls because I want to show everyone how cool it can be that we have our own race. At the end I knew I had a pretty okay sprint after a long day out. This was my first UNBOUND. I only started cycling a couple of years ago and I’m still a full time PhD student, so I cycle part time. I still can’t believe I won!”
UNBOUND Gravel Men Result:
1. Lachlan Morton (Aus) in 9:11:47
2. Chad Haga (USA)
3. Tobias Kongstad (Den) 3:36
4. Piotr Havik (Ned)
5. Mattia De Marchi (Ita) at 3:41
6. Simon Nordahl Svensen (Nor) at 4:41
7. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) at 4:47
8. Payson McElveen (USA)
9. Sebastian Schönberger (Aust)
10. Dylan Johnson (USA).
UNBOUND Gravel women Result:
1. Rosa Klöser (Ger) in 10:26:02
2. Geerike Schreurs (Ned) at 0:01
3. Paige Onweller (USA)
4. Haley Smith (Can)
5. Heather Jackson (USA)
6. Carolin Schiff (Ger)
7. Sarah Sturm (USA)
8. Hannah Otto (USA) at 0:02
9. Lauren De Crescenzo (USA) at 0:09
10. Sarah Lange (USA) at 3.41.
UNBOUND’24:
Video on the way when available.
Brussels Cycling Classic 2024
Jonas Abrahamsen won the Brussels Cycling Classic on Sunday with a surprise move in the finale. After a race of almost 220 kilometres, the Norwegian of Uno-X Mobility was the best of a large leading group that had broken away in the hills. Abrahamsen crossed the line solo after escaping from the leading group in the final. Not far behind Abrahamsen, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) won the sprint for second place, ahead of Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
In the Brussels Cycling Classic would really start around 100 kilometres from the finish, in Geraardsbergen with the Zavelstraat. Then there was two circuits with the Muur van Geraardsbergen (1.1km at 9.2%), the Bosberg (980m at 5.8%) and Congoberg (1.1km at 5.4%). In the last 45 kilometres, there was only the cobbles of the Rosstraat and the smooth road of Heiligekruiswegstraat, 14 kilometres out.
The first break consisted of six riders: Martin Svrcek (Soudal Quick-Step), Alexis Gougeard (Cofidis), Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ), Ceriel Desal (Bingoal WB), Kamiel Bonneu (Team Flanders-Baloise) and Riccardo Lucca (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè). Ninety-five kilometres from the finish, Liam Slock (Lotto Dstny) decided to cross on his own. That worked, but the peloton didn’t give the leading group more than 2 minutes. The real final started about 60 kilometres from the finish, with the second passage of the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg. There the peloton split into two pieces, with Kaden Groves, Søren Waerenskjold, Biniam Girmay, Jordi Meeus, Marc Hirschi, Paul Penhoët, Juan Sebastian Molano, Casper van Uden, Pascal Ackermann, Amaury Capiot and Jenno Berckmoes joining the front group. That group pulled the early break back 50 kilometres from the finish. The gap to the second large group was, at that point was 45 seconds, forcing Lotto Dstny to chase, Cofidis and TotalEnergies. They were not fast enough, which made the gap bigger. But because TotalEnergies put the entire team on the front and Cofidis and Tour de Tietema-Unibet also helped, the gap came down to under 30 seconds.
The peloton could see the large leading group 20 kilometres from the finish, but they didn’t slow down at the front. After the cobbles of the Rosstraat the lead increased to 30 seconds and on the difficult Heiligekruiswegstraat they accelerated again. Hirschi attacked, but couldn’t get away. Svrcek and Jonas Abrahamsen were able to escape. The peloton was now at 50 seconds and could forget about the victory. The attempt by Svrcek and Abrahamsen now looked to be very promising, because with 5 kilometres to go to Brussels they had 20 seconds on the pursuers. The Norwegian of Uno-X Mobility felt that early escapee, Svrcek, had nothing left and went solo with 4.4 kilometres to go. Because the chase didn’t get going, Abrahamsen soon had 25 seconds. The long, finishing straight was a slight climb, so the peloton came close very quickly. Abrahamsen had timed his effort perfectly, giving him enough time at the finish to put his hands in the air. Behind him, Biniam Girmay narrowly won the sprint for second place from Kaden Groves.
Race winner, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): “After the last cobbled section, some boys decided to attack. I opted for the counter-attack 15 kilometres from the finish. It was only in the last 300 metres that I started to believe that I could win. I came so close in Tirreno-Adriatico, but it didn’t work out then, so I didn’t want to think about victory too early. I only thought about sprinting to the finish. I am proud of the team, yesterday we won with Alexander Kristoff and we finished with the whole team in Circuit Franco-Belge. It was our first altitude training camp. A good experience and I feel very strong now. We hope to win a stage in France. Last year we were close with several top 10 and top 3 places, but this year we want a stage victory.”
2nd, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “I want to be in this shape in the Tour, but I hope to be able to take another step. We didn’t expect Abrahamsen to have such legs. He chose a good moment, namely when everyone was broke. We didn’t expect it to turn out like this. As a team we did everything, but Abrahamsen had the best legs and that is what matters. We tried everything behind him, but it didn’t work. This can then happen. This was my last race before the Tour. Now I’m going to build up and try to find my form as it is now, or with additional steps. For that I am going to Eritrea for two weeks. I am there with my family and can train there in good weather. It is at an altitude of 2,400 metres and I can go even higher, that is a beautiful place. I have shown here that the form is there, so I am ready for the Tour de France.”
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3rd, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “I thought I was second, but Biniam caught me at the finish. I wouldn’t have kept my legs still if I had sprinted for the win. He attacked at a very good time, just after another attack. No one could go with him. We gambled that Intermarché-Wanty would close the gap, but that didn’t work. And Jonas was too strong. I missed a lot of races in the spring and am now back at a good level after the Giro. That’s why I wanted to ride as much as possible to get the most out of my form. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to win yet.”
Brussels Cycling Classic Result:
1. Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility in 4:53:23
2. Biniam Girmay Hailu (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty at 0:04
3. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck
4. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Israel-Premier Tech
5. Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
6. Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates
7. Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè
8. Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto Dstny
9. Milan Fretin (Bel) Cofidis
10. Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma.
Brussels’24:
Heylen Vastgoed Heistse Pijl 2024
Alexander Kristoff won the 2024 Heistse Pijl. The Norwegian was the fastest in a bunch sprint after 196 kilometres. Casper van Uden was second, Amaury Capiot third.
Fast men such as Alexander Kristoff, Jordi Meeus and Gerben Thijssen were at the start, but a bunch sprint was not guaranteed. The Heistse Berg, the main obstacle of the six local laps, came just before the finish. An attack on the final climb could hold on for the win
The day’s break consisted of Mauro Verwilt (Tarteletto-Isorex), Daan van Sintmaartensdijk (BEAT), Axel van der Tuuk (Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel), Maxime Duba (Parkhotel Valkenburg) and Jente Klaver (VolkerWessels). They took a lead of 4 minutes on the peloton, where dsm-firmenich PostNL were in control. The Dutch team had confidence in Casper van Uden. When the lead was less than 3 minutes, there was a counter-attack from the peloton. Jan-Willem van Schip (Parkhotel Valkenburg) first tried to cross, later he received help from Tosh Van der Sande (Visma | Lease a Bike). The two came within 1:30 of the leaders, but then started to lose ground. After a long chase they fell back to the peloton 38 kilometres from the finish.
On the penultimate climb of the Heistse Berg, just before the start of the final lap, Axel van der Tuuk rode away from the other escapees. The former Dutch U23 time trial champion was riding a great solo. While the other attackers were caught by the peloton, Van der Tuuk continued off the front. Seven kilometres from the finish, his solo was over. It was a large peloton that started the Heistse Berg for the final time. It was a sprint to the foot. Van Uden was in the right place, as was Alexander Kristoff. The latter had teammate, Tord Gudmestad, who led him out. The 36-year-old Norwegian then managed to take the win. He beat Van Uden and Amaury Capiot. For Kristoff it was his fourth victory in less than a month.
Race winner, Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility): “It was a lot of chaos towards the last climb (Heistse Berg). We were therefore unable to get a good lead-out. Erik Resell had his gears in crash mode, so we lost the guys a bit there. We thought it was over. But just before the bend towards the cobblestones, Tord (Gudmestad) and I found each other. We still got into a good position over the climb, after which we waited, waited, waited until the final straight. I shouted at him to go all out. He did a great lead-out. In the end I was as fast as I could be. Maybe I should put a slightly larger sprocket on it, because I couldn’t pedal at a higher cadence anymore. I’m getting old, so I’m a little slower with my leg speed”
Heylen Vastgoed Heistse Pijl Result:
1. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Uno-X Mobility in 4:11:00
2. Casper Van Uden (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
3. Amaury Capiot (Bel) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
4. Milan Fretin (Bel) Cofidis
5. Tord Gudmestad (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
6. Timothy Dupont (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
7. Simon Dehairs (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
8. Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto Dstny
9. Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
10. Louis Blouwe (Bel) Bingoal WB.
Heistse Pijl’24:
Van Aert and Vingegaard on Altitude Training Camp in Tignes
It is now yet known if Wout van Aert will be at the start of the Tour de France at the end of June. Visma | Lease a Bike doesn’t want to make any rash decisions after his return to racing in the Tour of Norway, but according to Het Laatste Nieuws the team is doing everything it can to prepare the Belgian for the Tour. Van Aert will travel to Tignes on Sunday for an altitude training camp.
The 29-year-old Belgian will sleep in an altitude tent at home this week, but will travel to Tignes, France on Sunday for a three-week altitude training camp. According to the newspaper, Van Aert will ride the Tour de France this year (June 29-July 21), provided he can complete his planned schedule at altitude. Before the Tour, Van Aert would normally ride the Belgian time trial championship in Binche (20/6) and the Belgian road champs in Zottegem (23/6). Since he only starts his altitude training on June 3, the question remains whether he will defend his Belgian time trial title.
Jonas Vingegaard is currently training in the Tignes area. The two-time Tour winner is currently working on his (basic) fitness. BT of Denmark spoke with his trainer, Tim Heemskerk. After his crash in the Tour of the Itzulia Basque Country, is now at altitude for the first time and hopes to be able to join the training camp of the Tour de France selection after the Critérium du Dauphiné. His trainer cannot yet say whether the Dane will be able to defend his Tour title in a month. “We haven’t made a choice yet. The most important thing for Jonas is today and tomorrow.”
Will Vingegaard and Van Aert ride the Tour?
UAE Team Emirates Sees Jonas Vingegaard as the Favourite for the Tour de France
José Antonio ‘Matxin’ Fernández, manager of UAE Team Emirates, sees Jonas Vingegaard as the favourite for the 2024 Tour de France. It is not yet certain whether Vingegaard will be able to race at 100% in the Tour de France, but Matxin has already saw many good signals. “He has been on altitude training almost constantly,” he told Sporza.
Matxin says that he has every confidence in Pogačar’s team in the tour. “We certainly have a great team for the Tour (including Ayuso, Almeida and Adam Yates). Tadej is our only leader. But there are still teams with a strong leader.”
The team manager mainly looks at Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike. “That Vingegaard had a serious crash in the Tour of the Basque Country? Last year, Tadej crashed three weeks later in April and was in Vingegaard’s slipstream until the Tour time trial. Vingegaard will also have been on almost constant altitude training for this Tour and he is the leader of the team that won the three Grand Tours last year. Vingegaard is the top favourite for the Tour.”
“I will certainly also take Primoz Roglič, Aleksandr Vlasov and Remco Evenepoel into account,” said Matxin. If Pogačar does manage to win the Tour de France, a number of people from the cycling world say he should also go for the Vuelta. “Winning the three Grand Tours in the same year is great for the history books, but that is not the case this year. The Vuelta was never on Pogačar’s schedule,” Matxin made clear.
Vingegaard is still top favourite for José Antonio ‘Matxin’ Fernández:
David Gaudu has Big Ambitions for the Tour de France
David Gaudu finished fourth in the 2022 Tour de France, but he is not satisfied by that performance, he want’s more this season. “I dream of the podium,” said the Groupama-FDJ climber in an interview with L’Équipe.
“We will take it as it comes and will try to race more aggressively,” Gaudu stated. “If I’m eighth or ninth at the end of the first week, I hope to join the breakaway. Even if I run the risk of exploding and falling back to position fifteen or twenty. But what I’m definitely not going to do is consciously lose time in the first few days. I don’t want to set limits for myself.”
The 27-year-old wants to follow the other GC favourites for as long as possible. “I have already been able to compete with the best in Paris-Nice,” he finished second between Jonas Vingegaard and winner Tadej Pogačar. “And the year before I finished fourth in the Tour. Only two riders are of a higher level than the others, one of which (Pogačar) has already shown this in the Giro. They will be the centre of attention. But we will see how it goes during the race.”
“My dream is the podium,” continued the Frenchman. “Honestly, my biggest dream is to win, but I have to be realistic. That will be very, very difficult. The podium is more feasible, although that will also be very difficult.”
Gaudu managed to take one victory this season: on April 13 he won the Tour du Jura. A day earlier he was third in the Classic Grand Besançon Doubs. After that successful weekend he hasn’t really come close to a victory. However, he was ninth in the Queen Stage of the Tour de Romandie, where he finished 14th overall. Gaudu is currently on an altitude training camp in Tenerife. Before the Tour de France, he will participate in the Critérium du Dauphiné and the French road championships.
David Gaudu wants more at the Tour:
Patrick Lefevere is Disappointed with Leaked Transfer of Valentin Paret-Peintre
Patrick Lefevere is not happy about the rumour of his team’s interest in the French climber, Valentin Paret-Peintre, has spread like wildfire. In his column in Het Nieuwsblad, the team boss criticises the leaking of the information and fears that someone in the team is responsible.
“A bit embarrassing: I haven’t even informed my team DS’s yet and yet Paret-Peintre’s transfer is already in the newspaper,” Lefevere starts his column. “Let me neither officially confirm nor deny: nothing has actually been signed yet, but I am not happy about such a leak to the press. Since it is in a Belgian newspaper, I suspect the source is in our team. And then I would have expected more discretion.”
The manager also sees a pattern emerging around his interest. Unfortunately for Soudal Quick-Step, that’s one that doesn’t work in their favour. “Paret-Peintre immediately confirmed ‘Lefevere’s law’. It’s almost unbelievable, but every rider we approach spontaneously starts winning races. In this case a ride in the Giro. You only have to be half a businessman to understand that the asking price will immediately increase”
Possible incoming transfers are not the only concerns for Lefevere. The transfer rumours surrounding Julian Alaphilippe, recent stage winner in the Giro, also continue. “His agent Dries Smets has once again pushed for a new conversation. I have no idea whether that is out of politeness or out of genuine interest in staying. Because the Giro has of course also changed the market situation for Julian. I especially hope that I can sit with him again. Face to face, without agents and without a negotiating agenda on my part.”
Lefevere mainly wants a good conversation. “To clear the air personally and professionally. Julian has been in our team since he was seventeen. I’m not going to call him a son, but it doesn’t make much difference. What happened. I said what I said. But I want to make sure that none of that sticks.”
Valentin Paret-Peintre to Lefevere’s team?
Jay Vine Can Train Outside After Eight Weeks, but Only Uphill
UAE Team Emirates doctor Adrian Rottuno provided an update on Jay Vine’s rehabilitation process earlier this week. Now the Australian rider has also spoken. On Instagram, the climber said that his recovery is going well, but also that he still has a long way to go.
Vine was one of the main victims of the massive crash in the Tour of the Itzulia Basque Country almost two months ago. The Australian broke a cervical vertebra and two thoracic vertebrae in his spine. The 28-year-old is now finally being allowed to train outdoors again, Rottuno said earlier this week. The neck brace that Vine has been wearing for the past eight weeks can also be removed.
“A CT scan has now shown that the bone is healing well. Jay can now take off his neck brace,” said Rottuno. “He can now train outdoors again, although he will have to build up slowly. That is very important for his position on the bike. We will monitor this process closely. Jay still has several weeks of rehabilitation ahead of him, but this is the first big step he has taken in seven weeks. This is of course very nice from a mental and physical point of view.”
On Instagram, Vine writes that it has been ‘eight long weeks full of scans, physiotherapy, rehabilitation sessions, indoor rides and everything in between’. However, his recovery has been going well all this time, he wrote. “The team has worked hard to optimise my recovery and get me back to full health.”
He can now ride outside again, but there is a condition. “I’m only allowed to cycle uphill, but that’s better than nothing! Luckily here in Andorra (where he lives) there are more than enough quite long climbs, so I ride up, let Bre (his wife) drive me down and then repeat. I’m still not 100% and I know it will take a while to get used to all the new feelings, but overall it’s a giant step in the right direction. I’m starting to feel more like myself again.”
It remains to be seen when we will see Vine in action again. “We don’t know when I will return to racing and in which race that will be, but the first priority is to do some basic training again and ensure that there is no setback. We will look further from there. We are not afraid to take our time and make sure all the lights are green before we start the engine again.”
Jay Vine back on the road:
Dstny to Stop Sponsorship, Lotto Team Looking for Two New Sponsors
The Dstny company may stop sponsoring the Lotto team at the end of this year. After the current season, the contract between both parties will expire and Dstny appears to be leaving, Het Laatste Nieuws reports. The Belgian team is looking for two new sponsors behind the scenes.
Daan De Wever, CEO at Dstny, already talked about the future of his company as a second title sponsor in March. “We will wait until the beginning of the summer to make our decision,” said De Wever about whether or not to extend the collaboration. Rumour has it that Dstny will leave as a sponsor, but he wouldn’t confirm that. “That is premature. Time knows what to do. We will see.”
According to HLN, there is little progress in the matter and so the management of Lotto Dstny is forced to start a search for new sponsors. The team hopes to be able to attract two smaller partners who are able to compensate for Dstny’s contribution. The amount is reportedly between 5 and 7 million euros.
The Belgian team is said to have been talking with Digi in its search for new sponsors. This is a Romanian telecom operator who managed to obtain a Belgian license for mobile internet through the West Flemish IT company Citymesh. Digi wants to compete with major players Telenet and Proximus in Belgium from this summer. Digi currently has around 24 million customers on the Romanian, Spanish and Italian markets, but is now also focusing on Belgium. The company wants to increase its brand awareness through sports sponsorship. Digi was previously able to achieve this in Spain through football: Digi is a shirt sponsor of La Liga football clubs Athletic Club Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Digi CEO Jeroen Degadt has not said anything about a possible collaboration with the Lotto team. “I formally confirm that we are in discussions with several Belgian sports teams about possible sponsorship, but at the moment we have not signed a contract with any sports teams. We hope to have clarity about this by summer, but I cannot and do not want to comment further at this time.”
Stéphane Heulot, the CEO of the Lotto Dstny team, is also not saying much. “It is true that we received a delegation from Digi during Ghent-Wevelgem. It was a nice meeting, but we received several companies during one of our networking events this spring. We will not comment on rumours about sponsors. If there is any news, we will officially communicate it in time.”
Dstny to leave Lotto?
Future of Roland Woman’s Cycling Team is Safe until 2029
Women’s team Roland Cycling Team will remain in the peloton until the end of 2029. The two main sponsors, Roland and Cogeas, have signed a new five-year deal.
“With this extended agreement from our main sponsors, we have managed to create a solid foundation that contributes to the further growth and development of women’s cycling. This has been unstoppable in recent years,” said a press release. “We want to give young cyclists who have the ambition to become professional cyclists a chance.”
“It doesn’t matter what area. We try to improve in all areas. In the absence of a clear leader, everyone within the team is given the opportunity to develop individually and as a team. We enjoy working with young female cyclists as part of a training programme. We want to guide them in the process of becoming a top cyclist.”
There are currently twelve riders under contract with Roland Cogeas. The biggest name is undoubtedly that of Anna Kiesenhofer, the current Olympic road champion. Other well-known names are Tamara Dronova-Balabolina, Antri Christoforou and the Dutch Sylvie Swinkels.
Anna Kiesenhofer of Roland Cogeas:
Remco’s S-Works Tarmac SL8: Liquid Metal Edition
One Bike to Rule Them All – Remco’s S-Works Tarmac SL8: Liquid Metal Edition
At just 24 years of age, Remco Evenepoel has written a CV few could aspire to over an entire career. He’s conquered monuments, a Grand Tour, and won World Championship titles on both the road and TT—all on Specialized bikes and equipment. In 2024, he’s embarking on his biggest challenge yet: the Tour de France.
In his debut Tour, Remco will line up, already considered a favourite, in what might be the most stacked field ever assembled in the history of cycling’s Grand Tours— and a perfect opportunity to present Remco with a new S-Works Tarmac SL8, inspired by his own incredible commitment and an entirely new ‘painting’ process. From lonely mountain tops in Spain to rain-swept days in Belgium, Remco hones his form like iron—under the heat and pressure of fire.
To develop the finest iron, metal must pass through many forms. From its molten liquid state that glows red hot, it is cast into a form driven only by performance. Then, it is cooled and hardened into one of the most solid materials on our planet: iron.
“A bike is just a bike until the right athlete sits aboard it. In this case, the molten areas come from Remco’s touch points. The top of the seat post, the bottom bracket, and the bar all glow with a pearl of molten colours. As Remco’s energy passes through these areas, the metal begins to take shape and harden into a fine chrome and finally a black tinted front end, reminiscent of cast iron.” – Tom Briggs, Lead Concept Graphic Designer.
While there is no question Remo’s new bike is beautiful, it still has to perform. With a frame weight of just 685 grams, no bike is more reactive or aggressive than Tarmac SL8 in one of Remco’s favourite playgrounds—the high mountains. Our design team won’t sacrifice performance for graphics, so they pioneered an exacting technique in bike ‘painting’ called PVD – physical vapor deposition – that adds less than a single gram of weight to create the ‘molten colours’ effect.
The frame is hung on a rotating fixture inside a vacuum chamber. An alloy is vaporised and injected into the chamber. The frame is spun around, and the vaporised metal lands on the surface at the molecular level to create the PVD “liquid metal” coating. It’s all about achieving the design intention while preserving an incredibly light weight and a 6.8kg complete build.
Remco’s ’S-Works Tarmac SL8: Liquid Metal Edition’ will be built to his exact specifications, featuring the Roval Rapide integrated cockpit, his favourite S-Works Power with Mirror saddle, and Roval Rapide CLX II wheels on the flat and mixed stages or Alipinist CLX II wheels on the steep mountain top finishes. Remco will wrap those wheels in Turbo clinchers—the lightest, most efficient line of race tires on the road. Look for Remco to debut his new Bike on June 2 at the Critérium du Dauphiné in France as he enters the final phase of his Tour preparation.
Since its debut in August 2023, the S-Works Tarmac SL8 has proven itself the fastest race bike in the world thanks to a combination of aerodynamics, lightweight, and ride quality previously thought impossible. If Remco’s results aren’t enough to prove this, Tour Magazine even named it ‘Best Road Bike in the World’ as it set a new record on its benchmark testing.
Here at Specialized, we’re so proud to work with Remco Evenepoel. We hope his new bike will remind us of the hundreds of hours he’s spent preparing away from the spotlight on lonely roads to hone his form like iron driven only by performance. You’re ready for the challenge, Remco.
Bon Chance!
Tour of Switzerland Honours the Late Gino Mäder with Mountain Prize and Commemorative Stage
The 2024 edition of the Tour de Suisse will honour the late Gino Mäder with a mountain prize and commemorative stage. The organisers of the Swiss stage race announced on Wednesday.
Mäder crashed on the descent of the Albula Pass last year in the fifth stage to La Punt. After a long resuscitation, the 26-year-old Swiss rider was taken to hospital in Chur, where they couldn’t help him. The race continued after the fatal incident with Mäder, although the 6th stage was neutralised and many riders, including Mäder’s teammates, left the race early.
Mäder’s tragic accident will be commemorated in various ways next month in the 87th edition of the Tour de Suisse. “One of Gino’s strong points was the high mountains and so together with Gino’s family we decided to dedicate the highest point of the race to him,” Het Nieuwsblad quotes race director Olivier Senn.
“From this year onwards, the roof of the Tour will be called the #rideforgino mountain prize, where a special prize will be available to win. Gino will thus forever remain associated with the Tour de Suisse.” The jersey number 44 that Mäder wore during his fateful fall will no longer be issued. In addition, the hashtag #rideforgino will be placed on the leader’s jerseys. On June 16, exactly one year after Mäder’s death, a memorial ride for recreational riders will be held on the route of the final time trial between Aigle and Villars. Special #rideforgino socks will also be sold. All proceeds go to the association that was founded to honour the late Mäder.
Remembering Gino Mäder:
Vuelta a España is in Talks with the Piedmont Region About an Italian Start in 2025
The Spanish Grand Tour starts this year in Portugal and in 2026 the Gran Salida will take place in Monaco. The starting location for 2025 has not yet been decided, but it has been rumoured for some time that the Vuelta will head to the Italian region of Piedmont next year. Javier Guillén, the director of the Vuelta, confirmed in conversation with AS that discussions are indeed underway with Piedmont.
Guillén says that the Vuelta will continue to cross borders in the coming years. “We want La Vuelta to continue to grow, to expand internationally and to explore new areas,” he says. “I can confirm that it is true that Piedmont is interested in organising the Gran Salida in 2025. We are working on it. We really want it, because Italy is a cycling country and is also hosting the Tour de France this year. We would love it if the Vuelta came to this area.”
“We are having conversations and working hard. If it works out, it would give us great satisfaction. An official confirmation has yet to come from both parties, but I am very happy to say that La Vuelta and Piedmont are getting closer together. We still have to fill in the details. It’s not finished yet, but we’re on the right track and moving forward. The idea is to make an announcement before the 2024 Vuelta.”
Guillén expects a strong field of participants in the 2024 Vuelta. “Kuss, last year’s winner, has already confirmed that he will defend his title. That is very important to us. Hopefully the two who were on the podium with him, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglič, will also come again. There is a real chance that that will happen. It is now time for the Tour de France and if everything goes well there, that is also good news for the Vuelta.”
La Vuelta’25 to start in Italy?
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