In EUROTRASH Monday we catch up with all the news from the first two stage of the Tour de France – Reports, rider quotes, results and video.
Lance Armstrong very critical of the hot Tour stage 1 – TOP STORY.
Tour de France news: The special Tour team kits for the 2024, ASO experiments with the 3 kilometre rule, Tadej Pogačar had covid days before the Tour, Mads Pedersen also had covid, Remco Evenepoel wearing a face mask as a precaution, Visma | Lease a Bike introduces innovative control room, meals are on wheels as Soudal Quick-Step’s new food truck hits the road and Arnaud De Lie settles a bet with a haircut.
Rider news: Peter Sagan will end to his road career after the Tour of Slovakia, INEOS Grenadiers sign exciting Danish talent Peter Øxenberg, Ellen van Dijk has positive news on her recovery, Egan Bernal will not go to the Olympic Games after all and Thymen Arensman commits to the INEOS Grenadiers until 2027.
Race news: 2024 USA Cycling Masters & Junior Road National Championships come to Augusta on July 25-28, 2024.
TOP STORY: Lance Armstrong Very Critical of the Hot Tour Stage 1
It wouldn’t be the Tour without a comment from Lance Armstrong and this year we didn’t have to wait long. The first stage of the Tour de France was difficult due to the amount of climbing, but also because of the heat in Italy on Saturday. The riders rode all day in high temperatures. “That is not healthy, it is inhumane,” Lance Armstrong said in his podcast ‘The Move’.
Armstrong, who will share his views on the Tour de France in his podcast, is mainly critical of the UCI on this occasion. “May I remind everyone that the Tour de France is the toughest sporting event in the world? In Saturday’s stage it was almost forty degrees for the first time this season. The riders simply cannot drink enough to maintain their fluid balance,” said 52-year-old Armstrong. “You expect two hundred riders to participate in – I’ll say it again – the toughest sporting event in the world over the next three weeks with almost chronic dehydration. That is not healthy. I don’t care what the UCI says, it’s inhumane. There has to be another way.”
But what is Armstrong’s solution? “I understand that I am now on thin ice when it comes to this subject, but I don’t care. The ‘no needle policy’ means that you should not use cortisone if you suffer from tendonitis in your knee. Just as you should not combat dehydration with intravenous therapy after a scorching stage like Saturday’s.”
Armstrong’s friend, Mark Cavendish, struggled through the stage:
Tour de France 2024
On a historic day in Italy it was Romain Bardet who grabbed the Stage 1 victory on the Rimini seafront, securing the yellow jersey with a fine performance for dsm-firmenich PostNL. The Frenchman was followed across the finish line by his teammate Frank van den Broek who had collaborated brilliantly with him to set up the win, whilst Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) was third, leading the peloton to the finish 5 seconds behind the front two. It is Bardet’s fourth stage victory in the Grande Boucle and the first Yellow Jersey of a sporting career that will end, as he has announced, after the Giro d’Italia 2025.
The 176 riders on the start list were all present for the first ever Italian Grand Départ with the peloton pedalling along the beautiful streets of Florence, stopping briefly at the Palazzo Vecchio and crossing the iconic Ponte Vecchio on the neutralised route through the Tuscan capital. Once the racing began on this 111th edition of the Tour de France there were numerous early attackers, with the riders sensing that the characteristics of the opening stage could give any breakaway that formed a realistic chance of success on the 206 kilometres to Rimini.
Eventually Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Clément Champoussin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Frank Van den Broek (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Sandy Dujardin and Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) managed to establish a breakaway after 17 kilometres. Initially absent from the break, Uno X-Mobility tried again and again to mount a counterattack until Jonas Abrahamsen managed to make the move across with Ryan Gibbons (Lidl-Trek). That duo joined the head of the race at 41 kilometres, in the middle of the ascent of the Col de Valico Tre Faggi (Cat.2, 49.7km). On the climb Vercher was dropped and the break would achieve its maximum lead (6:00 at 46km) before EF Education-EasyPost took the reins of the peloton. Izagirre was first at the top of the first climb, with the eight escapees by then having a 5:10 lead over the main group, from which sprinters such as Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), Fabio Jakobsen (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) had lost contact.
Abrahamsen was the first to reach the summit of the Côte des Forche (Cat.3, 77.8km), at the top of which the break’s lead had been reduced to 3:40 due to the momentum of EF Education-EasyPost. Dujardin won the Santa Sofia intermediate sprint (IS, 86.6km) before losing ground on the Côte de Carnaio (Cat.3, 98.3km) just as Champoussin would also do. Izagirre led the front group, reduced to six riders as they topped the climb, with the breakaway by then increasing their advantage to 4:15 over the peloton. The main group now without EF at the front, was gradually losing riders due to the heat, pace and difficulty of the stage.
UAE Team Emirates took control of the bunch on the Côte de Barbotto (Cat.2, 135.6km), and their work had an impact. On the one hand, they reduced the gap to 2:45 with respect to the break, who crossed the summit led by Abrahamsen (who would become leader of the KOM classification) and lost Izagirre on the climb. On the other hand, favourites for the stage victory such as Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) were struggling, as well as riders targeting the general classification such as Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ). Both Pedersen and Buitrago managed to return to the group of favourites, now reduced to 50 riders, before the Côte de San Leo (Cat.2, 157.3km), on the slopes of which Visma | Lease a Bike took control and Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) attacked. Supported by his teammate Van den Broek, who temporarily dropped out of the break to help him, Bardet topped the climb 15 seconds behind Madouas and Abrahamsen, who had dropped Mohorič and Gibbons. The dsm-firmenich duo would be left in the lead at the top of the Côte de Montemaggio (Cat.3, 167.1km), where they had 1:45 over the peloton and 55 seconds over Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), who had counter-attacked.
The accelerations of INEOS Grenadiers, Lidl-Trek and EF Education-EasyPost (who had pulled Healy back to help) on the Côte de San Marino (Cat.3, 179.7km) barely reduced the advantage of the dsm-firmenich duo to 1:35 at the top of the seventh and last categorised climb of the day. The chase was on, with Van den Broek and Bardet grinding hard over the mainly flat final 25km. At 5km from the finish in Rimini the leading duo maintained a 30 second advantage, despite the efforts of the teams behind them. Together they managed to win the fight to keep the chasing group at bay and achieve a remarkable victory.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report HERE’. #
Stage winner and overall leader, Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich-PostNL): “It’s hard to describe. I couldn’t really dream to achieve something like this. I think we just raced our bikes today and went for it as a team. With the way the route was and how Frank, Oscar and the rest of the team rode today, big respect and fair play to them. We just wanted to have fun and ride our bikes like there was no tomorrow. It was a long run together in the last 40 kilometres. When I had bridged across, I could feel that Frank was super pumped to have me there too, so we just went full gas to the line after that. We communicated a lot but in the end we didn’t have much to say, we knew what we needed to do and just go for it until the finish. Frank is a true gentlemen, half of this jersey belongs to him. I can honestly only say all of the compliments in the world to him. We’ll enjoy this as a team, it’s the perfect start to the race for us.”
2nd on the stage, 2nd overall, points leader, best young rider and most aggressive rider, Frank Van Den Broek (dsm-firmenich-PostNL): “In the neutral I was just flabbergasted, but then when the race started it felt just like any other race. I found myself in the breakaway and then you’re only thinking about what’s best and how to go further. It’s only after the finish that you realise what you’ve done. At first I was already feeling my legs and I said to Romain I’ll pace you up this climb. Even with my pace I was a bit surprised. Then he helped me get over the last climb and then the race to the finish was really hard, it really burned. It’s so crazy we made it! I must admit when I lost the first few KOM sprints I was a bit annoyed with myself, but I thought I could keep going and go for the most aggressive prize. We weren’t going in the breakaway for that reason, but I was surprised when Romain made the jump and then we had a totally different plan and it all worked out.”
KOM, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): “The plan this morning was to go in the breakaway, preferably with Odd Christian Eiking. After many attempts, he couldn’t be there and I attempted to make up for it. It was very hard to bridge back to the front, and it made me very tired. Luckily I started to feel better shortly after and it later went pretty well for me. It’s crazy. Two years ago I was a 58 or 60 kg climber, and now I am around 80kg and I climb better now than when I was lighter. It’s a transformation I undertook two years ago, when I first joined Uno-X, with help and guidance from the team staff, and I’m very happy with the result as I feel stronger every year. I’ve gained some power, and that has been key today to sprint for the KOM points. It’s a hard stage tomorrow, but maybe I can go in the breakaway to get some points and hold on to this polka dot jersey so we can have it for a few more days. I’m very happy I can wear a Tour de France jersey.”
3rd on the stage and overall, Wout Van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike): “This was a successful test. I never expected this, I’m super happy with this. I just felt good today, and as the situation was I had a chance to win a stage. Somehow I regained my confidence during the race. There are two strong riders ahead, who are also teammates. Then you know that they are going to race head to head. Congratulations to them, we couldn’t really do much more, so we are satisfied. We completely turned the switch on the last climb, which was no longer the most difficult. We were already riding before to keep the gap limited, but we had to let the other teams help to close the gap. After the last climb there was a quick check. It’s very nice.”
4th on the stage and overall, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “First day was super good, I tested the legs a little bit on the climbs with quite a good pace and they were ok, even with the heat. In the end I tried to sprint also, I saw a opening and I almost beat two of the fastest guys in this race, Pedersen and Van Aert, but I was not lucky in the final: chapeau to the winner! Bardet and Van den Broek went with a very good pace and they deserved the victory.”
8th on the stage and overall, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step): “I had a good feeling in general. Better than in the Dauphiné, that is already positive. I felt it immediately, I don’t have to draw a picture of that. You will notice this when your legs turn better and you can ride uphill more easily. I also felt more confident on the bike. That’s my story today. In the beginning, anyway. But I have already gained experience in nervous races. Overall, I can’t complain with the positioning feel. I’m just happy. What I thought this morning has come true, that riders like Van Aert and Pedersen could survive. There are still two riders in front, if that doesn’t happen, Wout will simply have yellow. It was a first stage that the good Classic men could also survive. I actually don’t look too much at the other favourites yet.”
Tour de France Stage 1 Result:
1. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich-PostNL in 5:43:50
2. Frank Van Den Broek (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
3. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:05
4. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
5. Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Lotto Dstny
6. Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Movistar
7. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek
8. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
9. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious
10. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 1:
1. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich-PostNL in 5:43:50
2. Frank Van Den Broek (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:04
3. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:11
4. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates at 0:15
5. Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Lotto Dstny
6. Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Movistar
7. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek
8. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
9. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious
10. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost.
Tour’24 stage 1:
The Second Stage of the 2024 Tour de France was won by Kevin Vauquelin in the centre of Bologna, after the young Frenchman attacked on the second San Luca climb and made it to the finish line solo. Vauquelin made it two wins for French riders in the first two stages, handing Arkea-B&B Hotels their first ever Tour de France victory in their 11th participation. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) finished second and retained the polka dot jersey, Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) was third on the stage. In the general classification Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) attacked on San Luca, taking the yellow jersey from Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich-PostNL).
The 175 riders who crossed the finish line in Rimini on stage 1 were present at the start of the second stage in Cesenatico. The parcours of the day inspired the attackers, who presented themselves in numbers at the start of the stage to attempt a breakaway. Despite a fast pace in the bunch, a significant group managed to break away at 8km, featuring Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier-Tech), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Harold Tejada (Astana), Cristian Rodriguez & Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Mike Teunissen (Intermarché-Wanty), Bram Welten (dsm Firmenich-PostNL) and Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies). Brent Van Moer (Lotto-Dstny) gave chase with Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) for several kilometres, but they were finally unable to join the front group. None of the riders in the break represented a direct threat to the yellow jersey of Romain Bardet, whose dsm Firmenich-PostNL teammates let the gap increase, first to 5 minutes at 23km, then to 8:20 at 66km.
Abrahamsen was the first to summit the Côte de Monticino (Cat.3, 74km), where Welten fell back from the break and was caught by the main group, and the Côte de Gallisterna (Cat.3, 88.8km). At the top of the Gallisterna climb the lead of the break had been reduced to 5:35 due to the energy of a nervous peloton. Norwegian rider Abrahamsen led the way through Dozza (IS, 108.1km), where Laurens de Plus (INEOS Grenadiers), Matteo Jorgenson and Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) suffered a crash at high speed. The three quickly resumed the race, with abrasions and bruises. The peloton eased the pace after the intermediate sprint, allowing the escape to increase its lead to 9:15” by 129km.
Determined to retain the polka dot jersey, Abrahamsen was first on the Côte de Botteghino di Zocca (Cat.4, 139km) and the Côte de Montecalvo (Cat.3, 151.2km). It was on the Montecalvo ascent that the peloton quickened its pace, with the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team of Primoz Roglič and the Lotto dstny colleagues of Maxim Van Gils producing a strong acceleration that reduced the peloton and decreased the gap to the break to 4:15 on the first crossing of the Bologna finish line (162.5km). On the first ascent of the Côte de San Luca (Cat.3, 168.3km) there were several attacks without final consequences in front and a sustained pace from Visma | Lease a Bike behind. Abrahamsen took first place on the first ascent of San Luca again, 3:25 ahead of the bunch.
The first climb to the San Luca sanctuary shook up the lead group, which regrouped momentarily but exploded under the effect of Neilson Oliveira’s attack, 21km from the finish. The Portuguese rider was only followed by Kevin Vauquelin and Jonas Abrahamsen. The trio rode for the second time towards the climb of San Luca, where the Arkea-B&B Hotels rider managed to go solo. Vauquelin built up a lead of 40 seconds which he managed to maintain in the final kilometres and he won, 36 seconds ahead of Abrahamsen.
On the second San Luca climb the battles also played out in the peloton, where Romain Bardet lost contact mid climb and saw his yellow jersey slip away. 600 metres from the summit, Tadej Pogačar launched an attack only followed by Jonas Vingegaard. The protagonists of the last four editions of the Tour went clear of the rest of the group of favourites, with the exception of Remco Evenepoel and Richard Carapaz who regained contact in the last kilometre of the stage. At the finish line, Pogičar was back in yellow.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report HERE’. #
Stage winner, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): “This is crazy. I had two weeks of disappointment, in Switzerland and the French championships. I have to thank Cristian Rodriguez. He put in quite a few pulls to animate the breakaway, and then controlled everything for me. Very strong. A big thank you. I felt on the climb before, after increasing the tempo that I could even accelerate more myself, even if it was still too far away, so I decided to wait. Afterwards I followed the move of Oliveira and Abrahamsen, knowing that on the climb I was better than them and I was. I was able to get away and it was perfect. I was asking about the gaps all the time. I started to appreciate the victory very late. I knew they could ride very hard behind, so I was wary. Fortunately my riding quality was there and I was able to finish the job. It was very cool.”
Overall leader, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “A good day? Well, so-so. Today, when the break went, we knew they had a good chance of making it to the finish. In the final circuit I felt super good and the pace was super high already the first time up San Luca because of how the Visma team pulled. Then, the second time, we decided to try so I could test myself a bit. Jonas Vingegaard was really quickly on my wheel. I’m not surprised by his level. We cooperated well together, but Remco and Richard did it too and came back to our wheel at the very end. The whole circuit in Bologna was super crowded, and the climb was insane! Really unbelievable. It’s the cycling we should all love. Am I going to keep the yellow jersey for long? Well, I prefer to take it day by day and stick to the original plan…”
2nd overall and best young rider, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step): “I think these first two days have gone pretty well both for me and for my team. We have proven that the shape is there. I need some more power in my legs if I want to follow accelerations like Tadej’s, but that will come as we pack more racing days in. Actually, the legs were there – I was just too far back at the bottom of the climb and had to close a gap between two groups midway, so I burned some matches there that were missing later. Yet I am very happy that I could later come back to Tadej’s and Jonas’ wheels. It was a very hard chase, but I kept pushing because I could see that I was coming closer and closer. It is very good for my confidence that I bridged back with them. On the other hand, we all knew that this was a very specific stage, and that Tadej is the best in these type of efforts. It has been a good GC day, and now I feel a bit like Tadej as I’m wearing the same white jersey that he has been sporting for ages! It is an honour to lead this classification.”
3rd overall, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike): “I also doubted myself, that’s not a lie. Today was a very good day for me. It was one of the days where I expected to lose some time on Pogačar, so to be able to follow him feels like a victory. We set a high pace from the start of the climb and UAE Emirates took over. When Pogačar attacked I was fortunately able to follow him. At the top I decided to ride with him. My pedal hit the ground somewhere along the way and I thought back to the injuries for a moment. But I won’t say that I have fear on the descents. It is difficult to start a race without knowing how good you are. I trained for a month and a half so it was very difficult to say where I would be. I also doubted myself, that’s not a lie. But now I can say that I am back and I hope we have three good weeks here.”
2nd on the stage, points leader and KOM, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): “It was a good day. I got more points for the Mountain jersey and also I’ve got this green jersey. I’ve also got second place on the stage so I’m really happy about that. I was not strong enough today to win so I’m very happy to get second place today. We will see how it all goes now after two very hard days. Maybe I did not have such good legs today after yesterday, so maybe now it will be a bit of an easier day tomorrow.”
8th on the stage, Mike Teunissen (Intermarché-Wanty): “You always need luck to be in the breakaway. I was busy controlling the attacks at the start of the race and found myself in the leading group, but I would have preferred to break away with other riders. I knew from the first climb that I had to try something special to win this stage. With the exception of Jonas Abrahamsen, almost all my breakaway companions weigh 10 kilos less than me. So as soon as we had to climb, i’m at a disadvantage. I tried to save myself and stay calm, in the hope that the others would exert themselves more in the heat. But winning was difficult. My role in this Tour is clear: I’m here above all to help our sprinters, Biniam Girmay and Gerben Thijssen. It was an enjoyable day up front, but now it’s a question of recovering well, because tomorrow is an important day. This is the first sprint opportunity, with a chance for Gerben Thijssen. I’ll try to put him down as best I can in the final pack. It’s Gerben’s first Tour, and he’s discovering a new experience in a major race. I’m going to help him as best I can.”
Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe): “It was tough, I didn’t have the legs I had hoped for. I wasn’t sitting where I was supposed to be and had to come from far too far away. I couldn’t do anything. Luckily there are still 19 stages to go.”
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe): “If I had had the legs I could have still been there, but I was really on the limit. After the top I was able to get to the front and take the lead with Aleksandr Vlasov, which allowed us to limit the damage. That was good teamwork, we gave everything. It was not a disaster day, because there are many more days to come.”
Tour de France Stage 2 Result:
1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 4:50:08
2. Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 0:36
3. Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:49
4. Cristian Rodriguez (Pan) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
5. Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue (Col) Astana Qazaqstan
6. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar at 0:50
7. Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin-Deceuninck at 1:12
8. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty at 1:33
9. Hugo Houle (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 1:36
10. Richard Carapaz EF (Ecu) Education-EasyPost at 2:21
Tour de France Overall After Stage 2:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 9:53:30
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost
5. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:06
6. Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Lotto Dstny at 0:021
7. Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers
8. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious
9. Tom Pidcock (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
10. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek.
Tour’24 stage 1:
The Special Team Kits for the 2024 Tour de France
The Tour de France started last Saturday in Italy for the first time and, for different reasons, some teams have changed their race kit for the French Grand Tour.
Alpecin-Deceuninck
Alpecin-Deceuninck are usually in their blue denim kit, but during the Tour the riders of the Belgian team will wearing a ‘Dark Denim outfit’. “The aim is to draw attention to the new media campaign of our main sponsor Alpecin,” the team explained. Alpecin are pushing their ‘Grey Attack Shampoo’.
Arkea-B&B Hotels (not in the race)
At the team presentation on Thursday evening in Florence, the riders of Arkéa-B&B Hotels wore a celeste kit. “Bianchi’s Celeste + Italy + Tour de France, that is the perfect match,” the French team wrote on social media. “Our riders will wear a collector’s item this evening as a tribute to our great partner Bianchi.”
Cofidis
Cofidis has also changed the race kit for the Tour. The jersey is still red and white, but it has a different pattern. It looks good compared the old version.
Jayco AlUla
Simon Yates and Michael Matthews will be wearing an orange and green kit at the Tour. The orange is a reference to the desert around AlUla. The city in Saudi Arabia is the main sponsor of the Australian team Jayco-AlUla. Of course Dylan Groenewegen will be wearing his red, white and blue Netherlands champion’s jersey.
Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe
Ralph Denk’s German team presented their new sponsor and their new clothing, a few days before the start of the Tour de France. The presentation took place in Salzburg, Austria, in the hangar of the energy drink manufacturer at the airport. The green of hansgrohe almost completely disappears and is replaced by a lot of black. Red Bull’s logo is obvious on the jersey and shorts.
Soudal Quick-Step
The Tour jersey of Remco Evenepoel and teammates has changed very little, but there is a new sponsor on the chest: Circeaulair has joined the team. Circeaulair is a joint venture between Ekopak Sustainable Water (also official jersey sponsor) and the Belgian infrastructure fund EPICo². The goal of Circeaulair is to disconnect the industry of the drinking water network and pursue circular water use. By prominently featuring the company’s logo at this year’s Tour de France, Circeaulair aims to leverage this high-visibility partnership to enhance awareness and foster brand visibility across Europe.
Speaking of the change of logo, Pieter Loose, CEO of Ekopak and founder of Circeaulair said: “The visibility provided by our partnership with Soudal Quick-Step at the Tour de France is invaluable. With millions of viewers tuning in from around the globe, it is an opportunity to highlight the critical issue of water sustainability and to engage a broad audience in our mission to transform industrial water use.”
Visma | Lease a Bike
Visma | Lease a Bike, like in previous years, will wear a special jersey and shorts at the Tour de France. This year it is a blue design, with references to the start city of Florence and the Renaissance. The team website states that the shirt symbolises “thinking without boundaries.” “After two consecutive Tour victories, characterised by boundless innovation and development, this year’s Tour de France takes us from Florence to Nice. This journey, following the spirit of the Renaissance, reflects our mission to push boundaries and improve every day.”
Intermarché-Wanty (not in the race)
Intermarché-Wanty supports the Restos du Coeur on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. On the eve of its seventh Tour de France, Intermarché-Wanty unveiled a special jersey in tribute to the 50th anniversary of VC Ath, the club at the origin of the Belgian World Team. The shirt will be worn by the riders during the two rest days and marks an exceptional partnership with the Restos du Coeur.
ASO Experiments with the 3 Kilometre Rule
The ASO will experiment extending the 3-kilometre rule during the Tour de France. In many stages, the GC riders can relax in the peloton 3 kilometres from the finish, but in several Tour stages the 3K is to be extended to 4 and 5 kilometres.
If a rider suffers a mechanical or is held up due to a crash in the last three kilometres of a stage with a flat finish, the rider will receive the same time as the group he was in at the time of the incident. Earlier this season, the UCI announced that it would experiment with extending the rule. It would improve safety in the flat final part of the race.
In the Tour’s regulations book, the organisers still writes about the three-kilometre rule, but in the briefing presentation to the team DS’s, the ASO announced in which stages the zone will be expanded to four or five kilometres. WielerFlits have listed which stages will be affected.
According to the Tour’s rulebook: “Riders affected by an incident must immediately identify themselves to a commissaire by raising their arm and reporting to a commissaire as soon as they have crossed the finish line. If a rider cannot reach the finish due to an observed fall in the last three kilometres (or four or five kilometres), he will be classified last in the stage and will be given the time of the rider or riders with whom he was currently competing. In exceptional cases, the decision of the jury of commissioners is final.”
The 4 kilometre rule applies in these stages:
Stage 5: from Saint-Jean-De-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas
Stage 6: from Mâcon to Dijon
Stage 10: from Orléans to Saint-Amand-Montrond
The 5 kilometre rule applies in these stages:
Stage 3: from Plaicanse to Turin
Stage 12: from Aurillac to Villeneuve-Sur-Lot
Stage 13: from Agen to Pau
No rule apply in these stages:
Stage 7: time trial from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin
Stage 14: uphill finish to Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet
Stage 15: uphill finish to Plateau de Beille
Stage 17: uphill finish to Superdévoluy
Stage 19: uphill finish to Isola 2000
Stage 20: uphill finish to Col de la Couillole
Stage 21: time trial from Monaco to Nice.
‘Safe’ to crash in the final:
Tadej Pogačar had Covid Days Before the Tour
Tadej Pogačar’s preparation for the 2024 Tour de France has not gone entirely smoothly. After he had to cancel his altitude training camp three days early due to the death of his grandfather, he also had to deal with a covid infection. “Ten days ago I had Covid,” the Slovenian revealed at the press conference prior to the Tour.
Pogačar contracted the corona virus during the altitude camp, between the end of the Giro d’Italia and the death of his grandfather. “I got sick and felt very tired,” says the Tour top favourite. “That made me a bit of a question mark, but I have recovered very well from the covid infection. In the end it wasn’t that big of a deal. I honestly feel great now.”
Visma | Lease a Bike and Remco Evenepoel are wearing face masks, the Slovenian is surprised. “Covid is no longer such a serious problem. Especially if your body has already carried the virus before. I’ve had it before, maybe more than once. Your body therefore gets used to it. It wasn’t too heavy, but more like a cold. I was only off the bike for one day, then I rode indoors on rollers. And when I no longer felt sick, I started cycling outside again.”
Pogačar had covid last week:
Mads Pedersen Also had Covid
Just like Tadej Pogačar, Mads Pedersen had a covid infection while preparing for the Tour de France. Pedersen was infected after the Critérium du Dauphiné, as was his teammates Tao Geoghegan Hart, who will miss the Tour, and Giulio Ciccone.
Pedersen spoke to Velo about his infection. “For some people it has a big impact and for some people it has a small impact. It wasn’t that big of a problem for me. I haven’t cycled for a few days, but I had to rest anyway. I have been lucky, hopefully it will remain that way in the Tour.”
The former World champion also looked ahead to the opening weekend in Italy. “It would be a shame not to try. For me it will really depend on what other teams do on that last climb. If UAE goes full, I won’t survive. In any case, it will be at the limit, everything will have to go well.”
Pedersen also had covid:
Remco Evenepoel Wearing a Face Mask as a Precaution
Visma | Lease a Bike has return to a partial covid protocol during the Tour de France. Also Remco Evenepoel wore a face mask during a media meeting in Florence on Thursday. “It’s just to be careful,” the Soudal Quick-Step leader explained.
“I don’t want it to end like it did during my second Giro last year,” said Evenepoel, who had to leave the 2023 Giro d’Italia when he was in the overall lead, due to covid. “It feels a bit safer in this press room with a face mask,” laughed the 24-year-old rider. “We will also come into contact with many people in the coming hours, so we have to be careful.”
“You don’t have to worry about me being sick now. I’m better than last week,” concluded Evenepoel. Last Sunday, Evenepoel didn’t defend his Belgian title because he was suffering from a cold. “Many riders left the Dauphiné with a cold,” Evenepoel said earlier this week to Het Nieuwsblad. “Some even with something worse. I was lucky that it never completely broke through for me, until I trained in bad weather for a few days after the Dauphiné and it happened anyway. I was never super sick, but I did have a slightly elevated heart rate.”
Mask again for Remco:
Visma | Lease a Bike Introduces Innovative Control Room
Team Visma | Lease a Bike is proud to introduce its innovative Control Room, a van filled with state-of-the-art technology and equipment that will act as a central collection point of real-time data during the Tour de France.
Thanks to the collaboration with main sponsor Visma, a pioneer in business software, and BetCity, a Dutch provider of online sportsbetting, the Control Room is a groundbreaking example of modern technology in top-level sport, analysing real-time, generally available data during the stages such as TV footage, weather information and race radio to optimise race decisions. Visma’s expertise in data collection and visualisation, together with BetCity’s goal of playing smarter, creates a unique tool within cycling.
Head of Performance Mathieu Heijboer: “We are very happy that we were able to develop the Control Room with our innovative partners, which allows us to collect and analyse even more live data and get a better overview of the race. This will enable us to support the coaches in the car and help them make the best possible tactical decisions faster. Together with these partners, we are taking another step in further developing the world of cycling. We are proud of that and look forward to utilising the Control Room from the very first Tour de France stage in Florence.”
Visma CEO Merete Hverven: “We are thrilled to provide continued software expertise via the Control Room to help Team Visma | Lease a Bike perform their best. Together, we are breaking new ground in elite-level cycling, demonstrating the power of digital solutions to support decision-making and improve performance, not just for business and society, but also in the world of sport.”
Discover more at https://controlroom.teamvismaleaseabike.com.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike introduces innovative Control Room:
Meals are on Wheels as Soudal Quick-Step’s New Food Truck Hits the Road!
With the Tour de France now just over one week away, the process of planning how to fuel our riders through the world’s biggest race is well under way.
This is why Soudal Quick-Step were today delighted to receive the keys to their brand-new kitchen truck, which has been kitted out with state-of-the art STOOF kitchen equipment by our partners at Lafosse. It was at the Lafosse showroom in Wevelgem where General Manager Benjamin Vandorpe handed over the truck to Soudal Quick-Step CEO Patrick Lefevere.
Nutrition has long been part of Soudal Quick-Step’s strategy to be one of the leading teams in professional cycling, with our nutritionists and chefs working closely with our riders to ensure that they are suitably fuelled to take on some of the world’s hardest races. Earlier in the year we announced that we would be supplied with ingredients from Alce Nero, but they still need to be prepared properly. This is why we are delighted that Lafosse were able to kit our truck with market leading STOOF equipment, allowing our chefs to make nutritious and delicious meals for our riders. The truck has also been fitted with Quick-Step vinyl Terrazzo multicolour flooring.
Speaking on receipt of the keys to the new vehicle, Lefevere said: “We know how important nutrition is to athletes, with more research and understanding being made all the time. As we know, what is good for you doesn’t always mean that it tastes the best, so we need to provide our chefs and nutritionists with a space where they can be creative. That is why we are delighted that our truck has been fitted with the kind of state-of-the-art equipment that you would find in a top restaurant, and we would like to thank Lafosse for their time and expertise in helping to put this together.”
The riders of Soudal Quick-Step are top performers, that’s why it is important their food is prepared with a constant quality, independent of the location they are staying at. “We are proud that we at Lafosse could work closely together with the chefs and nutritionists of the team to develop a complete cutting-edge mobile kitchen including a made-to-measure STOOF specific to their needs and wishes”, according to Benjamin Vandorpe.
Arnaud De Lie Settles a Bet with a Haircut
Arnaud De Lie will start his first Tour de France with a new haircut. His mullet is the result of a bet that the young rider made with his friends. If he won the Belgian championship, he and his friends would go for a cup with shaved sides. “The haircut was recommended by my sister,” said De Lie from the hairdresser’s chair. “According to her, this hairstyle should look good on me,” he laughs.
The Lotto Dstny sprinter, who won the Belgian title in Zottegem, is the first of his group of friends to fulfil his side of the bet. In a video after the haircut, he calls on his comrades to follow his example.
New style for ‘Le Taureau Wallon’:
Peter Sagan Will End to his Road Career after the Tour of Slovakia
Peter Sagan will finally end his road career on Sunday, after the fifth and final stage of the Tour of Slovakia. His current team; Pierre Baguette Cycling, announced via social media. Sagan has chosen to stop as a road cyclist in a home race. An impressive career comes to an end, in which Sagan was World champion three times and won the green jersey in the Tour de France seven times.
Peter Sagan is one of the best cyclists of the 21st century. With three World titles in a row, seven green jerseys in the Tour de France, twelve stage victories in the Tour, four stage victories in the Vuelta, two stage victories in the Giro, Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and three times Gent-Wevelgem are in his palmarès. In total he has 121 professional road victories. In 2010 he made his debut in the WorldTour peloton with Liquigas. He raced there until 2014, when it was called Cannondale. After two seasons with Tinkoff-Saxo, Sagan left for BORA-hansgrohe, where he raced for five years. At the end of 2021, the Slovakian joined the French ProTeam TotalEnergies. Top results were not achieved with the French team.
Sagan will retire as a road cyclist after the final stage of the Tour of Slovakia, but will not say goodbye totally, as will still ride the mountain bike. It is unclear which MTB competitions he will contest, but Sagan will not compete in the Paris Olympics this summer. He hoped to be able to say goodbye at the Olympic Games this year on the mountain bike, where it all started for him. However, as the 34-year-old rider failed to qualify for the Olympic Cross-Country competition, he won’t be in Paris. His country Slovakia was too low in the world rankings to be allowed to send mountain bikers to Paris, so it was up to Sagan to collect as many UCI points as possible in the run-up to the Games. In February heart problems came to light and he had surgery twice and couldn’t race as much as he needed and wanted to.
No more road racing for Peter Sagan:
INEOS Grenadiers Sign Exciting Danish Talent Peter Øxenberg
The INEOS Grenadiers are delighted to announce the signing of highly sought-after Danish talent Peter Øxenberg. The 18-year-old from Nørreby, has signed a three-year contract from 1 January, 2025.
Øxenberg, who currently rides for the Danish UCI Continental outfit Team ColoQuick, has scored a string of excellent results as a junior in Denmark and across Europe, including most recently in early May when he finished second at Eschborn-Frankfurt U23 along with winning a stage at the Orlen Nations Grand Prix. Øxenberg is set to compete in the upcoming Tour de l’Avenir for the Danish national team and then complete his season with Team ColoQuick, ahead of joining the INEOS Grenadiers in 2025.
Øxenberg said: “I’m really excited to be turning professional next season with the INEOS Grenadiers. It’s going to be fun to take that step up and see how I perform. I came to cycling quite late but everyone knows this team and the talent it has. It’s a super professional set up and everyone has been really welcoming. I can’t wait to get started. It’s been great to see how the team works with young riders over the years and helps them to perform at the highest level. It gave me a lot of confidence when I came to sign with the team. I’m still quite young and discovering a lot about myself and how I can perform at my best. I’ve enjoyed the climbing I’ve done in races and I really love time trialling. I think that can be one of my strongest areas. I want to improve everywhere and learn as much as I can. I know I’m in the place to do that. Cycling is huge in Denmark. It’s super competitive and it’s hard to win any race there. The level is really high and I’m excited to become part of this big Danish group of riders in the WorldTour.”
Performance Director, Scott Drawer, said: “It’s a real coup for us to secure Peter’s signing as there was significant interest in him across the peloton. We’re thrilled he’s joining our team to take his first steps as a professional bike rider. He’s already had some excellent results, in only a short time in the sport, and many would also have seen his effort and that of his team on Coll de Rates which was very impressive. Peter’s young, ambitious and hugely talented, and will fall under the guidance of our internal Ascent programme which includes the likes of Josh Tarling, Magnus Sheffield, AJ August and others. He will be an important part of the continued growth of our squad and its profile, as we build towards our ambition to consistently win cycling’s biggest races.”
Ellen van Dijk Has Positive News on Her Recovery
Ellen van Dijk has shared good news about her recovery. The Dutch woman broke her ankle in early June, which threatened her participation in the Olympic Games. “I have taken a big step,” the Lidl-Trek rider said via her social media.
“I’m really happy to share good news about my recovery. My ankle is healing well after the surgery. I do two or three indoor sessions on the bike every day. Last week I received a brace that fits in my regular cycling shoe. That was a big step, because now I can increase the training,” said Van Dijk.
The Dutch rider is not there yet, but things are getting better. “The next step will be to do more intervals and increase the intensity. For now I’m enjoying the progression. There is still a lot of work to do, but the hardest and riskiest part of recovery is behind me. I will do everything I can to make it happen!”
Ellen van Dijk on the return:
Bernal Will Not Go to the Olympic Games After All
Earlier this month, the Colombian cycling federation announced that Egan Bernal would be one of their riders in the Olympic Games in Paris, but Bernal has now been removed from the start list. According to the federation, because INEOS Grenadiers did not give permission, but the British team denies it.
On Thursday, the FCC announced that Bernal would not participate in the Olympic road race in Paris, he would have been with Daniel Felipe Martinez, who would also ride the time trial. In a statement, FCC said “that Bernal ultimately did not receive permission from his team.”
When asked by the French press service AFP, INEOS Grenadiers said that it had made no such decision regarding Bernal’s participation in the Games. Colombia will now be at the Olympic road race without former Tour de France winner Bernal. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) has been called up as his replacement for the race on Saturday, August 3.
No Olympics for Bernal:
Arensman Commits to the INEOS Grenadiers Until 2027
Talented young Dutch rider Thymen Arensman has reconfirmed his commitment to the INEOS Grenadiers by signing a three-year contract extension that will see him race for the team until the end of 2027.
The 24-year-old became a Grenadier in 2023 and has since developed his credentials as a Grand Tour rider, finishing in 6th place at the Giro in both 2023 and 2024. The hugely promising GC racer is looking to build on this trajectory and continue his progression with the team he feels can best support his ambitions.
Arensman said: “I am really happy to extend with INEOS and it was a very easy decision to make for me. I have been a Grenadier for two years, and am really happy and settled here. I have great people around me who understand my body and help me to get the best out of myself. I know that mentally and physically, I perform better with stability, so it’s great to know that this will be my home for the next three years.”
Building on the roster of highly talented young riders in the team, Scott Drawer, Performance Director, was full of praise for the 24-year-old. Drawer said: “Thymen is a super talented young rider who has played a key role in two Grand Tours for the team already. He has developed and learnt a lot over the last two seasons and I know he will continue to play a big part in the future success of the team. He is keen to learn, committed, ambitious and wants to push himself to be a leader and podium at a Grand Tour himself one day. We are all excited to continue to support Thymen, helping him to reach his full potential and see what he is capable of.”
2024 USA Cycling Masters & Junior Road National Championships Come to Augusta on July 25-28, 2024
The Augusta Sports Council will host the return of the Masters & Junior Road National Championships.
The 2024 USA Cycling Masters & Junior Road National Championships will take place July 25-28, 2024 in Augusta, Ga. The first three days of racing will take place on Fort Eisenhower and Sunday’s Criterium will be held in downtown Augusta.
Race Schedule:
Spectators can expect four full days of Championship racing. The marquee events include:
- Thursday: Individual Time Trial
- Friday: Road Race
- Saturday: Road Race
- Sunday: Criterium
The full race schedule can be found here.
General Information:
Spectators are encouraged to attend. Spectators planning to attend Thursday-Saturday events at Fort Eisenhower who do not have a DoD ID card must pre-register for a Visitor Pass to Fort Eisenhower via this link. The Visitors Center and event access will be located at Fort Eisenhower Gate 6 Augusta, GA 30905.
Sunday’s Criterium races in downtown Augusta will be held at the Augusta Common, located at 836 Reynolds St, Augusta, GA 30901. Additional spectator information can be found here.
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