Only three days to the start of the first Grand Tour of 2024. We have the Giro team announcements, plus the race reports, results and video from La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es and the Eschborn-Frankfurt Classic.
The challenge for the Maglia Rosa – TOP STORY.
Giro team news: UAE Team Emirates, Soudal Quick-Step, Jayco AlUla, dsm-firmenich PostNL, Movistar, Intermarché-Wanty, Tudor, BORA – hansgrohe, Bahrain Victorious, Polti Kometa, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Israel – Premier Tech all announce their Giro rosters.
Rider news: Egan Bernal to prepare for the Tour de France, Lennard Kämna leaves Hospital in Tenerife and Rick Zabel retires.
Team news: Georg Zimmermann extends two years with Intermarché-Wanty.
Race news: Panasonic back in cycling as main sponsor of a Dutch race.
Plus: Watch the documentary ‘Road to Resilience’: Inside the Beehive with Visma | Lease a Bike, now streaming: ‘Road to the Giro’ with INEOS Grenadiers and pizza Giro action from Soudal Quick-Step.
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TOP STORY:The Challenge for the Maglia Rosa
The big favourite to win the general classification is Tadej Pogačar. Number 1 in the UCI World Ranking, the Slovenian is making his debut in the Corsa Rosa after a triumphant start to the season that saw him win seven times out of a total of ten days of racing. His main rival will be Geraint Thomas, who in 2023 wore the Maglia Rosa until the penultimate stage. The Welshman will again have at his side Thymen Arensman, 6th in last year’s edition and one of the biggest favourites for the Maglia Bianca. Among the riders who finished in the final top 10 last year will also be at the start Damiano Caruso, (4th) and Eddie Dunbar (7th). Returning to the Giro with ambitions will be Romain Bardet, second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Ben O’ Connor, winner of a stage and runner-up at the UAE Tour, Daniel Felipe Martinez, three wins in the season, Juan Pedro Lopez, winner of the Tour of the Alps, and the Maglia Rosa of the 2014 edition Nairo Quintana. Among the most awaited debutants, also with an eye over the Maglia Bianca, are Cian Uijtdebroeks, 8th at the Vuelta a España 2023, and Antonio Tiberi, who has achieved some good results this season at the Volta a Catalunya and Tour of the Alps.
The Sprinters
Many fast men are awaited at the start of the Corsa Rosa, starting with the Maglia Ciclamino of 2023, Jonathan Milan, who confirmed his strength by winning two stages and the points classification of Tirreno-Adriatico. Among the sprinters already capable of winning at the Giro d’Italia, are Caleb Ewan (5 wins), Fernando Gaviria (5), Alberto Dainese (2), Kaden Groves (1), Biniam Girmay (1), and Tim Merlier (1). Making their debut in the Corsa Rosa are Fabio Jakobsen, 46 career victories including 6 in the Grand Tours, and two young sprinters who have made a name for themselves as Olav Kooij, 4 seasonal victories, and Laurence Pithie, winner of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and 7th in the Paris-Roubaix. Phil Bauhaus, Sam Welsford, Juan Sebastian Molano and Enrico Zanoncello complete the list of sprint contenders.
The Stage Hunters
21 stages equal 21 different chances to enter into the history books of the Corsa Rosa. The field of pretenders for the stage wins is wide and varied, starting with Filippo Ganna, six-time stage winner and big favourite in the time trials. The former World Champion will have to contend with rivals such as Mikkel Bjerg, Tobias Foss, Magnus Sheffield, Edoardo Affini, Ethan Vernon, and new entry Lorenzo Milesi, winner of the world title among the Under-23s. Two-time World Champion Julian Alaphilippe and current European Champion Cristophe Laporte both aim to leave their mark in the Corsa Rosa. In the more hilly fractions, climbers such as Hugh Carthy, Esteban Chaves, Jan Hirt, Lorenzo Fortunato, Michael Woods, Einer Rubio, Filippo Zana, Koen Bouwman, Maximilian Schachmann, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Giulio Pellizzari, Domenico Pozzovivo, Mauri Vansevenant, Michael Storer, Max Poole, Lucas Plapp, Davide Piganzoli and Wout Poels will be looking for glory. The list of riders to watch include Matteo Trentin, Jasper Stuyven, Quinten Hermans, Andrea Bagioli, Jan Tratnik, Andrea Vendrame, Lilian Calmejane, Davide Ballerini, Simone Velasco, Simon Clarke, Stefano Oldani, Benjamin Thomas and Alessandro De Marchi.
# You can see the PEZ ‘Giro Rour Preview’ HERE. #
Who will follow Primoz Roglič?
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es
She had warned that a stage win was her goal for the week, and she got it on Monday. Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) took an excellent victory at Moncofa, finish town of Stage 2 of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es, she celebrated on her trademark, emphatic style. The Canadian national champion defeated Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) and Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) in the reduced bunch sprint that decided a stage that was defined by its wet weather conditions. The 10 second bonus scored at the intermediate sprint and the finish line enabled Vas to take the Red leader jersey from Lidl-Trek’s Gaia Realini. The Hungarian national champion will have to defend it on a lumpy stage between Llucena and Teruel.
144 riders took the start in the 2nd stage of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es, which covered 118,3 kilometres from Bunyol to Moncofa. Idoia Eraso (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi), Angela Oro (Bepink-Bongioanni) and Marine Allione (Winspace) went clear after 5 kilometres, creating a breakaway group that was joined by Silvia Zanardi (Human Powered Health), Valerie Demey (Volkerwessels) and Audrey de Keersmaeker (Lotto-dstny) at kilometre 32. Lourdes Oyarbide (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) and Andrea Casagranda (Bepink-Bongioanni) also jumped from the peloton, but failed to bridge and were pulled back in when dsm-firmenich PostNL took the reins.
The biggest gap for the six-woman break was 3:00, clocked at kilometre 42. From then on, their advantage gradually decreased as they rode under the mild, intermittent rain down to the mere 30 seconds they retained at the foot of the Puerto de l’Oronet (Cat.3, 79,9km). As the road started to rise, Visma | Lease a Bike hit the front of the bunch and accelerated, catching the break at Serra (76km). UAE Team ADQ’s Karlijn Swinkels was first across the summit once Visma had whittled the peloton down to 50 riders and dropped most of the pure sprinters, including dsm-firmenich’s Charlotte Kool.
No team wanted to take the reins of the reduced peloton after the Oronet downhill, and Volkerwessels’ Anneke Dijkstra took advantage of this to go clear solo and pass first through the intermediate sprint at Alfara de la Baronia (IS, km 91), where Blanka Vas (Team SD Worx-Protime) took 4” bonus seconds that put her in the virtual Red jersey. Dijkstra was reeled back in with 21 kilometres to go as Movistar Team, EF Education-Cannondale, Liv-Jayco-AlUla and Visma | Lease a Bike took turns to pick up the bunch’s pace and keep a chasing group with Kool at bay. The wet, treacherous roads on the way to Moncofa provoked several crashes that affected relevant riders like Movistar’s Emma Norsgaard and Lidl-Trek’s Lizzie Deignan, leaving no one badly hurt yet creating a hectic scenario for the final sprint. EF Education-Cannondale made the most of it, leading out the sprint for Alison Jackson, who that didn’t fail to land an emphatic victory.
Stage winner and 2nd overall, Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale): “I came here with a real fire to win this. Starting in the rain, you take the mentality that it either can be really good, or that you have to be really careful. I was in the right position at the right time, with teammates to take care of me right from the beginning to the finish. Crashes were happening, and I played it safe, and then in the final it was all due to my teammates in every moment just making up the distance lost. My teammate Kristen went with 500 full gas, she was so strong. Knowing that no one could come around, I could choose when I wanted my sprint to happen. I had a bit of a disappointing spring. I really wanted to have a key race, going into Roubaix again, but yeah you can only control what you can control. The team has come more and more together as the season goes, and coming into the Vuelta I just had a lot of fire. I was going to do anything it took to do my best to get this win and the team super believed in me, from staff to riders and I totally took that to heart. To have a win at the Vuelta a España is another big thing.”
2nd on the stage and overall leader, Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime): “I didn’t have the best legs today, but it was a very technical final that suited me. It wasn’t really planned that I would take the bonification seconds, but I was in front for the intermediate sprint so I tried. It’s nice to have the red jersey now and it would be nice if we can keep it in the team. The goal is to win this Vuelta Femenina with the team. I’m really happy with the jersey.”
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es Stage 2 result:
1. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale in 2:51:03
2. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime
3. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ
4. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon//SRAM
5. Ingvild Gåskjenn (Nor) Liv AlUla Jayco
6. Giorgia Vettorello (Ita) Roland
7. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco
8. Flora Perkins (GB) Fenix-Deceuninck
9. Amber Kraak (Ned) FDJ-SUEZ
10. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Cannondale.
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es Overall After Stage 2:
1. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime in 3:10:14
2. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale at 0:08
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 0:09
4. Eva van Agt (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
5. Sophie von Berswordt (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
6. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
7. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
8. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Lidl-Trek
9. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek
10. Brodie Chapman (Aus) Lidl-Trek.
Vuelta Femenina’24 stage 2:
Women’s cycling legend Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) won the 3rd Stage of La Vuelta Femenina’24 by Carrefour.es with a powerful sprint that saw her triumph by several bike lengths over Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Olivia Baril (Movistar). The Dutch rider claimed in Teruel her third Vuelta stage win, following last year’s victories in La Roda and Guadalajara, and honoured the effort of her teammates to bring back courageous lone breakaway rider Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal). The Spanish cyclist spent nearly 120 kilometres solo off the front and was awarded the most aggressive rider white jersey. As for the Red one, Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) kept it by 1 second on Vos, thanks to 2 bonus seconds collected at the stage’s intermediate sprint.
140 riders took the start in the 3rd stage of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es, which covered 130,2 kilometres between Llucena and Teruel. There were four DNSs: Anna Henderson (Visma | Lease a Bike), Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ), Clara Emond (EF Education-Cannondale) and Sabrina Stultiens (VolkerWessels). Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) also withdrew from the race a few kilometres into the stage. After a few moves from different riders, Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal) went clear. She had a one-minute gap on the pack 12 kilometres into the race.
Despite several attempts to join her break, the Catalan rider established herself solo at the front and built a sizeable advantage clocked at 4:12 at the foot of the Alto Fuente de Rubielos (Cat.3, 69,1km). She crested the day’s only categorised climb 4:35 ahead of a peloton led by Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ), who was 2nd at the top to keep her polka dot jersey as QOM classification leader for one more day. The lack of an organised chase meant that Benito gap grew to the 5:39 she enjoyed at kilometre 79. It was on the approach to Mora de Rubielos (IS, 87km), where the AG Insurance-Soudal rider kept 4:12 worth of daylight on the bunch, that Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) unsuccessfully tried to set off in pursuit of the lone leader. Red jersey wearer Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) claimed 2 bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint that would prove precious at the finish line.
The peloton hesitated for a while as only SD Worx-Protime and EF Education-Cannondale took some pulls to keep Benito within shooting distance. The bunch was 3:00 in arrears of the head of the race when Visma | Lease a Bike started driving it with 30 kilometres left to race. An unfortunate crash with 27km to go saw Natalie Grinczer (Roland) quit the race in an ambulance. Visma’s work quickly paid off, as Benito’s gap decreased rapidly and she was brought back 7,5 kilometres from the finish. By that time, dsm-firmenich PostNL had already begun contributing on behalf of its sprinter Charlotte Kool. A crash just inside the final 3 kilometres saw 40 riders fall out of contention. Movistar led-out the sprint with Liane Lippert, but it was Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) who took the win to pay back her teammates’ effort.
Stage winner and 2nd overall, Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike): “Of course, I’m very happy and satisfied. We already worked hard and tried hard yesterday, and then we had some bad luck in the final. Today we went all in again. All the girls worked really hard for this, so of course it’s really nice to be able to finish it off. I’m very happy with this win. The roads were wet at the beginning, and it was very slippery. There were a lot of crashes, and of course we just hope that everybody gets through it OK. As for the late crash, I didn’t really see what happened. I was just trying to get in a good position to the finish line. They always say that crashes are part of the races, but it’s never nice when it happens.”
Overall leader, Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime): “It was a very hard day, from the start. I was already tired after 30 kilometres, and struggling with back pain. I suffered a lot today. The lone breakaway rider had a very big gap, so we pulled a bit at the front to bring her back and stopped working when she was close enough in order to let other teams interested on a mass sprint do the chasing. I kept the Red jersey because of the bonus seconds I took in the intermediate sprint, but I did not calculate it. I was near the front when it came and I just tried to claim those bonus seconds. As for the finish, I didn’t sprint because I was very tired.”
Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ): “It has been a very hard day for me. It was not really my day, as I had a lot of pain all over my body. I did my best in order to defend this Mountains jersey, but it was not the easiest day for me mentally, for sure. We rode fast up the categorised climb, and the bunch was reduced down to 40 riders. Afterwards, everything came back together because of the headwind. From then on, we kept a steady pace towards the finish line. We are all aware that there are several hard days to come, so I believe it’s good that today it all came down to a bunch sprint. I am happy to keep the polka dot jersey. It’s always nice to be on a leader jersey during a big race. We hope to keep it for more days.”
Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal): “It really has been like an ITT! It’s been spectacular to see so many people out on the roadside, cheering for us, crying my name out loud… I got goosebumps. This is our home race and it makes me emotional to see how everyone lives the event along with us. When I found myself alone at the front, with no one bridging back from the bunch, I tried to just keep pushing without thinking too much nor looking back because you never know what may happen. I gave it all and I don’t have a single drop of energy left in my tank. I was eight kilometres shy of winning, but I’m happy I’m inching closer to victory. I have always struggled to win – I haven’t won an UCI race as of yet, indeed. Yet I don’t lose my hope. I believe this performance will help us step up, both me and my teammates.”
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es Stage 3 result:
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike in 3:46:52
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL
3. Olivia Baril (Can) Movistar
4. Ingvild Gåskjenn (Nor) Liv AlUla Jayco
5. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health
6. Flora Perkins (GB) Fenix-Deceuninck
7. Eleonora Ciabocco (Ita) dsm-firmenich PostNL
8. Caroline Andersson (Swe) Liv AlUla Jayco
9. Mischa Bredewold (Ned) SD Worx-Protime
10. Magdeleine Vallieres (Can) EF Education-Cannondale.
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es Overall After Stage 3:
1. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime in 6:57:04
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:01
3. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale at 0:10
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 0:11
5. Eva van Agt (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
6. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
7. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Lidl-Trek
8. Sophie von Berswordt (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
9. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek
10. Brodie Chapman (Aus) Lidl-Trek.
Vuelta Femenina’24 stage 3:
The forecasts spoke of strong crosswinds and the predictions anticipated a fast Stage 4, as fast as to be the fastest ever in La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es. Early echelons led by SD Worx-Protime made for a frantic, high-speed race from which EF Education-Cannondale’s Kristen Faulkner come away with an excellent victory thanks to a well-timed, powerful attack with 6,5 kilometres to go. The Alaskan cyclist triumphed by 10 seconds on the rest of the front group, led home by Liv-AlUla-Jayco’s Georgia Baker and Visma | Lease a Bike’s Marianne Vos, who in turn took the Red jersey as overall leader from SD Worx’s Blanka Vas. GC-wise, the stage damaged the chances of Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek), Mavi García (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) or Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ), who were caught on the wrong side of the splits and lost 2 minutes at the finish line.
131 riders took the start in the 4th stage of La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es, which covered 142,3 kilometres between Molina de Aragón and Zaragoza. There were three DNSs: Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek), Justine Ghekeire (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Selene Colombi (Bepink-Bongioanni). The expected crosswinds on the stage were ideal to create echelons. Attacks from Idoia Eraso (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi), Nora Jencusova (Bepink-Bongianni) or Valerie Demey (Volkerwessels) were deemed irrelevant by the self-fulfilled prophesy: 20 kilometres into the stage the pace picked up, the peloton began to split and by kilometre 28 only 19 riders remained at the head of the race.
In the front echelon, SD Worx-Protime had the upper hand with six riders: Niamh Fisher-Black, Mischa Bredewold, Elena Cecchini, Marlen Reusser, Red jersey wearer Blanka Vas and last year’s runner-up overall Demi Vollering. They were the leading force of a group which also contained Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Kasia Niewiadoma, Maike van der Duin (Canyon//SRAM), Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ), Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Marianne Vos, Riejanne Markus, Sophie von Berswordt (Visma | Lease a Bike), Georgia Baker, Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), Kristen Faulkner, Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) and Sheyla Gutiérrez (Movistar). The situation behind was chaotic, with riders like Mavi García (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek), Liane Lippert (Movistar) and Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ) trying to fight their way back to the front. A 60-strong chase group was eventually formed, trailing 1:50 behind the head of the race at kilometre 45.
The unclassified climb to the Puerto de Paniza (81,4km) was both an opportunity and a liability for the chasing group. Eager to link back, several riders dug deep and brought the group as close as just 30” to the head of the race… while causing some damage and reducing the unit down to just 30 riders. The move eventually backfired, as 20 kilometres later the gap was up to 1:25. Meanwhile, Cecchini was dropped from the front group because of a puncture and Vas struggled to follow its pace, regaining contact thanks to Reusser. At Santa Fe (IS, 130km), Vos defeated Vas to put herself in virtual Red jersey position as the front group held a 1:36 advantage on its chaser. A small hill with 6,5 kilometres to go defined the race, with Faulkner taking off and going solo for the win as Reusser failed to hold her wheel and Vos, Vollering and other riders didn’t manage to bring her back. The EF Education rider took the victory with a 10 second gap on her former companions, led by Baker, while the chasing group crossed the finish line 2:00 in arrears.
Stage winner and 3rd overall, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale): “We came here hunting for stages, and we have scored two already. It’s still early in La Vuelta Femenina and we are already proud of what we have achieved so far. We all fought for position ahead of La Yunta (km 18,5), and as soon as we got out of the town SD Worx accelerated. Luckily, we were in good position and could stay and cooperate with the group. At some point the gap came down to 30” and we kept riding together to bring it back up. I knew I wanted to do a last-minute attack and that the small climb in the outskirts of Zaragoza was ideal for it. I actually decided to follow somebody else instead of attacking myself. SD Worx launched a few attacks and I could hop from wheel to wheel. At some point I found myself on Longo Borghini’s wheel and thought it was the right time to go. It proved to be a great moment. It was a bit of luck and a bit of planning too, I think.”
Overall leader and 3rd on the stage, Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike): “It was a tough day. Everybody at the front that it was going to be windy and that echelons will be formed. It was really good to have Riejanne [Markus] and Sophie [von Berswordt] with me at the front, to ride along with me and help keeping the same group all the way to the final. We fell short of getting the stage win because the attack from [Kristen] Faulkner was just too strong. We just couldn’t catch her after the climb. She was the strongest. Taking the Red jersey was not our objective for today, but we are happy to be in this position.”
5th on the stage, Sheyla Gutiérrez (Movistar): “It has been a super tough day. I felt as if I was riding a high-speed train. We went full gas despite the strong wind because there were many favourites at the front looking forward to gain some time on those who have missed the split. I tried to help my teammates make the front group, yet they got dropped because this is how echelons work: you lose half a meter and you lose everything. I was able to be there and I am feeling disappointed in the best possible way, because I’ve been fighting for victory and ‘just’ could be 5th, which is actually a nice result. It’s been so long since I had last played my cards and I have kind of forgotten how to do my own race. I followed an attack by Mischa [Bredewold] and maybe I should have held my horses there for a bit… But, anyway, I did a good sprint and I’m happy with my performance.”
8th overall and 10th on the stage, Marlen Reusser (SD Worx-Protime): “The strong group at the front was formed pretty quickly. We had 6 out of the 19 riders at the front, so the move was ideal for us. We knew that there were going to be echelons all day long, so we kept pushing for this one to go up the road. Towards the final, we knew we had to play our strength in numbers. Mischa [Bredewold] and Demi [Vollering] attacked, and I went with [Kristen] Faulkner but I just couldn’t follow her on the decisive hill. I think I’m not back yet on my 100% shape after Covid and that Flanders crash. I really missed the right move for my team. After the climb, Faulkner was gone and we had to chase back. We couldn’t make it. It’s a bit sad that we couldn’t make the best out of our strength in numbers. To be honest, I am a little bit disappointed. We were ready for echelons from kilometre 0 and it was a bit the case, indeed. We have a very strong team overall, with Demi and Niamh super strong in the climbs. Usually I’m very strong too, but right now I’m missing 5% of my best shape. I’m sure we will do very well in the coming stages, so watch out for us!”
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es Stage 4 result:
1. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Cannondale in 3:02:37
2. Georgia Baker (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco at 0:10
3. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
4. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime
5. Sheyla Gutiérrez (Spa) Movistar
6. Maike van der Duin (Ned) Canyon//SRAM
7. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale
8. Silke Smulders (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco
9. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL
10. Marlen Reusser (Sui) SD Worx-Protime.
La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es Overall After Stage 4:
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike in 9:59:42
2. Blanka Vas (Hun) SD Worx-Protime at 0:05
3. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Cannondale at 0:09
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 0:18
5. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale at 0:19
6. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:20
7. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime at 0:21
8. Marlen Reusser (Sui) SD Worx-Protime
9. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SD Worx-Protime
10. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon//SRAM at 0:28.
Vuelta Femenina’24 stage 4:
Eschborn-Frankfurt 2024
Maxim Van Gils won the Eschborn-Frankfurt on Wednesday. After 200 kilometres the Lotto Dstny Belgian was the first to cross the finish line in Frankfurt from a group of more than twenty riders. Alex Aranburu (Movistar) took second place and Riley Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech) was third.
The Eschborn-Frankfurt route had 3,000 metres of climbing in 202 kilometres, with the Feldberg to be crossed twice (11km at 4.8%) and the Mammolshain (2.3km at 8.3%) three times. There was little chance of a bunch sprint finish.
Soon after the start, John Degenkolb (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Jacopo Mosca (Lidl-Trek) and Warre Vangheluwe (Soudal Quick-Step) broke away. They gained more than 7 minutes, while behind UAE Team Emirates and Lotto Dstny took control of the peloton. Due to a puncture, Mosca was dropped, leaving Degenkolb and Vangheluwe. The second time on Feldberg, more than 90 kilometres from the finish, the pace increased in the peloton. Several sprinters were dropped here, while the climbers thinned out the group. Jan Christen, Emanuel Buchmann and Giulio Ciccone were at the front.
There was no co-operation on the descent and several riders saw their chance to attack. Attempts by Darren Rafferty, Sjoerd Bax and Ben Healy were shut down and so attacks were expected on the Mammolshain, more than 35 kilometres from the finish. Jan Christen attacked and no one could follow. The 19-year-old Swiss rider had a lead of more than 20 seconds over the chase group, with a flat final section to the finish in Frankfurt. For a long time the difference between Christian and the group behind was around 15 seconds. BORA-hansgrohe were chasing hard with some help from Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Deceuninck. 2.5 kilometres from the finish, Jan Christen, was caught and there would be a sprint from the thinned peloton. EF Education-EasyPost set up a good lead-out for Lukas Nerurkar, but he was passed by Alex Aranburu, Riley Sheehan and Maxim Van Gils. The Belgian had the strongest jump and took the victory. Aranburu came second, Riley Sheehan third.
Race winner, Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny): “Ending my spring with a first WorldTour victory is an absolute dream. My feeling wasn’t super, but the team did everything to make it difficult for the sprinters. That gave me confidence: my only task was to survive until the final steep climb of Mammolshain, stay safely on the wheel and focus on the sprint. Everything just went perfectly. It’s been like this almost the entire season. Today I win in a sprint, and a few days ago I felt great in the Ardennes… and I’ve also won a time trial. It’s crazy.”
2nd, Alex Aranburu (Movistar): “I am absolutely happy with the result. I had good feelings from the beginning and I have been able to take advantage of it quite well.”
3rd, Riley Sheehan (IPT): “It’s been pretty tough. They let me go on the last climb and also on the previous one. But I was able to get back into the group and recover a little. In the end I was a little locked in, but the legs were pretty good again. In general, it has gone well. If the weather in Germany is always so good, I will come more often. And the spectators along the entire route were incredible. That’s exactly what I needed during the race.”
7th, Kevin Vermaerke (dsm-firmenich PostNL): “It was a late call-up for me, but I was excited to test my legs one last time before the Giro. It ended up being a pretty selective ending. Tim and Pat really prepared Frank and I well for the final climbs. It was also nice to have John represented in the breakaway at the front in his home race. When we reached the Feldberg for the second time, the race was divided into a group of about 35. Both Frank and I were there and we felt good. In the end, the group made it to the finish line, but I felt a little crowded in the last kilometre. Frank did a great job getting me back into position for the sprint. In the last 150 metres I had to sit down and I didn’t have the strength to get a good result in the sprint, but today it’s a solid seventh place for us. I felt good on the climbs, so I’m excited to arrive at the Giro in good shape.”
Eschborn-Frankfurt Result:
1. Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Lotto Dstny in 4:46:49
2. Alex Aranburu (Spa) Movistar
3. Riley Sheehan (USA) Israel-Premier Tech
4. Lukas Nerurkar (GB) EF Education-EasyPost
5. Roger Adrià (Spa) BORA-hansgrohe
6. Kobe Goossens (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
7. Kevin Vermaerke (USA) dsm-firmenich PostNL
8. Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Alpecin-Deceuninck
9. Marc Hirschi (Sui) UAE Team Emirates
10. Markus Hoelgaard (Nor) Uno-X Mobility.
Eschborn-Frankfurt’24:
Tadej Pogačar Leads Team for Giro D’Italia
Emirati squad announce 8 riders for 107th Corsa Rosa
UAE Team Emirates have unveiled the team heading into the Giro d’Italia (4-26 May) with an exciting squad starting the race which begins from the city of Turin with the winner to be crowned three weeks later in Rome after 3345.6km of racing.
Leading the team’s hopes for the General Classification will be debutant Tadej Pogačar while Sebastian Molano will lead the line in the sprint stages.
It will mark the long-awaited debut for Pogačar who is eagerly anticipating the race.
Tadej Pogačar: “The preparation for the Giro has gone really well. I haven’t raced too much so far this year, just 10 days, so I’m feeling fresh and ready to take on my first Giro. It’s a race I’ve dreamed of doing for a long time and it feels like now that the time is right to go for it. I raced in Italy a lot as an amateur and it has been an important country in my journey as a cyclist. For sure it is one of my favourite places to ride a bike and I also love the culture and of course the food. I hope we can make this month a special one. Obviously my aim is to go for the GC and we also have Molano for the sprints and a very solid team in general. We can’t wait to get it started.”
Sports Manager Matxin Fernandez (Spa) will lead the squad alongside Sports Directors Fabio Baldato (Ita), Marco Marcato (Ita) and Manuele Mori (Ita) .
The team is comprised of 8 riders:
Mikkel Bjerg (Den)
Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
Felix Grossschartner (Aus)
Rafal Majka (Pol)
Sebastian Molano (Col)
Domen Novak (Slo)
Rui Oliveira (Por)
Tadej Pogačar (Slo).
Soudal Quick-Step to the Giro d’Italia
Julian Alaphilippe and Tim Merlier headline our eight-man squad for the Corsa Rosa
First Grand Tour of the season gets underway in just a couple of days, Venaria Reale hosting the Grande Partenza of the competition which between 4-26 May will run its 107th edition. It will be a race of two halves – one comprising many opportunities for the sprinters and the puncheurs, and just two proper stages for the GC men – and a second one heavily tilted towards the climbers.
The Corsa Rosa will feature this year a total of 71 kilometres of individual time trialing, and it remains to be seen what their impact will be on the final outcome given that the third week of the race brings some leg-sapping hurdles, such as Forcola di Livigno, the mythical Stelvio, Passo del Broncon, Cima Sappada, and a double ascent of the Monte Grappa coming on the penultimate day of the race.
Our team will be at the start of the Giro d’Italia for the 20th time in its history, having won a total of 29 stages and nine jerseys at the previous participations. A two-time World Champion and winner of numerous races – from Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico stages to Milano-Sanremo – on Italian soil, Julian Alaphilippe will make his debut at Il Giro, which Soudal Quick-Step will take on with a strong squad capable of being in the mix on all terrains.
The most successful sprinter of the season, with seven victories to his name, Tim Merlier will also be in action for the Wolfpack, together with Josef Cerny, Jan Hirt, neo-pro Luke Lamperti, Pieter Serry – riding his tenth Giro – Bert Van Lerberghe and Mauri Vansevenant, who impressed in the Ardennes Classics.
“We have a good team for the first Grand Tour of the season, comprising riders who can do something in the sprints, on the hilly stages, but also in the mountains. All the guys are confident and motivated to do a good Giro. It won’t be easy, it never is, but we are ready to take it day by day in the next three weeks and give our best, and hopefully, this will bring us some nice results”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Davide Bramati.
04.05–26.05 Giro d’Italia (ITA) 2.UWT
Riders:
Julian Alaphilippe (FRA)
Josef Cerny (CZE)
Jan Hirt (CZE)
Luke Lamperti (USA)
Tim Merlier (BEL)
Pieter Serry (BEL)
Bert Van Lerberghe (BEL)
Mauri Vansevenant (BEL).
Sports Director: Davide Bramati (ITA), Iljo Keisse (BEL) and Geert Van Bondt (BEL).
Alaphilippe to the Giro:
Multiple Cards to Play as Ewan, Dunbar, Plapp & Zana Headline Team Jayco AlUla at the Giro d’Italia
Team Jayco AlUla are ready to line up for the 2024 Giro d’Italia with a mixed team, full of talent and experience, bringing multiple options to the table.
Ready for a strong GC showing
Last year’s seventh place finisher Eddie Dunbar will once again lead the team, with the intention of repeating last year’s top-ten performance. Alongside the Irishman, Australian champion Luke Plapp has shown that he is the complete athlete, a strong TT rider looking to make his mark in the two individual time trials on offer.
Eddie Dunbar: “I’m looking forward to returning to the Giro and trying to repeat, if not improve last year’s good result. My preparation has been pretty ok, maybe not quite as well as last year but it will be nice to go back to the Giro fighting again. This year’s course is very tough right from the start, the first two stages will probably be two GC days, and so you have to be ready from the very beginning. This year there will also be some gravel roads, the classic long alpine climbs and two challenging time trials. Basically, the usual hard and demanding Giro.”
Two strong and experienced Italian’s line-up aside the duo, with last year’s stage winner Filippo Zana looking for a repeat performance. He is hungry to show his talent uphill and will form part of the support squad in the mountains together with recent Tour of the Alps stage winner Alessandro De Marchi. The veteran will be the Australian outfit’s road captain, crossing over between the mountains and sprint groups.
Brent Copeland – General Manager: “It will be exciting to be there at the start next Saturday for one of the world’s most fascinating races. The Giro officially starts on 4th May but in reality, it started many months ago. Riders and staff have worked for months to prepare for this event, which has always given us great satisfaction over the years. I’m proud of the work we’ve done together and I’m sure our team will stand out in each of the 21 stages. We have built a team that brings together highly experienced men and young athletes with great talent. We’re finally here, it’s time to leave the verdict to the roads.”
Searching for the sprints
Multiple Giro d’Italia stage winner Caleb Ewan brings the speed to the team, knowing what it takes to win Grand Tour stages, with already 11x to his name. This year’s Giro start list is without a doubt one of the best-ever sprint line-ups of any Grand Tour we have ever seen in recent year, making any potential victory even sweeter.
The 29-year-old Australian will be supported by two great experts when it comes to fast finishes with Slovenian rider Luka Mezgec, who will be a trusted part of the lead-out train together with the German powerhouse Max Walscheid. Under the pressure of hectic finals, Walscheid is one of the best in the business and ready to get the job done.
Rounding out the stellar squad is experienced Australia Michael Hepburn who will cross over into both groups, bringing skills to support on the most demanding stages and in those that end in a bunch sprint.
Caleb Ewan: “I’m thrilled to return to the Giro after two years of absence. It’s a race that I have always liked and I have some great memories having previously won five stages. This year, I started my season with the Australian races, and then I won a stage in Oman before racing Tirreno-Adriatico. This past month and a half I have been preparing for the Giro with a training camp at altitude and I will return to the races next Wednesday in Frankfurt before heading to Italy. I can count on the help of two great professionals like Luka (Mezgec) and Max (Walscheid) and I believe we can do good things.”
Another tough edition
For 2024, Turin will host the “Grande Partenza” this coming Saturday, 4th May, with the race set to finish in Rome on Sunday 26th May. With 21 days of racing, 3,400 total kilometres and approximately 45,000 metres of altitude gain, it will once again be a demanding edition with spring weather across Europe showing to be as unpredictable as ever.
David McPartland – Sport Director: “The Giro d’Italia has arrived and here we are ready to begin our assault on this very special race. On the GC front we are aiming to finish inside the top 10 and on the stages front our goal is to win at least one stage with Caleb and another from the various other guys we have that are capable of stage win, like in the TT with Luke (Plapp) and in the mountains or from a breakaway. Months of work have gone in to preparing for this race from all our Giro riders and staff. We have had a lot of success over the years at the Giro and our aim is to simply to add to that again in the 2024 edition”.
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL Reveal their 2024 Giro d’Italia Roster
The battles over the cobbles and climbs in the classics have come and gone, the bunch has duked it out in the early-season stage races and now one of the toughest tests in cycling awaits the peloton – the Giro d’Italia.
With a race that is steeped in history, and as high as the many mountains it traverses, the 2024 edition of La Corsa Rosa is no different and provides some challenging terrain throughout the three weeks, in which everyone in the peloton will find something that suits their abilities. Spread over the 21 stages there are two time trials, some pure sprint opportunities, reduced bunch finishes, hilly and mountainous terrain that will tempt the breakaway artists, and the Giro’s typically tough high mountains where the GC riders and climbing specialists will battle it out.
Having shown some great recent form, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL are ready to get stuck into an exciting 21 days of racing where they aim to show their distinctive two-striped jersey on multiple fronts throughout the race.
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Matt Winston expressed: “As usual, it will be another challenging three-week route around Italy with a mix of terrain awaiting us. We head to the Giro with a squad who have shown in recent races that they are in good form and the morale is high within the group. We have ambitions of top stage results in the sprints with Fabio as our finisher, where the sprint group has shown great progress in the recent Tour of Türkiye. We also aim to ride the best GC possible with Romain as our finisher there, while also looking for our opportunities to be in the fight for stage wins and top results on the hilly and mountainous terrain too. To achieve these goals, we will need to work well as a group throughout the race, riding as a unit and giving everything for each other over the three weeks; so that we can show ourselves at the front of proceedings.”
Speaking on his return to the Giro, Bardet continued: “I first discovered the Giro with the team back in 2021. I’ve done it twice so far and both times I really enjoyed it so I’m glad and really motivated to give it another go this year. We hope to be present and contesting for results in as many stages as possible. For the sprints we have Fabio, and we have some nice cards to play in the hills with the likes of Kevin and of course I hope to be up there fighting in the mountains too. Personally, I hope to be consistent over the three weeks, perform at my best level and to fight for the win in those mountain stages and see where that leaves us in the GC. I think if we’re able to get a stage win in the sprints and mountains, and a good GC result, then it would be an excellent Giro for us.”
Line-up:
Tobias Lund Andresen
Romain Bardet
Chris Hamilton
Fabio Jakobsen
Gijs Leemreize
Julius van den Berg
Kevin Vermaerke
Bram Welten.
Fabio Jakobsen to the Giro:
Movistar Team confirms 2024 Giro lineup
2024 GIRO GUIDE | All info on MOV and the Italian grandtour
Colombiana Nairo Quintana -only former overall winner at the start, Einer Rubio and Fernando Gaviria spearhead Telefónica-backed squad’s roster at Turin’s ‘Partenza’.
The Movistar Team expedition for the 2024 Giro d’Italia (May 4-26) will travel towards Turin on Wednesday, in what will mark the return to racing of Nairo Quintana.
The Boyacá rider, recovered from his torn ligament from crashes at the Volta a Catalunya, will be, as the only former overall victor of the ‘Corsa Rosa’ in 2014, the most remarkable name into an eight-man squad also including two other Colombians: Einer Rubio and Fernando Gaviria.
The lineup is completed with Spaniards Pelayo Sánchez and Albert Torres, American Will Barta and two Italians: Davide Cimolai and Lorenzo Milesi. The sports directors at the race will be Maximilian Sciandri, José Joaquín Rojas and Jürgen Roelandts.
Intermarché-Wanty aims for a stage win
This Saturday 4 May, Intermarché-Wanty will line up for the fourth Giro d’Italia in its history in the Piedmontese town of Venaria Reale, with Rome as end destination on Sunday 26th of May. On the road to the capital city, the Walloon World Team aims to get back to winning ways, as it has done on three memorable occasions in the three previous editions.
The 21 stages of this 107th edition, which stay almost entirely within Italy’s borders, are divided into six stages with summit finishes, two individual time trials totalling 71 kilometres, six flat stages and seven hilly stages, including one with gravel roads.
Parcours
The start of the first Grand Tour of the season will be explosive, with the climbs of Superga and Colle della Madellena to conquer during the opening stage to Turin, followed the next day by the first uphill finish on the slopes of Santuario di Oropa. Opportunities for sprinters precede a stage containing white Tuscan gravel roads on day six, with twelve non-asphalted kilometres divided into three sectors. The first time trial is scheduled the following day with 40 kilometres in the province of Umbria. Before the first rest-day, the peloton will cover a mountain stage to Prati di Tivo and a long day to Naples, one of the four stages of over 200 kilometres.
The second week starts with a stage from Pompei, the most southern point of this edition, to a summit finish in Cusano Mutri. Before the next mountain battles in the Alps, there are two new opportunities for sprinters in Francavilla al mare and Cento, a hilly transition stage to Fano, and the second individual time trial on day fourteen with 30 relatively flat kilometres in the province of Brescia. The second rest day follows after the summit finish in Livigno, at an altitude of 2400 metres, which is preceded by a passage over the Mortirolo (13 km at 7.5%).
The Giro stays loyal to its reputation with a particularly difficult third week in the Alps and Dolomites. The Passo dello Stelvio (20km at 7.5%) has to be covered on day sixteen before the uphill finish on top of Monte Prana, followed by five mountains the next day on the road to the finish on top of Passo del Brocon (12km at 6.5%). After a flat stage to Padova and a medium mountain stage to Sappada, the final battle in the high mountains includes a double ascent of Monte Grappa on the penultimate day. Just like last year, the Giro is concluded with a circuit through the streets of the Roman capital.
Roster
Two years after his resounding debut in the Tour of Italy, Biniam Girmay is making his return to the Giro. In 2022, the Eritrean cyclist made an unforgettable impression by becoming the first rider from black Africa to win a Grand Tour stage on day ten in Jesi, in addition to five other top 5 finishes in the first week and several days in the white jersey and the cyclamen jersey.
To support him in the sprint stages, he can rely on the experience of Adrien Petit and Dion Smith, with whom he completed the Tour de France last year. The Frenchman will discover the Giro, his seventh Grand Tour, just like Smith, who recently claimed his first podium for the World Team at the Tour de Romandie.
For Lilian Calmejane, another experienced element in the selection led by Aike Visbeek, Steven De Neef and Pieter Vanspeybrouck, this second participation in the Giro d’Italia is an opportunity to complete the trilogy and become part of the select group of stage winners in the three Grand Tours.
Four young talents will be making their Grand Tour debut in this Giro, including Lombard climber Kevin Colleoni, who will race close to home in the second week. Dries De Pooter and Madis Mihkels, who joined the Walloon structure together in 2022, make a new step in their development at the age of 21 and 20 respectively. Finally, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, who turns 23 during the first week, is the first rider from the development project Wanty-ReUz-Technord to be selected for a Grand Tour.
Aike Visbeek (Performance Manager): “We’re heading to the start of the Giro d’Italia with the ambition of winning a stage. With Biniam Girmay, we focus on all sprint opportunities, particularly those at the start of the Giro with a hilly profile, which suit us best. He has also chances in the flat stages tailor-made for pure sprinters, as he showed again this year in Australia and Tirreno-Adriatico. Many teams head to the Giro with the same ambition as us, the list of sprinters in this edition is exceptionally qualitative and long. This will undoubtedly have an impact on the way the race unfolds, with numerous sprint trains and chaotic finishes. So it’s an advantage that Biniam is surrounded by experienced riders to guide him. He can rely on the support of Adrien Petit and Dion Smith, who bring their common experience of last summer’s Tour de France, as well as on the advice of our sprint coach Pieter Vanspeybrouck. With his third place in the Tour de Romandie on Sunday, Smith confirmed that he is in good shape. Just like them, our young talent Madis Mihkels already performed a winning lead out this season, for Biniam in the Surf Coast Classic.”
“We’ll also be looking out for opportunities in the transition stages, with other profiles like Lilian Calmejane, who won in the Tour and the Vuelta thanks to a breakaways. The absence of Simone Petilli due to a crash some weeks ago is of course regrettable. He finished close to a stage win on Gran Sasso last year. But the absences of Simone and Gerben Thijssen created opportunities for our young talents, who will be able to take advantage of their first Grand Tour. Like Laurenz Rex and Arne Marit in the previous edition, our young riders like Mihkels, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, Dries De Pooter and Kevin Colleoni will be able to discover a three week race without any pressure, and they’ll leave this Giro richer and with a lot more confidence, as it represents an important phase in their development.”
Giro d’Italia Roster:
Lilian Calmejane
Kevin Colleoni
Dries De Pooter
Biniam Girmay
Madis Mihkels
Adrien Petit
Dion Smith
Roel van Sintmaartensdijk.
Sports Directors: Aike Visbeek, Steven De Neef and Pieter Vanspeybrouck.
Ready For Our First Giro d’Italia
Tudor Pro Cycling will be at the start of its first ever Giro d’Italia this Saturday 4 May in Torino. The team’s line up will be made up of Alberto Dainese, Robin Froidevaux, Alexander Kamp, Alexander Krieger, Marius Mayrhofer, Michael Storer, Florian Stork and Matteo Trentin. The selection brings a wealth of experience and offers Sport Directors different cards to play in the hunt for stage victories.
The Swiss Team put together a group capable of performing on all terrains. Italian Sprinter Alberto Dainese has already won three Grand Tour stages and will be the main man for flatter stages finishing in bunch sprints. His Swiss lead out man Robin Froidevaux has been with the team since 2021 and will race his first Grand Tour ever, whereas Road Captain Matteo Trentin will try to add to his tally of eight Grand Tour stage victories in hillier terrain. The lead out train will be completed by experienced German Alexander Krieger and fellow countryman Marius Mayrhofer, who will try to capture his first ever Grand Tour stage victory. The 2021 Vuelta a España King of the Mountain Michael Storer together with German Florian Stork will be the team’s best options for a stage victory when the peloton hits the mountains. The versatile Dane Alexander Kamp completes the line up, adding strength for hilly stages.
Team owner Fabian Cancellara believes in the riders selected for the team’s first ever Grand Tour: “We believe that this team gives us the best chance in the hunt for stages. We couldn‘t be more excited for our first Grand Tour.”
The team will be supported by a staff consisting of 20 people, taking care of the complex logistics and the riders’ well-being. A big effort not just for the riders but for everyone involved: “To get here already required a huge effort from our staff, partners and riders. We are ready and willing to go the extra mile to have the most successful Giro possible” explains CEO Raphael Meyer.
The team is headed to Torino in the coming days where it will get ready for the first stage between Venaria Reale and Torino on 4 May.
Line-up for the Giro d’Italia 2024
On the road from Turin to Rome, the search for the successor to Jai Hindley and Primož Roglič will get underway. Dani Martínez will be the GC leader for BORA – hansgrohe, fighting for a top result. Three years ago, he already achieved it when he placed 5th overall.
Enrico Gasparotto, Sports Director for BORA – hansgrohe at the Giro d’Italia: “We want to achieve a top 5 in the GC with Dani. He performed very well at the start of the season and apart from the crash at Strade Bianche, his build-up to the Giro has been solid. He trained very well in Colombia, and we are optimistic that he will be in the mix for a good place in the GC.”
Dani & Danny – a two-pronged Giro strategy
It’s not only the mountain stages that are in focus, with BORA – hansgrohe heading to the Giro d’Italia with another goal. Danny van Poppel will be targeting the sprint stages. On paper, there are up to eight opportunities this year.
Enrico Gasparotto: “We see many sprint options this year – some are not easy with a climb in the finale. That’s one of Danny’s strengths. He’s in good shape and with Ryan as a lead-out, we’re in a very good position for these stages.”
Versatility as the backbone of the team
This year’s Giro d’Italia is a special edition that opens new options for stage hunters. This calls for riders with versatile skills to take advantage of these opportunities to win a stage.
Enrico Gasparotto: “We are counting on Dani and Danny as our leaders and many versatile stage hunters as a backup. It’s not unrealistic that the race will be open for breakaways in the second and third weeks. But these stages are mountainous and that’s why we’re relying on riders who can climb and get results.”
Giovanni Aleotti is returning to his home Grand Tour for the fourth consecutive year with BORA – hansgrohe. It’s the third Corsa Rosa for Patrick Gamper, and after 2018, Max Schachmann is set to make his Giro comeback. Back then he took a stage win in Italy. In addition, an experienced pro and a youngster celebrate their premiere at the Giro d’Italia: Jonas Koch can put his experience to good use on any terrain – Florian Lipowitz will ride his first Grand Tour ever and he will be a great support on the climbs.
BORA – hansgrohe x Giro d’Italia 2024:
Giovanni Aleotti, Patrick Gamper, Jonas Koch, Florian Lipowitz, Dani Martínez, Ryan Mullen, Max Schachmann, Danny van Poppel.
The 2024 Giro d’Italia is as Tough as Ever, and Bahrain Victorious are Ready for the Challenge
With the early part of the year behind us, May sees the start of cycling’s ‘Grand Tour’ trilogy for 2024, kicking off as usual with the Giro d’Italia: “The world’s hardest race, in the world’s most beautiful place.” The 107th edition of ‘the race for pink’ sets off from just outside Turin on Saturday, and travels 3,400 kilometres over 21 stages before finishing outside Rome’s famous Colosseum on Sunday May 26th.
As we have come to expect from the Giro, the route is heavily backloaded, with the five toughest stages coming in the last seven days. Compared to previous iterations, this year’s course is shorter and with less climbing overall, but with two time trials and over 44,650 metres of ascending to be tackled, this is as challenging a three weeks as you would expect.
Leading Team Bahrain Victorious and making his Giro debut in his home country, is Antonio Tiberi. The 22 year old arrives having just won the youth classification at the Tour of the Alps, where he finished in the top ten on every stage. The Italian has also produced some stunning performances in time trials over recent months.
“This is my first Giro, so as an Italian cyclist I’m in dreamworld really! It’s been an ambition for me since I started riding a bike, so I’m really emotional to be with the fans – on the roadside and also those watching on TV. I am a proud Italian, and these are the roads of my country, so I am excited and super emotional about being here, as well as very proud that the team have the faith in me to make me leader”
Alongside the youngster will be the experienced head of his compatriot Damiano Caruso, who will be our road captain. Caruso is a former stage winner, and makes his 7th appearance, having finished 2nd in 2021 and 4th last year.
As well as 72km of individual time trials, there will be six summit finishes, a ‘Strade Bianche’ style gravel stage in Tuscany, and potentially as many as nine opportunities for bunch sprints. The opening stage already offers a chance for the GC men to get stuck in, with three categorised climbs including the C2 Colle Maddalena which crests 22km from the finish in Torino. The first pink jersey of 2024 will then lead the peloton to a C1 mountaintop finish at the Santuario di Oropa on Sunday. Stages 3 – 7 are either flat or undulating, and plenty of riders will sense the possibility of a prestigious addition to their ‘palmarès’.
Bahrain have three in the line-up for days such as these: Phil Bauhaus will be the designated sprinter, and takes to the start-line for the 3rd time. The German would love to add a Grand Tour stage to his collection, which includes a win at Tirreno Adriatico last month. Supporting Bauhaus in his lead-out, and providing flat support for our GC riders, will be Jasha Sütterlin and Andrea Pasqualon. Both were crucial 12 months ago as Bahrain took the ‘Maglia Ciclamino’ points jersey on the final podium.
Lead Sports Director in Italy is Gorazd Štangelj, who believes the racing will be full gas from the beginning: “It starts hard from day 1. And day 2. Then S3 is a clear sprint. After that everything is very open. You can lose precious time early on, so we need to be in the right place and invest in the GC from Saturday, while also making sure we can be there for Phil. The second week, while not in any way easy, is more straightforward, but week 3 is extremely difficult.”
The ‘Queen Stage’, or ‘Tappone’ in Italian, is stage 15, the day before the second rest day. It is also the longest stage, and has over 5000 metres of elevation gain. After ⅔ of the 220km comes the legendary Mortirolo, before a double Cat 1 summit finish to Livigno. The highest point of the race – the ‘Cima Coppi’ – comes early on the following day at the top of the Passo Stelvio.
With six mountain stages, climbing support will be vital, and comes in the form of Edoardo Zambanini, Torstein Træn, and Rainer Kepplinger. It is a first Giro for both the Norwegian and the Austrian, while the Italian made it to Rome last year as TBV took the ‘Best Team’ trophy.
Štangelj knows that the three weeks will require clear heads from the off: “We need to balance the strengths we have with us in Bauhaus on the flat, and Tiberi/Caruso in the mountains. We would like to win stages with Phil and also do well on GC. We have the tools and the riders to compete in the sprint stages and overall. We don’t want to split our aims too much, so we will try to use other teams’ strengths to our benefit. On top of that, Rainer is a bit of a wild card; nobody knows him that much so we may be able to spring a surprise with him.”
The race has a clear favourite in the form of world number one Tadej Pogačar (UAE), but this year promises to be one of the most open editions in years. Štangelj concludes: “We dream about a podium with Antonio or Damiano, but we will have to see how things turn out each day. Anything can happen, and you need focus from the beginning. Everyone’s work will be cut out from day 1, and we have a team to compete every day.”
The Giro d’Italia starts on Saturday from Venaria Reale at 13:50 CET, and May the 4th be with us!
Giro d’Italia: a Challenge, a Gift, an Opportunity
May arrives, and with it comes the Giro d’Italia. The race that Team Polti Kometa has meticulously prepared for with dedication. For which it has focused all its strength. In which it aims to shine and thrill the fans. For the fourth consecutive season, since 2021, the Professional structure of the Alberto Contador Foundation will be at the start of the corsa rosa.
To face a really tough race that distributes excitement along the course, Polti Kometa lines up eight versatile riders: Matteo Fabbro for the overall classification, the climber Davide Piganzoli who will make his debut in the Giro; Giovanni Lonardi for the sprints, the brothers Davide and Mattia Bais to fight for presence in the breakaways and on steep terrain, as well as the captain Mirco Maestri and the brave duo formed by Andrea Pietrobon and Fran Muñoz, also debutants, who will surely collaborate with the team’s objectives as well as looking for their own opportunities. Three of the cyclists called up (Piganzoli, Pietrobon and Muñoz) have grown up in the Alberto Contador Foundation teams. Their great progression has allowed them to reach the professional team and compete in the Giro d’Italia.
General manager Fran Contador expresses satisfaction with this fourth consecutive participation: “Being at the start of the Giro is everything for us; it’s a culmination that calls us to the responsibility of interpreting the race in the right way, highlighting our sponsors and achieving significant results. We have acquired considerable experience and we’re going to approach the three weeks with utmost clarity and determination. We’ll be able to perform well on all terrains, and this early season assures us that we can be protagonists alongside the best.”
“When we talk about the Giro d’Italia, we talk about the race of the year,” echoes the sports manager Ivan Basso. “We start thinking about the invitation in winter, then the build-up begins. We are delivering convincing performances, always inserting ourselves in direct comparison with World Tour teams, and we present ourselves with a highly prepared lineup: we have individuals covering every type of characteristics and age. Many have already raced the Giro, and some will be making their debut, a mix that allows us to compete with precise objectives: it’s not enough for us to do well generically; we want to race in the proper manner, win the third stage in four years, fight for the KOM jersey and achieve a GC top-10 .”
The team will be led by Stefano Zanatta and Jesús Hernandez: “We are arriving well at this peak moment of the season – explains Zanatta – and are ready to honour one of the world’s biggest scenarios at our best. We’ll face it with the ambitious mentality that has led us to win two stages in three years; the eight athletes we will have at the start are in ideal physical and mental conditions to try to seize the various opportunities that may arise. It will be a very demanding race right from the start, that’s why we are bringing many strong climbers starting with Fabbro and Piganzoli. But without neglecting the sprints, for which we rely on Lonardi.”
Lead-out for the sprinter and guide for all the teammates, Mirco Maestri says: “It will be my seventh Giro d’Italia, the third in a row with this team, but I always experience it as if it were the first and feel the excitement of someone who’s competing in the race they dreamed of as a child. We have prepared very well and have been racing more and more solidly and compactly, a fundamental aspect in a grand tour as much as good form. We also know well the difficulty, but we aim to win at least one stage and maintain a decent overall position.”
Finally the words of Davide Bais, who in the Asturias returned to full form after the crash in the Tour of the Alps, and last year made everyone dream with the victory in Campo Imperatore and the maglia azzurra worn for half of the Giro: “Participating in this magnificent event is always an honour that makes me happy and motivates both me and my teammates. My mindset will be the same as last year: fighting for the KOMs and who knows, maybe finding another right breakaway…”
Groves and Hermans to Lead Alpecin-Deceuninck
Alpecin-Deceuninck has announced its eight-man selection for the 2024 Giro d’Italia (4-26 May). Sprinter Kaden Groves and stage winner Quinten Hermans are the top names. Two riders will make their first appearance in a three week race.
The two debutants are Timo Kielich and Fabio Van den Bossche. The two Belgians hope to play an important role in Kaden Groves’ sprint train. Edward Planckaert and Jimmy Janssens are the other sprint lead-out men. Groves won three stages and points jersey in the Vuelta a España at the end of last year. This year he has been suffering from knee problems, but he has now recovered.
The Austrian Tobias Bayer, Italian Nicola Conci and Belgian Quinten Hermans should have a more free role in the stages where there won’t be a bunch sprint. Hermans won his first WorldTour race in the Tour of the Basque Country this season and will want to repeat.
“Alpecin-Deceuninck is facing its tenth consecutive Grand Tour. In the past nine tours we were able to win a stage each time. That is also our goal for the next three weeks. Kaden has already won stages in the Giro and Vuelta and is our outspoken leader for the sprint stages. But with Quinten Hermans and a few other riders, we can also hold our own in the other stages,” the team said on social media.
Alpecin-Deceuninck for the Giro d’Italia:
Kaden Groves (Aus)
Edward Planckaert (Bel)
Nicola Conci (Ita)
Quinten Hermans (Bel)
Timo Kielich (Bel)
Fabio Van Den Bossche (Bel)
Jimmy Janssens (Bel)
Tobias Bayer (Aust).
Groves looking for stage sprint wins:
Israel – Premier Tech Heading to the Giro d’Italia with Unfinished Business
When the 107th edition of the Giro d’Italia kicks off this Saturday in Torino, Israel – Premier Tech will be looking to take care of unfinished business.
After an inspiring race in 2023, which saw the team’s young riders, led by Canadian Derek Gee, light up the race on a daily basis to finish in the top-five on nine occasions, IPT is determined to secure the stage win that eluded the team last year.
“Last year, the Giro d’Italia was a turning point for Israel – Premier Tech,” says Sports Director Rene Andrle. “We may not have won a stage but the way the team rode was nothing short of inspiring and coming so close to a victory on so many occasions has made us even hungrier this year. We have a strong team of opportunists and we will be targeting stage wins once again.”
While last year’s hero of the Giro, Derek Gee – who won the hearts of cycling fans around the world by coming second on four occasions – will focus on other objectives this year, IPT has assembled a dynamic and versatile team to hunt for stage wins across the three weeks.
Andrle adds: “The experience of guys like Mike Woods, Simon Clarke, and Nick Schultz will be instrumental and I think all three riders can win a stage. Marco Frigo has the added motivation of racing on home soil, we have Hugo Hofstetter racing his first Giro d’Italia, while Riley Pickrell, Nadav Raisberg, and Ethan Vernon are set to line up at their first Grand Tour. Ethan, Hugo, and Riley give us multiple cards to play in the sprint stages and I really think we have a team that can win on all terrain. We are excited for the next three weeks of racing and hope to race as aggressively as we did last year.”
After a sensational win at the Tour de France last year, Woods returns to the Giro d’Italia after a six-year hiatus looking to complete the trifecta of Grand Tour stage wins. “It’s been six years since I have been to the Giro and I’m really excited to be doing it again,” explains Woods, “I’ve had a tough start to the season with some illness but I feel like that is finally behind me and now it’s time for one of the coolest races on the calendar. My big ambition for the race will be stage hunting. Particularly with the illness that I’ve had in the last few months, I will aim to have a conservative start and then look for stages later on as the race progresses. So hopefully I can find some form in the early stages and then be aggressive and bag a stage win by the end of the race.”
As one of IPT’s trio of Grand Tour debutants, Ethan Vernon (pictured above) is approaching the Giro d’Italia as a learning experience however, having already opened his 2024 account with a stage win at Tour des Alpes Maritimes, Vernon is keen to test his legs in the sprints.
“I’m really excited for my first Grand Tour,” says Vernon. “I think it’s going to be a really good learning experience for future years. To be lining up alongside experienced guys like Simon Clarke and Mike Woods and be able to ask them questions will be really valuable. Personally, I want to use this as a big training block ahead of the Olympics and an opportunity to build experience. I’m excited to get stuck into some of the sprints with Hugo and Riley. There are a few sprint stages I like the look of and also the two time trials. The type of training I have been doing recently should suit them.”
Since the team’s first Giro d’Italia in 2018, with the historic Grande Partenza in Israel, IPT has developed a special relationship with the first Grand Tour of the season, including stage wins courtesy of Alex Dowsett in 2020 and Dan Martin in 2021, and Alessandro De Marchi’s stint in the Maglia Rosa in 2021. After enjoying the most successful start to the season in IPT’s 10-year history with 15 victories so far, there is no shortage of determination to add to the team’s Giro d’Italia palmarès.
IPT at the Giro d’Italia (Saturday May 4 – Sunday May 26)
Riders:
Simon Clarke (AUS), Marco Frigo (ITA), Hugo Hostetter (FRA), Riley Pickrell (CAN), Nadav Raisberg (ISR), Nick Schultz (AUS), Ethan Vernon (GBR), Mike Woods (CAN).
Sports Directors: Rene Andrle (CZE), Rene Mandri (EST), Oscar Guerrero (ESP)
Egan Bernal to Prepare for the Tour de France
Egan Bernal will be at the start of the Tour de France in 2024. The Colombian, who won La Grande Boucle five years ago, is ‘almost certainly’ part of the INEOS Grenadiers selection, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
At the end of March there was no certainty about his Tour participation, but it already appeared to be a serious option. “But it will all depend on the further course of my season. I can say that some of my values are the same or even better than before my fall. They are not good enough to win, but I am still making progress every day,” Bernal said after the Tour of Catalonia.
It took a while, but Bernal is racing at the front again after his crash and subsequent rehabilitation. After top ten finishes in the Tour Colombia, O Gran Camiño and Paris-Nice and third in the Tour of Catalonia. The 27-year-old also rode well in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour de Romandie.
Bernal managed to convince the INEOS Grenadiers team management with these good performances, and so he can prepare for his fifth Tour de France. In 2018 he made his Tour debut, a year later he made history by becoming the first Colombian to win the Tour de France.
Bernal to the Tour de France:
Lennard Kämna to Leave Hospital in Tenerife
Four weeks after his serious training accident, Lennard Kämna can leave the hospital in Tenerife. The 27-year-old will be flown to Hamburg today. There his injuries will be further treated by the doctors of the BORA – hansgrohe medical department and he can start his rehabilitation at the BG Klinikum.
On April 3, Lennard Kämna suffered numerous injuries, especially to his chest, in an accident during a training camp in preparation for the Giro d’Italia. He underwent successful surgery last week in Tenerife.
Lennard Kämna: “Thank you for all the support over the past few weeks. I would especially like to thank my girlfriend and my family who have done everything to make me feel as comfortable as possible. It has not been an easy time at the University Hospital in Tenerife, but I am very grateful to the medical team and nurses for what they have done for me over the past few weeks. I am overjoyed that the first step of my recovery has been completed today and that I can now move on to Hamburg: I will start my rehab there and I am highly motivated to get back on the bike as soon as possible. But the most important thing is to get healthy again.”
Lennard Kämna leaves hospital:
Rick Zabel Retires After 11 years
Rick Zabel has announced his retirement as a professional cyclist. The 30-year-old German, son of legendary sprinter Erik Zabel, rode his last race for Israel-Premier Tech last month, Paris-Roubaix.
Zabel will ride the Rund um Köln on Sunday, May 26, for the German national team. Zabel will be saying good-bye on home roads. “After a cycling career of thirteen years (including Rabobank development team for 2 years) my journey is coming to an end.”
Zabel wants to spend more time with his family and focus on other challenges in life. “It was a really cool time. I am proud of what I have achieved in my career and happy with everything I have been able to experience. I’ve met wonderful people. I can’t wait to pin on a jersey number for the last time, in my home race in and around Cologne. Then a new chapter in my life begins.”
Zabel started his professional career in 2014 with BMC, after he won the Under 23 Tour of Flanders. He rode for the Swiss team for three seasons, before moving to Katusha-Alpecin, from 2017 to 2019 and then Israel-Premier Tech from 2020 to 2024. Zabel couldn’t emulate his father’s achievements, but still had a good palmarès: Two professional victories, with stage victories in the Tour of Austria and the Tour de Yorkshire. Zabel started eight Grand Tours. In 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2022, the Giro d’Italia and in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 the Tour de France.
Zabel retires:
Georg Zimmermann Extends Two Years with Intermarché-Wanty
The 26 year old German climber, who joined the Walloon World Team in 2021, extended his contract with two more years and will stay with the structure of Jean-François Bourlart until at least the end of 2026.
Since his arrival within Intermarché-Wanty, Georg Zimmermann never ceased to show progression and to showcase himself as an attacker, achieving his first pro victory in the 2021 Tour de l’Ain and his first success at World Tour level from the early breakaway on top of Crest-Voland in the 2023 Critérium du Dauphiné.
He was selected for the Tour de France three years in a row and last July he finished close to a victory in the tenth stage in Issoire, where he was only defeated by Pello Bilbao. In the mountains his work was also very valuable for Louis Meintjes who finished seventh in ‘La Grande Boucle’ in 2022. These performances led to a third consecutive selection for the Elite world Championships, this time in the role of leader of the German Mannschaft in Wollongong .
The resident of Augsburg also regularly shone on home soil. He crowned himself the best young rider of the Tour of Germany two years in a row and was the bronze medalist of the national championship in 2021, almost vanquishing BORA-Hansgrohe’s numerical superiority.
This season, Zimmermann achieved his first podium in a World Tour one day race with a third place in the Cadel Evans Road Race in January in Australia, before discovering the Flemish spring classics for the first time in his career.
Georg Zimmermann: “Joining Intermarché-Wanty in 2021 has been the best choice for my career. This structure invests a lot in the development of young riders. The professional way of working is qualitative in all areas, but if I have to mention the factors that played the most important role in my development, I would say the coaching and the annual plans, which enable us to prepare for our goals in the best possible way. This allowed me to achieve my first World Tour victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné and experience other unforgettable moments. Performances like these changed my status in the peloton, but never inspired me to change environment. I feel happy within Intermarché-Wanty, I know that in this team I can exploit my potential and keep showing the best of myself in the coming years. I’m really looking forward to Eschborn-Frankfurt this Wednesday for my first race on home soil this season. I hope to return to my level from my season start in Australia, because to be honest, I secretly expected a little more from my first time in the Flemish classics. Then, just like the past three seasons, I will join the team in Andorra for altitude training towards the Critérium du Dauphiné and the national championship. This season is particularly special because 2024 is an Olympic year. One of my big goals is to become one of the two riders who will represent the colours of the German national team in Paris this summer.”
Aike Visbeek (Performance Manager): “Georg Zimmermann has regularly made the colours of Intermarché-Wanty shine since his arrival. I’m especially thinking of last summer, with his fantastic stage victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné, followed a few weeks later by a second place in the tenth stage of the Tour de France. Two wonderful results from breakaway in which he demonstrated his strong character and will to win. His victory on top of Crest-Voland was all the more impressive because dozens of the team partners were waiting at the finish line. Being able to finish it off at important moments for the team like he did, that’s something quite special. His excellent start of the season in Australia definitively confirmed his progress. Georg is one of the talents we supported in their development and who attach importance to taking responsibilities and and playing their own cards. With Intermarché-Wanty he receives the opportunity to use his big engine in one week stage races and his favourite classics, in addition to a role as a free electron in the grand tours. He has the ability to win a stage, he was already close in the Tour last summer. This remains our ambition with Georg. Also, he is always willing to put himself at the service of his leaders. That is why he is of great value in our Tour de France selections. For all these reasons, we are delighted that Georg will continue his career with Intermarché-Wanty, where we will keep experiencing wonderful moments together.”
Panasonic Back in Cycling as Main Sponsor of a Dutch Race
Panasonic returns to cycling. The Japanese electronics brand will be the main sponsor of the 36th Omloop van de Houtse Linies. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Panasonic sponsored Peter Post’s team of the same name.
The Omloop van de Houtse Lines is a national elite classic, which will be held on Sunday, May 19. The start and finish of the event is in Den Hout. Panasonic is active in the region through the installation company ZEROgas, which until last year was the main sponsor of the Omloop van de Houtse Linies. Now Panasonic is taking over.
The Panasonic team was part of the peloton from 1984 to 1992. In the first years the team was called Panasonic-Raleigh, as it was the continuation of the famous TI-Raleigh team. Later the team was also given the names Panasonic-Isostar and Panasonic-Sportlife.
Dutch top riders such as Peter Winnen, Steven Rooks, Gert-Jan Theunisse, Johan van der Velde, Erik Breukink and Jean-Paul van Poppel rode for the team, but also foreign top players such as Eddy Planckaert, Eric Vanderaerden, Maurizio Fondriest, Robert Millar and Olaf Ludwig were under contract.
The Omloop van de Houtse Linies has traditionally been a typical race for cobbles specialists. The sharpest point of the race will again be the Dordrechtseweg, a cobbled strip of 700 meters, in the coming edition. The riders ride seventeen laps and have to cross this cobbles seventeen times. The race is a total of 167.8 kilometres long. Last year Rick Ottema took victory. He then defeated Lars Oreel and Coen Vermeltfoort.
Panasonic back in cycling:
Watch the documentary Road to Resilience: Inside the Beehive
Watch the documentary Road to Resilience: Inside the Beehive about Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s classic season now on YouTube. Featuring never-before-seen footage from the race, the team car, the team bus, and the team hotel. And exclusive interviews with Wout van Aert, Merijn Zeeman and the rest of the team.
The Spring Classics: Road to Resilience – Inside The Beehive:
Now Streaming: Road to the Giro
Go behind the scenes as the INEOS Grenadiers make their final preparations for the 2024 Giro d’Italia. Geraint Thomas is once again ready to lead the team in the first Grand Tour of the season. Check out our pre-race build-up and final recon ahead of the Grande Partenza on May 4.
Road to the Giro 2024 | Behind the scenes with the INEOS Grenadiers:
A Pizza Giro Action
Thanks to a skilled pizzaiolo, some Alce Nero ingredients and a fast delivery boy, we can now give you 11 unique and yummy pizza to feed your hunger for cycling over the next three weeks. Enjoy!
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