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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, August 9, 2022

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2021 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia

If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes. - John Wooden

Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Giro d'Italia, A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Vol 2: 1971 - 2011 is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• Aug 9 - 11: Tour de l'Ain

Upcoming racing:

• Aug 11 - 14: Arctic Race of Norway
• Aug 14: La Polynormande
• Aug 19 - Sept 11: La Vuelta a España
  

Latest completed racing:

• Aug 2 - 6: Vuelta a Burgos
• July 30 - Aug 5: Tour of Poland
• July 31: Circuito de Getxo
• July 30: Clasica San Sebastián
• July 23 - 27: Tour de Wallonie
• July 27 - 28: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
• July 1 - July 24: Tour de France

The team sent me this release:

The INEOS Grenadiers are delighted to confirm that Ethan Hayter has signed a new contract until the end of the 2024 season.

The 23-year-old Brit and freshly crowned Tour de Pologne winner has shown fantastic progression since turning pro with the team in 2020, already amassing 16 victories in the professional ranks.

Ethan Hayter time trialing at this year's Tour of Poland.

Whether winning from bunch sprints, reduced groups, time trials or even solo on uphill finishes, Hayter has marked himself out as one of cycling’s most exciting all-round young talents and will continue his development with the Grenadiers.

Hayter will be joined by his younger brother Leo on the team later this season, and full time from 2023. The pair form part of an exciting, expanding core of young British talent at the heart of the Grenadiers.

Ethan said: “I am really proud to extend my contract with the team and keep racing as a Grenadier. The goal is clear - to kick on and win more WorldTour races, have a go at the World Champs and get some Grand Tours under my belt. I believe I am in the best environment to continue winning over the coming seasons.”

The two-time reigning British national time trial champion has made strides at WorldTour level in 2022 and has put himself in position to make his Grand Tour debut at the upcoming Vuelta a Espana. An Olympic silver medallist from Tokyo 2022, Hayter is also targeting future success on the track, in line with the team’s commitment to supporting a growing roster of multi-discipline athletes.

Deputy Team Principal Rod Ellingworth can’t wait to watch Hayter’s continued progression: “Ethan is one of those riders who quite often flies under the radar, which is incredible considering the palmares he already has to his name. He’s at the forefront of the young group we are building here and we have been delighted with his development and attitude. I’m so excited about what he can go on to achieve in the sport and it will be great to see him racing alongside his brother Leo.”

The team sent me this update:

Team BikeExchange-Jayco will make their debut at the Arctic Race of Norway this week with a triple threat attack of Dylan Groenewegen, Nick Schultz and Dion Smith.

Dylan Groenewegen (shown at the Dauphiné) will be racing in Norway this week. Sirotti photo

The trio give the squad options over the varied terrain, and they will be supported by an in-form Kevin Colleoni, fresh from a third place overall at the SAZKA Tour. The powerful pair of local rider Amund Grøndahl Jansen and Italian Alexander Konychev complete the line-up.

The four days of racing will provide opportunities for fast finishers and climbers, with a short, but steep cat.1 uphill finish on stage three set to be decisive in the general classification.

Team BikeExchange-Jayco Line-Up:
Kevin Colleoni (ITA)
Dylan Groenewegen (NED)
Amund Grøndahl Jansen (NOR)
Alexander Konychev (ITA)
Nick Schultz (AUS)
Dion Smith (NZL)

Nick Schultz:
“It will be my first appearance racing at the Arctic Race and I'm really looking forward to the experience as I've always enjoyed racing in Norway in the past.

"I've come out of the Tour de France, so my shape should be pretty good. I've been a bit tired since the Tour, but I've kept the body ticking and I will look to have a good crack on a couple of the stages over the four days.

"It's been a rollercoaster season, but the last few months have been excellent, so I'll do my best to continue on with that trend.”

Matt White - Head Sport Director:
We are going to Arctic Race with multiple ambitions. I think the stages suit our riders like, for example, Dylan Groenewegen on stage two and Dion Smith and Nick Schultz for the stages more undulating.

"We have a good team for this Norwegian race and our minimum goal is at least to win a stage and also a GC result will be very valuable for us.”

Bicycle Retailer & Industry News posted this:

LOS ANGELES (BRAIN) — The parents of a 12-year-old girl who later died from injuries suffered while riding as a passenger on a Rad Power Bike in 2021 filed a wrongful death suit Monday against the Seattle brand and helmet-maker Giro Sport Design.

The lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court by parents Jonathan and Kaye Steinsapir asks for a jury trial that will determine damages, and says Rad Power markets its e-bikes to children without adequate warnings. In addition, design defects on the RadRunner e-bike that their daughter Molly Steinsapir was a passenger on contributed to the accident and her death, according to the suit.

"The entire Rad Power Bikes team extends its deepest condolences to the Steinsapir family on the tragic loss of Molly Steinsapir," Rad Power said in a statement to BRAIN. "We are aware of the lawsuit that the family has filed. Rad Power Bikes does not comment on pending litigation, including this case, and therefore has no comment on the allegations in their complaint or the underlying accident."

Giro is named in the suit because the Steinsapirs say the helmet Molly was wearing was defective. The suit says the helmet was supposed to absorb the crash impact, but it cracked and did not protect her from the brain injury that ultimately killed her.

Vista Outdoor, which owns Giro Sport Design, did not return a request to comment.

On Jan. 31, 2021, Molly was riding behind her 11-year-old best friend who was operating the RadRunner e-bike, which can accomodate a passenger. While descending a steep hill — which the lawsuit says the two girls would not have been able to ascend on a traditional bike — the e-bike began to "shake and wobble, causing the bike to crash."

The friend had cuts and abrasions, but Molly was unconscious and taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. After several brain surgeries, she never regained consciousness and died on Feb. 15.

You can read the entire story here.

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