Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, January 3, 2022

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2021 Tour de France | 2021 Giro d'Italia

The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it. - Niccolo Machiavelli

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Plato's dialogue Phaedo is available as an audiobook here. For the Kindle eBook version, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• Jan 16 - 23, 2022: Le Tour de Langkawi
• Jan 22, 2022: Flandriencross
• Jan 26 - 29, 2022: Challenge Illes Balears
• Jan 30 - Feb 6, 2022: Vuelta a San Juan
• Feb 12, 2022: Gavere Cyclocross
  

Latest completed racing:

• Jan 1, 2022: GP Sven Nys Cross
• Dec 30: Azencross
• Dec 29: Diegemcross Cancelled
• Dec 27: Heusden Zolder Cyclocross
• Dec 19: Namur Cyclocross
• Dec 11: Ethiascross-Essen
• Dec 5: Scheldecross Antwerp - Cancelled because of Covid-19
• Nov 13: GP Leuven

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Tom Pidcock wins men's Hulst World Cup cross race

Here’s the report from Pidcock’s INEOS Grenadiers team:

Victory in Hulst marked the Tom Pidcock’s second success on Dutch soil this season in the sport’s top series. The win also came 24 hours after the Brit finished second in Baal, and picked up an MBE following his Olympic Gold medal.

Tom Pidcock wins in Hulst.

Pidcock pushed through from the second row and hit the front from lap three onwards. Stretching clear alongside Eli Iserbyt, by lap five he began to turn the screw, opening out a small but significant gap.

The second half of the race was about managing the margin and staying out of trouble, which Pidcock achieved admirably. Success marked a sixth podium in eight races this season.

In his second race as a Grenadier, Ben Turner backed up his sixth place in Baal with 18th in Hulst.

Tom Pidcock:
"I was feeling good at the start and I pushed on and got a gap, but only literally a few seconds. All race Eli was just keeping me close and keeping the pressure on. Then the last few laps I started making a few mistakes. I was thinking, if he does a big effort maybe he could close.

"Then on the last lap I couldn’t get in my big ring. It wasn’t too much of a problem but I was just taking it a bit easy on the descents so [the chain] wouldn’t come off. I was just being a bit cautious. Wout’s chain came off at the start and I didn’t want that to happen.

"For sure I was pretty strong today. When you do a whole race on the front it’s completely different to when you’re in the wheels. It was a good result."

Quick Results:

1. Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) 1hr 3min 49sec
2. Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) @ 12sec
3. Lars Van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) @ 33sec
4. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) @ 1min 9sec
5. Toon Aerts (Baloise Trek Lions) @ 1min 30sec
6. Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) @ 1min 41sec
7. Quinten Hermans (Tormans) @ 1min 48sec
8. Laurens Sweeck (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal)@ 1min 57sec
9. Vincent Baestaens (Deschacht-Group Hens) @ 2min 8sec
10. Toon Vandebosch (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) @ 2min 11sec

 

Lucinda Brand wins women's Hulst World Cup Cyclocross

Quick Results:

1. Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) 49min 14sec
2. Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Fenix) @ 5sec
3. Annemarie Worst (777) @ 11sec
4. Kata Blanka Vas (SD Worx) @ 14sec
5. Fem Van Empel (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) @ 26sec
6. Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) @ 37sec
7. Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) @ 43sec
8. Shirin Van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) @ 1min 8sec
9. Inge Van der Heijden (777) @ 1min 46sec
10. Alicia Franck (Proximus-AlphaMotorhomes) @ 1min 52sec

The very capable Lucinda Brand does her rainbow jersey proud.

Kamil Gradek joins Bahrain Victorious

Here’s the team’s announcement:

Bahrain Victorious are pleased to announce the signing of Kamil Gradek for the 2022 season. The former Polish National ITT winner rejoins the WorldTour following his stint with Vini Zabù.

Gradek: “I’m very happy to be able to join Team Bahrain Victorious. I know I’m in the right environment and one of the best teams in the world. Last year was a challenging year for me, but now I have everything I need to show what I can do in this team. I’m excited and looking forward to the season ahead. I’m grateful for the team’s trust in me, and I would like to repay them with a good season.”

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