Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, January 15, 2022

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2021 Tour de France | 2021 Giro d'Italia

Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain

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Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is available as an audiobook here. For the Kindle eBook version, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• Jan 22, 2022: Flandriencross
• Jan 26 - 29, 2022: Challenge Illes Balears
• Jan 30 - Feb 6, 2022: Vuelta a San Juan Cancelled
• Jan 31: GP Cycliste la Marseillaise
• Feb 1 -5: Saudi Tour
• Feb 2 - 6: Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
• Feb 2 - 6: Etoile de Bessèges
• 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

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Remco Evenepoel to start season in Spain

Here’s the update from Evenepoel’s Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl team:

The Belgian will ride Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana next month.

Spain has always been good to Remco Evenepoel. In his very first pro year, the Belgian soloed to an astonishing victory at the Clasica San Sebastian, becoming one of the youngest riders in history to triumph in a major one-day race. Then, one year later, he convincingly won the Vuelta a Burgos thanks to an impressive display on the two summit finishes of the race, Picon Blanco and Lagunas de Neila.

Remco Evenepoel winning the 2019 Clasica San Sebastian

He will now return to Spain for the first time since that triumph, one year and a half later, at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. The 72nd edition of the event taking place between 2-6 February will mark Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s first outing of the season in Europe, and the soon to be 22-year-old Belgian is excited to get things underway.

“I’m happy to be going to Valenciana. I like riding in Spain, the weather and the fans are great, and I had success there as early as my first pro season. Clasica San Sebastian still ranks as one of my best wins, and the Vuelta a Burgos victory one year later was a confirmation that I can do good in week-long stage races.”

“I can’t wait to get the season started. I had a good winter preparation and I feel more relaxed than last year. I hope to have a solid year, as I look forward to improving, to making more steps in the right direction, and getting some wins here and there. The atmosphere is great in the team and we will try to keep things going this way and win races as we always do”, said Remco, who won 22 races so far since joining the Wolfpack at the beginning of 2019

Ruby Roseman-Gannon wins Australian criterium championships

Roseman-Gannon’s BikeExchange-Jayco team sent me this report:

New 2022 recruit Ruby Roseman-Gannon stormed to victory today at the Australian Criterium Championships, her first race in full Team BikeExchange-Jayco colours, as she continues her impressive start to the 2022 season.

After taking two wins and the overall at last week’s Bay Crits series, while riding in a mixed team, the 23-year-old lined-up in Ballarat as the pre-race favourite, and proved she could handle the pressure with an imperious ride to take her first elite championship gold medal.

Roseman-Gannon wins again. Getty Sport photo

Teammate Alex Manly controlled the race throughout, despite being caught up in a crash inside the first 30 minutes of action, as she constantly shutdown dangerous moves. However, it was a cagey affair with few attacks until a strong group of nine-riders broke away inside the final 10 laps, with Roseman-Gannon amongst them.

It looked like the former two-time runner-up would have to battle for the gold alone, but with three laps to go, Manly bridged across the gap to make it two Team BikeExchange-Jayco riders at the head of the race. Manly then charged to the front of the bunch on the final lap, delivering Roseman-Gannon to the line and to the gold medal after executing text-book tactics and the perfect lead out.

Ruby Roseman-Gannon:
“I wanted this for a very long time and to finish it off in my first race in full Team BikeExchange-Jayco kit means so much. I can’t thank Alex Manly enough, she rides for people all the time, she is the most selfless rider, and I couldn’t have done it without her, so I just want to thank her for riding so perfectly.

I knew that Alex would give me a perfect lead-out and I just didn’t want to get boxed in, I saw someone coming up on my inside, so I knew that was time to go and I just gave it everything I had and just did what I’ve done in training a thousand times and pulled it off! I couldn’t be happier, I’m speechless, really.

I think the road race is definitely more of a challenge, but look, Alex and I are a small team, but we’re a strong team and we will give it everything we have.”

2022 Australian Criterium Championships – Results:
1. Ruby Roseman-Gannon
2. Josie Talbot
3. Peta Mullens

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