Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, June 9, 2022

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2021 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia

If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting. - Stephen Covey

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Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• June 5 - 12: Critérium du Dauphiné
• June 8 - 12: ZLM Tour

Upcoming racing:

• June 10 - 13: La Route d'Occitanie
  

Latest completed racing:

• June 5: Brussels Cycling Classic
• June 2: Giro dell'Appennino
• May 6 - 29: Giro d'Italia
• May 24 - 29: Tour of Norway
• May 22: Rund um Köln
• May 21: Veenendaal - Veenendaal
• May 21: Tour du Finistère
• May 15: Tro-Bro Léon
• May 14: Grand Prix du Morbihan
• May 3 - 8: 4 Jours de Dunkerque

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Critérium du Dauphiné stage four team reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from GC leader Wout van Aert's Jumbo-Visma team:

Wout van Aert has extended his lead in the general classification of the Critérium du Dauphiné by finishing second in the time trial. Only world champion Filippo Ganna managed to beat him. At the finish line, the Italian proved two seconds faster. Primoz Roglic (fifth) and Jonas Vingegaard (seventh) also finished in the top ten.

Wout van Aert extending his lead. Sirotti pnhoto

The 31.9-kilometre time trial course was considered right up the specialists' alley. Stage winner Ganna set a strong time early in the day. It was then up to Vingegaard to set a target time for the favourites for the general classification, which he did well. Roglic recorded some sharp intermediate times but came just short of a podium. Meanwhile, a real game of seconds developed between Van Aert and Ganna. At the first intermediate point, the Belgian recorded the best time, but the Italian ultimately turned out to be the fastest.

"I am satisfied with this result", Van Aert said. "A time trial is usually an accurate reflection of the balance of power. The gap is small, but Filippo has deservedly won. It's no shame to narrowly lose to the world champion. I probably lost some ground after the second waypoint. I fought back strongly, but unfortunately I came up just short. I am satisfied with my shape. So far, I'm pleased with my Dauphiné. I have been able to compete for the stage win every day. I hope to do the same in the next few days and hold on to the yellow leader's jersey for a while."

Roglic moved up to third in the GC with his fifth place in the time trial, just ahead of teammate Vingegaard. "It was a tough time trial. I would have preferred a little more altitude on the way, but I think I did pretty well on this course. I pushed myself to the limit. Mentally, I'm fine. I'm looking forward to the weekend with some mountains on the programme. First of all, it is important to survive the next two stages. We have a strong team. We can show even more beautiful things in the coming days."

Here’s the report from stage winner Filippo Ganna’s Team INEOS Grendiers:

Filippo Ganna edged Wout van Aert in a tight time trial to win stage four of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Ganna beat the Jumbo Visma rider by just two seconds in a thrilling conclusion to the 31.9km test, with teammate Ethan Hayter finishing third on the stage to move into the top five overall.

Filippo Ganna on his way to winning the stage. Sirotti photo

Tao Geoghegan Hart finished ninth in La Bâtie d’Urfé to see him move into the top 10 on GC, with four stages remaining. 

Earlier, Ganna had set the fastest time and faced a long wait in the hot seat with race leader Van Aert the last rider to start.

There were nervy moments for the Italian as Van Aert was fastest at the first intermediate check, before the second time split moved in Ganna's favour, with just two seconds separating the pair at the end.

Filippo Ganna:
"Every time we are close. Van Aert is very strong, yesterday he was already really close to victory. He’s a superb athlete and we can only say chapeau to him. It was a pretty good course for me. This morning, when we saw it was raining, I thought it was not gonna be a good day, but luckily the Sun came and we had the same conditions for all the riders."

Here’s the report from Mattia Cattaneo’s Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl:

Mattia Cattaneo confirmed his prowess against the clock, taking a solid fourth on the 31.9km stage 4 against the clock – one of the season’s longest individual time trials. The last Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider to roll down the ramp, the Italian wasn’t particularly favoured by the pan-flat course between Montbrison and La Bâtie d’Urfé, but this didn’t stop him from producing his best ITT at World Tour level.

After setting solid top 5 times at both intermediate checkpoints, Mattia stopped the clock in 36:11 at the finish thanks to a stunning ride which saw him average close to 53km/h, enough to put him third provisional. Of the riders that left the start house in the last hour of the stage, many of whom were strong GC contenders, only the yellow jersey could pass him in the classification, where the 31-year-old from Alzano Lombardo concluded fourth.

Here's Cattaneo's teammate Remi Cavagna on the course. Sirotti photo

“I am very happy with this result, because it reflects all the hard work I have put in on my time trial bike. Since joining the Wolfpack, the team placed their trust in me and I am delighted I could show my progress in this discipline that I like so much, against many specialists of the time trial. Every ITT I do makes me more confident in myself, and after today, I hope other good results will follow for the squad this week”, said Mattia, who sits a remarkable second overall halfway through the race.

2022 Benelux Tour cancelled

Here’s the race organizer’s explanation:

The Benelux Tour, the only multi-day UCI WorldTour competition in Belgium and the Netherlands, will be moved to 2023. Originally, the competition was scheduled to take place between 29 August and 4 September of this year.

The organisation has no other option but to move the event to avoid complications caused by a cycling calendar that is too full, especially when it comes to logistics and media coverage. The busy international cycling calendar leads to several conflicts and, despite frantic efforts, it was impossible to find an alternative solution forcing us to postpone.

2021 Benelux Tour winner Sonny Colbrelli winning stage 6 of that year's edition.

This year, the national units of the Dutch police cannot guarantee their support during the stages in the Netherlands. For the Benelux Tour safety is of paramount importance and racing without the necessary police support is downright dangerous and just not an option. Additional unsolvable issues are caused by the scheduling of arrival times and their corresponding TV broadcasts. Broadcasting times of other concurrent competitions would force the organisation to arrange arrival times that are inconvenient for supporters and guests locally and viewers following on TV, and would burden the teams with impossible starting or transfer times.

The organisation will now start looking for a better date in 2023 together with the UCI and two national cycling federations (Belgian Cycling and KNWU). Christophe Impens of organiser Golazo: "The rescheduling of the Benelux Tour to 2023 is a great shame for fans of cycling in the Low Countries, as it is for our team that has been working on the preparations for months. However, it is a inevitable decision and the only solution if we want to avoid problems. All parties involved (teams, partners, cities and municipalities and the cycling federations) can all benefit from working towards a better and stronger Benelux Tour in the coming years."

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