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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, November 19, 2022

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2022 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia

I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell. - William Tecumseh Sherman

Plato's dialogue Apology is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing

• Nov 20: Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Overijse Cross
• Dec 4: Scheldecross Antwerp
• Dec 10: Exact Cross Essen
• Dec 26: Gavere Cyclocross
• Dec 27: Heusden-Zolder Cyclocross
• Dec 29: Diegem Cyclocross
• Dec 30: Azencross-Loenhout
• Jan 1: GP Sven Nys Cyclocross
• Jan 14 - 22: Schwalbe Classic & Tour Down Under
• Jan 22 - 29: Vuelta a San Juan
• Jan 25 - 29: Challenge Illes Balears-Volta Ciclista a Mallorca
• Jan 28 & 29: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

Latest completed racing:

• Nov 5 & 6: European Cyclocross Championships
• Nov 1: Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
• Oct 29: Superprestige Ruddervoorde Cyclocross
• Oct 11 - 18: Tour de Langkawi
• Oct 16: Japan Cup
• Oct 16: Veneto Classic
• Oct 16: Chrono des Nations
• Oct 12: Giro del Veneto

The UCI posted this:

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that 80 founding signatories have already committed to its Climate Action Charter.

UCI WorldTeams, UCI Women’s WorldTeams, National Federations and major event organisers including Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), RCS Sports and Flanders Classics are among cycling’s stakeholders that have already signed the Charter.

The UCI Climate Action Charter, adopted by the UCI Management Committee in September, was developed in conjunction with the UCI’s Cycling for All and Sustainable Cycling Commission. It provides an opportunity for organisations operating within our sport to publicly commit to reducing cycling’s environmental impacts, advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and promoting everyday cycling.

Our sport has a ways to go before it is as kind to the environment as we would like it to be. Sirotti photo

By signing this Charter, they commit to measure and report emissions to internationally recognized standards and take concrete actions to reduce waste and energy demand. The UCI Climate Action Charter and its eight commitments are published on the UCI website.

The UCI will help signatories meet these commitments through continued support and will provide the necessary tools and resources for initiatives in favour of the UCI’s sustainability strategy.

The UCI Climate Action Charter is an important stepping-stone before sustainability obligations are formalised over the coming years in collaboration with the sport’s stakeholders, in line with the UCI’s Agenda 2030 and ongoing work to reform professional cycling and update UCI Regulations, contract requirements and organiser guides.

The UCI will report on progress for driving climate action throughout cycling in its next Annual Report. A more detailed status update will be published in 2024 following an audit of signatories and analysis of the emissions reporting.

UCI President David Lappartient said: “I am delighted that so many stakeholders have already committed to our UCI Climate Action Charter. Our aim when adopting this Charter was to unite cycling’s stakeholders to reduce our sport’s emissions and help slow climate change. We need to work together, learn from each other and collaborate on solutions for the shared challenges we face to achieve climate neutrality for our sport.

“It is clear from the early response that our stakeholders share our concerns and desire to contribute to a better world, and I look forward to seeing the list of signatories lengthen.”

You can see the UCI Climate Action Charter here.

Here’s the team’s announcement:

Asian road race champion Igor Chzhan is going to spend the next two seasons in the Kazakh WorldTour Astana Qazaqstan Team.

After three months of stagiary and four races with Astana 23-year-old Kazakh rider signed a two-year deal with the team (2023 and 2024).

Astana is getting a young reinforcement in Igor Chzhan.

“A new and very important chapter of my career is beginning. Of course, I am very happy to sign a contract with Astana Qazaqstan Team and to get an opportunity to compete in the WorldTour side by side with the best riders in the world, to represent the colors of my country in the highest league of world cycling. Besides, of course, it is also a great responsibility, which motivates me very much, because I understand that there is a lot of work ahead. There is always something to learn and to strive for. I thank the team management for their trust, and I will try to justify it”, – said Igor Chzhan.

In the recently ended season of 2022 Igor Chzhan scored his biggest success so far, winning the road race of the Asian Cycling Championships as a rider of the National Team. Besides, he took a second place in the individual time trial of the Kazakhstan National Championships, won the Grand Prix Velo Alanya and was third in the overall classification of the Tour of Sakarya.

As Astana Qazaqstan Team trainee Chzhan took part in three stage races (Arctic Race of Norway, Tour of Slovakia and Le Tour de Langkawi) and a one-day race (Gran Piemonte). Mostly providing his support to team leaders, Igor Chzhan also showed himself in the queen mountain stage of the Arctic Race of Norway, taking a nice 9th place, and finished 20th in the General Classification of the Tour of Slovakia.

“As I have already said, for several years we have been closely following not only the performance, but also the progress of Igor Chzhan. In the last two years, the rider has demonstrated stable growth and results, so a stagiary in our team was a logical step. Igor showed himself worthily in those races where he competed as part of Astana Qazaqstan Team, he supported the leaders really well and gained experience, which he will need vitally in the future. There is a lot of work to be done together ahead, and I believe that our team is the best place to develop young domestic riders, giving them a chance to prove themselves in the WorldTour – the main cycling league of the world”, – said Alexandr Vinokurov.

The team posted this:

Hailing from Meulebeke and describing himself a classics-style rider, Warre Vangheluwe had an impressive year that includes a win at Kemmel Koerse and podium places at the U23 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and GP Jules Van Hevel.

Speaking about his chance to join the team, he said: “I am ready and happy to be able to push myself with this squad and develop myself further. I am a Belgian, so to join the Soudal Quick-Step family is a dream come true for me. I grew up watching the likes of Tom Boonen and other big names, so it is special to me. I would say that I am not really a sprinter, but I am looking to develop into more of a hardened classics type rider. I look up to Yves Lampaert a lot, so I would like to emulate him.”

“I started cycling because of my two older brothers. The middle brother started when he was eight years old and he just finished racing now, so he had a long career. So, I started cycling because they did it but I loved it from there. I too started when I was eight years old and now my biggest goal is to become a pro rider. I think this is a big chance for me to hopefully make that step.”

Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team manager Bart Roosens also added: “Warre is a very strong classics type rider, who thrives in hard races. We have seen him progress and we want to give him a chance to develop into a professional rider.”

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