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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, September 17, 2022

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2021 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. - Francis of Assisi

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:

• Sept 13 - 17: Tour de Luxembourg
• Sept 17: Primus Classic
• Sept 17: Memorial Marco Pantani (cancelled)

Upcoming racing:

• Sept 18 - 25: World Road Championships

Latest completed racing:

• Sept 16: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
• Sept 15: Coppa Sabatini
• Sept 14: GP de Wallonie
• Sept 14: Giro della Toscana
• Aug 19 - Sept 11: La Vuelta a España
• Sept 11: GP Montreal
• Sept 11: GP Fourmies
• Sept 9: GP de Québec
• Sept 4 - 8: Tour of Britain
• Sept 4: Tour du Doubs
• Sept 4: Maryland Cycling Classic

The race organizer posted this notice:

Memorial Pantani CANCELLED due to bad weather
Race cancelled
MARCO PANTANI MEMORIAL COMMUNICATION - SIDERMEC GP
Following the worsening of atmospheric conditions that have been raging on the territory affected by the passage of the race, the Emilia Sportivo Group informs that the Marco Pantani Memorial is cancelled.
The decision was made in accordance with the “UCI extreme weather protocol” and in total agreement of all parties involved: organization, jury board, teams and athletes with the sole objective of safeguarding the safety of the caravan.

“It wasn’t an easy decision – commented Adriano Amici – but the safety of the race was our priority. I thank the jury, the teams and the athletes for their understanding, especially for being an active part in the decision making process."

We posted the report from winner Fabio Jakobsen's Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl with the results.

Here's the report from second-place Caleb Ewan's Team Lotto Soudal:

Lotto Soudal sprinter Caleb Ewan took second place in Koolskamp Koers, or the ‘Championship of Flanders’. For a long time, it looked like the Australian was going to make it, but he was caught by Fabio Jakobsen in the final meters.

It was Fabio Jakobsen who took the race. Photo: FRJ Studio

Koolskamp Koers is a traditional sprintrace and thus the startlist contained quite some fast legs. Caleb Ewan was the sprinter for Lotto Soudal, supported by a strong train with Michael Schwarzmann, Frederik Frison, Roger Kluge, Rüdiger Selig, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Jasper De Buyst. The race unfolded in a traditional way: 5 men got away, but they never stood a chance against the sprinter’s teams. The peloton returned and sprinted for victory. Caleb Ewan went early but was just caught on the line by Fabio Jakobsen.

“It was very difficult to time this finish”, said Caleb Ewan right after the race. “With the headwind in the final straight, it was a constant battle to be well positioned. You don’t want to be too far in the front, because then you take too much wind. But if you are too far back, you risk not being able to move up in time. The team has supported me all the time and everyone did their jobs very well.”

When the Australian sprinter came to the front in the finale hectometers, he had to launch his sprint. “Maybe it was a bit too early, but I could not wait any longer. You do not want to get closed in. I could keep pushing and maintain my speed, but in the end, Fabio Jakobsen just passed me. Of course, I wanted the win, but at the same time I can be happy with my form. There are quite some races coming up and I am sure I will get my chance to fight for victory again.”

Ganna’s Team INEOS Grenadiers sent me this:

INEOS Grenadiers’ double world time trial champion – Filippo Ganna – will attempt to break the UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot. His assault on the record will take place at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland on 8 October 2022 at 8pm CEST.

The 26-year-old Italian will need to cover more than 55.548 kilometres to break the current world record, held by Ganna’s INEOS Grenadiers team mate and Performance Engineer Dan Bigham.

Super aero Filippo Ganna time trialing at this year's Tirreno-Adriatico

Ganna, sporting the UCI rainbow bands for a second consecutive year, has consistently proven himself one of the fastest cyclists on the planet against the clock, so it was only a matter of time before he chose to take on the UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot.

Ganna said: “I’m looking forward to the challenge, even though it’s going to be an hour of pure suffering. It will be interesting to see how my body holds up, and just how far I can go - it’s a chance to really test your physical and mental limits. To undertake a prestigious event like this is an important step in my career.”

The attempt at the UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot is a great opportunity for the Team, along with key performance partners including Pinarello, Bioracer, Kask, Muc-Off, Continental, Fizik, Core and Princeton to test the product development and innovation it applies to performance on the road.

Ganna said: “I have been training on the new Pinarello bike and it’s super-fast – I love it. It’s another step on from the already high level we have with our equipment. The Team puts so much energy and effort into these projects, and our partners, from Pinarello and the new prototype bike, to a fully customised skinsuit made by Bioracer - they’ve done their part so now it’s my turn. I’m going to feel really good stepping into that velodrome. Mentally that’ll already give me some extra metres.”

Rod Ellingworth said: “We have been building towards this exciting event during the last year. There have been so many layers of thought gone into the planning of this event so we can ensure Filippo arrives at the start line in Switzerland with the best equipment for the greatest chance of success. When it comes to taking on events like this we leave nothing to chance - constantly refining what and how we do things is part of the genetic makeup of the INEOS Grenadiers team. It’s inspiring to work alongside some of the best brains in the business. It’s that kind of care and consideration that shows our athletes how much we want them to do well.”

The team sent me this news:

Team DSM are delighted to reveal that Patrick Bevin and Harm Vanhoucke will join the team next season. Vanhoucke will ride in the team’s colours until at least the end of 2024, while Bevin will wear the distinctive two-striped jersey through 2025.

Hailing from New Zealand, the experienced Bevin honed his race craft in the American and Oceanian continental scene before turning professional in 2016. Since then the versatile Bevin has performed well on a multitude of terrain; winning the New Zealand national time trial championships in 2016 and 2019, a discipline in which he also claimed an impressive fourth at the World Championships in 2019. It was that season that Bevin took his first WorldTour win, powering to sprint victory on the uphill drag to the line in Angaston at the Tour Down Under, highlighting his punch on the short climbs.

Patrick Bevin wins stage seven of this yea'rs Tour of Turkey.

2022 has been Bevin’s most successful year in the peloton so far with a brilliant ride at the Tour of Türkiye where he climbed with the best and took an aggressive, attacking stage win and along with it secured the overall title. Swiftly following that up at the Tour de Romandie he sprinted to a strong and clear win from a reduced group after a tough day out; once again highlighting his speed and ability to handle the climbs.

Vanhoucke had a successful few seasons as an U23 rider, especially on more challenging climbing routes, taking wins at Piccolo Giro di Lombardia and a tough stage at Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc to name a few. Now into his fourth year as a professional in the WorldTour he has made steady progress year-on-year with impressive stage podium results over testing terrain at the Giro d’Italia in both 2020 and 2021, including the infamous white roads stage.

Due to his good climbing abilities, Vanhoucke has also shown his potential to pick up solid GC results over the course of his career so far with second on GC at the Tour de l’Ain in 2021 alongside a recent and hard-fought second overall at the Sibiu Cycling Tour and fifth on GC at this year’s Tour of Türkiye. Looking ahead, Vanhoucke aims to continue his development as a rider and build on those climbing talents with the team.

Here's the notice the company posted:

Cervélo USA, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, is conducting a recall of the following Cervélo USA products:

• R5 Dura Ace Di2 in Five Black: SKU 0H0R5GDI1C
• R5 Red eTap AXS in Five Black: SKU 0H0R5GRX1C
• R5 Force eTap AXS in Lime and Black: SKU 0H0R5GFX2C
• R5 Force eTap AXS in Five Black: SKU 0H0R5GFX1C
• R5 Ultegra Di2 in Lime and Black: SKU 0H0R5GUI2C
• R5 Ultegra Di2 in Five Black: SKU 0H0R5GUI1C
• R5 Frameset in Five Black: SKU 0H0R5GUI1C
• R5 Frameset in Lime and Black: SKU 0H0R5GFS2X
• R5 Frameset in Jumbo-Visma Replica: SKU 0H0R5GFS6X
• Caledonia-5 Dura Ace Di2 in Oasis: SKU 0H0CFADI3C
• Caledonia-5 Red eTap AXS in Five Black: SKU 0H0CFARX1C
• Caledonia-5 Frameset in Aqua Pearl: SKU 0H0CFAFS2X
• Caledonia-5 Frameset in Five Black: SKU 0H0CFAFS1X
• Caledonia-5 Frameset in Oasis: SKU 0H0CFAFS3X
• ST31 LT Stem in Black: SKU ST-C031L

There is an issue with the bicycles’ stem faceplate, which could lead to the handlebar slipping at recommended stem bolt torque levels, thereby increasing the risk of a rider losing control of their bicycle and falling. This recall does not affect any other Cervélo products.

If you own a bicycle that is covered by this recall, please stop riding the bicycle immediately and contact an authorized Cervélo dealer to arrange for a free repair to replace the faceplate. Cervélo dealers can be located at https://www.cervelo.com/store-locator or Cervelo.com.

Thank you again for visiting the recall page. The health and safety of our customers is of paramount importance, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by these product recalls.

Here is the page with the recall notice with photos.

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