Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, April 30, 2023
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2022 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia
Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts. - Charles Dickens
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Upcoming racing:
- May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt
- May 3 - 8: 4 Jours du Dunkerque
- May 6 - 29: Giro d'Italia
Current racing:
- April 25 - 30: Tour de Romandie
- April 28 - 30: Vuelta Asturias
Latest completed racing:
- April 23: Liege-Bastogne-Liege
- April 17 - 21: Tour of the Alps
- April 19: La Fleche Wallone
- April 16: Amstel Gold Race
- April 3 - 8: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
- April 4 - 7: Région Pays de la Loire Tour
- April 9: Paris-Roubaix
- April 11: Paris-Camembert
- April 11 - 14: Il Giro di Sicilia
- April 16: Amstel Gold Race
We posted the report from stage winner and new GC leader Adam Yates' UAE Team Emirates with the results.
Here's the Romandie Tour report from third-place Damiano Caruso's Team Bahrain Victorious:
Bahrain Victorious showed its strength on the toughest day of the Tour de Romandie, as Damiano Caruso took an excellent 3rd place atop Thyon 2000, the finish of this edition’s queen stage, won by Adam Yates (UAE) ahead of Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ).
Adam Yates took a solo win at the Romandie Tour. Sirotti photo
After yesterday’s good performance in the time-trial, where he was 6th, Damiano Caruso put on another outstanding performance on the 161.6km course, with start in Sion and unrolling in the Rhône valley where the peloton tackled a total of over 4300 meters of climbing.
As expected, stage 4 was meant to decide the Tour de Romandie GC, with the main contenders battling especially on the final brutal climb of 20.9 km at 7.6% made even more challenging from the harsh weather conditions.
“I knew the last climb very well” The Italian climber explains “It’s very long therefore it was vital to manage the effort at the best. First of all, I want to thank my teammates, who did a great job of keeping me well-protected all day long. I arrived at this last climb in the best way.
I did it well, and in the final, I had the strength to approach the finish improving my performance and sprinting for the 3rd place. That means I’m also 3rd GC, and it gave me particular satisfaction because after Il Giro di Sicilia, I wanted to show that my condition is good. Moreover, it gives me morale ahead of the Giro and more confidence towards this big appointment.”
Damiano Caruso sits in 3rd place overall with only one stage to go.
“All in all a good day today. It’s not finished until tomorrow but at the moment is going quite well.” Bahrain Victorious Sports Director Neil Stephens comments “It was a really good stage on the top of the mountains, in bad weather conditions. A very hard day for a hard man. We’re happy with Damiano‘s result and the team’s performance too.”
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Here’s the report from Josef Cerny’s Team Soudal Quick-Step:
The first rider to wear the yellow jersey at this edition, Josef Cerny was among the most active men on Saturday’s queen stage, booking a place in the day-long breakaway after an intense first hour of racing. The eight men in the front worked well together, and despite not getting too much space from the peloton – who allowed them a maximum gap of just three minutes – they managed to remain in the lead until the last of the five classified climbs.
Josef Cerny wore yellow after the prologue. Sirotti photo
Cerny did a tremendous job in the breakaway on this queen stage which had over 4000 meters of elevation, and was among the last riders to get caught by a slowly dwindling bunch in the first part of the never-ending Thyon 2000 (20.8km, 7.6%), the climb where the general classification was decided. The win went to Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), while Rémi Cavagna came home as the best Soudal Quick-Step rider.
The Tour de Romandie concludes Sunday, in Geneva, where the sprinters should take center stage, on a course containing two ranked ascents, the last of which will be topped around 50 kilometers from the finish.
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And here’s the Romandie Tour report from Tom Gloag’s Team Jumbo-Visma:
Tom Gloag has put in a strong performance in the fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie. The 21-year-old Briton finished tenth in the mountain stage to the ski town of Thyon 2000 after the sick Tobias Foss and Robert Gesink left the race.
Team Jumbo-Visma lost two riders early in the day. Foss, third overall, and Gesink woke up with minor health problems and decided to leave the stage race with an eye on the Giro d'Italia.
The riders faced a very serious stage profile.
On the queen stage, the peloton had to tackle several climbs. The highlight was the climb to Thyon 2000, which had to be climbed for the first time in a long time. Halfway up the 22-kilometre climb, Steven Kruijswijk and Gloag had to let go of the lead group, but Gloag refused to give up. The Briton rode up at his own pace and eventually crossed the line in tenth place. He is also eleventh in the general classification.
"Tom did very well today", sports director Merijn Zeeman said. "When the pace picked up on the final climb, the group of favourites split into two. Tom chose his own pace and caught a lot of riders in the last eight kilometres. He gave it his all and crossed the line exhausted. Tenth place is a great result for a first-year pro.”
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