Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, August 18, 2023
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2022 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you. - John Wooden
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- August 15 - 18: Tour du Limousin
- August 15 - 19: Tour of Denmark
- August 15 - 19: Vuelta a Burgos
- August 9 - 20: Volta a Portugal
- August 17 - 20: Arctic Race of Norway
Upcoming racing:
- August 19: Bemer Cyclassics
- August 22 - 25: Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
- August 23 - 26: Renewi Tour
- August 26 - Sept 17: Vuelta a España
Latest completed racing:
- August 13: La Polynormande
- August 5 - 13: World Road Championships
- July 29 - August 4: Tour of Poland
- July 31 - August 2: Tour de l'Ain
- July 30: Circuito de Getxo
- July 29: Clásica de San Sebastián
- July 26 - 27: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
- July 22 - 26: Tour de Wallonie
- July 1 - 23: Tour de France
We posted the report from second-place Aleksandr Vlasov's Team Bora-hansgrohe with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Primoz Roglic's Team Jumbo-Visma:
Primož Roglič has won the third stage of the Vuelta a Burgos. The Slovenian of Team Jumbo-Visma held off all attacks in the tricky mountain stage to Villarcayo, sprinting to victory ahead of Aleksandr Vlasov and Adam Yates. Roglič also took the leader's jersey from teammate Attila Valter.
Primoz Roglic wins stage three.
The race heated up on the tough Picón Blanco. Valter, Robert Gesink and Jan Tratnik stayed with Roglič until UAE Team Emirates increased the pace. The Giro winner was able to follow and, together with Damien Howson, was alert to Yates' attack. Vlasov joined them on the descent, and the remaining four rode together to the line. Roglič timed his sprint just right and managed to pass Yates just in time.
"I am thrilled with this victory”, Roglič said. "The team did a fantastic job controlling the breakaway from the start. I had my sights set on this stage. But you never know how a stage will turn out. It was a hot and difficult day, but part of the work was done when I was at the front of the Picón Blanco. After that, it was about finishing the work of the team."
Roglič is happy with his form, heading into the Vuelta a España. "The preparations are going well. I'm here to connect the dots, and so far, it's going well. My form is good, but there are still two difficult days ahead. Hopefully, I can test my legs again then."
With Roglič's victory, Team Jumbo-Visma's season total of wins increased to 48. It was the 11th victory of the season for the Slovenian rider.
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Adam Yates' UAE Team Emirates posted this report:
Adam Yates sprinted for victory from a reduced group on stage 3 of the Vuelta Burgos, hitting out for the line early and taking 3rd place behind stage winner Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) and Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora hansgrohe).
The result sees Yates move up the GC also, with the 30 year old now sitting 3rd at 40’’.
UAE Team Emirates placed two riders in the top-10 with George Bennett 6th on the stage and on GC after the medium mountain stage from Sargentes de la Lora to Villarcayo (183km). Jay Vine was also active throughout the stage and pivotal in pacing the front group though would suffer a crash at -20km thankfully escaping with just abrasions.
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Yates: “We tried to be aggressive on the main climb and managed to split the race up with three of us in the front. I knew I wasn’t the quickest in the group so I decided to hit out first in the sprint but Roglic was just that bit faster. We have a couple of big days coming up so we’ll aim to be aggressive again and go for a win. ”
Tomorrow will be a hilltop finish on the penultimate stage from Santa Gadea del Cid to Pradoluengo (Acebel-Vizcarra) (157km).
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Here’s the team’s news:
It’s time for Germany’s only World Tour race, which our team has won on four occasions: 2003, 2005, 2018 and 2019. Traditionally, the event is a good opportunity for the sprinters to add a prestigious one-day race to their palmares, but the presence of the short but steep Waseberg – the last time with 15 kilometers to go – will give to the attackers the perfect launchpad to try and drop the fast men before the finish on Mönckebergstraße, in the very heart of Hamburg.
Elia Viviani winning in 2019.
One of the most in-form sprinters of the season, with eight wins to his name, 30-year-old Tim Merlier will lead Soudal Quick-Step this Sunday at the 205.6km BEMER Cyclassics. The double Belgian Champion will count on a strong team consisting also of Tim Declercq, Yves Lampaert, Florian Sénéchal, Bert Van Lerberghe, Stan Van Tricht and Ethan Vernon, who recently became Elimination World Champion in Glasgow.
“We know this race quite well, we have won it several times with different riders, and we are looking forward to Sunday. There are many possibilities, from a small group arriving at the finish to having a bunch sprint to determine the winner, so we’ll see how things unfold. We come to the start with two fast guys in the squad, and this gives us the possibility to play with the tactics, so hopefully we will be there to fight for victory”, said sports director Wilfried Peeters.
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