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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, December 28, 2023

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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal. - T. S. Eliot

Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour During Covid-19, Better Late Than Never is available in both Kindle eBook and Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• Dec 28: Superprestige Diegem

Upcoming racing:

• Dec 29: Exact Cross Loenhout-Azencross
• Jan 12-21: Santos Tour Down Under
• Jan 20: Clasica Comunitat Valenciana
• Jan 24-28: Challenge Illes Balears-Volta Ciclista a Mallorca
• Jan 28: GP d'Ouverture-La Marseillaise
• Jan 28: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
• Jan 30 - Feb 3: Saudi Tour

Latest completed racing:

• Dec 27: Superprestige Heusden Zolder
• Dec 26: World Cup Gaver Cyclocross
• Dec 17: World Cup Namur Cyclocross
• Nov 5: European Cyclocross Championships
• Nov 1: Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
• Oct 28: Superprestige Ruddervoorde
• Oct 22: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaanse Druivencross
• Oct 12 - 17: Tour of Guangxi
• Oct 15: Japan Cup
• Oct 15: Veneto Classic

Evenepoel’s Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this:

The 23-year-old on the day he became the first Belgian in more than four decades to score a hat-trick of victories at the Vuelta a España.

Remco Evenepoel wins 2023 Vuelta stage 3. Sirotti photo

“That success meant a lot to me. I was nearing the end of my fifth pro season, and to reach this incredible milestone – having won many quality races – is something that made me proud and confirmed all the progress I had made since joining Soudal Quick-Step. That victory showed that every year I got a bit stronger and a bit more mature, so I could be only happy about it.

Upon crossing the finish line, I made that sign to show to everybody that mentally I’m kind of unbreakable. It’s always easy to pull somebody down but I showed my head is pretty strong, I have an incredibly solid team and a super-strong wife – to whom I dedicated that win – and they help me be unbreakable.

Those three mountain stages in what was a tough edition of La Vuelta underlined how good my condition was for the race, but also what I am capable of when I’m at my best. It made me more relaxed and allowed me to just have fun for the remaining days, which culminated with that full gas, entertaining breakaway on the final stage in Madrid and the KOM classification.

I’m the first to say that the GC plan didn’t work out last summer, but the hat-trick of wins, together with the mountains jersey and the trophy for the most combative rider of the race completely made up for that. Last but not least, they gave me even more confidence for my next Grand Tour challenges and showed that I am on the right track to become better in these races.”

Felipe Nystrom says he was '1000%' at fault and considers ending season early 'to bear the consequences of my actions'

The Cyclo-cross World Cup in Gavere on Boxing Day saw another dominant victory from Mathieu van der Poel but not without a moment of controversy, as he pushed a fellow rider whom he was in the process of lapping.

The rider in question, the Costa Rican Felipe Nystrom, has spoken out about the incident, taking "1,000%" of the fault and even talking about ending his season early, so sorry does he feel about what happened.

The incident occurred during the latter phases of the race when Nystrom stepped back into the racing line, having stopped to take a selfie with some spectators. Van der Poel was out alone in the lead of the race and about to lap Nystrom, when he reached out his arm and pushed the Costa Rican out of the way before shaking his head in disapproval.

Van der Poel came in for criticism on social media but Nystrom was adamant that the world champion was not to blame.

“I feel terrible. It was 1,000% my fault what happened there,” he told the Belgian broadcaster, Sporza.

“Mathieu had to push me – it should have been even harder. I was in the way and I feel very bad about it.

"I am concerned that Mathieu may receive hate messages. It's horrible that he would experience a negative impact from a situation I put him in. I wish that I could look Mathieu in the eye and say how sorry I am."

Nystrom is something of an outlier in a discipline dominated by Northern Europeans, and he has a traumatic backstory, having previously suffered abuse, been homeless and survived suicide attempts.

He moved to the USA, where he took up cycling and he went on to become Costa Rican national road race champion in 2019, but saw cyclo-cross as his opportunity to represent his country on the international stage, which he did at the 2022 ‘Cross World Championships.

You can read the entire story here.

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