Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, June 16, 2023
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2022 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
I intend to live forever. So far, so good. - Steven Wright
Les Woodland's book Dirty Feet: How the Great Unwashed Created the Tour de France is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- June 11 - 18: Tour de Suisse
- June 14 - 18: Baloise Belgium Tour
- June 15 - 18: Route d'Occitanie
Upcoming racing:
- June 19 - 16: National Championships
- July 1 - 24: Tour de France
Latest completed racing:
- June 4 - 11: Critérium du Dauphiné
- June 7 - 11: ZLM Tour
- June 4: Brussels Cycling Classic
- June 2: Giro dell'Appennino
- May 26 - 29: Tour of Norway
- May 6 - 29: Giro d'Italia
- May 16 - 21: 4 Jours du Dunkerque
- May 21: Rund um Köln
- May 20: Veenendaal - Veenendaal Classic
- May 7: Tro-Bro Léon
- May 6: GP du Morbihan
- May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt
Here's the statement from Gino Mäder's Bahrain Victorious team:
It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we have to announce the passing of Gino Mäder. On Friday 16th June, following a very serious crash during stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his battle to recover from the severe injuries he sustained. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.
Following the high-speed incident which occurred on the final descent of Thursday’s stage, the 26 year old was resuscitated at the scene by medical staff who also performed CPR, before being airlifted to hospital.
Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team.
Gino Mäder winning stage 6 of the 2021 Giro d'Italia
Gino was an extraordinary athlete, an example of determination, a valued member of our team and the whole cycling community. His talent, dedication, and passion for the sport has inspired us all.
Managing Director Milan Erzen commented this morning: “We are devastated by the loss of our exceptional cyclist, Gino Mäder. His talent, dedication, and enthusiasm were an inspiration to us all. Not only was he an extremely talented cyclist, but a great person off the bike. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time. Bahrain Victorious will race in his honour, keeping his memory on every road we race. We are determined to show the spirit and passion Gino displayed, and he will always remain an integral part of our team.”
Gino’s family has requested privacy as they mourn their loss, and we kindly ask that their wishes be respected. The team and family express our gratitude for the overwhelming support we have received from the whole cycling world.
Gino, thank you for the light, the joy, and the laughs you brought us all, we will miss you as a rider and as a person.
Today and every day, we ride for you, Gino.
The team sent me this news:
Robert Gesink has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Team Jumbo-Visma. He will stay with the team until the end of 2024. Next season will be the Dutchman's last as a professional.
"I am looking forward to continuing with this group for another year”, a delighted Gesink said. "The motivation is still great, and I am enjoying myself here. In December, I agreed with the team that we would discuss a possible retirement from cycling after the Giro. I appreciate that the team management has left the decision entirely up to me."
Robert Gesink racing in stage 18 of the 2022 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo
The 37-year-old climber has defended the team colours since the very beginning. As a leader, he has taken several places of honour in the grand tours. In recent years, he has been a crucial mentor to the team's young riders. "It has been a rollercoaster career so far. I have seen the good and the bad sides of cycling. I am happy to share this experience with the young talents in the team.”
Sporting Director Merijn Zeeman is pleased with Gesink's decision not to retire from cycling just yet. "Robert is an icon for our team, and we appreciate him for that. He has been a mainstay for many years. Extending his contract was a logical decision for us, and fortunately, he shared this opinion.”
"I am very grateful to the team, and it is mutual. I have consistently given my all over the past few years, and I am looking forward to another year”, Gesink concluded.
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The team sent me this announcement:
Since the team’s inception in 2008 it has undergone several guises and leading names, but the same core values and Keep Challenging philosophy have underlined its whole evolution from a ProContinenal level team through to the WorldTour; now operating with Men’s, Women’s and Development programs, all of which have taken successes in the biggest races at their level in recent history – backed by some incredible partners.
Earlier this year saw the finalisation of the merger and launch of dsm-firmenich, which brings together one of the largest innovation and creation communities in nutrition, health, and beauty.
Based jointly in the Netherlands and Switzerland, dsm-firmenich boasts a nearly 30,000 strong team worldwide and unparalleled capabilities built on more than a century of cutting-edge science. dsm-firmenich will be a trailblazer in the reinvention, manufacturing, and combination of vital nutrients, flavours, and fragrances.
The new team kit.
Making their debut as of Giro Donne and Tour de France, Team DSM will officially become Team dsm-firmenich, which is shown with a nice evolution in our race kits as they take on a navy colour, a blue fade to the back whilst still holding onto our distinctive two-striped design, reflecting the team’s core Keep Challenging philosophy.
Speaking of the successful recent merger between the team’s title partner DSM with Firmenich, Team DSM CEO Iwan Spekenbrink expressed: “We are really proud that we will soon carry the new company and brand with its inspiring purpose, emblazoned over our fleet, kits, social channels and more. The merger between two leading companies is a big milestone for this new major force in health, nutrition and beauty. As a cycling team we also have the goal of bringing progress to life through our people on and off the bike. It will be inspiring to continue doing this as Team dsm-firmenich.”
Continuing, dsm-firmenich Co-CEO Dimitri de Vreeze added: “The new brand and logo captures the spirit of bringing two iconic organisations together in a merger of equals. The brand symbolises the company’s mission to combine what is essential for life, desirable for consumers, and more sustainable for the planet. The purpose of dsm-firmenich is to bring progress to life, together with customers and partners, to achieve positive change and make a difference in the world. We are very much looking forward to see Team dsm-firmenich represent our company, our brand as well as our spirit.”
Team dsm-firmenich’s first outing:
With today’s announcement, cycling fans worldwide have to be patient until they see our new jerseys in action, as the official changeover takes place ahead of the Giro Donne and Tour de France. At those races you can expect Team dsm-firmenich to continue their charge and strong season so far; active at the head of both races as they combine a hunt for stage success with the thrill of fighting for a good overall classification as a team; with Juliette Labous at the Giro Donne and Romain Bardet at the Tour de France, as the respective GC finishers.
The team is looking forward to taking to the road in our fresh new Team dsm-firmenich kits soon, which will be available to pre-order soon through the Team dsm-firmenich fan store.
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We posted the report from stage winner Juan Ayuso's UAE Team Emirates with the results.
Here's the report from GC leader Mattias Skjelmose's Team Trek-Segafredo:
Mattias Skjelmose moved back to the top of the General Classification after a thrilling queen stage at the Tour de Suisse.
The young Dane fought hard as the battle of the General Classification lit up the slopes of the final climb, the top of which came with 10 kilometers to go on the 211-kilometer long stage to Punt.
Mattias Skjelmose will start stage six in yellow. Sirotti photo
The day could have swung in favor of the day’s breakaway, which included Quinn Simmons for Trek-Segafredo, but ultimately those chasing the final podium on Sunday were the ones who took the spoils.
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) made his move in the final kilometers of the Albulapass and passed the remaining riders from the early breakaway before going on to take enough time to hold off the chasers behind to take the win.
Skjelmose once again showed he knows how to ride smart not just hard and stayed calm while race leader at the start of the day, Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën Team), opened up a small advantage but, the 22-year-old’s tactics paid off and his group, the third on the road at the tine, eventually caught up with the yellow jersey group on the fast descent down to the finish.
A powerful sprint to the line from the Trek-Segafredo rider saw him net second place on the stage as well as six bonus seconds. Glass eventually finished four seconds behind Skjelmose with Remco Evenpoel (Soudal – Quick-Step) another twenty seconds or so behind.
There’s still a lot to play for on the General Classification with three stages including the final time trial to go but something tells us Skjelmose will continue to go all-in with the support of his teammates until the finish line on Sunday.
Here's what Skjelmose said at the finish:
"It wasn’t what we planned but the result was the same as we planned, so a quite good day in then. I was planning to attack with 3km to go and maybe not drop Felix but at least gain some seconds on Remco. In the end I didn’t attack, I was in defend mode. I didn’t lose any time to Felix, only Juan [Ayuso] gained some time on us, and I took some time on Remco, so today is a big success.
"I still don’t think it’s enough [time] but I will do my best and see what we can do. I’m feeling really good, I’ve been working a lot on my TT, I’ve been in the wind tunnel. I would say with Juan’s big performance today I’m starting to get more and more scared of him for the TT, but I hope I can beat him. I beat him in the first one and I hope we can have the same result on the last one.
"I actually felt really good. When they went I wouldn’t say I had a bad moment but I was a bit afraid to go deep because I knew we went so high [altitude] that if you go deep then you pay double. I went controlled, spoke with Remco and we did our own pace, just us two, and at some point we got some help from Quinn and also Neilson and I knew I had one good effort in the end, but I started 200m late otherwise I think I would have caught them already on the top, but that’s how it was. I’m happy to get the jersey back, the only bad thing about having the leader’s jersey is to ride it on the TT but that’s something you have to take with it. I’m happy to have it and hopefully it will not mean too much."
Here's the bad news from Mäder's Bahrain Victorious team:
Bahrain Victorious Swiss rider Gino Mäder was involved in a crash on the descent towards La Punt, finish line of stage 5 at Tour de Suisse.
The rider went off the road and fell into a ravine, where he was promptly assisted by the race doctor. Mäder was found unresponsive, resuscitated at the scene and then transported by helicopter to Chur Hospital.
Gino Mäder winning stage six of the 2021 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo
More news about the consequences of the accident will follow after Mäder undergo further examinations.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Gino.
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And here’s the Swiss Tour report from Romain Bardet’s Team DSM:
Riding aggressively on the final climb, Team DSM set up Romain Bardet for another explosive GC day, before the experienced Frenchman sprinted to fifth place in La Punt.
As the peloton rolled out of Fiesch this morning, they had only 22 kilometres of flat valley roads before the race went climbing up the famous Furkapass. It was no surprise then that it was a fast start to the stage with a large group managing to go clear ahead of the ascent, building up a three minute lead quickly over the peloton, where all Team DSM riders remained.
Here's Romain Bardet finishing stage four. Sirotti photo
Due to one of the breakaway riders only sitting four minutes behind on GC, the race leader’s team had to keep things close and the breakaway only managed to extend their gap to four minutes – although that was with around 30 kilometres to go. Approaching the last ascent of the Albulapass, with its almost seven percent average gradient for 17 kilometres, the team came forward as a group and began to set tempo at the head of the peloton. The pace shredded the bunch before the yellow jersey’s team came to the fore and upped the tempo once more.
Bardet rode strongly and made into an elite group of five GC riders, but he had to eventually relinquish and let go of the wheel when the pace increased once more. Yet, it was a smart decision who rode at his own tempo, as he soon returned alongside some other riders on the downhill run to the finish. Sprinting to the line, Bardet got up to take fifth place and holds onto seventh place on GC ahead of stage six on Friday.
“I’m really proud of the whole team today; they were amazing,” explained Bardet. “Everyone gave their 100 percent all the way to make the stage hard. The effort they put in is remarkable. I did my best on the last climb to be with the best, sprinting for second but the finish was hectic and I haven’t been able to really reward them for the hard work. It’s still a big step forward as a group to have this commitment to something, the guys were great.”
Team DSM coach Pim Ligthart added: “The plan was not to chase anything down in the beginning of the stage as such but instead make a hard pace so that there was something fatigue coming into the group which hopefully would then help Romain to try something in the final. He was up there again with the best five in the race. He had to let go of the yellow jersey group a bit on the final climb but came back down really quickly on the downhill and was in the mix in the sprint for second. Day by day we’re getting better here.”
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