Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

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2022 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. - Henry David Thoreau

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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:

• March 15: Nokere Koerse
• March 15: Milano-Torino

Upcoming racing

• March 16: GP de Denain
• March 18: Milano-Sanremo
• March 18: Classic Loire Atlantic
• March 19: Cholet/Pays de Loire
• March 19: Per Sempre Alfredo

Latest completed racing:

• March 5 - 13: Paris-Nice
• March 6 - 13: Tirreno-Adriatico
• March 13: Ronde van Drenthe
• March 4: Strade Bianche
• March 1: Trofeo Laigueglia
• Feb 28: Le Samyn
• Feb 26: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
• Feb 26: La Drome Classic

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Tadej Pogačar to lead UAE Team Emirates at Milano-San Remo

Here’s the team’s update:

With 15 victories on the board so far this season UAE Team Emirates are continuing their 2023 campaign full of confidence with the next batch of races about to get underway.

In Belgium the team takes on three semi-classics in the shape of Danilith Nokere Koerse (15 March), Gran Prix de Denain (16 March) and the Bredene Koksijde Classic (17 March).

All eyes will be in Milan on Saturday (18 March) as the first of the five cycling Monuments of the year takes place with Milano-San Remo. ‘La Primavera’ is the longest road race of the professional calendar at 294km and the team brings a highly experienced squad led by recent Paris-Nice winner Tadej Pogačar.

Tadej Pogacar (shown at Paris-Nice) is headed to Milano-Sanremo. Sirotti photo

Milano-Sanremo [1.UWT] – 18-Mar-2023

• Alessandro Covi (Ita)
• Davide Formolo (Ita)
• Felix Grosschartner (Aus)
• Domen Novak (Slo)
• Tadej Pogačar (Slo)
• Matteo Trentin (Ita)
• Diego Ulissi (Ita)

The team will be Sports Manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez (Spa) and the Sports Directors duo of Andrej Hauptman (Slo) and Marco Marzano (Ita).

Pogačar: ” Milano- San Remo is a beautiful race. I know the roads pretty well: I don’t live too far away and sometimes in training I can go to the Poggio and ride it. I’ve pictured many scenarios in my head of how the race can go. But it’s unpredictable and for sure one of the hardest races to win.

"After a great week at Paris-Nice I’m recovering a bit now and getting ready for the big weekend. We have a strong team and we’re riding well together so I think we’ll have a few different options maybe for the finale.”

In Belgium the teams will be lead by Sports Directors Fabio Baldato (Ita) and Marco Marcato (Ita).

Danilith Nokere Koerse [1.Pro] – 15-Mar-2023

• Pascal Ackermann (Ger)
• Sjoerd Bax (Ned)
• Ryan Gibbons (RSA)
• Felix Gross (Ger)
• Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
• Ivo Oliveira (Por)
• Michael Vink (NZ)

Grand Prix de Denain – Porte du Hainaut [1.Pro] – 16-Mar-2023

• Mikkel Bjerg (Den)
• Sjoerd Bax (Ned)
• Ryan Gibbons (RSA)
• Felix Gross (Ger)
• Sebastian Molano (Col)
• Ivo Oliveira (Por)
• Michael Vink (NZ)

Bredene Koksijde Classic [1.Pro] – 17-Mar-2023

• Pascal Ackermann (Ger)
• Sjoerd Bax (Ned)
• Ryan Gibbons (RSA)
• Mikkel Bjerg (Den)
• Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
• Ivo Oliveira (Por)
• Sebastian Molano (Col)

Remco Evenepoel headed to Volta a Catalunya

Here’s the update from Evenepoel’s Soudal Quick-Step team:

One month after his first victory in the World Champion jersey – the UAE Tour general classification – Remco Evenepoel is ready to pin on a number again and resume competition in just a couple of days, when he’ll line-up for the Volta a Catalunya (20-26 March), one of the oldest events in the world and the ninth World Tour stop of the season.

Remco Evenepoel (shown at the UAE Tour) will race the Volta a Catalunya.

The 102nd edition of the race, which starts from Sant Feliu de Guixols, promises to be one of the hardest in history, as it features three summit finishes that will dominate the narrative of next week before the traditional showdown in Barcelona: Vallter, La Molina, and Mirador del Portell, arguably the hardest ascent of the week, averaging 9% over 8.4 kilometers, but featuring some excruciating 20% gradients that can put many of the riders in the red and widen the gaps between the contenders.

Evenepoel, who has eleven stage race successes to his name since turning pro in 2019, will lead Soudal Quick-Step at the Volta a Catalunya, where he will be supported by a strong squad consisting of Mattia Cattaneo, Jan Hirt, Fausto Masnada, as well as fellow countrymen Pieter Serry, Ilan Van Wilder and Louis Vervaeke.

“We have a solid, experienced and very confident team for what we hope will be a good test to find out where the guys are at the moment following their recent altitude training camp. The main goal is to get a stage victory there and fight for a good general classification. We hope to be in the thick of the action every time it matters, to have a strong outing and show the Wolfpack spirit and mentality”, said sports director Klaas Lodewyck.

Team DSM’s upcoming racing, March 15 - March 26

The team sent me this schedule:

Milano-Torino, MAR 15

Luke Roberts - Team DSM coach
"This year Milano Torino is again scheduled in the week preceding Milano Sanremo and covers a parcours designed for the fast men this year. After a solid start to our Italian block, we will take the start at Milano Torino with a solid core from our sprint group as we aim for a top result with our finisher Casper."

Line-up:
Patrick Eddy (AUS)
Alex Edmondson (AUS)
Moritz Kärsten (GER)
Niklas Märkl (GER)
Lorenzo Milesi (ITA)
Marius Mayrhofer (GER)
Casper van Uden (NED)

Danilith Nokere Koerse Women, MAR 15

Kelvin Dekker - Team DSM coach
"With Nokere Koerse our main focus is to race well as a team, position ourselves in a good way and stay out of trouble as a group. Out of that good position, we want to race with an attacking mindset. Without a clear sprint finisher in our line-up, we can go all-in to avoid a bunch sprint and make the race hard."

Line-up:
Eleonora Ciabocco (ITA)
Daniek Hengeveld (NED)
Franziska Koch (GER)
Eglantine Rayer (FRA)
Anna van der Meiden (NED)
Nienke Vinke (NED)

Danilith Nokere Korese, MAR 15

Roy Curvers- Team DSM coach
"Short hills, cobbles and small open roads are the ingredients for a typical Belgian spring race and we will see all of that in Nokere Koerse. We start the race with multiple fast guys which gives us the luxury to have more scenarios that could lead to a good result for the team. We also have to be ready for an offensive race to put ourselves in position to use that luxury. If we are behind the facts for a little moment and in a position that we have to close a gap, that can cost the whole race, so we need to be switched on throughout."

Line-up
Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN)
Alberto Dainese (ITA)
Sean Flynn (GBR)
Leon Heinschke (GER)
Axel Källberg (FIN)
Tim Naberman (NED)
Sam Welsford (AUS)

Bredene Koksijde Classic: MAR 17

Roy Curvers - Team DSM coach
"At the Bredene Koksijde Classic, we expect a race that can be influenced by the wind. If the wind causes some chaos, we have to make sure our sprint guys are in the front groups and in a good position in the crucial moments. When it is not so windy, we have one of the fastest finishers in the bunch with Sam in our team. We will do our best to get him in the right position to start his sprint, where we can aim for a great result."

Sam Welsford wins stage six of this year's Vuelta a San Juan.

Line-up
Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN)
Alberto Dainese (ITA)
Patrick Eddy (AUS)
Leon Heinschke (GER)
Enzo Leijnse (NED)
Tim Naberman (NED)
Sam Welsford (AUS)

Youngster Coast Challenge, MAR 17

Matt Winston - Team DSM coach
"We go to the Youngster Coast Challenge expecting a hard race where the wind and cobbles can play a part. We will look to really work well together focusing on the basics like sitting together in the hectic moments. If we do these things well then we will look for our chances in the final."

Line-up
Mauro Brenner (GER)
Dylan Hicks (GBR)
Axel Källberg (FIN)
Vlad van Mechelen (BEL)
Max van der Meulen (NED)
Frank Ragilo (EST)

Milano-San Remo, MAR 18

Luke Roberts - Team DSM coach
"The 2023 Milano Sanremo will roll out from a new starting area in Abbiategrasso, west of Milan, then link up with the traditional parcours, including the Passo del Turchino before taking on the Capi as the fight for position begins towards the final climbs of the Cipressa and Poggio. We have a mixed team including the experienced core of our classics group and some young guys taking on this race for the first time. Our goal is to be present with numbers in the final and then play our cards well to get the best possible result out of that."

Line-up
Pavel Bittner (CZE)
John Degenkolb (GER)
Matt Dinham (AUS)
Nils Eekhoff (NED)
Marius Mayrhofer (GER)
Florian Stork (GER)
Kevin Vermaerke (USA)

Trofeo Alfredo Binda: MAR 19

Kelvin Dekker - Team DSM coach
"The Trofeo Alfredo Binda is a race with a lot of climbs, mainly raced on a circuit, so everyone will know the climbs and how to tackle them the best in the end. We’ll have Juliette and Elise as our finishers. Elise has a strong sprint in a field like this, while we will look to Juliette when the races gets harder and harder as the laps progress. We have more scenarios where we can go for a result and as a team, we’ll do everything to make it go our way."

Line-up
Francesca Barale (ITA)
Eleonora Ciabocco (ITA)
Léa Curinier (FRA)
Juliette Labous (FRA)
Esmée Peperkamp (NED)
Elise Uijen (NED)

Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, MAR 20-26

Matt Winston - Team DSM coach
"We go to Volta Ciclista a Catalunya with a really nice mix of youth and experience. Our goal for the race will be a result in the GC with Romain as our finisher. He's had a good start to the season with a solid result at Paris-Nice, getting stronger as the week progressed, so we'll look to protect him and keep building on the steps we have made during the early part of the season."

Line-up
Romain Bardet (FRA)
Marco Brenner (GER)
Romain Combaud (FRA)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Lorenzo Milesi (ITA)
Oscar Onley (GBR)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)

 

 

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