Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, November 3, 2023
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success. - C. S. Lewis
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Upcoming racing:
- Dec 17: World Cup Namur Cyclocross
- Dec 26: World Cup Gaver Cyclocross
- Dec 27: Superprestige Heusden Zolder
- Dec 28: Superprestige Diegem
- Dec 29: Exact Cross Loenhout-Azencross
Latest completed racing:
- 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: Chrono des Nations
- Oct 15: Veneto Classic
- Oct 11: Giro del Veneto
- Oct 8: Paris-Tours
Here’s the team’s announcement:
Colombian rider Harold Tejada (26) renewed his agreement with Astana Qazaqstan Team for another season of 2024.
Harold Tejada
“After four years in the team, I feel that the moment has come when results appear. And this season everything started to work out – I spent a good second half of the year and achieved the first podium at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey. But, for me this is just the beginning, and I don’t want to stop – I am seriously preparing for the new season and will strive for the main goal – winning races. I thank the team for the support, for believing in me and my talent as a rider. The last seasons have been difficult for the whole team, but I see that we are still moving forward, and the victories will not take long. I am very happy that I can continue my career in this wonderful team, where I feel a lot of support, where I know that everything can work out. The project is developing, continues to grow, and I am sure that the new season will be successful”, – said Harold Tejada.
Harold Tejada turned pro in 2020 with Astana Qazaqstan Team, immediately showing himself at the Challenge Mont Ventoux and the Tour de France. Since that moment Tejada took part in five Grand Tours where he was always supporting the team leaders.
This season Harold got some serious results: he became 10th in the General Classification of the Tour de Suisse, finished 8th in the Gran Piemonte and took his first professional podium in the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, becoming third after the race winner and his teammate Alexey Lutsenko.
“After several tough years, which it took Harold to gain experience and become a professional rider, this season he began to achieve his first serious results. We see him more and more often in the Top-10 at important mountain stages, he had a solid Tour de Suisse and spent the Tour of Turkey wonderfully, where he supported Alexey Lutsenko but also achieved his own podium. We hope that progress will continue in the new season with not only some good results but also with the victories. Harold is a great team rider, but he also has everything he needs to win races”, – said Alexandr Vinokurov, General Manager of Astana Qazaqstan Team.
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Here’s the team’s news release:
Australian rider Kelland O’Brien and New Zealander Campbell Stewart have both signed new deals with Team Jayco AlUla ahead of the 2024 season. The powerful duo are set to focus on the track for the upcoming 2024 Olympics before switching their priorities back to the road after the games.
O’Brien has shown his great potential in the spring classics in his first two years with the team, claiming impressive top-10 placings in some of the hardest classic races amongst star riders, and the Australian outfit believe that here is a lot more to come from the man from Melbourne.
Kelland O'Brien
Stewart has proven to be a selfless teammate since joining the squad in 2022, with the Kiwi playing a vital role in his debut Grand Tour this year, as he helped Michael Matthews to a special victory at the Giro d’Italia. The 25-year-old has also demonstrated his track speed can be transferred over to the road, with an impressive debut professional sprint victory at the recent CRO Race.
With the power and strength of the two riders from Oceania, GreenEDGE Cycling is thrilled to have the duo onboard to develop further with the team over the next two seasons.
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Brent Copeland – Team Jayco AlUla General Manager:
“Kell has been developing very well over the past two years and it is very promising seeing what he can do in the spring classics, he has been up there with the best riders. Next year he will have the Olympics that he’s concentrating on, but after that he’s going to be fully dedicated to the road once again and we are confident he will make great progress.
Campbell is part of our sprint group, he has that experience from the track, like Kell, he knows how to move around in the bunch, and we can use him in a good way in that area of the team next year whether it is with Blake, with Dylan’s group or now with Caleb, he fits in very well. At the same time, we want to give him his own opportunity to go for some punchy races where the others aren’t racing, he has shown what he can do with his great win in Croatia recently. Both these riders add a lot of value to the team roster, so it was important for us to see them continue to grow with us over the coming years.”
Kelland O’Brien:
“My first two years in the WorldTour peloton have been amazing, obviously I’ve looked up to the older guys on this team for years so it’s a dream come true to be racing for the team now. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone on the team, the races over in Europe and generally how the team operates. I have learned a lot so I’m very excited to carry that on for another two years with GreenEDGE Cycling.”
Campbell Stewart:
“I’ve had an amazing two years so far with the team, and it’s been awesome to be a part of the success and I have learnt a lot racing all types of events from one-day classics to a Grand Tour. I’m super excited to be staying for another two years and I’m really looking forward to what’s to come.”
Kelland O’Brien:
Date of birth: 22nd May 1998 (25)
Nationality: Australian
Key Results:
1st Australian Criterium Championships (2023)
3rd Australian Time Trial Championships (2023)
9th Ruund um Koln (2023)
7th Dwars door Vlaanderen (2022)
4th Tour of Estonia – Prologue (2022)
Campbell Stewart:
Date of birth: 12th May 1998 (25)
Nationality: New Zealand
Key Results:
1st CRO Race – Stage 6 (2023)
4th CRO Race – Stage 1 (2023)
10th Giro d’Italia – Stage 21 (2023)
6th Schwalbe Classic (2023)
7th Tour of Oman – Stage 2 (2022)
5th Tour of Turkey – Stage 6 (2022)
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Here's the team's telling of that day:
Danish rider Asgreen recounted his finest day of the season, on the roads of the Grande Boucle.
“We had a pretty rough Tour de France this year, it was a really difficult race for us but we kept believing and remained really keen on showing our Wolfpack spirit and winning mentality. At the start of stage 18, we also knew there weren’t many opportunities left, so we were determined to give our best and keep trying, no matter how slim were our chances. The peloton was also tired after so many hard mountain stages, so a breakaway could have made it.
"As soon as I went up the road as part of a small group, the situation wasn’t ideal for us. I would have preferred to have gone with seven or eight riders, but coming off some really tough days I didn’t completely rule out the possibility of going all the way. The pace was insane the entire time, we pushed hard but the gap hovered around one minute because the peloton kept chasing the entire time without giving us too much space. On the other hand, what helped us was that despite being in just four at the front we rode the entire stage as a full gas team time trial, and this made the difference in the end in our favour.
"Entering the final kilometer of the stage, we could feel them behind but we had confidence we could pull it off and with 200 meters to go I opened my sprint and just kept going, leaving everything out there. It was incredible to take my first Tour de France stage victory, especially after all the problems I’d had since the summer of 2022.
Kasper Asgreen wins 2023 Tour de France stage 18. Sirotti photo
"I had come a long way and what I achieved wouldn’t have been possible without all the people who helped me and the amazing team that is Soudal Quick-Step. I was delighted that despite our setbacks our squad kept fighting and believing, and eventually got that win, our 50th at the race. It was really cool to help the squad achieve that milestone.”
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