Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, October 7, 2023
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
My friends are my estate. - Emily Dickinson
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Current racing:
- Oct 7: Il Lombardia
Upcoming racing:
- Oct 8: Paris-Tours
- Oct 11: Giro del Veneto
Latest completed racing:
- Oct 5: Gran Piemonte
- Oct 5: Paris-Gien-Bourges
- Oct 3: Tre Valli Varesine
- Oct 3: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- Oct 3: Múnsterland Giro
- Oct 2: Coppa Bernocchi
- Sept 23 - Sept 30: Tour de Langkawi
- Sept 30: Giro dell'Emilia
- Sept 30: GP Cerami
- Sept 28: Coppa Agostoni
- Sept 20 - 24: Tour of Luxembourg
GCN posted this news update:
Just hours after Remco Evenepoel spoke of the desire to concentrate on Il Lombardia rather than spend time thinking about the supposed merger between his Soudal Quick-Step side and the Jumbo-Visma team, it has been reported that negotiations between the two WorldTeams have broken down. In no uncertain terms, the Visma-Soudal merger is currently off the table.
It look like Remco Evenepoel will not end up being Jonas Vingegaard's teammate. For now. Sirotti photo
The bombshell news emerged on Friday afternoon from Belgian broadcaster Sporza and was soon backed up by Belgian newspapers Het Nieuwsblad and Het Laatste Nieuws.
A couple of hours later, AD issued a fresh bombshell with reports that Amazon, which was set to sponsor the merger team, had pulled out. The Dutch publication also suggested that Jumbo-Visma had sourced a bespoke title sponsor in the form of PON, owner of their bike supplier, Cervélo.
The wave of news comes after weeks of speculation, uncertainty and panic within the sport, following the initial news that Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step had signed a letter of intent to join forces.
It would have meant the likes of Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert, and Evenepoel may have ended up as teammates in 2024, although Primož Roglič was already leaving Jumbo-Visma and was unveiled on Friday as a new signing for Bora-Hansgrohe.
The latest reports may well provide some relief to those within the Soudal Quick-Step pack, who would have been particularly damaged by the amalgamation of both sides, but it could spell more trouble for Evenepoel's future relationship with the Belgian team.
You can read the entire story here.
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Here’s the Bora-hansgrohe news release:
BORA - hansgrohe has signed Primož Roglič from the coming season onwards. With the Grand Tour and Monument winner, one of the world's best riders has committed to the German UCI WorldTeam. The Slovenian has also demonstrated his impressive quality this season, finishing four of the five stage races which he started with an overall victory.
Primoz Roglic after winning 2023 Vuelta a España stage eight. Sirotti photo
Ralph Denk, Team Manager BORA - hansgrohe: “As a cyclist and Team Manager, patience is required. It is not always the first attack that leads to success. Eight years ago, Primož almost joined us as a neo-pro. Now he comes to us as a pro with a long list of victories that very few others have achieved."
"For us, the decisive factor was not what has been achieved, but what lies ahead. Together we want to leave our mark on the big races. Primož appreciates the strength of our squad and knows the great potential of his future teammates. I am convinced that his personality will inspire the entire team, because he is a leader with the will to win, and is also a team player at the same time. Most of all, however, he really loves what he does and for me, that is the key to success."
Primož Roglič: "I am looking forward to this step, even though a team change is kind of like new territory for me. The good memories of when we met years ago made the talks easy. But the decisive factor was that the team is really motivated to work with me, and that we hold the same ideas."
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Here’s the post from team Jumbo-Visma:
A glorious era is coming to an end. Primoz Roglic will wear the yellow and black jersey for the last time at the Tour of Lombardy on Saturday. Sports director Marc Reef says his armada will be motivated to the bone for the final race of the season.
Il Lombardia is the last of the season's five monuments. The Race of the Falling Leaves is full of cycling heroics, and it is still missing from the palmares of Team Jumbo-Visma.
"We want to end Primoz's time in our team with a top performance and hope that the polished diamond that Primoz is will shine again”, Reef says.
The joint journey of Roglic and Team Jumbo-Visma began in 2016. At that time, the Slovenian came over from Adria Mobil. In no time at all, the collaboration became a success. In 2020, Roglic won Liège-Bastogne-Liège in a bloodcurdling finish. In Lombardy, Roglic has already finished fourth and seventh.
2020 Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Julian Alaphilippe has raised his arms, but he crossed the line second to Primoz Roglic and was then relegated to fifth for not holding his line in the sprint. Roglic, on the left, gets the big win. Jumbo-Visma photo
"Primoz looked very relaxed last week”, says Reef, describing the Slovenian's state of mind. "He also wants to get the best out of this race. This is also reflected in his training over the last few days. As well as winning the Tour of Emilia and finishing fourth in Tre Valli Varesine, he has also explored the Lombardy route. This shows Primoz's professionalism.”
Reef also praised the strength of the team that will compete in the northern Italian region on Saturday. "We have a solid group here. The guys are all motivated to excel. We did some fantastic things last year. We want to do the same in the last races of the season. Next Saturday, we can count on a strong team that will not give up in the final”, the sports director says.
La corsa delle foglie morte starts in Como on Saturday morning and finishes 238 kilometres later in Bergamo. With seven climbs and almost five thousand altimetres, the route offers plenty of challenges. "We also have a clear plan for this race. We are still in good shape at this stage of the season. The spirit of the guys is promising. We want to make Primoz's farewell race an exceptional one.”
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Here's the team's news:
The season is getting closer to a conclusion, which means it’s time for one of the oldest and most prestigious races on the calendar, Il Lombardia. The fifth and final Monument of the year, which our team won twice with Paolo Bettini – who took back-to-back victories – takes place this Saturday, when the riders will leave Como behind and travel to Bergamo, over a relentless 238km course.
Paolo Bettini wins the 2006 Giro di Lombardia
The route will comprise a total of seven climbs, many of them featuring some demanding gradients: Madonna del Ghisallo, the first difficulty of the day, Roncola, Berbenno, Passo della Croceta, Zambla Alta, Passo di Ganda and Colle Aperto, the last of these coming just four kilometers from the finish.
Soudal Quick-Step will take on the 117th edition with a team consisting of Julian Alaphilippe, Andrea Bagioli, Mattia Cattaneo, Liège–Bastogne–Liège winner and Belgian Champion Remco Evenepoel, Fausto Masnada – who in 2021 became the first Bergamasque this side of the century to finish on the podium of an edition concluding in Bergamo – Ilan Van Wilder and Mauri Vansevenant.
“We are going to the start of Lombardia with a strong morale after the incredible week we’ve had so far in Italy, with victories at Tre Valli Varesine and Gran Piemonte. The route is very hard, all the time up and down with some difficult climbs, but we count on a strong squad that can really do something nice on Saturday and come out of the race with a good result”, said sports director Davide Bramati.
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