Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, August 16, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
I’m not crazy about reality, but it’s still the only place to get a decent meal – Groucho Marx
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:
- August 12 - 18: Tour of Poland
- August 13 - 16: Tour du Limousin
- August 14 - 18: PostNord Denmark Rundt
Upcoming racing:
- August 17 - Sept 8: Vuelta a España
Latest completed racing:
- August 11: La Polynormande
- August 10: Clasica San Sebastian
- August 5 - 9: Vuelta a Burgos
- August 4 - 7: Arctic Race of Norway
- July 27 - August 4: Olympic cycling
- July 22 - 26: Tour de Wallonie
- July 23: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
- June 29 - July 21: Tour de France
- June 9 - 26: Many National Championships
- June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
- June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
- June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from Casper Van Uden's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:
After the climbers and puncheurs had their chances on the opening three days, the sprinters would get their opportunity on stage four on Thursday. Despite a climb in the beginning of the day it was a steady start and a two rider group managed to establish itself out front, with all Team dsm-firmenich PostNL riders in the peloton. As the kilometres ticked by, the break’s advantage was reduced and they were eventually caught with 25 kilometres to go. The peloton took things steadily which then saw things dramatically increase in tempo towards the finale and there were a few crashes at the back of the bunch. Coming into the final kilometre it was a big battle between the sprint trains, and the sprint group tried to move forward but in the swirling mass they couldn’t find a gap. With around 300 metres to go Bram Welten brought Casper van Uden forward, who then started his sprint from distance but he struggled to find the space to have a clean run to the line, eventually crossing the line in 11th place.
Olav Kooij wins Tour of Poland stage four.
Speaking after the stage Van Uden said: “The boys did a good job throughout the day to keep me safe and we never had any issues. When the break was caught it was calm for a while but then it was really fast and hectic. We did a good job initially but then got stuck in the washing machine in the last two kilometres and from there I could never really get out to sprint.”
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We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
Unfortunately, the legs were not up to the motivation for Valentin Madouas and Groupama-FDJ this Thursday on the Tour du Limousin. In a very hilly third stage, the Frenchman and his teammates were aggressive to try and turn the general classification around. However, the former French champion didn’t have enough energy to attack in the final and had to settle with seventh place within a chasing group, four seconds behind the winner Jefferson Cepeda. He remains seventh overall before the last stage in Limoges on Friday.
Jefferson Cepeda wins stage three.
With over 3,500 metres of elevation gain on stage 3 of the Tour du Limousin-Périgord – Nouvelle Aquitaine, there was a real opportunity this Thursday to shake up the general classification, dominated since the day before by Alex Baudin (Decathlon-AG2R). While the classified climbs were fewer than on Wednesday, they were nonetheless longer. “We knew it was the hardest stage,” confirmed Benoît Vaugrenard. “The goal wasn’t really to put someone in the breakaway, but we hoped that there would be a rider from another team who was dangerous in GC, which is what happened. Thanks to it, the breakaway didn’t take a big gap, then the plan was to make it hard with 70 kilometres to go, because we knew that it could end up with a 40-man sprint if we didn’t do it. We decided to make it hard to shake things up because we had nothing to lose today. This also allowed the team, the riders, and the youngsters to be in the action. We weren’t very good as a team yesterday, so we had to get back into the game today.”
After a “quiet” chase for half the stage, Colin Savioz and Thibaud Gruel therefore took things in hand on the Bassignac-le-Haut climb, as planned. “If we hadn’t pushed, not much would have happened,” said Benoît. “The breakaway had to be caught at the top of the climb to start a whole new race. Our idea was to get some moves going again to make Decathlon-AG2R work and make the race hard.”
This mission was achieved, notably by Lenny Martinez who had to go twice to launch a new breakaway. The young French climber eventually escaped with three men and took a thirty-second gap. The four riders crossed the finish line with thirty-eight kilometres to go before heading towards the penultimate climb, a few kilometres further on. On the Auzelou climb (4 km at 6.5%), the peloton exploded a bit while catching the leading group, but Valentin Madouas and Enzo Paleni kept their position alongside the other GC contenders.
On the downhill, however, the former “La Conti” rider lost contact like half of the remaining peloton. There were only about twenty riders left at the front when it came to tackling the Servières climb (5 km at 4%). Some other attacks happened, the yellow jersey could count on his teammates to lead the chase, and Valentin Madouas was unable to really join the fight. “He was there but not strong enough to be offensive,” confided Benoît. “It was enough to follow, but not enough to attack. From there, we had to hope to make a move in the final, but Cepeda finished alone. We wanted to try to win, even if it meant losing everything. We missed a little something in the final, but we wanted not to have regrets, and we don’t have any tonight.”
After attacking towards the top of the final climb, about ten kilometres from the finish, Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) didn’t get caught on the downhill or on the flat portion leading to the line. The Ecuadorian therefore took the win with a four-second lead over a small chasing group in which Valentin Madouas took seventh place on the day, which is also his position in the general classification. “The last stage is never easy to control on the Tour du Limousin, anything is possible, but the trend is still to have a sprint finish of forty riders, after a tough fight,” concluded Benoît.
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Here’s the team’s announcement:
Lidl-Trek is excited to announce the signing of German cyclist Lennard Kämna, who will officially join the team on January 1st. Widely regarded as one of the best German cyclists in the peloton, Kämna has made a name for himself by securing stage wins in each of the three Grand Tours – Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España. His ability to deliver exceptional performances on cycling’s biggest stages highlights his remarkable talent and tactical astuteness, qualities that Lidl-Trek is thrilled to bring into its ranks. This signing also marks a reunion for Kämna with former teammates Mads Pedersen and Alex Kirsch, with whom he raced during the 2016 season.
Lennard Kämna winning stage 3 of the 2023 Tour of the Alps.
Earlier this year, Kämna faced a significant setback after a serious crash, and while he is still on the road to regaining his best form, his unwavering commitment to recovery underscores his strength of character. Lidl-Trek is confident that Kämna will not only return to his previous heights but will also reach new levels of success with the team.
Speaking of his move to Lidl-Trek, Lennard Kämna said: “With joining Lidl-Trek, I am now taking the next chapter in my career. The past few years have been quite important for me and now I’m excited about what’s to come. I definitely want to continue my individual development in the coming years and I certainly want to win races. Of course, I am also realistic about my accident and the injuries I got at the beginning of the year. I’m looking forward to being part of a great team, which certainly has further potential that I want to contribute to with my performance. And I’m looking forward to reuniting with team mates I’ve known for a long time from my first year as a pro – Mads Pedersen and Alex Kirsch. All in all, top pre-requisites for lots of fun on and off the bike and hopefully great achievements together.”
Lidl-Trek General Manager, Luca Guercilena, added: “Lennard is a great talent we’ve been closely watching for some time. When the opportunity arose to bring him on board, it was a clear and natural fit for our Team. His impressive track record in short stage races, combined with his proven ability to excel over the demanding Grand Tours, makes him a valuable addition. Furthermore, he is a strong time trialist, a quality which is very important when racing for general classification. Thanks to Trek’s team of expert aerodynamicists, this is something we can continue to work on with Lennard.
While he’s still recovering from a serious crash earlier this year, we’re confident that he will return to top form – if not surpass it – wearing the Lidl-Trek jersey. Signing Lennard represents a significant step forward as we continue to build and strengthen our Team.”
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Here’s the team’s announcement:
Talented American racer, Artem Shmidt, has signed his first professional contract and will race as a Grenadier until the end of 2026.
The current U23 USA national time trial champion is in his second season racing at Continental level with Hagens Berman Jayco and previously raced for the Hot Tubes Cycling Club in the USA, the same team that current riders AJ August and Magnus Sheffield hail from.
The 20-year-old is aiming to ride alongside August in the upcoming Tour de l’Avenir for the US National Team, after which he’ll immediately join the INEOS Grenadiers and be available to race for the rest of the current season.
Artem Shmidt said: “It’s with great gratitude and excitement that I will be starting my professional career with the INEOS Grenadiers. I’ve been a fan of the team ever since I started cycling and to be joining the team is a dream come true.
“I’ve seen a lot of riders and friends develop in their programme and it’s clearly the best place for me to take the next step in my career. I can’t wait to pin on a number soon!”
Scott Drawer, Performance Director, added: “Artem is not totally new to the team as he’s attended a number of our training camps where he’s impressed us both with his approach and his ability on the bike.
“He’s an exciting young talent with a wide range of skills across time trialing, climbing and rolling terrain. He comes from a background and environment that’s familiar to us, and one which we know has a proven track record of providing excellent grounding for pro bike riders.
“Artem is the latest to join our promising group of young riders who all are part of our development programme and will collectively be key in helping us achieve the future goals that we’ve set ourselves.”
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