Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot. - Douglas Adams
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.
Upcoming racing:
- December 15: Namur Cyclocross-Citadelcross
Latest completed racing:
- November 17: Flandriencross
- November 3: European Cyclocross Championships
- November 1: X20 Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
- October 27: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
- October 15 - 20: Tour of Guangxi
- October 20: Japan Cup Road Race
- October 20: Veneto Classic
- October 16: Giro del Veneto
- October 13: Chrono des Nations
This was expected after Team Lotto Dstny and Van Gils parted ways last November.
Here’s the announcement from Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe:
Shortly before the start of the season, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe has signed Maxim Van Gils. He is the ninth new signing for the German UCI WorldTeam.
With Maxim Van Gils, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe adds another young rider who brings a lot of talent and first major successes with him. Top results from Strade Bianche to Milan-Sanremo, the Ardennes and Frankfurt to the autumn race in Montreal marked the season of the 25-year-old Belgian.
Maxim Van Gils winning stage 4 of the 2022 Saudi Tour.
Maxim Van Gils:
“I am proud to be of interest to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. I felt a special connection with the team from the very first moment. Now I want to work hard with them to achieve big goals. My adventure with the new colors starts tomorrow!”
Maxim Van Gils will join Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe at their training camp tomorrow. After seven years with Lotto Dstny, it will be his first time with a new team. With the Belgian team, he laid the foundations in the U23 category, then made the leap to the pros and has made a name for himself this year, especially in the demanding one-day races.
Ralph Denk:
“I am grateful that, after Maxim expressed his desire to change teams, his advisor, Stéphane Heulot, and I handled the situation professionally. That's what made the transfer possible. Maxim has delivered top results from spring to fall. It's not by chance that you finish on the podium at Strade and in the Ardennes, especially at such a young age. It shows strength, but also potential. We will continue to develop this with our performance structure.”
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe 2025 roster:
Roger Adrià, Giovanni Aleotti, Nico Denz, Finn Fisher-Black, Alexander Hajek, Emil Herzog, Jai Hindley, Jonas Koch, Oier Lazkano, Florian Lipowitz, Filip Maciejuk, Daniel Felipe Martínez, Jordi Meeus, Gianni Moscon, Ryan Mullen, Anton Palzer, Giulio Pellizzari, Laurence Pithie, Primož Roglič, Matteo Sobrero, Jan Tratnik, Mick van Dijke, Tim van Dijke, Maxim Van Gils, Danny van Poppel, Aleksandr Vlasov, Frederik Wandahl, Sam Welsford, Ben Zwiehoff
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Here’s the team’s update:
Our team has returned to Spain this week for the first training camp of the winter, with the Suitopia Sol y Mar Hotel serving as the squad’s headquarters between 9-20 December.
A total of 29 riders – including newcomers Pascal Eenkhoorn, Ethan Hayter, Gianmarco Garofoli, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Andrea Raccagni, Maximilian Schachmann and Dries Van Gestel – are present there to lay the foundations of the team’s 23rd consecutive season in the pro peloton.
Team Soudal Quick-Step at the Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this year. Sirotti photo
Soudal Quick-Step heads into the winter after what has been an impressive 2024 campaign – which netted 34 UCI victories – and will be keen to work towards what we all hope will be another successful season. The get-together in Calpe will be the only opportunity for the members of the Wolfpack to spend time together ahead of next year, and outline the calendar and goals for 2025, a season which we will get underway in about six weeks, at the Tour Down Under.
We have held our winter training camps at Suitopia Sol y Mar Hotel for a number of years, with the hotel offering us premium facilities that are perfect for our team’s needs from both a sporting and commercial point of view, with the province of Alicante putting in the table varied training terrains for our riders.
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“It is always a special time to get all our riders together. As well as several days of commercial activities for our sponsors, we have some physical tests and then some real training scheduled on the roads of southern Spain. But more than anything, it is a chance for our riders and staff to build a bond in preparation for the 2025 season”, said Soudal Quick-Step trainer Koen Pelgrim.
Absent from the team reunion is double Olympic Champion Remco Evenepoel, who underwent surgery last week following the training incident in which he was involved and will now take some time off the bike.
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Here’s the team’s post:
UAE Team Emirates and its partner team in the UCI Women’s Tour, UAE Team ADQ, will use Shimano’s cutting-edge products, including its DURA-ACE Di2 wireless groupset, providing the teams with the most advanced shifting and braking experience.
Mauro Gianetti, Team Principal & CEO, UAE Team Emirates said: “We are very proud and excited to begin this partnership with Shimano. We are an innovative team and always looking to be at the forefront with our equipment. To compete at the highest level you need to be using the best materials and combining our expertise in cycling together I feel we can go on to achieve great things over the coming years.”
The 2025 team bike
In competitive racing environments, where every millisecond matters, and circumstances can change in the blink of an eye, Shimano’s components will provide the UAE teams with the lightning-fast, accurate, and reliable shifting performance that is needed to compete at the highest levels.
Yuzo Shimano, Executive Officer, Vice President, Bike Planning Department, Shimano said: “Our four-year partnership with UAE Team Emirates represents a long-term commitment to technological innovation. We are engineering a comprehensive performance solution that will drive cycling technology forward for the foreseeable future.”
Shimano’s Di2 electronic gear shifting integration and advanced braking technologies have already played a pivotal role in the team’s most memorable races over the last several seasons, including over 80 wins, across Grand Tours, One-Day Classics and many other General Classification races in 2024.
Whether you are a professional racer or weekend enthusiast, this partnership is a testament to human performance and to the relentless pursuit of excellence.
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