Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. - Corrie Ten Boom
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- December 26: Gavere Cyclocross
- December 27: Exact Cross Loenhout-Azencross
- December 30: Diegem Cyclocross
- January 1: GP Sven Nys Cross
- January 18 - 26: Tour Down Under
Latest completed racing:
- December 15: Namur Cyclocross-Citadelcross
- 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
Here’s the team’s news:
The INEOS Grenadiers and Gobik are proud to unveil the team’s 2025 kit, a reflection of their dynamic partnership committed to innovation, performance, and a relentless drive for excellence.
Building on a successful collaboration that has redefined technical garment development, including breakthroughs like the Singularity 2.0 TT Suit, Gobik, and the INEOS Grenadiers continue to set new standards for apparel designed to meet the demands of elite competition.
The 2025 INEOS Grenadiers jersey.
INEOS Grenadiers CEO, John Allert said: "New kit day is always an exciting moment for any cyclist. For our riders and our partners at Gobik, this year is no exception. The collaborative approach we've taken with Gobik to design our team's kit ensures our riders not only look great but also feel great, and can perform to their optimum. This strong partnership has been the foundation for developing our fresh look for the next season."
As Gobik and the INEOS Grenadiers embark on another season together, both partners are driven by ambitious goals and a shared vision for success. With innovation at its core, Gobik will continue to push boundaries, ensuring the team’s riders have the most advanced technical clothing to support their performance at the highest level.
The new INEOS Grenadiers jersey builds on its iconic design with subtle but impactful updates that enhance its elegance and functionality. The refreshed look reinforces the team’s distinct visual identity, ensuring it remains a standout in the peloton while addressing key performance and safety needs.
INEOS Grenadiers CEO, John Allert continued: "For 2025, we've introduced added details and changes, including moving the orange accent to the left arm to enhance visibility during training. Safety remains a core principle for our team, and this updated design reflects our ongoing commitment to it. Gobik’s unwavering support and commitment to innovation have been invaluable during this exciting period for the INEOS Grenadiers. Looking ahead to 2025, we’re eager to further deepen our partnership and continue supporting each other’s ambitions."
José Ramón, CEO and Co-Founder of Gobik: "The new INEOS Grenadiers jersey refines its iconic design, enhancing elegance and prominence in the peloton. A bolder white stripe strengthens the team’s identity, while bright orange fabrics in rain and cold-weather jackets improve visibility in harsh conditions. Subtle updates reflect a commitment to safety and performance, blending aesthetics, functionality, and technology for an exceptional rider experience."
Looking ahead to the 2025 season, Gobik and the INEOS Grenadiers are ready to rise to new challenges with ambition and determination. United in their commitment to excellence, they aim to deliver not only top-tier performance for the team but also inspire cyclists around the world with innovative apparel designed for success in every race.
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Here’s the team’s news:
Lidl-Trek is excited to announce that MotoGP star Aleix Espargaró will join the Lidl-Trek family from January 1st, 2025. After two decades of racing at the pinnacle of MotoGP, Espargaró has chosen to devote his time to his other long-term passion: cycling. The three-time MotoGP race winner will serve as a Lidl-Trek ambassador, joining the Team at some of the most prestigious events on the calendar whilst promoting the sport of cycling to a wide audience.
“I’m thrilled to join the Lidl-Trek family, which is home to some of the world’s best cyclists,” said Espargaró.“I’m excited to learn from some of the best cyclists and staff in the sport, push my limits, and share this special journey with fans.”
Aleix Espargaró
Espargaró has been cycling for many years at a high level, training alongside professional riders at home in Andorra. He is excited to push his physical potential with the full resources of Lidl-Trek’s performance team. “After a back injury forced me to give up running I turned to cycling for recovery and training. Over time, it became more than just preparation — it became my passion. Living in Andorra, I made friendships with many pro cyclists, which inspired me to train at a higher level.”
Espargaró is a cycling super fan. Working with Lidl-Trek gives him the opportunity to explore his potential in a fresh environment. In return, he’ll be a valuable resource to Lidl-Trek, sharing his experience as a top athlete in a demanding sport with the Team’s young riders. Fans will get to come along for the ride as Aleix shares his unique journey with the world.
“Cycling has been a passion of mine for years, and I decided to step away from MotoGP earlier than planned to join a program which aligns so well with my passion. I’m deeply grateful to Lidl-Trek for welcoming me to their family and supporting me. I’ll give it everything I have.”
“Working with Aleix will be incredibly rewarding for us, and especially for our young riders,” said Lidl-Trek General Manager Luca Guercilena. “We know he is a strong, passionate cyclist, but he also brings different experiences and perspectives to the Team. He can help our younger athletes understand and handle the pressures that come with top level competition.”
Lidl-Trek is always seeking to bring positive people into its family, develop riders, and showcase the great things that cycling can contribute to the world. Aleix Espargaró is an incredible representative to further that mission. We can’t wait to get started working with this racing legend.
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Here’s the team’s post:
The team posted this:
You’re never too old or experienced to learn something new.
Whether you’re an elite WorldTour cyclist, their coach, or someone picking up a new hobby for the first time. Christian Schrot is taking this approach into his new role as a coach with GreenEDGE Cycling.
The German – who has a PhD in sport science and has been coaching professionally for close to two decades – will be working with riders from across the spectrum with Team Jayco AlUla, from the well-versed top-tier pro to some of the squad’s debutantes.
Christian Schrot
“The person who says ‘I know everything’ it’s just not true. You’re getting older, but you’re getting more experience. Becoming an expert is a process and once you’re an expert you can still learn so much more because coaching such a huge field and there’s always so many new aspects coming,” Schrot says.
“Cycling has lots of different areas that you can work on and it’s not a single dimension. There are a lot of topics that you can work on, even if you’re more experienced.”
Schrot has been passionate about cycling since he was around 10 years old after going out riding with his cousin, who had just bought a new bike. He raced as an amateur and had ambitions of going to the Olympic Games, but when the rules changed so that only professionals could race in the event, he decided to focus on university instead.
The starting point
Since then, he got degrees in sport science and economics, before deciding to become involved in a research project around sporting performance and training adaptation, later gaining his PhD. Throughout his long career, he’s worked with a lot of riders and there’s always a detailed “getting to know you” phase before delving into the nuts and bolts of training plans.
“The starting point is always trying to figure out the metabolism of the rider and what are their internal adjustments, which is related to their genetics and previous training. Then it’s about understanding the needs for the races they’re planning, and the role they have in the team, whether they’re a GC leader, support rider, or sprinter,” he explains.
“After that, you can start asking yourself questions, like what kind of training methods would make sense to achieve the goals, does it make sense to add strength training, where are weak points from the previous seasons? For example, the rider may have been injured previously, maybe there are issues to be solved. I also involve my other colleagues from the medical and physical side, and when you have all of that then you have a good starting point.”
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Coaching a rider, no matter their experience on the bike, is not just about the raw data and training programmes. There is the human side, too.
“The relationship between coach and rider, from a motivational perspective, is important to keep the rider on track and to give them confidence along the way,” Schrot says. “Even when there are setbacks or moments where the rider might say that they are not where they need to be. It’s a process; it’s not that you can go from 0 to 100. This is a crucial part.”
Rider development
Much of Schrot’s experience in cycling has been centred around scouting young talent and then developing them. Many of the riders that he’s scouted and coached have made the step up to the UCI WorldTour and had successful careers at the top level, including Team Jayco AlUla rider Felix Engelhardt.
For Schrot, there are a few key ways of spotting burgeoning talent and then finding out just where their limits may lie.
“There are two ways of finding talent. The UCI racing scene is mostly where teams search for riders but there are also off-topic events and other endurance-based sports that have similar needs from the physiological side, such as cross-country skiing, that could work if the person has a big affinity for cycling. There are examples of riders in the WorldTour where this has worked out well,” he says.
“One side is having the physiological capacity to be able to reach the highest level. Does the rider bring a certain physiology so that with good coaching, treatment, nutrition and with longer development, and so on, they would be able to reach the top level? The other point is, how much has the rider already invested to be at the point they are. Some riders can compete with the best but they haven’t had structured training, and only started a few years ago. Meanwhile, some already have the full programme. It’s also important to take that into consideration.
“Another point, which is also really an important one because it is a team sport, where you are on the road a lot as a team is the personality of the rider. How do they cope with stress, and how do they cope under pressure?”
Alongside his role as a coach for several riders within the Team Jayco AlUla WorldTeam, Schrot will also be a point of contact for the Hagens Berman Jayco U23 squad. The team run by Axel Merckx will become the official development squad for the Australian men’s outfit from 2025 and Schrot will be on hand to give guidance to their staff, if needed, and track the progress of the young riders throughout the season.
Having a development team for both the men’s and women’s squads has been an important part of the growth of the GreenEDGE Cycling family. For Schrot, it gives young riders an environment where they can flourish at their own pace.
“Sometimes the riders are in a rush to develop, and short-term success is higher rated than long-term success, but this shouldn’t be the case,” he says. “I would recommend to the young talent that they take the time they need and focus on the important steps for their physiological development, as well as from a character and personality side, and spend time at the U23 level to fully grow up before they jump into WorldTour racing. That’s why I think it’s important for a WorldTour team to have its own U23 structure to be able to develop as fast as needed but also as slow as possible. You need a good balance between making them ready and giving them the time they need.
“I coached Felix Engelhardt for six years before he joined Team Jayco AlUla. For him, it was the same. He needed the time to develop and to make the steps to improve his aerobic capacities to get to his full potential. When he was ready, he was able to make the jump, and in his first season at WorldTour level, he was able to take some nice victories and get some results. It’s a valuable step to build a career.”
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