Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, February 3, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically... No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in. - Rosa Parks
Plato's dialogue Crito is available both in audiobook and Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- Jan 30-Feb 3: AlUla Tour (formerly Saudi Tour)
- Jan 31 - Feb 4: Etoile de Besseges
- Jan 31 - Feb 4: Volta a La Comunitat Valenciana
Upcoming racing:
- Feb 8 - 11: Tour de la Provence
Latest completed racing:
- Jan 24-28: Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca
- Jan 28: GP d'Ouverture-La Marseillaise
- Jan 28: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- Jan 12-21: Santos Tour Down Under
- Jan 20: Clasica Comunitat Valenciana
- Jan 1: GP Sven Nys
- Dec 29: Exact Cross Loenhout-Azencross
- Dec 28: Superprestige Diegem
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here’s the report from repeat stage winner Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Tim Merlier once again stomped his sprinting authority at the AlUla Tour, powering like a locomotive in the closing 300 meters of the penultimate stage to make it back-to-back victories and move into the leader’s jersey, on top of that getting also the red one, rewarding the best rider in the points classification.
Tim Merlier just barely wins the stage. Photo: Pauline Ballet
“I’m happy with my second win of the week, it’s a great way to start the season! Having two jerseys is a nice bonus, but it’s not the only thing that makes me happy. Seeing the boys work so hard for me and do such an excellent job the entire day was incredible and I am delighted I could repay them with another victory.”
The stage between Hegra and Maraya was flat and a bit more quiet than Thursday’s one, no crosswinds bothering the peloton this time, but there was a catch: a 600m section averaging 4% in the final kilometer, with some roads kicking up at 7% that brought into contention not only the sprinters, but also those carrying some punch and able to navigate a technical finish, consisting of several turns that could easily derail the lead-out trains.
It wasn’t the case for the Soudal Quick-Step boys, who rode flawlessly, both Jordi Warlop and Bert Van Lerberghe playing an important role in the outcome. As soon as the latter peeled off the front, Tim decided to start his sprint with more than 300 meters to go, impressing with the power unleashed on the hard gradients and his ability to hold off a late charge of Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), who came runner-up.
“It was a hard finish. I decided to go from the distance because I felt really good and had a lot of confidence in myself on that uphill drag to the line. It’s been a good race for us so far, but we have one more stage here and we’ll focus on that one and on doing our best to support our young teammate William Lecerf”, added Merlier after the 36th win of his career.
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Here’s the AlUla Tour stage four report from third-place Casper van Uden's Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL:
The penultimate day of racing at the AlUla Tour saw an uphill sprint finish, where Team dsm-firmenich PostNL produced a brilliant lead-out, before finisher Casper van Uden sprinted to a good third place at the line.
Another shot of the sprint. Getty photo
After Thursday’s crosswind chaos, Friday was a more mundane affair with lower wind speeds so a three rider break managed to escape early on in the day. The stage took on a more familiar affair, with the team riding well as a unit and helping to set the pace at the head of the bunch, honouring the race lead. As the kilometres ticked by, the breakaway’s advantage dwindled and they were eventually caught inside ten kilometres to go.
Coming to the fore of the bunch, the team peeled off one-by-one, turning the screw and drastically increasing the pace with three kilometres remaining. Setting up Van Uden for the uphill drag, the young Dutchman kicked as hard as he could and dug deep all the way to the finish, but two riders were just stronger on the day. Nonetheless, it was a good result in third after a brilliant lead-out and it secured another podium finish for the team; making it at least third place on every stage so far for the squad.
Speaking after the stage Van Uden said: “It was a hectic day at points this afternoon but we managed to stay well together throughout the stage. The boys then delivered a textbook lead-out in the finale and I could finish it off with a nice third place once again.”
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We posted the report from winner Mads Pedersen's Team Lidl-Trek with the results.
Here's the report from second-place Milan Menton's Team Lotto Dstny:
In the third hilly stage of the Etoile de Bessèges, an early breakaway escaped on the Col des Brousses, after which the peloton controlled the breakaway. The riders had to climb the Col des Brousses three times, as well as two other climbs of first and second category.
The escapees were given a maximum lead of five minutes and were caught just before the final climb. On the climb it was still raining attacks, a group with Brent Van Moer and Jenno Berckmoes had a slight advantage at the top. In the descent also Milan Menten rejoined the front group together with Alec Segaert and Sébastien Grignard. The preparations for a bunch sprint were in the making, despite a late attack from Marco Brenner.
Milan Menten was in the wheel of Mads Pedersen, who started the sprint and could keep the first spot until the finish line. Menten sprinted to his first podium place of this season. A boost after a crash last week in La Marseillaise.
Winner Mads Pedersen has time to lift his arms before the line. Getty photo
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"I still felt the consequences of the crash last week. Yesterday and today were two tough days, even today I thought for a moment that it was going to be difficult to reach the finish", says Menten. "But my parents were here and they gave me an extra boost, and in the end all the pieces came together. At the top of the last climb I was about 100m behind the first group, where we had Jenno and Brent. In the descent I was able to come back and the team told me that I could go for the sprint. I didn't feel great in the sprint, due to the crash last week, but I knew from the training camp that my condition is there. I'm happy that I was able to hold on today and that I could sprint, after the first canceled stage where I had my eyes on. It shows that sometimes you also have to be mentally strong."
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