Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- February 10 - 14: Tour of Oman
- February 14 - 18: Vuelta Andalucia - Ruta del Sol
- February 14 - 18: Volta ao Algarve
Upcoming racing:
- February 16: La Classic Var
- February 17 - 18: Tour de Alpes-Maritimes
- February 19 - 25: UAE Tour
- February 24: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- February 24: Faun Ardeche Classic
Latest completed racing:
- Feb 8 - 11: Tour de la Provence
- February 12: Clasica Jaén - Paraiso Interior
- February 11: Clasica de Almeria
- February 10: Vuelta a Murcia
- February 9: Muscat Classic
- Jan 31 - Feb 4: Etoile de Besseges
- Jan 31 - Feb 4: Volta a La Comunitat Valenciana
- Jan 30-Feb 3: AlUla Tour (formerly Saudi Tour)
- Jan 24-28: Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Amaury Capiot's Team Arkea-B&B Hotels:
Amaury Capiot won the 4th stage of the Tour of Oman, which finished in Yitti Hills, in a sprint. It was the Belgian rider’s first success since returning from injury.
Amaury Capiot takes the fourth stage.
Amaury Capiot:
“Last year was a very complicated season, but the past is the past. I’m now looking ahead. I started the Muscat Classic with a podium that almost surprised me. It gave me a lot of confidence. I’d like to thank my teammates who did a superb job for me on this stage, and Embret was a great help when the road was steep. This victory is also theirs. I know it was close on the line, but as I crossed it, I just thought: “I’ve won! I celebrated a bit, but I preferred to wait for the photo finish to really do it. I knew that the final was difficult, and that I really had to stay among the frontrunners to compete in the sprint and have a good chance of winning. This success is good for the Arkea-B&B Hotels team and for me. I know how hard I’ve worked to get back to this level, I can be proud of myself, but especially right now, I’m very happy.”
Mickaël Leveau, sports director:
“Amaury’s victory on stage 4 of the Tour of Oman is a pleasure for everyone. We know that last season was virtually a blank for him, so I’m really happy for him, it must be a relief. The team was at the top of its game today! Florian and Embret belong to the Arkea-B&B Hotels Développement structure – and both have shown that they are physically up to the task. It wasn’t an easy task today, but the lads did it! The other satisfaction of the day was Cristián’s 8th place. With Alessandro, they didn’t concede any time today with a view to the general classification which should be decided tomorrow on the slopes of Green Mountain, the end of the final stage of this Tour of Oman”.
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Here's the short Tour of Oman report from second-place Ide Schelling's Team Astana Qazaqstan:
The rider of Astana Qazaqstan Team Ide Sсhelling finished second in the fourth stage of Tour of Oman.
Ide demonstrated a powerful performance and desire to win the penultimate stage of the Tour of Oman. A photofinish was needed to determine a winner in a bunch sprint of the fourth 104-kilometer stage from Fanja to Yitti Hills, Ide finished second.
“The start of the season has been a shake to the system, I was close in the Muscat Classic to stay with the first group but ultimately, I had to let go. I went deep and in the days after I never had a good feeling in my legs. Luckily today I felt a little bit better and I’m proud that it turned into a result immediately”, – said Ide Sсhelling about finishing second.
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And here's the Oman Tour report from Warren Barguil's Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL:
The penultimate day of racing at the Tour of Oman saw the peloton once again take on a modified route due to the adverse weather conditions in the region. Nonetheless, a hilly final awaited the bunch where either a late attack or reduced sprint was expected. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL set out with the goal of bringing Tobias Lund Andresen into the finale and rode well as a team throughout the afternoon. Entering the closing 20 kilometres and the main portion of hills, Lund Andresen, Warren Barguil, Frank van den Broek and Julius van den Berg all made the front selection. Moving up together going into the closing three kilometres, Lund Andresen unfortunately had to let go of the group when the pace lifted. Barguil then followed a few probing attacks, before leading the team home in the sprint.
Barguil expressed: “We rode with the plan to go with Tobias today but in the final he had to let go of the group just before the sprint. I was then a bit too far back to give it a go. I think we rode pretty well in the front as a whole team to bring him into position for the final, so hopefully if we keep this up a nice result will come soon.”
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Here's the team's news:
February 14th is known around the world as Valentine’s Day, and Team Bahrain Victorious will be helping to spread the road cycling love this week at the Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucia. The five day race starts on Wednesday from the coastal town of Almuñécar, almost the southernmost point of Spain.
While there are no major mountain passes this year, there is also no respite, no flat stages, and each profile is hilly and challenging. Unusually, the toughest day comes at the very start, as the 105 riders on the startlist cover 162 kilometres to Cádiar. Along the way they will face nearly 4000 metres of elevation gain, and three categorised climbs. The most demanding of those is the C1 Puerto de Trévelez: its average gradient is only 3.2%, but it is over 32km long, and it comes after two C3 tests in the opening 62km. The finish is downhill, but follows an uncategorised ascent of 3.3km at 7.6%
Bahrain have travelled to Spain with an incredibly strong line-up, led by Colombian climber Santiago Buitrago. The double Giro d’Italia stage winner arrives fresh from taking the Youth Classification at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.
Santiago Buitrago (shown winning stage 19 of the 2023 Giro d'Italia) will be the team leader. Sirotti photo
Lead Sports Director for the race is Gorazd Štangelj, who is more than satisfied with the talented group he has with him: “We have a strong team and on paper the strongest rider is Santiago. Ahead of the race he is our only leader.
"The first stage is actually the hardest, and because of that a lot of things could change. There are some strong riders here from other teams, so after day 1 we’ll re-assess, and it may be that we have to adjust each rider’s role.”
Damiano Caruso, making his season debut, will serve as road captain and Buitrago’s ’bodyguard’. Joining the Italian are two other very experienced GC riders: Jack Haig, who won a stage here four years ago, & Wout Poels, who claimed overall victory in 2022.
Stage 2 kicks off with a 17.2km C1 climb: the Puerto del Sol, which averages 4.9%, but ends with 7.3k at 6.5%. There is no let up for the peloton after that, as the entirety of the 160km from Vélez-Málaga to Alcaudete is packed with short explosive climbs, and the hilltop finish is 8.5 km at 3.5%.
This year’s parcours is not one for the fast men, but their best opportunity will come on Friday, when the bunch ride from Arjona. Although it is up and down all day, the closing section of the 165km is relatively straightforward, albeit with a drag to the finish line in Pozoblanco.
Supporting our leader on the flatter parts of the 850 total kilometres between Wednesday and Sunday will be the young Croat Fran Milholjević, and seasoned German Jasha Sütterlin. They will also be responsible for protecting Santi and controlling breakaways.
As well as the demanding route, the level of the competition is also high, with six other World Tour teams participating. Štangelj acknowledges the level of the rest of the field, but believes we have a formidable group ourselves:
“We have the strongest team, and that brings a lot of responsibility, which we will have to find a way to deal with. We need to pay attention to the details every day … not doing too much work to control the race, and making sure we come to the finish with numbers – more riders in the mix than other teams.
"If we do that, we can play the game, and win it!”
Completing the TBV roster is 22-year old Antonio Tiberi, riding his first race of 2024. Excelling when the road goes uphill, the Italian is perfectly suited to assist Buitrago on this terrain.
The weekend offers more of the same: challenging stage profiles with hardly any flat road at all. Saturday’s stage starts in Córdoba, and ends with four 23km circuits around the finish town of Lucena. Within that loop is a 2.2km segment at 6.8%, which could prove decisive.
The team finished 2nd & 3rd overall last year, but Štangelj has high hopes of an even better result this time around:
“Our primary goal is to win at least one stage and to win the GC.
"We would like to have more than one rider in the top 3 overall, and more than 2 riders in the top 10. I think this is very possible, but of course, even though it looks like we have the strongest team, that won’t be easy.”
This will be the 70th edition of the Ruta del Sol, and concludes at La Línea de la Concepción, just north of the border with Gibraltar. The finish itself is uncomplicated, but the first half of the stage is very tough, opening with the 20km first category Puerto del Madroño. Three tricky ascents follow in quick succession, and the race could be blown wide open in the first 100 of the 173km from Benahavis.
With an optimal blend of youth and experience, Bahrain go to the start with high expectations, confident that this group can deliver, and Štangelj is bullish about our chances of success:
“We are happy to be in Andalucia with these guys and to share the work together, and we’re very optimistic as we look forward to the race. There will be many challenges that come up, but I’m confident we can deal with them.
"The riders are all motivated to be here and ready to go!”
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