Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, February 27, 2024

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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon. - Napoleon Bonaparte

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Stoic philosopher Epictetus' Golden Sayings is available in both audiobook & Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• February 27: Le Samyn

Upcoming racing:

• February 28: Trofeo Laigueglia
• March 2: Strade Bianche

Latest completed racing:

• February 19 - 25: UAE Tour
• February 22 - 25: O Gran Camiño
• February 25: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
• February 25: Faun-Drôme Classic
• February 24: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
• February 24: Faun Ardeche Classic
• February 14 - 18: Volta ao Algarve
• February 17 - 18: Tour de Alpes-Maritimes

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Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL’s upcoming racing

The team sent me this schedule:

Strade Bianche: MAR 02

Luke Roberts - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"This year's edition of Strade Bianche will be held over the familiar parcours with an extra loop to make the race 30 kilometres longer. With additional sectors plus the two final sectors being ridden twice, it could make the race even more selective than in the past. With Romain and Warren, who have shown some good legs in France and Oman already, we have options for this final and we will be hoping to make it a hard and aggressive race to put our guys in front with a select group."

Line-up:
Romain Bardet (FRA)
Warren Barguil (FRA)
Patrick Bevin (NZL)
Frank van den Broek (NED)
Sean Flynn (GBR)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Kevin Vermaerke (USA)

Romain Bardet (shown at the teams presentation of the 2023 Tour de France) is scheduled to race the Strade Bianche. Sirotti photo

Strade Bianche-women: MAR 02

Kelvin Dekker - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"Strade Bianche is always a special race, with all the gravel and climbs in beautiful scenery. This year the finale is longer and more intense, which we hope to use to our advantage. With Pfeiffer and Juliette we have two finishers that we will try to set up for a good final and result. The rest of the team are also strong and I’m confident we’ll be able to do the right things as a team to get the most out of this race."

Line-up:
Francesca Barale (ITA)
Eleonora Ciabocco (ITA)
Pfeiffer Georgi (GBR)
Juliette Labous (FRA)
Josie Nelson (GBR)
Elise Uijen (NED)

Grand Prix Criquielion: MAR 02

Roy Curvers - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"We go into the Grand Prix Criquilion as defending champions, so we head back with some nice memories in our pockets. With a typically Belgian parcours, the race includes a mix of small roads and some short hills and the weather will decide if this race has a classic character or will be decided in a bunch sprint. We will be prepared for both scenarios and with guys like Pavel and Emils, we have finishers that can handle both scenarios."

Line-up:
Pavel Bittner (CZE)
Patrick Eddy (AUS)
Alex Edmondson (AUS)
​Enzo Leijnse (NED)
Emils Liepins (LAT)
Niklas Märkl (GER)
Tim Naberman (NED)

Ster van Zwolle: MAR 02

Joey van Rhee - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"At Ster van Zwolle, we showcase our new Team dsm-firmenich PostNL colours on home soil for the first time with our Development program. We prepared for this race during our February camp looking at how last year was raced and our experiences there. It’s super important that we first fight as a team and then follow our strategy for the race. You can easily lose the race before it even starts when teamwork, communication, and commitment are not on a good level. If we do these basic things the right way, the result will follow."

Line-up:
Johan Dorussen (NED)
Axel Källberg (FIN)
Vlad van Mechelen (BEL)
Ben Peatfield (GBR)
Frank Ragilo (EST)
Adam Seeman (CZE)
​Mees Vlot (NED)

Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré: FEB 25

Roy Curvers - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"The parcours of Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré looks easier on paper than the one of the Grand Prix Criquielion the day before. With some cobble sections and a lot of small open roads, echelons can always cause chaos in the race. We have to be attentive throughout the whole day to make sure we come up with numbers in the final so we have more cards to play. With Pavel or Emils we have good options for when a bigger group goes to the line, but also guys like Niklas or Alex have fast legs who can also finish it off when they are in a break."

Line-up:
Pavel Bittner (CZE)
Patrick Eddy (AUS)
Alex Edmondson (AUS)
​Enzo Leijnse (NED)
Emils Liepins (LAT)
Niklas Märkl (GER)
Tim Naberman (NED)

Ronde van Limburg: MAR 03

Bennie Lambregts - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"The Ronde van Limburg is the second race of the U23 road series. This time we start with five riders from our Development program and one rider from the Dutch Food Valley Cycling Team. We are looking forward to this race, as we have a strong connection with the region of Limburg due to our AquaStep Keep Challenging Center in Sittard. High motivation is necessary for this tough race with the Keutenberg and the Cauberg and even more tough climbs along the way. We see this as another great race to work on our basics, by preparing a good plan and implementing it as a team in the race."

Line-up:
Jacob Bush (GBR)
Robbe Dhondt (BEL)
Ryan Gal (NED)
Oliver Peace (GBR)
​Thom van der Werff (NED)

Paris-Nice: MAR 03-12

Pim Ligthart - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"We are looking forward to taking on the "Race to the Sun" in France, as our first WorldTour stage race of the season on European soil. Throughout the race, we will look after Gijs as our finisher for the GC; he race really well on the final day of the Volta ao Algarve and with some good teamwork, we want to build on that. When there is an opportunity for a bunch sprint, we want to make ourselves known with our sprint group and Fabio as our finisher. Parts of the group come from the UAE Tour, where they already showed some good teamwork, which is a good foundation to fight for stage wins."​

Line-up:
Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN)
Julius van den Berg (NED)
Nils Eekhoff (NED)
Fabio Jakobsen (NED)
Gijs Leemreize (NED)
Timo Roosen (NED)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)

Tobias Lund Andresen (shown winning the field sprint of the 2023 Ronde Van Drenthe) should be on the Paris-Noce start line.

Tirreno-Adriatico: FEB 27

Matt Winston - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"The "Race between the two Seas" will offer a lot of different challenges for us. Everything will kick off with the traditional time trial, where we will start focused, to make sure that we have a good start to the week. We will also see a couple of sprint finishes and we will look to set up Casper, who has proven to be in good form this season. For the GC we will look after Romain and Max as our finishers, with some nice support around them."

Line-up:
Romain Bardet (FRA)
John Degenkolb (GER)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Max Poole (GBR)
Casper van Uden (NED)
Kevin Vermaerke (USA)
​Bram Welten (NED)

Mattias Skjelmose extends contract with Lidl-Trek through 2026

Here’s the team’s news:

Since first joining Lidl-Trek in August 2020 as a stagière, Mattias Skjelmose has been on a fast-track to success. The Dane was immediately taken under the wing of Mads Pedersen, who played the role of big brother as Skjelmose found himself in the daunting world of professional cycling.

In 2021, his first full year as a pro rider, Skjelmose began to show glimpses of his potential ability: a podium here and there in smaller stage races, a GC top-10 at UAE Tour whilst riding in support of Vincenzo Nibali. At the start of his second season, with a solid winter of training behind him, ‘Skjelly’ stood on the final podium of the Tour de la Provence alongside Julian Alaphilippe and Nairo Quintana – an impressive feat for a neo-pro.

There have been some bumps along the way, like a disappointing Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia. The Dane took it on the chin as part of the learning process and refocused for the second half of the season, during which he drew attention for a streak of GC podiums before claiming his first professional wins: the time trial stage and overall GC at the Tour of Luxembourg.

Having impressed in his first two years with the Team, Skjelmose was offered more leadership opportunities in 2023 and made full use of them, winning seven races in a successful season that stretched from February to September. The jewels amongst these victories were the Tour de Suisse, the most prestigious; and the Danish National Road Race title, the most personally significant.

Mattias Skjelmose on the podium of stage five of the 2023 Tour of Switzerland. He won the Tour of Switzerland by nine seconds over Juan Ayuso. Sirotti Photo

After making his Tour de France debut last year, in which he was instrumental to Giulio Ciccone’s King of the Mountains campaign, Skjelmose turns his attention to the Vuelta a España in 2024, where he will go all-in to see how far he can go as a GC rider.

Speaking about his contract extension, Mattias Skjelmose said: “Lidl-Trek always believed in me, since day one. It was quite an easy choice, when they came with an offer, showing me even more trust, it was hard to say no. I developed a lot as a Lidl-Trek rider and it’s always a risk to change teams and I didn’t see any reason to do that when I believe I can improve more here.

"Lidl coming in has helped a lot. It’s no surprise that the Team has grown significantly thanks to the sponsorship, and that’s something we need in cycling. The Team proposed a good plan for me which I was very happy with. It fits perfectly with my vision and what I believe will work best for me.

"I would love to have stood on a Grand Tour podium by the next time we have this conversation about a contract extension, hopefully with the same team. That’s the dream scenario, but I have a lot of other goals, and as long as I keep developing, I’m also really happy. Everything moves so fast in this sport, and if you stand still, you’re in trouble. For me, right now, I couldn’t imagine being in a better place.”

Lidl-Trek General Manager Luca Guercilena added: “We’re proud of the way Mattias has developed with us, both on and off the bike. He has grown into both a race winner and one of our leaders, and he still has plenty of space to keep improving. His raw talent, work ethic and humble nature will take him far in this sport, and I’m happy that he will remain a part of this family through 2026. This year the Ardennes Classics and the Vuelta are big objectives for him, I’m excited to see what he is able to do with our support.”

Tadej Pogačar returns to lead UAE Team Emirates at Strade Bianche

Here’s the team’s news:

UAE Team Emirates will aim to continue their strong start to the 2024 campaign as Tadej Pogačar begins his season on the white Tuscan roads of Siena at Strade Bianche (2 March) in Italy.

At the end of the 2023 Season Pogacar won the Tour of Lombardy. Sirotti photo

Pogačar leads strong outfit for what will be his season debut for the Emirati team which holds 10 victories to its name already.

Strade Bianche [1.UWT] – 02-Mar-2024

• Filippo Baroncini (Ita)
• Jan Christen (Swi)
• Isaac Del Toro (Mex)
• Marc Hirschi (Swi)
• Domen Novak (Slo)
• Tadej Pogačar (Slo)
• Tim Wellens (Bel)

Pogačar: “After seeing such a strong start for the team I can’t wait to start racing again myself. I’ve been patient and taken a bit of a slower approach to this year and started racing a bit later. It’s going to be a long season, including two Grand Tours, so new territory for me in that regard. But I’m excited by the prospect, it’s something new.

"First things first is Strade which is a race I love and have great memories from. My preparation has been really good and we’ll be racing for the win. You never know exactly how you’ll be in the first races and there will be big rivals but I think with our team we can be ready for anything.”

Sports Manager Matxin Fernandez (Spa) will oversee proceedings alongside Sports Directors Andrej Hauptman (Slo) and Manuele Mori (Ita).

The team will take on two midweek classics with Le Samyn (27 Feb) in Belgium and Trofeo Laigueglia (28 Feb) in Belgium.

The team in Belgium will be lead by Marco Marcato (Ita) while Marco Marzano (Ita) and Manuele Mori (Ita) will take charge in Italy.

Le Samyn [1.1] – 27-Feb-2024

• Alvaro Hodeg (Col)
• Antonio Morgado (Por)
• Michael Vink (NZ)
• Luca Giami (Ita) (Gen Z)
• Jonathan Guatibonza (Col) (Gen Z)
• Gibbe Staes (Bel) (Gen Z)

Trofeo Laigueglia [1.Pro] – 28-Feb-2024

• Juan Ayuso (Spa)
• Filippo Baroncini (Ita)
• Jan Christen (Swi)
• Alessandro Covi (Ita)
• Marc Hirschi (Swi)
• Rafal Majka (Pol)
• Diego Ulissi (Ita)

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