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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. - Rumi

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.

Current racing:

• Jan 12-21: Santos Tour Down Under

Upcoming racing:

• Jan 20: Clasica Comunitat Valenciana
• Jan 24-28: Challenge Illes Balears-Volta Ciclista a Mallorca
• Jan 28: GP d'Ouverture-La Marseillaise
• Jan 28: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
• Jan 30 - Feb 3: Saudi Tour

Latest completed racing:

• Jan 1: GP Sven Nys
• Dec 29: Exact Cross Loenhout-Azencross
• Dec 28: Superprestige Diegem
• Dec 27: Superprestige Heusden Zolder
• Dec 26: World Cup Gaver Cyclocross
• Dec 17: World Cup Namur Cyclocross

Here’s the team’s news:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike will usher in the new road season with the Tour Down Under. With a mix of experienced forces and young talents, the yellow-black team wants to show itself in the first WorldTour stage race. Milan Vader and newcomer Bart Lemmen look ahead to the Australian race that starts on January 16.

Milan Vader after winning stage four of the Tour of Guangxi. Jumbo-Visma photo

Vader, the overall winner of the 2023 Gree-Tour of Guangxi, is heading to the Australian stage race well prepared as a leader. "When I came back from Guangxi, I didn't take too long a vacation because the Tour Down Under requires special preparation. And with all the tests - which are common in the fall - in between, some training time was taken away anyway. I actually went straight to Spain to train intensively for a few weeks. During this period, I could also get used to the heat because it can get very hot in Australia."

"Together with the coaches and the team, we looked at the right tactics to make it a successful and instructive week," the 27-year-old Zeeuw continued. "This course is very different from the course in China. There are more height meters in it, and there will also be harder racing. A couple of stages could suit me well. In the second stage, there is a steep climb a few kilometers from the finish; there might be opportunities there. Stage five ends on Willunga Hill, a finish that definitely suits me. Also, on the last day, there are good opportunities, I think. Still, it will also take some time to see how everyone has come out of the winter period."

Lemmen, who was still a full-time soldier in the Air Force two years ago and did not ride his first pro race until 2023, is making his debut in Australia for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "I really like the first few months. Everyone is nice, and the team is gigantically professional on every level. That suits me very well and gives me confidence for the future. In addition, I immediately felt welcome and really part of the team."

"The preparation for my first match for the team started in November, together with coach Espen Aareskjold," explained the 28-year-old Dutchman. "Since then, I have neatly completed all the training sessions, and we have been working more and more intensively. In Spain, I then made another nice step and connected all the dots. Last year I still had to work during this period; now I have had more time to train, and the training forms are different. I really like all this."

The former professional soldier is at the start in Australia with personal and team goals. "During the stages, I will try to assist Milan as much as possible in his classification ambitions, and my personal goals lie there too. I hope to be of value to Milan by supporting him well into the final. Apart from that, I'm also just really happy to make my debut for the team."

Besides Vader and Lemmen, Koen Bouwman, Robert Gesink, Loe van Belle, Johannes Staune-Mittet, and Mick van Dijke are also part of Team Visma | Lease a Bike's seven-man selection.

This report was posted by Venturini’s Arkea-B&B Hotels team:

After a suspenseful and breathless race, Clément Venturini won his sixth French Championship cyclo-cross title in a sprint in Camors.

Amandine Fouquenet was runner-up in the French Elite Women’s Championship, with Anais Morichon 3rd.

Clement Venturini wins stage two of the 2018 Route Occitanie. Organizer's photo

Clément Venturini
“Every year, I start the French Championship as if I hadn’t won it. It’s normal for some people for me to win this race, but it would also be normal for me to lose it. Nothing is written in advance in sport. Every victory in the French Championship is important to me, and in all honesty, this one brings me a lot of emotions, firstly for my new team Arkea-B&B Hotels, but also on a personal level. I put myself in my bubble straight away. I did my race without worrying about the other competitors. I told myself it’s an hour, a time trial and you do your race. At one point I had a mechanical problem. I thought Joshua Dubau was going to take advantage of it. But I didn’t give up. I came back on him, and at that moment, in my mind, it was all about the sprint. I used up a lot of energy after my chain jump, but it also gave me rage. I didn’t want to give up. I set my sights very high for this title. Emotionally, it means a lot. Rémi (Lelandais) is 2nd, Amandine and Anaïs are on the podium too… It’s a big weekend for Arkea-B&B Hotels. Now it’s on to the international events, in particular the World Championship on 4 February in Tabor, Czech Republic. As I’ve already said, if I could finish my career with a medal at international level, that would be the Holy Grail of cyclo-cross for me."

Amandine Fouquenet
“Hélène and I had a great battle. I stayed within fifteen seconds of her without ever being able to close the gap. I made a few technical errors and, on a course like this, mistakes like that can cost you the race. Physically, I came back on her, but you don’t close a gap like that just like that. A lot of people came out for me. I’m second, which shows that I’m in good shape. Now there are other goals to achieve and I want to focus on them."

Anaïs Morichon
“I quickly found myself in contention for the bronze medal, and it was a race of waiting until the end with my direct opponent. I hesitated to attack her. I went on the offensive on the final asphalt section. I gave it my all and that enabled me to make the difference, which I maintained right to the finish. The crowd was really behind the Arkea-B&B Hotels team and I’m delighted to finish on the podium. I had prepared myself for this and I succeeded. It’s my very first podium in cyclo-cross, and that’s satisfying.”

Emmanuel Hubert, General Manager
“What a weekend! A title, two silver medals and a bronze! The very first French Cyclo-cross Championship for the Arkea-B&B Hotels team will go down in history as an unforgettable moment, especially as these fine performances were achieved on home soil in Camors, Brittany. Clément Venturini won the title of French Elite Champion for the sixth time after a race run as the ‘boss’ of the discipline. He suffered a technical problem, but never gave up and came out on top in the sprint. Amandine Fouquenet and Anaïs Morichon both finished on the Elite Women’s podium, while Rémi Lelandais, second in the U23 category, kicked off our medal haul in Morbihan on Saturday. Cyclo-cross is a discipline in which we have decided to invest, and in our first year in the sport, we have been very satisfied, confirming our decision in favour of this winter sport, which also trains the good road racers of tomorrow.”

The team posted this:

The 2024 season unofficially starts for Groupama-FDJ at the Down Under Classic, a criterium contested prior to the Tour Down Under. In the streets of Adelaide, Laurence Pithie will have the opportunity to test himself for the first time, on the eve of his second season in the WorldTour which he hopes will be as successful as the first one. As he’s also about to take on more responsibilities, the 21-year-old New Zealander sat down for an in-length interview ahead of his return to racing.

Laurence Pithie wins the 2023 Cholet-Pays de Loire. Groupama-FDJ photo

Laurence, how are you and what have you been up to the past three months?

I’m very good. I’ve been in New Zealand the past three months and spent most of my time in Christchurch. I did some travelling in the South to watch some of my friends race, then I came home and spent a lot of time with friends, catching up with everyone. After eight months of being in Europe, it’s good to see the old faces again. I did some running as well in the off-season, and it was good to do something different. I did one race of 26 kilometres around the mountains. It was really fun and a good experience. I enjoyed it. I ended up winning that race, but it wasn’t super official.

Have you had time to reflect on the 2023 season?

For sure, I definitely had some time to reflect. Of course, everyone over here was asking how the season went and congratulated me for my first season in the WorldTour. I think this is a season I can be happy with. It was my first year in the WorldTour and I managed to get a win. It was really nice, and I could get some other cool results like 5th in the Hamburg Classic. I also had only one bad crash that took me out of competition for a month. Other than that, it was quite a smooth year for me. A successful one, with opportunities as well.

Do you feel like you coped well with the very high level?

The racing was definitely a step up. I could really see the strength of the competitors, especially at the Tour Down Under last year. Because I did not have the best preparation after being hit by a car and caught Covid, I got there under prepared. I thought, "Wow, I’m not sure I can keep up with everyone". From there, I knew I had to increase my level if I wanted to compete with the best. But from there, it only got better, moving on to the UAE Tour, where my level was a lot better. I still could feel the speed of everyone because the level was super high, especially in the sprints.

Moving on to the European racing, in Nokere Koerse, I had a nice result, ending up in the top-10. That week was very good for me, even though I crashed in Denain, but nothing too troubling. Then came my first FDJ French Cup races with Classic Loire-Atlantique then Cholet-Pays de Loire, where I was able to go second and first. It was really cool to get these results early on. Eventually, the team made it really a seamless transition from the Conti to the WorldTour. They helped me really well and gave me a nice program where I could learn and experience the hardest races, but also do some races where I was able to do some nice results like in the FDJ French Cup.

Did you imagine you would win a race in your first season at the top level?
For sure I thought about it. Winning is always in the back of your mind, especially in your first season, just to get that victory out of the way early and take some of the pressure off. Not that there was some pressure anyway, but I was still hoping to get a win. To be able to achieve it was great. I wouldn’t say the win was a bonus, but I think after getting the win, the rest of the season was a bonus.

You also talked about placing 5th in Hamburg. What was it like being up there in a WorldTour Classic?

It’s definitely not something I expected. That was more of a surprise. I wasn’t the leader that day. It was for Jake, but he wasn’t feeling super, so I took my opportunity. I had good placement in the final, and still some speed in the legs. It was quite a chaotic finish with Mads Pedersen attacking late and catching the breakaway on the line. I think with some more experience, I really could have podiumed that race. Still, it’s a really nice result to take, especially with the company I had around me. It was the first time fighting with some big sprinters. It was definitely interesting going from leading Arnaud out to sprinting against him. It’s a result to build on.

You’re now about to start your second season. How do you approach it?

I’m extremely motivated to start the season well, in good form and with some nice results. The team has shown a lot of faith in me, especially on the Tour Down Under, with the leadership in the sprints. I feel prepared and ready to start strong, and then keep the momentum moving into the racing in Europe. I have some big goals and big motivation. I want to be up there from the start.
What have you seen from 2023 that you’d like to improve already this year?
My big goal in the off-season was to work on my peak power for the sprint. I saw in 2023 that I was able to position myself well and that I had the speed, but I really have to work on my peak power for the finish. I’ve been in the gym again, which has done me a lot of good. I used to go there a lot when I raced on the track, but since I joined the Conti team, I hadn’t done anything. I’m now working to improve my sprint power and hopefully it will lead to some good results.

Considering you’ve already won last year, what are you aiming for in 2024?

Winning again but at a higher level this time. Instead of a .1 race, I’d like to win a Pro Series race or even in the WorldTour. It’s a big goal but I think it’s the target. There’s still some hard work to be done but I think it’s definitely possible this year. I want to discover other races as well. I might do the Classics this year, the spring cobbled Classics, like the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. I didn’t do much of the WorldTour Classics last year, so it would be a big goal this year to learn from someone like Stefan, and progress in these races for the future. The plan for me is to start in Kuurne. From there, I’ll do Paris-Nice to help and use my capabilities for the team time trial, and then move on to the big Classics, with the main goal of helping Stefan or Valentin win and being there to support them in the final of the races. Also, I might discover a Grand Tour. The plan was to do the Vuelta initially, but now I think I’ll be doing the Giro. There will be some nice opportunities there to get good results and get the strength from a Grand Tour.

What about your profile as a rider? Is it now clear enough for you?

I think there is still a lot of unknown, but I’m heading more in the direction of sprinting and Classics. You see now that the guys who sprint are also really strong in the Classics. I’d like to be a versatile sprinter who can be there to compete in a bunch sprint, but also be up there on a hard Classic race. For sure, the days of being a pure sprinter are gone. It’s not often that you have a day where it is all flat. You have to be able to be more versatile and that is what I’m trying to do. Yet, I want to have a good sprint at the end, because unless you are solo, that is how you win races. I’m definitely not someone with the Groenewegen profile, more that of Philipsen or De Lie, guys who can compete in any type of finish: slightly uphill flat at the end or when there is a climb close to the finish that you can pass. I would like to be able to do this.

Does the team expect more from you this year in the sprints?

For sure, the team is counting on me now. Now we’ve lost Arnaud, it’s time for myself and Paul to step up. We also have Matt Walls, who has a really fast finish as well. It’s time to step up, and the team is counting on me to progress and take that next level in my sprinting and be able to compete for the win. From that point of view, my role will progress in that I will stay back with the peloton and let others follow the moves. I think it will depend on the race situation and the riders we have in the team, but I would also like to still be an attacking and offensive rider.

After a few years in the team’s environment, have you completely found your bearings here?

Yes, for sure. There is a really nice atmosphere in the team and it’s been great to move to the WorldTour with six of my teammates, who are also my friends, and take the next step together. For sure, when I came to Europe it was a big step, as I couldn’t speak any French or understand. Now, I think I integrated well within the team, I feel very welcomed by all the staff and the riders. I’m really happy here.

Do you also feel some excitement for this new generation?

With Thibaut retiring and Arnaud leaving the team, it’s the moment for the young guys to step up. The public and the fans were really excited about it. Everyone had high expectations and I think we lived up to the expectations last year with Romain taking many wins and Lenny being in the red jersey for instance. To be in this team, surrounded by so many talents, it’s really cool. We’re to perform and make sure we keep the team at a high level, especially with the older guys already performing very well. With Lenny and Romain winning, everyone is trying to win, and everyone is motivated. It brings the whole team to a higher level.

Do you also personally feel some attention from the French public?

For sure, I see stuff on Twitter. You can see and feel that there are some expectations. I will try to live up to them as best as I can. When I see stuff like this, it just motivates me more to be at a high level and get good results.

Do you feel like you gained fans over here in the last couple of years?

It’s hard to know, but I hope so! The French are very passionate fans (smiles), and it’s cool to have people behind me, backing me, and following my races. All I can do is try to perform to make them proud. For sure there are also a lot of people following from New Zealand, especially me and Reuben. It’s really easy to forget about the sport when you’re on the other side of the world, but everyone is really supportive. I know a lot of people wake up to watch me race, and when I’m racing, I think about the people back home. It’s a good motivation to keep going.

Do you like being “under the radar”?

I think last year there wasn’t so much pressure or expectation, it was more about learning and taking the races as they came, but this year there will be more pressure. For sure, the pressure is good because if no one puts pressure on you or has expectations, that means they don’t believe much in you. So I take the pressure as it comes, set high the bar of expectations and try to live up to it.

Have you prepared this Australian campaign properly?

It’s definitely a goal. I’ve come here with some nice form, I’ve had good training back home in New Zealand, so I’ll do everything I can to get the best results here. I have high hopes to perform well here. I’m not just here to train, I’m here to take the racing as it comes and be on the podium, or on the top step even. I’ll be taking every opportunity in the fast finishes. I’ll try to be there and perform. It’s not a very long campaign, so we’ll try to make the best out of our time here and make every stage an opportunity.

Do you also expect something from the Nationals?

It is a big goal as well. It will be a good chance, the course suits me well, I’ll try to win and bring the jersey back to Europe. It will also be a chance to catch attention… I’d really like to go to the Olympics this year, so winning the Nationals would be a nice result to get a possible selection.

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