Search our site:

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, January 18, 2024

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out. - Rodney Dangerfield

Les Woodland's book The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories: A Five Ring Circus is available in print, Kindle eBook & 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 report from stage winner Isaac del Toro's UAE Team Emirates:

Isaac del Toro put in a late race attack from the reduced peloton in the final hectic kilometre of stage 2 of the Tour Down Under to take a historic win in Lobethal. The 20-year-old rider from Mexico claimed the first World Tour victory of his career in his first World Tour race. He is also the first Mexican to ever win a stage of the Tour Down Under and wear the leaders jersey.

Isaac del Toro wins stage two. Sirotti photo

The flying Mexican was aggressive throughout the day, picking up crucial bonus seconds at intermediate sprints, which would ultimately see him take enough advantage to go into the overall race leaders jersey as well as the stage.

Del Toro and Finn Fisher-Black moved off the front of the bunch, trying to close to Luke Plapp (Jayco-Alula) and Jhonathan Narvaez (Ineos), who were both away. The pair were caught with 5.8km remaining as the peloton regrouped.

A flurry of attacks continued until del Toro made the winning move with 1 kilometre to go, with just enough time to throw his arms aloft before the line in delight and disbelief.

Del Toro: “I don’t know, it is too much for me. I dreamt about winning a stage and I have been here for a while (in Adelaide) and trying to do my best always, but it feels incredible. It’s a very big race and I try to do my best. The team did a great job and the atmosphere is amazing, they are all very supportive.To be honest, the last kilometre felt like five (kilometres) and I just tried to finish and enjoy it. The race has already been a success for me, anything that comes next is a bonus. I’m so so happy.”

Here's the Tour Down Under report from 2nd & 3rd place finishers Corbin Strong's and Stevie Williams' Team Israel-Premier Tech:

Corbin Strong and Stevie Williams narrowly missed the win on stage two of the Tour Down Under after a late attack from Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) thwarted a bunch sprint in Lobethal, but the IPT duo outlined their form as they sprinted to second and third place respectively.

Another shot of the finish by Sirotti.

Two days into the first WorldTour stage race and so far, so good, with Strong now sitting in second place on the General Classification, two seconds behind new race leader Del Toro, while Williams is tied for third place.

“It was really gutting to miss the win,” said Strong. “The team rode exceptionally all day and with Stevie and I going second and third, it is definitely bittersweet. We had our eyes set on this one and to get second and third, it’s still a good day for the team but we really wanted to take the win home today. Kudos to Del Toro who won today, it was a nice move at the finish.

“We are two days into the season and both days the team has been exceptional. Everyone is buying into the team goal and all of the goals have great legs.”

The 141.6-kilometer stage, which started in the Adelaide suburb of Norwood, was trickier than the profile suggested, with two short, uncategorized climbs in the final 12 kilometers. The approach to the finish line was far from flat, too, so there are positives to be had despite narrowly missing out on what would have been IPT’s first stage victory in the WorldTour season opener.

Sports Director Sam Bewley said: “The stage suited Corbin really well. We didn’t know how fast some of the guys like Luke Plapp would go up that final climb but fortunately for us, there was a headwind. We kind of got away with not working too much during the stage so we had a full contingent of guys to position them in the finish. We knew it was a good stage for Corbin if he could get over that climb and he obviously thought he could. It would have been nice to get the win but we’ll take second and third on the stage for sure.”

Both Thursday’s stage, which runs from Tea Tree Gully to Campbelltown, and Friday’s leg between Murray Bridge and Port Elliot look well-suited to the sprinters.

Strong added: “I think we can be excited for the next four days. My shape has been good leading into the week. We have another couple of flat stages before the legs really start doing the talking this weekend. Hopefully I can get to the weekend in a good position.”

Here's the Down Under race report from Laurence Pithie's Team Groupama-FDJ:

In Lobethal, on stage 2 of the Tour Down Under, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team took its first official top-10 of the 2024 season on Wednesday. After perfectly surviving the day’s last climb, Laurence Pithie took part in the final sprint and placed tenth on the line. Just ahead of the bunch, Isaac del Toro took the stage win and the overall lead. A more usual sprint is anticipated on Thursday in Campbelltown.

Groupama-FDJ rider Clement Davy before the start of stage two. Sirotti photo

One hundred and forty-one kilometres were on the riders’ program on Wednesday for the second stage of the Tour Down Under. The first thirty-five were to lead them to the Lobethal circuit, also thirty-five kilometres long but to be covered three times and featuring the Fox Creek Climb (1.6 km at 7.5%) less than ten kilometres from the finish. Everyone expected a real fight in the final, and it sure was the only one that took place.

“Although there was a ten-kilometer climb at the start, no racing happened,” said Jussi Veikkanen. “Two men established the breakaway (Luke Burns and Jardi Christiaan van der Lee) and that led to a traditional stage with the peloton controlling in the back. We imagined two options for the race plan, and the first that came true. The breakaway was caught twenty-five kilometres from the finish, and we then approached the last climb.”

After quite a calm day, the nervousness obviously took over “The goal was to position Laurence as best as possible at the bottom, then for him to do his own climb and try to be there with the remaining sprinters,” added Jussi. “We thought that it would be too difficult for Welsford, and it was. For Rudy and Reuben, the goal was to not lose time on the competition, but to try to follow if some favorites attacked.”

From the very bottom, the pace picked up then the bunch really reduced in the 10% ramps. At this point, the Australian champion Luke Plapp also made a big acceleration, followed by Jonathan Narvaez, Julian Alaphilippe… and Laurence Pithie, for several hundred meters. “It was very hard in the final, but I had very good positioning coming into the last climb thanks to Fabian,” said the Kiwi. “I managed to stay towards the front, in the first five wheels, just until the final couple hundred of metres where I couldn’t hold Plapp and Narvaez anymore. Still, to be there was good.” The New Zealander passed the top just a handful of seconds later, at the front of a bunch still made up of around eighty riders. The latter then flew towards the finish, first catching the leading duo, before another duo got away in a short bump five kilometres from the finish.

Quinn Simmons and Bastien Tronchon stayed away until the last kilometre, but they eventually got caught by the bunch, and first by Isaac del Toro. The Mexican produced a late attack after the flamme rouge to win the stage just ahead of the pack. Laurence Pithie managed to grab tenth place in the sprint. “He was a bit isolated in the final because we had to change our organization a bit,” explained Jussi. “We had planned to keep Fabian with him until the end, but he had to sacrifice himself earlier. These are adjustments that we still need to make for the future. We feel that this is a group that does not have the experience of riding together”

“I tried to stay towards the front by myself in the last five kilometres, but unfortunately I was getting pushed back a little,” said Laurence. “With a kilometre to go, I was stuck and couldn’t really move forward where I would have liked to. I think that with better positioning in the final, it could have been a very nice result. It was better than yesterday, so that’s good. We keep striving to be better every day and hopefully I can do even better in the coming days. There are still a lot of opportunities to come, trying to be in the mix. Legs are feeling really good, physically I’m there, I just need to work on my positioning, and it should fall into place hopefully.” “Laurence proved that he’s in good shape, but we already knew that after the criterium,” added Jussi. “We’re still confident for the future and that we’ll get a top result before the end of this Australian campaign.”

On Wednesday, Rudy Molard, Reuben Thompson and Enzo Paleni also finished in the main peloton. Next stop: Campbelltown, on Thursday. “On paper, it’s one of the easiest stages of the week,” concluded Jussi. “That being said, the last fifteen kilometres are not easy to handle. It’s a narrow road, partly downhill, that we’ve been taking for over fifteen years, but it should be a sprint in the end.”

Here's the report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Milan Vader has made a strong impression on the second stage of the Tour Down Under. The 27-year-old Dutchman of Team Visma | Lease a Bike was among the best on the Fox Creek climb and showed his ambitions for the general classification. The stage win went to Isaac del Toro.

With more than 2800 metres of climbing, the stage was challenging. The GC riders were particularly looking forward to Fox Creek, a one-kilometre wall with a ten percent gradient. It had to be climbed three times, and the final summit was eight kilometres from the finish.

Visma | Lease a Bike rider Koen Bouwman on a climb in stage two. Sirotti photo

With the two leaders [Jardi Van Der Lee & Luke Burns] caught early in the finale, all eyes were on the GC riders. Luke Plapp was the first to attack, soon joined by Vader and others. The Dutchman showed his good legs but quickly realised the group could not escape. He finished 20th in the sprint of the reduced peloton.

"Milan felt good and went up with the best on the last climb. He kept his legs still when he realised there was nothing to gain. He made a good assessment", sports director Addy Engels said. "Today's stage was less exciting than expected. A few sprinters were dropped, but several survived. It didn't turn into a GC battle."

"These are not the days where we can win or make a difference", Engels continued. "All we can do is make sure we don't lose and stay where we are. We got through the day well, and everyone rode well. That's a nice observation. The next two stages will probably end up in a bunch sprint. The weekend will decide the classification."

And here's The Tour Down Under Stage two report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:

The race continues Wednesday with another short but hot stage, which ended up changing the leader of the general classification. After leaving behind Norwood, the riders entered on a 35km anti-clockwise circuit, whose main difficulty was Fox Creed, a 1.6km climb averaging 7.5%.

Just like on the previous stage, two riders went in the breakaway, but despite opening a huge gap of more than six minutes, they stood no chance against the peloton. Soudal Quick-Step were among the teams working hard at the front, helping the chasers bring back the escapees and keeping things together on the last lap. As the speed increased in anticipation of the final climb, Pieter Serry put in a massive effort that split the peloton, leaving only a handful of riders in the frame, including Julian Alaphilippe.

The peloton climbs in stage two. Sirotti photo

The double World Champion was very active in the finale, chasing a strong duo that escaped over the top of the hill, in the hope that it would come down to a reduced bunch sprint. The catch was made with one kilometer to go, but a late attack of Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) foiled the group’s plans, and the Mexican took the win. For the second day in a row, Antoine Huby was the first Soudal Quick-Step member to cross the finish line, and the young Frenchman remains our team’s highest-ranked rider in the overall standings.

“The guys showed some beautiful teamwork today. They worked hard and positioned themselves well to guide Julian in the final kilometers. The signs are encouraging for the next stages of the race, where we’ll keep trying to get a good result”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary