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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, January 23, 2024

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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

If there's one thing that's certain in business, it's uncertainty. - Stephen Covey

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.

Upcoming racing:

• 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 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
• Dec 27: Superprestige Heusden Zolder
• Dec 26: World Cup Gaver Cyclocross
• Dec 17: World Cup Namur Cyclocross

The team sent me this:

Uno-X Mobility has once again been invited to participate in the men's Tour de France. When the team lines up at the starting line in Florence this summer, the ambition is clear: to climb to the top and secure a long-awaited first stage win in the prestigious race.

Team Uno-X during the final stage of the 2023 Tour de France.

"Being invited to the Tour de France for the second consecutive year is a huge recognition. The anticipation leading up to today's invitation was immense, and now we're filled with gratitude and pride. We are very happy that our team's performances last year have earned us this new invitation," says Jens Haugland, General Manager of Uno-X Mobility.

The Uno-X team performed at a high level in the three-week-long 2023 race, creating great excitement among the Norwegian and Danish cycling audience with their offensive racing style and several top results.

The first ever edition of Tour de France Femmes was a massive success.

"A big dream became reality when we participated in last year's edition. We have worked hard and deliberately to take new steps, including the signings of Andreas Leknessund and Magnus Cort. We eagerly anticipate contributing to another grand cycling festival in June and July, aiming to be even better prepared this time. It would be great to bring home a stage victory," says Jens Haugland.

The team is owned and operated by Uno-X Mobility, which is part of Reitan Retail along with REMA 1000 in Norway and Denmark, as well as Reitan Convenience. Uno-X Mobility's mission is to develop and promote solutions for sustainable mobility through its operations in Norway and Denmark.

"The participation in the Tour de France also gives us an even larger arena to create enthusiasm and engagement for more cycling, which is the very heart of sustainable mobility" concludes Jens Haugland.

"This is another proud day in the history of Uno-X Mobility, both as a company and as a cycling team. Experiencing last summer in France with our employees and team was magical, and I eagerly anticipate the build-up to this summer's major highlight," says Ole Robert Reitan, CEO of Reitan Retail.

Here’s the team’s news:

Last weekend Astana Qazaqstan Team started the European road season with two one-day races in Spain. Sports Director Alexandr Shefer summarised the performance of the team:

Mark Cavendish in the 2024 Astana Qazaqstan racing kit. Team Astana photo

“On Saturday we competed in Classica Valencia which as expected finished with a bunch sprint. The first half of the race featured several climbs, which is why our goal was to protect our sprinter Gleb (Syritsa) until the very end and make him save as much energy as possible. The plan worked out and I am sure that Gleb can be proud of his teammates who demonstrated great mutual work during a race by chasing the breakaway and bringing him to the final in a good fresh condition. Fifth place as a result is of course not the result we were aiming for, however, Alessandro (Romele) who is our rider from the Development team and who was the last man in sprint for Gleb, did his best and he still has to learn about elite road racing. All in all, I am satisfied with the way the team showed itself, you also saw that, everyone did their best for our main goal.

"GP Castallon was a different story, the team did not have a certain leader for this race and the goal was to start the season. We did not set high expectations for this start but wanted to kick off the season and test our legs in a competitive mode.

"I am glad with the teamwork our riders showed and the individual performance of Anthon Charmig. Next, we have Saudi Arabia and Oman. I hope our riders got into the race mode and I look forward to the upcoming races”.

Here’s Van Aert’s Team Visma | Lease a Bike report on the Jan 21 race:

Wout van Aert has won the World Cup cyclocross in Benidorm in heroic style. The Belgian rider from Team Visma | Lease a Bike crossed the line solo after pulling away from Michael Vanthourenhout on the final lap.

Wout van Aert wins in Benidorm. Visma | Lease a Bike photo

After a successful training camp in Spain, the race in Benidorm was Van Aert's last cyclocross race of the season. His goal was clear: to end the cyclocross season in style. "Unlike previous years, I have not been working towards this period. The focus is on the road, but when I'm at the start, I won't ride with the brakes on. I want to give everything I have and feel good about the cyclocross season."

Van Aert did not get off to a perfect start in Benidorm. His pedal came loose shortly after the start, forcing him to chase. By the third lap, he was back in the lead, and all chances were open again. For a brief moment, Van Aert rode away with Mathieu van der Poel, but a large group of chasers caught up with them.

After Van der Poel made a mistake, Van Aert and Vanthourenhout rode away from the rest. On the final lap, Van Aert pushed again, and the attack proved too much for Vanthourenhout. Although Van Aert crashed after the final barrier and broke his saddle, he stayed ahead of his compatriot on the line.

"It's always good to win a race, but it wasn't the most important thing today. I hoped to have good legs and end the season with a good feeling. I managed to do that, and in the end, I am happier with that than the win itself", a delighted Van Aert said.

"I was able to dig deep and fight with Mathieu. I haven't been able to do that this winter. It's a shame that we couldn't have a duel in the end, but there were a lot of other strong riders that I had to beat. It wasn't easy, but I'm glad I won."

Van Aert almost missed out on victory after a late crash. "I thought I was smart by not jumping over the barriers, so I was sure I wouldn't make a mistake. I underestimated the surface because my bike bounced, and I jumped up against my saddle. Then my bike hit the ground, and my saddle broke off. That caused a lot of stress."

Nevertheless, Van Aert took his third win of the season and is in good spirits ahead of the road race campaign, which starts in three weeks. Van Aert's coach, Mathieu Heijboer, was pleased with Van Aert’s recent progress. "Wout has used several cyclocross races to prepare for the road season. He didn't make his cyclocross campaign too long and was able to do other necessary training and training camps at the same time."

"The starting point was that we didn't build up to peak form but worked on a gradual build-up. It worked, and we will continue with a week's training in Spain right after this last cross."

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