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Saturday, March 2, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus, or just a really cool Opotamus? - Mitch Hedberg
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- March 2: Strade Bianche
Upcoming racing:
- March 3 - 10: Paris-Nice
- March 4 - 10: Tirreno-Adriatico
Latest completed racing:
- February 28: Trofeo Laigueglia
- February 27: Le Samyn
- 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
Here's the team's post:
Life is smiling on Cian Uijtdebroeks. The young Belgian rider, who has just turned 21, is enjoying his first few months with Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Next Monday, Uijtdebroeks and his team will be at the start of Tirreno-Adriatico.
Cian Uijtdebroeks climbing the Angliru in stage 17 of the 2023 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo.
The stage race from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Adriatic Sea consists of seven stages. Team Visma | Lease a Bike has big ambitions. "We are here to win the GC”, Uijtdebroeks says. "With Jonas Vingegaard, we might even have the top favourite. He showed last week in O Gran Camiño that he is in good form.
The opening day will feature the traditional time trial in Lido di Camaiore. A ten-kilometre time trial will decide who wears the leader's jersey for the first time. Tirreno-Adriatico also features several stages with vicious finishes. On the penultimate day, the queen stage will finish on the summit of Monte Petrano.
Sports director Arthur van Dongen is clear about the ambitions of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "With Jonas in the team, it would be crazy to say that we are not aiming for a final victory. This race suits him. Two years ago, he was second here. Now, we hope to be one step closer to the final podium. We will go there with a strong team.”
For Uijtdebroeks, it will be his second race in yellow and black. He raced at O Gran Camiño last week. "That was a good experience. Not least because of my fifth place in the final classification. The weather conditions were not ideal. Otherwise, I could have done better. I am happy with where I am at this point in the season. I'm working towards a peak performance.”
That peak will come at the Giro d'Italia, Uijtdebroeks’ highlight in 2024. "My schedule at the moment is all about this grand tour. The upcoming race is part of that. I look forward to fighting for the overall win with the team in Tirreno-Adriatico. I can also learn a lot from Jonas. It helps my development to race with such strong riders. I am happy with my progress this winter. I am in the right place with this team. I have already made a lot of progress in training and nutrition. I look forward to pinning on a number again next week in Italy”, Uijtdebroeks says.
"Cian has been a welcome addition to the team in recent months”, Van Dongen says. "He has gotten better and stronger. On the eve of his first WorldTour race with the team, the enthusiasm is palpable. He is a very pleasant athlete to work with. Ideally, at Tirreno-Adriatico next week, Cian will play an important role in our goal: the overall victory.”
Line-up Team Visma | Lease a Bike Tirreno - Adriatico: Cian Uijtdebroeks, Jonas Vingegaard, Robert Gesink, Dylan van Baarle, Steven Kruijswijk, Ben Tullett & Attila Valter.
Sport directors: Arthur van Dongen, Grischa Niermann & Maarten Wynants.
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Here's the team's news:
It’s one of the most important races of the season, an event where our team has won a total of 18 stages, the general classification once and several jerseys. This year, for its 59th edition, Tirreno-Adriatico will put on the table a parcours with something for everyone, but especially for the climbers, who at the end of the day should be the ones fighting for general classification glory.
A short individual time trial on the opening day in Lido di Camaiore will establish an initial pecking order, and things are likely to remain more or less the same until the fifth stage, when a trip up the San Giacomo climb could bring significant changes. But it will be the hard ascent of Monte Petrano – which returns in a race 15 years after featuring at the Giro d’Italia – that should play a decisive role in the final outcome, as it comes at the end of the penultimate stage, just before the peloton makes its way back to the coast for a flat finish on the streets of San Benedetto del Tronto.
Julian Alaphilippe winning stage two of the 2021 Tirreno-Adriatico. Sirotti photo.
Soudal Quick-Step will travel to the start in the province to Lucca with a strong team capable of going for a good result on all terrains: Julian Alaphilippe – the most successful Frenchman in the history of Tirreno-Adriatico – Kasper Asgreen, Josef Cerny, Fausto Masnada, Tim Merlier, Bert Van Lerberghe and Jordi Warlop.
“This is a race we like and where we had many nice victories in the past, and also this year we’d like to get something out of it. Our main focus will be on Tim – who’s had an excellent start to the season and will rely on a strong lead-out – to go for a stage victory. For the rest, we’ll just take it day by day and see how it goes”, said sports director Davide Bramati.
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Here’s the team’s news:
Having enjoyed success in the two French stage races in which it has competed so far this season, Israel – Premier Tech has unveiled a versatile squad for this year’s Paris – Nice.
Combining a sprint group led by Pascal Ackermann and Hugo Hofstetter with the opportunistic and tactical prowess of Jakob Fuglsang and Hugo Houle, IPT will look to add to the victories claimed previously in France by Tom Van Asbroeck on the final day of the Tour de la Provence and Ethan Vernon to start the Tour des Alpes – Maritimes.
Tom Van Asbroeck winning stage four of the 2024 Tour of Provence.
This year’s edition of the Race to the Sun begins in Les Mureaux, approximately 35 kilometers to the northwest of the French capital, on Sunday. A team time trial in Auxerre (stage 3), and summit finishes on Mount Brouilly (stage 4) and Auron (stage 7) will shape the GC.
“We need to do our best in the TTT to keep our GC options open,” says Sports Director Oscar Guerrero. “Then stage four, it’s a harder stage, with a lot of climbs, but climbs that suit Jakob very well. That will give us a picture of how we can focus for the final stages – whether that’s working towards a good GC result for Jakob, or looking for opportunities elsewhere.
“Hugo Houle knows this race very well. Last week [at the Faun Ardèche Classic] he was very strong, so we will look to him to help Jakob, but also to try and be in the breaks if required.”
Nonetheless, the race’s parcours also offers something for the sprinters, starting from the opening stage.
After their first competitive outing for IPT at last week’s UAE Tour, Ackermann will again have compatriots Michael Schwarzmann and Rick Zabel on hand to help with his lead-outs.
“We have three stages that we think are likely to end in a sprint – one, two, and five – and I believe they are good stages for Ackermann,” Guerrero adds. “Although it’s the start of the season, the lead-out did a good job in UAE, but we know that sprints in Europe are completely different.
“So, we hope that, with help from Hugo Hofstetter – who is our second option for the sprints – and Guillaume Boivin, we can do a good job for him. We want to give Ackermann the confidence that he can be there with the best guys, so we are looking to be fighting for the top fives, but ideally podiums and the wins.”
This will be IPT’s fifth appearance in the race. Houle achieved the team’s best result when he finished 13th overall in 2022, after being IPT’s sole rider to make it to Nice.
IPT at Paris – Nice
Riders: Pascal Ackermann (GER), Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Jakob Fuglsang (DEN), Hugo Hofstetter (FRA), Hugo Houle (CAN), Michael Schwarzmann (GER), Rick Zabel (GER)
Sports Directors: Oscar Guerrero, Sep Vanmarcke, Pat McCarty
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Here’s the team’s news:
Big week of World Tour racing for UAE Team Emirates
UAE Team Emirates will embark on a packed racing schedule of top-level World Tour events across Italy and France with Paris-Nice (3-10 March) and Tirreno-Adriatico (4-10 March) both taking place.
For Paris-Nice Joao Almeida will lead the squad while a two pronged GC assault is on the cards at Tirreno-Adriatico with Juan Ayuso and Isaac Del Toro both in fine form.
Joao Almeida finishing sixth in stage four of the 2021 Tirreno-Adriatico. Sirotti photo
Almeida: “I’m really excited and motivated to be kicking off the season at Paris-Nice. It’s been a long off-season for me but it’s going to be a long year so it’s also important to be a bit patient. It’s my first race of the season so it’s hard to know exactly where the form is but I can say from training that my condition is good. I was top-10 here in the past so I’ll be aiming for more this year hopefully.”
Ayuso: “It’s been a very solid start to the year for both the team and for me personally. The beginning of last year was not so smooth so to be in this position now feels great and I’m excited for the racing to come. This is my first World Tour race of the year so I know to expect a higher level but my condition is good and I feel ready to step up. We have a very strong team with a good mix of youth and experience so I think we can look forward to a good week of racing and aim for big results.”
For Paris-Nice Sports Directors Marco Marcato (Ita), Simone Pedrazzini (Swi) and Tomas Gil (Ven) will guide the team.
Paris-Nice [2.UWT] – 03-Mar-2024 / 10-Mar-2024
- Joao Almeida (Por)
- Finn Fisher Black (NZ)
- Felix Grossschartner (Aus)
- Brandon McNulty (USA)
- Nils Politt (Ger)
- Marc Soler (Spa)
- Jay Vine (Aus)
Meanwhile at Tirreno-Adriatico Fabio Baldato (Ita), Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) and Manuele Mori (Ita) will take charge.
Tirreno-Adriatico [2.UWT] – 04-Mar-2024 / 10-Mar-2024
- Juan Ayuso (Spa)
- Mikkel Bjerg (Den)
- Alessandro Covi (Ita)
- Isaac Del Toro (Mex)
- Marc Hirschi (Swi)
- Rafal Majka (Pol)
- Michael Vink (NZ)
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