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Monday, March 25, 2024

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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business. - John Steinbeck

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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.

Upcoming racing:

• March 27: Dwars door Vlaanderen
• March 27: Paris-Camembert Lepetit

Latest completed racing:

• March 18 - 24: Volta a Catalunya
• March 24: Ghent - Wevelgem
• March 24: La Roue Tourangelle
• March 19 - 23: Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali
• March 22: E3 Saxo Bank Classic
• March 20: Classic Brugge - De Panne
• March 16: Milano - Sanremo
• March 16: Classic Loire Atlantique
• March 15: Brendene Koksijde Classic
• March 14: GP de Denain
• March 13: Danilith Nokere Koerse
• March 13: Milano-Torino
• March 3 - 10: Paris-Nice
• March 4 - 10: Tirreno-Adriatico
• March 2: Strade Bianche

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Volta a Catalunya stage seven reports

We posted the report from the race organizer with the results.

Here's the report from stage 7 and final GC winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates:

Tadej Pogačar sealed a memorable GC victory at the Volta a Catalunya, taking his fourth stage victory on the arrival at Montjuic.

The Slovenian rider prevailed also in the final stage of the World Tour race in a reduced sprint, preceding Dorian Godon (Decathlon Ag2r) and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), and he won the general classification with 3’41” on Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick Step) and 5’03” on Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).

Tadej Pogacar wins Volta a Catalunya stage seven

The six laps on the hill of Montjuic encouraged several attempts of attack, also by UAE Team Emirates’ cyclists, such as Pavel Sivakov, Tadej Pogačar, Marc Soler and Joao Almeida. The Portuguese rider accelerated at 3 km to go, but his advantage on the chasing group was not enough for reaching the arrival and so his attempt was neutralized in the final kilometer.

In the sprint, Pogačar chose the left side of the road and completed a winning powerful move.

The seasonal victory tally for the Emirati team is now 19.

Pogačar: “Today we had a different plan, we tried to win with Marc Soler, but maybe he went a little bit too early when he decided to attack on the first lap and despite his top effort he could not achieve the big goal. Then in the final Almeida almost succeed in going clear for the victory and I just saved my legs in case his attempt was neutralized and the stage ended in a sprint.

"I’m super happy to have taken another victory, which is a reward for the perfect performance by the whole team, we always had a man in the front in the key moments.

"To start the season like this it’s fantastic, this week had been very good for the team and for me, I performed well on the many climbs of the race and it gives me a lot of confidence especially because my shape is ok and I’m on the proper path to the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.

"I feel good, I’m training well and so I can ride my bike everyday with the smile on my face”.

Gent - Wevelgem team reports

We posted the report from winner Mads Pedersen's Team Lidl-Trek with the results.

Here's the report from third-place Jordi Meeus' Team Bora-hansgrohe:

Gent-Wevelgem (UCI 1.UWT) was the next cobbled classic on the UCI WorldTour race calendar. Tricky wind conditions and countless attacks made for a tough day out at the 253km long race. In the end, Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen crossed the finish line as a duo, with Pedersen securing the victory. Behind them, BORA - hansgrohe provided the perfect lead out for Jordi Meeus, who was ultimately the fastest in the sprint for 3rd place.

Jordi Meeus just snags third place. Sirotti photo

"It was a very stressful day, especially because of the wind conditions. A lot worked out for us today, the guys rode really smart. We were well positioned before every climb and were able to save some energy. Mathieu and Mads again rode on a different level; behind them we tried to keep the gap within bounds in order to have the chance of sprinting for the remaining podium spot in the finale. In the end we’re more than satisfied with Jordi in 3rd place - I'm proud of the boys!“ Heinrich Haussler, Sports Director

“It’s an important podium for me. I was able to jump in the first group during the echelons, so I could save a bit of energy and be ready for the ascents of Kemmelberg. I wanted to see how far I could come in the Classics this year, finishing in 3rd behind Mathieu and Mads at Gent-Wevelgem feels pretty good.” Jordi Meeus

Here's the Gent-Wevelgem report from 6th-place Olav Kooij's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Olav Kooij secured a top ten place in Gent-Wevelgem for the second year in a row. The 22-year-old Dutchman sprinted to sixth place in a group behind leading duo Mathieu van der Poel and winner Mads Pedersen.

As predicted, the race was broken open in De Moeren due to the tight wind. Everything merged again after echelons in the peloton, where Kooij was alert. Before that, Team Visma | Lease a Bike had already lost Jan Tratnik after a crash. The damage turned out to be not alarming afterwards.

An hour into the race the peloton formed echelons to deal with the wind.

Traditionally, the climbs of the Kemmelberg and the gravel sectors, the so-called Plug Streets, are the zones of truth in Gent-Wevelgem. On the first climb of the Kemmelberg, Tim van Dijke was able to follow favourites Van der Poel and Pedersen. When the world champion accelerated again moments later, the 24-year-old Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider had to let go the head of the race.

Van der Poel and Pedersen then got to the front. In the peloton, hope for a possible victory was vanishing. A strong Tiesj Benoot and Tim van Dijke did their bit in the chase, but Van der Poel and Pedersen stayed in front. In the streets of Wevelgem, Kooij eventually managed to secure sixth place in the group sprint. It was the second top-ten spot in as many participations for the young sprinter.

"I would have liked to be on the podium," said Kooij. "Unfortunately that wasn't possible at the end. After a 250-kilometre race, I had to wait and see how good the legs were for the sprint. They didn't feel super anymore."

"Before the final climb of the Kemmelberg, things slowed down in the peloton," he continued. "The gap to the escapees got bigger and bigger, so it soon became clear that we would sprint for the places of honour. The wind blew in their favour, which made it hugely difficult to make up time. In hindsight, this is a great result."

Benoot, who experienced rib pain after the E3 Saxo Classic, also finished in the peloton. "I've already had more pleasant days on the bike," stated the Belgian. "I started here to feel how my body would react. The opening phase was not super, but as the race progressed I felt better and better. It was a shame that the collaboration in the peloton was not perfect. We were in a lost situation, but we definitely tried. It's positive that I was still able to play such a big role in the final in the end."

Sports director Maarten Wynants saw a combative Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "The guys fought today, but the two best riders in the race were clearly in front. In the closing stages of the race, we definitely missed riders like Jan Tratnik and Christophe Laporte. They always play their part in the finals. This result is not a dissapointment. In hindsight, a place of honour was the highest possible and we should be satisfied with that."

And here's the Gent-Wevelgem report from 8th-place Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Tim Merlier finished eighth at one of the hardest editions of Gent-Wevelgem in recent years, racking up his third top-ten finish in the last eleven days, after his magnificent victory in Nokere Koerse and runner-up place in Classic Brugge-De Panne. The 253.1km race held Sunday was an attritional one, but Merlier and his Soudal Quick-Step teammates left everything out there and took a result from which they will draw a lot of confidence going into the season’s two cobbled Monuments.

The first chase group steams for the line. Sirotti photo

The first notable event of the day happened with more than 140 kilometers to go, when vicious crosswinds fragmented the peloton. Tim Merlier found himself in a small but select group who continued to pull hard, catching the breakaway and putting almost one minute into the chasers. The race did come together eventually, but not for long, other attacks splitting the field, this time on the iconic Kemmelberg.

From the five men who rode away, two managed to remain in the lead until the end, and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) took the victory. The speed remained high and our squad put in a huge effort to bring back the various groups scattered across the road, the likes of Kasper Asgreen, Gil Gelders and Yves Lampaert sparring no effort as they reeled in the various moves. Just a couple of seconds after the leading duo, the peloton arrived home and Tim Merlier sprinted to a strong eighth place in Wevelgem.

“Today we did the maximum. The race came to life early and Tim saved a lot of energy by being present in the first echelon. Then, when the others came back, we tried to close the gap to the two at the front with several guys, including Gil, who was really impressive despite crashing. It wasn’t easy to bring back the others, but we were in the finale after a hard race, and after all this effort, a top ten is a nice result”, said sports director Tom Steels.

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