Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, May 31, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone. - Audrey Hepburn
Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 2: 1976 - 2018 is available in print, Kindle eBook & Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- June 2: Brussels Cycling Classic
- June 2 - 9: Critérium du Dauphiné
- June 5 - 9: ZLM Tour
- June 7: GP Canton Aargau
- June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
- June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour
- June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
- June 21 - 26: Many National Championships
- July 1 - 23: Tour de France
Latest completed racing:
- May 29: Circuit Franco-Belge
- May 4 - 26: Giro d'Italia
- May 23 - 26: Tour of Norway
- May 26: Rund um Köln
- May 14 - 19: 4 Days of Dunkirk
- May 18: Veenendaal - Veenendaal Classic
- May 11: Tour du Finistère
- May 5: Tro-Bro Léon
- May 4: GP du Morbihan
- May 1: Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt
Here’s the team’s update:
Starting in Etterbeek and finishing in Belgium’s capital, the Brussels Cycling Classic puts on the table a 218.4km course comprising ten hills and two cobblestone sections. The parcours is set to feature a double ascent of Muur-Kapelmuur, Bosberg and Congoberg, where the race should come to life, making way to the classics specialists and the attackers who will try to make the difference and use those climbs to hold off the peloton and foil the sprinters’ plans.
Having won the race four times with three different riders, Soudal Quick-Step will once again try to be among the protagonists this Saturday, with a strong team comprising Ayco Bastiaens, Gil Gelders, former Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert, Gullegem Koerse winner Martin Svrcek, Warre Vangheluwe and Jordi Warlop.
Yves Lampaert (shown at the 2022 Gent-Wevelgem) will be on the start line for the Brussels Cycling Classic. Sirotti photo
“We start with Yves as our leader, and he will be surrounded by many young riders capable of doing a good race. There are a couple of difficulties on the course where attacks could come, so we’ll see if a small group gets away or if there will be a bunch sprint at the end of the day”, said sports director Wilfried Peeters.
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Here’s the team’s news:
As the hype begins to build ahead of this year’s Tour de France Grand Départ in Tuscany, Team Bahrain Victorious is focussed on their final preparations for the 76th edition of Critérium du Dauphiné, which starts on June 2nd.
Lead Sports Director Neil Stephens at the Dauphiné believes the race is the perfect platform for final preparation ahead of the Tour: “This is a very important race in the lead up to the Tour alongside the Tour de Suisse as we build up for the Tour de France. We will see that all the major players in these two races are fine-tuning ahead of the Grand Départ, and we will be doing the same with our riders.”
The eight-stage race in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France features an opening flat stage for sprinters, three intermediate stages, a 34.3km ITT, and three gruelling mountain stages to conclude the race. Over the eight days, the riders will take on 1187km, climbing nearly 22,000 vertical metres.
Jack Haig time trailing in the 2023 Critérium du Dauphiné. Sirotti photo
The team features a host of GC talent. Jack Haig is back at the Dauphiné following his impressive 5th-place finish in GC last season. This year, he will be joined by Santiago Buitrago and Antonio Tiberi, who will both be looking to battle up the GC leaderboard over the eight days.
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Neil Stephens believes the team has the potential to take a good result over the parcours and place well in a stacked field of talented riders at this year’s race:
“Regarding the terrain of the Dauphiné, the first stage will likely be a sprint stage, and then we will go onto a couple of intermediate rolling stages before the ITT on stage 4. Then, after another intermediate day, we move on to three very hard mountain stages, with Stage 7 finishing atop Samoëns 1600 being the most difficult.
Haig and Buitrago will both be going into the Dauphiné as a test ahead of the Tour, and they will try their best to rank high in the GC. This is a great opportunity for them to come back to racing and see how they go after a break. Another mention of the GC talent we have going into the race is Antonio Tiberi. He is coming in from a fantastic performance at the Giro. We are delighted to have him and see how he recovers coming into the Dauphiné, and with no pressure, we’d like to see how he gets through the first few days before the ITT and mountains.
We’ve also got Fred and Kamil coming back after a break. They are both excellent team workers but very exciting riders in their own regard. Both have different styles, but they’ll be looking to fight for the team and potentially have a chance at achieving individual results. It is Fred’s last race this year in his Nationals jersey, and I’m sure he will be looking to show good form ahead of defending his title.
Jasha and Rainer round out the lineup. Both are coming from the Giro, and I have no doubt they’ll be looking to give invaluable support to the team.”
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Here’s the announcement from Team Israel-Premier Tech
It has been a full 64 years since an Israeli road cyclist represented the country in the Olympics, but this unimaginable drought will finally end on August 3 when Israeli champion Itamar Einhorn takes his place on the start line in Paris.
Today, Einhorn was officially selected by the Israeli Cycling Federation, a choice that was hardly in doubt. After all, the sprinter from Modi’in is the first Israeli to achieve victories in high-level international professional races, and since the beginning of the year, he has already secured four wins in the Tour du Rwanda and the Tour de Taiwan.
Itamar Einhorn winning the 2022 Israel road championships.
Despite expecting the selection, Einhorn sounded excited when it became official: “Even though I’m used to competing in big races, reaching the Olympics is something else. There’s no athlete who doesn’t dream of being there, and it was my dream too. Representing the country in the road race after 64 years makes the event even more significant and more exciting — it’s definitely a very important milestone in my career.”
However, in Einhorn’s eyes, the importance of representing Israel, especially these days, is even more important less than the athletic achievement: “For me, representing Israel in the Olympics is a message of a nation aspiring for peace.”
The first and last Israelis to compete in road cycling in the Olympics were Henry Ohayon and Yitzhak (Jacques) Ben David, who did so at the Rome Olympics in 1960. Ohayon, who continued cycling into his 80s, was committed to encouraging his younger successors and hoped to see an Israeli road cyclist in the Olympics. Unfortunately, he passed away last year at the age of 89.
“I only met Henry once,” Einhorn shared. “We didn’t know each other well. But, of course, I’ve heard a lot about him. I’m very proud to be the first cyclist returning to the Olympics after such a long period.”
So why has an Israeli cyclist been absent from the Olympics for so many years, and how has this unflattering streak been broken now?
Einhorn attributes it to the change brought about by his team, Israel – Premier Tech, adding: “This wonderful project, which started 10 years ago, gave young Israeli riders the opportunity to compete at high levels and helped them develop. It indeed made a difference. We are seeing more and more Israelis at high levels, and here we are reaching the Olympics. But this process is still ongoing.”
The Olympic race will start on August 3 in Paris, on a tough 270-kilometer hilly course with a very small peloton—about 85 riders in total. Einhorn believes this fact will improve his chances of achieving a good result: “It will be very difficult to control the race, and I’m definitely counting on that.”
In addition to Einhorn, three more Israeli cyclists will race in the Paris Olympics in various categories: female road cyclist Rotem Gafinovitz (pictured below), track cyclist Mikhail Lakovlev, and MTB biker Tomer Zaltsman.
Sylvan Adams, the owner of the Israel – Premier Tech team, will be in Paris to cheer on Itamar and the other Israeli athletes.
Adams was excited about the selection, saying: “Congratulations to Itamar, for being the first Israeli man to compete in the Olympic cycling road race since the current demanding qualification criteria were established in the 1960s.
“I consider this to be validation of our Israel – Premier Tech ecosystem, which is offering Israelis such as Itamar the opportunity to compete at the highest level of the sport and earn qualification points to reach the Olympics.
“Itamar is truly deserving of this selection, as he is the only Israeli to win international road races at this level. Itamar has already won four races this year, and we are expecting even more success. I will travel to Paris to be with our Olympic athletes, and will cheer for Itamar during his competition. Good luck, Itamar.”
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