Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping. - Gertrude Stein
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:
- November 17: Flandriencross
- December 15: Namur
Latest completed racing:
- November 3: European Cyclocross Championships
- November 1: X20 Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
- October 27: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
- October 15 - 20: Tour of Guangxi
- October 20: Japan Cup Road Race
- October 20: Veneto Classic
- October 16: Giro del Veneto
- October 13: Chrono des Nations
Magnier’s Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this:
The 20-year-old Frenchman looked back on the day when he became the youngest French neo-pro since Jacques Anquetil to take a victory.
“Looking back on my first day of racing in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey, I knew I had the full confidence of the team, but to win was completely unexpected. At the morning team meeting they said they would work for me, and that was an incredible honor, to have such a squad pull the entire day and put their belief in me.
Paul Magnier wins Trofeo Ses Saline-Felanitx in January of 2024.
"My teammates did a fantastic job that day. On those long straight roads in the last 20 kilometers of the race we stayed together and made sure we were in a good position the whole time. Then, Gianni and Yves took over and pulled hard to stretch the peloton, before Luke – who is a very fast rider himself – guided me in that hectic finale, doing a superb job. We had a plan at the start of the day, we followed it, and in the end, we pulled it off.
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"It was amazing to win on my debut with this fantastic team, which had and continues to have so many great riders, and where I felt at home since day one. It’s been ten months since that moment, but I still remember the emotions I felt when I crossed the finish line. It was incredible, the staff and my teammates all came to congratulate me, while I couldn’t believe what was happening.
"I was just 19 at that time, I had no idea what type of rider I am – and this is something that I still need to discover in the next season – and there I was, enjoying a perfect debut in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey. The fact that I was joined on the podium by Luke, who provided an excellent lead-out, made that day truly perfect, because when all was said and done, that was a victory that wouldn’t have been possible without the Wolfpack spirit.”
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The team posted this news:
After storming to an incredible victory at the Mountain Bike Cross Country World Championships in September, along with being crowned the Overall 2024 Cross Country World Cup winner, Alan Hatherly is hot property and Team Jayco AlUla is thrilled to announce that the South African has signed a two-year contract with the squad.
The 28-year-old is looking to turn his attention to the road and is set to combine both MTB and road racing in 2025, a transition that only a few riders have successful been able to achieve.
Alan Hatherly
The newly crowned MTB World Champion has enjoyed a standout season off-road having also picked up a bronze medal at the Olympic Games, becoming the first African and non-European rider to do so in the discipline.
Having spent his career focusing predominantly on MTB, Hatherly clearly has a big engine and GreenEDGE Cycling is delighted to have the opportunity to recruit the talented rider and is intrigued to see what he can achieve on the road at the highest level within a professional WorldTeam environment.
In addition to his impressive list of palmares on the mountain bike, Hatherly has previously had a taste of road racing and can count second place in the South African time trial championships amongst his results in national level races.
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Alan Hatherly:
“I am incredibly excited for this new chapter in my cycling career and very grateful for the opportunity to ride for GreenEDGE Cycling for the next two seasons. I think now is the perfect moment for me to get out of the comfort zone and develop even further. Moving to a WorldTour road team is of course something totally new for me, it will be a steep learning curve, and I will be learning from the best. Combining road and MTB is new and refreshing and I am really looking forward to where this journey can go!”
Brent Copeland – General Manager:
“Alan has clearly had a breakthrough season in the MTB discipline, and it demonstrates that he has a lot more to give. We are thrilled to be able to work with such a talented rider and believe that our strong support network within the WorldTeam set up is something that Hatherly will greatly benefit from.
"We hope together we can achieve great things on, he will certainly have a lot of experienced teammates and staff to learn from.”
Alan Hatherly
Nationality: South African
Age: 28
Joins GreenEDGE Cycling: 2025 & 2026
Key results:
MTB:
1st XCO World Championships (2024)
1st XCO Overall World Cup Series (2024)
Bronze Medal Olympic Games XCO (2024)
3rd XCC World Championships (2024)
1st Lets Gets XCO World Cup (2024)
1st Lets Gets XCC World Cup (2024)
1st Mont-Saint Anne XCO World Cup (2024)
1st Overall XCC World Cup (2022)
1st XCO World Championships U23 (2018)
Road:
1st Tour du Cap – General Classification (2024)
2nd South African Time Trial Championships (23, 24)
5th South African Road Race Championships (2023)
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