Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, November 15, 2024
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.- George S. Patton
David L. Stanley's masterful telling of his bout with skin cancer Melanoma: It Started with a Freckle 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
Here’s the team’s post
The Belgian enjoyed a perfect week in February, cementing his status as one of the peloton’s fastest men, in what was his first World Tour outing of the year.
“The UAE Tour is an important World Tour stage race in the early part of the season and it’s always nice when you get your first win in this type of event, because it helps the pressure go away. I came to the start following a solid display at the Saudi Tour, which brought a lot of confidence for this race, where you usually have all the best sprinters in the world. It’s a good opportunity to find out where you stand coming out of the winter and before returning to Europe for the first appearances there.
Tim Merlier wins 2024 UAE Tour stage four.
"At the same time, the UAE Tour is usually a chaotic race when it comes down to the bunch sprints, with wide roads and some roundabouts where things become very hectic in the closing kilometers and you can easily lose your lead-out. The wind on the finishing straight also makes things complicated there, so it’s a question of timing, because you need to jump at the right moment. Winning on the first day, just like last year, made me more relaxed, which was important for the rest of the stages, where I was able to pick up two more victories.
"Becoming the first rider to take three wins at a single edition of the UAE Tour made me very proud and happy, it was a performance that showcased the team’s remarkable spirit and mentality. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better race, especially as it brought me the green jersey for the second year in a row. Together with the two stages I won in Saudi Arabia that month made for a great start to my second season with Soudal Quick-Step, which ended up being my finest year since turning pro.”
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the team’s post:
With twelve victories achieved by five different riders, the season for Team Visma | Lease a Bike can indeed be called a success. Even more importantly, four riders are once again stepping up to the WorldTeam. Head of Development Robbert de Groot reflects on the cycling year of 2024.
There was the impressive one-two punch by Jørgen Nordhagen and Menno Huising at the Coppa Città di San Daniele, the stunning overall win by Darren van Bekkum at the Ronde de l’Isard following a remarkable display of resilience from the entire team, and the spectacular stage victory by Matthew Brennan at the Giro d’Italia Next Gen, executed through the efforts of the whole squad. Yet the standout victory for Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development came at an even higher level. Olav Kooij became the first homegrown rider to secure a stage win in a Grand Tour: stage 9 in the Giro d’Italia.
Olav Kooij wins 2024 Giro d'Italia stage 9. Sirotti photo
"That’s wonderful, of course, and it’s why we do what we do,” said Head of Development Robbert de Groot. “Sports directors Sierk-Jan de Haan, Robert Wagner, and I cheered hard for that victory. It proves that riders who come up through our ranks truly get the chance to develop all the way to the highest level.” Kooij’s victory makes the work that De Groot and his colleagues do – focused primarily on the long term – tangible.
Kooij was part of the first cohort of riders in the development team, marking 2024 as the program’s fifth season. “Overall, we can only be pleased,” reflects De Groot. “With Jørgen Nordhagen, Tijmen Graat, Menno Huising, and Matthew Brennan, we’re promoting four riders to our own WorldTeam, which is fantastic. And with Darren van Bekkum, even a fifth rider is making the leap to the WorldTour. That’s part of talent development too: sometimes other teams benefit from our hard work.”
De Groot is confident that Nordhagen, Brennan, Graat, and Huising will also stand their ground at the higher level. “Menno and Tijmen proved last year that they deserve to step up to the WorldTour and clearly showed progress. Jørgen has confirmed that he’s the great talent we see in him. And I have to say, Matthew really surprised us. We knew he was a huge talent, but what he showed from start to finish this season was truly impressive.”
In addition to these four, De Groot praises the way Van Bekkum has distinguished himself throughout the season, as well as the progress made by Dario Belletta and Pietro Mattio. “And honestly, I could mention all of our riders, since Tomos Pattinson also showed great promise. It’s a shame for Jed Smithson that he had so much bad luck.”
On the under-23 circuit, Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development proved to be among the strongest development teams in the world. However, the riders also regularly showcased their talent in joint races with the WorldTeam. Huising and Graat started the season alongside Jonas Vingegaard at O Gran Camiño, while Brennan quickly moved up to the .1 level after his double win in Croatia, finishing third in the Circuit de Wallonie. Nordhagen finished in the top ten of the general classification at the Deutschland Rundfahrt, a .Pro race one level higher.
“The right race calendar is crucial for our riders’ development,” says De Groot. “With the five riders now heading to the WorldTour, alongside Jesse Kramer, Morten Nørtoft, and Colby Simmons, we had a strong squad this year ready for a more challenging program with .1 and .Pro level races, often in collaboration with WorldTeam riders. These are valuable and educational moments for our young talents. Next season, we’ll have many new, younger riders who aren’t all ready for races at that level yet, so our program may look a bit different.”
Speaking of young riders, 2024 was also the first year of intensive collaboration between Team Visma | Lease a Bike and the junior team at JEGG DJR Academy. “With Patryk Goszczurny and Ian Kings, two riders are directly moving up from that junior team to our development team,” says De Groot. “But we have to be honest and say that this first year has primarily been a learning year. We’re now focused on incorporating the lessons learned over the past year. Overall, adding a junior team to our development pipeline has been a step in the right direction and one that will benefit us in the long term.”
For as impressive as the victories at junior or under-23 level may be, Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development is a project with a long-term vision. The main goal is not to win but to develop. “It’s a project in a constantly evolving landscape,” concludes De Groot. “That’s what makes this work so challenging. Just like our riders, we as a team are constantly striving to improve.”
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the team’s news:
Aussie talent Alastair MacKellar will make his WorldTour debut with EF Education-EasyPost in 2025.
Alastair secured his pro contract with a win on the fourth stage of the Alpes Isère Tour as well as top-class results in races such as Flèche Ardennaise and the Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta - Mont Blanc. He is the 2023 Australian under-23 road and time trial champion and a consistent competitor in the world’s hardest amateur races. Making it to the WorldTour has been his goal ever since he moved to Europe when he was 19 years old.
Alastair Mackeller
“I'm stoked,” Alastair says. “This has been a dream of mine since I started riding as a junior. I did all four years of my time as an under-23 in Europe, trying to work towards this, so to finally make it in my last year is not only a big relief. It’s an honor. I'm super happy to have the opportunity and trust from the team.”
EF Pro Cycling founder and CEO Jonathan Vaughters sees great potential in Alastair.
“Alastair has a strong motor,” Vaughters says. “In the under-23 ranks, he has shown that he can make a break stick after a hard, hilly day of racing and he has been doing a lot of work on his time trialing. He is going to be a strong asset for us in mountainous stage races. We think he can develop into the kind of rider who can compete in the finales of the Ardennes classics. We’re really looking forward to working with him as he makes the step up to the WorldTour."
Alastair’s WorldTour ambitions were first sparked when he went to watch the Tour Down Under as a child. His dad was a cyclist and would take Alastair and his mates to see the race from the roadside.
“I was just getting into cycling and we used to ride out to the race,” Alastair says. “It’s filthy hot down there, like 40 degrees Celsius, and you'd be suffering and then you'd sit on the side of the road and wait 30 minutes for the race to come past. But when you saw the helicopter in the sky, the big peloton coming through with all the follow cars, it was like, ‘Wow, this is a big thing.’ You got your camera out and then the peloton would pass in 20 seconds, but it was like, ‘That was really cool. I want to be able to do that one day.’ From then on, the last eight years of my life, that's where I’ve wanted to be.”
Starting next year, the WorldTour is where Alastair will be. All of the work he has put in to make his dream come true has paid off.
“I've been racing Continental/Continental Pro since I was 19,” Alastair says. “I didn't start at 12 years old, going, ‘I'm going to go to the WorldTour,’ but when I moved to Girona when I had just turned 19 and saw how the pros do it and the lifestyle, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is the dream.’ The last four years have been head down, bum up, doing everything I could to get there.”
For his first WorldTour season, Alastair is going to focus on controlling what he can control and making the most of every chance he gets.
“It will be my first year as a neo-pro,” Alastair says. “I could put a lot of pressure on myself, but I think I really want to go in with a little bit of weight off my shoulders and just train hard and be physically in the best shape I can and let it come as it comes. There are going to be a lot of really important, special opportunities for me next year. When they arise, I just want to be in the best possible shape I can be and then do the best I can. I think that's all I can ask of myself for the first year. I don’t need to say I need to win a pro race in my first year, but if it does happen, it will be like, ´Wow!’”
Long term, Alastair’s great ambition is to race the Tour de France. He would also love to close the circle and compete in the WorldTour peloton at the Tour Down Under.
“It's a race I grew up watching and traveling down to and watching on the side of the road. So, if I get the opportunity to race it, that would be a really big, special, special moment for me. I did it through COVID when it was more of a national race, but never as a pro.”
After his first EF Pro Cycling Oatly Performance Camp, Alastair will return home to Australia to prepare for the year ahead. He has spent the off-season there, hanging out on the beach and rallying cars with his mates. Before the end of the Aussie summer, he’ll head back to Europe, where he now lives, just outside of Nice, France.
“I'm from the Sunshine Coast in Australia, so I grew up by the beach, surfing,” Alastair says. “Being back by the beach feels a bit more like home. The Côte d'Azur is a really special, beautiful part of the world. I moved there and almost instantly fell in love with the area. Just training on those roads with the scenery is pretty special. So many of the best pro cyclists in the world live in Monaco, so to make friends with a few of those guys and train with them is also special.”
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the team’s announcement:
The Lotto Dstny development team will welcome additional reinforcement next season with the arrival of Thibaut Bernard. The 21-year-old Belgian aims to excel both in the classics and on the track.
Thibaut Bernard concluded the European Track Championships in Cottbus, Germany, this past summer with three medals, including bronze in both the individual pursuit and points race, as well as silver in the team pursuit. This season, he also placed third in the individual time trial at the Tour of Flemish Brabant and fourth in Halen. Next season, he will join the successful Lotto Dstny devo team.
Thibaut Bernard
"I am very happy and grateful to be riding in Lotto's colors next year", Thibaut Bernard says. "Over the past few years, I have focused heavily on progressing and securing a professional contract, and that goal remains the same for next season. In addition, I also want to achieve strong results in the classics. Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Roubaix are high on my list, as well as the European U23 Track Championships. I aim to win a jersey and to balance these two disciplines as effectively as possible. I will do my best for the team and my new teammates."
Kurt Van de Wouwer, sports manager at Lotto Dstny: "We are very pleased to add Thibaut Bernard, a young Belgian from Hannut in the Liège region, as an additional rider to our devo team. He has already achieved some good results in time trials, and together with our performance team, we hope to make further progress in that area. Moreover, with his track experience, he can be an excellent lead-out for our sprinter Liam Van Bylen."
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary