Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, November 21, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. - George Bernard Shaw
Bill McGann’s book Why Your Bike Is Made in Asia: My career in bicycles as I watched two continents squander an industry is available in print & Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- December 15: Namur Cyclocross-Citadelcross
Latest completed racing:
- November 17: Flandriencross
- 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 annoucement:
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL are delighted to announce that climber-extraordinaire and multiple race winner at the highest level, Marta Cavalli, joins their Women’s program in 2025. The Italian will wear the distinctive two-striped jersey through at least the 2027 season.
Hailing from Cremona in the picturesque Lombardy region of Italy, Cavalli made the step up to the elite level of Women’s racing in 2017. Finding her feet in the often-challenging jump straight out of juniors, Cavalli settled in well and progressed year-on-year, taking a brilliant win in the Italian national championship’s road race in 2018. A switch of team to the WorldTour level in 2021 saw Cavalli continue her trajectory as one of the best climbers and racers in the peloton with strong results throughout the campaign such as sixth at the Tour of Flanders, fourth overall at the Vuelta a España and a top ten at Paris-Roubaix.
Marta Cavalli
2022 was a coming-of-age campaign for the Italian as she well and truly left her mark on the world of women’s cycling. A spectacular April resulted in Cavalli being crowned the queen of the Ardennes with wins at Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, alongside sixth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège; with a fifth place at Paris-Roubaix thrown in for good measure too. Continuing from there, she took fourth overall at Itzulia before winning the Mont Ventoux Challenge in June – once again highlighting her abilities when the road goes uphill. A sublime second on GC at the Giro d’Italia Women showed resilience and grit from Cavalli who went toe-to-toe with Van Vleuten for most of the race. However, her Tour de France Femmes participation that followed was cut short after a heavy impact. A true fighter, Cavalli lined up again the end of the year and finished sixth at the Giro dell’Emilia.
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2023 saw more strong performances and GC wins at Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées and Tour Feminin l’Ardeche, plus a handful of podium places at a variety of races, as she found her feet once more in the peloton. However, 2024 has been a year of misfortune for Cavalli who suffered a pre-season hip injury. Returning to racing in March, she then withdrew from the Vuelta, before her series of bad luck continued when she was hit by a car while training in July; prematurely ending her season. 2025 offers Cavalli a fresh start and lots of promise as she joins Team dsm-firmenich PostNL.
Upon signing for the team Cavalli expressed: “I really enjoyed my time at FDJ-Suez but after four years I wanted a change and a chance to meet new people and experience new things. That gives me a lot of motivation to continue to make steps and I think there are opportunities to do that with Team dsm-firmenich PostNL. From our first talks the team has really trusted in me and believe that I can get back to where I was as a rider, and that was something important to me. There are a lot of people within the team who can help me grow as a rider and person. I’ve been a bit unlucky the past few years, so this is a good chance to restart and my goal is to come back to the highest level possible at Team dsm-firmenich PostNL.”
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL head coach Rudi Kemna added: “Marta is physically a very talented bike rider, and she has taken some incredible wins at the highest level of the sport. She’s not only just a pure climber as she also has a good engine and has fought for top results in some of the hardest cobbled classics out there. Of course, she has had a lot of misfortune in recent years which has been tough on her, but she is a really determined character who has shown tenacity to fight back to where she is now, and she always wants to give her all. We believe that we have a good support network within the team that can help her to regain her confidence even more; and with our experts and coaches that together we can compete for results in the biggest races.”
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Here’s the team’s news:
Winning a stage at the Tour de l’Avenir is no accident. Team Polti Kometa closely follows the French Under-23 race, where [Polti-Kometa rider Davide] Piganzoli has tasted the podium several times in past seasons, and they did not miss the chance to secure Italian rider Ludovico Crescioli, who claimed victory in the second stage of this year’s Avenir at Plateau d’Hauteville.
A climber with a quick finish, the 21-year-old from Lazzeretto (in the province of Florence) joins Fundación Contador’s ProTeam on a two-year contract after three U23 seasons with the Tuscan team Mastromarco and the Emilia-Romagna-based Technipes: “I’m thrilled to have signed with Polti Kometa for 2025 and 2026!” he says enthusiastically. “Becoming a professional has been my dream since I was a child.”
Ludovico Crescioli wins stage two of the 2024 Tour de l'Avenir. Catherine Aulaz photo
Sports Director Stefano Zanatta commented: “I’ve followed young Crescioli since his junior years and appreciate his development. We’re delighted that he chose us among the numerous offers he had. He’ll be gradually integrated into the ranks and, with his perseverance, he should be able to carve out a significant role within the squad. He performs well from March to September and knows how to win, we must cultivate his talent in the right way.”
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Here's the team's post:
“I enjoyed the whole Giro d’Italia. We had a beautiful team here and experienced a fantastic atmosphere, which made these three weeks go by much easier. I loved every single moment spent in the race, I loved the fans and the way they welcomed us and cheered for us every day. The victory I got in Fano, just a couple of days after coming runner-up on stage six, was just incredible. It was more than a goal, it was my dream when I came to the start of my first Giro, and to achieve it gave me great joy.
Julian Alaphilippe wins 2024 Giro stage 12. Sirotti photo
"It wasn’t planned to go from the distance on that day, but I went with my instinct. I remember the stage was full gas from the start and my amazing team did a great job in the opening part, then I went all-out on the climbs and got a gap together with Mirco Maestri. We worked well together and he too would have deserved to win, because without his help at the front, we wouldn’t have made it.
"The advantage wasn’t big, but I felt good the entire stage, I raced with passion and grinta, and kept pushing and pushing without looking back until the final 500 meters, when I was finally sure of my win. It was a day of pure cycling, the kind of day that I love so much and that I will always remember.
"To go onto the podium in Rome was another moment I will forever treasure. It was special to be named the most combative rider of the race, one of the most amazing in the world, and to receive the trophy with the Colosseum in the background was beautiful and emotional. At the end of the day, it was a memorable race for us – Tim took three stages, Jan finished top ten overall, we were present in a lot of breakaways – and we can all be proud of the way we fought and of what we did there.”
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