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Wednesday, January 1, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up. - Bob Uecker
Bill & Carol McGanns book The Story of the 2024 Tour de France: The Happy Warrior Triumphs is available as a Kindle eBook. To get your copy, just click on the link on the right.
Current racing:
- January 1: GP Sven Nys Cross
Upcoming racing:
- January 3: X20 Trofee Koksijde-Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Cross
- January 18 - 26: Tour Down Under
Latest completed racing:
- December 30: Diegem Cyclocross
- December 26: Gavere Cyclocross
- December 27: Exact Cross Loenhout-Azencross
- December 15: Namur Cyclocross-Citadelcross
- 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
Here’s the news from Team Intermarché-Wanty
Belgian cyclocross specialist Thijs Aerts will end his professional career at the end of this 2024-2025 season. On February 23rd, the former Junior world champion will say goodbye at the Sluitingsprijs in Oostmalle, after seven years as a professional, including two with Charles Liégeois Roastery CX.
Considered one of the best riders of his generation, Aerts brilliantly distinguished himself in the youth categories. In addition to winning the rainbow jersey in the Junior category in Hoogerheide in 2014, he also won two Belgian U23 titles in Lille (2016) and Koksijde (2018).
Thijs Aerts
The 28 year old rider from Rijkevorsel, younger brother of Toon Aerts, offered Charles Liégeois Roastery CX three podiums in the last two years, including a remarkable third place behind Wout Van Aert and Jens Adams in Essen. His professional record includes three international victories in Grandville, Crawley, and Contern.
Also active on the road, Aerts dedicated himself wholeheartedly as a loyal teammate in service of his teammates within the structure of Intermarché-Wanty. He was, for example, part of the winning team around Gerben Thijssen in the 2023 Tour of Limburg, and played an important role in the successes of Gerben Kuypers in the Tours of Namur and Liège. At the end of August, he concluded the very last road race of his career with Wanty-ReUz-Technord in the most beautiful way by triumphing in the last stage of the Tour of Namur on top of the Citadel.
"Since my first steps in the world of cyclocross at the age of eleven, I've had the chance to experience everything. Every mud section, every circuit, every victory, and every setback have made me the rider I am today. I was able to realize my childhood dreams thanks to my two teams Charles Liégeois Roastery CX and Baloise Trek Lions. With my brother Toon, we created countless memories. It was also each time a great honour to be able to represent Belgium at the most prestigious events.
"Now, after careful consideration, I have decided to end my career as a professional cyclist, with pride and gratitude. I can proudly say that I gave everything, every day, to get the best out of myself. Recently, I realized that the results were no longer matching the sacrifices. Last August, I completed the last road race of my career with the structure of Intermarché-Wanty with a beautiful victory in the Tour of Namur. I will approach my last cyclocross races with total commitment to finish on a high note. I will make the most of every cross with my personal staff, whom I have been able to count on for ten years, with my teammates and the staff of Charles Liégeois Roastery CX. Only time will tell what I will do next, but one thing is certain: cycling will undoubtedly continue to play a central role. I would like to pass on my passion and experience of cyclocross to the next generations." - Thijs Aerts
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Evenepoel’s Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this news:
Our rider received the prestigious prize for the second time in his career.
Already recipient of the Kristallen Fiets and Flandrien of the Year trophies, Remco Evenepoel received another important accolade in the last days of 2024. The 24-year-old, Belgium’s first athlete in more than seven decades to win two Olympic gold medals at the same edition of the event, was rewarded for his excellent season with the Belgian of the Year distinction.
Evenepoel on the podium of the 2024 Tour de France after stage 12. Sirotti pnoto
The only male rider to prevail in both the road race and the individual time trial at the Olympics, Evenepoel had an unforgettable season in the Soudal Quick-Step and Belgian National jerseys, taking a total of nine wins, including another gold, at the World ITT Championships. In addition to this, he claimed an impressive third place on the general classification and the white jersey at his Tour de France debut last July.
“I am honoured to be named Belgian of the Year, it’s something that makes me proud. I worked hard the whole year to have these results and I am happy that I have been rewarded for all the sacrifices I’ve made with the wins I got and these trophies that came in the off-season. I have many people to thank for their support – my wife, my family, and my second family, Soudal Quick-Step.”
“At the same time, all these distinctions motivate me to make a complete recovery as fast as possible and work even harder in order to be back at my best next season, when I hope to fight for some more important victories and make my countrymen proud, because as an athlete you do all these things to bring inspiration and emotion to the fans”, said a delighted Remco after being named Belgian of the Year for the second time in his career.
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Here’s the news from Uran’s Team EF Education-Easypost:
As the year draws to a close, we want to thank our captain and inspiration Rigoberto Urán one last time for everything that he has done for our team over the past nine years.
If bike races were held in arenas, we would hang Rigo’s jersey from our rafters. Fourteen victories, including stage wins at the Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta a España, and the Tour de France, an Olympic medal, and overall podiums at the Giro and the Tour – Rigo always transcended his terrific list of results. He was number one in the hearts of millions of fans, our riders’ reference point, a calm voice in the bus, who showed us how to face up to our hardest days on the bike with a smile and compete at the highest level, while balancing the demands of pro sport with a healthy, sucessful life.
Uran at the 2022 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo
Every day, Rigo has inspired us to be better bike racers and better human beings. Although Rigo endured real hardship when, at just age 14, his father was murdered, Rigo never let bitterness get the better of him and instead sought to pass on every kindness that he was shown, helping young South Americans get their start in the pro ranks and making great friends in the peloton. When our team almost folded the year he’d finished second at the Tour de France, Rigo stuck to his contract, despite being released to seek other teams, and helped usher in a new era with EF Education First.
From now on, we will race to live up to his legacy. We will be his legacy. As he retires, we can’t hang Rigo’s jersey from the rafters of a stadium, but the lessons we learned from Rigo will forever be sewn into EF pink.
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Here's the Savio entry from Wikipedia:
Savio began his career as a sports director in 1986 with Santini. Later in 1992, he took over the direction of ZG Mobili–Selle Italia from Dino Zandegù. He then joined the newly created Glacial–Selle Italia in 1996 which underwent several changes in sponsorship and names over the years, including Selle Italia, Colombia-Selle Italia, Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni and Androni Giocattoli, reaching the current GW Shimano–Sidermec.
Gianni Savio in 2016 at the Memorial Pantani race with rider Francesco Gavazzi.
In his thirty-year career, he has directed riders such as Andrea Tafi (turned professional in late 1988), Nelson Rodríguez, Leonardo Sierra, Andrea Ferrigato, Romāns Vainšteins, Freddy González, Carlos Alberto Contreras, José Rujano, Iván Parra, José Serpa, Michele Scarponi, Jackson Rodríguez, Franco Pellizotti, Fausto Masnada, Egan Bernal, Iván Ramiro Sosa, and Mattia Cattaneo.
Savio died after a long illness in Turin on December 30.
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