Bicycle Racing News and Opinion:
Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary

Upcoming racing:

Next races we'll cover will be the Coppa Agostoni, held in Italy, and the GP de Wallonie, run in Belgium. Both happen on Wednesday, September 16.

September 13 UCI World Tour rider, team and country rankings

Rider rankings:

Rank	Prev.	Rider	Team (Code)	Points
1	1	VALVERDE Alejandro	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	615
2	7	RODRIGUEZ Joaquin	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	474
3	5	QUINTANA Nairo Alexander	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	457
4	2	KRISTOFF Alexander	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	453
5	14	ARU Fabio	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	448
6	3	FROOME Christopher	TEAM SKY (SKY)	430
7	4	CONTADOR Alberto	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	407
8	6	VAN AVERMAET Greg	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	324
9	11	FARIA Rui Alberto	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	324
10	8	PORTE Richie	TEAM SKY (SKY)	314
11	13	DEGENKOLB John	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	302
12	9	URAN URAN Rigoberto	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	301
13	10	THOMAS Geraint	TEAM SKY (SKY)	283
14	29	DUMOULIN Tom	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	271
15	12	SPILAK Simon	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	269
16	16	SAGAN Peter	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	257
17	15	PINOT Thibaut	FDJ (FDJ)	249
18	19	POZZOVIVO Domenico	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	242
19	17	MATTHEWS Michael	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	221
20	18	MOLLEMA Bauke	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	212
21	23	BARDET Romain	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	206
22	20	GREIPEL André	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	203
23	35	WELLENS Tim	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	195
24	21	KWIATKOWSKI Michal	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	195
25	22	ZAKARIN Ilnur	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	194
26	24	ALAPHILIPPE Julian	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	180
27	26	GILBERT Philippe	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	179
28	25	IZAGUIRRE Jon	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	173
29	27	STYBAR Zdenek	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	172
30	65	MAJKA Rafal	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	165
31	30	LANDA Mikel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	164
32	28	HENAO Sergio Luis	TEAM SKY (SKY)	157
33	43	YATES Adam	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	150
34	31	YATES Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	148
35	32	TERPSTRA Niki	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	140
36	33	NIBALI Vincenzo	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	138
37	46	MORENO Daniel	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	136
38	34	DENNIS Rohan	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	135
39	198	CHAVES Jhoan Esteban	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	114
40	36	GESINK Robert	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	114
41	44	KELDERMAN Wilco	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	111
42	45	DE CLERCQ Bart	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	106
43	37	BOOM Lars	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	102
44	38	HESJEDAL Ryder	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	102
45	56	BENOOT Tiesj	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	101
46	39	ULISSI Diego	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	98
47	40	GALLOPIN Tony	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	97
48	41	VAN GARDEREN Tejay	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	96
49	42	AMADOR Andrey	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	93
50	53	MARTIN Daniel	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	85
51	47	ROELANDTS Jurgen	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	82
52	48	INTXAUSTI Benat	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	81
53	49	PAOLINI Luca	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	80
54	50	KRUIJSWIJK Steven	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	80
55	51	NIZZOLO Giacomo	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	78
56	52	EVANS Cadel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	76
57	54	FRANK Mathias	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	72
58	55	HERMANS Ben	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	71
59	57	KONIG Leopold	TEAM SKY (SKY)	70
60	58	KREUZIGER Roman	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	64
61	59	FELLINE Fabio	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	64
62	60	FUGLSANG Jakob	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	64
63	121	NIEVE ITURALDE Mikel	TEAM SKY (SKY)	64
64	61	ALBASINI Michael	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	62
65	62	BONIFAZIO Niccolo	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	60
66	114	BAKELANTS Jan	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	59
67	63	CANCELLARA Fabian	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	59
68	64	ELMIGER Martin	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	56
69	66	CARUSO Damiano	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	54
70	67	TALANSKY Andrew	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	54
71	68	VANMARCKE Sep	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	52
72	69	FERNANDEZ Ruben	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	52
73	70	NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	50
74	71	TRENTIN Matteo	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	50
75	76	SLAGTER Tom Jelte	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	49
76	72	VUILLERMOZ Alexis	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	49
77	88	IMPEY Daryl	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	49
78	73	BOONEN Tom	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	48
79	74	DEBUSSCHERE Jens	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	48
80	75	TROFIMOV Yury	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	48
81	77	KEUKELEIRE Jens	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	46
82	78	JUNGELS Bob	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	46
83	79	POELS Wouter	TEAM SKY (SKY)	46
84	80	GENIEZ Alexandre	FDJ (FDJ)	44
85	81	MODOLO Sacha	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	43
86	82	VALLS FERRI Rafael	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	41
87	83	VANDENBERGH Stijn	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	40
88	84	GRIVKO Andriy	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	40
89	85	SCARPONI Michele	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	40
90	86	ATAPUMA Darwin	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	40
91	87	MARTIN Tony	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	40
92	113	PLAZA Ruben	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	38
93	89	BRESCHEL Matti	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	36
94	90	IZAGUIRRE Gorka	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	36
95	95	MONFORT Maxime	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	36
96	91	BARGUIL Warren	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	34
97	92	DEMARE Arnaud	FDJ (FDJ)	33
98	93	LAMPAERT Yves	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	32
99	94	CIMOLAI Davide	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	32
100	96	GESCHKE Simon	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	32
101	97	ROGERS Michael	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	31
102	98	RIBLON Christophe	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	31
103	99	LOPEZ Miguel Angel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	31
104	100	SANCHEZ Samuel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	30
105	101	CAVENDISH Mark	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	30
106	152	VAN POPPEL Danny	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	29
107	102	VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	28
108	103	VIVIANI Elia	TEAM SKY (SKY)	28
109	104	PANTANO Jarlinson	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	27
110	105	FORMOLO Davide	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	26
111	-	ROCHE Nicolas	TEAM SKY (SKY)	26
112	106	KANGERT Tanel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	24
113	-	SANTOS Nelson Filipe	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	24
114	109	KIRYIENKA Vasil	TEAM SKY (SKY)	24
115	107	TIRALONGO Paolo	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	23
116	108	ROUX Anthony	FDJ (FDJ)	22
117	-	BRAMBILLA Gianluca	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	22
118	110	MORABITO Steve	FDJ (FDJ)	21
119	153	EWAN Caleb	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	21
120	111	ROWE Luke	TEAM SKY (SKY)	20
121	-	DE MARCHI Alessandro	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	20
122	112	PELUCCHI Matteo	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	20
123	115	MOINARD Amaël	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	18
124	170	LINDEMAN Bertjan	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	18
125	138	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	17
126	185	STUYVEN Jasper	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	17
127	116	POLANC Jan	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	16
128	-	SCHLECK Frank	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	16
129	-	GOUGEARD Alexis	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	16
130	137	BODNAR Maciej	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	16
131	117	KEISSE Iljo	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	16
132	118	OSS Daniel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	14
133	130	VISCONTI Giovanni	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	14
134	122	CHAVANEL Sylvain	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	14
135	119	LOBATO Juan Jose	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	14
136	120	MALORI Adriano	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	13
137	160	DRUCKER Jean-Pierre	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	12
138	123	SINKELDAM Ramon	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	10
139	124	BAUER Jack	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	10
140	125	JUUL JENSEN Christopher	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	10
141	-	ELISSONDE Kenny	FDJ (FDJ)	10
142	131	CHEREL Mikael	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	10
143	126	KITTEL Marcel	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	10
144	127	DURBRIDGE Luke	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	10
145	129	SANCHEZ Luis Leon	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	9
146	128	MEZGEC Luka	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	9
147	134	CHERNETSKI Sergei	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	8
148	132	HAUSSLER Heinrich	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	8
149	133	VAN EMDEN Jos	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	8
150	135	CLARKE Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	8
151	-	ZUBELDIA Haimar	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	8
152	196	VAN DER SANDE Tosh	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	8
153	-	PUCCIO Salvatore	TEAM SKY (SKY)	8
154	-	KOSHEVOY Ilia	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	8
155	136	HOFLAND Moreno	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	8
156	154	BENNETT George	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	6
157	-	CARDOSO Andre	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	6
158	139	LUTSENKO Alexey	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	6
159	140	QUINZIATO Manuel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	6
160	141	ANACONA Winner	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	6
161	142	LE BON Johan	FDJ (FDJ)	6
162	145	DURASEK Kristijan	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	6
163	146	GERRANS Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	6
164	143	KUENG Stefan	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	6
165	144	REICHENBACH Sébastien	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	6
166	147	KENNAUGH Peter	TEAM SKY (SKY)	6
167	148	NIELSEN Magnus Cort	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	5
168	149	PORSEV Alexander	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	5
169	197	REZA Kévin	FDJ (FDJ)	5
170	150	DUMOULIN Samuel	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	5
171	151	VANGENECHTEN Jonas	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	5
172	155	WESTRA Lieuwe	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	4
173	156	BRANDLE Matthias	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	4
174	-	BOSWELL Ian	TEAM SKY (SKY)	4
175	-	MOSER Moreno	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	4
176	157	GUARNIERI Jacopo	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	4
177	158	VAN BAARLE Dylan	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	4
178	159	KLUGE Roger	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	4
179	189	ROSA Diego	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	3
180	161	ARREDONDO Julian David	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	3
181	163	LAGUTIN Sergey	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
182	162	TCATEVICH Aleksei	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
183	164	MARTENS Paul	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
184	169	CRADDOCK Lawson	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	2
185	-	MAES Nikolas	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	2
186	171	VAN ASBROECK Tom	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
187	173	BENNATI Daniele	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	2
188	167	SMUKULIS Gatis	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
189	188	RICHEZE Maximiliano	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	2
190	165	MARANGONI Alan	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	2
191	166	GRETSCH Patrick	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	2
192	168	FLENS Rick	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
193	172	VALLEE Boris	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	2
194	174	DANIELSON Thomas	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	2
195	177	CASTROVIEJO Jonathan	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1
196	175	TAARAMAE Rein	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	1
197	176	TURGOT Sébastien	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	1
198	178	FERRARI Roberto	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	1
199	179	HAAS Nathan	CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	1
200	180	SOLER Marc	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1
201	190	BOUET Maxime	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	1
202	-	MACHADO Tiago	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1
203	191	NOCENTINI Rinaldo	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	1
204	186	BRUTT Pavel	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	1
205	192	VAN WINDEN Dennis	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	1
206	193	HOWSON Damien	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	1
207	194	BOECKMANS Kris	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	1
208	-	COPPEL Jerome	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	1
209	181	HALLER Marco	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1
210	182	BELKOV Maxim	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1
211	183	GUARDINI Andrea	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	1
212	184	HERRADA Jesus	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1
213	187	POZZATO Filippo	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	1
214	195	MEERSMAN Gianni	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	1

Team Rankings:

Rank	Prev.	Team (Code)	Points
1	1	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1526
2	3	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1419
3	2	TEAM SKY (SKY)	1254
4	4	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	988
5	6	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	929
6	7	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	916
7	5	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	810
8	8	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	702
9	9	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	695
10	12	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	649
11	11	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	587
12	10	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	566
13	13	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	459
14	15	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	375
15	14	FDJ (FDJ)	369
16	16	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	340
17	17	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	189

Country Rankings:

Rank	Prev.	Country	Points
1	1	SPAIN	1833
2	3	COLOMBIA	1069
3	2	GREAT BRITAIN	1041
4	4	ITALY	1006
5	5	BELGIUM	905
6	8	NETHERLANDS	848
7	7	FRANCE	781
8	6	AUSTRALIA	777
9	9	GERMANY	587
10	10	NORWAY	453
11	15	POLAND	376
12	13	PORTUGAL	355
13	11	CZECH REPUBLIC	306
14	12	SLOVENIA	294
15	14	SWITZERLAND	270
16	17	SLOVAKIA	257
17	16	RUSSIA	257
18	18	UNITED STATES	158
19	19	DENMARK	115
20	22	IRELAND	111
21	20	CANADA	102
22	21	COSTA RICA	93
23	24	LUXEMBOURG	74
24	23	LITHUANIA	50
25	26	SOUTH AFRICA	49
26	25	UKRAINE	40
27	28	BELARUS	32
28	27	ESTONIA	25
29	29	NEW ZEALAND	16
30	30	KAZAKHSTAN	6
31	31	CROATIA	6
32	32	AUSTRIA	5
33	33	LATVIA	2
34	34	ARGENTINA	2

Lotto-Soudal's GP Montreal news:

In Canada, Tim Wellens (24) won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal yesterday. After a tough race in the pouring rain he beat Adam Yates in a sprint of two, after both had jumped away from a front group of six in the last lap. For Wellens this is the second victory in a WorldTour race this year, after he already won the Eneco Tour in August.

It rained cats and dogs the entire race. Right from the start there were many attacks and Lotto Soudal was always riding in the first part of the bunch. Louis Vervaeke got in a breakaway. The peloton didn’t let go and after 60 kilometres and many attempts to get away, all was back together. A bit later 19 riders escaped the peloton, among them Yates, Van Avermaet, Barguil, Fuglsang and Tim Wellens. They had one minute advantage, but also this break got caught. In the eleventh of seventeen laps Thomas Voeckler, Manuel Quinziato and Louis Vervaeke got in front. Andriy Grivko joined them later. They got a maximal advantage of more than two minutes on the peloton, led by Orica GreenEdge. Vervaeke and Voeckler stayed ahead the longest; it was only when they entered the last lap that the pair was reeled in after an attack of 60 kilometres. Vervaeke was awarded the prize of best climber.

The last ten kilometres would be very important. With Tim Wellens, Tony Gallopin, Jürgen Roelandts and Tiesj Benoot Lotto Soudal had four riders left in a considerably reduced bunch, about 50 riders were still in the group. Tim Wellens didn’t hesitate when Adam Yates attacked. The two were accompanied by Bakelants, Bardet, Kelderman and Rui Costa, but Yates and Wellens attacked again. Their lead never was more than fifteen seconds and in the last kilometres the chasers seemed to come back. But in the last straight line Wellens stayed calm and beat Yates in an exciting sprint.

Tim Wellens wins 2015 GP Montreal

Tim Wellens: “This victory eases the pain in the legs, but it has been a very tough race. It was a fast race right from the beginning and because of the weather conditions and the amount of altitude metres the race shouldn’t be underestimated. In the first part of the race I was already part of a group of fourteen. For a moment I thought that group could get far, but when I heard that Lotto.nl – Jumbo and AG2R were setting the pace in the peloton, I took a step back. The breakaway with Louis Vervaeke made we could stay relaxed and while the peloton kept getting smaller, we were left with four. There wasn’t much time to talk, but I saw that Tiesj was at the front as well and Tony was already very good in Québec.”

“In the last lap the legs have to do the work. I attacked on the climb, got in front with Yates, but we had to go full so the chasers wouldn’t catch us. When we entered the last kilometre I knew we would stay ahead, but I thought Yates was faster. I tried to keep up a high pace, Yates started sprinting, but I could counter and pass him by pretty easily. I got the victory due to the fact that the last hectometres were uphill I guess.”

“Now we head to Richmond to prepare for the World Championships team time trial. I think that all riders in our team here are in a good shape, that should be good for the Worlds. Then I will ride Lombardia. The pressure has gone now, but the motivation to make something of the end of the season is still big.”

Rasmus Guldhammer to ride Richmond Worlds

This news came from Cult Energy:

Today, Cult Energy Pro Cycling’s Rasmus Guldhammer was announced to replace Jakob Fuglsang in the Danish World Championship line-up. The Championship takes place 27th of September in Richmond, USA and covers a distance of 259 kilometers. The decision was made by Jakob Fuglsang earlier today.

Rasmus Guldhammer is naturally happy and overwhelmed by the decision: “I just received the news myself and right now, I’m filling the formal papers and documents in order to get clearance from the organizers. I’m very happy and excited about being elected to my first World Championship as a professional and I’m honored by the fact that Jakob pointed in my direction as his replacement. It’s shows a lot of class from his side to make this decision and I’m hoping to repay the confidence with a good performance in Richmond,” says Rasmus Guldhammer who finished in the top-10 no less than 21 times this season. Two of those in World Tour races.

Rasmus Guldhammer

The complete line-up: Matti Breschel, Rasmus Guldhammer, Michael Mørkøv, Christopher Juul-Jensen, Lars Bak and Michael Valgren.

Cult Energy Pro Cycling’s Rasmus Quaade represents the national colors in the time trial World Championships.

Lampre-Merida plans for Coppa Agostoni and Coppa Bernocchi

In this week two races in Lombardia are scheduled in Lampre-Merida's calendar, namely the Coppa Agostoni (Wednesday 16th September) and the Coppa Bernocchi (Thursday 17th September).

In Coppa Agostoni, with an official start in Monza and arrival in Lissone, sport director Daniele Righi will direct a selection whose main quality will be speed, thanks to Bonifazio, Modolo and the rookie trainee Pacioni. They will receive support from the Asian duo Xu Gang and Chun Kai Feng, from the Portuguese Mario Costa and from the second rookie trainee Edward Ravasi.

Lampre-Merida won the past two editions of the race thanks to Pozzato (2013) and Bonifazio (2014); Modolo won in 2011.

Nicolo Bonifazio wins the 2014 Coppa Agostoni

In Coppa Bernocchi, the formation of the team manager Copeland will be at the start with the same 7 riders with an extra speed addition, thanks to the presence of Roberto Ferrari. Modolo won the race twice in the past (2012 and 2013).

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary