Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
Men in general are quick to believe that which they wish to be true. - Julius Caesar
Latest completed racing:
- December 2: GP Hasselt Cross
- November 26: Flandriencross
- November 25: Zeven Cyclocross
- November 19: Bogense Cyclocross
- November 12: Gavere Cyclocross
- November 5: European Cyclocross Championships
- Oct 28 - Nov 5: Tour of Hainan
- November 1: Cyclocross Koppenberg
- October 29: Cyclocross Ruddervoorde
Team Mitchelton-Scott reports on Tour of Quanzhou Bay final stage:
The 2017 season came to a close for Mitchelton-SCOTT in China today at the Tour of Quanzhou Bay with Cameron Meyer finishing safely in the bunch to secure seventh overall for the team.
A flying start to the third and final stage saw repeated attacks trying to go clear from the off with Mitchelton-SCOTT particularly aggressive in their attempts to shake things up.
Somehow, despite the frenetic pace the peloton remained attentive and together as the race sped past the halfway point and into a headwind that remained for much of the approach into the final.
Race leaders BikeChannel-Canyon were amongst the sprinters teams trying to hold things together and maintain the speed as a hectic finish started to unfold, but it was Latvian Denis Kanepejs (Rietumu-Banka-Riga) who took the victory with Fuwen Xue in 32nd for Mitchelton-SCOTT.
“We rode aggressively throughout today’s stage and the boys repeatedly tried to shake things up and get an attack going,” said sport director Neil Stephens. “Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and a combination of the sprinters teams and the top placed GC teams controlled the front and we couldn’t make anything stick.”
“Concluding in a big bunch sprint was to be expected on this kind of short, fast and flat stage and there were no surprises in the end. We came into the race with quite high expectations, but we didn’t quite get there.
“It has been hard racing over the last three days and we had a mixture of guys coming to the end of a long season and others still on the way to top form for the start of 2018.
“Nevertheless the boys rode well together and despite not hitting our overall targets we come away with a top ten GC placing and lots of positives for the future.”
Tour of Quanzhou Bay stage three result:
1. Denis Kanepejs (Rietumu-Banka-Riga) 02:02:12
2. Harry Tanfield (BikeChannel-Canyon) ST
3. Tino Thomel (Bike-Aid) ST
32. Fuwen Xue (Mitchelton-SCOTT) ST
Final general classification:
1. Max Stedman (BikeChannel-Canyon) 06:33:29
2. Drew Morey (Terengganu-Cycling-Team) +0:06
3. Dawit Yemane (Eritrea) +0:19
7. Cameron Meyer (Mitchelton-SCOTT) +0:54
Lucinda Brand takes first cross victory of the season at Zilvermeercross
This short update came from Team Sunweb:
The race came down to a battle between three, as Lucinda and two others took an advantage over the remainder of the field. Lucinda went on to claim back a deficit and eventually fought off her remaining companion to take the victory.
Lucinda Brand
REACTION:
After the race Lucinda said: “I didn’t have a strong start but I felt really confident on the difficult sand sections. I tried to use this to my advantage to come back and in the second lap I’d already moved up to second and could quickly take over the race lead but there was still a battle between myself and another rider. She is a strong runner so could take time back on those sections but I could recover well and with two laps to go I kept increasing my advantage. I’m really happy with my first cyclo-cross victory of the season.”
Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Crédible enrolls 2018 Pro Continental team Euskadi - Murias
This came from the Euskadi Basque Country team:
The team managed by Jon Odriozola has decided this promotion would go hand in hand with the Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Crédible (MPCC) membership.
"As a result of the succession of doping scandals that have affected it over the last few years, cycling has faced its responsabilities by understanding our sport may no longer exist if it didn't achieved to regain credibility with sponsors, race organizers and fans", Odriozola explains. Cycling managed to wake up thanks to the general awareness of its players but also an institutional and economic effort. However, care should be taken because there is no such thing as zero risk: we must remain vigilant. The rider's health still is the most important point as we commit to preserve it by refusing performance medicine. The MPCC being aimed at that goal, our team and our main sponsors agree to abide by its rules. "
Euskdi Murias is one of the four Spanish professional teams registered by the UCI for the 2018 season. This is the first time a structure from Basque country reach this level of competition since Euskaltel-Euskadi closed down operations back in 2013. Contracted riders such as Jon Aberasturi, Garikoitz Bravo, Eduard Prades, Hector Saez, Enrique Sanz or Julien Loubet competed internationally in the past.
Here's a great English-language explanation of the Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Crédible.
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