Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, January 10, 2020
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2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more. - Byron
Upcoming racing:
- Jan 19-26: Schwalbe Classic & Tour Down Under
- Jan 20-26: La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
- Jan 26 Feb 2: Vuelta a San Juan
- Jan 30-Feb 2: Challenge Illes Balears
- Feb 2: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- Feb 2: GP la Marseillaise
- Feb 22: GP Leuven
Latest completed racing:
- Jan 1: GP Sven Nys
- Dec 29: Superprestige Diegen
- Dec 27: Azencross
- Dec 26: World Cup Heusden-Zolder
- Dec 22: World Cup, Namur
- Dec 15: Vlaamse Druivencross
- Dec 7: IKO Cyclocross-Essen
More teams confirm their Tour Down Under lineups
The race organizer sent me these updates:
Deceuninck-Quick Step, Movistar & Team INEOS have confirmed their squad that will take to the start line of the 2020 Santos Tour Down Under.
DECEUNINCK – QUICK-STEP (BEL)
For Deceuninck-Quick Step Sam Bennett will make his debut for the team on January 19 at the Schwalbe Classic, a circuit race prelude to the Santos Tour Down Under.
•Sam BENNETT (IRL)
•Joao ALMEIDA (POR)
•Shane ARCHBOLD (NZL)
•Mattia CATTANEO (ITA)
•Dries DEVENYNS (BEL)
•Iljo KEISSE (BEL)
•Michael MORKOV (DEN)
MOVISTAR TEAM (ESP)
Jurgen Roelandts will lead the team in the opening UCI WorldTour event for 2020, his sixth appearance at the Santos Tour Down Under and the first time since 2014. He will be joined by five Tour Down Under debutants in Gabriel Cullaigh, Juri Hollman, Jorge Arcas Pena, Lluis Mas and Sergio Samitier.
•Jurgen ROELANDTS (BEL)
•Gabriel CULLAIGH (GBR)
•Juri HOLLMAN (GER)
•Jorge ARCAS PENA (ESP)
•Lluis MAS (ESP)
•Eduard PRADES (ESP)
•Sergio SAMITIER (ESP)
TEAM INEOS (GBR)
Rohan Dennis will lead Team INEOS (previously Team Sky) in his first appearance for the British team at the 2020 Santos Tour Down Under. The Australian rider won the overall General Classification at the event in 2015, riding then for BMC Racing Team. He has also won the University of South Australia Young Riders Jersey twice (2015, 2012) and Subaru King of the Mountain once (2012).
•Rohan DENNIS (AUS)
•Owain DOULL (GBR)
•Christopher LAWLESS (GBR)
•Luke ROWE (GBR)
•Pavel SIVAKOV (POL)
•Ian STANNARD (GBR)
•Dylan VAN BAARLE (NED)
And speaking of Team INEOS, here is their Tour Down Under update:
Rohan Dennis will lead Team INEOS at the Tour Down Under.
The Australian, racing in Team INEOS colours for the first time, leads a strong lineup for the first race of the 2020 season - the team’s first full campaign as Team INEOS.
Rohan Dennis won the Tour Down Under in 2015. Sirotti photo
Pavel Sivakov and Dylan van Baarle will also give the team options in Adelaide, while Chris Lawless will contest the sprint stages. Owain Doull, Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard complete the seven-man team.
Sport Director Brett Lancaster will be at the helm for the WorldTour opener. He said: “We’re taking seven strong guys into the race. Rohan has won the race before and knows what it takes to win. He will be our leader in his hometown.
“But we’ve got great insurance policies in Pavel and Dylan. They’ve been here training since the new year and are both in good shape. We’ve got some cards to play and the Paracombe stage, on day three, will show very clearly where we’re all at.
“We also have Chris for the sprint days and by all accounts he’s in good condition. We’re gonna give it a good go.”
Sivakov and Van Baarle have been training on the Gold Coast since the turn of the year. Dennis will join them shortly, having finished second in the Australian national time trial championships on Wednesday. The trio will join up with Doull, Lawless, Rowe and Stannard on the 15th January in Adelaide and the team will recon key stages together ahead of the race.
Movistar also posted a Tour Down Under update:
Team Movistar will start the 2020 season at the Tour Down Under
The Movistar Team will be starting on Thursday its first journey of a long 2020 season. An expedition led by José Luis Arrieta will be flying to South Australia this weekend to compete at the 22nd Tour Down Under. The inaugural round of the UCI WorldTour, a six-day event from Tuesday 21st to Sunday 26th January, will be prefaced by the Schwalbe Classic Criterim in Adelaide, on Sunday 19th.
Juri Hollmann (GER), Gabriel Cullaigh (GBR) and Sergio Samitier (ESP) will be making their first outings in the Blue jersey at the TDU, as part of a seven-man lineup completed by Jürgen Roelandts (BEL), Edu Prades, Lluís Mas and Jorge Arcas (ESP).
Jürgen Roelandts (shown at the 2016 Giro) will start his season at the Tour Down Under. Sirotti photo
The Aussie race, which the Abarca Sports organisation will take part in for a 13th consecutive time -with four stage wins and two runner-up GC finishes in its palmarès-, will feature up to three uphill finishes: the one at Stirling (Wed 22nd), for punchy climbers and fast finishers, and the ascents of Paracombe (Thu 23rd) and Willunga Hill (Sun 26th), for the overall race contenders.
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