Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
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2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living. - Terry Pratchett
Upcoming racing, according to UCI revised calendar:
- August 1: Strade Bianche
- August 5-9: Tour of Poland
- August 8: Milano-San Remo
- August 12-16: Critérium du Dauphiné
Latest completed racing:
- May 1-3:
Vuelta Asturias - May 1:
Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt - April 22-26: Digital Swiss 5
Benoit Cosnefroy extends his contract with Ag2r La Mondiale until 2023
The team sent me this release:
Benoit Cosnefroy (24) has extended his contract with the AG2R LA MONDIALE team for three years, until the end of the 2023 season.
Following Geoffrey Bouchard (2 years), Dorian Godon (2 years), Oliver Naesen (3 years), Aurélien Paret Peintre (2 years) and Alexis Vuillermoz (1 year), he is the sixth rider to extend his contract.
Benoit Cosnefroy wins the 2020 GP d'Ouverture-La Marseillaise
BENOIT COSNEFROY: "Extending my contract with the AG2R LA MONDIALE team means that I am choosing continuity and ambition. Getting a three-year contract is a great sign of trust from the team’s management and its partners. The whole project is motivating. I feel a real expectation around me. It’s a pressure that pleases and motivates me. The communication between everyone is very good with an interesting exchange of perspectives. I now want to win a one-day UCI WorldTour race and my dream would be to win an Ardennes classic. Today, I’m looking forward to returning to the racing season. There’s a kind of elation to think that everything will be condensed into a few months and that there will be great things still to achieve. I really want to raise my arms in victory again."
VINCENT LAVENU: "We are very pleased to extend our contract with Benoit Cosnefroy, especially for three years. It was an important goal.
"He is a talented rider, who comes from our region since he was trained at Chambéry Cyclisme Formation. And he is not afraid to express his ambitions. We are ready to accompany and help him to achieve his objectives."
THE NUMBER: 2017
Benoit Cosnefroy joined the AG2R LA MONDIALE team on August 1, 2017. He won the GP Isbergues, his first professional victory, on September 17, five days before becoming UCI U23 Road World Champion.
CCC Team focused on returning to racing in 2020, team boss Ochowicz looking for new sponsor
Here's the team's update:
Preparations are underway for CCC Team’s return to racing with riders heading to altitude in July ahead of the team’s first race, the Vuelta a Burgos, from July 28 to August 1.
President Jim Ochowicz said the team is busy finalizing the revised race calendar and preparing for the four-month racing block.
CCC Team needs a new sponsor for 2021. Sirotti photo
“We are now less than two months out from our first race back, the Vuelta a Burgos, so we are busy putting our race calendar together and planning our rider roster selections for what will be a busy racing block from the end of July to November. Our service course in Belgium will be reopening in mid-June and with most of the European travel restrictions set to ease in the next month, some of our riders will begin altitude training in various parts of Europe. At this stage, we will be covering the full WorldTour schedule with some additional one day and stage races so we will likely be running two to three race programs throughout the four month period. We will be in a position to share our race calendar and key rider goals in the coming weeks as we finalize our plans,” Ochowicz explained.
Ochowicz said a strong 2020 season once racing resumes is the team’s first priority.
“Our first priority is returning to the start line and achieving the season goals we set out in December. The racing calendar may be more condensed now but we are more motivated than ever to achieve the key wins we outlined for 2020; a Monument win, a WorldTour one day win, a WorldTour stage race win, and a stage victory at each of the three Grand Tours. Every race day is an opportunity for our riders and it is clear that strong performances in the early races are going to be instrumental in securing the team’s long term future.
“Looking ahead to the 2021 season, CCC will no longer be the title sponsor so we are now actively looking for a new title sponsor. We are in an unprecedented time but we are confident there are companies that want to invest in cycling, especially given the global rise in popularity of bike riding in recent months. Under the Continuum Sports ownership and license, we have grown from a US Continental Team in 2007 to one of the biggest WorldTour teams in the peloton in recent years and we have every intention of continuing under new title sponsorship.”
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