Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, May 18, 2020
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2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar. - William Wordsworth
Upcoming racing, according to UCI revised calendar:
- August 1: Strade Bianche
- August 5-9: Tour of Poland
Latest completed racing:
- May 5-10:
4 Jours de Dunkerque - April 28-May 3:
Tour de Romandie - April 30-May 3:
Tour de Yorkshire - May 1-3:
Vuelta Asturias - May 1:
Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt - April 22-26: Digital Swiss 5
The story behind the photo: Unexpected stage winner and Pink Jersey wearer, Lukas Pöstlberger
Pöstlberger's Bora-hansgrohe team posted this story about the first stage of the 2017 Giro d'Italia:
Lukas Pöstlberger gets a surprise Grand Tour stage win. Sirotti photo
This was definitely not planned. I was supposed to be part of the lead-out for the sprint, but while I was riding on the front, I heard in the radio that I had gotten a gap over the peloton, so I just went for it in a split-second decision. I ended up being able to break away over the final kilometre, and so I went full gas until the finish line. I really didn’t expect to make it solo to the end, especially with all the sprinters’ teams chasing me.
And gets to wear one of sport's most coveted symbols, the Maglia Rosa. Sirotti photo
I still don’t know how I managed to do it, honestly. It was always a dream to wear the pink jersey, perhaps a couple of years down the line, but not already. That day, I put my name in the history books by becoming the first Austrian rider to win a stage of the Giro and also wear the leader’s jersey. Not bad for my first Grand Tour. By day’s end, the team held all four jerseys, with Cesare Benedetti also taking the blue KOM jersey after he spent the day in the break.
A week in the life of Yves Lampaert
Lampaert's Deceuninck-Quick Step team post this:
During the pandemic, Belgian cobblestone specialist Yves Lampaert divides his time between working on the farm, training and conquering the AoE ll universe.
Yves Lampaert just after finishing the 2020 Het Nieuwsblad. Sirotti photo
I’m sure I am not the first rider to tell you this, but it’s really weird not having any races. The last time I pinned on a number was for stage 7 of Paris-Nice and that feels like it was ages ago. Ok, we now have a calendar, we know what to aim for, and that’s really encouraging, but when you think about it, it’s still a long way to go until August, when racing will finally resume.
On the other hand, I can’t complain about not having anything to do. Two days per week I work on the tractor at my parents’ farm. I do a lot of ploughing to get the field ready for sowing. We grow cauliflower, potato, leek, zucchini, so there’s plenty to do, as you can imagine, but I love every single second spent there, it’s very relaxing and reinvigorating, at the same time.
It goes without saying, I don’t neglect training, I still get in a lot of kilometers. For example, just the other day I covered 200 kilometers with my Deceuninck – Quick-Step teammate Bert Van Lerberghe and it was really great to ride and get that feeling again, which we miss so much. I also train together with my girlfriend, Astrid; I recently bought her a new Specialized and we like to go out for a nice ride at least once per week.
When it comes to relaxing in the evening, I’m either on Netflix or on my laptop, playing. I’m watching now “The Last Dance” and it’s absolutely gripping. I like to watch sports documentary and this may be the best I’ve ever seen, it’s stunning. I find it fascinating to discover so many unknown details about one of the greatest athletes of all time. Concerning playing, I am still going strong on Age of Empires ll. At the moment, I have two favourite civilizations, the Vietnamese and the Spanish, and it’s them I use to challenge Tim Declercq.
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