Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
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2020 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. - Francis of Assisi
Current racing:
- Sept 27 - Oct 5: Tour of Portugal
- September 29 - Oct 3: BinckBank Tour
- September 30: La Flèche Wallonne
Latest completed racing:
- September 24 - 27: UCI World Road Championships
- September 22: Paris-Camembert
- August 29 - Sept 20: Tour de France
- September 15 - 19: Tour de Luxembourg
- September 19: Giro dell'Appenino
- September 17: Coppa Sabatini
- September 16: Giro della Toscana
- September 7 - 14: Tirreno-Adriatico
Binckbank Tour stage one reports
We posted the organizer's report with the results.
Here is the report from stage one winner Jasper Philipsen's UAE-Team Emirates:
Jasper Philipsen showed a quick turn of speed and great skill to navigate his way to victory on stage 1 of the BinckBank Tour (WT) in Belgium.
Jasper Philipsen throws his bike for the stage win.
The relatively short opener from Blankenberge to Ardooie (132.1k) sprung to life in the closing kilometres as narrow roads and high speeds saw the bunch string out and caused numerous crashes. The most prominent spill came with 3.3km to go and took down over 20 riders including two from UAE, however neither were seriously injured with Alessandro Covi only suffering some minor abrasions.
In the closing metres Philipsen weaved his way to the front in the tight sprint to get his second win of the season.
Philipsen : “It was quite a straightforward day in the beginning. With just 2 riders in the breakaway the peloton was confident that it was going to end in a bunch sprint. It was quite hectic in the end as everybody was still fresh so there were a few crashes on the run-in. I managed to stay out of trouble and had the legs to win. For me it’s the nicest win of my career so far and I’m super happy.”
For his victory Philipsen will also wear the yellow jersey for the stage 2 Individual Time Trial tomorrow which starts and finishes in Vlissingen (10.9k).
Third-place Pascal Ackermann's Bora-hansgrohe team sent me this:
Although the 16th edition of the BinckBank Tour was shortened from seven to five stages this year, the race did not lose its typical challenging character. The opening stage traversed over 151.7 km from Blankenberge to Ardooie in West Flanders and was a matter to be decided by the sprinters.
The field, led by BORA - hansgrohe, CCC Team and NTT Pro Cycling did not allow the two-man breakaway too much leeway and with 20 km to go, the leading duo was duly reeled back in. A final attack on the last lap was also thwarted by the sprinters’ teams as they tried to jostle for position at the front. With only a few kilometres remaining, a crash occurred, with none of the BORA - hansgrohe riders being involved and shortly afterwards the squad from Raubling led out the peloton in the final preparations for the fast finish.
Pascal Ackermann launched his sprint, but was overtaken and pipped on the line by M. Pedersen as well as J. Philipsen, who took the win, which meant that at the end of the day, the German rider had to be content with third place.
"The guys had the race well under control all day. It was very hectic on the finishing straight and I think I likely started my sprint a bit too early and then couldn't hold off Pedersen and Philipsen in the end. Of course, I am a bit disappointed, because we were going for the win today. But nevertheless, we’ll try again and hopefully we’ll be able to get the stage win." - Pascal Ackermann
"The first stage ended as expected, with a mass sprint. Our plan was to let only a small group go and we were then able to control the race very well together with four other teams. Only 4 km ahead of the finish, a large crash occurred, but fortunately the team was not involved. On the finishing stretch, Pascal launched his sprint slightly too early and took third at the end of the day. We were going for the win and ultimately took a podium, but we will try again at the next opportunity and hope to have more success." - Jean-Pierre Heynderickx, Sports Director
Circus-Wanty Gobert set to take over Continuum Sports (CCC Team)
CCC Team sent me this:
29 September 2020: Want You Cycling, the umbrella structure of the UCI ProTeam Circus-Wanty Gobert-Tormans, today announced that it will take over Continuum Sports from 2021 and step up to the WorldTour level.
Continuum Sports, currently owned by Jim Ochowicz and Gavin Chilcott, is the license holder and organization behind CCC Team which has operated since 2007 when BMC Racing Team began as a United States-registered Continental Team.
Richie Porte in the old BMC colors in 2016. Here he leads Chris Froome in the Dauphine. Sirotti photo
Want You Cycling is the Belgian entity headed by Jean-François Bourlart who manages the UCI Pro Team Circus-Wanty Gobert and Tormans UCI Cyclo Cross Team teams. The project, launched in 2001 when it was the VC Ath Club, has climbed the cycling ladder step by step, joining the Continental ranks in 2008 and then progressing to Professional Continental level from 2011 onwards. Want Want You Cycling, after ten seasons in cycling’s second tier, is on the way to continue its evolution and join the UCI WorldTour in 2021 thanks to the takeover of Continuum Sports, on the condition of the registration process and the official approval of the UCI License Commission in December.
Jim Ochowicz (President, Continuum Sports):
“2020 has not been the year that any of us expected but we are motivated to finish the season as CCC Team on a high. Looking ahead, 2021 will see a new direction for the Continuum Sports organization and we are happy to be paving the way for Circus - Wanty Gobert to move to the WorldTour in what is a significant milestone for the Belgian team and a well deserved promotion.”
“Since the inception of Continuum Sports in 2007, we have made our mark on the cycling world with BMC Racing Team and CCC Team and we are well positioned to assist Circus - Wanty Gobert in this transition to the WorldTour. With ambitious long-term goals and a shared vision, we believe Circus - Wanty Gobert, under the leadership of Jean-François Bourlart, is an ideal fit to carry on the Continuum Sports legacy and we are in a position to support their efforts where needed.”
Jean-François Bourlart (General Manager, Want You Cycling):
“With the co-founders of Want You Cycling, Benoit Soenen, Christophe Wanty, Ronald Gobert and David Sauvage, we built our project step-by-step with the ambition to one day move to the WorldTour. The moment had to be right, the structure had to be ready, and our partners eager to follow us. We are therefore very proud today to take over the project from Jim Ochowicz and Gavin Chilcott and present to the UCI the continuation of Continuum Sports in the WorldTour."
“With the long experience of Jim Ochowicz and Gavin Chilcott, we will do everything possible to ensure the sustainability of our WorldTour project. I have no doubts that our team will become a success in the WorldTour, as it has at the Professional Continental level over the years, and as BMC Racing Team and CCC Team have too."
Team Sunweb's upcoming racing
The team sent me this schedule:
La Flèche Wallonne Féminine: SEP 30
Albert Timmer - Team Sunweb coach:
"Flèche Wallonne is often a race that is decided by the final climb of the Mur de Huy but there is always a chance that a strong group could get away before then and fight for the win. We need to be ready for that situation and we have a good team here to be able to do that. Liane arrives as the team's main option for the final climb and the rest of the team will work hard to keep her safe and bring her into the end of the race as fresh as possible. Liane has shown recently in the Giro Rosa and at the World Championships that her form on the short climbs is good so we'll be aiming for a top result here."
Line-up:
Alison Jackson (CAN)
Leah Kirchmann (CAN)
Juliette Labous (FRA)
Liane Lippert (GER)
Floortje Mackaij (NED)
Wilma Olausson (SWE)
La Flèche Wallonne: SEP 30
Michiel Elijzen - Team Sunweb coach:
"Normally Flèche Wallonne ends in an uphill sprint with a reduced peloton on the steep slopes of the Mur de Huy - where we will look to set up Marc for a good result. We bring a strong group of riders to the race whose qualities all suit this type of parcours and they should be able to bring Marc into a good position and as fresh as possible for the final climb. He is in great shape after a strong showing at the Tour and the World Championships this weekend, so motivation is high to continue with another solid result."
Marc Hirschi (shown after stage 12 of the 2020 Tour de France) will be at the Flèche Wallone. Sirotti photo
Line-up:
Thymen Arensman (NED)
Mark Donovan (GBR)
Felix Gall (AUT)
Marc Hirschi (SWI)
Robert Power (AUS)
Michael Storer (AUS)
Ilan Van Wilder (BEL)
Giro d'Italia: OCT 3 - 25
Luke Roberts - Team Sunweb coach:
“After a really successful season restart where the team has performed well across the board at multiple races, which culminated in a brilliant Tour de France campaign; the motivation in the team is really high and the guys are eager to continue that success in Italy. We have had a really good preparation period with this group of riders; with weekly meetings during the season pause about team tactics and goals, altitude camps in Kühtai and strong showings at the recent races affirming our good shape. We head to Italy looking to chase two goals as a team; a good GC result and stage results - in a similar way we have done recently at other races. We take strong climbing support to the race to back up our GC ambition, while having strong cards to play for the finales of the stages we have identified as opportunities for day success."
Line-up:
Nico Denz (GER)
Chad Haga (USA)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Jai Hindley (AUS)
Wilco Kelderman (NED)
Michael Matthews (AUS)
Sam Oomen (NED)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes: OCT 4
Albert Timmer - Team Sunweb coach:
"Liège-Bastogne-Liège is quite an open race and one that we're well prepared for as we did a recon of it earlier in the year. We've got good memories from last season too where Floortje managed to finish in second place for us. This year Liane and Juliette will be our main cards to play, but we also want to be in the bigger breaks with the rest of the team so that we have numbers in the finale. That should hopefully give us lots of options to go for another good result in the race."
Line-up:
Anna Henderson (GBR)
Leah Kirchmann (CAN)
Juliette Labous (FRA)
Liane Lippert (GER)
Floortje Mackaij (NED)
Wilma Olausson (SWE)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège: OCT 4
Michiel Elijzen - Team Sunweb coach:
"We bring a group of riders to Liège-Bastogne-Liège who will ride in support of our leaders Tiesj and Marc. It's a long day in the saddle over a tough parcours, so it will be key to get Tiesj and Marc into the final of the race as fresh as possible. Both Tiesj and Marc come out of the Tour de France where they showed in several stages that they're in good form, with Tiesj playing an important role in Marc's stage win. They also both rode strongly in the World Championships so they should be in a good shape to play a role at the end of the race where Marc can trust his fast legs for the finish and Tiesj can also profit from that in the final."
Line-up:
Thymen Arensman (NED)
Tiesj Benoot (BEL)
Mark Donovan (GBR)
Marc Hirschi (SWI)
Robert Power (AUS)
Michael Storer (AUS)
Ilan Van Wilder (BEL)
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