Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, December 23, 2021

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2021 Tour de France | 2021 Giro d'Italia

Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf. - Rabindranath Tagore

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Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour during Covid-19 - Better Late Than Never is available as an audiobook here. For the Kindle eBook version just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• Dec 27: Heusden Zolder Cyclocross
• Dec 29: Diegemcross
• Dec 30: Azencross
• Jan 1, 2022: GP Sven Nys Cross
• Jan 16 - 23, 2022: Le Tour de Langkawi
• Jan 22, 2022: Flandriencross
• Jan 26 - 29, 2022: Challenge Illes Balears
• Jan 30 - Feb 6, 2022: Vuelta a San Juan
• Feb 12, 2022: Gavere Cyclocross
  

Latest completed racing:

• Dec 19: Namur Cyclocross
• Dec 11: Ethiascross-Essen
• Dec 5: Scheldecross Antwerp - Cancelled because of Covid-19
• Nov 13: GP Leuven
• Nov 7: Elite Men European Cyclocross Championships
• Nov 6: Elite Women European Cyclocross Championships
• Nov 1: Koppenberg Cyclocross

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Primoz Roglic re-ups with Team Jumbo-Visma

Here’s the team’s announcement:

Primoz Roglic and Team Jumbo-Visma have agreed on a contract extension through 2025. It allows the Olympic time trial champion to complete ten years in Dutch service.

Primoz Roglic wins the 2021 Milano-Torino. Sirotti photo

In 2016, Roglic started his professional cycling career at Team Jumbo-Visma. Since then, the 32-year-old Slovenian has built up an impressive palmares. In service of the Dutch team, he achieved more than fifty victories, including Liège-Bastogne-Liège, fifteen stages in grand tours, and three times the general classification of the Vuelta a España. Roglic still had a contract with the team of general manager Richard Plugge through 2023. That agreement has now been broken open and extended for two years.

For Roglic, a longer stay at Team Jumbo-Visma is a logical choice. “I have grown with this team since I arrived in 2016. We already have quite a history together that I am very proud of. I made my debut in the World Tour peloton at a somewhat later age. It may have looked easy, and the best moments surface the fastest, but it wasn’t always easy. Still, things have moved forward rapidly for me and my development. I am not solely responsible for those beautiful moments. I did that together with my teammates and the staff. It is great to be part of this team in the coming years as well.”

“My goals are independent of results”, Roglic continues. “I want to keep developing myself in specific areas. Both physically and mentally, as a team leader and as a person. I’m in the right place for that. We will see what we will focus on in the coming years.”

Sportive director Merijn Zeeman calls it extraordinary that Roglic remains connected to Team Jumbo-Visma for so long. “We find it very special that Primoz once again extends and, to date, rides his entire professional career with our team. We are delighted with that and also very proud. Primoz embodies the transformation of our team in recent years. This contract extension allows us to make plans and objectives for the coming years in which he will play a central role. Primoz is one of the pillars of the team. The culture that we have built together is very applicable to the athlete and the person Primoz Roglic.”

Tour of Utah to be removed from 2022 UCI Cycling Calendar

Here is the race organizer’s announcement:

Despite ardent efforts to continue the Tour of Utah, Medalist Sports announced today that it will no longer pursue planning efforts for 2022 and has requested of USA Cycling and the UCI to have the event removed from the international cycling calendar. "On-going sponsor and host community discussions have been positive; however, not strong enough to support a viable effort to meet our collective expectations," shared Chris Aronhalt, owner and President of Medalist Sports, LLC. "While disappointed, Medalist Sports is grateful for the opportunity and cherishes the Tour of Utah's legacy.

Joseph Dombrowski wins the final stage of the 2019 Tour of Utah.

[Ed: the race was last run in 2019, but concerns over Covid-19 have caused the cancellation of the previous two editions]

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