Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
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2021 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia
Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul. - Epicurus
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2021: The Little Cannibal Dominates is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- Sept 29: Coppa Agostoni
- Oct 1: Giro dell'Emilia
Latest completed racing:
- Sept 18 - 25: World Road Championships
- Sept 13 - 17: Tour de Luxembourg
- Sept 17: Primus Classic
- Sept 17: Memorial Marco Pantani (cancelled)
- Sept 16: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- Sept 15: Coppa Sabatini
- Sept 14: GP de Wallonie
- Sept 14: Giro della Toscana
The team sent me this list of their next races:
Sparkassen Münsterland Giro: OCT 03
Roy Curvers - Team DSM coach:
"Munsterland Giro is one of the last races of the season, but it's a really nice one. It is a race that often ends in a sprint, but it is definitely not a straightforward sprint day with a challenging parcours that can cause quite some damage in the bunch. With good teamwork, we have to make sure we are there with numbers in the final so we can influence the race in our favour. With John, Sam, Casper, Pavel, Jonas and Niklas we have multiple options for a bunch sprint, reduced bunch sprint or even look to finish it off in a small group. This combined with Asbjørn, who is a good and experienced road captain that can guide the guys throughout the race and help us to execute that plan."
Line-up:
Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Pavel Bittner (CZE)
John Degenkolb (GER)
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (NOR)
Niklas Märkl (GER)
Casper van Uden (NED)
Sam Welsford (AUS)
John Degenkolb (shown winning stage 3 of the 2020 Tour of Luxembourg) will be at the Munsterland Giro. Sirotti photo
Binche Chimay Binche pour Dames: OCT 04
Bennie Lambregts - Team DSM coach:
"It's our Women's program's final one-day race of the season and with autumn coming, the wind and possible bad weather can have a big influence on the race. From the start we will have to be attentive and aggressive, to not miss any big moves. If the wind is there, we will definitely look to shake things up and ride aggressively. If in the end, it comes down to a sprint, then we look to set up Lorena as our finisher on the day for the punchy uphill finale."
Line-up:
Francesca Barale (ITA)
Pfeiffer Georgi (GBR)
Franziska Koch (GER)
Charlotte Kool (NED)
Elise Uijen (NED)
Lorena Wiebes (NED)
Tre Valli Varesine: OCT 04
Pim Ligthart - Team DSM coach:
"Tre Valli Varesine is the first of three races in our end of season Italian block. The race takes place on a selective parcours which looks similar to the racing we get earlier in the season at the Ardennes classics; with a lot of short, steep climbs. We have a strong and balanced team which should give us multiple possibilities to race aggressively in the final in search of a good result."
Line-up:
Thymen Arensman (NED)
Romain Bardet (FRA)
Marco Brenner (GER)
Romain Combaud (FRA)
Mark Donovan (GBR)
Andreas Leknessund (NOR)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)
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Here’s the team’s announcement:
Israel – Premier Tech has renewed four of the team’s core riders with Guillaume Boivin signing on for the 2023 season and Mads Würtz Schmidt, Tom Van Asbroeck, and Rick Zabel all set to stay for another two years.
When putting together the 2023 roster, it was an easy decision to re-sign some of the team’s most experienced support riders who are also capable of winning, says IPT General Manager Kjell Carlström.
Mads Würtz Schmidt having a good day at the 2016 Tour of Denmark
“We are happy to announce that Guillaume Boivin, Mads Würtz Schmidt, Tom Van Asbroeck, and Rick Zabel will stay with IPT for the next one to two seasons. Guillaume, Mads, Tom, and Rick have all proved themselves to be good teammates, riding in support of our leaders, but also capable of taking an opportunity for themselves. They have contributed to key moments in the team’s history and we are looking forward to seeing them continue with IPT,” explains Carlström.
Although the 2022 season has been a challenging one, Van Asbroeck and Boivin put in standout performances at the 2021 Paris – Roubaix, battling the epic conditions to finish in eighth and ninth place respectively and cement themselves as some of IPT’s most experienced Classics riders.
Similarly, 2021 was a breakthrough year for Würtz Schmidt who won the Danish road race championships and sprinted to his first WorldTour win at Tirreno – Adriatico. While Zabel has proved his consistency as the team’s top sprint lead-out rider, and this year wore the first KOM jersey at the Giro d’Italia.
Boivin, Van Asbroeck, Würtz Schmidt, and Zabel join Daryl Impey and Simon Clarke, who will also remain in IPT colors in 2023.
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Guillaume Boivin, 33, Canada
With IPT since 2016
“I am super happy to come back with Israel-Premier Tech for another year. I have been on the team since 2016 so this really feels like home and it never crossed my mind to go anywhere else. I am really thankful to the team for keeping me onboard even though it has been a bit of a difficult season health-wise this year. To still have their trust and confidence means a lot to me. I’m looking forward to repaying them next year and be healthy and strong for the cobbled classics. I missed out on pretty much all of them this year so I am really looking forward to that and also to do some good work with Woodsy. It makes me really happy to help a good friend in some of the hilly races as well.”
Tom Van Asbroeck, 32, Belgium
With IPT since 2019
“I’m super happy to re-sign for Israel – Premier Tech. This team felt like a family already from the first year I joined, so this made my choice even easier. Unfortunately, we had some bad luck this season, but the only thing I can say is “Rome wasn’t built in one day” and I still believe in the potential this team has. What is great will eventually shine!
The goals for the next years are what they’ve always been: fighting for victories in the biggest races against the best teams in the world.”
Mads Würtz Schmidt, 28, Denmark
With IPT since 2020
“I’m happy to be staying with the team. For me personally, it has been a great team and I am happy to be in this environment. The team approached me really early about staying which I was very happy with, especially as this year has been a really difficult year for me on many levels. But, the team has only shown me support and given me the time needed to get back so the team really proved to be a good place for me to be. So I am super happy to stay. I just have one goal for next year and that’s just to be better than this year. I want to do good races next year and get back to the level I know I can have. I will work really hard this winter to make sure I am in good shape for the start of the season.”
Rick Zabel, 28, Germany
With IPT since 2020
“I am happy to sign on for another two years with Israel-Premier Tech. It is a team where I feel at home and have made a lot of good friends over the last years so it was a natural decision to stay. I think everyone knows that this has been a difficult year for us but we are all motivated to come back stronger next year and I hope to be at my best level possible. For me, my primary objective is to play a key role in the sprint train and be the best teammate possible, and if there is ever an opportunity to try something myself, I will go for it.”
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Bicycle Retailer & Industry News posted this:
CARLSBAD, Calif. (BRAIN) — The city recently took short-term measures in response to a 233% rise in collisions involving bikes and e-bikes in the past three years while it works to present a longer-term solution to the City Council on Tuesday.
When the City Council ratified the emergency proclamation Aug. 30, it also approved spending $2 million for immediate traffic safety efforts, including:
- Overstaffing police department sworn positions by four additional full-time officers ($535,000).
- Increasing police department overtime for training and enforcement ($100,000).
- Procuring additional speed feedback signs and electronic messaging boards ($250,000).
- Developing infrastructure projects and safe driving behavior education ($1,115,000).
The bike collisions have occurred with pedestrians, cars, other bicyclists, and solo accidents. Two deaths were reported last month. One man on a bike was killed by a speeding motorcycle, and a woman on an e-bike was killed when she was hit by a car. The fatalities are still under investigation, said city spokesperson Kristina Ray.
According to Ray, Carlsbad has been focusing on education, engineering, and enforcement in the short term. The city also has:
- Added green markings to bike lanes in dozens of locations.
- Installed speed feedback signs and digital message boards in areas with higher collisions.
- Worked with local schools to get information out to parents and students about traffic safety.
- Increased enforcement of traffic rules across all modes of travel.
- Launched a public awareness program.
Accelerated the timing of traffic calming projects that include traffic circles, speed humps, and wider bike lanes.
"We don't have collision data comparisons quite yet, but anecdotally, we have seen fewer complaints about traffic safety and increased compliance with helmet laws and other safety related behaviors around school sites, which has been a concern," Ray said. "Once we have had a chance to enact more of the programs planned, we will measure collision rates and other related data."
In 2019, of the 30 bike collisions, two involved e-bikes; in 2020, of the 62 bike collisions, eight involved e-bikes; in 2021, of the 100 bike collisions, 33 involved e-bikes; and so far in 2022 through July 31, of the 57 bike collisions, 32 involved e-bikes.
You can read the entire story here.
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