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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, February 23, 2023

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2022 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia

Men in general are quick to believe that which they wish to be true. - Julius Caesar


Melanoma: It Started with a Freckle

David L. Stanley's masterful telling of his bout with skin cancer Melanoma: It Started with a Freckle is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

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UAE Tour stage three reports

We posted the report from new GC leader Remco Evenepoel's Team Soudal Quick-Step with the results.

Here's the report from third-place Adam Yates' UAE Team Emirates:

UAE Team Emirates lit up the action in the final climb of the day on stage 3 of the UAE Tour from Umbrella Beach Al Fujairah to Jebel Jais (185km). The 25km climb saw victory go to Einer Rubio (Movistar) who jumped away in the closing stages and stayed away by 15’’ from the chasing bunch.

The peloton chasing escapee Einer Rubio.

Adam Yates was to the fore in the group behind taking 3rd place just behind World Champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep).

Despite starting the day without Jay Vine who was ruled out of the race due to a knee injury, the Emirati team were active and present at the front with Marc Soler and Mikkel Bjerg making moves to soften up the bunch and forcing others to chase on the climb.

Soler led out Yates in the closing metres but Yates found himself just on the wrong side when Evenepoel made his move.

Evenepoel now takes over as race leader with Yates moving up to 10th at 1’12’’ heading into stage 4 tomorrow from Al Shindagha to Dubai Harbour (174km) with just 300 metres climbing and which is poised to be a sprint.

Adam Yates: “We tried to put pressure on the other teams today on the final climb and to be aggressive but we always knew there was a good chance things would stay together which they mostly did. Soler did a really good leadout but I just ended up on the wrong side of the wheel when Remco made the move on the line.

"My condition is really good and I’m focused on going for a big result on Jebel Hafeet. It’s a climb that suits me a bit better so we’ll see what happens. The support so far has been good and as a team it’s our home race so we want to give our fans something to cheer about. ”

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And here's the UAE Tour stage three report from Michael Storer's Team Groupama-FDJ:

The first mountain-top finish of the UAE Tour did not end up with a big fight between the GC contenders on Wednesday, but it has at least made a first selection. Some twenty riders, including Michael Storer, 23rd on the line, finished together after the ascent of Jebel Jais. The Australian thus moved up to 21st place overall while several sprinters’ stages are upcoming.

The final climb was formidable.

After getting off the beaten track on Tuesday with a team time trial, the UAE Tour returned to its tradition on Wednesday with a third stage leading to the summit of the well-known Jebel Jais. No other climb preceded the final one, which was to be tackled after more than 160 kilometres. “We know this stage quite well, as we have already done it in the past”, confirmed Sébastien Joly. “Therefore, we knew what to expect. The only difference is that the approach was even easier than usual. Before, the road was quite narrow. This time, it was still a very large road. There was a slight wind, but nothing too serious, and the guys protected Michael until the bottom of the climb to put him in the best condition”.

Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Riccardo Lucca and Filippo Magli (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) led the way all day hoping to reach the bottom of the final ascent in the lead, but only the Spanish rider succeeded to do so. Approaching Jebel Jais, his lead was about three minutes over the bunch, which gradually got ready for battle, but which also set a constant pace.

“It’s a very very specific climb”, pointed out Sébastien. “There are twenty-one kilometres of climbing at an average of 5% on a very wide road, and only the last 2500 meters are a little steeper, at 7%”. Consequently, very few attacks occurred within the pack, which was still made up of around sixty riders halfway through the top. Diego Rubio (Movistar) still found his way up ten kilometres from the summit, while the pace in the peloton remained regular although being high. “Reuben fulfilled his role as protector for Michael, he brought him up a few times and it was important given the speed they were going,” added Sébastien. Five kilometres from the summit, the leading Colombian extended his gap to one minute and the favourites group soon increased the pace.

However, there was still a thirty-second lead for the lone rider at the flamme rouge, and he was then able to win ahead of a peloton reduced to around twenty riders and outsprinted by Remco Evenepoel. “Michael finished twenty-third, fifteen seconds behind the winner, like the third of the stage”, completed Sébastien. “Only Evenepoel took a second from the rest of the favorites. It’s a good day, especially since the last stage will suit Michael much better with a shorter and steeper climb”.

On Wednesday, the Australian gained thirty-seven places overall to find himself just outside the top-20 (21st), 1’26’’ down to the leader Evenepoel, but only fourteen seconds away from the top-10. “Tomorrow, we will be back on a sprinters stage, in Dubai”, concluded Sébastien. “While protecting Michael, we’ll aim to do a good sprint for Arnaud with the sprint group”.


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Team Soudal Quick-Step ready for start of Classics season

Here’s the team’s update:

It’s that time of the year again! The cobblestones – the Wolfpack’s favourite hunting ground over the last two decades – are back at the end of this week, when in the space of just twenty-four hours Soudal Quick-Step will take on Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, two races that our team has won a total of thirteen times since 2003.

The iconic Muur-Kapelmuur – Bosberg combination should be again the key to victory Saturday afternoon, as from the top of the last climb only twelve kilometers remain to the finish in Ninove. One day later, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne gives the sprinters a rare opportunity to fight for a prestigious one-day race, even though past editions have shown that audacious long-range attacks have a chance of going all the way to the end, despite the last of the day’s many hills coming more than 50 kilometers from the finish.

Kasper Asgreen, former winner Davide Ballerini, Tim Declercq, Yves Lampaert, Casper Pedersen, French Champion Florian Sénéchal and Jannik Steimle will be our seven riders at the start of the 207.3km Omloop in just a couple of days’ time. Reigning champion Fabio Jakobsen and Stan Van Tricht will then join the team for Kuurne, where they will replace Declercq and Steimle.

Davide Ballerini won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2021. Sirotti photo

“The Opening Weekend is one of the season’s special moments. We meet the amazing Belgian fans, we get to experience the incredible atmosphere that only the classics can produce, and we finally take on the cobbles. For Saturday, we can look to Ballerini, but also Asgreen or Pedersen, who showed nice things in Portugal, and Sénéchal will give us some good options. On Sunday, Fabio will be motivated to repeat last year’s victory, and we hope to be again in the mix and fight for the win”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Wilfried Peeters.


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Team DSM’s upcoming racing

The team sent me this schedule:

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Women - FEB 25

Albert Timmer - Team DSM coach:
"After the great start into the year from our Women's program with wins in the UAE and Spain, we want to take that flow with us into the classics season. Omloop always marks the long-awaited start to the classics campaign and will be a hectic race. Before the action with hills and cobbled sections starts, we will see a long run-in. For the finale, we will look for Pfeiffer as our finisher, while we also have more options to play in the pre-finale to ride aggressively to look for our chances."

Line-up:
Pfeiffer Georgi (GBR)
Daniek Hengeveld (NED)
Megan Jastrab (USA)
Franziska Koch (GER)
Charlotte Kool (NED)
Elise Uijen (NED)

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - FEB 25

Phil West - Team DSM coach:
"Opening Weekend is always a keenly anticipated part of the season and this year is no different as we head towards Belgium where we'll take on Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Our classics riders had a good start to the season already at TDU, San Juan, Saudi, and Algarve respectively and so we arrive to the Opening Weekend already with some good racing under the belt and motivated for the start of classics season. We have a mixture of youth and experience in the team for Omloop where we'll race actively and look for our opportunities. The focus will remain on being solid as a team, supporting each other and staying in the fight at every moment. When we do this in a good way then we are confident that we'll come away from these races happy with the outcome."

Line-up:
Patrick Bevin (NZL)
Pavel Bittner (CZE)
John Degenkolb (GER)
Nils Eekhoff (NED)
Marius Mayrhofer (GER)
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (NOR)
Kevin Vermaerke (USA)

Patrick Bevin (shown earlier this year at the Schwalbe Classic) willl be on the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad start line. Sirotti photo

Faun-Ardèche Classic - FEB 25

Christian Guiberteau - Team DSM coach:
"After we showed some good racing during our first race in France, we want to show the same spirit this weekend. We will have a nice mix of experienced guys and young riders that can benefit from each other. The Faun-Ardèche Classic will feature a hilly parcours where it goes up and down throughout the whole day. We want to race as a strong collective and have different cards to play to ride aggressively as we look for Romain [Bardet] as our designated finisher."

Line-up:
Romain Bardet (FRA)
Romain Combaud (FRA)
Matt Dinham (AUS)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Lorenzo Milesi (ITA)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)
Max van der Meulen (NED)

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne - FEB 26

Phil West - Team DSM coach:
"Kuurne can be an interesting race, with the combination of riders doubling up across both races and some teams bringing in fresh legs for Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. The key here is coming through the challenging midsection of the race in a good way, with numbers to be competitive in the final. From the start, we’ll be attentive to the break, but again the focus will be on solid teamwork and coming as deep into the race with as many riders as possible. Once into that final 50 kilometres, we will assess whether we go all in for a sprint option or if we take a more aggressive approach and look for opportunities with a late attack."

Line-up:
Patrick Bevin (NZL)
Alberto Dainese (ITA)
Nils Eekhoff (NED)
Sean Flynn (GBR)
Leon Heinschke (GER)
Kevin Vermaerke (USA)
Tim Naberman (NED)

Faun-Drome Classic - FEB 26

Christian Guiberteau - Team DSM coach:
"The second one-day race in France this weekend will have the same characteristics as the day before, but with a more open parcours, so the wind can play an important role too. We will again look for each other, race as a strong block, and look for our options with guys like Romain [Bardet], Chris, Martijn, or Matt."

Line-up:
Romain Bardet (FRA)
Romain Combaud (FRA)
Matt Dinham (AUS)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Max Poole (GBR)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)
Robbe Dhondt (BEL)

Brussel-Opwijk - FEB 26

Bennie Lambregts - Team DSM coach:
"Brussel Opwijk is one of the races from the U23 Road Series and the first we ride in combination with Dutch Food Valley. We start with four riders from Team DSM and two Dutch Food Valley riders. We will approach the race as an offensive block because normally it will be a race that is won by a small group or a reduced bunch sprint. For both scenarios, we have a good line-up. In case of a reduced bunch sprint, we will look for Patrick or Vlad as our finishers. The key for having a successful race will be good communication for this young and motivated squad."

Line-up:
Joost Brinkman (NED)
Patrick Eddy (AUS)
Moritz Kärsten (GER)
Vlad van Mechelen (BEL)

Le Samyn - FEB 28

Phil West - Team DSM coach:
"Typically a race for a strong rider who can sprint, Le Samyn comes as the third and final race of our Opening Weekend block. With a fast and technical parcours, we will again need to be well positioned and attentive as a team together throughout. The sectors and short climbs coming late on the local lap can be decisive in this race and so we cannot hesitate when the attacks are coming and need to ensure we are always present in those moments. When our teamwork is on point and we do the basic things well then I believe we can be competitive on the difficult finish here."

Line-up:
Pavel Bittner (CZE)
Alberto Dainese (ITA)
Sean Flynn (GBR)
Leon Heinschke (GER)
Jonas Hvideberg (NOR)
Kevin Vermaerke (USA)
Enzo Leijnse (NED)

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