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Wednesday, June 26, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
That best portion of a man's life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love. - William Wordsworth
Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- June 9 - 26: Many National Championships
Upcoming racing:
- June 29 - July 21: Tour de France
- July 27 - August 11: Olympic cycling
Latest completed racing:
- June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
- June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
- June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour
- June 2 - 9: Critérium du Dauphiné
- June 5 - 9: ZLM Tour
- June 7: GP Canton Aargau
- June 2: Brussels Cycling Classic
The squad sent me this:
Sepp Kuss will not start in the Tour de France on Saturday after all. The American winner of the Vuelta a España has not recovered sufficiently from illness in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Kuss withdrew the penultimate day there with mild Covid symptoms. After a week, he seemed to have recovered enough to ride the Tour de France, but in recent days that upward trend stagnated.
Sepp Kuss before the start of this year's Critérium du Dauphiné. Sirotti photo
Sporting director Merijn Zeeman: "This is of course very hard for Sepp in the first place. His contribution is always very important in the team, but then of course he has to be completely fit. Unfortunately, we had to conclude together today that this is insufficiently the case, after Covid. He now needs to recover properly and will therefore not start. Fortunately, we have a good replacement ready with Bart Lemmen."
Bart Lemmen
28-year-old Bart Lemmen has been part of Team Visma | Lease a Bike since January, having only been a professional cyclist for one year. He developed rapidly with top five and top 10 finishes in the Tour Down Under and UAE Tour. Most recently, Lemmen finished second in the overall classification of the Tour of Norway.
Zeeman: "Despite only being a professional for 1.5 years, Bart is already proving to be a very reliable and strong rider. He learns quickly and proved it this year with several good classifications. He is a good climber, and he willingly sacrifices himself for his leader Jonas Vingegaard. I have a lot of confidence in Bart."
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Here’s the team’s news:
The most important race of the year gets underway in just a couple of days, from Firenze, the cradle of the Renaissance and one of Italy’s most stunning cities, which gets to host the 26th foreign Grand Départ in the Tour de France’s history. It will be for the first time that Le Tour starts from Italy, marking exactly one hundred years since the country’s first overall triumph at the race, brought by the legendary Ottavio Bottecchia.
Covering a total of 3492 kilometers, the parcours of the 111th edition will include five summit finishes: Saint-Lary-Soulan, Plateau de Beille, Superdévoluy, Isola 2000 and Col de la Couillole. The race is also set to feature the iconic Col du Galibier and Col du Tourmalet, a return to Cime de la Bonette, almost 60 kilometers of individual time trial, 35 of which come on the final stage between Monte Carlo and Nice, and an incredibly hard stage 9 around Troyes featuring more than 30 kilometers of gravel roads spread over 14 sectors.
For Remco Evenepoel, this will be his fifth Grand Tour start but first Tour de France presence. The 2022 Vuelta a España champion, a winner of five races this season – including stages in Paris-Nice and the Critérium du Dauphiné – is looking forward to this experience.
Remco Evenepoel after winning the 2022 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo
“Riding the Tour de France is the dream of every kid who falls in love with cycling. It’s something I too have dreamed about since the moment I rode my bike and I’m incredibly excited to be at the start for the first time in my career with this great team. We have a strong squad and we are ready to give our best. Of course, I would like to have a good Tour and get some nice results, but let’s not forget it’s my debut in this hard and beautiful event which is unlike any other, so the plan is to discover the race, take it one day at a time and see where this leads us”, said Remco ahead of traveling to France.
Joining the 24-year-old Belgian on the Soudal Quick-Step squad for the Grande Boucle will be Jan Hirt – a top ten finisher in May at the Giro d’Italia – Yves Lampaert, Volta a Catalunya runner-up Mikel Landa, who brings a wealth of experience on the climbs, Gianni Moscon, Casper Pedersen, Ilan Van Wilder and Louis Vervaeke.
“With both Remco and Mikel on the team we can aim for a good result in the general classification. Mikel has a lot of experience, as do many of our riders, and together they make for quite a strong and balanced team. Looking on the parcours, I think you can easily say this will be one of the toughest editions in recent years. The start is very hard, we have some big climbs early in the race followed by that gravel stage, and then the second and third week will be very demanding. We need to be focused and at the top of our game to get some good results, and we are confident in this team and what it can do this July”, said sports director Tom Steels.
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Here's the team's news:
The roster: F. Gall, S. Bennett, B. Armirail, P. Lapeira, D. Godon, N. Peters. O. Naesen, & N. Prudhomme
Vincent Lavenu:
"We have a twofold objective going into this Tour de France. Firstly, to confirm our performance last year in the overall classification with Felix Gall. Secondly, we're also looking for at least one stage win. Sam Bennett will be one of our best chances in the sprint finishes, but we also have other riders riders capable of raising their arms. I'm thinking of Dorian Godon and Paul Lapeira who, in the event of a small finish, can make their speed count. We're ambitious, with a great team and a very good climber like Felix Gall. We've regularly achieved good results in the Tour de France, it's part of our identity, so we're going to fight for it, with a solid and motivated team."
Felix Gall:
"The objective is clear: the general classification. Last year, the Tour de France went very well for me with my eighth place overall. You always want to improve, so the aim is to get the best possible result. It's very difficult to win a stage at the Tour de France, but we have the team to do it, and last year's emotions give me even more motivation. This year, the objective has been clear since the start of the season, because I'll be the leader, and that's a different responsibility. There are more expectations, but also more support from the team. I think we'll have a very good collective and with a new challenge, the sprint finishes with Sam Bennett."
Felix Gall wins 2023 Tour de France stage 17 at Courcheval. Sirotti photo
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Sam Bennett:
"I'm delighted to return to the Tour de France after a four-year absence. I'd like to thank the team for this incredible opportunity. Coming back to the Grande Boucle with a French team is a special feeling. To win a stage for this team in the world's greatest race would be even more special! I've got plenty of time to get into the race, as the start is hilly. Nevertheless, every stage is important, the first opportunity will come after the opening weekend, and I hope to be ready for that. There should be eight massive sprints with lots of contenders. I'm looking forward to the fight."
The number: 22
The number of stage wins in the Tour de France for the DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE team since its first appearance in 1993. Felix Gall won last year's queen stage at Saint-Gervais - Courchevel.
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