UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Eliminator start list

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Marc Soler, the new sun of Spanish cycling

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The Tour de l'Avenir is supposed to show the next champions of the Tour de France. The rule has many exceptions, though. Several young riders who crushed the race never did the same in the Grande Boucle and some dull participants of the now-Under 23 event shone later in July.

This is why it's hard to predict the potential of Spain's Marc Soler, 21, who took victory Saturday in the 52nd edition of the Tour de l'Avenir ahead of Australian Jack Haig (Orica-GreenEdge next year) and Russian Matvei Mamykin.

Among his Spanish predecessors, who is the one he could like the most? Miguel Indurain, the 1986 victor and five-times crowned in the Tour de France? Or Ruben Fernandez, who tried his luck in the second division with Caja Rujal after he captured 'L'Avenir' in 2013 before joining Movistar this season?

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Spain's national coach, Pascual Momparler, confuses the issue. "Soler is like Wiggins", he tells Cyclingnews.

Bradley Wiggins? The reference comes as a surprise, although Marc Soler, in the same way as the first British winner of the Tour de France, experienced the cobbled races like the U23 of Flanders, a perfect step to become an all-rounder and never got trapped on a Grand Tour. The 2015 'maillot jaune' race included echelons and 'pavé' sections that could break all chances of the pocket climbers.

Both men also have in common a taste for climbs under 8 percent. Saturday, on the final ascent to les Bottières, near la Toussuire (Alps), the Spaniard was suffering and got dropped in the final kilometre, while Matvei Mamykin was playing and launching attacks. "I wasn't sure I could keep the jersey until the last two kilometres maybe," he told Cyclingnews. "Really I thought I was about dying..."

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Boeckmans to remain in medically induced coma

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Kris Boeckmans will remain in a medically induced hospital due to injuries sustained in a stage 8 crash at the Vuelta a España for the next seven days due to numerous lung injuries causing difficulty for the Lotto Soudal rider to breathe independently. On Monday Lotto Soudal revealed the 28-year-old suffered no brain injuries from the crash but have diagnosed Boeckmans with concussion, pneumothorax, laceration of the lung, bleeding of the lung and swollen pulmonary tissue. 

A statement from the team explained Boeckmans situation as "stable", adding "These injuries are the consequence of the impact on the chest. At the moment the swollen pulmonary tissue prevents an intake of oxygen via the alveoli. This swelling has to disappear slowly in a natural way. The bleeding in the lungs is kept under control by a drain which was already introduced in the thorax earlier."

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On Monday the team explained it would attempt to reduce medication to wake up Boeckmans in "24 to 48 hours" although team doctor Servaas Bingé stressed it was a "day by day" situation.

The team added Boeckmans family was grateful for the messages of support but would not be making any public comments regarding the situation. 

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Australia aiming for success across numerous disciplines at Mountain Bike World Championships

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The 37-rider strong Australian team heads to the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Vallnord, Andorra looking to take home several rainbow jerseys. The championships begin Tuesday with the Eliminator, a discipline in which Australia tasted the ultimate success in 2013 via Paul van der Ploeg who will look to carry his recent national 'cross title winning form into the opening event.

In the XCO, Australian will be lead by Daniel McConnell, fresh from placing fifth at the Windham, USA World Cup round, with the 30-year-old aiming to improve upon that performance and claim a maiden worlds medal.

"I have been feeling really good in training, so now just have to put it all together in the race situation," McConnell said. "I have specifically done multiple altitude camps this year to prepare myself for the course in Andorra, so I really hope it pays off.

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"It's been a tough year for me in the World Cup's, so I would love to finish the season on a high. If I have a good day, the podium is not out of reach."

In the elite women's race, Australia's chances for a high overall finish will rest with national champion Rebecca Henderson who is looking to improve upon her 15th place at last year's race.

Troy Brosnan, who finished third overall in the UCI World Cup standings, leads the men's downhill chances on the energy sapping high altitude course as he looks for his first elite rainbow jersey. The 2010-11 Junior World Champion finished third at the Val di Sole World Cup round last month, just 1.8 seconds off winner Aaron Gwin despite a heavy crash.

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News Shorts: USA Cycling offers discounted 16-month memberships

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USA Cycling announced today that new and returning members may now purchase a 16-month license that will cover the remainder of 2015 and all of 2016. Beginning on Tuesday, new and returning members can purchase their 2015 license and also all of 2016 for the discounted price of $115, down from $140.

The offer is available to anyone without a current USA Cycling membership: first-timers, renewing members and former members who want to come back to racing after a break. Because USA Cycling switched to a single domestic racer license for all disciplines in 2014, the special $115 license will not only cover racers for the next two 'cross seasons, but will also allow them to race or try any road, track and mountain bike events they have planned for 2016.

Racers can receive a further discount by applying a one-day license credit toward the purchase of the annual license, lowering the price to $105 if using a mountain bike one-day, or $100 if using a road/track/cx one-day.

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USA Cycling's 16-month license discount is good news for people looking to race cycle-cross.

Inaugural CrossReno previews 2018 US nationals course

The inaugural CrossReno cyclo-cross race scheduled for September 19 in Nevada will provide an advanced look at the venue that will be used for 2018 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, organisers announced this week.

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Vuelta a Espana: Tinkoff-Saxo pining for Andorra

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With a rest day in his sights before a return to the mountains on Wednesday, Tinkoff-Saxo leader Rafal Majka is hoping the stage 11 romp through the Pyrenees will propel him up the Vuelta a Espana's general classification.

The 25-year-old Pole is currently ninth overall, 1:47 behind leader Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin). Majka is 29 second behind Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Nario Quintana (Movistar), with Quintana’s teammate Alejandro Valverede a further second ahead. Astana leader Fabio Aru is fifth, 34 seconds ahead of Majka.

Wednesday’s stage 11 takes riders 138km from Andorra to Els Cortals de Encamp, ascending six categorised climbs before the finish.

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“For sure, this will be a very important stage for me,” Majka said. “We want to improve my position in the general classification but there is no easy way of doing this. With five very hard and steep climbs you can lose a lot of time if you have a bad day.

“The stage is just after the rest day, so I have to keep the rhythm and my legs spinning tomorrow and try to rest as much as possible at the same time,” Majka said. “It has been a hot and hard Vuelta so far, today I felt OK and we will try our best on Wednesday.”

Team director Tristan Hoffman said the team will put in a light training session on Tuesday to keep the legs ready for Wednesday’s assault.

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inCycle season review: Wildcard teams

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The biggest races on the cycling calendar regularly feature numerous wildcard entrants, whether they be Pro Continental, Continental or national teams. Although BMC Racing general manager Jim Ochowicz questioned the place of wild card teams at cycling's top level, arguing that their inclusion can create safety concerns, these smaller teams often outshine their WorldTour counterparts.

Stephen Cummings' stage 14 victory over Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot, two rising stars of French cycling, at the Tour de France for MTN-Qhubeka was the icing on the cake for the South African Pro Continental team, which had already enjoyed a week in the king of the mountains jersey via Daniel Teklehaimanot.

Pro Continental teams Cofidis and Bretagne-Séché Environnement have received wildcard invitations to the Tour in recent years and to the majority of ASO's races throughout the season, a situation that suits both team's budgets. Stepping up to the WorldTour level could be detrimental to both outfits, and as our inCycle panel discusses, the sport needs several layers of team sponsorship to fully function.

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Watch the video below to find out how our inCycle panellists see the tiered structure of the sport and how to find a balance to keep all parties happy.

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Astana’s hopes all pinned on Aru at Vuelta a Espana

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Mikel Landa limited himself to two words before turning around atop the Alto de Puig Llorença and descending to the Astana team bus after losing almost a quarter of an hour on stage 9 of the Vuelta a España: “Mal día.” Bad day.

The Basque was among the fallers in a crash midway through the stage, fought out in searing temperatures on the Costa Blanca, though neither he nor his team offered the incident as an excuse for his tame showing on the second category 1 summit finish of this Vuelta.

“Fortunately he only picked up a few scratches in the crash, nothing worrying,” Astana directeur sportif Stefano Zanini told Cyclingnews in Valencia on Monday morning. “Nothing in particular happened beyond the crash; it just wasn’t a good day for him, nothing more than that.”

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So then there was one. Astana arrived in Marbella with no fewer than three contenders for the final podium in Madrid, in the shape of Landa, Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru. Following Nibali’s expulsion for taking a tow from a team car on stage 2 and Landa’s travails on Sunday, any lingering leadership debate at Astana has been quietly dismissed. Aru, the man tacitly atop the hierarchy from the outset, is now the undisputed leader.

“We came here with big expectations, with three important riders. Obviously we lost Vincenzo straight away, but even after that, we still had Aru and Landa,” Zanini said. “Now the situation is what it is, Landa’s lost ground. Still, we’ll continue as before, and the whole team will be around Aru, including Landa. But Landa is still an important rider for us, and he could even have freedom on a few days to try for a stage win.”

As the Vuelta breaks for its first rest day in Andorra on Tuesday, Aru lies in fifth place overall, 1:13 behind race leader Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) and just ahead of pre-race favourites Chris Froome (Sky), Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

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Sbaragli grabs chance to win Vuelta a Espana sprint

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Anything can happen in a bunch sprint, and the Vuelta a España seems particularly partial to improvisation. The Giant-Alpecin squad had carefully assembled the backdrop for John Degenkolb as the 60-man leading group hurtled into Castellón on Monday, but this year’s Milan-San Remo winner was upstaged by Kristian Sbaragli (MTN-Qhubeka), the man who won the amateur equivalent, the Piccola Sanremo, four years ago.

It was Sbaragli’s first victory of the season and only his second as a professional all told, the first coming more than two years ago in the rather more modest setting of the Tour de Korea. Logic suggested that in the absence of Peter Sagan, Nacer Bouhanni and Caleb Ewan, Degenkolb would prove nigh on unbeatable in the final 200 metres, but he started his effort from too far back and had to settle for third.

“Honestly, when you line up for a sprint, anything can happen,” Sbaragli said. “I’ve finished second lots of times this year, I’ve been third and fourth, but this is my first win of the season. If you’d told me that I’d beat Degenkolb and Rojas, and above all stayed up there on that last climb when the group was reduced to 40 riders, I’m not sure I’d have believed you. But I’ve done it.

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“Winning is never easy, there were riders who’d won Milan-San Remo and stages at the Tour, Vuelta and Giro. I’d never won anything like that so I didn’t think I was going to win, but I was confident I’d be up there.”

On the eve of the Vuelta’s first rest day, Monday’s short leg from Valencia north to Castellón initially looked set to be something of a transitional stage, but the tough ascent of the category 2 Alto del Desierto de las Palmas in the finale meant that the fast men would have to earn their opportunity. Giant-Alpecin, too, were eager to whittle down Degenkolb’s list of potential rivals still further, though as it turned out, their pace-making on the way up was equally beneficial to Sbaragli’s cause.

“I got over the climb pretty well,” the Italian said. “The speed was high but fortunately it was quite regular, so I knew I’d be able to stay on the wheels if that kept up. If the big guns had gone for it, it would have been impossible for me, but I managed to stay in the first 30 positions and I knew I’d be able to contest the win. But it’s a long way from contesting the win to actually winning.”

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Bittersweet stage for Dumoulin as he remains Vuelta leader while Degenkolb misses out

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Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) admitted to strongly mixed feelings on Monday as he remained Vuelta leader for another day but his team’s hard work culminated in a narrow defeat for their sprinter John Degenkolb.

Dumoulin also recognised that he did not think that he could win the Vuelta, but the Dutchman is notably more upbeat about his chances overall than as recently as last Tuesday, when he told Cyclingnews he was not interested in the overall classification.

“I’m both happy that I’m still leader but disappointed for John,” Dumoulin told reporters. “The plan was to go for the win with John, unfortunately he got second. That’s a shame but that’s cycling. We needed all the guys to chase down the breakaways, so there was nobody left for the leadout.

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“At least we got the sprint we had looked for, and we can be very proud of how the team rode and worked today. But it didn’t work out for the win.”

Dumoulin himself was notably active in that work in the latter part of the stage, chasing down one attack by a Lotto-Soudal rider and driving on the descent at the head of the 40-strong lead peloton as they chased down a three-rider break. Apart from urging other riders to collaborate in that pursuit with waves of his hand as he pulled off the head of the line, Dumoulin also stood out of the saddle to gesture at a TV motorbike to move ahead. [The motorbike had come so close to a lone break at one point the rider might have used its slipstream, risking the chances for a bunch sprint that Dumoulin and Giant-Alpecin wanted so badly.]

Discussing the huge early move on stage 10 with some 40 riders up the road, Dumoulin said, “We anticipated a long fight for the break, because there are not so many sprinters' teams here - or at least not so many sprinters’ teams who still have a sprinter here.”

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Roche vows to fight on after Vuelta a Espana crash

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It never rains but it pours. After a flawless opening act to his Vuelta a España, Nicolas Roche (Sky) suffered his second crash in as many days on the road to Castellón on stage 10, but the Irishman reported no broken bones and remains in fourth place overall as the race breaks for its first rest day.

Roche was one of many fallers in the large crash that took place 30km into Sunday’s stage, but suffered no lasting injury and was promptly back in the peloton after a swift bike change. He endured a more trying afternoon on Monday, however, as he fell heavily on a roundabout with 50km remaining, and was forced into a desperate pursuit to latch back on ahead of the testing final climb over the Alto del Desierto de las Palmas.

Thanks in no small part to the help of Salvatore Puccio – and later Ian Boswell and Sergio Henao – Roche succeeded in his task, and he managed to hang tough, too, over a final ascent that whittled the front group down to fewer than 60 riders. So much for transition stages.

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“Yesterday, I had a bit of luck and I just lost a little bit of skin. It was a small blow and the damage was limited, but if you never want to have a crash, it never does you any good,” Roche said as he soft-pedalled gingerly towards the Team Sky bus after the finish.

“Today I fell a lot harder and faster. We were going full on into a corner, on a roundabout. And this isn’t the Tour de France, unfortunately. The roads hadn’t been cleaned, so there was sand or something on the road and I went down.”

Roche fell heavily on his right side, and crossed the finish line with gashes to his elbow, hip and knee, and with his kit in shreds, but he still stopped for two separate groups of reporters to provide a quick update on his condition “Nothing broken, but I’m sore all down my right side,” Roche said. “It would be easier to tell you where it doesn’t hurt.”

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Ewan makes planned abandon of Vuelta a Espana

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Orica-GreenEdge sprinter Caleb Ewan’s abandon on stage 10 of the Vuelta a España was not due to illness or exhaustion, rather the 21-year-old's early exit had been scheduled by the team in order not to burn the rider out.

With 11 wins this year and last but not least amongst them a victory on stage 5 at Alcala de Gaudaira in the Vuelta, the young Orica-GreenEdge rider certainly ends the year on a high note.

“We’d always planned on getting him to quit round about now," Orica-GreenEdge director Julien Dean told Cyclingnews.

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"We’d talked about it, he wasn’t feeling the best [Sunday], and we agreed we’d see how he felt today," Dean said. "With him, we really have to remember that he’s very young. People forget that too often. But he’s certainly met all our expectations here and it’s a great way to finish the season. We’re really happy with how he’s done."

For Dean, Ewan’s abandon is partly due to a bigger change in cycling as a whole. "We race with a different generation now. Ten years ago or even eight years ago we didn’t have 20-year-olds racing these top events, so you have to be mindful of that.

"We’re really cautious about that with him, and with the big group of young riders in our squad. We make sure they progress well through their careers, and if that means stopping a Grand Tour early, that means stopping them early. Also it’s always harder for a sprinter to get through these races than a climber."

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Craddock enjoying challenge as Giant-Alpecin ride high in the Vuelta a Espana

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As Giant-Alpecin go from strength to strength in the Vuelta a Espana, leading the race overall with Tom Dumoulin, their young American rider Lawson Craddock has found himself in the thick of the action - and enjoying the challenge, too.

Craddock, taking part in the large breakaway on stage 10, told Cyclingnews before the start in Valencia that Giant-Alpecin had come to the Vuelta looking for a good run of success but that the team’s dream start to the race with Dumoulin was far beyond expectations.

“He came in after crashing out of the Tour and you could definitely tell he was putting the work in and it’s showed in the Vuelta,” Craddock tells Cyclingnews. “So it’s really exciting being a part of it.

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“Our main goals pre-race were winning sprints with John [Degenkolb] and looking for opportunities on the harder stages and that’s kind of shifted a little bit.

“We’re still looking to win a couple of stages with John, but I don’t think any of us expected this [degree of success] coming into this race.”

The 23-year-old Texan, who has an all rounder’s role in his second Vuelta, ranging from working for Dumoulin on the climbs to supporting Degenkolb on the flatter stages, says the team are keeping their feet on the ground despite the top results so far.

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Ewan pulls out of Vuelta a Espana on stage 10

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Caleb Ewan withdrew from the Vuelta a Espana part way through stage 10 on Monday. The Orica-GreenEdge neo-pro has been feeling fatigued and the decision has been made not to push him too far in his debut Grand Tour. 

#LV2015: @CalebEwan has withdrawn from today's stage. 21yo feeling fatigue of 1st Grand Tour but leaves with a stage win!! Well done Caleb.

— ORICA-GreenEDGE (@ORICA_GreenEDGE) August 31, 2015

Ewan is the latest drop-out from an ever-depleting sprint line-up, following Peter Sagan and Nacer Bouhanni, who were both forced to leave the race due to crashes on stage 8.

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For the 21-year-old, the Vuelta has already been an unmitigated success and has seen him claim a breakthrough victory on stage 5. After what has been an impressive neo-pro season to date, it was a first win at WorldTour level, in a Grand Tour, and the first time he has got the better of one of the leading lights of the sprinting world. 

Whether or not the plan was always for Ewan to leave the race at this juncture, it was always going to be the case that he would bow out somewhere before Madrid. 

"This was probably the last stage I could go for because I’m not planning on going through the whole tour," he said after his stage win. 

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Uran joins Cannondale-Garmin for 2016

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Cannondale-Garmin announced on Monday that they have signed Rigoberto Urán to their 2016 roster.

The Colombian all-rounder is expected to strengthen the team’s goals for the overall classification in the Grand Tours, particularly the Giro d'Italia, after recently losing riders like Dan Martin to Etixx-QuickStep and Ryder Hesjedal to Trek Factory Racing.

"Rigo is a leader not just for his excellent skills on the road, but for his charisma," said Cannondale-Garmin CEO Jonathan Vaughters. "He brings style and passion to racing and he will be a huge asset to the team. Rigo has one more step to climb in the Giro and I will put my heart into helping make that happen. We are very excited to add him to our 2016 line up."

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Urán has placed second overall at the Giro d'Italia twice, in 2013 and 2014. He also secured the Olympic silver medal in the road race and won the white jersey for best young rider at the Giro d'Italia where he finished seventh overall, both in 2012.

Urán spent three seasons with Team Sky (2011-2013) followed by two season with Etixx-QuickStep in 2014 and 2015.

The 2015 season has proven to be a challenging one for Urán. Although he won the Colombian time trial title and finished third overall at Tirreno-Adriatico, he struggled through the Giro d’Italia with illness to finish 14th overall in May. He went on to finish 42nd overall at the Tour de France in July.

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Boonen set for another year at Etixx-QuickStep

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Tom Boonen and Etixx-QuickStep have come to an agreement that will keep the Belgian rider at the team for another year, according to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

Boonen, 34, has a longstanding association with the Belgian team but with his current contract set to expire at the end of 2015, there has been uncertainty hanging over his future since the transfer window opened on August 1.

"The final talks did not last very long - in two weeks we were done. I'm glad it's behind us. I'll be staying on for one year, as I actually always wanted,” said Boonen, according to Het Nieuwsblad.

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“I still enjoy all aspects of cycling. At this age it's better to decide year by year. When this new contract expires I'll be 36 years old.”

Boonen has been with the Belgian team for the majority of his professional career, joining in 2003 after a neo-pro year at US Postal. In his 13 years so far at the team, he has established himself as one of the all-time great Classics riders, with four Paris-Roubaix victories, three at the Tour of Flanders, and a world champion’s jersey to his name among various other successes. A fast finish means he has racked up more than one hundred victories during his career.

A dislocated shoulder forced him to miss his beloved spring Classics this year but he got his season back on track with a stage win at the Eneco Tour in August.

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Report: Tinkoff-Saxo drop Julich and Healey from coaching staff

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French newspaper l’Equipe has reported that the Tinkoff-Saxo team has decided to shake up its training staff with Head Coach Bobby Julich and Head of Sports Science Daniel Healey losing their positions in the Russian team.

Both Julich and the Tinkoff-Saxo team refused to comment on the report in l’Equipe but Cyclingnews understands that Julich’s and Healey’s contracts will not continue beyond this season.

Tinkoff-Saxo won the Giro d’Italia with Alberto Contador and has taken a total of 26 victories so far this season. However, Peter Sagan struggled to be competitive in the spring Classics. He won the Tour of California and a fourth consecutive green points jersey at the Tour de France but did not win a stage. He finally ended his Grand Tour drought at the Vuelta a España but quit the race on Sunday after being hit by a race motorbike.

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Last season team owner Oleg Tinkov sparked a revolution in the team’s coaching and sports staff after insisting that his staff needs to understand modern coaching and performance methodology. Philippe Mauduit and Fabrizio Guidi were dropped as directeurs sportifs and Sean Yates and Patxi Vila were hired. Yates worked with Team Sky before leaving the team for what he claimed were personal reasons when the British team introduced its zero-tolerance policy towards doping. Vila worked with Specialized in its Performance unit that advises its sponsored teams on equipment choices, time trial strategy, bike positioning and aerodynamics.

Julich was hired from BMC and was joined by Healey, who worked in nutrition in elite sports in New Zealand. Julich had an excellent relationship with former team owner Bjarne Riis, who was dismissed as team manger in the spring. Julich first worked with Riis as a rider at the CSC team in 2004 and then in a coach-directeur sportif role until 2010. He joined Team Sky in 2011 but left the British squad when their zero-tolerance policy came into force. Julich confessed to doping between 1996-1998, when he finished third in the Tour de France.

Tinkoff-Saxo has already announced it has sign Britain's Adam Blythe to support Sagan in 2016, with three new signings expected to be announced soon. Filippo Pozzato has been linked with the team for 2016 after falling out with the Lampre-Merida team.

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Horse for the Course: Haibike Sduro Trekking RC e-bike for Eurobike

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There are two well-known facts about Eurobike. First, with roughly four times the floor space of Interbike and 20 percent more exhibitors than the Taipei Cycle Show, it’s indisputably the largest bicycle trade event in the world. Second, the surrounding infrastructure around Friedrichshafen, Germany, is wholly incapable of supporting an event of that size. For most showgoers, the dearth of nearby hotels means you’re staying far away, and traffic is a nightmare. I despise being stuck in traffic. This year, I was determined to do it differently.

Related reading: BikeRadar's complete coverage of the 2015 Eurobike trade show

But there's another thing about Eurobike: while the roads may be lacking in terms of capacity for cars, there’s fantastic infrastructure for riding a bike, with designated and often protected bike lanes (and bike traffic lights!) seemingly everywhere. 

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This year, the BikeRadar crew was staying on the opposite side of Lake Constance from Friedrichshafen. Including a pleasant ferry ride, the commute is relatively short at less than 20 miles, but with traffic it can easily take more than two hours from door to door via car.

This year's commute to and from Eurobike wasn't any faster than usual but it definitely more pleasant than usual

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Special Pricing on 2015-2016 Racing Licenses

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USA Cycling is excited to offer $25 off domestic racing licenses when purchasing 2015 and 2016 together!

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Vuelta a Espana: Sbaragli wins stage 10 in Castellon

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Kristian Sbaragli (MTN-Qhubeka) claimed the biggest win of his professional career on Monday as he sprinted to victory on stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana.

The Italian triumphed ahead of John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) and José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar) on the short stage from Valencia to Castellòn, punctuated by a second-category climb 16 kilometres from the line.

"It is a dream come true for me because it's been four times in this Vuelta that I've tried to do my sprint and today when I crossed the finish line, I still cannot believe it," Sbaragli said. "It is a dream for me and a dream for MTN-Qhubeka."

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Tom Dumoulin finished safely in the bunch to retain his red jersey, having worked on the descent of the Alto del Desierto de las Palmas to help tee things up for Degenkolb. With Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) abandoning the race early on in the stage through fatigue and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) already out, all eyes were on Degenkolb on the flat 7km run-in to the finishing straight.

Degenkolb found himself several places back as the sprint was opened up and despite gaining significant ground he was unable to overhaul Sbaragli, who clinched the second victory of his career after a stage of the Tour de Korea in 2013. It is MTN-Qhubeka’s first taste of success at the Vuelta and it continues the African team’s irresistible upward curve, following on from Steve Cummings’ breakthrough success at the Tour de France in July.

How it unfolded

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Sbaragli gives African team stage win

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Kristian Sbaragli claims South African team MTN-Qhubeka's second grand tour stage win at the Vuelta a Espana as Chris Froome moves seventh.

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Boels Rental Ladies Tour start list

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News shorts: Uran to Cannondale-Garmin? Bouhanni keen to bounce back

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Vaughters hints Urán will join Cannondale-Garmin for 2016

Rigoberto Urán (Etixx-QuickStep) is expected to join the Cannondale-Garmin team for 2016 after a strong hint via Twitter from team manager Jonathan Vaughters.

The Colombian Grand Tour rider has been linked to both Team Sky and Cannondale-Garmin in recent months but seems set to join the US-registered team after Dan Martin left for Etixx-QuickStep and Ryder Hesjedal confirmed he will ride for Trek Factory Racing next year. Urán finished second in both the 2013 and 2014 editions of the Giro d’Italia but struggled with illness this season and was off the pace in the Tour de France.

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Vaughters tweeted: “Riddle: what will be green in 2016, has a long flowing mane, and two of the same last name? Answer tomorrow.”

The Cannondale-Garmin team is expected to confirm Urán’s arrival on Monday and the move would follow the recent signing of Pierre Rolland from Europcar. 

Other riders heading to Cannondale-Garmin in 2016 include Dutch sprinter Wouter Wippert (from Drapac), Canadian Mike Woods (Optum-Kelly Benefits), Paddy Bevin (Avanti) and Ireland’s Ryan Mullen (An Post-Chain Reaction).

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Argon 18 launch new time trial bikes

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This article originally appeared on BikeRadar

Canadian brand Argon 18 is looking to take on Cervélo with the launch of four new TT bikes across two new platforms – the UCI-legal E117 Tri and the totally illegal E119 Tri – the latter of which is claimed to be faster than a Cervélo P5 in real-world conditions. Argon 18 is the second sponsor and bike supplier of the Bora-Argon 18 Professional Continental team that rode the  Tour de France. 

Both bikes have been designed to offer practicality as well as speed and come in regular and ‘plus' versions, which come with a bevy of accessories to store ride essentials, nutrition and hydration.

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E119 Tri+

The E119 isn't a development of Argon 18's range-topping E118 Next TT bike. Rather, the brand's engineers created a whole new platform from scratch in a bid to beat the genre-leading bike of that other Canadian company – the Cervélo P5.

Argon 18 used CFD to design the new frame, making a conscious decision to forego some 0-degree speed in exchange for better performance than the P5 at real-world five to 20-degree angles. Argon 18 is measuring its aero performance in terms of CDA (and will publish its wind tunnel data in this format). By this standard, the E119 Tri is 14.89 percent more aerodynamic than the E118 Next, which is, and will continue to be, ridden by the Bora-Argon 18 professional team.

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inCycle season review: Nearly men

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Richie Porte, Nairo Quintana and Peter Sagan have all enjoyed success in season 2015, but for the trio its also question of "what if" as all three have also missed out on a bigger prize.

Porte started the season in storming form, winning the Australian national time trial title and finishing runner-up at Tour Down Under before claiming overall wins at Paris-Nice, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and Giro del Trentino, but it fell apart at the Giro d'Italia for the Australian and while the 30-year-old showed glimpses of his best at the Tour de France, the early-season seems like a distant memory.

Sagan started his Tinkoff-Saxo tenure with expectations matching his four million euro annual salary so when it took till mid-March for Sagan to open his 2015 account, alarm bells were ringing. A modest classics campaign by his high standards had team boss Oleg Tinkov calling out Sagan over twitter to which the 25-year-old responded to in style with overall victory at the Tour of California. Five second place finishes at the Tour suggested Sagan was the strongest rider in the Tour while a fourth straight green jersey was a sign of his consistency but it was a matter of what could have been for the Slovakian.

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Quintana's season started with third place in the defence of his Tour de San Luis crown before a crash at the Colombian nationals set back the Colombian's racing schedule. An epic win in the snow at Terminillo set up Tirreno-Adriatico victory with his early-season preparation for the Tour looking good. Second place overall behind Chris Froome was the same result on paper as the 2013 Tour but the Colombian missed out on a stage win and took home the best young rider's jersey as sole consolation. This year's Tour was one that suited Quintana but with time on his side, its more likely a matter of time before when Quintana claims overall victory.

Watch the video below to see what out inCycle panellists make of the trio and how their seasons have played out.

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Alexander Kristoff heads to North America with renewed form

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Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) heads to North America for final preparations ahead of the World Championships after notching his 20th win this season in a bunch sprint at Sunday's GP Ouest France-Plouay. Following a disappointing Tour de France, the Katusha rider returned to winning ways with a stage and points classification victory at the Arctic Race of Norway but was off the pace at the one-day Vattenfall Cyclassics WorldTour event in Hamburg last weekend. The tough circuit though suited the characteristics of the 28-year-old who grabbed his fourth WorldTour win of season 2015.

"Everything went how we planned it. Of course we had to gamble a bit. We could not do all the work to catch back the three guys in the front, but we were present and saved forces for the last kilometre. In the sprint we really had control over the situation," Kristoff said of the win. "I need to thank all my teammates. In the end we started here with three guys coming back from an injury but they did a marvellous job for me. No need to say that I am very happy with this prestigious win."

Kristoff started the year in blistering fashion, notching up 18 wins by mid-June to stake a claim as the fastest sprinter in the peloton. Kristoff had then gone to the Tour de France eyeing off the green jersey and stage wins but finished the race empty handed as André Greipel and his Lotto Soudal team bossed the sprints.

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The Norwegian beat a star-studded field at the GP Ouest France-Plouay consisting of Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing), Tom Boonen (Etixx-Quick Step), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) and Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida). None however, factored in the final bunch sprint, but was a good test ahead of Richmond.

"My twentieth win is a big one," Kristoff also told Cyclingnews. "To win in the World Tour is always great. I'm really happy about that. Now I'm looking forward to the twenty-first victory. The World Championship is my next big goal."

"I've seen the course on video and it should fit me," Kristoff said. "The climbs are short and technical, and there are cobblestones."

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Speedplay Aero Pedal System released for sale

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This article originally appeared on BikeRadar

First teased at Interbike last year, Speedplay's Aero Pedal System is now available for sale. Claimed to be "the most aerodynamic clipless pedal system available", it's a one-side Zero pedal with a dimpled underside that, when clipped into the aero cleat, creates a smooth, unbroken surface all the way down to the shoe sole.

Speedplay's Zero pedal system is "upside down" compared with most road pedals, in that cleat has moving parts for engagement instead of the pedal. The company claims this system allows for more cornering clearance, lower weight, better float and easier disengagement. The Aero Pedal System will keep all the same design aspects except for the double-sided entry.

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"Our standard Zero Pedal System already has a small frontal area, so I only needed to focus on streamlining the shape," said Richard Bryne, Speedplay's designer and CEO. "I redesigned the Zero pedals and cleats to form a continuous contoured profile to produce the smooth uninterrupted shape now found in the Zero Aero system."

While they're the pedal system Bradley Wiggins rode to the UCI World Hour Record, exact time/watt savings are not claimed. Speedplay notes that the Aero Pedal system is specifically intended for use in competitions against the clock, and that its other, dual-sided, pedal systems are a better choice outside of these situations.

The Zero Aero Pedal will be available in both stainless steel ($275) and titanium ($399) models (UK and Australian pricing was unavailable at time of writing). Unfortunately we're yet to weigh the new pedal in either format.

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