DEVO: Junior, U23 teams gain valuable, hilly experience in Europe

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Last weekend, six junior cyclists from the United States got a taste of what itandrsquo;s like to contest a long, difficult top-level European stage race.

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Porte primed for Criterium du Dauphine

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After joining BMC Racing to become the team's leader for the Tour de France, Richie Porte has surfed the highs and lows of a Grand Tour contender. Having missed out on last year's podium in Paris in large part due to a late mechanical on stage 2 that cost him nearly two minutes, his fifth place overall confirmed him as a genuine contender at the Tour de France. The Australian will look to this week's Critérium du Dauphiné for a confidence-inspiring performance in his build-up to the Tour.

Last year, Porte finished two seconds off the podium in the Dauphine and went into the Tour de France without a major victory for the year. This season, Porte has won the Tour Down Under and the Tour de Romandie and has taken heart from those results, even if his Paris-Nice went pear-shaped in the crosswinds on stage 2.

"The Critérium du Dauphiné is the last big test before the Tour de France so it is a chance to see where I stand compared to everyone else," Porte said in a team press release. "I'm taking a lot of confidence out of my Tour de Romandie win and a good result at the Critérium du Dauphiné would set me up perfectly for July."

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Like many of his Tour de France rivals, Porte has spent half of May training at altitude, and said he is "as prepared as possible".

"I'm feeling really good right now and although the Tour de France is obviously the main goal this year, I would love to add the Critérium du Dauphiné to my palmarès. We have a strong team to support me and we'll take things stage by stage."

BMC's directeur sportif Fabio Baldato has chosen a veteran team to back Porte in the Dauphiné to give him the best chance at getting that confidence-inspiring result.

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Tour de Pologne 2017 route unveiled

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Tour de Pologne organizers have unveiled the route of the 74th edition of the WorldTour race. This year’s parcours sees some changes introduced to what had lately become a traditional course.

The Tour de Pologne runs between July 29 and August 4 and, just like in recent years, will be the main stage race between the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. The route features 23 categorized climbs and three uphill finishes, and follows a well-trodden trail in the southern parts of Poland. However, it includes neither a time-trial stage nor unnaturally long stages. Instead, seven days of racing are designed to give opportunities to both sprinters and puncheurs.

Krakow will host the start of the race, while Katowice and Rzeszow will be the two other major cities welcoming the WorldTour peloton. Traditionally a venue of the final time trial, this year the capital of Lesser Poland sees riders kick off racing with a short but undulating stage, likely to be snatched by sprinters. Day two will also be familiar as riders head to Katowice for a bunch sprint on a wide roads in the city centre, although there is a short climb to deal with on the way.

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First moves in the general classifications are expected to take place on day three as riders tackle a hilly course on their way to the ski resort of Szczyrk. With four categorized climbs on the menu, punchy riders are likely to battle for the win on a steep climb that awaits in the final.

The sprinters will have their last chance on day five as the peloton crosses Silesian roads and finishes in Zabrze after 238km of largely flat stage. The peloton then moves east on a short stage to Rzeszow, climbing four times in the final 60 kilometres – an overture to the more mountainous part of the race.

The final two days see the riders tackling the narrow roads of the Tatra mountains, where short stages with uphill finishes are designed to create an explosive race. Stage 6 leads through five categorized ascents into Zakopane, finishing on an uphill by Wielka Krokiew, the famous ski jumping venue, where Bart de Clercq and Tim Wellens triumphed in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

2017 Tour de Pologne route:

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Amber Pierce: Forging paths through the cycling world

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Amber Pierce (Colavita-Bianchi) might just have been a celeste-coloured blur to many of the fans who watched the UCI Women's WorldTour visit California earlier this month for the Amgen Women's Race, but the 36-year-old American has for the better part of a decade been a loyal domestique, slogging it out in Europe and stateside, drawing from her love for the sport to keep going.

In many ways, Pierce, (a former Cyclingnews blogger) embodies the majority of the women's cycling world - the many passionate riders who are fighting and sacrificing outside the spotlight, helping their teammates win races and working to make the sport better for the athletes who are just discovering the sport.

Over the last decade, the former collegiate national champion has built a solid career as a domestique in the bigger races, taking a few small victories closer to home, all the while advocating for female athletes and bike-friendly communities.

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"You could sum up the longevity my career in one word, resilience," Piece said. "It has been a long span of years and has spanned a lot of different teams and languages. Bike racing is a hard sport and what I have found is, what has helped me stay in it for a long time is number one, it is a source of joy to me."

Pierce was born in Northern California and grew up in Reno, Nevada close to the race's start in South Lake Tahoe. As a swimmer, Pierce earned a scholarship to Stanford, but a shoulder injury interrupted her first athletic career. Pierce discovered cycling and quickly climbed the ranks from a Cat 4 to professional in less than two years.

Pierce caught the attention of the Webcor Women's team, which was based out Northern California, after winning two collegiate cycling titles in 2005. Pierce rode her first professional season in 2006 supporting riders like Olympian Christine Thorburn. It was at Webcor that Pierce began to evolve into a trusted domestique.

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Sagan and Majka headline Bora-Hansgrohe Tour de France long list

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Peter Sagan and Rafal Majka have been confirmed as Bora-Hansgrohe's leaders for the Tour de France, with the German team unveiling a long list of 12 riders in the running to support them. 

Majka will lead the team's general classification bid, while Sagan will hunt victories across a variety of stages and a sixth straight green jersey. 

The team will make its final decision on selection after June's Tour de Suisse, with 12 riders vying for the remaining seven places on the nine-man squad. Six of them are German, meaning their should be a strong home contingent for the Dusseldoorf Grand Départ, but general manager Ralph Denk insisted decisions will be based on class and form, not nationality. 

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“It’s always a hard decision, everybody wants to ride the Tour de France. Especially this year with the Grand Départ in Düsseldorf, it will be a lifetime memory for every German rider and a stepping stone for German cycling," said Denk in a statement on Wednesday. 

"In our long list, we have almost 50 per cent riders from Germany, but of course the best riders will be on the start in Düsseldorf at the end. Still, I am proud that six German riders are on our list today."

Those riders are Emanuel Buchmann, Marcus Burghardt, Christoph Pfingsten, Andreas Schillinger, Michael Schwarzmann, and Rudiger Selig. Burghardt is likely to support Sagan at the Tour de Suisse, along with the world champion's closest domestique, Maciej Bodnar, and fellow long listers Patrick Konrad, Jay McCarthy, and Juraj Sagan. Majka is set to head to the Tour of Slovenia, alongside Selig and Konig. The rest of the German riders will be at the Critérium du Dauphiné. 

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Recon Ride: Criterium du Dauphine - Podcast

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With the Giro d'Italia in the rear-view mirror, the Tour de France tune-up season is underway, and everything kicks off this weekend at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

One of the most prestigious one-week events on the pro cycling calendar, the Dauphiné has drawn most of the Tour's top contenders – as it usually does – for eight days of hard racing in France.

Defending champion Chris Froome will be looking for win number four, but the competition is set to be fierce with Alberto Contador, Richie Porte, Alejandro Valverde and plenty of other big names in the mix. A parcours that features a time trial and some very steep climbs will ensure that the Dauphiné is an ideal proving ground for the big stars ahead of cycling's main event.

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Liege-Bastogne-Liege finish could return to Liege - News Shorts

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Liège-Bastogne-Liège finish to return to Liège?

The finish of Liège-Bastogne-Liège could return to the centre of Liège if local politicians have their way. City councillor Quentin Le Bussy wrote on his party’s website requesting that the Liège mayor begins work to bring back the finish to its original home.

Despite the name, Liège-Bastogne-Liège – known as La Doyenne due to it being inaugurated in 1892 – has not finished in the centre of the city for almost 30 years. Since the Pesant Club Liegois partnered up with the Société Tour de France, which has since become ASO, back in 1990, the race has finished in the town of Ans on the outskirts of the city. The move was necessitated by road works in the centre of Liège.

The mayor, Willy Demeyer, is reportedly open to the idea, according to the Walloon website DH.be. However, they would still have to convince organiser ASO to make the change.

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The current contract with Ans is set to run out after next year’s race, opening the door for the switch to be made. When asked about it back in April, race director Christian Prudhomme merely said: “It’s too early to think about it.”

2017 Canadian nationals announced for Ottawa

The Gatineau-Ottawa region has been announced as the host for the 2017 Canadian national championships from June 24-28.

The championships will start with the elite women's road race and the junior men and women's events. The U23 and men's race will be held the following day. All road races will take place on a 10-kilometre circuit in Tunney's Pasture in Ottawa.

Busy weekend of racing for Caja Rural in Portugal, Holland and France

Julien Mortier to stagiaire with WB-Veranclassic-Aqua Protect

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Axeon Hagens Berman press officer Sean Weide dies suddenly aged 49

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Axeon Hagens Berman press officer Sean Weide has died unexpectedly at the age of 49. Weide was found dead at his apartment in Omaha on Tuesday.

Weide had five daughters, who confirmed the passing of their father in a Facebook post.

“Sean's Princesses are sad to inform you that he was found dead in his apartment today. We are all saddened and will miss him immensely. We will keep all of you updated with more information as we plan his funeral. We love you, Dad!”

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The Axeon Hagens Berman team wrote a brief message on Twitter. “It is with great sadness that we inform everyone our beloved Public Relations man Sean Weide passed away today. We are at a loss for words.”

It has been a tough period for the team after their rider Chad Young died following a crash at the Tour of the Gila in April.

Weide was a longstanding member of the cycling community and had previously worked with BMC Racing, Team Type 1, and many others. Many team members and staff took to social media to express their condolences and share memories of Weide.

— Tao Geoghegan Hart (@taogeoghegan) May 31, 2017

— Larry Warbasse (@larrywarbasse) May 31, 2017

— Brian Smith (@BriSmithy) May 31, 2017

— Daniel Benson (@dnlbenson) May 31, 2017

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Barguil returns from fractured pelvis at Criterium du Dauphine

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Warren Barguil makes his return to racing with Team Sunweb from a fractured pelvis at the Criterium du Dauphine this week while Phil Bauhaus leads the team aspirations in the sprints. Barguil crashed out of the Tour de Romandie on stage 2 after a solid Ardennes campaign which saw him finish sixth in La Flèche Wallonne.

Having helped Tom Dumoulin to overall Giro d'Italia victory, Chad Haga lines out for the team and will be a key man for Barguil in the high mountains. Having been pulled from the Giro due to fatigue, Bauhaus has been passed fit by the team with coach Morten Bennekou confident the 22-year-old can improve upon his three to-ten results from the Italian Grand Tour.

"We are looking forward to some exciting, challenging stages at Critérium du Dauphiné," Bennekou said. "We are happy with the return of Warren after his hard crash, the fact he is back so quickly after such an injury is already a victory so he will be there primarily to gain racing rhythm. We will aim for stage results with Phil in the sprints, he showed at the Giro that he is able to compete with the best and we will give all of our efforts to continue this upward line into Dauphiné."

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Barguil made his debut at the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2013, his first year as a professional, but has since opted to race the Tour de Suisse. Last year the 25-year-old finished third overall in Switzerland. In 2017, Dumoulin leads the Tour de Suisse squad allowing Barguil free to race the key Tour de France warm-up event. In 2017, Barguil has registered just 25 days of racing with eighth place overall at Paris-Nice his best stage race result of the season.

The bulk of the squad come across from America where Johannes Fröhlinger, Chris Hamilton, Lennard Hofstede and Sam Oomen raced the Tour of California. Completing the team and making just his second stage race appearance of 2017 is Bert De Backer.

Cyclingnews will have daily live coverage start to finish of each of the eight stages.

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Summerhill resigns from UnitedHealthcare

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Having been charged with disorderly conduct, discharging a weapon in a public place and reckless endangerment in Jefferson County, Colorado, Danny Summerhill has resigned effectively immediately from the UnitedHealthcare team.

A statement from the team on Tuesday confirmed the resignation.

"Momentum Sports Group holds our athletes to the highest standards of ethical conduct and accountability – both on and off the road. Following an internal investigation, we accepted Mr. Summerhill’s resignation from the team, effective immediately. The personal actions of one individual do not represent the values of our dedicated athletes, sponsors or fans, and we offer our sincerest apologies to anyone who may have been impacted," read a statement from the team.

Summerhill was seen firing a handgun into a hillside when riding along South Deer Creek Road during the afternoon of Tuesday, February 21. Joe Porter videotaped Summerhill, claiming he saw a handgun in his jersey pocket. Porter identified Summerhill's UnitedHealthcare kit, helping Deputy Jeffrey Pedersen track down Summerhill at a fitness club.

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"The male initially denied shooting, but then admitted that he had a bad day and need to vent, so he decided to shoot," the report read. "He confirmed that he had been riding his bicycle in Deer Creek Canyon on a five-hour training ride and had needed to vent before he got back to his vehicle."

Summerhill is due in court on July 12 for a pre-trial hearing.

Summerhill, who has been with the Pro-Continental team since 2012, had only been back in America for a matter of days after racing the Tour of Japan. The 28-year-old won the Sakai prologue on May 21 and recorded a DNF in Toyko on May 28. Summerhill also won a stage of the Tour de Taiwan inMarch, finishing seventh overall.

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Contador confirmed to lead Trek-Segafredo at Criterium du Dauphine

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Trek-Segafredo has confirmed Alberto Contador will lead its team at the Criterium du Dauphine in preparation for July's Tour de France. Contador hasn't raced since finishing second overall at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and will be hoping the same approach as 2016 to the Dauphine will lead to success.

Contador has finished on the Dauphine podium three times in his career with tenth place his worse result from seven starts. In 2016, Contador won the Les Gets prologue and enjoyed several days in yellow before slipping to fifth place overall.

At the Criterium du Dauphine, the 34-year-old will be well supported by his Trek-Segafredo team which features predominately Spanish riders. Haimer Zubeldia, Jesus Hernandez, and Markel Irizar will all be key men in the high mountains for Contador.

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In 2017, Contador has finished second overall at Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Paris-Nice and the Ruta del Sol but is still searching for his first win in Trek-Segafredo colours.

Although Colombian Jarlinson Pantano misses the race and instead heads to Tour de Suisse, Austrian Michael Gogl will be on hand in the mountains for Contador. Gogl is likely to be a key man at the Tour de France for Contador with the Dauphine an important test against the likes the Chris Froome (Team Sky), Richie Porte (BMC) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

Belgian Edward Theuns is the sole fast man in the team and will be given opportunities in the flatter stages to chase stage wins. The team is rounded out by domestiques Andre Cardoso and Fumiyuki Beppu.

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Tour de France 2017 stage maps and profiles revealed

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The 2017 Tour de France is just over a month away, and the ASO has revealed the routes and profiles for all 21 stages as the Grand Départ approaches. From the start in Düsseldorf through Belgium and Luxembourg to France, the 104th edition of the sport's main event will pit the peloton against an intriguing array of challenges, with a particular focus on a few steep ascents, across several distinct parts of France and its neighbours.

Defending champion Chris Froome and challengers Nairo Quintana, Richie Porte and Alberto Contador will find themselves on a route that may skew slightly towards the climbers but with a generally balanced feel. The time trial mileage is limited, but so are the mammoth uphill slogs.

Race director Christian Prudhomme noted late last year that he wanted a less predictable Tour de France. To that end, the 2017 Tour will spread its GC-defining days across all three weeks, with fewer climbs in total than in 2016 but several especially steep mountain gradients that will force riders to rely more on their own legs than the comfort of a teammate's slipstream.

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A short opening time trial in Düsseldorf, marking the race's first foray onto German soil in three decades, will set the tone on the overall leaderboard early, though without much likelihood of serious time gaps. The stage hunters will come to the fore over the next few days as the Tour works its way south through Belgium and Luxembourg before the first true mountain stage to La Planche des Belles Filles on the fifth day of the race. The site of Chris Froome's first ever Tour stage win in 2012, where Vincenzo Nibali took hold of the yellow jersey in a victorious 2014 campaign, the relatively short but quite steep climb is sure to have a big impact on the race.

Two more mountain stages before the first rest day – a stage 8 with a late first-category climb and a stage 9 pairing the Grand Colombier with a late hors-categorie climb – are sure to delight the many fans who don't like waiting until late in the third week for GC action.

Stage 12 looks to be the next key challenge as the Tour heads to the Pyrenees. A long one at 214 kilometres, it features five categorised climbs and closes out with a fantastic trio of challenging ascents: the HC-rated Port de Balès, the Cat. 1 Peyresourde and a short but steep second-category finish to Peyragudes for good measure. A stage 13 with three first-category climbs will follow to keep the yellow jersey hopefuls on their toes.

2017 Tour de France route:

• Stage 1 - July 01, 2017: Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf, 14km
• Stage 2 - July 02, 2017: Düsseldorf - Liège, 206km
• Stage 3 - July 03, 2017: Verviers - Longwy, 202km
• Stage 4 - July 04, 2017: Mondotf-les-Bains - Vittel, 203km
• Stage 5 - July 05, 2017: Vittel - La Planche de Belles Filles, 160km
• Stage 6 - July 06, 2017: Visoul - Troyes, 216km
• Stage 7 - July 07, 2017: Troyes - Nuits-Saint-Georges, 214km
• Stage 8 - July 08, 2017: Dole - Sation des Rousses, 187km
• Stage 9 - July 09, 2017: Nantua - Chambery, 181km
• Rest day 1 July 10, 2017 Dordogne - Dordogne
• Stage 10 - July 11, 2017: Perigueux - Bergerac, 178km
• Stage 11 - July 12, 2017: Eymet - Pau, 202km
• Stage 12 - July 13, 2017: Pau - Peryagudes, 214km
• Stage 13 - July 14, 2017: Saint Girons - Foix, 100km
• Stage 14 - July 15, 2017: Blagnac - Rodez, 181km
• Stage 15 - July 16, 2017: Laissac-Severac 'Eglise - Le Puy-en-Velay, 189km
• Rest day 2 July 17, 2017 Le Puy-en-Velay - Le Puy-en-Velay
• Stage 16 - July 18, 2017: Le Puy-en-Velay - Romans sur Isere, 165km
• Stage 17 - July 19, 2017: Le Murre - Serre Chavalier, 183km
• Stage 18 - July 20, 2017: Briancon - Izoard, 178km
• Stage 19 - July 21, 2017: Embrun - Salon de Provence, 220km
• Stage 20 - July 22, 2017: Marseille - Marseille (ITT), 23km
• Stage 21 - July 23, 2017: Montgeron - Paris, 105km

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Cavendish & Deignan in squad for National Road Championships

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Former world champions Mark Cavendish and Lizzie Deignan are named in British Cycling's squads for the National Road Championships.

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2017 Tour de Suisse start list

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McElveen and Grotts set to represent USA at MTB Marathon Worlds

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USA Cycling announced today the athletes who will represent the United States at the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships slated for June 25 in Singen, Germany.

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Tour de France favourites: form ranking

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The Tour de France is now just 32 days away and, with just the Critérium du Dauphiné separating most of the overall favourites from the Grand Depart in Dusseldorf, Cyclingnews has updated its form ranking to reflect the racing and results since mid-April.

1. Richie Porte (BMC Racing)

Previous rank: 5th

Overview: The season may be long but momentum is a prized currency and one that Porte has squirreled away with a number of impressive performances. In Romandie he was light years ahead of Froome and several other Tour contenders with an assured display in both the mountains and against the clock, and if, unlike last year, BMC Racing don’t leave their best GC asset at the side of the road, he will surely challenge for the podium this July. Up next is the Dauphiné, a race in which he could and should have made the podium last year.

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Highlight: Winning the Tour of Romandie at the end of April to make it two WorldTour stage races out of three in 2017.

Lowlight: The cold day in Paris-Nice still raises questions.

Next race: Critérium du Dauphiné

2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)

3. Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo)

4. Nairo Quintana (Movistar)

5. Chris Froome (Team Sky)

6. Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors)

7. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale)

8. Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates)

9. Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott)

10. Fabio Aru (Astana)

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Criterium du Dauphine 2017 start list

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 Start list

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Kwiatkowski: I want to be part of a Tour de France-winning team

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Victories in Milan-Sanremo and Strade Bianche, along with podium spots in Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, mark arguably the most consistent spring of Michal Kwiatkowski's career.

Having successfully led Team Sky’s classics outfit, the former world champion is now eyeing the Tour de France. After a short period of rest at the beginning of May, he has already resumed preparations with a two-week altitude camp, and will line up alongside Chris Froome at the Criterium du Dauphine.

During the French race Kwiatkowski will be putting the finishing touches to his shape ahead of the Grande Boucle, where he hopes to support the Briton’s bid to win a fourth maillot jaune.

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This year the Polish rider has bounced back after a difficult 2016 season in which success – victory in E3 Harelbeke, as well as great team performances in the Olympic Games and Vuelta a Espana – was interspersed with illnesses and a general lack of consistency after too strong a start to the season.

In 2017 he was motivated to live up to the expectations. A gradual build-up towards spring one-day races paid dividends as the 26-year-old took a confidence-boosting victory at Strade Bianche. Two weeks later, after clocking some more kilometres at Tirreno-Adriatico, he was up against Peter Sagan and Julian Alaphilippe in the Milan-San Remo finale, edging the world champion on the line and taking his first Monument win.

“It's hard to say whether it was my best spring… definitely the most consistent,” he told Cyclingnews two days after Liege-Bastogne-Liege. “This makes me quite happy. I’d be equally proud if I didn’t win but was still among the best and fought for victories. I wanted to start the season slower, control my shape and motivation and peak during Ardennes week. It worked out.”

Tour ambitions

Never specialize

The future

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Hammer Series start list

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2017 Tour de Luxembourg start list

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Summerhill charged with firing a gun while riding in Colorado

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Danny Summerhill (UnitedHealthcare) was arraigned in Jefferson County, Colorado on Tuesday on charges of disorderly conduct, discharging a weapon in a public place and reckless endangerment after being witnessed shooting his gun while riding his bicycle outside of Denver in February, according to the Denver Post.

A cyclist was seen firing a handgun into a hillside as he rode along South Deer Creek Road, in the rural area south-west of Denver, during the afternoon of Tuesday, February 21.

According to the police report, he was followed by resident Joe Porter after his wife Shawn heard shots while she was fetching her mail, and saw the cyclist firing his gun into a hillside "between two driveways ... with a freestanding garage and a vehicle parked in front of it".

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Joe Porter videotaped the rider, claiming to have seen a handgun in the rider's jersey pocket. Porter identified his kit as that of the UnitedHealthcare team, and said he believed the rider to be Summerhill, who was then tracked down by Deputy Jeffrey Pedersen later at a fitness club.

"The male initially denied shooting, but then admitted that he had a bad day and need to vent, so he decided to shoot," the report read. "He confirmed that he had been riding his bicycle in Deer Creek Canyon on a five-hour training ride and had needed to vent before he got back to his vehicle."

Summerhill reportedly told the officer he did not realize there were homes in the area and that it was illegal to shoot at the hillside.

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Rain-free Giro d'Italia, Maastricht to fete Dumoulin - News Shorts

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An unusually rain-free Giro d'Italia

Several riders have pointed out that this year's Giro d'Italia was highly unusual because of the conspicuous absence of rain.

The race has been famous for its downpours that have often sparked massive crashes, but Cannondale-Drapac's Alex Howes was somewhat let down to have missed that sort of mayhem in his Giro debut.

"This was first Giro, my first pink journey. It was nice. I feel kind of cheated in a lot of ways because it never rained," Howes said. "There were no crashes. There was nothing that crazy. All that stuff you hear about the Giro? Never happened. It's certainly very challenging. Physically it's demanding. There is a lot of up and down, a lot of long days. Would I do it again? Totally."

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Fact: not a single raindrop during this years #giroitalia

— Iljo Keisse (@IljoKeisse) May 29, 2017

Maastricht to fete Dumoulin on Wednesday

Maastricht mayor Annemarie Penn-te Strake announced that there will be a celebration at 19:30 on Wednesday for Tom Dumoulin in the city's market.

The home town of the Giro d'Italia's champion is exploring what security measures need to be in place to fete the Dutch rider, who returned home with his Sunweb team on Monday.

Stavanger to host Hammer Series in 2018

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Dumoulin to headline Sunweb team at Hammer Series

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There is no rest for the wicked. A week after his Giro d’Italia victory, Tom Dumoulin will be back in action at the Hammer Series as he heads up Sunweb’s six-man team for the inaugural running of the event, which will take place in his home region of Limburg.

Dumoulin won his - and the team’s - first Grand Tour at the Giro, beating former champion Nairo Quintana by 31 seconds after a strong final time trial. Wilco Kelderman was due to join Dumoulin at the Hammer Series, but he will miss it after crashing heavily at the end of the opening week of the Giro when he collided with a race motorbike.

The Hammer Series was created by the Velon organisation and will consist of three events over three days. The first will be a climbing event near Vaals, while the riders will return to the main race centre, Sittard-Geleen, the following day for the sprint event. The teams will then duke it out in a team pursuit-style race where each team's start time is based on their position in the overall standings, and the first to cross the line will take the victory.

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Dumoulin’s time trialling skills will likely be put to use in the final chase event, while the team have Zico Waeytens and Max Walscheid for the sprint event. Former junior and under 23 world time trial champion Lennard Kamna is in the line-up, as are Ramon Sinkeldam and Albert Timmer. None of Dumoulin’s Giro d’Italia teammates will be in action.

"This is a totally different race than to anything we've done before," said team coach Dirk Reuling. "In the climb race we aim to collect points from the break and for the sprint race we have Max and Zico as our fast guys to collect points. With that we aim to start in a good position for the chase."

The Hammer Series will take place from June 2-4.

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Nibali likely to skip Tour de France and ride Vuelta a Espana

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Following his podium finish at the Giro d’Italia, Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) is unlikely to follow in the footsteps of the man that finished one step ahead of him, Nairo Quintana, and head to the Tour de France. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Nibali’s coach Paolo Slongo and his agent Alex Carrera confirmed that the Italian’s calendar has him focused on the Vuelta a España as his next major target.

Nibali has left the door open, however, and when pressed on it directly himself, he would only say: “Now, I’m resting.”

After a tricky start to the Giro, Nibali mounted a comeback in the final week, with victory on the queen stage from Rovetta to Bormio. He came close to overhauling his rivals, but fell short by 40 seconds after the final time trial. He finished third overall, behind Quintana and overall winner Tom Dumoulin, but insisted he had no regrets.

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While Nibali chose to focus on the 100th edition of the Giro, the Bahrain-Merida team lined up Ion Izaguirre as their headliner for the Tour de France. The Spaniard won a stage at the 2016 Tour but, despite a strong string of results in week-long stage races, is untested when it comes to a GC bid over three weeks. Sonny Colbrelli would provide an option for stage victories in the sprints.

At the Vuelta a Espana, Nibali would still face some stiff competition, with Dumoulin also expected to ride, along with his former teammate Fabio Aru and three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome. Nibali has done the Giro-Vuelta double on three occasions, finishing 3rd and 1st at the respective races in 2010, 2nd and 7th in 2011, and 1st and 2nd in 2013. 

Nibali might be in rest mode at the moment, but he still has a few post-Giro d’Italia commitments. The first of those was an appearance at the Cycling Stars Criterium in Montebelluna. Sprint rivals Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) were also in action, as were Nibali’s teammates Franco Pellizotti and Manuele Boaro. Former riders Alessandro Ballan, Paolo Bettini and Matteo Tosatto were crowd favourites, too.

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2019 Tour de France to start in Brussels

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Three years on from the first suggestions that Brussels would host the 2019 Tour de France Grand Départ, race organiser ASO confirmed on Tuesday that the Belgian capital will indeed see off the 106th edition of the race, which will mark two key anniversaries: 50 years since the first of Eddy Merckx's five victories and 100 years since the creation of the maillot jaune. 

Merckx, a Belgian, won six stages on his way to the yellow jersey in the 1969 Tour, which was secured by the mammoth margin of 17 minutes 54 seconds over Roger Pingeon. The 'Cannibal' also won the points, mountains and young rider classifications. He went on to rack up a record 34 stage wins over the course of his career. 

The project to bring the Grand Départ to Brussels has been led by Alain Courtois, the former Secretary-General of the Belgian Football Association, who, along with Merckx, met with ASO in 2014. Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme was said to have been "pleasantly surprised" during the meeting, with negotiations ongoing since.

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Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reported that in the past week ASO representatives have visited Brussels, and the official announcement came on Tuesday morning. It is unclear whether the 2019 Tour will start with a prologue or a road stage, while the direction the race would take from Brussels is also yet to be decided.

Brussels has welcomed the Tour de France on 10 occasions, and hosted the Grand Départ in 1958. It first hosted a stage finish in 1947, when Rene Vietto won stage 3, and the race returned in 1949, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1992 and, most recently, 2010 when Alessandro Petacchi won stage 2 in a sprint.

Other Belgian cities to have hosted the Grand Départ are Chaleroi (1975) and Liège (2004 and 2012), while Antwerp has expressed its desire for the 2020 Grand Départ to mark the centenary of the first and only Belgian Olympic Games. The 2017 Tour de France starts in Düsseldorf, Germany, but will itself visit Belgium, with a stage from Düsseldorf to Liège on the second day and a stage start on Verviers on day three. 

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BMC Racing announce Hammer Series squad

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BMC Racing have announced its squad for the Velon Hammer Series in Limburg, Netherlands with Sammy Sánchez headlining its ambitions. The inaugural edition of the Hammer Series takes place over three days with victory going to the best team. The racing starts with a climbing friendly parcours, followed by a sprint day and concludes with the team time trial (or chase) event.

BMC's squad for the Hammer Series features several strong riders against the clock with the team aiming to wrap up the victory with a strong team ride. The likes of Stefan Küng, Daniel Oss, Manuel Quinziato and Miles Scotson will drive the time trial squad with Tom Bohli and Dylan Tuens the primary men for Sanchez on day 1.

"We are excited to be part of a new format of bike racing and to contribute in a new way to professional cycling. It will be an action-packed race with the focus changing every day and each team's sprinting, climbing and time trialling abilities all being tested," said sport director Jackson Stewart.

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"We are taking a well-rounded team that I think can be competitive across the three consecutive challenges: the Hammer Sprint, Hammer Climb, and Hammer Chase. While we are obviously unsure what to expect, and how it will differ from other races that we have competed in, I think it is almost certain that there will be some great racing for fans to enjoy."

The UCI 2.1 race is Sanchez's first since the Tour of California where the 39-year-old finished in 16th place. Having been a professional since 2000, Sanchez explained the new format of racing is an exciting new adventure.

"We will face a new, multi-discipline race format at the Hammer Series which I think will produce some pretty spectacular racing. It will be great for us to see the roads lined with cycling fans and I think it will be an exciting experience for all those who attend and those who watch online," said Sanchez. "Some of us are lining up following the AMGEN Tour of California, and I am sure our legs will respond well. I'm looking forward to getting started."

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Tour de France 2019: Brussels will host Grand Depart to honour Eddy Merckx

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Brussels will host the 2019 Tour de France Grand Depart to mark the 50th anniversary of five-time champion Eddy Merckx's first title.

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Robin Carpenter wins Winston-Salem classic

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Robin Carpenter continued his winning ways in 2017 with the Holowesko-Citadel rider taking a solo win at the Winston Salem Cycling Classic. The 24-year-old won a stage and the overall of the Joe Martin Stage Race last month and carried his form into the North Carolina one-day race, soloing to the win.

Carpenter made his decisive move on the KOM with one kilometre to race and held off the fast finishing Ryan Roth (Silber), last year's winner, and Canadian road race champion Bruno Langlois (Garneau Quebecor)

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Lauren Stephens wins Winston-Salem Classic

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Lauren Stephens (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) claimed her second UCI 1.1 victory of the season, taking out the Winston-Salem Classic road race with a late solo attack to distance her breakaway companions. The result completes a successful run of North American racing for Stephens, who won the Chrono Gatineau last week.

"Two .1's in two weekends in a row, it's pretty exciting," Stephens said. "I won the Chrono Gatineau last weekend, and to win this race - it's my first .1 road race - it's fantastic."

Stephens was part of a last-lack attack that also included Leah Thomas (Sho-Air Twenty20), Lauretta Hanson (UnitedHealthcare) and Lizzie Williams (Hagens Berman-Supermint).

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The four riders gained a significant advantage on the fractured peloton, and Stephens waited for the final climb to make her move. Thomas put up a fight to bring her back, but couldn't quite close the gap before the finish, and took second place, with Hanson out-sprinting Williams for the final podium spot just behind.

"I covered a move probably 5k out, and I wasn't expecting it to cause a break, but it did," Stephens explained. "I didn't have too much help in the break, but luckily we had a long downhill that allowed me to get some recovery, and it allowed me to do a little more work than I anticipated. Then I took it easy until where the hill plateaus ... then it gets pretty steep. I played it coy until then, and then took off on that last part and didn't let up until the finish line."

Thomas was part of an earlier breakaway that included Ruth Winder (UnitedHealthcare), Kristi Lay (Rally), Ingrid Drexel (Tibco), and Claire Rose (Visit Dallas DNA), that formed halfway through the race. They were caught by the group with Stephens before the last lap, sparking a series of attacks that provided a springboard for Thomas to launch the winning move. But her earlier efforts showed when Stephens attacked on the final climb. 

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Oscar Pujol wins 2017 Tour of Japan

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Bardet eager to get back racing in Criterium du Dauphine

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Romain Bardet is itching to get back to racing after five weeks away and will line up for the Critérium du Dauphiné with big goals after an intensive 16-day altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada mountains that wrapped up on Saturday. The AG2R La Mondiale rider has been busy building his form for the Tour de France after his sixth place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

However, his teammate Mikaël Chérel will not be by his side in the Dauphiné, which begins on June 4, after sustaining a hairline fracture to his pelvis on a high-speed training crash last week.

"The training camp in the Sierra Nevada went well except for Mikaël Chérel's hard crash, but I hope to find him riding next to me again very soon," Bardet said. Julian Duval will replace him on the team's roster for the Dauphiné, as the team waits to see how Chérel heals.

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Last year, he finished second to Chris Froome in the race before repeating that result in the Tour de France, and has been using the lengthy altitude training camp to tune up for another Tour de France bid.

"In Spain, we rode 1300km and climbed 27,000m. This camp came at an important part of the season, both in terms of the quality of the work that we did and the good atmosphere that prevailed throughout the group of riders," he said.

"The Critérium du Dauphiné is an important race, the last big meeting before the Tour de France. Last year it was a great experience taking second place behind Chris Froome in the overall classification after a tense final. But it was also tinged with regrets on that penultimate stage, where just a few more seconds in that breakaway could have resulted in a more striking performance.

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Cannondale-Drapac fulfills Giro d'Italia aspirations

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The Cannondale-Drapac team started the Giro d'Italia intending to "light-up" up the race, target stage victories and hope that Davide Formolo could finish in the top ten overall.

As the riders headed home with sore heads and sore legs after celebrating in Milan, they were satisfied with their performance and savouring the emotions of the 100th edition of the Corsa Rosa.

The team's highlight of the Giro d'Italia was, without a doubt, Pierre Rolland's stage victory in Canazei after going on the attack day after day in the mountains. Rolland timed his final solo attack on stage 17 to perfection and could count on teammate Michael Woods to block and dissuade the chase behind. The Frenchman was happy to swap any satisfaction of a good overall result for the heady emotions of a stage victory.

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Kristijan Koren, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Alex Howes and Davide Villella all tried their luck in breaks or with late attacks, while Joe Dombrowski fought back from an injury-hit spring and went on the attack with Rolland on stage.

Formolo finished tenth overall and third in the best young rider competition behind Bob Jungels and Adam Yates as he targeted the overall classification of his home Grand Tour for the first time. He is out of contract this season, with Team Sky and Astana apparently interested in the young Italian but he seems happy at Cannondale-Drapac, knowing he has the freedom to aim high. He plans to continue to target the overall classification in 2018.

"As I said at the starting Sardinia, I wanted to test myself and go for the overall. I finished in the top ten as I hoped and so I have to be satisfied. I think the GC speaks for itself, I'm behind some big, big names of the sport but I'm ahead of other big names," Formolo told Cyclingnews with pride, while aware of where he lost precious seconds.

Woods shakes of his Rookie tag after a successful Grand Tour debut

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News shorts: Trentin's close encounter with a bear ends in crash

Watch the Winston-Salem Classic live now!

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The Winston-Salem Classic takes place on Monday, May 29 with UCI 1.1-ranked events for professional men and women. The races take place on a rolling 13.7km circuit in the North Carolina Triad city.

The women's race began at 10:15, they will race for 109.4km with a finish between 12:50 and 13:12, depending on their speed. The men's race begins at 2:15 with a finish between 18:30PM and 19:05.

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The road events follow Saturday's Winston Salem Criterium, won by Samantha Schneider (IS Corp) and Holowesko-Citadel's and Ty Magner.

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Quintana's thoughts turn to Tour de France after falling short at Giro

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In a car park in Asiago on Saturday afternoon, Movistar manager Eusebio Unzue was already smilingly resigned to the inevitable, though he dared not admit as much then, with 29.3 kilometres of the Giro d'Italia still to run.

After the final mountain stage of the Giro, Nairo Quintana was in the pink jersey, with a lead of 53 seconds over the man most likely to depose him, fourth-placed Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb). It was never going to be enough, not with a flat time trial to come the following afternoon. "We could have done with another minute," Unzue said wistfully. "I would have liked 1:53…"

Quintana clawed back 3:34 on Dumoulin during the Giro's final week, but considering the terrain and the circumstances, it was a disappointing turnaround. The race's final act featured four mountain stages, including three in succession, but Quintana failed to take advantage of the favourable contours of the route book. His underwhelming final week is brought into sharper focus by the fact that some 2:10 of the time gained came on stage 16 to Bormio, where Dumoulin was forced to stop for an abrupt toilet break at the base of the Umbrailpass.

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For the rest of the week – and even when he tracked Nibali atop the Umbrailpass – Quintana's accelerations lacked the bite and conviction of the final week of the 2014 Giro, say, or his breakout Tour de France of 2013. Has the world changed or has Nairo Quintana changed?

"I think Nairo was missing that percentage point of brilliance he's had in the past," Unzue said. "On this Giro, apart from the day of the Blockhaus, he hasn't been able to make the difference. The level of the favourites has been very even."

Even if Quintana had defied the odds and held onto his maglia rosa on the final afternoon – and he did, in the end, produce a respectable time trial to retain second place overall, 31 seconds behind Dumoulin – it was clear that his Giro 2017 vintage had been some way short of his best. It was had more in common with his flat display at the 2016 Tour than his more effervescent Vuelta a España later that summer.

Tour de France

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Dumoulin honoured but still humble after Giro d’Italia victory

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Tom Dumoulin made history by becoming the first Dutchman to win the Giro d’Italia but just as he did when under attack from Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali in the final mountain stages, he stayed calm and collected after celebrating with his Sunweb teammates, his girlfriend and family in Piazza Duomo in Milan. He was looking forward to a celebratory barbecue rather than thinking about his next Grand Tour goal. He wants to keep his feet on the ground rather than become a hero when he returns to the Netherlands and perhaps goes on to target the Tour de France.

Dumoulin defeated Quintana and Nibali to become the first Dutchman to win the Giro d’Italia. He ended a long lean spell for the Netherlands in Grand Tours – Joop Zoetemelk was the last at the 1980 Tour de France.

“This Giro d’Italia victory is not going to change my whole life. I hope to stay the same person with the same character,” Dumoulin said.

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“Maybe people around me will approach me differently but I hope they don’t. If I stay the same, I hope other people around me will too. I really hope I can walk around Maastricht without being treated like a superhero. I can ride my bike fast, but I’m just a normal person.”

“Of course it’s amazing when you see all the names on the winner’s trophy. It’s an honour to be part of this long list of champions. I don’t feel like a champion but I almost feel like it when I see my name on the trophy. It’s very special. Jan Janssen was the first Dutchman to win the Tour and the Vuelta, I’m the first Dutchman to win the Giro. I hope for more in the future but for now I’m just happy to be here.”

Dumoulin constructed his victory in the stage 10 time trial, gaining huge chunks of time on his rivals. He then defended the Maglia Rosa in the mountain stages of the final week in a way that reminded many of Miguel Indurain.

Becoming a Grand Tour winner

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Cimolai hit by car during training

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Davide Cimolai is the latest pro rider to be hit by a car whilst training. The 27-year-old, who rides for French team FDJ, suffered no serious injuries in the incident on Sunday, he said.

“I had just left home,” he said told gazzetta.it. A car had its left turn indicator on, however it turned right instead of left. “I found myself on the ground and I did not understand anything."

“I checked myself out and fortunately there are no fractures. I did not have to go to hospital. It could have been worse though, my bike is totally destroyed.”  

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He did not expect to lose any training days, and predicted that Monday morning he would “wake up with cramps and pains, but I can ride with that, and fortunately I can ride the Dauphine, which starts on Sunday. Then I will be at the Tour de France for Demare."

“Between the Dauphine and the Tour, however, there are the Italian championships: I saw the course, this year it's a strong one. It would be great to go to France with the tricolor jersey.”

The accident is one of a recent tragic series, which started with the death of Michele Scarponi shortly before the Giro d’Italia. Other incidents have involved Tour de France winner Chris Froome and the deaths of race car driver Nicky Hayden and three Spanish triathletes.

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Cioni praises Landa for saving Team Sky's Giro d'Italia

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When Geraint Thomas became the latest casualty of Team Sky's failed GC attempts at the Giro d'Italia, it forced the British team to reset its goals and ambitions for the Italian Grand Tour. With Thomas out of the race and Mikel Landa's GC bid extinguished, Sky reset set its sights on stage wins. The succeeded with Landa on stage 19 with the result also ensuring he finished inside the top-ten but the has was far less than expected when the race started in Sardinia.

With the third week of the race suited to the characteristics of Landa, the Spaniard became a regular feature in the breakaways as he attempted to salvage something from the race. After narrow losses in Bormio and Ortisei/St. Urlich, it appeared his luck had run out. Despite the near misses, Landa's breakaway attempts saw him take a substantial lead in the mountains classification as the blue jersey became a goal.

Sport director Dario Cioni explained that while Landa's breakthrough win in Piancavallo came when it was least expected, the victory ensured Sky could claim a minor battle victory despite losing the war.

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"A stage win was an immediate goal and also there was a possibility of the mountains jersey. We really went all out for a stage win. We came away with third in Oropa, second in Bormio. It began to look like it wasn't to be, then we took second again! We knew we were close, but at least the mountains jersey was coming our way. Then finally we managed to finish it off, maybe on one of the stages we didn't expect it to happen, given how the racing had gone that day at the midway point. But Mikel was ready to take the opportunity when it arrived. He sealed the mountains jersey and won the stage in a day which was fantastic," Cioni said of the third week aims.

While Landa was the face of Sky's aggressive third week via his presence in breakaways and four top-three results, Cioni explained a strong team was equally important in allowing the Spaniard to chase stages and the KOM jersey.

"The other big thing was that, in every stage where Mikel was on the attack, he was really well supported by the team. He had team-mates driving the breaks he was in, and even though he had GC guys chasing him down, he had to fight hard to keep them away but he still managed it. In the stage he won Sebastian (Henao) was really really important in his success," said Cioni.

Hitting the reset button

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Giro d'Italia: Yates puts white jersey loss to one side with top-ten result

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Adam Yates started the 2017 Giro d'Italia with the ambition of finishing top-ten in the general classification and winning the best young rider classification. Starting stage 21 in the white jersey, Yates held a 28-second advantage over Bob Jungels knowing he'd need a top class time trial to hold off the Luxembourger.

At the conclusion of the 29.3km stage, Jungels was the quickest of the two and claimed the classification by 1:06 minutes. While Yates missed the jersey, he won the white jersey at the 2016 Tour de France, the 24-year-old achieved his aim of a top-ten result on his Giro debut.

"In general it's been a good experience for the whole three weeks. We had a bit of bad luck in the beginning and if it wasn't for that maybe things would have been different but we gave 100% every day and that's all you can do," said Yates. "We came out with a top ten in the general classification, which was one of two objectives for me, so I'm not completely disappointed about losing white."

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While Yates finished in fourth place at last year's Tour, the Giro was the first Grand Tour he started with the outright ambition of racing for GC. Sitting in third place on the morning of the mountain stage to Blockhaus, Yates was involved in the 'moto accident' and as a result he slipped to 16th overall.  He steadily improved his GC position and sat eighth on the morning of the final stage with ninth his final result. Considering the Blockhaus incident and that it was his first attempt at riding GC for the full three weeks, Yates explained he can only take confidence from the result.

"It was the first time we have started a Grand Tour with the aim of riding for the general classification, we really only switched to that half way through the Tour de France last year," said Yates.

"Having guys work day-in and day-out for me is not something I am used to, I haven't had it all my career, but they have done a great job these few weeks and I am sure as a team we will continue to do a good job in the future."

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Van Avermaet remains top of WorldTour rankings after Giro d'Italia

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Despite not racing since Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April, and Tom Dumoulin picking up 850 points for his Giro d'Italia win, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) remains clear on top of the individual UCI WorldTour rankings.

Van Avermaet has led the individual rankings since E3 Harelbeke while Quick-Step Floors have been the top team since Dwars door Vlaanderen.

Team Sunweb's Dumoulin was one of the biggest movers on the rankings as he won the first stage of his professional career. Nairo Quintana's second place at the Giro sees the Movistar rider move into sixth place on 1536, while Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) moves into 21st after his third place on 744 points.

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After 22 WorldTour events in 2017, 376 riders have scored points

Dumoulin's points haul also helped Team Sunweb to seventh on the team standings on 3921 points but well behind Quick-Step Floors who continue to dominate the rankings. The Belgian team are out in front with 8540 points while BMC Racing remains second on 6613 points. At the other end of the standings, Dimension Data are bottom on just 1505 points. Astana is the only other team with less than 2000 points on 1636.

The WorldTour event on the calendar is the Critérium du Dauphiné (June 4-11), followed by the Tour de Suisse (June 10-18) and Tour de France which offers 1000 points to the overall winner.

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Gaviria and Jungels headline Quick-Step Floors' Giro d'Italia success

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Quick-Step Floors' successful 2017 Giro d'Italia went to another level on stage 21 as the Belgian team secured the best young rider classification with Bob Jungels, adding to its five stage wins, team classification and maglia ciclamino with Fernando Gaviria.

While Gaviria simply had to finish the stage to secure the maglia ciclamino, Jungels needed to overcome Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) to seal the white jersey. The Luxembourg national time trial champion finished eighth in the Monza to Milano test against the clock to overhaul Yates in the GC and young rider classification. Jungels joins Vladimir Poulnikov (1989-90) and Pavel Tonkov (1992-93) as the only other riders to have won the best young rider in consecutive years.

"The battle for the white jersey was a really nice one. We both had good stages and bad stages, and at the end of the day I am happy for prevailing and winning this classification again", said Jungels who also became the first Luxembourg rider to win a stage at the Giro in 56 years.

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Although Jungels was unable to improve upon his sixth place of 2016, he explained he took great satisfaction from the team's success.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of my team, the boys were there over these weeks and helped me in achieving my goals. We finished this race with all nine riders, and this just shows the quality and depth of our team. It was a very tough Giro and to take the maglia bianca and eighth overall gives me something on which I can build in the future."

While Jungels had a tough third week to negotiate to win back the white jersey he lost to Yates on stage 18, Gaviria's work was done in the first two weeks when he won four stages. The Colombian came into the race with modest expectations and explained to have won stages, the maglia ciclamino, and arrive in Milan with the fastest team was beyond his wildest dreams.

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Tom Dumoulin's pink Giant TCR Advanced SL - Gallery

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In recognition of Tom Dumoulin's first Grand Tour victory at the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia, Team Sunweb presented its star rider with a pink version of the Giant TCR Advanced SL. With the 21st stage of the Giro a time trial, Dumoulin was unable to ride the bike in celebration, instead covering the Monza to Milan course on his Giant Trinity Advanced SL.

The 26-year-old started the final day in fourth place, needing 53 seconds to overall maglia rosa Nairo Quintana, and duly did so in style as he finished in second place to Jos van Emden. Dumoulin re-took the pink jersey and finished the Giro 31 seconds ahead of Quintana with 2016 Giro winner Vincenzo Nibali in third place.

During his first stint in the pink jersey, Dumoulin went with a pink helmet, pink Oakley's and touch of pink on his bib shorts. His Giant TCR was similarly understated with pink bar tape and Elite bidon cages the only recognition of his status as race leader. However, the custom TCR is a predominantly pink affair with the red logo of Sunweb and white Shimano logo the only other splashes of colour. The reversal of the usual black Giant logo to pink ensures the bike isn't as loud as Nibali's race winning bike of 2016, sharing more in common with Alberto Contador's 2015 Tarmac.

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Dumoulin's race bike during the Giro featured a mix of Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 and 9100 series but the custom bike is an all 9100 series. The components are otherwise unchanged with Giant producing the majority of the finishing kit. The saddle, stem, and handlebars are all from the Taiwanese brand.

Despite Pioneer producing a pink version of its powermeter, Dumoulin's bike is power meter free. The computer free handlebars also contribute to the clean-looking front end.

For a closer look at Dumoulin's custom pink Giant TCR, swipe or click through the gallery above.

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Preview: Can Dumoulin hold his nerve and win the Giro d’Italia?

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‘Fino alla fine’ – Right to the very end. When race director Mauro Vegni designed the route of the 100th edition of the Giro d’Italia, he perhaps hoped for a close race and thrilling finale in Milan. But there has never been a similar finish to the corsa rosa, with five riders fighting for the final three podium places and all of them with a realistic chance of winning the maglia rosa if their rivals suffer a bad day, mess up a corner or even crash.

Every second will count on the 29.3km time trial from the Monza motor racing circuit to the Piazza Duomo in the heart of Milan. It will be a race to the very end.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) will start last in Monza and race in the pink jersey but leads Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) by just 53 seconds. On paper and considering their previous time trial performances and ability against the clock, it may not be enough for the Colombian to hold off the big man from Maastricht.

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Quintana will also have to fight for a place on the podium because Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) is only 39 seconds down and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) is only 43 seconds back. Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) should not be forgotten. He is 1:15 but an excellent time triallist and so a threat to everyone except perhaps Dumoulin. The final podium places in Milan will be decided by a handful of seconds, with any combination still possible.

A fast and furious route

The time trial is perfect for strong, powerful riders like Dumoulin and so a nightmare for the pure climbers such as Quintana. While today’s Formula 1 Grand Prix races on the streets of Monte Carlo, the final stage of the Giro d’Italia will start in the finishing straight of the Monza circuit, with riders covering a 5.6km before heading south in a direct line towards Milan.

The first time check will be taken after 8.8km near Villa Reale, and every rider and team will be hoping for a fast start and good news. It will give the first indication of the final result. The second time check is after 17.4km in Sesto San Giovanni on the outskirts of Milan. The route then heads into the city via Porta Venezia and Corso Venezia, with a final right, left and right turns leading into the spectacular Piazza Duomo.

The magic number, 1.8

History is on Dumoulin’s side, but is it enough?

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Keukeleire wins Baloise Belgium Tour

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Tour of Japan: Garcia wins stage 7

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Gullen wins An Post Ras

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Boasson Hagen wins Tour des Fjords

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Schneider sprints to Winston-Salem criterium win

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Magner wins Winston-Salem Classic Criterium

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Tom Dumoulin wins the Giro d'Italia

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Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) put in a nearly perfect time trial to win the 100th Giro d'Italia. He finished second on Sunday's 21st and final stage to claim the overall victory. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) was able to rescue second place in the general classification, 31 seconds down, with Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) third at 40 seconds. FDJ's Thibaut Pinot, who began the day in third on GC, dropped off the final podium to finish in fourth place overall.

It was a double victory for the Netherlands, as Jos van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo) took the stage win. He put in an early good time of 33:08 on the 29.3km course into Milan, finishing 15 seconds ahead of Dumoulin's time. BMC's Manuel Quinziato, retiring at the end of the year, was third at 27 seconds.

"It's great, it's really crazy," Dumoulin said as he came to terms with the overall win, which marked his first time finishing on a Grand Tour podium, let alone the top step. "I cannot describe it with words. It's incredible. It was such a nerve-wracking day. I was super nervous from the beginning and I needed to stay calm but I almost couldn't. I had good legs and I just went for it."

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Giuseppe Fonzi (Willier Triestina) was the first off under the cheerful sun at the Monza race track. For the next few hours, rider followed rider at one-minute intervals, with many of them concerned only with making it to the finish line within the time limits, and looking forward to a well-deserved rest and celebration for having survived the Giro until the end.

The early lead changed hands from Marcin Bialablocki (CCC) to Quinziato, riding his last Giro ever. The Italian wouldn't stay in the lead for long, however, as van Emden bumped him off the hot seat with a blistering time of just over 33 minutes. The Dutchman would not relinquish control of hot seat for the rest of the day. Only Dumoulin came close to his compatriot's time.

Former world champion Vasil Kiryienka (Sky) put in a strong showing, but the course was too flat for the Belarusian and he crossed the line as third, 31 seconds slower than van Emden, ultimately bumped to fourth by Dumoulni.

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Albstadt World Cup: Success for Yana Belomoina

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Round 2 of the XCO World Cup in Albstadt, Germany, saw multiple lead changes, with with Round 1 winner Annika Langvad (Specialized) crashing heavily in the dry and dusty conditions and finishing a distant 16th. Yana Belomoina (CST Sandd American Eagle), Maja Wloszczowska (Kross Racing) and Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing) battled for the top spot, with Belomoina passing Wloszczowska in the final lap to take her first Elite World Cup win, and move into the overall leader's jersey. Wloszczowska was second and Neff third. Belomoina leads with 390 points, followed by Wloszczowska at 350 and Langvad at 324.

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"I cannot believe it," said Belomoina. "It was an amazing day. I just tried to do my best, to save my podium spot. The first laps were so hard for me, but I just want to stay on the podium for fifth place. On the last two laps I just felt I could fly." 

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Albstadt World Cup: Victory for Evie Richards

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In the Under-23 women's race at Round 2 of the XCO World Cup in Albstadt, Germany, Evie Richards (Great Britain) won, with Round 1 winner Kate Courtney (Specialized) second. Courtney was leading the race before crashing in one of the loose, dry corners, dropping to third. She battled back to finish second. The two riders are tied at 160 points, with Richards taking the leader's jersey by virtue of the more recent win.

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Albstadt World Cup: Schurter holds off van der Poel for the win

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Pre-race, there was considerable speculation as to how multi-time cyclo-cross world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) would fare, after finishing eighth a week earlier in the first round. The race quickly became a battle between Round 1 winner and world champion Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) and van der Poel. In the early laps the pair were joined at the front by Matthias Fluckiger (Radon Factory) until he crashed and had to abandon the race. van der Poel also crashed but was able to catch up to Schurter temporarily, until the Swiss rider attacked on the fourth lap and steadily pulled away to record his 22nd World Cup win. Anton Cooper (Trek Factory) finished third.

"I made a stupid mistake," admitted van der Poel, "and crashed pretty hard [on Lap 3]. I lost contact with the [front] group and hurt my knee a little bit. It was hard to get my pace back on. I'm very happy with the race, only a bit disappointed with the stupid mistake; otherwise it was a nice battle with Nino. I'm really starting to like it mountain biking, especially when you can start from the first row; I enjoyed it a lot today."

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Schurter leads the men's standings with a perfect 500 points, followed by David Valero (MMR Factory) at 350 and van der Poel at 310 points.

"It is a tough course and the conditions today were brutally hot," said Schurter. "It was a hard fight with van der Poel. I got a bit nervous when he [van der Poel] was at the front. I have never raced with him really and this was the first time I saw him race. It is always a bit strange when you have someone with you that you don't know; where his strengths or weaknesses are. I was glad when I was finally able to drop him."

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Albstadt World Cup: Colledani wins under 23 race

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Round 2 of the XCO World Cup opened on Saturday in Albstadt, Germany, with the Under-23 Men's competition, won by Nadir Colledani (Torpado Gabogas), with Georg Egger of Germany taking second and Canadian national champion Peter Disera (Norco Factory) third.

Round 1 winner Petter Fagerhaug (Team Norway) continues to lead the overall standings with 112 points despite flatting with a lap to go and finishing 10th. Martins Blums (ZZK) is second with 110 points and Egger third at 100 points.

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A lead group of six broke away on the start lap, and was whittled down to Colledani and Egger with two laps to go. Colledani attacked to solo in for the win with a lap and a half to go. Disera dropped all but Gioele Bertolini (Nob Selle Italia) in the last lap and then outkicked Bertolini for the final podium spot.

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Van Emden gives Netherlands another win to celebrate in Giro d'Italia finale

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When Sunweb's Tom Dumoulin rolled across the finish line of the Giro d'Italia's time trial finale to close out his pink jersey-winning ride, fellow Dutchman Jos van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo) broke into tears of joy. With his compatriot coming in 15 seconds down on his stage 21 time, Van Emden had sealed his first career Grand Tour stage victory.

The 32-year-old rolled down the start ramp within the first hour of racing on Sunday and bumped BMC's Manuel Quinziato off the hot seat a little over a half hour later, completing the 29.3km course in 33:08. From there, it was a very long – and increasingly nervous – wait to see if he would hold on atop the stage leaderboard as the overall contenders hit the road.

His top challenger would prove to be overall Giro winner Dumoulin, who was within a few seconds of Van Emden's time at the first two intermediate time checks. Van Emden watched stone-faced as Dumoulin rolled toward the finish, but he exploded with emotion as his compatriot hit the line in Milan a little ways off the mark, making Van Emden a Giro stage winner. Dumoulin ultimately finished as runner-up on the stage.

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"I'm the happiest man on earth," Van Emden said after his long-awaited victory. "I am so happy that I can finally win after all my second places. I have been sitting on the hot seat for a long time and most times, someone else was faster. Finally, I'm the one who can shout how happy I am."

Van Emden knew all along that Dumoulin would be the chief obstacle to overcome. He built his win with a strong ride through the second half of the course, perhaps getting a bit of help from Dumoulin too, who said afterward that his sport director came over the radio telling him to take things very carefully once he had the overall title in the bag.

"First I saw I was two seconds faster and then six seconds faster. My second part was really fast but then I saw him coming through the final part and the clock was ticking. I couldn't watch it any more, I was shouting. So many emotions, winning a stage in a Grand Tour," Van Emden said.

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Giro d'Italia: No regrets for Nibali after finishing third overall

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Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) was the first rather than the last to be called onto the final podium of the 2017 Giro d'Italia in Milan on Sunday and had to accept third place overall behind Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar). He failed to win a third pink jersey but finished on the final podium for the fifth time in his last five appearances at the race. He has collected nine podium finishes in the last 13 Grand Tours he has ridden.

Dumoulin out-gunned both Nibali and Quintana for the top step of the podium in the final 29.3km time trial, with the Sicilian losing 54 seconds to the Dutchman on the road to Milan. He beat Quintana by 30 seconds in the time trial but finished nine seconds down on the Colombian after 21 stages of intense racing.

Nibali appeared relaxed and ease during the whole of the Giro d'Italia and was of the same demeanour after the podium ceremony. He can be stern and moody when not on form but he feels he did the best he could in this year's Giro d'Italia.

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"I wanted to finish on the top step of the podium but I've no regrets because I gave my very best," he said after also taking his daughter on the podium to collect the Trofeo Bonacossa for his aggressive racing and stage victory in Bormio.

"This is an important podium and an important result for me. I always expect more from myself but I think I did my best."

Dumoulin 'totally deserved to win'

Nibali rode to win but accepted defeat at the hands and legs of Dumoulin. He congratulated the Dutchman despite their tense exchange after the stage to Ortisei when the Dumoulin said he hoped Nibali and Quintana would finish off the podium.

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Pinot: Giro d'Italia was a big moment for my career

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No regrets, just healthy disappointment. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) began the final stage of the Giro d'Italia holding out the faintest hopes of joining Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Laurent Fignon among the happy few Frenchmen to have travelled south of the Alps and claimed the maglia rosa. He ended it just shy of the podium, dropping from third to fourth place overall after a low-key display in the concluding time trial in Milan.

While winner Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb), deposed maglia rosa Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and last year's champion Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) were detained for the Giro's famously drawn-out final podium ceremonies, Pinot was ushered to the mixed zone, where he quietly picked through his fine debut in the corsa rosa.

"I'm disappointed now, of course. But I won a stage and up to this morning I was in the fight for the podium or even for overall victory, so there are lots of positives to take from the Giro," said Pinot, who finished the race 1:17 behind Dumoulin and 37 seconds off Nibali's third place.

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"The final balance is good all the same even if it's a pity about the podium. I think I did a good time trial against Nibali, but I wasn't super. I don't have any regrets because I gave my maximum, and the top three deserve to their podium too. Everyone is in his place."

Pinot set out from Monza 10 seconds ahead of Dumoulin and only 43 seconds off Quintana's maglia rosa. His improvements against the watch over the past three seasons were capped by a French title in the discipline last year, but despite his recent pedigree, Pinot looked heavy-legged in Sunday's 29.3-kilometre test. His efforts in the final week had exacted a toll.

Pushing a 55-tooth chainring – Dumoulin's strength was such that he turned a 58-tooth chainring – Pinot could only manage 28th in the time trial, losing 1:27 to Dumoulin and eventually placing one position and three seconds behind Quintana. "It was a very particular time trial, and I just tried to go full on," Pinot said.

Stelvio illness

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