Thomas fifth in Tour de Romandie time trial as Team Ineos makes debut

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Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas finishes fifth in the Tour de Romandie prologue - the first outing for Team Ineos, formerly known as Team Sky.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48110920

Lights out in Liege: Sky's low-key final bow

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It’s nine o’clock in the morning on Sunday April 28, 2019, and somewhere in the middle of Liege, Belgium, the familiar black shape of the Team Sky bus stands next to an anonymous bus-stop on one side of a wet, windswept square. The riders are gathered inside, waiting for the rain to stop teeming down before the race starts – or, at least, hoping.

It doesn’t happen. Rather, the rain grows steadily heavier and, finally, the seven, enshrouded in helmets and dark wet weather gear, swing out of the bus a few minutes before 10am, when the 2019 Liège-Bastogne-Liège - and what will be Team Sky’s last race before they become Team Ineos - gets underway.

Sky are bowing out in the first Monument of the two they have won to date but, at Liege at least, the feeling of a curtain falling on an era is only notable by its almost complete absence.

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True, one Sky rider shouts ‘thank you, thank you’ in English to the half dozen or so fans watching proceedings from the other side of the barriers as he pedals away. If he is thanking them for their support over the years, then that’s as far is it goes.

As if to underline the underwhelming nature of it all, it turns out there are no guests or VIPs for Team Sky’s last race. Nor is there more support than the half dozen fans across the barriers and some of Michal Kwiatkowski’s family on the other side of the bus, waving a large, bedraggled Polish flag. Only a handful of journalists approach the bus in the hour before the start. The riders pose for one group selfie to commemorate the occasion, but as it happens inside the bus, the only visible evidence for the public is when a photo appears on the team’s website a couple of hours later.

Then they are gone, off to the waterlogged start 100 metres away, leaving only a mechanic packing away a spare bike and team boss Dave Brailsford adopting his usual posture of walking up and down and talking into his mobile phone.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/lights-out-in-liege-skys-low-key-final-bow

Verity removed from Road World Championships role

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Sir Gary Verity is no longer part of the company delivering the Road World Cycling Championships.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-48107067

Five conclusions from Liege-Bastogne-Liege

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The Ardennes week closed out with a new-look Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which was won in commanding style by Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) amid terrible conditions. Fuglsang attacked on the late Roche-aux-Faucons climb, eventually dropping all of his rivals before soloing into the centre of Liège to claim victory 10 years on from his debut at the race.

As the season charges on and the focus now turns to the Giro d’Italia, that starts in just under two weeks, we take stock and review the notable storylines to emerge from the final Classic of the spring. 

Fuglsang’s consistency rewarded with Doyenne win

It was notable how Jakob Fuglsang’s victory received widespread applause on Sunday evening, and not just from his own team.

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The Astana leader’s win was well-deserved, many rivals argued, because the Dane has come so close on so many occasions. Yet despite the setbacks and the defeats, he continued battling onwards.

Fuglsang has made the top ten in every stage race he has taken part in this spring, ranging from sixth in the Vuelta a Murcia through to fourth in the Vuelta al País Vasco, third in Tirreno-Adriatico, with an overall win in the Vuelta a Andalucia. Fuglsang has also been on every podium of all his one-day races this year, culminating in his three podium finishes in the Ardennes, from third in Amstel to first in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

On top of that, Astana have offered a very solid all-round performance in the Ardennes Classics, with six riders in the front group at the foot of the Cote des Forges, the second last climb of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. No-one could accuse Fuglsang of riding to victory on another team’s coat-tails.

Bora-Hansgrohe are more than Peter Sagan

Valverde’s bad luck continues

The new finish didn’t change the outcome

Deceuninck-QuickStep the team of the spring despite Liège disappointment

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/five-conclusions-from-liege-bastogne-liege

Team Sky reveal special one-off kit ahead of unofficial debut as Team Ineos

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Team Sky will have a one-off racing kit for their unofficial debut as Team Ineos at the Tour de Romandie.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48097182

Seagrave tops Atherton in World Cup opener

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Great Britain's Tahnee Seagrave wins the opening women's Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup race of the season from Rachel Atherton.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48093920

BMX Supercross World Cup: GB's Kye Whyte wins first world cup title

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Watch Great Britain's Kye Whyte win his first world cup title in front of a home crowd at the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Manchester.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/cycling/48086946

Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Jakob Fuglsang claims biggest win of his career

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Jakob Fuglsang claims the biggest win of his career with a solo victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, with Annemiek van Vleuten taking the women's race.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48086041

2019 Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes start list

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You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2019-liege-bastogne-liege-femmes-start-list

2019 Liege-Bastogne-Liege start list

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You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2019-liege-bastogne-liege-start-list

Eighth to first after spectacular crash in BMX Supercross World Cup

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A spectacular seven-man crash in the second heat of the men's elite at the BMX Supercross World Cup in Manchester helps France's Joris Daudet go from eighth to first in one corner.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/cycling/48078710

Sivakov wins Tour of the Alps to give Team Sky final stage race success

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Team Sky's Pavel Sivakov secures the Tour of the Alps title in the British outfit's final stage race before becoming Team Ineos.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48073517

Tour de Yorkshire: Mark Cavendish compete in 2019 edition

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Mark Cavendish will race in the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire, which begins on Thursday, as he continues his return from illness.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48069784

Geoghegan Hart sprints to second Alps stage win

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Britain's Tao Geoghegan Hart claims his second stage win of the Tour of the Alps by outsprinting Vincenzo Nibali.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48046517

Van der Breggen wins record-equalling fifth Fleche Wallonne

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World champion Anna van der Breggen wins La Fleche Wallonne Feminine for the fifth year in a row to equal the record for most victories in the one-day race.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48044467

Sivakov takes Sky's second win in Alps to replace Geoghan Hart as race leader

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Pavel Sivakov wins stage two of the Tour of the Alps to take the lead from Team Sky team-mate Tao Geoghegan Hart as Chris Froome loses time.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48028650

Chris Froome: Team Sky's Tenerife training on Mount Teide

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BBC Sport's Tom Fordyce speaks to four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome in Tenerife, as the British rider plots his attempt to regain the title from team-mate Geraint Thomas.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/cycling/48024220

Geoghegan Hart claims first senior victory in Tour of the Alps

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Britain's Tao Geoghegan Hart claims the first senior win of his career at the opening stage of the Tour of the Alps, while Chris Froome comes sixth.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48015833

Niewiadoma wins Amstel Gold Race on Deignan's return

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Kasia Niewiadoma wins the Amstel Gold Race as Lizzie Deignan makes her return to cycling - seven months after giving birth to her first child.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/48004585

10 riders to watch at the 2019 Ardennes Classics

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The triumvirate of the Amstel Gold Race (April 21), Flèche Wallonne (April 24) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 28) make up the Ardennes Classics, with Amstel - coming just a week after Paris-Roubaix - serving to signal an end to the cobbled Classics season, and the start to a glut of much hillier races that attract both sprightlier one-day specialists and Grand Tour riders who are building up to the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.

Only two riders have ever 'done the triple', with Italian Davide Rebellin taking Amstel, Flèche and Liège in 2004, and then Belgium's Philippe Gilbert doing the same in 2011.

While Rebellin – still racing, at the age of 47, with Algerian Continental team Sovac – won't get another crack at repeating the feat, Gilbert certainly will. The recent winner, at 36, of Paris-Roubaix perhaps has his eye on next year's Milan-San Remo – in an attempt to win all five of the sport's Monuments, having now taken four out of the five – more than repeating the Ardennes treble over the next couple of weeks, but don't put it past him.

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Last year's Amstel winner Michael Valgren (then with Astana, but now at Dimension Data), Flèche champion Julian Alaphilippe and his Deceuninck-QuickStep teammate Bob Jungels, who won Liège, have enjoyed a mixed bag of early-season form. While Valgren has yet to get off the mark – or onto a podium – Alaphilippe already has eight victories this year, while Jungels splits the difference with a stage win at the Tour Colombia 2.1 and victory at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in early March to his name in 2019.

Pick 10 riders across three similar, but subtly different, races? No easy task, you understand, dear reader, but such is life.

"So, where's Jungels?" you ask. The Luxembourg champion hasn't made the cut this time. After riding the cobbled Classics this year, the 2018 Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner is expected to skip La Doyenne as he prepares for next month's Giro d'Italia.

Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep)

Michael Valgren (Dimension Data)

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)

Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team)

Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-QuickStep)

Roman Kreuziger (Dimension Data)

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus)

Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale)

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/10-riders-to-watch-at-the-2019-ardennes-classics

Specialized Roubaix dominates at debut race

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In the days leading up to the 2019 Paris-Roubaix, Specialized launched their new, full suspension Roubaix frame system. Four days after the launch and the new bike was dominant at its namesake race, with five of the top-10 riding the new bike.

A day after the new Specialized Roubaix was launched, Pinarello also launched a full suspension road bike, but unlike the Specialized, it failed to make the top-20. Legs and luck are two of the most important factors when it comes to winning Paris-Roubaix but how much of a role did the new Specialized Roubaix play in Philippe Gilbert’s victory.

Paris-Roubaix has long attracted unusual technologies in an attempt to tame the brutal cobbles of the Hell of the North and while many have been marketing gimmicks, unsuccessful gambles, dangerous, stupid or all of the above, since the first Specialized Roubaix was launched and raced on 15 years ago, the bikes have been ridden to victory an impressive seven times.

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It goes without saying that it’s no coincidence that Specialized just happen to sponsor the season’s in-form team in Deceuninck-QuickStep and have the sport’s biggest star and 2018 Paris-Roubaix winner in Bora-Hansgrohe's Peter Sagan. However, we have to look back to the dominance of Mapei-Quickstep and Domo - Farm Frites in the late 1990s and early 2000s, respectively, to find a similar representation from a single team making the top-10.

Specialized’s mantra since launching their first full suspension mountain bike in the early 1980s has been ‘smoother is faster’. This concept has been continued in the various iterations of the Specialized Roubaix but in the most recent version, the brand has produced a fast bike that is also comfortable.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/specialized-roubaix-dominates-at-debut-race

Team Sky to race as Team Ineos in April

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Team Sky will race as Team Ineos for the first time at the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland starting on 30 April.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47987197

Women's WorldTour Ardennes Classics - 10 riders to watch

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The Women's WorldTour has exited the cobbled Classics and entered the Ardennes Classics of Amstel Gold Race (April 21), Flèche Wallonne (April 24) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 28). A handful of heavy-hitters have targeted the three races, including world champion Anna van der Breggen (Boels Dolmans), who won the so-called Ardennes triple in 2017, but she will face stiff competition. Cyclingnews selected 10 riders to watch for the Ardennes Classics.

Anna van der Breggen (Boels Dolmans)

Reigning world champion Anna van der Breggen has scarcely been seen racing this season in her new rainbow jersey, joining her team for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche and the Healthy Ageing Tour. That is about to change as she takes the start line at Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. She is the only rider to have won all three races in one season, in 2017, when Amstel returned from a hiatus and organizers of Liège added a women’s race alongside its long-running men’s event. Although she didn’t complete the triple last year, she did win Flèche and Liège. If she wins Flèche again this year, it will not only mark a fifth victory in a row, but she will equal Marianne Vos' five-career wins on the Mur de Huy.

Van der Breggen told Cyclingnews, however, that the 'Flèche five’ is not as important to her as winning the race with any one of her teammates. "Winning a race that many times would be special, but when we start a race, it's all about winning that race, and absolutely not about me or who is going to win. The main thing is that I feel good before the three races and then we will see how the races develop and how we are going to try to win them. If we have a good team plan, then I'm happy with it, and hopefully we will be good. I would be happy if we won, and it doesn't really matter if it's me or a teammate. It feels really good to help a teammate to a victory like that."

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Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott)

Annemiek van Vleuten has more than recovered from a significant knee injury suffered in a crash at the UCI RoWorld Championship last September. A good training plan and a practical race schedule mean that she could target early-season success at Strade Bianche, a race she won solo and took the first Women's WorldTour leader’s jersey. She had high hopes for Tour of Flanders but wounded placing second in a three-way sprint won by Marta Basitanelli (Virtu). She told the press that the race at Flanders wasn’t as demanding as she needed it to be to win and hopes the peloton races more aggressively during the Ardennes Classics. Last year, Van Vleuten was 15th at Amstel Gold, fourth at Flèche Wallonne and third at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Van Vleuten wrote in her recent Cyclingnews blog that she would like to win on home soil at Amstel Gold. "I think that Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège will probably suit me the best, but Amstel Gold is in the Netherlands, and so it's my 'home' race. Winning there would be extra special."

Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv)

Vos will always be a contender for any race she lines up at, but the Ardennes Classics hold a special place on her race programme this year. The former multi-discipline world champion has had a strong start to her season; notably, a seventh at Strade Bianche and winning Trofeo Alfredo Binda, while an untimely puncture ended her aspirations at the Tour of Flanders. Turning her attention to the Ardennes, Vos has decided to skip Flèche Wallonne again – where she has won five times – but she will race both Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla)

Lucinda Brand (Team Sunweb)

Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott)

Chantal Blaak (Boels Dolmans)

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (CCC-Liv)

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM)

Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo)

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/womens-worldtour-ardennes-classics-10-riders-to-watch

Ardennes Classics 2019: The complete guide

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The dust has barely settled on the pavé of Paris-Roubaix, but the spring Classics switch gears now as the racing leaves the cobblestones of northern Belgium and France to head to the hills of southern Belgium and Holland.

The three big Ardennes Classics are Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with Wednesday’s De Brabantse Pijl acting as something of a bridge. Amstel Gold Race follows on Sunday, and is problematic when it comes to categorising these races, as it takes place just across the border in the southern-most pocket of Holland - similar sort of terrain but not technically the Ardennes.

That’s not the case for Flèche and Liège, which take place on the Wednesday and Sunday of the second week. While the former offers a chance for the puncheurs with the iconic summit finish on the Mur de Huy, the latter is widely considered one of the toughest and most prestigious one-day races. It’s the oldest of the Classics and is the fourth of cycling’s five Monument races.

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This year, a key source of intrigue is the new Liège course, which sees the finish move from Ans and back to the centre of Liège for the first time in 27 years. Gone is the Côte de Saint-Nicolas and the final drag into Ans, and while there’s still a huge amount of climbing over the route as a whole, many feel the flat finish and 15km from the final climb to the line could open the door to a wider range of candidates.

Other storylines include Julian Alaphilippe, and whether he can continue his incredible 2019 campaign. The Frenchman has won eight times this year, including his first Monument at Milan-San Remo, and despite crashing out the Pais Vasco, he was second at Brabantse Pijl. His victory at Flèche last year was arguably what kicked off his remarkable run, and he’ll be the favorite to defend that title, though it’s likely to be a fierce contest between him and Alejandro Valverde, who has won on the Mur de Huy five times. Valverde has also won Liège four times, but never Amstel. He and Alaphilippe are two riders who it’s not a stretch to see winning all three - a feat last achieved by Philippe Gilbert in 2011.

Mathieu van der Poel will not race Flèche or Liège, but does line up at Amstel - in the Dutch champion’s jersey no less - and does so as arguably the favourite. To say that still sounds extraordinary for a 24-year-old rider who’s riding his first classics campaign on the road, but the world cyclo-cross champion has taken the sport by storm this spring with his wins at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl.

Amstel Gold Race (April 15)

La Flèche Wallonne (April 24)

Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 28)

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/ardennes-classics-2019-the-complete-guide

Greg Van Avermaet's Paris-Roubaix Giant Defy – Gallery

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CCC Team’s Greg Van Avermaet was unable to match his 2017 Paris-Roubaix victory last Sunday, finishing 12th in this year’s edition of the race.

The Olympic champion has spent the majority of this year’s Classics season racing on a Giant TCR but for the Hell of the North, opted for the more compliant, endurance-focused Giant Defy. The lowered seat stays add a degree of flex to the integrated seat mast and a different carbon layup will also increase comfort and reduce fatigue over the rough cobbles of the famous Monument.

Like Van Avermaet’s Giant TCR, the Giant Defy used for Paris-Roubaix features the same custom gold finish celebrating Van Avermaet’s Olympic road race victory back in 2016.

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Van Avermaet’s Giant Defy features a full Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 groupset with finishing kit provided by Giant.

Instead of the usual Vittoria Corsa tubular tyres Van Avermaet uses, the Belgian ran pro-issue, unmarked Vittoria tubulars for Paris-Roubaix, which feature a much wider tyre casing in the guise of Vittoria Corsa Control.

Click through the gallery above for a closer look at Greg Van Avermaet’s Giant Defy for the 2019 edition of Paris-Roubaix

Greg Van Avermaet’s Giant Defy full bike specification

• Frameset: Giant Defy in custom colours for Olympic champion

• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120, 160mm rotor
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120, 140mm rotor
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100-P with Shimano power meter, 53/44 chainrings, 172.5mm cranks

• Wheelset: Giant SLR 0
• Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Control

• Handlebars/stem: Giant Contact SLR integrated carbon
• Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Saddle: Giant Contact SLR Carbon
• Seat post: Giant Defy integrated

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/greg-van-avermaets-paris-roubaix-giant-defy-gallery

Hour Record: Retro bikes gallery

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The Hour Record dates back to the late 19th Century, when, after several attempts in the United States and the United Kingdom, Henri Desgrange – who went on to establish the Tour de France – set a record in Paris following the newly formed International Cycling Association.

The Hour Record went on to be continually broken throughout the 20th Century at velodromes around the world by the likes of Guiseppe Olmo, Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Francesco Moser for the men’s record.

In the 1990s, Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman began experimenting with bike positions and designs in an effort to improve aerodynamics. The UCI, however, eventually outlawed the radical bikes and positioning made famous by the duo, and in 1997 the UCI brought in new rules restricting competitors to traditional equipment.

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Following a decline in popularity of the Hour Record, possibly due to the stringent rules in place from the sport’s governing body, the UCI updated the rulings to replicate modern regulations for track pursuit bikes and also adhering to other UCI regulations including the biological passport.

Since the unification of the Hour Record rules in 2014, the mark has been broken six times by Jens Voigt, Matthias Brandle, Rohan Dennis, Alex Dowsett, Bradley Wiggins and, most recently, Victor Campenaerts.

Click through the gallery above for a look at the Hour Record bikes throughout history.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/hour-record-retro-bikes-gallery

Brabantse Pijl Dames start list

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You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/brabantse-pijl-dames-start-list-1

Thomas 'on track' for Tour de France defence

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Geraint Thomas says he is "on track" to challenge for a second straight Tour de France title this year.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47958976

Campenaerts takes Wiggins' hour record as he beats 55km mark

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Belgian cyclist Victor Campenaerts breaks the one-hour world record set by Sir Bradley Wiggins four years ago.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47955952

Paris-Roubaix tech: Podium bikes from the Hell of the North

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The 117th Paris-Roubaix was the first edition of 'The Hell of the North' to be won on disc brakes, with all three of the podium finishers using the technology, along with electronic drivetrains and aero-specific framesets. 

Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-QuickStep) won the race on Sunday, beating Katusha-Alpecin's Nils Politt in a two-man sprint inside the velodrome in Roubaix.

Gilbert's teammate Yves Lampaert finished third, a few seconds behind the duo after shaking off Sep Vanmarcke (EF Education First), Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in the run-in to Roubaix.

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Both Gilbert and Lampaert finished on the podium riding the newly released Specialized Roubaix, which features full suspension through Specialized's Future Shock handlebar suspension and a compliant rear seat post.

The duo also ran identical drivetrain and wheel setups with components sourced from Shimano, Roval and Specialized.

Politt raced on the aero-specific Canyon Aeroad CF SLX frameset with SRAM's new 12-speed groupset, RED eTap AXS HRD.

Philippe Gilbert's Specialized S-Works Roubaix full bike specifications

• Frameset: Specialized S-Works Roubaix

• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120, 160mm rotor
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120, 140mm rotor
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100-P with Shimano power meter
• Bottom bracket: CeramicSpeed

• Wheelset: Roval CLX 50
• Tyres: Specialized Hell of the North, 30mm tubular

• Handlebars: Pro Vibe
• Handlebar tape: Supacaz
• Stem: Pro Vibe
• Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Saddle: Specialized S-Works Chicane
• Seat post: Specialized S-Works Pavé with setback

• Bottle cages: Tacx Ciro
• Computer: Bryton
• Other accessories: K-Edge computer mount, Shimano Di2 sprint shifters on handlebar drops, thru axle hex key on seat post

Nils Politt's Canyon Aeroad CF SLX full bike specifications

• Frameset: Canyon Aeroad CF SLX

• Front brake: SRAM RED HRD, 160mm rotor
• Rear brake: SRAM RED HRD, 140mm rotor
• Brake/shift levers: SRAM RED eTap AXS HRD
• Front derailleur: SRAM RED eTap AXS
• Rear derailleur: SRAM RED eTap AXS
• Cassette: SRAM RED eTap AXS
• Chain: SRAM RED eTap AXS 12-speed
• Crankset: SRAM RED eTap AXS with Quarq power meter, 175mm cranks

• Wheelset: Zipp 303 Firecrest Disc
• Tyres: Continental Competition RBX, 28mm tubular

• Handlebars/stem: Canyon integrated
• Handlebar tape: Selle Italia
• Pedals: Look Keo Blade Carbon
• Saddle: Selle Italia
• Seat post: Canyon

• Bottle cages: Tacx Ciro
• Computer: Wahoo Elemnt Bolt (not photographed)

Yves Lampaert's Specialized S-Works Roubaix full bike specifications

• Frameset: Specialized S-Works Roubaix

• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120, 160mm rotor
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120, 140mm rotor
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 with Shimano power meter
• Bottom bracket: CeramicSpeed

• Wheelset: Roval CLX 50
• Tyres: Specialized Hell of the North, 30mm tubular

• Handlebars: Pro Vibe
• Handlebar tape: Supacaz
• Stem: Pro Vibe
• Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Saddle: Specialized S-Works Romin Evo
• Seat post: Specialized S-Works Pavé inline

• Bottle cages: Tacx Ciro
• Computer: Bryton
• Other accessories: K-Edge computer mount

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/paris-roubaix-tech-podium-bikes-from-the-hell-of-the-north

7 conclusions from Paris-Roubaix

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Demol looks to build Katusha's Politt bureau of Classics riders

In a season of turmoil and disappointment, the emergence of Nils Politt for Katusha-Alpecin offers the struggling team a foothold in the campaign and a rider on which to build their future. His status as a dark horse for the podium in Roubaix was justified with a well-rounded and impressive performance, but it wasn't just his legs that made the grade, with other tell-tail signs to suggest that he can be a consistent force in the future.

First was his ability to be aggressive at the right moments. He was present in the early move of 23 riders, and with a teammate for company, the 25-year-old could afford to take a backseat and concentrate on staying out of trouble. He was then proactive and laid the groundwork for the winning move with just under 70 kilometres to go.

It wasn't just power Politt displayed. He showed composure, too. When the pace was high, he sat back, measuring his efforts when a rider of lesser equanimity would have gone into the red. When only Gilbert could match Politt's final attack, it showed that the German was more than just a breakaway companion willing to ride for fifth place.

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At the finish line, a jubilant Dirk Demol admitted to Cyclingnews that he had followed Politt throughout his career as a U23 rider, and with the Belgian now at Katusha after a winter switch from Trek, Demol has a leader of immense promise. With 'one or two more' signings, as Demol described, Katusha could have one of the most capable Classics teams next year.

However, their collective line up also deserve praise. Marco Haller was immense, Mads Schmidt provided a performance of heroism in the early stages, while Rick Zabel and Reto Hollenstein also played their parts, too.

What's also worth mentioning is that within their Roubaix ranks only one rider was above 30, and as a squad they have evolved rather than started afresh with Classics riders. Of the squad that supported Alexander Kristoff in his last Roubaix for the team in 2017, five riders have survived, including Politt.

QuickStep dynasty reaches 700 wins

Not all equipment gambles pay off

Wout van Aert can be proud of his pain

Gilbert's 'Strive for Five' gets real

What a difference a year makes for Šiškevičius

Sagan must look to Ardennes to make sense of his spring

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/7-conclusions-from-paris-roubaix

Pantano suspended after positive EPO test

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Colombian rider Jarlinson Pantano is suspended by cycling's world governing body after testing positive for banned hormone EPO.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47940124

Paris-Roubaix tech gallery: 101 images from the Hell of the North

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Deceuninck-QuickStep's Philippe Gilbert won the 117th edition of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, taking his fourth out of the sport's five one-day Monuments.

'The Hell of the North' features 29 infamous cobbled sections totalling 54.5 kilometres, with those pavé sectors dating back to Napoleonic times, and acting as some of the most brutal terrain in the sport. Riders make an array of changes when it comes to tech compared to normal road racing, offering a unique take on race tech at one of the hardest races on the calendar.

Wider tyres, double-wrapped handlebar tape, malleable bottle cages and additional brake levers or gear switches are common modifications to give riders the best chance possible of staying in the lead group to the finish line at the famous velodrome in Roubaix.

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Alongside the traditional modifications, the week leading up to the race saw two full suspension road bikes released by Specialized and Pinarello in the Roubaix and Dogma FS, respectively. While the new Pinarello failed to crack the top 20, Specialized's new Roubaix made up a staggering five of the top ten.

The new Specialized Roubaix has a claimed tyre clearance of up to 33mm and the brand's sponsored teams – Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bora-Hansgrohe – raced on a range of 28 and 30mm Specialized Hell of the North tubular tyres.

Like Specialized, Deceuninck-QuickStep mechanics had another new idea by taping a hex key to every rider's seat post designed specifically for the thru-axles on the disc-brake-only bike. The idea is that while the rider waits for the mechanic to arrive with a new wheel, the rider can take the thru-axle out ready to switch in the new wheel and allow for the quickest possible wheel change.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/paris-roubaix-tech-gallery-101-images-from-the-hell-of-the-north-1

Gilbert's metamorphosis moves him one step closer to Monument immortality

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At the end of the 2016 season, Philippe Gilbert's career was at a crossroads. Over 30, and without a contract offer from BMC Racing, the Belgian was forced to search for a new team for the first time in five years. What's more, without a Monument win since 2011 options were scarce.

At the time Astana were mentioned as possibility, before Patrick Lefevere stepped forward and presented an opportunity that was mutually beneficial for both team boss and rider. The canny Lefevere offered Gilbert a pay cut, and with a roster already crammed with Classics riders of the caliber of Tom Boonen and Niki Terpstra, it would have been easier for Gilbert to take a better financial offer someplace else and wind his career down before eventual retirement.

What Lefevere realized, however, was that although his offer came with conditions, it also gave Gilbert the chance to rebrand and rebuild himself as a cobbled classics specialist. No other team could offer such a backdrop.

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It was certainly a gamble, but together Gilbert and Lefevere hatched a plan. Aware that Gilbert was no longer the explosive rider he once was, they would modify him into a diesel. Gilbert would get the chances to race the biggest races, and in return, Lefevere would pay low and reward with high bonuses.

Three years into the project, and it was little wonder that it was Lefevere who gave Gilbert the first of many warm embraces on the finish line in Roubaix. Come Monday that bonus will need to be deposited in Gilbert's account but for now, while the champagne flows, even Lefevere will toast yet another Classics win.

For Gilbert, victory in Paris-Roubaix represents two Monument wins in three years, and at 36 he's just one Milan-San Remo win away from equaling Rik Van Looy, Roger De Vlaeminck, and Eddy Merckx as a winner of all five of cycling's Monuments.

Four down, one to go

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/gilberts-metamorphosis-moves-him-one-step-closer-to-monument-immortality

Paris-Roubaix: Philippe Gilbert wins fourth 'monument' title of career

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Belgium's Philippe Gilbert wins the fourth 'monument' title of his career with victory at the Paris-Roubaix.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47928458

Johan Museeuw's custom painted S-Works Tarmac Disc - Gallery

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It has been 15 years since Johan Museeuw – The Lion of Flanders – retired from the sport, but the Belgian still regularly rides his bike, leading tourist rides or simply joining current professionals for training.

Museeuw won three Tours of Flanders, three Paris-Roubaix titles and a world championships road race during his career, and has a reputation as one of the all-time greats of the cobbled Classics.

Several of Museeuw's victories were in the famous Mapei colours and racing on Colnago framesets. Museeuw is now loosely affiliated with Specialized through his bike touring company and his continued his association with the Deceuninck-QuickStep set-up.

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In the lead-up to the 2019 Paris-Roubaix, Museeuw rode to the velodrome aboard a custom-painted S-Works Tarmac Disc, paying homage to his biggest victories and his iconic nickname.

Click through the gallery above for a closer look at Johan Museeuw's S-Works Tarmac Disc.

Johan Museeuw's Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc full bike specifications

• Frameset: Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc in custom colours for Johan Museeuw

• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100, 160mm rotors
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100, 140mm rotors
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 with 4iiii power meter, 52/36 chainrings
• Bottom bracket: CeramicSpeed

• Wheelset: Roval CL 50
• Tyres: Specialized Roubaix Pro Gripton

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/johan-museeuws-custom-painted-s-works-tarmac-disc-gallery

Tour of the Basque Country: Adam Yates takes final stage as Ion Izagirre wins event

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Adam Yates wins the final stage of the Tour of the Basque Country as Spain's Ion Izagirre takes overall victory.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47923330

Paris-Roubaix 2019 Start List

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You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/paris-roubaix-2019-start-list

Seven key sectors: Mat Hayman's guide to the Paris-Roubaix cobbles

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He raced 17 editions, but in April 2016 Mat Hayman finally claimed victory at Paris-Roubaix, a race that had been a prominent feature during his long and respected career.

Part of what made Hayman's victory so popular was that he spent the majority of his time in the sport riding in the service of others. He had sacrificed his chances for the greater good of the team but, having ridden over 450 sectors and 850km of cobbles throughout his Paris-Roubaix career, he has experience and knowledge few can match. 


In the build-up to this year's race, Hayman sat down with Cyclingnews to talk through the most important pavé sectors, offering advice on tactics and race lines, as well as sharing some of his memories from previous editions.

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Troisvilles to Inchy (km97.5 / 0.9km) **

It doesn't matter what the race organisers throw at you in the first sector of the race, it's important simply because it's the first time you're on the cobbles.

You've got a full and usually intact peloton and it's the first opportunity to lose the race. It's such a fight to get to the front ahead of that sector but, at the same time, riders need to think about how much energy they want to spend at this point because there's still an awfully long way to the finish.


I'm frequently asked what the best position is heading into the first sector and if you're not first then you want to be second because then there's only one guy who can crash ahead of you, but that costs energy. The physical side of Paris-Roubaix is well known but there's also this constant game going on in your head because each time you move up or make an effort before a sector in order to improve your position it takes away vital energy. With each acceleration you ask yourself 'is this worth it?'.

Briastre to Viesly (km108.5 / 3km) ****

Haveluy to Wallers (km156.5 / 2.5km) ****

Trouée d'Arenberg (km164.5 / 2.3km) *****

Mons-en-Pévèle (km212 / 3km) *****

Camphin-en-Pévèle (km239.5 / 1.8km) ****

Carrefour de l'Arbre (km 242.5 - 2.1 km) *****

The complete list of 29 cobbled sectors of the 2019 Paris-Roubaix

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/seven-key-sectors-mat-haymans-guide-to-the-paris-roubaix-cobbles

Peter Sagan's S-Works Roubaix for Paris-Roubaix 2019 – Gallery

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The 2018 Paris-Roubaix winner Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) will compete in this Sunday's edition of the race aboard the new Specialized Roubaix, which was launched earlier this week.

The three-time road race world champion looks to be running a mechanical Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 series groupset, which is occasionally used by professionals on the cobbles and will be on the Sagan Collection version of the frameset.

Specialized's new Roubaix features an updated Future Shock front suspension system alongside a new, flexible carbon seat post. You can see the full details of the new bike here.

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Sagan runs his usual choice of Roval CLX 50 wheels, but pairs them with Specialized's S-Works Turbo Hell of the North 30mm tubular tyres to cope with the brutal cobbles of the race, as opposed to the usual 26mm tyres used for regular road racing.

The new Specialized Roubaix has a port located at the top of the down tube, which can be used as the Di2 interface port with an electronic Shimano groupset. When built up with a mechanical drivetrain, the port can be swapped out for a cable guide, allowing the gear cables to be routed internally down through the frame.

Sagan usually runs Di2 satellite sprint shifters on his handlebar drops, but, due to his choice of a mechanical groupset, this is obviously not an option and will mean that shifting while on the handlebar tops over the cobbles will be more difficult.

Peter Sagan's Specialized S-Works Roubaix Sagan Collection for Paris-Roubaix 2019 full bike specifications

• Frameset: Specialized S-Works Roubaix Sagan Collection

• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120, 160mm rotor
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120, 140mm rotor
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100, 11-25
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 with Specialized power meter, 172.5mm cranks, 53/44 chainrings
• Bottom bracket: CeramicSpeed

• Wheelset: Roval CLX 50
• Tyres: Specialized S-Works Hell of the North, 30mm tubular

• Handlebars: Pro Vibe
• Handlebar tape: Supacaz
• Stem: S-Works Roubaix
• Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Saddle: Specialized S-Works Romin Evo
• Seat post: Specialized S-Works Pavé
• Bottle cages: Tacx Ciro

• Computer: Wahoo Elemnt Bolt (not photographed)
• Other accessories: K-Edge out front computer mount

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/peter-sagans-s-works-roubaix-for-paris-roubaix-2019-gallery

10 riders to watch at the 2019 Paris-Roubaix

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Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) will arrive at the start of the 2019 Paris-Roubaix in Compiègne, France, without the same air of 'unbeatability' that surrounded him 12 months ago, and likely to face credible challenges for the 'Hell of the North' crown from the likes of 2017 winner Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team), 2015 champion John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo), twice runner-up Zdenek Stybar (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and the healthy-again Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale).

Although form shown at the Tour of Flanders counts for a lot – and we've included five of the same riders from our 'riders to watch' at Flanders last week in the following list – Roubaix is an entirely different kettle of fish, with precious few hills and cobblestones that are considerably more severe than those found in Flanders.

If Flanders is for the hard men, Roubaix is for the hard men with luck on their side. Crashes and mechanicals are par for the course. As unexpected 2016 winner Mat Hayman wrote in his retirement letter, "Always keep riding," as the bad luck that befalls you along the way is just as likely to happen to your rivals. You just have to keep battling on towards the famous velodrome in Roubaix, where a lap-and-a-half of the smooth surface of the banked track will decide the winner after more than 250 kilometres of rough northern French roads, with over 50 kilometres of those on cobbles.

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Here, then, are our riders to watch at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. Will a winner come from among them, or will a lesser-known rider spring a surprise in Roubaix, à la Alberto Bettiol at Flanders last weekend?

Zdenek Stybar (Deceuninck-QuickStep)

We're not ones to blow our own trumpet too often, but our decision not to include Zdenek Stybar in our '10 riders to watch' for Flanders was vindicated with Stybar's well-off-the-pace 36th place at a race where his best-ever finish has only been eighth, in 2016.

Saying that, our pick to lead Deceuninck-QuickStep home – Philippe Gilbert – didn't fare much better; in fact, the 2017 winner didn't even finish the race, having been sick in the last couple of days before the race.

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)

Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team)

John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo)

Sep Vanmarcke (EF Education First)

Taylor Phinney (EF Education First)

Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates)

Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale)

Heinrich Haussler (Bahrain-Merida)

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/10-riders-to-watch-at-the-2019-paris-roubaix

Scheldeprijs tech gallery: A cocktail of cobble set-ups and sprinters' aero machines

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Scheldeprijs sits in between the two biggest cobbled Classics on the calendar: the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Flanders is notoriously difficult and one of the hardest one-day races of the year, whereas Paris-Roubaix takes the mantle as the most challenging parcours by some distance.

Sandwiched between the two Monuments is Scheldeprijs, which traditionally attracts the top sprinters of the sport, combined with the Classics specialists who are looking for one final race test ahead of the 'Hell of the North' four days later.

This combination leads to a range of bike tech, from 28mm - or more - cobble-specific tyres, double-wrapped handlebar tape and endurance framesets, through to all-out aero machines with 54-tooth chainrings, aero cockpits and softer, 25mm tyres.

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Several teams in divisions below the WorldTour have experimented with - and in some cases fully committed to - tubeless tyres for racing as the technology improves and becomes more reliable. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) was one of the first big stars to use the technology at as important a race as the Tour of Flanders and, three days later, an array of star riders have adopted tubeless tyres in what could be a turning point after decades on tubular tyres.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Matti Breschel (EF Education First), the Riwal Readynez team and the Wallonie Bruxelles team all raced Scheldeprijs with tubeless set-ups and Cyclingnews understands that it's only a matter of time before more teams adopt the technology.

Team Sky and EF Education First were textbook examples of the Scheldeprijs hybrid of bike set-ups. Sep Vanmarcke rode the endurance-focused Cannondale Synapse with double-wrapped handlebar tape and two pairs of satellite sprint shifter Di2 buttons on the handlebar tops and drops for ease of shifting when on the cobbles. Team Sky's Paris-Roubaix contingent from their Scheldeprijs line-up raced on Pinarello Dogma K10 with more satellite sprint buttons, while their sprint specialists stuck to the more commonly used Pinarello Dogma F10.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/scheldeprijs-tech-gallery-a-cocktail-of-cobble-set-ups-and-sprinters-aero-machines

Chris Froome to compete in Tour of the Alps in Team Sky's final stage race before sponsor change

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Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome steps up his preparations for the 2019 race at this month's Tour of the Alps.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47888452

Deignan to return to cycling seven months after daughter's birth

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Britain's Lizzie Deignan will make her return to cycling at the Amstel Gold Race on 21 April - seven months after giving birth to her daughter.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47871623

Selle San Marco Shortfit Carbon FX Narrow saddle first look

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Founded in 1935, Selle San Marco are a cycling brand with genuine history and racing pedigree - working with Fausto Coppi in the 1950s, winning a world championship title with Giuseppi Saronni in the 1980s and the Tour de France with Greg LeMond in 1990.

Continuing to develop and push boundaries with their designs throughout Selle San Marco's history, in 2018 the brand launched a new company logo alongside an extended line-up of saddles cut out for 21st-century demands. The company is supporting Pro Conti teams Androni Giocatolli-Sidermec, Wanty-Gobert and Delko Marseille Provence for the 2019 season.

As part of the 2018 saddle line-up, Selle San Marco included their first 'short' saddle - the Selle San Marco Shortfit – perhaps looking to emulate some of the commercial success Specialized have experienced through their range of Power saddles.

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Originally the Selle San Marco Shortfit was only launched in 'Wide' models, which obviously didn't work for all body shapes, but for 2019 the brand have added narrow fit options across the Shortfit's now 12-model range.

At the top of the range sits the Selle San Marco Shortfit Carbon FX, which is available in Narrow or Wide fit. The shorter saddle length enables proper support when riding in a more aggressive position with the pelvis tilted towards the handlebars.

Both designs feature a central cut-out section, designed to reduce pressure on softer tissue and increasing blood flow to reduce the chance of numbness, say Selle San Marco.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/selle-san-marco-shortfit-carbon-fx-narrow-saddle-first-look

Watch Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig give a hilarious interview after Tour of Flanders

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Danish cyclist Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig cannot contain her excitement in a post-race interview after finishing third at the 2019 Tour of Flanders Women's race - part of the Flanders Classics.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/cycling/47868621

Bettiol: I needed to become a real rider

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Monday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport had a photo of Alberto Bettiol on its front cover, celebrating his and Marta Bastianelli’s victories at the Tour of Flanders. They called Bettiol the ‘Leoncino di Fiandre’ - the little lion of Flanders. It was a respectful diminutive of the real Lion of Flanders - Fiorenzo Magni, who was the first Italian to ever win the race and who completed a rare treble in 1950, 1951 and 1952.

Thanks to Bettiol, Italy has now won the Tour of Flanders 11 times, and he is the fourth Tuscan to triumph after Magni, Bartoli (1996) and Andrea Tafi (2002).

Bettiol rides for EF Education First but he is Tuscan to the core and continues the heritage of talent to emerge from the region, albeit with an international twist. He comes from Castelfiorentino between Florence and Siena, in the heart of the Chianti hills. The roads through the vineyards and olive trees are steeper and longer than the hellingen of Flanders, but they are the perfect training roads for Classics riders.

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Tuscany is more than 1,000km south of Flanders, but like Bartali, Bartoli, Tafi, Ballerini and Bettini, Bettiol has the innate talent and bike skills for the spring Classics and hard racing.

“He was an extremely underrated rider,” EF Education First team manager Jonathan Vaughters said after the race on Sunday of his latest ‘Moneyball’ find.

“He’s an excellent racer, he knows when to save energy, he knows when to relax. He’s versatile. He can sprint a little bit. He can climb. He’s good on the stones. And he’s a really great time trialist.”

Aiming at the stars

Losing three kilogrammes

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/bettiol-i-needed-to-become-a-real-rider

6 conclusions from the Tour of Flanders

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This year’s Tour of Flanders was far from a vintage edition, simmering nicely throughout but never actually boiling over into a full-blown race. But the second Monument of the season created plenty of talking points nonetheless.

Alberto Bettiol claimed the first victory of his career on one of the biggest stages in cycling, while the Belgians failed to make an impact in their home race. Kasper Asgreen followed in the footsteps of his compatriot Mads Pedersen to finish second on the podium, thus salvaging Deceuninck-QuickStep’s race in the process.

We have put a list of the top conclusions from Sunday’s race below.

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Bettiol had legs and balls, but didn’t need luck

There are times when Flanders Classics’ devotion to the bottom line can make ASO seem like a charitable organisation. Removing the Muur and Bosberg from the finale of the Tour of Flanders and lining the Kwaremont with VIP tents was the most obvious manifestation of their vision of cycling as business, and seven years on, Flanders Classics head Wouter Vandenhaute still finds himself defending the decision.

In an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws last week, Vandenhaute claimed that the Kwaremont-Paterberg finale was introduced to ensure that only riders of the very highest calibre won the Tour of Flanders each year. “Look at the winners when they were still riding on the Muur van Geraardsbergen and finished in Meerbeke: Wesemann, Nuyens, Ballan, Bortolami. You got those kinds of winners,” Vandenhaute said. “What do we have now, after the course change and the finish in Oudenaarde? Boonen, Cancellara, Kristoff, Sagan, Gilbert and Terpstra.”

Implicit in that observation was the fact that such marketable winners are good for business. But what, Het Laatste Nieuws asked, if a less heralded rider like Sebastian Langeveld or Alberto Bettiol were to win the Ronde? “They are not going to win,” Vandenhaute said.

The Belgians underwhelm

Debutants contradict notion that Flanders requires experience 

Doubts persist over Sagan

Kristoff

Asgreen the revelation as Deceuninck-QuickStep stick to philosophy

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/6-conclusions-from-the-tour-of-flanders

Tour of Flanders: Huge race tech gallery

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All 18 WorldTour teams and six Pro Continental teams were parked up alongside the Scheldt river in Antwerp, Belgium, for the start of the 103rd Tour of Flanders on Sunday.

As you might expect, the traditional cobbled tech of wider tyres and double-wrapped handlebar tape was on display, but there was also plenty of new tech making its debut at the historic race.

Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) – who finished third at the race – was the only rider on the start line to race with a tubeless tyre setup as opposed to the traditional tubular options.

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Kristoff used Vittoria Graphene 2.0 tubeless tyres with Campagnolo Bora WTO 60 wheels, and a UAE Team Emirates spokesman explained to Cyclingnews that Kristoff simply has a better feeling with the tubeless setup over tubular tyres.

Kristoff used the same setup on his way to victory at last week's Gent-Wevelgem and Cyclingnews understands from some key stakeholders in the sport that as more manufacturers experiment with the technology, tubeless tyres could become the norm in the WorldTour peloton as opposed to the exception.

More technology seen for the first time at this year's race was the prevalence of 12-speed. Campagnolo launched their 12-speed groupset last year and SRAM followed up with their version earlier this year, and five teams lined up in Antwerp with the new groupsets.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-of-flanders-huge-race-tech-gallery

Bettiol takes shock Tour of Flanders victory as Bastianelli wins women's race

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Italy's Alberto Bettiol pulls off a shock first professional victory in the men's Tour of Flanders, while compatriot Marta Bastianelli wins the women's race.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47847160

Philipsen: Pro cycling's young sensation

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It's the morning after Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, and the rain falls heavily outside Jasper Philipsen's childhood home on the outskirts of Ham. The UAE Team Emirates rider completed his first Opening Weekend less than 24-hours early but he shows no signs of the toils he was put under when he offers Cyclingnews shelter from the icy downpour. We're here to meet one of Belgium cycling's young sensations; a rider who not only heralds from the same neck of the woods as Tom Boonen but has been repeatedly compared with the great man too.

If you're not familiar with Philipsen's career until now that's perhaps understandable given that Wout van Aert and his Dutch rival Mathieu van der Poel have been representing the new kids on the block this season. The pair have torn up the scripts and discarded the reputations of far more established cobbled specialists this year.

Philipsen, on the other hand, has had a less prolific start to his career in the elite ranks. Although at the point of this interview he was the only one of the trio to have won a WorldTour race having taken a stage of the Tour Down Under in January. Ham, however, is a million miles from the heat of Adelaide and as Philipsen leads us into his home he retells his Opening Weekend experience.

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"It was a hard experience but I enjoyed it," he says in between taking our coffee orders and busily scanning the kitchen cupboards of his parent's home for some cake to accompany the beverages. 


"It was always hectic and that feeling never stopped. The pace was always hard but I think that it was a good experience for. It was hard to put a plan together because only two of us on the team had ridden Opening Weekend before. We knew it would be difficult to get a result, but we tried to keep the position. I suffered a bit but my legs felt like they were slowly filling with acid. I learned from that day that I needed to be near the front but when the split came on the Kwaremont I was there. That was a good step but I had to suffer a lot just to be there.

"I knew that it wouldn't be easy. I expected to use it as just experience and show myself where I could. The results weren't great but no one expected them from me. I'm just 21 so I want to go back, get stronger every year and gain experience."

In Tom Boonen's frame

Tough choices and the move to UAE

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Legs, balls and luck: Taking on Deceuninck-QuickStep at the Tour of Flanders

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The names on the jersey and the riders wearing them have varied over the years, but the question seems to recur just about every time the Tour of Flanders rolls around. After a run of success that has seen Deceuninck-QuickStep rack up victories in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo and the E3 BinckBank Classic, the conundrum facing the 2019 Ronde peloton is a well-worn one: how do you beat a team with so many potential race winners?

Since the 1990s, Patrick Lefevere's teams have been the standard bearer at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, rather like the New England Patriots in the NFL. There are years when riders from other teams produce remarkable individual performances to exceed their benchmark – most notably Fabian Cancellara in the early part of this decade – but no collective has matched the consistency and success of QuickStep on the first two Sundays in April.

Philippe Gilbert, Yves Lampaert, Zdenek Stybar and Bob Jungels will all set out from Antwerp on Sunday carrying an equal share of the responsibility to claim Ronde victory for Deceuninck-QuickStep. Cycling history is littered with examples of teams riven by internal rivalry, but some way, somehow, Lefevere's squad has repeatedly managed to tread the fine line between healthy intramural competition and outright conflict.

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Nick Nuyens experienced the balancing act first-hand when he raced for QuickStep from 2003 to 2006. He smiles at how the team's code of loyalty has been commoditised in recent seasons, but the philosophy behind it, he says, is genuine.

"What I see is something I recognise. The 'Wolfpack' name is also marketing, of course, but it is just like that and it works," Nuyens tells Cyclingnews. “It worked 15 years ago and it’s still working. Patrick Lefevere has for years managed to have team full of top riders who all want to work for each other and it’s not as easy as it seems.

Individual ambition can divide a team as readily as unite one, but Lefevere appears content to encourage personal goals so long as they serve the common purpose. After Stybar's E3 BinckBank Classic victory, for instance, he gently chided Lampaert and Gilbert's lack of success to this point, a timely reminder a week out from the Ronde. When a reporter recounted how Lampaert said everything the team touched turned to gold, Lefevere quipped: "Yves himself is turning gold into something." All part of the process, Nuyens suggests.

Anticipating the moves

Harder to beat without Boonen?

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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