Australia names 36-rider squad for 2018 Commonwealth Games

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Australia will field a 36-rider squad at April's Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast to compete across road, track and mountain bike disciplines.

The men's road team features 2006 champion Mathew Hayman, alongside Mitchelton-Scott teammates Alexander Edmondson and Cameron Meyer. Mitch Docker, Steele von Hoff and Callum Scotson, who skips the track events, will complete the squad. Meyer will also compete on the track along with fulfilling his road duties.

For national road race champion Edmondson, the race is his first on the road at the Commonwealth Games having won gold and silver medals four years ago on the track in Glasgow.

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"I have very fond memories of the 2014 Commonwealth Games from Glasgow, so I am really excited about lining up in the road race in 2018," said Edmondson. "Of course being a home games there's a bit of added pressure, but we are going to have a home crowd cheering us on which is going to be huge."

The women's road team also features six riders with Tiffany Cromwell, Gracie Elvin, Katrin Garfoot, Chloe Hosking, Shannon Malseed, and Sarah Roy all earning selection. Hosking has earned her third straight selection for the Commonwealth Games and will be a key rider for the road race.

"It's a bit of a pinch yourself moment," said Hosking who won bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. "To think I represented Australia at 20 in Delhi and I'm still racing and still getting stronger and still pulling on the green and gold. I never would have dreamt this growing up."

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Edmondson looking forward to cobbled classics campaign

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The 2018 season started in surprising fashion for Alex Edmondson. The 24-year-old won the national Australian title on the hilly Buninyong circuit arguably unsuited to his characteristics. But in doing so, he also continued the recent trend of track riders taming the famed mountain and opened his win account on the road.

The national title also started a full summer of racing with Mitchelton-Scott, minus the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, with Edmondson turning helper, despite the new stripes, to help teammates Daryl Impey at Tour Down Under, and Esteban Chaves at the Herald Sun Tour, to overall wins.

"To be able to tick off my first professional win, even though it was just the nationals, it wasn't a WorldTour race or the like but for me it is super special. I will be able to have green and gold on my sleeves," Edmondson recently told Cyclingnews.

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Across the summer, Edmondson still managed to snare three top-ten results and with plenty of kilometres spent on the front of the peloton, his new jersey was far from anonymous in the peloton. At the Tour Down Under, Edmondson also showed off the national jersey in Stirling, the Adelaide Hills town where he grew up, and enjoyed a week of racing on home roads. It wasn't all easy going though with Edmondson on lead out duty for Caleb Ewan. While Edmondson isn't Ewan's usual last man, the duo have known each other since junior track days and are working on developing their relationship at WorldTour level.

"For me, it is doing the best that I can, I am the first to admit that I lack a bit of experience and I haven't been doing it for too long. It is about learning how to do it but also jumping into the deep end and doing my absolute best," Edmondson told Cyclingnews. "I know if I can get a bit of open road, I have the speed behind me and the power. It is all about self-belief but also learning. The team is very understanding knowing that I haven't had the experience and I am here to gain experience but also do a job.

"It is always good when you can work with Caleb. I have grown up with him since I was probably 15. We get on really well. At the same time as doing lead-outs, I still want to have the opportunity to go for some of the races in the classics for example. At the end of the day, I am happy to do whatever the team needs."

Classics focus

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Matthews confirmed for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

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Team Sunweb has confirmed Michael Matthews will make his 2018 season debut Saturday at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The Australian has only ridden the opening race of the classics season once before in 2013 when he recorded a DNF.

In 2018, Matthews is focused on a full classics campaign from the cobbles through to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Omloop Het Nieuwsblad though is Matthews' first race since the Tour of Guangxi in October last year and not his biggest goal of the autumn. However, he enters the race off the back of a training camp and has the backing of the team for a result. Søren Kragh Andersen and Edward Theuns also provide firepower for Sunweb in the final as the team chases its first win of the 2018 season.

"We want to ride aggressively at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and show ourselves in the break of the day," coach Arthur van Dongen said. "Our goal is to have Edward, Michael and Søren positioned well going into the final. For Michael, Omloop will be his first race of the season following a very good training block with several team training camps, including one at altitude."

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The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad finale has been adjusted from 2018 with the addition of the Muur van Geraardsbergen 15.8km from the finish and the Bosberg 12km from the line. Both climbs ensuring the finale is now identical to that of the Tour of Flanders. With the changes, van Dongen expects the race to play out differently compared to previous editions but is confident of the team's ability to deliver a result.

"With a few additions to the final we expect the race to be harder and aim to play a role with these three puncheurs," he added.
"We have a really strong team to support our ambitions with Jai, Tom, Martijn and road captain Roy fresh out of other races in a good shape to help us achieve our goal."

Australian neo-pro Jai Hindley lines out for his first one-day race for Sunweb after making his debut last week at the Volta ao Algarve. The team is completed by the trio of Roy Curvers, Tom Stamsnijder, and Martijn Tusveld who all raced the Tour of Oman last week. 

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Movistar to debut at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana - Women's News Shorts

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The new Movistar women's team will debut at the UCI 2.2 Setmana Ciclista Valenciana from February 22 to 25 in Spain.

Jorge Sanz will direct the all-Spanish line-up that includes Mavi García, Lourdes Oyarbide, Lorena Llamas, Eider Merino, Alicia González and local Alba Teruel.

The team are currently training at a seven-day camp in Alicante in preparation for their debut. The camp ends on Wednesday and the riders will line up on the start line in Gandia the following day.

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The Setmana Ciclista Valenciana will feature plenty of climbing from start to end, with the category 3 Barxeta and category 2 Barx in the first stage. They riders will also climb the category 1  Desierto de las Palmas on route to Villarreal on stage 2, the category 2 Oronet near Valencia's finish on stage 3, and a tough circuit with three trips up the category 2 Alto de Finestrat on stage 4.

Sopela Women's Team to Valenciana

Sopela Women's Team is ready to start their season at the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana. It is the second edition of the stage race and is expected to host many of the top women's teams in the world.

The four-day stage race will start in Rotova and end in Gandia. The 118km opener will feature Alto de Barxeta (6.2km to 3.1%) and the Alto de Barx (6km 5.6%). Stage 2 will start in Castello and finish in Vila-Real, and climb the Desert of Les Palmes (7.5km to 5.1%). Stage 3, from Sagunt to Valencia, will be 137km with a climb to L'Oronet (5.5km to 5%). The final stage in Benidorm will offer three laps of a circuit that includes the climb over Alto Finestrat (7 km to 4.7%), for 118km in total.

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Pinot surprised by good form in 2018 debut

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As he sets out on a slightly unusual 2018 campaign, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) was perfectly satisfied with his opening pedal strokes as he finished fifth overall at the Tour du Haut Var at the weekend. 

The Frenchman's racing load has been scaled back as he looks to maintain freshness in riding both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this year. 

Having traditionally kicked off his seasons at the GP La Marseillaise at the end of January, this year he has waited a little longer. The two-day Tour du Haut Var provided two intermediate hilly stages and he finished in the front group on both occasions, though he lacked the zip of Direct Energie's Jonathan Hivert, who won both stages and the overall. 

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"My assessment of my return over the course of these two days is pretty good," Pinot told L'Equipe. 

"I felt a lot better on Sunday than Saturday. I think the parcours wasn't hard enough for me to expect for a really selective race. It's not really the type of hills that favour me. And on top of that it has to be said that Hivert was really strong."

Pinot has been set a maximum of 35 race days ahead of the Tour de France, 21 of which will be taken up by the Giro d'Italia in May. He will not race again until the Volta a Catalunya in a month's time, and his only other outing ahead of the Giro will be the five-day Tour of the Alps in late April.

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Van Avermaet: Gilbert can win Paris-Roubaix

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Greg Van Avermaet believes that his former BMC Racing teammate Philippe Gilbert can win Paris-Roubaix. Gilbert has won three of cycling's five Monuments, after adding the Tour of Flanders to his tally last year, and has set his sights on completing the set.

Gilbert skipped Paris-Roubaix last season as he looked to save energy for the Ardennes Classics, but his "#StriveforFive" will see him return to the Hell of the North for the first time 2007, where he finished 52nd.

"I think that he is capable of doing it. He's already won three Monuments and he's got a good technique," said Van Avermaet, who won Roubaix for the first time last season. "He's a little bit lighter than some of the other Classics guys on the cobbles but I think that he is able to do it. If you see how his career went then he really went for Lombardia and Liège. Now, he has turned into a guy that is more of a strong rider. That's what you need on the cobbles, power."

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Van Avermaet pinpoints experience as a key factor and, while Gilbert has only ridden Paris-Roubaix once before, he says that his compatriot's strength and experience in other races will pay dividends. The key thing for the 35-year-old, says Van Avermaet, is to become acquainted with the specific sectors.

"It's such a hard race it kills you slowly. Other races are punchier and are more explosive, but Roubaix is more of a steady pace," explained Van Avermaet. "I think experience is something. I couldn't have won Roubaix when I was 24. I think age is something. If you look at the past winners, most of them are over 30. You need the engine, and you need to build it up over the years.

"To succeed in Roubaix you need this and experience certainly helps. Phil has experience because he has won many races already so for him it will be a little bit less different. He just needs to know the cobbles and the sectors, that's the most important."

Building and holding form

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24 hours in Oman with Rally Cycling - Gallery

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Having spent the previous 11 years on the Continental circuit, where they made a name for themselves in the US but remained relatively unknown internationally, the Rally Cycling team have their eyes set on further fields, joining the Professional Continental ranks this year.

They set tongues wagging after a superb Dubai Tour, where 19-year-old Brandon McNulty took on the WorldTour teams with a nail-biting effort alongside teammate Robin Carpenter, only to fall 50 metres short of victory.

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Their next stop was the Tour of Oman, where Pete Goding spent a day photographing the team in uncharted territory for the US squad with sights set on big things for the future.

Click or swipe through the gallery above for the full selection of photos.

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Aru confirms Giro d'Italia participation

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Fabio Aru has officially confirmed that he will ride the Giro d'Italia in May, announcing his decision on Monday after "careful consideration of many variables".

While the likes of Tom Dumoulin and Chris Froome had already set out their intentions to target the Corsa Rosa, and others the Tour de France, Aru had remained coy about his own plans. 

It was reported in December that he would head back to the Giro after doing the Tour de France in the last two seasons, but it was also suggested that UAE Team Emirates wanted their new signing and star rider at the biggest event of the year and that he might line up at the Tour alongside Dan Martin and Alexander Kristoff. 

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On Monday, the decision to go to the Giro was announced at an event at the headquarters of Emirates ahead of the Abu Dhabi Tour.

"I really wanted to mull over this important decision, and I've had many constructive conversations with the team," said Aru 

"The decision to participate in the Giro d'Italia was made with conviction, after careful consideration of many variables."

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De Plus: Mental damage has been greater than the physical

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Laurens De Plus has opened up about his second serious crash and injury in the space of a few months, saying the psychological impact has been greater than the physical in an interview with Belgian broadcaster Sporza.

After fracturing his knee in a dramatic crash at Il Lombardia in October, the 22-year-old broke his pelvis last month when he and Quick-Step Floors teammate Petr Vakoc were hit by a truck while training in South Africa in preparation for the 2018 season.

On both occasions, the crashes could potentially have had much more severe consequences, which, combined with their proximity, has taken its toll psychologically. 

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"The mental damage was certainly great in the first weeks. I had the feeling that everything was lost," De Plus told Sporza.

"It can be over from one day to the next, and you realise that. Vakoc and I were in the hospital together. You can raise your thumb for an Instagram photo, but I do not want anyone to see what we experienced there.

"There have been very very difficult moments, which I sometimes still have, especially when I consider that it could have been even worse. I had just had my crash in Lombardy, and then this happened. The mental damage has perhaps been even greater than the physical."

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Viviani leads Quick-Step Floors at Abu Dhabi Tour

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With victories in his first two stage races with Quick-Step Floors, Elia Viviani is aiming to continue his winning streak this week at the Abu Dhabi Tour.

The Italian, who joined the Belgian squad from Team Sky, won a stage at the Tour Down Under in January before winning two stages and the overall at the Dubai Tour earlier this month.

The Abu Dhabi Tour, the second event on the 2018 WorldTour calendar, features three sprint opportunities for Viviani on the opening three days. A first time trial in the race's short history, combined with the Jebel Hafeet summit finish on the final day, mean the overall title will be out of his reach but Julian Alaphilippe and Enric Mas will be on hand to lead Quick-Step's GC aspirations.

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"After the Dubai Tour I spent a nice week at home, recovered, and continued with my training," said Viviani. "I came out of that race in a good shape, with confidence and a super feeling with my teammates, and now I'll look to take all these factors into the Abu Dhabi Tour.

"Unlike Dubai, I'll not race for the GC, but the goal is to fight for a stage win and help the climbers on our team as much as I can on the final day."

The Abu Dhabi Tour is Alaphilippe's first WorldTour race of the season and first outing since the recent Colombia Oro y Paz, where he won a stage and finished seventh overall. With the inclusion of the time trial, he is playing down his chances for victory but not completely writing them off.

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Soler rides onto Ruta del Sol podium in final-day time trial

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Through Alejandro Valverde, Movistar have dominated the Ruta del Sol in recent years, with the Spaniard winning five of the six previous editions of the race. With the 37-year-old skipping the race this season, the door opened for his younger teammate Marc Soler to take up the mantle, and he rose to the challenge via a strong final-day time trial ride to replace teammate Mikel Landa on the final overall podium.

Soler, a former Tour de l'Avenir winner, was sixth on the challenging summit finish at La Guardia de Jaén and was sitting in the same overall position ahead of the final-day time trial.

The 24-year-old hadn't raced against the clock since the 2017 Vuelta a España, and in the 2017 Ruta del Sol time trial he had placed 19th. His fifth place in Sunday's 14-kilometre time trial was an upset of sorts as he also did enough to lift himself into third place overall.

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"I'm really happy. This was my first stage race after coming back from the Tour Down Under in Australia, and I'm really satisfied with the result," Soler said.

"I knew I was in good form, really willing to do well, but I'm still a bit surprised that I could beat all of my rivals for the GC podium. I've worked hard to improve on time trials, changing some minor details, and it seems like I'm on the right path. TT's have always suited my conditions; I'm a tall guy with good power for such efforts, even though I'm still lacking some raw technique that I hope to progress on in order to make this a strong part of my abilities."

Soler enjoyed a breakthrough third place overall at the Volta a Catalunya last year behind compatriots Alberto Contador and Valverde. A debut Grand Tour, the Vuelta, then followed later in the year, with Soler finishing in 48th place overall. In 2018, he is aiming to improve on last season's results and performances and had high praise for his Ruta del Sol teammates for helping him to his third career podium result to lay the foundations for a successful year.

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Tour of Oman: Stage 6 highlights - Video

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After five top-ten results to start his 2018 season, Alexander Kristoff broke through on the final stage of the Tour of Oman for his first win in UAE Team Emirates colours. The Norwegian timed his run to the line to perfection, holding off Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo).

Alexey Lutsenko finished 18th in the bunch to secure his overall win while Astana teammate Miguel Angel Lopez also placed safely in the finale to hold onto second place. The final place on the podium going to Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida). There was on change in the classifications with Nathan Haas stealing in to place fifth and with it, the points jersey from the shoulders of Greg Van Avermaet (BMC).

Earlier in the stage, Adam Blythe of Aqua Blue Sports had stopped for a bike change but it was deemed 'irregular' and he was disqualified from the race as a result.

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Racing in the Persian Gulf moves across to UAE for the Abu Dhabi Tour (21-25 February).

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Kwiatkowski rips up the script on way to Volta ao Algarve victory

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With Sky teammate Geraint Thomas in yellow and looking safe for overall Volta ao Algarve victory, getting into the final stage breakaway at the Volta ao Algarve was a gamble for Michal Kwiatkowski. A gamble that ultimately paid off though as the Pole won the stage and swapped second for first place with Thomas.

A second final day general classification win for Sky following Egan Bernal's Oro y Paz win at the start of February.

Speaking after his second stage win of the race in southern Portugal and second career GC win after his 2014 triumph, Kwiatkowski explained the day did not play out as planned.

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"It wasn't the strategy, it was just how the race went," he said.

In the early stages of the stage, a large breakaway which included the likes of Tony Martin (Katusha), Philippe Gilbert and Zdenek Štybar of Quick-Step Floors broke clear with Kwiatkowski and teammate Michal Golas quick to cover and infiltrate the move. Given a long lead by the peloton, the breakaway would eventually splinter and shatter on approach to the final Malhão finale with Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) then Štybar doing the major damage

While the peloton appeared content to let the stage go to the breakaway, Kwiatkowski wasn't letting the likes of Stybar take the win and potentially the overall win.

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Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie have some fun in the desert

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The unofficial start to the US MTB season rolled out of the desert this weekend with a couple of special guests as Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie took part in the 19th annual '24 Hours in the Old Pueblo' relay race outside of Tuscon, Arizona.

Epic Rides' 24-hour event began the mountain biking season with over 4,000 people camping at the race north of Tucson. This year the 2,000 spots for racers sold out in just seven hours. It remains the largest 24-hour mountain biking event in the US and certainly one of the largest in the world.

Former pros Armstrong and Hincapie planned to join Christian Vande Velde and Dylan Casey in the four-person Men’s Open, but Vande Velde fell ill before the event and was replaced by triathlete Julia Polloreno.

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"It's a killer vibe, really, not like anything else I've done before," Armstrong said when asked about the event. "We rode yesterday and the weather was pouring rain, cold and miserable. Now because of the rain the course is perfect."

Armstrong is banned from officially sanctioned events, so the relaxed atmosphere and community at the Epic Rides 24-hour mountain bike race was a perfect fit for him and his crew.

When asked about the Wedo Team strategy this year, Armstrong didn't hesitate: "We're going slow, having fun, and drinking." Having said that, Hincapie, who is expected to race at Cape Epic again this year, consistently recorded some of the fastest laps on the course, finishing two of his three laps in less than an hour each. The team eventually finished in the bottom half of the category.

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Haas caps off Tour of Oman with sprint jersey

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Nathan Haas (Katusha-Alpecin) came just a few metres away from taking a spot on the Tour of Oman's overall podium. Haas finished fifth on the final stage, but had he taken third, the bonus seconds would have been enough to catapult him onto the rostrum.

It was always going to be a difficult task for the Australian, considering the sprinting talent that finished ahead of him, and he could comfortably console himself with the points jersey and his stage 2 victory in Al Bustan.

"It's a shame I didn't sprint two places better because then I would have moved to third, but I took the green jersey so that's also a super nice thing to move into on the last day," Haas said. "We raced to win and today we had no pressure, we only had something to gain. We kind of wanted to get dirty and down to it. It was sweet."

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The grin on Haas' face was hard to suppress as rolled back towards the podium on the Matrah Corniche after stage 6. It was a far cry from how he'd felt just under a month ago when he finished the Tour Down Under well down the classification after setting out to make the podium. He had suffered in the blistering heat of Adelaide, which left him feeling down and struggling with training.

"I was pretty down after Australia. It wasn't from the result and it was more from the way that it went down," Haas explained. "I just felt that it didn't go well for me. That's totally in the past now, I've put it to bed. The team was really in contact with me the whole time, even when I was training half an hour one day and asking mum to come and pick me up from a coffee shop or whatever. My body totally broke down, but the cool thing was that the coaches, and my own coach as well, were super positive and staying calm. As soon as I rested for enough days, and stayed calm for enough days, it just came around."

With his early disappointments firmly put away, Haas can now focus on the next part of his race programme, which builds up to Amstel Gold in April. Haas had made no bones about his desires to win the Dutch one-day race and finished fourth in the event last year, 10 seconds behind the winner Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors). After a strong week in the Middle East, Haas says that his focus on bike-handling skills and time trialling has helped him to make a step forward in his ability. He added that that the coming weeks are all about keeping healthy.

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UnitedHealthcare women's team train in Arizona - Gallery

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The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling women’s team united for an opening training camp in Tuscon, Arizona, this week. Newcomers Lizzy Banks and Leah Thomas joined the team for warm-weather training rides that included climbing the notorious Mt. Lemmon.

The team camp gave riders the opportunity to train and bond ahead of the new season, which started for UnitedHealthcare's women in Tuscon at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race.

"From cooking together and sharing meals, to spending hard days in the saddle, the team was excited to be together," the team said in a press release about the camp. "The new additions of Lizzy Banks and Leah Thomas fit right in with the close-knit team."

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Also in attendance for the camp were Janelle Cole, Katie Hall, Lauren Hall, Lauretta Hanson and Diana Peñuela. A few riders from the men's team also joined in on some of the rides.

Rushlee Buchanan was not at camp as she is training for UCI Track World Championships with the New Zealand national team. Shawn Morelli was also unable to attend camp as she was competing at the US Paralympics Track Cycling Open, where she earned a selection for the 2018 Para-cycling Track World Championships with team USA.

Part of being at camp meant riders had time to dial in their new equipment: Orbea Orca road bikes and Orbea Ordu TT bikes.

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Stybar goes down fighting at Volta ao Algarve

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Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) delivered a gutsy performance on the final stage of the Volta ao Algarve, coming within just a couple of kilometres of winning the stage to Malhao after a break of 31 riders threatened to turn the race on its head.

Stybar slipped clear in a group that contained eventual stage and overall winner Michal Kwiatkowski, with the group enjoying a near four-minute advantage over the main field at one point.

By the first ascent of the Malhao climb, Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hamsgrohe) had jumped from the leading group with 40 kilometres remaining. The Austrian's move sparked a wave of activity, with Stybar joining the lone leader with 20 kilometres to go.

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With 11 to go Stybar's superior experience and strength was evident, and the Quick-Step rider pushed clear and towards what would have been his first win of the season. Behind him, the remnants of the break kept the gap to under 45 seconds and on the initial slopes of the Malhao, the race for the stage was in the balance.

"I knew that the last climb would be really hard against Kwiatkowski, so yeah it was great to just go very aggressive in the race actually, already from the beginning," Stybar told Cyclingnews at the finish.

"The team just said, 'Okay let's race, let's have fun on the stage' and that's what we did."

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Geraint Thomas downed by friendly fire at Volta ao Algarve

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Heading into the final stage at the Volta ao Algarve, the consensus within the peloton was that Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) held a substantial enough lead to win his third crown.

The script, however, was well and truly ripped up when a dangerous 31-man move went clear in the opening kilometres. Luckily for Team Sky, second placed rider Michal Kwiatkowski had made it into the move along with Michal Golas. The pair formed part of a group that held on until the finish, with Kwiatkowski winning the stage and bumping Thomas down into second place overall.

It may not have been the initial plan Team Sky had drawn up, but such has been their dominance in Algarve that they conceivably could have claimed up the GC no matter what tactics played out on the final stage to Malhao.

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At the finish, Kwiatkowski topped the podium with Thomas second at 1:31 and American Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) third at 2:16. The break's success ensured that the showdown between the WorldTour climbers at the race never materialised, with Team Sky picking up three stages out of five throughout the week.

"It was a big break and obviously Kwiatkowski was there. All the other teams were happy, they had guys there and that was it," Thomas said at the finish.

"We kept it around three or four minutes, but nobody wanted to chase for the stage. That was it," he repeated.

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Wellens takes breakthrough win at Ruta del Sol

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After an unexpected but well-deserved victory in the Ruta del Sol, Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) is aiming higher than ever this season.

Wellens has taken wins in the Tour de Pologne, the Guangxi Tour and the Eneco Tour (twice) in the past, as well as the GP Montreal, and last year he netted victory in the Ruta del Sol's rainsoaked final stage from a breakaway.

However, he recognised that mastering the Ruta del Sol's tougher mountain climbs, as he proved at Allanadas on stage 2, where Wellens attacked but did not crack when caught by the other favourites, represented a big step forward.

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"I didn't think I could compete with the others on a climb like that," Wellens said. "But when they caught me, I rested for a moment and that's why I could end the stage well.

"I really learned that I've taken a big step forward this winter. I can compete uphill with the best in the world and it's really a nice surprise for me."

On top of that, Wellens proved more than a match for Mikel Landa (Movistar) in the Ruta's second summit finish at Alcala de los Gazules, gaining the overall lead on a much shorter, punchier climb.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Mullen on Giro d'Italia path with Jerusalem TT in focus

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Ryan Mullen looks on course to make his Grand Tour debut later this year at the Giro d'Italia. The Irishman, who signed for Trek-Segafredo in the winter, has one eye on the opening time trial in Jerusalem.

"I'm hopeful to start the Giro with its TT start. It's 10km in Jerusalem and it's partly the reason I'd be going," Mullen told Cyclingnews at the Volta ao Alagarve.

"I prefer longer time trials, to be honest, but I'll take a TT start over a mountain start."

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A start in the Giro this spring would represent Mullen's first Grand Tour appearance. Illness scuppered his chances in 2016, and last year – his final season with Cannondale – he narrowly missed the cut for the Tour de France.

"In 2016 I was a really shit bike rider because of my health problems," he said. "I was anaemic and had all that stuff. Then last year I was on the long-list for the Tour, and it came down to me and Taylor Phinney for the last spot. Honestly, it would have been nice to ride, but I wasn't 'this sucks I'm not at the Tour de France'. I felt like Taylor did a better job than I would have done, so the team picked correctly."

Mullen won his first time trial of the year at the Vuelta a San Juan in January to kick start his career at Trek. He came into the Volta ao Algarve with high hopes of a competitive performance in the race's 20.3km test, but his dreams unravelled due to a puncture. The 24-year-old still managed 24th place on a course that wasn't ideal for him, but with Tirreno-Adriatico on his calendar he will have another chance to impress against the clock in March.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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