Foldable Bikes Party

Monday, 19 February 2018

Luke Rowe: Team Sky rider to make Abu Dhabi return

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Team Sky's Luke Rowe will ride in the Abu Dhabi Tour on 21 February - just over six months after breaking his leg.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/43004942

Ennis-Hill a great support for my return after giving birth - Kenny

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Four-time Olympic champion Laura Kenny says former heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill has been a "great support" after giving birth.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/43118053

Sunday, 18 February 2018

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.

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

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-of-oman-stage-6-highlights-video

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.

"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.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kwiatkowski-rips-up-the-script-on-way-to-volta-ao-algarve-victory

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.

"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.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lance-armstrong-and-george-hincapie-have-some-fun-in-the-desert

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."

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.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/haas-caps-off-tour-of-oman-with-sprint-jersey

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."

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.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/unitedhealthcare-womens-team-train-in-arizona-gallery