Bicycle Racing News and Opinion:
Wednesday, September 30, 2015

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Racing schedule:

Two races on Wednesday, the 30th. In Italy the single day, big-deal (HC ranked) Tre Valli Varesine will be held

In France, a short stage race begins, the Tour de l'Eurométropole.

Current UCI rider, team and nation rankings

Rider Rankings:

Rank	Prev.	Rider	Team (Code)	Points
1	1	VALVERDE Alejandro	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	615
2	7	RODRIGUEZ Joaquin	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	474
3	5	QUINTANA Nairo Alexander	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	457
4	2	KRISTOFF Alexander	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	453
5	14	ARU Fabio	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	448
6	3	FROOME Christopher	TEAM SKY (SKY)	430
7	4	CONTADOR Alberto	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	407
8	6	VAN AVERMAET Greg	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	324
9	11	FARIA Rui Alberto	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	324
10	8	PORTE Richie	TEAM SKY (SKY)	314
11	13	DEGENKOLB John	GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	302
12	9	URAN URAN Rigoberto	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	301
13	10	THOMAS Geraint	TEAM SKY (SKY)	283
14	29	DUMOULIN Tom	GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	271
15	12	SPILAK Simon	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	269
16	16	SAGAN Peter	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	257
17	15	PINOT Thibaut	FDJ (FDJ)	249
18	19	POZZOVIVO Domenico	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	242
19	17	MATTHEWS Michael	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	221
20	18	MOLLEMA Bauke	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	212
21	23	BARDET Romain	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	206
22	20	GREIPEL André	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	203
23	35	WELLENS Tim	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	195
24	21	KWIATKOWSKI Michal	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	195
25	22	ZAKARIN Ilnur	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	194
26	24	ALAPHILIPPE Julian	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	180
27	26	GILBERT Philippe	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	179
28	25	IZAGUIRRE Jon	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	173
29	27	STYBAR Zdenek	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	172
30	65	MAJKA Rafal	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	165
31	30	LANDA MEANA Mikel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	164
32	28	HENAO Sergio Luis	TEAM SKY (SKY)	157
33	43	YATES Adam	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	150
34	31	YATES Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	148
35	32	TERPSTRA Niki	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	140
36	33	NIBALI Vincenzo	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	138
37	46	MORENO Daniel	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	136
38	34	DENNIS Rohan	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	135
39	198	CHAVES Jhoan Esteban	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	114
40	36	GESINK Robert	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	114
41	44	KELDERMAN Wilco	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	111
42	45	DE CLERCQ Bart	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	106
43	37	BOOM Lars	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	102
44	38	HESJEDAL Ryder	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	102
45	56	BENOOT Tiesj	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	101
46	39	ULISSI Diego	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	98
47	40	GALLOPIN Tony	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	97
48	41	VAN GARDEREN Tejay	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	96
49	42	AMADOR Andrey	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	93
50	53	MARTIN Daniel	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	85
51	47	ROELANDTS Jurgen	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	82
52	48	INTXAUSTI Benat	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	81
53	49	PAOLINI Luca	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	80
54	50	KRUIJSWIJK Steven	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	80
55	51	NIZZOLO Giacomo	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	78
56	52	EVANS Cadel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	76
57	54	FRANK Mathias	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	72
58	55	HERMANS Ben	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	71
59	57	KONIG Leopold	TEAM SKY (SKY)	70
60	58	KREUZIGER Roman	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	64
61	59	FELLINE Fabio	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	64
62	60	FUGLSANG Jakob	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	64
63	121	NIEVE ITURALDE Mikel	TEAM SKY (SKY)	64
64	61	ALBASINI Michael	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	62
65	62	BONIFAZIO Niccolo	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	60
66	114	BAKELANTS Jan	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	59
67	63	CANCELLARA Fabian	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	59
68	64	ELMIGER Martin	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	56
69	66	CARUSO Damiano	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	54
70	67	TALANSKY Andrew	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	54
71	68	VANMARCKE Sep	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	52
72	69	FERNANDEZ Ruben	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	52
73	70	NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	50
74	71	TRENTIN Matteo	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	50
75	76	SLAGTER Tom Jelte	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	49
76	72	VUILLERMOZ Alexis	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	49
77	88	IMPEY Daryl	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	49
78	73	BOONEN Tom	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	48
79	74	DEBUSSCHERE Jens	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	48
80	75	TROFIMOV Yury	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	48
81	77	KEUKELEIRE Jens	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	46
82	78	JUNGELS Bob	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	46
83	79	POELS Wouter	TEAM SKY (SKY)	46
84	80	GENIEZ Alexandre	FDJ (FDJ)	44
85	81	MODOLO Sacha	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	43
86	82	VALLS FERRI Rafael	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	41
87	83	VANDENBERGH Stijn	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	40
88	84	GRIVKO Andriy	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	40
89	85	SCARPONI Michele	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	40
90	86	ATAPUMA Darwin	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	40
91	87	MARTIN Tony	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	40
92	113	PLAZA Ruben	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	38
93	89	BRESCHEL Matti	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	36
94	90	IZAGUIRRE Gorka	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	36
95	95	MONFORT Maxime	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	36
96	91	BARGUIL Warren	GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	34
97	92	DEMARE Arnaud	FDJ (FDJ)	33
98	93	LAMPAERT Yves	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	32
99	94	CIMOLAI Davide	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	32
100	96	GESCHKE Simon	GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	32
101	97	ROGERS Michael	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	31
102	98	RIBLON Christophe	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	31
103	99	LOPEZ Miguel Angel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	31
104	100	SANCHEZ Samuel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	30
105	101	CAVENDISH Mark	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	30
106	152	VAN POPPEL Danny	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	29
107	102	VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	28
108	103	VIVIANI Elia	TEAM SKY (SKY)	28
109	104	PANTANO Jarlinson	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	27
110	105	FORMOLO Davide	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	26
111	-	ROCHE Nicolas	TEAM SKY (SKY)	26
112	106	KANGERT Tanel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	24
113	-	SANTOS SIMOES Nelson	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	24
114	109	KIRYIENKA Vasil	TEAM SKY (SKY)	24
115	107	TIRALONGO Paolo	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	23
116	108	ROUX Anthony	FDJ (FDJ)	22
117	-	BRAMBILLA Gianluca	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	22
118	110	MORABITO Steve	FDJ (FDJ)	21
119	153	EWAN Caleb	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	21
120	111	ROWE Luke	TEAM SKY (SKY)	20
121	-	DE MARCHI Alessandro	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	20
122	112	PELUCCHI Matteo	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	20
123	115	MOINARD Amaël	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	18
124	170	LINDEMAN Bertjan	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	18
125	138	ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	17
126	185	STUYVEN Jasper	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	17
127	116	POLANC Jan	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	16
128	-	SCHLECK Frank	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	16
129	-	GOUGEARD Alexis	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	16
130	137	BODNAR Maciej	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	16
131	117	KEISSE Iljo	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	16
132	118	OSS Daniel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	14
133	130	VISCONTI Giovanni	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	14
134	122	CHAVANEL Sylvain	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	14
135	119	LOBATO Juan Jose	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	14
136	120	MALORI Adriano	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	13
137	160	DRUCKER Jean-Pierre	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	12
138	123	SINKELDAM Ramon	GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	10
139	124	BAUER Jack	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	10
140	125	JUUL JENSEN Christopher	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	10
141	-	ELISSONDE Kenny	FDJ (FDJ)	10
142	131	CHEREL Mikael	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	10
143	126	KITTEL Marcel	GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	10
144	127	DURBRIDGE Luke	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	10
145	129	SANCHEZ Luis Leon	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	9
146	128	MEZGEC Luka	GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	9
147	134	CHERNETSKI Sergei	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	8
148	132	HAUSSLER Heinrich	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	8
149	133	VAN EMDEN Jos	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	8
150	135	CLARKE Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	8
151	-	ZUBELDIA Haimar	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	8
152	196	VAN DER SANDE Tosh	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	8
153	-	PUCCIO Salvatore	TEAM SKY (SKY)	8
154	-	KOSHEVOY Ilia	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	8
155	136	HOFLAND Moreno	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	8
156	154	BENNETT George	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	6
157	-	CARDOSO Andre Fernando	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	6
158	139	LUTSENKO Alexey	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	6
159	140	QUINZIATO Manuel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	6
160	141	ANACONA Winner	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	6
161	142	LE BON Johan	FDJ (FDJ)	6
162	145	DURASEK Kristijan	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	6
163	146	GERRANS Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	6
164	143	KUENG Stefan	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	6
165	144	REICHENBACH Sébastien	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	6
166	147	KENNAUGH Peter	TEAM SKY (SKY)	6
167	148	NIELSEN Magnus Cort	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	5
168	149	PORSEV Alexander	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	5
169	197	REZA Kévin	FDJ (FDJ)	5
170	150	DUMOULIN Samuel	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	5
171	151	VANGENECHTEN Jonas	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	5
172	155	WESTRA Lieuwe	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	4
173	156	BRANDLE Matthias	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	4
174	-	BOSWELL Ian	TEAM SKY (SKY)	4
175	-	MOSER Moreno	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	4
176	157	GUARNIERI Jacopo	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	4
177	158	VAN BAARLE Dylan	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	4
178	159	KLUGE Roger	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	4
179	189	ROSA Diego	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	3
180	161	ARREDONDO Julian David	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	3
181	163	LAGUTIN Sergey	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
182	162	TCATEVICH Aleksei	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
183	164	MARTENS Paul	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
184	169	CRADDOCK Lawson	GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	2
185	-	MAES Nikolas	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	2
186	171	VAN ASBROECK Tom	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
187	173	BENNATI Daniele	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	2
188	167	SMUKULIS Gatis	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
189	188	RICHEZE Maximiliano Ariel	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	2
190	165	MARANGONI Alan	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	2
191	166	GRETSCH Patrick	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	2
192	168	FLENS Rick	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
193	172	VALLEE Boris	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	2
194	174	DANIELSON Thomas	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	2
195	177	CASTROVIEJO Jonathan	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1
196	175	TAARAMAE Rein	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	1
197	176	TURGOT Sébastien	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	1
198	178	FERRARI Roberto	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	1
199	179	HAAS Nathan	CANNONDALE-GARMIN (TCG)	1
200	180	SOLER Marc	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1
201	190	BOUET Maxime	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	1
202	-	MACHADO Tiago	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1
203	191	NOCENTINI Rinaldo	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	1
204	186	BRUTT Pavel	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	1
205	192	VAN WINDEN Dennis	LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	1
206	193	HOWSON Damien	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	1
207	194	BOECKMANS Kris	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	1
208	-	COPPEL Jerome	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	1
209	181	HALLER Marco	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1
210	182	BELKOV Maxim	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1
211	183	GUARDINI Andrea	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	1
212	184	HERRADA LOPEZ Jesus	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1
213	187	POZZATO Filippo	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	1
214	195	MEERSMAN Gianni	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	1

Team rankings:

Rank	Prev	Team (Code)	Points
1	2	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1559
2	1	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1526
3	3	TEAM SKY (SKY)	1334
4	4	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	1158
5	7	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	1010
6	6	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	1006
7	5	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	929
8	9	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	825
9	8	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	802
10	10	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	769
11	11	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	587
12	12	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	566
13	13	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	529
14	14	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	485
15	15	FDJ (FDJ)	369
16	16	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	340
17	17	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	189

Nations rankings:

Rank	Prev.	Country	Points
1	1	SPAIN	1833
2	3	COLOMBIA	1069
3	2	GREAT BRITAIN	1041
4	4	ITALY	1006
5	5	BELGIUM	905
6	8	NETHERLANDS	848
7	7	FRANCE	781
8	6	AUSTRALIA	777
9	9	GERMANY	587
10	10	NORWAY	453
11	15	POLAND	376
12	13	PORTUGAL	355
13	11	CZECH REPUBLIC	306
14	12	SLOVENIA	294
15	14	SWITZERLAND	270
16	17	SLOVAKIA	257
17	16	RUSSIA	257
18	18	UNITED STATES	158
19	19	DENMARK	115
20	22	IRELAND	111
21	20	CANADA	102
22	21	COSTA RICA	93
23	24	LUXEMBOURG	74
24	23	LITHUANIA	50
25	26	SOUTH AFRICA	49
26	25	UKRAINE	40
27	28	BELARUS	32
28	27	ESTONIA	25
29	29	NEW ZEALAND	16
30	30	KAZAKHSTAN	6
31	31	CROATIA	6
32	32	AUSTRIA	5
33	33	LATVIA	2
34	34	ARGENTINA	2

13 Bike Companies recall bikes for disc brake and quick release worries

Here's story on the Bicycle Retailer web site:

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Thirteen companies representing 17 bike brands are part of a joint voluntary recall of certain bikes equipped with front-wheel quick releases and disc brakes. The companies, through the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association, which acted as a mediator, are working with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Health Canada and Profeco, the Mexican consumer protection federal agency, on the recall.

This is the largest group recall the industry has acted on, said Ray Keener, the BPSA's executive director.

The BPSA reached out to industry suppliers in late spring following the widespread awareness of a quick release lever issue earlier this year after Trek's recall of nearly 1 million bikes. That recall involved quick releases whose levers are left open or improperly adjusted while riding and can be caught in the front disc brake rotor when in the open position. This type of quick release is widely spec'd among bike suppliers.

"As this quick release issue became obvious, more companies became interested in doing a voluntary recall," said George Constantine, a lawyer from Venable LLP and counsel to the BPSA. "The BPSA was a natural next step to put a group together. We've been pleased to work cooperatively with the CPSC. They liked the idea of a large group coming together on this and working toward the greater goal of rider safety."

The companies included in the group recall are all BPSA members, though efforts were made to include all industry suppliers including non-BPSA members. Companies that are part of this recall are Accell North America (Raleigh, Diamondback), Advanced Sports International (Breezer, Fuji, SE), Cycling Sports Group (Cannondale, GT), Felt, G.Joanou Cycle Co. (Jamis), Giant Bicycle, Haro, LTP Sports Group (Norco), Performance Bicycle (Access), Quality Bicycle Products (Civia Cycles), Recreational Equipment Inc. (Novara), Ridley Bikes and Specialized Bicycle Components.

Specific models for each company weren't named in the recall notice, but bikes affected date back as far as 1998 for some brands. The bikes sold for between $200 and $10,000.

According to the CPSC recall notice, about 1.5 million bikes are affected. Three incidents were reported in which riders were injured as a result of an open quick release lever on the front wheel coming in contact with the front disc brake. One resulted in a broken finger, wrist injury, shoulder injury and abrasions; no injuries were reported in the other two incidents.

As part of the group recall, the BPSA has created a number of resources for consumers and retailers. A central website, quickreleaserecall.com, is now live. It addresses questions and directs consumers and retailers to appropriate resources. Among the resources is a video (below) that shows consumers how to check to see if their bike is among those affected.

Here's the complete Bicycle Retailer posting

Lotto-Jumbo headed to Italian Classics

Here's the team's release:

Team LottoNL-Jumbo will start on 1, 2 and 4 October with an experienced and fresh team in the Italian autumn classics Milano-Turino, Gran Piemonte and Il Lombardia. The tricky classics are a great challenge for an even highly motivated team.

"I notice that the riders are looking forward to end the year with a good race," said Sports Director Merijn Zeeman. "Robert Gesink finished in the past, twice in the top ten in Il Lombardia. Also Wilco Kelderman and Steven Kruijswijk achieved very good results in Italy. These races suites them well. "

The Italian autumn classics have very tough finals. Milano-Turino will finish on top of the Superga a climb of 4.9 kilometers. Gran Piemonte is back on the calendar with a very difficult local circulation and Il Lombardia finishes again in Como. In short, three hard races.

"I want to see a team that is eager, and that wants to fight for each other," added Zeeman. "Our focus will be mainly on the WorldTour-race Il Lombardia. In the form Robert Gesink currently is he can significant play a role in the final. Kelderman and Kruijswijk moreover have the qualities to play also an important role in these races.”

“My last race was the Tour of Britain so I have to wait and see how it goes in Italy,” says Steven Kruijswijk. “I still feel good and I want to end the season well and not just finish it with an Italian ride. Then you head into the winter with a good feeling. The races are beautiful and I’m excited to race there."

Steven Kruijswijk

With the participation of Robert Gesink at the world championship in Richmond, he does not race in Milano-Turino and Gran Piemonte and joins the team later for Il Lombardia. Koen Bouwman is the man who will be replaced for Il Lombardie. The team continues to be unchanged.

Team line-up: George Bennett, Koen Bouwman, Robert Gesink (only Il Lombardia), Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk, Bert-Jan Lindeman, Timo Roosen, Bram Tankink and Dennis van Winden

Sports Directors: Merijn Zeeman, Louis Delahaije

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