Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, December 16, 2016

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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins. - Ayn Rand

Upcoming racing:

• January 1-3: Michelton Wines Bay Cycling Classic

Latest completed racing:

• October 20-23: Abu Dhabi Tour
• October 23: Chrono des Nations
• October 23: Japan Cup
• October 22-30: Tour of Hainan

2017 Tirreno-Adriatico route presented

The important early season race will be run March 9 - 15. As is often the case, this means it will largely coincide with Paris-Nice, March 6 - 13. Milano - San Remo is on March 19, so riders participating in either stage race will have a few days to recover before hitting the important Italian classic.

I've got the 2017 race map, profile and stage schedule posted here.

If you are interested in historical Tirreno-Adriatico results, they are here.

LottoNL-Jumbo at Spanish training camp

Here's the team's news posting:

Dutch team LottoNL-Jumbo left to Spain’s sun this week in Mojacar. The first training camp will help the team’s cyclists build their base towards the 2017 season.

The cyclists already met several times beforehand. In October, Shimano fitted them for their new riding kit and last week, doctors checked them in the Netherlands. "That first test is mainly to get the green light that allows them to race,” Trainer Mathieu Heijboer said. “The racers are examined by a cardiologist and complete a condition test. It was nice to see the progress that Dylan Groenewegen made over the past year, that showed in the test numbers. During the tests, we also saw that Robert Gesink trained much in the last month."

LottoNL-Jumbo (shown competing at the 2016 World Championships) is training in Spain now.

On Monday, the team travelled to Mojacar and the cyclists immediately completed their first endurance ride on Tuesday. "We have the team divided into three groups in order not to have an overly large group on the road. This is not only safer, it also ensures that the riders often are on the front working, and thereby train more effectively. “Not only the temperature is good in Mojacar, it is also very quiet. That is the ideal conditions to have for training on the road."

During the training camp that lasts through next Wednesday, the riders not only ride many kilometres, but kick off their season. "Of course the main goal is to train, but in addition we are also busy testing materials and positioning the riders as well as possible on their bikes. Also the riders have meetings with trainers and sport directors to schedule the 2017 programme. The group often comes together to discuss the objectives of the team."

The big day is when the riders meet on a climb for their lactate tests. "Such a test is similar to a condition test, but outside, which ensures that we get a better picture of the riders and their capacity. We do this often and therefore you have a perfect comparison. On this basis, we determine what the riders need for training."

A group meets again in January while some are racing the first event of the season, the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia. "Then the group is much smaller. The riders who meet for this training camp will train even more than during that week and will ride the needed kilometres on their time trial bikes."

Tern turns to hybrid sales model in US for Vektron E-Bike

Bike-eu.com posted this news piece:

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Urban transportation specialists Tern have successfully completed their US Kickstarter campaign for the Vektron, the compact Bosch-powered electric bike. In contrast to other Kickstarter projects that fulfill orders using a direct-to-consumer model, Tern will deliver the Vektron through its network of more than 150 dealers in the US.

“Local bike shops are the keystone of cycling in communities, but as we all know, consumer buying behavior is changing,” says Josh Hon, Founder and Team Captain of Tern. “We’ve spent a lot of time discussing how to adapt to new consumer behaviors, while growing and supporting local shops.”

“With our latest Kickstarter campaign that past our USD 60,000 target and raised more than 150% over the funding goal, we’re pioneering a hybrid sales model that offers the product exploration and discovery that consumers are increasingly looking for online, combined with the local service and support that are essential to growing cycling in cities. Our dealers are happy, Tern riders are happy, and we’re happy too.”

You can read the entire story here.

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