Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, December 24, 2016

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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. —Antoine de Saint-Exupery (author of The Little Prince)

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

November bike wholesale shipments up 12%

This came to me from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News:

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — November gave suppliers a glimmer of hope and helped offset losses earlier in the year. Suppliers shipped 16,715 more units to retailers during the month than a year earlier — an increase of about 12 percent. Dollars were up nearly 3 percent month on month as well, according to the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association's November sell-in report.

Year to date, however, bike shipments were down 7.7 percent, or 183,525 units, through November. The shortfall represents about a $66 million loss in wholesale business for suppliers.

The gains were fueled by 27.5-inch mountain bikes, electric bikes and commuter/town bikes.

Shipments of front-suspension 27.5 bikes were up 30 percent through November, and up 28 percent month on month. Shipments of full-suspension 27.5-inch bikes were up 29 percent through November, and 76 percent month on month. Suppliers nearly doubled the shipments of full-suspension 27.5 bikes this November (4,087 units) compared with November 2015 (2,324 units).

You can read the entire article here.

Thomas de Gendt returns to Mont Ventoux to restore Simpson monument

Lotto-Soudal sent me this news:

Thomas De Gendt, the last winner on Mont Ventoux, returned to the mythic mountain this autumn. When Thomas won the Tour de France stage this year, the finish was at Chalet Reynard. Thomas went back to Mont Ventoux to cover the last kilometres of the climb. This time he stopped at the monument of Tom Simpson, who died on Mont Ventoux in 1967.

That will exactly be 50 years ago in 2017. Together with Flemish volunteers, Thomas restored the stairs towards the monument for Tom Simpson with Soudal products.

Here's a video of the restoration:

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