Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, December 30, 2016

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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia

Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.' - Alfred Lord Tennyson

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

Robert Gesink leads ​Team LottoNL-Jumbo in Australia’s Tour Down Under

LottoNL-Jumbo sent me this team update:

Dutchman Robert Gesink will lead LottoNL-Jumbo into the new 2017 road season in the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia. Along for support, Gesink will have Bert-Jan Lindeman, Enrico Battaglin, Alexey Vermeulen, Robert Wagner, Koen Bouwman and Paul Martens. Addy Engels will be the sports director in Australia.

Robert Gesink

The event kicks off with the People’s Choice Classic, two days before, on January 15. The Tour Down Under starts on January 17 in Unley and after six stages, the race ends in Adelaide. The same group will travel to Melbourne afterwards for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race on January 29.

After some cyclo-cross races in Spain and in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, Lars Boom will ride for the first time in the Team LottoNL-Jumbo colours in Surhuisterveen, the Netherlands, on January 4. He follows that with the Dutch cyclo-cross national championships in Sint-Michielsgestel. Boom also hopes to ride the World Cup race in Fiuggi, Italy, and the World Championships in Belvaux, Luxembourg.

Gijs Van Hoecke and Dylan Groenewegen will pair on the track in January for the Six Days of Rotterdam, January 5 to 10.

George Bennett is suffering from mononucleosis. He took a few weeks rest and began to ride easy again in consultation with the medical team. His comeback date is still unknown and he probably won’t be riding the New-Zealand nationals.

The rest of the LottoNL-Jumbo team will leave on January 16 for the second training camp in Alicante, Spain. There along the Costa Blanca, they will prepare for their first 2017 races.

Truls Korsaeth joins Astana

Here's the news from Astana about their new signing:

Astana Proteam is happy to announce that young Norwegian rider Truls Korsaeth will join the team for the next two seasons. 23-years-old rider comes to Astana from Team Joker – Byggtorget, a Norwegian continental team, where he spent the last four years.

- To become a professional rider of the WorldTour level has been my biggest dream for a long time. In 2017, this dream will finally become a reality thanks to Astana Proteam, which has believed in me and asked me to join their team in its big project. This is a huge step ahead, so I'm really exited and grateful for the opportunity. I would also like to thank Team Joker – Byggtorget, where I've spent the last seasons, for allowing me to develop as a rider and giving me a chance to reach a professional level with Astana Team. Now, all my thoughts are about my first season in the WorldTour! – said Truls Korsæth.

Despite his youth, Truls has already proved himself as a strong TT specialist. In 2013 Korsaeth won a team time trial of the Circuit des Ardennes, while in 2014 he won the Duo Normand. In 2015, he became third in the Ronde van Vlaanderen Beloften and in the individual time trial of the Norwegian National Championships as well as won the Chrono des Nations U-23. In the last season Truls won a stage of the Tour de Gironde.

- Despite the team was already presented a few weeks ago, we decided to complete Astana roster with one more rider. We found a possibility to invite another rider and we chose Truls Korsaeth. He spent a very good season, while at the World Championships he impressed with the way he helped Alexander Kristoff on the hard route in Doha. Korsaeth joined us in the final part of the training camp in Calpe, so we had a chance to saw his potential once again. On the continental level Truls showed some good results in time trials and one-day races, so I am sure, in Astana he will find all conditions for his further development. We hope, he could strengthen our team in classic races, - explained general manager Alexandr Vinokurov.

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