Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, October 31, 2016

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A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. - Douglas Adams

Recently completed racing:

• October 9: Paris-Tours
• October 11: Nationale Sluitingprijs-Putte Kapellen
• October 9 - 16: World Road Cycling Championships
• October 20-23: Abu Dhabi Tour
• October 23: Chrono des Nations
• October 23: Japan Cup
• October 22-30: Tour of Hainan

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Tour of Hainan stage 9 team comments

Here's what stage winner Max Walscheid's Giant-Alpecin team said about the stage:

After a complicated stage that saw crosswinds test the peloton, Max was able to finish off another strong display from he team, another impressive day on the road after a long year on the road.

Three riders pulled clear in the opening kilometres but were only ever allowed a lead of 1’30”, being kept well under control by the chasing peloton that was policed by Team Giant-Alpecin jerseys. Inside the final 40km the riders hit a crosswind section that saw the bunch split into two, but Max was ready for the danger and made the front group. With 5km to race the break was finally reeled in, setting up a fast finish that saw Max take yet another stage win, completing an emphatic haul of victories for the 23-year-old.

After the stage, a clear delighted Max told us: “It was really good teamwork from the guys again today, and I could save a lot of energy during the whole stage. I’m happy that I can finish a great week with another stage win and keep the green jersey.

“The week has been incredible with five stage victories. Especially after such a difficult year for me personally, this is a perfect way to close down the season and after a short break start the preparations for next year extra motivated.”

Max Walscheid wins the Tour of Hainan final stage

Coach Arthur van Dongen added: “It was a short but fast stage, and once again it was great teamwork all day. The guys showed that they had the best lead-out train of the week here and were in control for the whole stage.

“It was a really nice way for Cheng Ji to finish his career, with such an atmosphere here, and great to finish the race with another win and the green jersey.”

Final overall winner Alexey Lutsenko's Astana team posted this short celebratory note:

"All two hours of the today’s race were very nervous, I tried to be every time in front to avoid any problems" - explained Tour of Hainan 2016 overall winner Alexey Lutsenko after the final stage.

“I can surely say, that without my team I couldn’t reach this victory. All our guys worked very hard, always staying in front and keeping yellow jersey. This is the victory of all our team!" - he concluded.

Alexey Lutsenko won the general classification of exotic Tour of Hainan. With this overall victory Astana Pro Team also won two stages of this race.

With this result, Astana Pro Team finishes its season and want to thank all our fans and sponsors for being with us this year.

Here's what Wilier Triestina-Southeast had to say about the final stage:

Five podiums on nine stages. This is more than a happy ending for Rafael Andriato and Wilier Triestina – Southeast at Tour of Hainan that saw the german Max Walscheid winning the last stage.

Great team work also today with all the riders working hard for their captain, a scene that we have seen all along the week where we were able to race at the same level of the World Tour teams.

Today the podium arrived despite a bad move from the Australian Jones that pushed Andriato on the crash barriers. This move costed him the third place that the jury gave to the brazilian in a top 10 that is completed also by the stagiaire Raileanu, 8th.

The consistance of Andriato is confirmed by the second place in the points classification while in the general classification the best of our riders was Giuseppe Fonzi, 16th

Dimension Data renew Boasson Hagen, Farrar and Anton contracts,
confirms 2017 roster

Here's the teams roster update:

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka is happy to confirm the contract renewals of Edvald Boasson Hagen, Tyler Farrar, and Igor Anton.

29-year-old Norwegian Boasson Hagen has an extensive palmarès to his name and looks back on a largely successful season. Besides retaining his National titles in both the road race and time trial he also crossed the line first at two World Tour events; stage 4 of the Criterium du Dauphine and stage 7 of the Eneco Tour.

Boasson Hagen wins stage 4 of the 2016 Dauphiné

"I’m really happy in this team", says Boasson Hagen. "It’s a special team and I have good teammates. Going to race for Team Dimension Data and the Qhubeka charity for another two years is really great."

Also staying will be Tyler Farrar, who served as road captain at many of the team’s races over the last two seasons. At 32 years of age the experienced American will continue to be a vital member of our African team and is likely to built on his mentoring role.

While both Boasson Hagen and Farrar are among the team’s classics riders, Igor Anton is one of the climbers. The 33-year-old Basque rider comes into form once the road gradients go up. This year he was one of the key support riders for the success the team enjoyed in the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana.

Rolf Aldag, Head of Performance of Team Dimension Data, is full of praise for the trio: "Edvald, Tyler and Igor have proved themselves as great ambassadors for Qhubeka and as leaders on and off the bike for our team. We are happy to continue working with them to achieve our future goals. All three are great characters who act like role models for our young talents, contribute by scoring results in the races and hold key positions in our structures. The experiences and respect they have earned in the peloton over the years, in combination with the values they stand for, makes them very special to us and our partners."

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka – 2017 Team:

Igor Anton, Natnael Berhane, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Mark Cavendish, Stephen Cummings, Mekseb Debesay, Nicolas Dougall, Bernhard Eisel, Tyler Farrar, Omar Fraile, Ryan Gibbons, Nathan Haas, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Ben King, Merhawi Kudus, Lachlan Morton, Adrien Niyonsuti, Ben O’Connor, Serge Pauwels, Youcef Reguigui, Mark Renshaw, Kristian Sbaragli, Daniel Teklehaimanot, Jay Robert Thomson, Scott Thwaites, Johann van Zyl, Jaco Venter

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