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Tuesday, May 30, 2017
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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia
The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do. - Galileo Galilei
Upcoming Racing:
- May 31 - June 1: Skoda Tour de Luxembourg
- June 4 - 11: Critérium du Dauphiné
- June 8: GP Kanton Aargau
Latest completed racing:
- May 5 - 28: Giro d'Italia
- May 24 - 28: Baloise Belgium Tour
- May 24 - 28: Tour des Fjords
- May 17 - 21: Tour of Norway
- May 19 - 21: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
- May 14 - 20: Tour of California
Lotto-Soudal's final GC report:
The Giro d’Italia ended yesterday with an individual time trial of 29.3 kilometres between Monza and Milan. Before this stage, the top six of the GC were all within one and a halve minutes from each other and this time trial would be decisive for the overall victory of this year’s Giro d’Italia. Tom Dumoulin started with a delay of 53 seconds on Nairo Quintana, but halfway through the stage, he already made up for this. Dumoulin wins the GC, with Quintana and Nibali joining him on the podium at 31 and 40 seconds respectively. It was Jos van Emden, however, who won this stage. He started early and no one could beat his time of 33’08”. Maxime Monfort finished 38th and he kept his thirteenth place in the general classification.
Lotto Soudal had two main objectives at the start of this year’s Giro d’Italia. On the one hand, getting one stage victory with André Greipel in the flat stages, and on the other hand, achieving a good result in the GC with Maxime Monfort. The team managed to do both. Greipel won the second stage and on top of that, he got to wear the pink jersey as leader in the GC. Maxime Monfort’s goal was to finish in the top fifteen on GC and he did so with his thirteenth place.
André Greipel winning Giro stage two
Maxime Monfort: ““I am very satisfied with this thirteenth place in the general classification. It’s a result that I would have signed for, before the Giro. During the race, it became clear that the top ten was off limits for me. The third week was very tough with a lot of high mountain stages, especially stage fifteen over the Stelvio. Normally, there is an easier stage in the final week to recover a little bit, but not in this Giro.”
“Next to my good result in the GC, I came close to a victory on two occasions because of my offensive mind set. In stage nine and seventeen, I managed to get in the breakaway of the day, but both times I came short for the victory. In the first time trial, I also finished in a nice seventh place. On top of my result, the team also performed greatly with André Greipel’s victory and pink jersey in the first week of this Giro. With all of this in mind, I can look back on a successful Giro d’Italia.”
Bart Leysen, sports director Lotto Soudal: “We managed to obtain both of our objectives, a stage victory and a good result in the general classification with Maxime Monfort. We can look back on a successful Giro. André Greipel had some chances to grasp a stage victory in the first part of the Giro. We knew beforehand that there was a high chance that a sprinter could conquer the pink jersey, but that was not our main goal. It was a very nice moment when Greipel managed to win the second stage and that he could wear the pink jersey because of that.”
“Maxime Monfort has certainly lived up to the expectations. It is very difficult to get a top fifteen spot in a Grand Tour. You need to be in excellent form for three weeks and you have to keep performing at a high level. This year, there were a lot of strong GC contenders present in the Giro, so Maxime has performed greatly by finishing in thirteenth place.”
“Last year, we managed to win some more stages in the Giro, but that doesn’t mean that we are disappointed with one victory this year. Winning a stage in a Grand Tour is an achievement on its own and to win multiple stages, every detail has to be right. In all, we can look back on a successful Giro d’Italia where all riders have given their best efforts to achieve the team’s objectives.”
BMC Racing Team Reveals Full Hammer Series Line-Up
BMC sent me this. We don't plan on covering the Hammer Series as part of our race reporting.
29 May, 2017, Santa Rosa, California (USA): A new race format launches this weekend with teams battling to be crowned cycling's best team at the Hammer Series, a three-day, multi-discipline event.
Sports Director Jackson Stewart said that BMC Racing Team is lining up with a versatile seven-rider roster. "We are excited to be part of a new format of bike racing and to contribute in a new way to professional cycling. It will be an action-packed race with the focus changing every day and each team's sprinting, climbing and time trialling abilities all being tested."
"We are taking a well-rounded team that I think can be competitive across the three consecutive challenges: the Hammer Sprint, Hammer Climb, and Hammer Chase. While we are obviously unsure what to expect, and how it will differ from other races that we have competed in, I think it is almost certain that there will be some great racing for fans to enjoy."
Samuel Sánchez is looking forward to racing at the inaugural Hammer Series. "We will face a new, multi-discipline race format at the Hammer Series which I think will produce some pretty spectacular racing. It will be great for us to see the roads lined with cycling fans and I think it will be an exciting experience for all those who attend and those who watch online. Some of us are lining up following the AMGEN Tour of California, and I am sure our legs will respond well. I'm looking forward to getting started," Sánchez explained.
Hammer Series (June 2 - 4)
Rider Roster: Tom Bohli (SUI), Stefan Küng (SUI), Daniel Oss (ITA), Manuel Quinziato (ITA), Samuel Sánchez (ESP), Miles Scotson (AUS), Dylan Teuns (BEL)
Sports Directors: Jackson Stewart (USA), Marco Pinotti (ITA)
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