Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, September 23, 2017
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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia
Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal. - T. S. Eliot
Current racing:
- Sept 17 - 24: UCI World Road Championships
Latest completed racing:
- Sept 12 - 16: Tour of Denmark
- Sept 16: Memorial Marco Pantani
- Sept 16: Primus Classic Impanis-Van Petegem
- Sept 15: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- Sept 14: Coppa Bernocchi
Mens Under-23 World Championships Report
Ag2r sent me this:
New World Champion Benoit Cosnefroy: “I had been thinking about winning for a while, but there sometimes is a big gap between thinking of it and doing it! It’s crazy what happened today! Pierre-Yves Chatelon wanted me to play only for the win, and we put everything on the last climb. After hesitating a little on the descent, I launched my attack. There could be no regrets. In the end, I was afraid that I had done too much. I just wanted to win. It is difficult to compare this to my victory at the Grand Prix d'Isbergues, but I know that I have had quite a week. Now I just want to enjoy this title with everyone.”
VINCENT LAVENU: “THE RECOGNITION OF FIFTEEN YEARS OF WORK”
“We were watching the race together at the Service Course and everyone was crying! There is a lot of emotion and above all, the recognition of a lot of work that the Chambéry Cyclisme Formation and its director Loïc Varnet, along with all the people working with him, have done. Today Benoît rode an excellent race. He is very young, but already has a great handle on the science of racing, and is very sharp. He has shown in the past that he has the same level as the best. This victory is a great reward for this rider who is appreciated by everyone; he has had a character forming education and possesses irreproachable ethics. We will enjoy this great happiness with him, but we won’t lose sight of the fact that he has been a professional only for two months, and we will give him the chance to grow.”
Here's the report from Team Sunweb:
The day started with several small groups going clear on the 19.1 kilometre circuit. Over time they came together to form a twelve-man breakaway which enjoyed a lot of time out front, though never held a convincing lead. Throughout the early stages of the race, Lennard, Max Kanter and Joris Nieuwenhuis positioned themselves out of trouble in the peloton. As the race headed into the final 50 kilometres, the peloton became very active with numerous threatening attacks being chased down. A strong breakaway remained out front with two laps of the hilly circuit remaining.
Having already tasted glory in the Team Time Trial on Sunday, Lennard was hungry for more. At 12km to go, he saw his chance and attacked solo from the peloton on on a sharp climb and quickly bridged across to the small group. Not happy to wait around, he continued to push hard on Salmon Hill and immediately left the rest of the breakaway behind. Over the top of the climb Lennard established a strong advantage over the chasing peloton, before being joined by another rider at the bottom of the descent. Without hesitation the duo worked together to maintain their advantage through the harbour, where a sprint for the line saw Lennard take the silver medal. In the bunch kick, Max sprinted well to take 7th, making two top-10 finishes for Team Sunweb.
Benoit Cosnefroy beats Lennard Kamna for the rainbow jersey.
Lotto-Soudal previews Elite Men's World Championship Road Race
The team sent me this update:
As of today the road races at the Worlds are taking place in Bergen, Norway. On Sunday the men elite will battle for the rainbow jersey, among them three Lotto Soudal riders: Tiesj Benoot and Tim Wellens are selected for Belgium, Tony Gallopin is part of the French line-up.
The road race on Sunday is 267.5 kilometres long. First the men elite have to ride forty kilometres along the coast, before entering the local circuit. Then they need to cover eleven full laps of 19.1 kilometres. After six kilometres on the local lap Salmon Hill turns up, a hill of one and a half kilometres with an average gradient of 6.4%. The Belgians did a recon of the circuit yesterday.
Tim Wellens winning in Mallorca earlier this year, He'll be riding for Belgium at the Worlds
Tim Wellens: “It’s an undulating course with many turns. There are not many moments to recover, except for the flat last kilometre. The climb of Salmon Hill is almost entirely straight ahead, with one turn close to the top. I think this hill will play an important role. Because of the distance of this race, this hill will be hard enough to make a difference in the last lap. There is a possibility to ride away on this climb. The course is harder than I thought.”
“I expect about sixty riders will get into the finale. A possible sprint will be one with thirty to forty riders. If it comes down to a sprint. It is definitely possible that a group of five or six riders gets away on Salmon Hill in the last lap and stays ahead until the finish. After the hill there’s a pretty technical descent, followed by twists and turns until the end, which will make it very difficult to close the gap on the leaders.”
“Us Belgians have to make the race hard and we will be racing aggressively. It’s our intention not to have to do unnecessary pulling in the peloton. There are other teams that will also benefit from an offensive race and that could be our allies, like France for example.”
“My condition is very good. The course here in Bergen suits me, so I expect to play an important role. I will work for the team, with Van Avermaet and Gilbert as our leaders. There are several possible scenarios at a World Championship though, the race is unpredictable.”
“It rains a lot in Bergen during the year, but on Sunday it will be dry. I can’t change that. Wet roads would have been a plus for me, but my legs are good anyway. I think that riders who performed well in Canada are the main contenders for Sunday, that’s definitely the case with Peter Sagan. And I think Matteo Trentin will be dangerous too.”
Tiesj Benoot: “There are many turns on the local lap and if it would be wet, gaps would be created easily; then it would become an elimination race. Also in dry weather conditions it’s best not to ride at the back, but to be attentively at the front all the time. You can compare Salmon Hill to a longer version of the Tiegemberg. The course is perfect for an attractive race and that’s positive for the Belgians. We want to make the other favourites tired and isolate them, so Greg Van Avermaet and Philippe Gilbert can benefit from their duo leadership.”
“I don’t think the top riders will drop each other on the hill, but afterwards they can distance one another. Matteo Trentin and Peter Sagan will be the main opponents, but Michael Matthews and Michal Kwiatkowski will be dangerous too.”
“I had a good run-up to this World Championships and I am very satisfied about my feeling in the past races. It will be my job to attack in the last eighty kilometres of the race and to join breakaways to put pressure on the teams that want a sprint. We can’t miss out on an important breakaway.”
The French team will arrive in Norway today. The federation preferred that their riders could train in France, in dry weather conditions.
Tony Gallopin: “Julian Alaphilippe is our leader. I will play my role in the deep finale. We really want to avoid a sprint and that’s why we will race aggressively. We might cooperate with the Belgians to get an open race. I haven’t seen the course yet, but from what I’ve heard and seen on paper it will be a tough course. Also the distance will have a big influence.”
“After the Tour and Clásica San Sebastián I took a rest period. The Worlds then became my next big goal. I feel the condition is good since I got back in competition in Plouay. I got better and better, I proved that in Canada and Grand Prix de Wallonie. I hope to be at my best on Sunday. I don’t focus on particular favourites, as France we just have to ride our own race.”
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