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Tuesday, May 22, 2018
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live. - Socrates
Current racing:
- May 4 - 27: Giro d'Italia
- May 22 - 24: Tour des Fjords
Upcoming racing:
- May 23 - 27: Tour of Belgium
Latest completed racing:
- May 16 - 20: Tour of Norway
- May 18 - 20: Tour de l'Ain
- May 13 - 19: Tour of California
- May 8 - 13: 4 Jours de Dunkerque
- May 3 - 6: Tour de Yorkshire
- May 4 - 6: Vuelta Ciclista de Madrid
- May 1: Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt
- April 24 - 29: Tour de Romandie
- April 27 - April 29: Vuelta Asturias
Latest UCI road rankings
Top 40 riders:
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | SAGAN Peter | BORA - HANSGROHE | 3753 |
| 2 | FROOME Chris | TEAM SKY | 3724.43 |
| 3 | NIBALI Vincenzo | BAHRAIN - MERIDA | 3132 |
| 4 | VIVIANI Elia | QUICK - STEP FLOORS | 2774 |
| 5 | VAN AVERMAET Greg | BMC RACING TEAM | 2734.57 |
| 6 | KRISTOFF Alexander | UAE TEAM EMIRATES | 2627 |
| 7 | MATTHEWS Michael | TEAM SUNWEB | 2528 |
| 8 | DUMOULIN Tom | TEAM SUNWEB | 2467 |
| 9 | VALVERDE Alejandro | MOVISTAR TEAM | 2434 |
| 10 | WELLENS Tim | LOTTO SOUDAL | 2370 |
| 11 | BARDET Romain | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 2183 |
| 12 | LANDA MEANA Mikel | MOVISTAR TEAM | 2138 |
| 13 | ALAPHILIPPE Julian | QUICK - STEP FLOORS | 2045 |
| 14 | DEMARE Arnaud | GROUPAMA - FDJ | 2007 |
| 15 | ULISSI Diego | UAE TEAM EMIRATES | 1910 |
| 16 | QUINTANA Nairo | MOVISTAR TEAM | 1896 |
| 17 | ROGLIČ Primož | TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO | 1870 |
| 18 | MOLLEMA Bauke | TREK - SEGAFREDO | 1828 |
| 19 | BERNAL Egan Arley | TEAM SKY | 1826 |
| 20 | STUYVEN Jasper | TREK - SEGAFREDO | 1793 |
| 21 | URAN Rigoberto | TEAM EF EDUCATION FIRST | 1696 |
| 22 | ARU Fabio | UAE TEAM EMIRATES | 1694 |
| 23 | PINOT Thibaut | GROUPAMA - FDJ | 1652 |
| 24 | TRENTIN Matteo | MITCHELTON - SCOTT | 1648 |
| 25 | BENOOT Tiesj | LOTTO SOUDAL | 1605 |
| 26 | KWIATKOWSKI Michal | TEAM SKY | 1583.43 |
| 27 | TERPSTRA Niki | QUICK - STEP FLOORS | 1580 |
| 28 | VANMARCKE Sep | TEAM EF EDUCATION FIRST | 1560 |
| 29 | VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael | ASTANA PRO TEAM | 1551 |
| 30 | FUGLSANG Jakob | ASTANA PRO TEAM | 1548 |
| 31 | GREIPEL André | LOTTO SOUDAL | 1540 |
| 32 | POZZOVIVO Domenico | BAHRAIN - MERIDA | 1515 |
| 33 | VUILLERMOZ Alexis | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 1514 |
| 34 | COLBRELLI Sonny | BAHRAIN - MERIDA | 1482 |
| 35 | TEUNS Dylan | BMC RACING TEAM | 1478 |
| 36 | GILBERT Philippe | QUICK - STEP FLOORS | 1473 |
| 37 | ZAKARIN Ilnur | TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN | 1414 |
| 38 | JUNGELS Bob | QUICK - STEP FLOORS | 1406 |
| 39 | GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando | QUICK - STEP FLOORS | 1405 |
| 40 | HAGEN Edvald Boasson | TEAM DIMENSION DATA | 1397 |
Nations:
| Rank | Name | Points |
| 1 | ITALY | 15285.57 |
| 2 | BELGIUM | 14410.57 |
| 3 | FRANCE | 12232 |
| 4 | NETHERLANDS | 11372 |
| 5 | SPAIN | 10273 |
| 6 | COLOMBIA | 9824 |
| 7 | GREAT BRITAIN | 8251.76 |
| 8 | AUSTRALIA | 7369.14 |
| 9 | DENMARK | 6515 |
| 10 | NORWAY | 5891 |
| 11 | GERMANY | 5601 |
| 12 | SLOVENIA | 5479.28 |
| 13 | POLAND | 4401.43 |
| 14 | SLOVAKIA | 4232 |
| 15 | CZECH REPUBLIC | 3668 |
| 16 | SWITZERLAND | 3659.17 |
| 17 | RUSSIAN FEDERATION | 3420.33 |
| 18 | IRELAND | 3300 |
| 19 | PORTUGAL | 2889.71 |
| 20 | LUXEMBOURG | 2865 |
| 21 | SOUTH AFRICA | 2734.24 |
| 22 | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | 2678 |
| 23 | AUSTRIA | 2312 |
| 24 | CANADA | 2096 |
| 25 | NEW ZEALAND | 1815.57 |
| 26 | KAZAKHSTAN | 1790.5 |
| 27 | ERITREA | 1672.5 |
| 28 | UKRAINE | 1669 |
| 29 | BELARUS | 1475.43 |
| 30 | LATVIA | 1387 |
| 31 | ESTONIA | 1358 |
| 32 | JAPAN | 1343.01 |
| 33 | ARGENTINA | 1298 |
| 34 | ALGERIA | 1033 |
| 35 | VENEZUELA | 1010 |
| 36 | IRAN | 996 |
| 37 | RWANDA | 988 |
| 38 | COSTA RICA | 931 |
| 39 | ECUADOR | 917.51 |
| 40 | ROMANIA | 868 |
World Tour Team ranking
| Rank | Name | Points |
| 1 | QUICK - STEP FLOORS (QST) | 7211 |
| 2 | BORA - HANSGROHE (BOH) | 4452 |
| 3 | MITCHELTON - SCOTT (MTS) | 4440.99 |
| 4 | BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) | 4178.99 |
| 5 | MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) | 4002 |
| 6 | TEAM SKY (SKY) | 3696.01 |
| 7 | BAHRAIN - MERIDA (TBM) | 3661 |
| 8 | ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) | 3254 |
| 9 | AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) | 3204 |
| 10 | LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS) | 3041 |
| 11 | TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ) | 2668 |
| 12 | TREK - SEGAFREDO (TFS) | 2508 |
| 13 | TEAM EF EDUCATION FIRST - DRAPAC (EFD) | 2499 |
| 14 | UAE TEAM EMIRATES (UAD) | 2231 |
| 15 | TEAM SUNWEB (SUN) | 2142 |
| 16 | GROUPAMA - FDJ (GFC) | 1376 |
| 17 | TEAM DIMENSION DATA (DDD) | 1220 |
| 18 | TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN (TKA) | 1076 |
Chris Froome prepared for final Giro push
Here's the Team Sky post:
Chris Froome is ready to ‘give it everything he’s got’ as he enters the final week of the Giro d’Italia aiming to make up for lost time. Froome trails race leader Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) by 4’52” after losing time to his compatriot on a mountainous stage 15, but is adamant that there is still an opportunity to make ground up on the race favourites, starting with the individual time trial on stage 16.
The 33 year old, who is currently seventh overall, believes Sunweb’s Tom Dumoulin is the man to beat in Tuesday’s 34.2 kilometre test, but Froome is optimistic. He said: “If I gain anything on Tom Dumoulin I’ll be very happy. He’s the world champion time triallist, I don’t expect to gain anything on him tomorrow, but let’s see. “I’m going to give it everything I’ve got and I’m certainly not going to expect anything [to be easy] for the rest of this Giro.
“It’s been a brutal race, but it’s also been a beautiful race. This is bike racing at its best and it’s what people want to see. Real edge-of-the-seat stuff and unpredictable racing too. [The gap] is big, especially the way Simon [Yates] has been riding, he hasn’t shown one moment of weakness so far and only seems to be getting stronger. I’m still going to focus on the GC, I’m not going to give up.”
Before Sunday’s setback on stage 15 it was Froome who stood atop the podium, edging Yates in an incredible battle atop Monte Zoncolan, and while Froome believes that the energy expended had a detrimental effect on his performance the following day, he had no regrets.
Chris Froome headed for the finish atop the Zoncolan.
He continued: “I think it’s quite clear, Zoncolan was going to be the most iconic climb of the Giro, I’d done the recon and I put absolutely everything I had on that climb. I went super deep on Zoncolan, it was such an amazing experience and it’s [a decision] I don’t regret.
“I don’t regret putting everything on the line that day, it was an incredible experience. The atmosphere on the climb, the thousands of people up there. And just taking a step back, to eight years ago when I first rode Zoncolan where I was almost reliant on the public giving me a push every 20 metres just to get up there, and then to come back here eight years later and win is a moment that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.”
Lotto-Soudal previews Tour of Belgium:
Busy times for Lotto Soudal. This week the team won’t only be racing in Italy and Norway, but also in Belgium. From Wednesday 23 May till Sunday 27 May the Baloise Belgium Tour is scheduled. Except for Lotto Soudal there are only two more WorldTour teams on the start list of this Europe Tour stage race, namely Katusha and Astana.
Herman Frison, DS Lotto Soudal: “There are many races at this time of the season and sometimes it’s necessary to make choices. For us it’s important to ride the Baloise Belgium Tour because we are a Belgian team and because Lotto is one of the partners of the race too. It’s a pity there are so few WorldTour teams, but the Pro Continental teams should definitely not be underestimated. They will be keen on performing well this week.”
Lotto Soudal has a strong team for the Baloise Belgium Tour. André Greipel, who had a successful comeback at 4 Jours de Dunkerque after his collarbone fracture, and last year’s overall winner Jens Keukeleire are two beautiful names on the start list. Jasper De Buyst has sufficiently recovered from his crash after the finish of the fifth stage of 4 Jours de Dunkerque and will be able to do his job in the sprint train.
Herman Frison: “Apart from André Greipel Bryan Coquard and Magnus Cort Nielsen are the main sprinters on the provisional start list. In theory there are three sprint stages: the opening stage with start and finish in Buggenhout, the second stage with the traditional finish on the Wandelaar in Knokke-Heist and the last stage to Tongeren. With Greipel in the team all eyes will be on us, but it won’t be easy to control the sprint stages. If a large group rides away on those flat stages it could be an option to let one of our riders join the break too. The Golden Kilometre in the finale of each stage in line, where bonus seconds can be gained, could also influence the stage result. At that point someone could create a decisive gap. We’ll need to be attentive at that moment. A stage win is our first priority, a good overall result is our second one.”
“The time trial in Bornem on Friday and Saturday’s Ardennes stage will determine the GC. After the time trial we can make a first evaluation to see what is possible for us on GC. The fourth stage with start and finish in Wanze will be the moment of truth for the GC riders. Jelle Vanendert, who was very strong in the Ardennes races this spring, and Jens Keukeleire, who finished third in Ans last year, are our main assets for that stage.”
Jens Keukeleire won the GC of the Baloise Belgium Tour last year with six seconds lead over Rémi Cavagna and eleven seconds lead over Tony Martin. After the Tour de Romandie the Belgian left for Andorra together with Jelle Wallays to prepare for the Baloise Belgium Tour.
Jens Keukeleire: “A few days after the Tour de Romandie Jelle Wallays and I left for Andorra for an altitude training camp and we got back last Thursday. It’s was the fourth consecutive time that I went to Andorra at this time of the season. The weather in the mountains was less good than previous years, but apparently the weather we had was normal for this time of the year and I had just been lucky past years. In the valley the weather was way better. We could do our trainings as planned and did a lot of climbing.”
“It’s great to start with bib number one. Last year I took part in the Baloise Belgium Tour as member of the Belgian national team, now it’s my first season at Lotto Soudal. We have a strong team for this week and I am looking forward to the race. It’s a beautiful course and it’s always fun to race in Belgium.”
“It would be wonderful if I could repeat last year’s performance. Last year I hadn’t started with the ambition to win the GC. In the Ardennes stage I was part of the early break and we remained ahead till the finish, but I also was in a good condition after my altitude training camp. This year the Ardennes stage will again be decisive for GC. It will also be a matter of racing as hard as I can in the time trial. Last year the Kemmelberg already caused a first selection on GC on the second day, this year the first two stages are entirely flat. Maybe the wind could cause a surprise.”
“Last year I conquered the overall victory thanks to the bonus seconds on the last stage and also this year those sprints in the Golden Kilometre could be crucial. Winning the Baloise Belgium Tour often comes down to a few seconds and in the Golden Kilometre nine bonus seconds are up for grabs. I think Magnus Cort Nielsen, who was in Andorra too, will be a main contender this week.”
Line-up Lotto Soudal: Jasper De Buyst, André Greipel, Jens Keukeleire, Nikolas Maes, Marcel Sieberg, Jelle Vanendert and Jelle Wallays.
Sports directors: Herman Frison and Frederik Willems.
Stages
- Stage 1 Wednesday 23 May: Buggenhout – Buggenhout (178.8 km)
- Stage 2 Thursday 24 May: Lochristi – Knokke-Heist (162.1 km)
- Stage 3 Friday 25 May: Bornem – Bornem (10.6 km) (ITT)
- Stage 4 Saturday 26 May: Wanze – Wanze (151.4 km)
- Stage 5 Sunday 27 May: Landen – Tongeren (157.7 km)
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