Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, November 24, 2018
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
Avoid problems, and you'll never be the one who overcame them. - Richard Bach
Upcoming Racing:
- December 1: GP Hasselt
- December 15: Scheldecross
Latest completed racing:
- November 18: Flandriencross
- November 11: Telenet Super Prestige Gavere Cyclocross
- November 4: European Cyclocross Championships
- November 1: Cyclocross Koppenberg
- October 28: Cyclocross Ruddervorde
- October 23 - 31: Tour of Hainan
- October 21: Japan Cup
- October 9 - 14: Presidential Tour of Turkey
- October 14: Chrono des Nations
- October 13: Il Lombardia
- October 11: Gran Piemonte
Team Sunweb completes 2019 roster
Here's the team's update:
As Team Sunweb’s road captain Roy Curvers (NED) extends his contract for an additional year, Team Sunweb’s rosters for all three programs are now complete for the 2019 season. Below, the men’s, women’s and development programs are confirmed.
MEN’S PROGRAM
Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Nikias Arndt (GER)
Jan Bakelants (BEL)
Cees Bol (NED)
Roy Curvers (NED)
Tom Dumoulin (NED)
Johannes Fröhlinger (GER)
Chad Haga (USA)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Jai Hindley (AUS)
Marc Hirschi (SWI)
Lennard Kämna (GER)
Max Kanter (GER)
Wilco Kelderman (NED)
Michael Matthews (AUS)
Joris Nieuwenhuis (NED)
Sam Oomen (NED)
Casper Pedersen (DEN)
Robert Power (AUS)
Nicolas Roche (IRE)
Michael Storer (AUS)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)
Louis Vervaeke (BEL)
Max Walscheid (GER)
Roy Curvers will be wearing the Sunweb kit in 2019. Sirotti photo
WOMEN’S PROGRAM
Susanne Andersen (NOR)
Lucinda Brand (NED)
Janneke Ensing (NED)
Pfeiffer Georgi (GBR)
Leah Kirchmann (CAN)
Juliette Labous (FRA)
Liane Lippert (GER)
Floortje Mackaij (NED)
Pernille Mathiesen (DEN)
Coryn Rivera (USA)
Julia Soek (NED)
Coryn Rivera will ride for Sunweb in 2019.
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Nils Eekhoff (NED)
Felix Gall (AUT)
Leon Heinschke (GER)
Ben Katerberg (CAN)
Edo Maas (NED)
Niklas Märkl (GER)
Marius Mayrhofer (GER)
Jarno Mobach (NED)
Tim Naberman (NED)
Martin Salmon (GER)
Nils Sinschek (NED)
Florian Stork (GER)
Xandres Vervloesem (BEL)
Ludvig Anton Wacker (DEN)
Lotto-Soudal riders are back to training
Here's the update the team sent me:
After a rest period of three to five weeks, the Lotto Soudal riders have begun their build up to the next season. Wim Van Hoolst, coach at Energy Lab, gives more details.
It's time for Lotto-Soudal riders to go back to work. Sirotti photo.
Wim Van Hoolst: “Since the second week of November the riders have been training again. During the prior rest period of three to five weeks, they were free and had the time to travel for example. In that way they can also free their minds before they start working towards the new season.”
“Recently they started to train. Besides riding their bikes, the cyclists must make time for core stability training almost every day. In consultation with the physical therapists of the team they are prescribed specific exercises. Practicing alternative sports is rather limited and depends on the history of the cyclists. Some of them go for a run but those are the cyclists who used to run or play football. Letting a cyclist run while he normally never runs, is not a good idea because they are likely to get injured. About half of the cyclists have been doing strength workouts in the gym. Together with the team’s physical therapists, we at Energy Lab also establish a program for them.”
“During the first two weeks of the build-up, the amount of hours on the bike are increased and thus the training becomes longer and longer. The intensity of the training increases gradually. By the end of November, the cyclists start strength training on the rollers and short interval sessions. As the preparation progresses, the interval training becomes tougher and tougher. Each cyclist has a personal training schedule that we establish together with him. The training build-up is developed based on their race schedule. In general, it is important to rein in neo-pros and young riders because they want to start training very early to get in shape in time which is a typical trap.”
“Every day, the cyclists upload their training data on our online training platform. We can check if the prescribed training has actually been carried out because we get notified when an actual training deviates from a prescribed one. In this case, the riders are contacted by us. In addition, there is also close contact between the staff themselves. Every rider is part of a little team in which he is supported by a sports director, trainer, doctor and physical therapist. The training schedules are drawn up for a period of seven to ten days which enables us to constantly monitor and make adjustments if necessary. Yesterday there was a meeting at Energy Lab in Paal and in Ghent where the cyclists came by for a blood test, a body composition analysis, a consultation with the doctor, a conversation with the sports psychologist and a chat with the trainer. Just before the December training camp they undergo an extensive medical screening. The cyclists are thus closely monitored during the off-season.”
Wholesale bike sales continue dollars-up/units-down trend through October
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News sent me this:
BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — U.S. wholesalers sold 7 percent fewer bikes through the first 10 months of 2018 compared with the same period last year. But the dollar value of those bikes was up nearly 6 percent, reflecting a higher average cost per bike.
This is according to the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association's monthly sell-in report from The NPD Group.
Sales of mountain bikes, still the largest bike category, were flat in dollars through October, at $335 million. The number of units sold was down 10 percent, however, reflecting an increase in average price in that category.
As has been the case for several years, the various mountain bike subcategories have been volatile. For example, sales figures for 29er full-suspension bikes and 27.5-inch full-suspension bikes have almost flip-flopped since last October. In October 2017, wholesalers shipped $10.1 million worth of 27.5-inch full-suspension models, and $5.3 million worth of 29er full-suspension bikes. This October, wholesalers sold $9.4 million in 29ers and $5.6 million in 27.5-inch bikes.
Road subcategories also have been volatile, although things are changing so quickly it's not clear that all suppliers have agreed on the definition of some drop-bar variations. A bike model considered a "Sport Men's" bike last year might be now categorized as "Other," making the subcategory variations look more volatile than they really are.
As a whole, the road category was up 7.6 percent in dollars but down 2.1 percent in units through October. The "Performance Men's" subcategory, the largest, was soft, down 4.4 percent in dollars and 12.6 percent in units. The "Other All" subcategory, which includes variations on gravel and adventure touring bikes, was up 94 percent in dollars and 53.9 percent in units.
E-bike sales totaled $10.4 million in October and $108 million year to date through that month. The YTD number is up 46 percent over the prior year.
For comparison, in dollars that puts e-bikes at about a third of the size of the mountain bike category. But e-bikes hit that dollar number thanks to a $2,000 average wholesale cost. The average wholesale cost of a mountain bike was $620.
You can read the entire story here.
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