Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, September 30, 2018
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. - Albert Camus
Current racing:
- September 23 - 30: World Road Championships
Latest completed racing:
- September 23: Trofeo Matteotti
- September 22: Tour de l'Eurométropole
- September 22: Memorial Marco Pantani
- September 20: Coppa Sabatini
- September 19: Giro della Toscana
- August 25 - September 16: Vuelta a España
- September 16: Coppa Bernocchi
- September 15: Primus Classic Impanis-Van Petegem
- Septmeber 15: Coppa Agostoni
Women's Elite World Championship road race team reports
We posted the report from winner Anna van der Breggen's Boels-Dolmans team with the results.
Silver medalist Amanda Spratt's Mitchelton-Scott team had this to say:
31-year-old Amanda Spratt has claimed the silver medal for Australia at the UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria today. Spratt went with a smart move on the first of three finishing laps, before proving the biggest challenger for new world champion Anna van der Breggen (NED) who claimed a strong solo victory.
Anna van der Breggen finishes alone to win the World Championship. Sirotti photo.
First lap move:
Having been support by her Australian team early on, including an impressive performance by Mitchelton-SCOTT teammate Lucy Kennedy, Spratt tapped onto a smart move on the first of three finishing laps.
The Australian joined four others to attack on the short but steep incline in the old town, away from the main climb, and bridged across to solo leader Coryn Rivera (USA).
Action from behind:
The main climb on the penultimate lap saw the action heat up behind. Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) attacked before a solo counter from national teammate Van der Breggen saw all of the other favourites out of the game.
In a flash Van der Breggen was at the front of the race and her pressure saw the lead group explode with only Spratt able to follow.
Soloing to silver:
Van der Breggen made another head effort over the top of the penultimate climb which distanced Spratt and for the following 40km the pair soloed to the gold and silver medals.
By the conclusion of the 151km race Van der Breggen has extended her lead, taking an emphatic solo win by three-minute 42seconds to Spratt. Behind, the gaps also extended with Tatiana Guderzo (ITA) claiming the final medal five-minutes 26seconds adrift.
Amanda Spratt:
“I’m definitely happy with the silver medal. I can be very proud of this. The Australian team did a very good job protecting me in the early laps. When I made my move, I was expecting the Dutch to come across and Anna [van der Breggen] came across.
"I just tried to hold her wheel as much as I could, which was maybe a little mistake. I probably could have stayed with her a little longer than I did but she was on another level today. She was so so strong…
"I’m glad to deliver a medal for the team. They’ve been supporting me, backing me since when the team was selected.”
Team Sunweb had several riders in the race. Here's their race report:
After suffering an earlier crash, Ellen van Dijk was involved in an attack for the Dutch squad. After that move was caught, Coryn Rivera went solo on the summit of the first ascent of the mountain, staying clear for some kilometres before she was caught by a group of chasers which included Ellen van Dijk. Lucinda Brand was active for the Netherlands in the bunch behind, with Ruth Winder and Leah Kirchmann also in that group for the USA and Canada.
A solo attack from the Netherlands went clear from the reduced bunch, going on to catch the Coryn group. Initially able to follow the move, a strong performance saw Coryn chase two riders who were solo at the front of the race before she dropped back to the main group. Lucinda rolled across the line as the team’s top finisher taking 9th place, with Ruth one place behind in 10th.
REACTION
Coryn said: “When you’re not one of the best climbers in the race, you have to get ahead of the race. All of the USA girls did a great job getting the team at the front of the first main climb if the day, Gnadenwald. USA had the most numbers with four in the front group over the top. Later over the top of the main climb in Innsbruck, I played my card to get ahead of the race and attacked. It’s a shame the whole group hesitated because it was a great time for the move. I was alone for a while and it’s hard to know what is going on without radios. So I just had to ride it out while I had the gap. Eventually I saw some chasers and rode halfway up the next climb until the future world champion came by super fast. I tried to hold the wheel for as long as I could, but she is now world champion for a reason! From there it was about surviving and hoping my teammates would come from behind to try their hand at a medal. Unfortunately, I went from going for the bronze medal to really giving everything I can to keep up. It was a hard course, in a beautiful place, and I did everything I could to contribute to team USA and get the team ahead of the race and keep us in medal contention.”
Floyd Landis opens three bike-themed cannabis shops in Portland, considers IPO for Floyd's of Leadville
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News sent me this:
PORTLAND, Ore. (BRAIN) — Former pro racer Floyd Landis will open three legal marijuana dispensaries here this week, each designed with a cycling theme to appeal to fitness and health-conscious adults. The locations have previously been operated under a different name; Landis told BRAIN his company, Floyd's of Leadville, has started the process of acquiring the dispensaries and rebranding them as Floyd’s Fine Cannabis. New signs were installed Thursday.
Landis said the Portland stores are being given a cycling-themed makeover to take advantage of his history in the sport and to appeal to those who are interested in legal marijuana for its health benefits. "We are obviously trying to exploit my ability to get press because my name is very connected to cycling. We are branding and marketing toward people with an active lifestyle, not stoners — not that there's anything wrong with that, but that's not who we are trying to reach. We are selling to people who have decided that taking a bunch of Advil every day is maybe not that great of an option."
Landis' company has two distinct business: the dispensaries, which will sell Floyd's-branded recreational marijuana products and products from other brands, and its business selling products containing CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. The CBD products are sold through bike shops and other outlets nationally. They are distributed in the bike industry by BTI, VeloSport Imports and others.
Floyd's of Leadville displayed at the recent Interbike show in Reno, Nevada, and there was chatter there that the company was considering an initial public offering to raise capital for expansion in the fast-growing CBD market. Landis told BRAIN that an IPO was just one of several options the company is exploring. "We are looking into that part of it. I don't know which direction we'll go with it," he said in a phone interview after the Reno show.
An IPO on U.S. public markets would be difficult because of federal regulations; however, several U.S.-based CBD suppliers are traded on the Canadian Stock Exchange.
You can read the entire story here.
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