Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, December 20, 2019
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2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. - Muhammad Ali
Upcoming racing:
- Dec 22: World Cup, Namur
- Dec 26: World Cup Heusden-Zolder
- Dec 27: Azencross
- Dec 29: Superprestige Diegen
- Jan 1: GP Sven Nys
- Feb 22: GP Leuven
Latest completed racing:
- Dec 15: Vlaamse Druivencross
- Dec 7: IKO Cyclocross-Essen
- Nov 17: Flandriencross
- Nov 10: European Cyclocross Championships
- Nov 3: Telenet Superprestige Ruddervoorde
- Oct 27: Superprestige Gavere Cyclocross
- Oct 26: Cincinnati Cyclocross
- Oct 17-22: Tour of Guangxi
- Oct 20: Japan Cup
- Oct 20: Chrono des Nations
Team leader Steven Kruijswijk is looking forward to Vuelta 2020
Here's the Jumbo-Visma team update:
Steven Kruijswijk is the leader in the Vuelta a España of Team Jumbo-Visma. The number three of the last Tour de France is looking forward to it and is ambitious. He announced this in response to the presentation of the route this evening in Madrid.
Steven Kruijswijk racing in the 2019 Dauphine. Sirotti photo
With the opening team time trial in Utrecht and the following two stages to Den Bosch and Breda, the Vuelta is Dutch tinted.
Primoz Roglic won the last edition in a magical way. Which riders Kruijswijk will join, will be announced on Friday during the team presentation.
Steven Kruijswijk: “I see it as a great opportunity to try and get on the podium in the Vuelta. Every grand tour that starts in the Netherlands has something extra for us as a Dutch team. For me, two stages really stand out. The stage with the finish on the Tourmalet and on the Angliru. Those are climbs that I know both. Those stages suit me and are meant for me. These are often the unique stages that are pivotal in a grand tour to do something."
Team Sunweb confirms coaching staff for 2020
The team sent me this:
Team Sunweb are happy to confirm their coaching staff for 2020 including two new additions to the team; Arjan Ribbers who joins as a coach and Harm Ubbens who joins as aerodynamic and innovation expert.
Coaching staff:
Men’s program:
- Sebastian Deckert (GER)
- Michiel Elijzen (NED)
- Marc Reef (NED)
- Arjan Ribbers (NED)
- Luke Roberts (AUS)
- Matt Winston (GBR)
Women’s program:
- Albert Timmer (NED)
- Hans Timmermans (NED)
Development program:
- Roy Curvers (NED)
- Bennie Lambregts (NED)
Arjan Ribbers (NED):
Ribbers joins the team as a member of the coaching staff for 2020. With a variety of experience within the bike industry, Ribbers spent the last 12 years working at Specialized bicycles. He also operated as a team manager for Sensa-Kanjers voor Kanjers Cyclingteam, and looks to bring that experience to the team.
Ribbers said: “I’m really looking forward to joining Team Sunweb and getting started with the new season. The team has a strong vision and philosophy that we both really believe in. I want to help the team to more successes by learning together, working closely with the riders and developing and improving every day with riders both on and off the bike.”
Harm Ubbens (NED):
As part of the team’s continued focus on the latest science and developments, Ubbens joins the team as an aerodynamic and innovation expert. Ubbens brings a wealth of experience with his MSc degree in Aerospace Engineering from TU Delft, alongside his recent work at the BikeValley wind tunnel in Belgium where he worked with various riders and new products.
Ubbens said: “I’m very excited to join Team Sunweb. It is great to be part of an innovative team that aims to be a step ahead with the latest ideas to improve the riders’ performance. I’m really motivated to get the most out of the riders and team, and hope that my wind tunnel expertise can aid in doing that.”
As we welcome new staff on board, we also say farewell to a few colleagues. We would like to extend our thanks to our coaches Aike Visbeek (seven years), Arthur van Dongen (four years) and trainer Hendrik Werner (three years) for all of their hard work and dedication during their time with us. After nine years with the team our scientific expert Teun van Erp also moves onto ventures new in a role in Cape Town. Their combined efforts helped us to numerous successes and countless great memories together and we wish them all the best of luck in their new challenges.
CCC Team partners with INSCYD to further develop performance analysis
The team sent me this release:
19 December 2019: CCC Team has partnered with INSCYD, the world’s most advanced software for performance analysis, scaling up the team’s use of the technology following a six-month pilot project where the team had the opportunity to use INSCYD with a restricted group of riders.
Marco Pinotti, Head of Performance for CCC Team, was impressed with the initial results and possibilities of using INSCYD to optimize rider testing throughout the season.
“INSYCD is like a compass that guides us in the dark. It gives us an understanding of the riders’ potential and their limits and it gives us guidance on what we need to work on. With INSCYD we understand why some riders are limited in some capacity, if they can improve or not and where they can develop.”
Jim Ochowicz, President of CCC Team, explained the benefits to the team of using INSCYD’s innovative technology. “At CCC Team, we are always looking to innovate and identify new technology that will help us optimize rider performance so we are excited to start this partnership with INSCYD. The company’s software offers a detailed and unique analysis of individual rider abilities that will allow us to better understand our riders’ strengths and the areas that can be further developed. Our collaboration with INSCYD is an exciting initiative from our performance team that we believe will be beneficial for the team’s results in 2020 and beyond.”
Sebastian Weber, INSCYD Project Leader, is looking forward to developing the working relationship between INSCYD and CCC Team through the new partnership. “We are super excited to have CCC Team on board. The main part of our partnership is linked to our 2020 upgraded testing protocol, which allows coaches to use power-only data in combination with lactate data. This was the tipping point for the team to be able to follow up riders’ testing during the season even when they can’t have face time with them. In 2019 this technology has been used as a prototype by some teams and coaches, but now they will use it as the main tool to benchmark riders’ performance.”
The new INSCYD protocol consists of a power-only test that the riders can perform on their own, without the help of the team’s coaches or the need for someone else to take lactate samples. At the same time, though, because of the precision and technology behind INSCYD’s algorithm, the test will return to the coaches full metabolic profiles of their riders, with physiological metrics including VO2max, Anaerobic Threshold, glycolytic power (VLamax), Lactate Accumulation and, very important in professional cycling, recovery rates as well as Fat and Carbohydrate Combustion. Additionally, riders can do the test at any time of the year and anywhere in the world without the need to go to a lab.
Once the test is completed, CCC Team’s coaches can analyze the results on INSCYD’s cloud platform and share the results within the performance group. This level of precision and accuracy, trusted not only by CCC Team but also by other WorldTour teams, is only possible with INSCYD, the most advanced software for performance analysis on the market.
How big is the biggest in E-Bike company?
Bike Europe sent me this:
DOETINCHEM, the Netherlands – Earlier this month this trade journal posed the question “How Big is the Biggest in E-Bikes?” That we asked this question was triggered by Giant. Last October the biggest maker of Taiwan announced that it would sell 600,000 e-bikes this year. We had our doubts on that huge number.
However, an industry expert made it clear to us that this company could nonetheless be the biggest. And that major shifts in the Japanese e-bike market are causing that.
In our first article on the question “How Big is the Biggest in E-Bikes?” we arrived at the conclusion that it would be unlikely for Giant to sell such a huge e-bike volume this year. Our doubts were fueled by the facts that it would relate to the company delivering some 56 percent more e-bikes compared to 2018; that it contradicted with earlier statements on forecasted growth made by Giant’s chairwoman Bonnie Tu and that it would mean that 2nd half year e-bike sales will top that of the first six months, which isn’t likely.
After publishing the first article on the world’s biggest in e-bikes on December 5, we were contacted by an industry expert who pointed to developments in the Japanese e-bike market which is triggering a huge growth in production at Giant Electric Vehicle (GEV) in Kunshan, China.
What is happening in Japan is that Chinese makers are taking over the e-bike market of the land of the rising sun. This is clearly shown by data on Japan’s bicycle production (including e-bikes) provided by Japan’s Bicycle Promotion Institute (JBPI). By the way, Chinese exporters have already taken over the whole of Japan’s market for regular bikes (close to 5 million units in 2018).
You can read the entire essay here.
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