Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, January 6, 2019
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then. - Lewis Carroll
Upcoming racing:
- January 14: Down Under Classic
- January 15 - 20: Santos Tour Down Under
- January 27: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- January 27 - February 3: Vuelta a la Provincia de San Juan
Latest completed racing:
- January 1: GP Sven Nys
- December 30: Superprestige Dieghem
- December 28: Azencross
- December 26: Heusden-Zolder cyclocross
- December 23: Namur Cyclocross
- December 15: Scheldecross
- December 1: GP Hasselt
- November 18: Flandriencross
- November 11: Telenet Super Prestige Gavere Cyclocross
- November 4: European Cyclocross Championships
- November 1: Cyclocross Koppenberg
CCC Team to target stage wins at Santos Tour Down Under
Team CCC (formerly BMC) sent me this:
05 January 2019, Polkowice (POL): The CCC Team jersey is set to make its stage race debut at the Santos Tour Down Under where Patrick Bevin and Jakub Mareczko will lead the team at the first UCI WorldTour race of the season.
Sports Director Jackson Stewart said the primary goal for the versatile seven-rider roster will be stage wins, while also keeping an eye on the General Classification.
“We have a lot of firsts coming into the opening races for our season in Adelaide. We are a newly-branded team, with some new staff, and new riders, many of whom have not been to the Santos Tour Down Under before. But, the objective is still to win. We will focus on each stage according to its challenges and we will see how the General Classification develops,” Stewart said.
“We have Jakub Mareczko for the sprints, Patrick Bevin is capable of a good General Classification result, and in general the riders will have some freedom to take opportunities as they develop. I think the route looks similar to previous years with some fast finishes and some difficult hills. It should make for some hot, fast, and dynamic racing.”
Patrick Bevin havng a good day at the 2018 Tirreno-Adriatico. Sirotti photo.
Bevin is coming into the race with strong early season form which he displayed at the New Zealand time trial championships yesterday, where he dominated the race against the clock to take the win.
“I am really excited to go back to the Santos Tour Down Under, which will be the first WorldTour race with CCC Team and on a course I love to race on. I think the updated route is great, it creates a better race overall that is going to go down to the very last meter of the last stage,” Bevin explained.
“I am hoping to get a good General Classification result. I snuck into the top ten at my first Santos Tour Down Under which had both the Corkscrew and Willunga climbs so I am eager to return.”
CCC Team will bring a sprinter to the race with Jakub Mareczko eying a maiden WorldTour stage win in his debut race with the team. “I am really excited for the Santos Tour Down Under as it is my first race with CCC Team. There are quite a few sprint opportunities so I hope to do well, especially as it is at the WorldTour level. I have been working hard in the off season with my trainers and now we will see how my form is at the race.” Mareczko said.
“There are some experienced riders in the team with me and we worked together on the sprint train at our camp in December. Of course, in a race scenario it is different but I am confident that we will work well together and they can lead me to where I need to be in the stage finales.”
Santos Tour Down Under (13-20 January)
Rider roster: Patrick Bevin (NZ), Víctor de la Parte (ESP), Jakub Mareczko (ITA), Łukasz Owsian (POL), Joey Rosskopf (USA), Szymon Sajnok (POL), Francisco Ventoso (ESP).
Sports Director: Jackson Stewart (USA)
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