Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, November 18, 2019
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2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary. - Robert Louis Stevenson
Upcoming racing:
- Dec 7: IKO Cyclocross-Essen
- Dec 15: Vlaamse Druivencross
- 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:
- 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
Abby-Mae Parkinson reinforces the Lotto Soudal Ladies team in 2020
Here's the team's update:
Abby-Mae Parkinson will reinforce the Lotto Soudal Ladies team in 2020. The 22-year-old British rider, who lives in Nice, rode for Drops the past three seasons. This winter Abby-Mae can be spotted in Belgium, because she takes part in the Superprestige cyclo-cross races. A small sidestep that perfectly matches her road preparation. Today Abby-Mae, who loves the Classics, already looks ahead to that new road season.
Abby-Mae Parkinson: “I’m excited to start this new adventure. Lotto Soudal is such a great team and racing for the team will offer me a lot of opportunities. I’m very much looking forward to racing next year and helping out my teammates. I’m more of a Classics rider myself. I’m from Yorkshire, so I’m used to bad weather and I like racing in tough conditions. My favourite races are Tour of Flanders and Strade Bianche. The crowds are epic and both races are just so iconic. In 2018 I got 22nd at Strade Bianche. It was snowing a few days ahead of the race and that was perfect for me. Even though I don’t really like the cold, I seem to be good at racing in it. But I don’t think anyone does actually like it. I’m also quite resilient, I don’t give up easily. That comes in handy in the Classics when there’s not much recovery in between climbs. I like going really deep. I enjoy tough, aggressive races.”
Abby-Mae Parkinson: “Next year I want to help out my teammates wherever I can. I’ve never been involved in a proper lead-out, but I’d love to practise that next year and help out Lotte Kopecky and the other fast girls. I hope to have some chances of my own in smaller races, where I can race aggressively. I love making a race and being able to attack. If we race in the UK I would of course like to show myself to the crowds. I have big dreams for the future too. Every professional cyclist wants to be a world champion or Olympic champion. Winning a monument like the Tour of Flanders or Strade Bianche would be a dream come true too. Maybe one day. Fingers crossed.”
“I’ve lived in Nice for three years now. The weather is so much better than where I live in the UK, where it’s always raining. Here in Nice I’m able to train in the sunshine and the training roads are beautiful. But I’ll go to the UK to spend Christmas with my family. This winter I’m riding the Superprestige series. Cyclo-cross complements my road training. It gives me the speed that I need. As a junior I did cyclo-cross and became multiple national champion, but I hadn’t done it for the past five years. It was a bit of a shock at first, but now I’m used to it again. At the beginning of next year I‘ll plan a training camp in Gran Canaria to further prepare for my first road season with Lotto Soudal.”
Deceuninck-Quick Step reports on Gent Six-Day conclusion
Here's the team's post:
A dramatic finale was in store for the last session of the Six Days of Gent, which kicked off with four teams on the same lap. One of these was Maes 0.0% – The Wolfpack, who got off to a strong start, making it onto the podium in the points race and thus narrowing down the gap to the top of the leaderboard.
Riding together the Six Days of Gent for the first time in five years, Iljo Keisse and Mark Cavendish continued to make inroads in the general classification by scoring precious victories in the Team Elimination and Derny. This ensured they would start the Madison in a good position, despite losing a lap when the pair made up of Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt went over the 200-point barrier.
Maes 0.0% – The Wolfpack started well the final race of the day, going on the attack early and constantly trying to put pressure on the leaders, but despite a concerted and valiant effort, they ended up fourth in both the Madison and the standings, with a total of 268 points, one lap behind overall winners Robbe Ghys and Kenny De Ketele.
Despite missing out on a top 3 finish at the 79th edition of Six Days of Gent, the Maes 0.0% – The Wolfpack team of Keisse and Cavendish can keep its head high, as it was one of the main protagonists in ‘t Kuipke, delivering innumerable memorable moments as well as nine wins (and a total of 21 podium finishes).
“First of all, we want to say a big thanks to Maes 0.0% for their immense support and for giving us the chance to ride together here, and also to the amazing fans who cheered for us every single night over the past week! We wanted to win, but it wasn’t possible this year. Nevertheless, we don’t have any regrets, because we gave absolutely everything and fought hard to try and bring it home. Ok, it wasn’t meant to be this year, but I’m confident there will be other opportunities in the future”, seven-time Six Days of Gent champion Iljo Keisse said.
Cannondale drives Dorel Sports’ success in third quarter
Bike Europe sent me this news:
MONTREAL, Canada – Dorel Sports including Cycling Sports Group showed a strong third quarter performance; like in the 2nd quarter. Between July and October, revenues increased by 14.2 percent. “Growth in Europe was primarily driven by the e-bike category which doubled sales with e-MTB launches such as the Cannondale Moterra and Habit Neo,” said Dorel President & CEO, Martin Schwartz.
The Trump Tariffs on imports from China caused lots of problems at Dorel, as this trade journal reported earlier. “As expected, the third quarter was a difficult one primarily due to various issues related to U.S. imposed tariffs,” stated Martin Schwartz at the presentation of the third quarter results. “We raised prices in the quarter, and this has had several negative consequences. Retailers altered their purchasing decisions, which resulted in a considerable product mix imbalance. In addition, some of our large U.S. customers delayed holiday orders from September to October.”
Martin Schwartz added “All Dorel segments have done an excellent job of holding the line on most expenses and creative product development has resulted in many new exciting introductions. Cannondale’s new line-up is driving Cycling Sports Group (CSG) success. Inventory reduction across all segments is a strong focus and is on track, and new sourcing strategies are being implemented where appropriate.”
“Dorel Sports’ sales were very strong despite some orders being pushed back to the fourth quarter. Margins in mass were affected by tariffs, but revenue grew double digits for the first time in five years. Our bikes are selling well across all channels,” said Schwartz.
At Dorel’s sports division third quarter revenue increased by USD 31.2 million (28.4 million euro), or 14.2%, to USD 250.3 million (227.5 million euro). Excluding foreign exchange rate fluctuations year-over-year and the impact of the divestment of the performance apparel line of business (SUGOI), adjusted organic revenue increased 15.7 percent. Nine-month revenue increased USD 25.5 million (23.2 million euro), or 3.9 percent, to USD 675.9 million (614.4 million euro).
You can read the entire story here.
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