Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, October 26, 2019
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions.-Thich Nhat Hanh
Current racing:
- Oct 26: Cincinnati Cyclocross
Latest completed racing:
- Oct 17-22: Tour of Guangx
- Oct 20: Japan Cup
- Oct 20: Chrono des Nations
- Oct 13: Paris-Tours
- Oct 12: Il Lombardia
- Oct 10: Paris-Bourges
- Oct 10: Gran Piemonte
- Oct 9: Milano-Torino
- Oct 8: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- Oct 8: Tre Valli Varesine
Bahrain-Merida signs Mark Cavendish
The team sent me this release:
Sprint star, Mark Cavendish, will join the exciting pro cycling joint venture between the Kingdom of Bahrain and racing, technology and automotive brand, McLaren, for the 2020 season. Cavendish is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter in the history of the sport, having won a phenomenal 48 Grand Tour stage wins during his career, including 30 at the Tour de France.
Mark Cavendish at the 2018 Tour de France. Sirotti photo
The signing cements a long-standing relationship between Cavendish and McLaren, dating back to the star sprinter’s world championship success on a bike co-developed with McLaren. The 2011 World Road Race Champion is the latest high-profile signing to an increasingly impressive line-up, led by team principal Rod Ellingworth, which now includes Mikel Landa, Wout Poels, and 2019 Tour de France stage winner, Dylan Teuns.
Mark Cavendish commented:
“Joining this team is the fulfilment of a long-held ambition for me… and is super exciting and motivating. You could even say a dream come true. Having worked closely with McLaren in the past, and seen the benefits of their technology and processes, this was an opportunity I jumped at. My relationship with Rod goes way back, and he’s been instrumental in helping me develop as a rider and a person. I can’t wait to join my new teammates and do everything I can to help us achieve the successes I know will come.”
Rod Ellingworth, Team Principal of Bahrain Merida, commented:
“Mark’s signing completes our rider roster for 2020 and gives us the balance the team needs to win. Mark is a proven champion and has a lot to contribute – both on and off the bike. Having last worked with him at the 2016 Rio Olympics and Qatar World Championships, I’ve been delighted to see that his energy and determination to succeed are greater now than ever. We’re going to do everything in our power to enable him to perform at his best.”
John Allert, Managing Director, McLaren Pro Cycling, commented:
“Mark has been a friend of McLaren for many years – indeed it was partly our previous work with him that kindled our interest in the sport. It actually feels like Mark is coming home. Together we share a passion for the romance and heritage of racing in all its forms, as well as a desire to keep innovating and improving in order to win. I’m delighted he’s joining the team.”
Jumbo-Visma comments on 2020 Giro d'Italia route
Here's the team's post:
“It is a beautiful course that offers opportunities for all kinds of specialties. Just the way I like it”, sports director of Team Jumbo-Visma Merijn Zeeman says about the route for the 2020 Giro d'Italia that got announced yesterday.
“There are opportunities for the sprinters, there are many time trial kilometres and heavy, exhausting mountain stages. It is a nice course for our classification riders, but also for a top sprinter like Dylan Groenewegen. This does not make the choices easier. We have about five weeks to complete the puzzle.”
For the 2020 Giro d’Italia, 58.8 time trial kilometres have been scheduled, spread over three individual time trials. The Italian grand tour starts with a 9.5 kilometre prologue in Budapest, Hungary. The prologue ends with a climb of one and a half kilometres at a four percent gradient. The last stage is also a time trial. This one is 16.5 kilometres long and will finish in Milan. The third week is likely to prove decisive. Then three long mountain stages are on the program.
Primoz Roglic was third in the 2019 Giro. Here he rides the final stage, a 17-kilometer individual time trial. Sirotti photo.
During this year’s edition, Primoz Roglic clinched the pink jersey in the opening time trial in Bologna. The other individual time trial, to San Marino, was also won by the Slovenian. These victories helped to ensure that Roglic finished third in the general classification.
End of season UCI rider, team & nation rankings
Riders:
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | ROGLIČ Primož | TEAM JUMBO-VISMA | 4705.28 |
| 2 | ALAPHILIPPE Julian | DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | 3569.95 |
| 3 | FUGLSANG Jakob | ASTANA PRO TEAM | 3472.5 |
| 4 | BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley | TEAM INEOS | 3346.75 |
| 5 | VALVERDE Alejandro | MOVISTAR TEAM | 3297 |
| 6 | VAN AVERMAET Greg | CCC TEAM | 2947.33 |
| 7 | ACKERMANN Pascal | BORA-HANSGROHE | 2538 |
| 8 | KRISTOFF Alexander | UAE TEAM EMIRATES | 2484.5 |
| 9 | VIVIANI Elia | DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | 2392.12 |
| 10 | SAGAN Peter | BORA-HANSGROHE | 2232 |
| 11 | MOLLEMA Bauke | TREK-SEGAFREDO | 2220 |
| 12 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | CORENDON-CIRCUS | 2205 |
| 13 | ULISSI Diego | UAE TEAM EMIRATES | 2084 |
| 14 | NAESEN Oliver | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 2072 |
| 15 | POGAČAR Tadej | UAE TEAM EMIRATES | 2065.33 |
| 16 | BUCHMANN Emanuel | BORA-HANSGROHE | 2043 |
| 17 | WELLENS Tim | LOTTO SOUDAL | 1936.18 |
| 18 | YATES Adam | MITCHELTON-SCOTT | 1927.57 |
| 19 | TRENTIN Matteo | MITCHELTON-SCOTT | 1920 |
| 20 | EWAN Caleb | LOTTO SOUDAL | 1845 |
| 21 | QUINTANA Nairo | MOVISTAR TEAM | 1830 |
| 22 | LUTSENKO Alexey | ASTANA PRO TEAM | 1688 |
| 23 | WOODS Michael | EF EDUCATION FIRST | 1684 |
| 24 | CARAPAZ Richard | MOVISTAR TEAM | 1607 |
| 25 | SCHACHMANN Maximilian | BORA-HANSGROHE | 1528 |
| 26 | TEUNISSEN Mike | TEAM JUMBO-VISMA | 1514.63 |
| 27 | BENNETT Sam | BORA-HANSGROHE | 1480.93 |
| 28 | GROENEWEGEN Dylan | TEAM JUMBO-VISMA | 1452.83 |
| 29 | LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel | ASTANA PRO TEAM | 1450.5 |
| 30 | BENOOT Tiesj | LOTTO SOUDAL | 1444 |
| 31 | IMPEY Daryl | MITCHELTON-SCOTT | 1399 |
| 32 | NIBALI Vincenzo | BAHRAIN-MERIDA | 1393.86 |
| 33 | MATTHEWS Michael | TEAM SUNWEB | 1330.88 |
| 34 | LANDA MEANA Mikel | MOVISTAR TEAM | 1326 |
| 35 | HIGUITA GARCIA Sergio Andres | EF EDUCATION FIRST | 1307.5 |
| 36 | LAMPAERT Yves | DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | 1306.35 |
| 37 | VAN AERT Wout | TEAM JUMBO-VISMA | 1283 |
| 38 | ŠTYBAR Zdeněk | DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | 1275 |
| 39 | EVENEPOEL Remco | DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | 1272.23 |
| 40 | POLITT Nils | TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN | 1253.95 |
Teams:
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | DECEUNINCK -QUICK-STEP (DQT) | 14835.15 |
| 2 | BORA -HANSGROHE (BOH) | 14192.86 |
| 3 | TEAM JUMBO-VISMA (TJV) | 13128.07 |
| 4 | UAE TEAM EMIRATES (UAD) | 11765.33 |
| 5 | ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) | 11474.5 |
| 6 | TEAM INEOS (INS) | 10547.08 |
| 7 | MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) | 10398 |
| 8 | MITCHELTON -SCOTT (MTS) | 9108.74 |
| 9 | LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS) | 8741.94 |
| 10 | TREK -SEGAFREDO (TFS) | 8248 |
| 11 | EF EDUCATION FIRST (EF1) | 8161.99 |
| 12 | GROUPAMA -FDJ (GFC) | 7319 |
| 13 | BAHRAIN -MERIDA (TBM) | 7200.72 |
| 14 | AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) | 6718.4 |
| 15 | TEAM SUNWEB (SUN) | 5471.37 |
| 16 | TOTAL DIRECT ENERGIE (TDE) | 5152.67 |
| 17 | WANTY -GOBERT CYCLING TEAM (WGG) | 5086 |
| 18 | CORENDON -CIRCUS (COC) | 4898 |
| 19 | ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY (ICA) | 4849.2 |
| 20 | CCC TEAM (CCC) | 4819.79 |
| 21 | COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS (COF) | 4644 |
| 22 | TEAM DIMENSION DATA (TDD) | 4357.34 |
| 23 | TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN (TKA) | 3985.43 |
| 24 | ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI-SIDERMEC (ANS) | 3681 |
| 25 | WALLONIE BRUXELLES (WVA) | 3065 |
| 26 | VITAL CONCEPT-B&B HOTELS (VCB) | 2780.34 |
| 27 | TEAM ARKEA-SAMSIC (PCB) | 2769 |
| 28 | TERENGGANU INC. TSG CYCLING TEAM (TSG) | 2658 |
| 29 | NERI SOTTOLI SELLE ITALIA KTM (NSK) | 2551 |
| 30 | SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE (SVB) | 2423 |
| 31 | ROOMPOT -CHARLES (ROC) | 2198 |
| 32 | DELKO MARSEILLE PROVENCE (DMP) | 2092 |
| 33 | RIWAL READYNEZ CYCLING TEAM (RIW) | 1972.78 |
| 34 | GAZPROM -RUSVELO (GAZ) | 1921.15 |
| 35 | TEAM SAPURA CYCLING (TSC) | 1822.26 |
| 36 | MINSK CYCLING CLUB (MCC) | 1706 |
| 37 | CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA (CJR) | 1585.53 |
| 38 | SALCANO SAKARYA BB TEAM (SBB) | 1583 |
| 39 | EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY-MURIAS (EUS) | 1545 |
| 40 | CCC DEVELOPMENT TEAM (CDT) | 1544 |
Nations:
| Rank | Nation | Points |
| 1 | BELGIUM | 13491.09 |
| 2 | ITALY | 11747.48 |
| 3 | NETHERLANDS | 11388.14 |
| 4 | FRANCE | 10909.95 |
| 5 | COLOMBIA | 10710.71 |
| 6 | SPAIN | 10039.62 |
| 7 | SLOVENIA | 9521.4 |
| 8 | GERMANY | 9373.33 |
| 9 | AUSTRALIA | 8820.45 |
| 10 | DENMARK | 8138.19 |
| 11 | GREAT BRITAIN | 6158.32 |
| 12 | NORWAY | 5827.59 |
| 13 | SWITZERLAND | 4003.27 |
| 14 | AUSTRIA | 3662.88 |
| 15 | POLAND | 3660.55 |
| 16 | IRELAND | 3578.57 |
| 17 | RUSSIAN FEDERATION | 3512.48 |
| 18 | SOUTH AFRICA | 3504.67 |
| 19 | KAZAKHSTAN | 3259.35 |
| 20 | CANADA | 3251 |
| 21 | CZECH REPUBLIC | 3126.13 |
| 22 | ECUADOR | 3063.5 |
| 23 | PORTUGAL | 2970 |
| 24 | SLOVAKIA | 2966.86 |
| 25 | ERITREA | 2570.5 |
| 26 | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | 2492.33 |
| 27 | NEW ZEALAND | 2224.37 |
| 28 | ESTONIA | 2188 |
| 29 | ALGERIA | 2019.33 |
| 30 | LUXEMBOURG | 1884.83 |
| 31 | LATVIA | 1878 |
| 32 | TURKEY | 1820 |
| 33 | BELARUS | 1757.5 |
| 34 | UKRAINE | 1466.43 |
| 35 | COSTA RICA | 1077 |
| 36 | GREECE | 1068.43 |
| 37 | ROMANIA | 1038 |
| 38 | ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN | 990 |
| 39 | SWEDEN | 983.86 |
| 40 | HUNGARY | 959 |
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