Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, April 25, 2020
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2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
The most effective way to do it, is to do it. - Amelia Earhart
Current Racing:
- April 22-26: Digital Swiss 5
- April 24-26:
Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
Upcoming racing:
- April 26:
Liège-Bastogne-Liège - April 26:
Giro dell'Appennino - April 28-May 3:
Tour de Romandie
Latest completed racing:
- April 20-24:
Tour of the Alps - April 22:
La Flèche Wallone - April 19:
Amstel Gold Race - April 19:
Tro Bro Léon - April 12-19:
Tour of Turkey - April 18:
Tour du Finistère - April 15:
De Brabantse Pijl - La Flèche Brabançonne
Digital Swiss 5 stage three team reports
We posted the report from stage winner Nicholas Roche's Team Sunweb with the results.
Here's the report from Emanuel Buchmann's Bora-hansgrohe team:
Emanuel Buchmann gains ground on the Nufenen Pass to take 13th place on the third day of racing the Digital Swiss 5
Nicholas Roche wins the third stage.
On the third day of the Digital Swiss 5, the teams took the Nufenen Pass, the highest mountain road in Switzerland. With an ascent to the top of the mountain pass coming after 20 km in the saddle, the climbing specialists were given an opportunity to make their mark. In total, the peloton took on about 1500 metres of elevation over a total of 33 km. Emanuel Buchmann and Matteo Fabbro represented the BORA - hansgrohe colours today, and the duo started the race with a measured tempo. Emu, however, showed his strength on the Nufenen Pass climb, pushing over 6w/kg in several instances on the ascent. N. Roche, who found himself at the head of the virtual race for a significant period of time, took the day's victory, while Emu, who was able to overtake a number of riders on the end part of the climb, crossed the finish line in 13th place.
From the Finish Line:
"My strategy was to maintain the same tempo, similar to a time trial. From the beginning, it was a very fast race, and I think a lot of the guys tried to go full gas to get a good lead. At the start of the climb, I was in around 27th position, and on the climb I was able to overtake several riders, which gave me more confidence. This was my first virtual race, and I have to say that although it was really tough, I enjoyed the experience of racing in the virtual world.“ - Emanuel Buchmann
"After quite a while without competition, it was nice to see that several big names were at the start of the Digital Swiss 5’s day in the mountains. Emanuel paced himself well throughout the race and in the end finished 13th. Many riders were unable to keep up on the Nufenenpass climb, and when one sees the riders on their trainers, it becomes clear that today's race really took it out of everyone.“ - Jens Zemke, Sports Director
Specialized lays off 46 employees, mostly from its global support staff
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News posted this:
MORGAN HILL, Calif. (BRAIN) — Specialized has laid off 7% of its workforce as the company reassess its economic position in the wake of COVID-19's impact on the world cycling market.
Mike Sinyard, the company's founder, said Thursday that 46 people were let go with the majority coming from its European operations.
France, Spain and Italy have shut down almost all outdoor activity including cycling, while Germany, just this week, began slowly reopening some businesses, Sinyard said in an interview. Specialized receives a significant amount of its revenue from European sales.
The layoffs were primarily in customer service, purchasing, logistics, marketing and several in product management. All those let go received a "generous" severance and will retain their health benefits, Sinyard said.
As for further layoffs, Sinyard, added, "The future is quite uncertain and we're doing everything we can to retain out top talent. But we are very optimistic about the future of the company and cycling."
Sinyard also said he is forfeiting 100 percent of his base salary and senior management is taking a 30% reduction in their salaries.
You can read the entire story here.
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