Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
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2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
I quote others only in order to better express myself. - Michel de Montaigne
Important upcoming racing, according to the UCI revised calendar:
- July 28 - August 1: Vuelta a Burgos
- August 1: Strade Bianche
- August 1 - 4: La Route d’Occitanie / La Dépêche du Midi
- August 5-9: Tour of Poland
- August 7-9: Tour de l'Ain
- August 8: Milano-San Remo
- August 12-16: Critérium du Dauphiné
Latest completed racing:
- July 4-19: Virtual Tour de France
- April 22-26: Digital Swiss 5
Garmin begins recovery from ransomware attack
BBC posted this:
The American GPS and fitness-tracker company Garmin is dealing with the aftermath of a ransomware attack, the BBC has confirmed.
Owners of its products had been unable to use its services since Thursday.
However, some of its online tools are now being provided in a "limited" state, according to its online dashboard.
It is not known if the firm paid the blackmailers, but a source said it was in the "final stage of recovery".
The BBC's cyber reporter Joe Tidy said the malware involved was Wasted Locker - a program that scrambles the target's data, and was first detected in the wild around April. Victims are typically contacted after their computers are infected, and told they must transfer funds if they want to return the files to their original state.
Some customers have reported that Garmin's services appear to be "partially" working again.
Earlier reports claimed that the company had been asked to pay $10m (£7.79m) to get its systems back online.
Garmin has yet to comment.
You can read the entire story here.
Team Sunweb previews Strade Bianche
Here's the team's update:
Men's Strade Bianche: AUG 1
Marc Reef - Team Sunweb coach:
"After fine tuning our training in recent weeks at our team camp in Kühtai, Austria - we are ready to restart the season at Strade Bianche. It will be a special edition of the race with it taking place in summer; the temperatures are forecast to be very high and the gravel sections will be full of dust which will have an influence on the race itself. From the seventh section of the gravel roads the race will be on, and we need to be attentive and take the initiative when we feel that the moment is right. We have a former winner on the start line for us with Tiesj and with Søren alongside him, we have two riders who the rest of the team will aim to support deep into the finale of the race."
Tiesj Benoot (shown winning stage 6 of this year's Paris-Nice) will be on the line for the Strade Bianche.
Line-up:
Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Nikias Arndt (GER)
Tiesj Benoot (BEL)
Marc Hirschi (SWI)
Joris Nieuwenhuis (NED)
Nicholas Roche (IRL)
Jasha Sütterlin (GER)
Women's Strade Bianche: AUG 1
Hans Timmermans - Team Sunweb coach:
"We are eager to restart the season at Strade Bianche, with Liane taking to the start as the leader in the Women's WorldTour. The parcours of Strade Bianche suits her well, so we hope and aim to keep a hold of the jersey. Both Floortje and Juliette look to be in good shape after good training at our Keep Challenging Center in Limburg and at altitude, so we hope to use them as cards to play in the race. With this trio of riders we will search for opportunities in the finale of the race, with Coryn, Leah and Franziska riding strongly in support. Positioning is key in Strade Bianche so we always need to be alert and ride as a team to cover any attacks before the finale."
Liane Lippert (shown winning the 2020 Cadel Evans Road Race) will start the Women's Strade Bianche.
Line-up:
Leah Kirchmann (CAN)
Franziska Koch (GER)
Juliette Labous (FRA)
Liane Lippert (GER)
Floortje Mackaij (NED)
Coryn Rivera (USA)
Julian Alaphilippe and Zdenek Stybar will lead Deceuninck-Quick Step at Strade Bianche
Here's the team's release:
Strade Bianche is a race that is barely 13 years old, yet if you ask riders, fans and journalists, they’ll all give the same answer: it feels like it’s been with us forever, that’s how much of an impact its peerless beauty has had since its creation. Just 184km-long in length, the race which in 2017 was made part of the World Tour calendar contains 63 kilometers of white gravel roads divided across 11 scenic sectors that will test the riders’ handling skills and climbing ability alike at this 14th edition.
The particular and quite unique nature of the course will bring classics specialists, puncheurs and even climbers to the fore on Tuscany’s picturesque roads, and favours both a long-range attack or a powerful surge on the uphill finish to Siena’s stunning shall-shaped Piazza del Campo, where last season Julian Alaphilippe emphatically captured our team’s third Strade Bianche victory in six years.
Julian Alaphilippe wins the 2019 edition of Strade Bianche.
The Frenchman will be again at the start and will lead the charge for the Wolfpack, together with another former winner – Zdenek Stybar – who finished the race five out of five times in the top 10. Kasper Asgreen, whose display of formidable strength carried him to a resounding victory at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne five months ago, Davide Ballerini, Mikkel Honoré, Luxembourg Champion Bob Jungels and Pieter Serry will also line out in Siena’s Fortezza Medicea, ready to take on the Italian World Tour race.
“We’ve had many good results here in the past, three wins with as many different riders, and we want to be again up there and feature in the fight for victory, especially as it is a race we like a lot. It’s going to be a completely different race than we are used to, with temperatures of 35 degrees and even more dust than usual, but we are going there with a huge motivation after our excellent Val di Fassa training camp and prepared for every type of scenario”, said sports director Davide Bramati.
Bourrelier is apparent new owner of Mavic SAS
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News sent me this update:
GRENOBLE, France (BRAIN) — The French investment group Bourrelier, the former owner of the Bricorama home improvement retail chain, appears to be set to take over Mavic, which is in receivership.
According to French news reports, the Grenoble commercial court that is overseeing the receivership approved Bourrelier's bid on Tuesday. Fourteen organizations had made bids to take over the company, although at least two of those bids were withdrawn before the court made its decision. Among the bidders were a group that included Tour de France hero Bernard Hinault.
According to the reports, the Bourrelier group provided a plan that would protect 105 jobs at Mavic, about half the current employees. The plan would maintain Mavic R&D facilities in Annecy, France and production in St. Triviers.
You can read the entire story here.
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