Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday May 22, 2020
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2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober. - William Butler Yeats
Upcoming racing, according to UCI revised calendar:
- August 1: Strade Bianche
- August 5-9: Tour of Poland
Latest completed racing:
- May 5-10:
4 Jours de Dunkerque - April 28-May 3:
Tour de Romandie - April 30-May 3:
Tour de Yorkshire - May 1-3:
Vuelta Asturias - May 1:
Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt - April 22-26: Digital Swiss 5
IOC's Thomas Bach accepts Tokyo Olympics would have to be cancelled if not held in 2021
The BBC posted this update:
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach says he understands why the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games would have to be cancelled if it cannot take place next summer.
Will we have a scene like this in 2021? Here's the winner of the 2016 road race, Greg van Avermaet. Sirotti photo
Local organisers have said they have no back-up plan after the event was postponed by a year because of the coronavirus crisis.
"You cannot forever employ 3,000 to 5,000 people in an organising committee," Bach told BBC Sport. "You cannot have the athletes being in uncertainty."
In a wide-ranging interview, Bach also:
- admitted the job of re-organising the Games was "a mammoth task"
- warned that the event would "definitely be different" with a focus on "essentials"
- would not be drawn on whether a vaccine for Covid-19 would be needed for the event to take place
- insisted staging the Games behind closed doors was "not what we want", but he needs more time to consider whether that was feasible
Bach said he hoped the first ever postponed Games, which are due to take place from 23 July to 8 August 2021, could prove "unique" and send "a message of solidarity among the entire world, coming for the first time together again, and celebrating the triumph over coronavirus".
"There is no blueprint for it so we have to reinvent the wheel day by day. It's very challenging and at the same time fascinating."
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has admitted it may be "difficult" to stage the Games if the country does not successfully contain the virus, and the head of the Japan Medical Association has suggested it depends on finding a vaccine.
When asked directly if he agreed, Bach said: "For this question, we are relying on the advice of the World Health Organisation.
"We have established one principle: to organise these Games in a safe environment for all the participants. Nobody knows what the world will look like in one year, in two months.
"So we have to rely on [experts] and then take the appropriate decision at the appropriate time based on this advice."
You can read the entire story here.
Mads Pedersen to focus on Classics after Tour de France
Pedersen's Trek-Segafredo team posted this:
The UCI Road World Champion will showcase the rainbow stripes at the 2020 Tour de France before setting his sights on the Classics in October. Jasper Stuyven will follow a similar racing schedule with a strong focus on the Classics, while Lizzie Deignan will have the Giro Rosa and the Classics as has her primary goals once the season resumes.
Having made his 2020 racing debut at the Santos Tour Down Under where he played a crucial role in helping teammate Richie Porte achieved the overall win, Mads Pedersen will stay committed to the majority of his goals for the season, which includes racing the Tour de France before an intensive block of Classics, culminating with Paris-Roubaix.
Mads Pedersen racing in stage six of the 2020 Tour Down Under. Sirotti photo
“It’s super nice to finally see a race calendar again, now we have something to aim and prepare for. The last few weeks we have spent riding but without a real goal in mind, so it’s helpful to have the calendar again and to get back in the rhythm for racing. Obviously, my targets remain the Classics, and I still hope to ride the Tour. For sure, the Classics will be my main goal, and it’s at the end of the season so I’m really looking forward to it and I’m hoping for a wet Roubaix this year,” said Pedersen.
The Covid-19 pandemic led to the suspension of the racing calendar in March and resulted in the cancelation of several races and the postponement of many others, including the monuments and prestigious spring Classics, which will now be raced in the Fall. The switch doesn’t distress the reigning World Champion:
“Racing is racing and we will be ready whenever the Classics are on. It’s okay to move the races when the world is in this situation, we will adapt to it and be ready. It’s nothing special in my mind and I’m not thinking a lot about it, I’m just looking forward to starting racing again. It will be a cool experience to do all the big races in such a short period. It’s something new for everyone and it’s going to be nice.”
Belgian Jasper Stuyven is following Pedersen’s racing blueprint. The reigning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad champion also has the Tour de France on his radar, but will make the Classics his main goal once the 2020 racing calendar resumes.
“I’m happy that they made a calendar so now we have perspective and future to look towards. Of course, it’s a new situation for everyone so it’s hard to know if it will fit you or not, but I think we are all very eager and hungry to start racing again. Also, having the calendar allows us to start planning our training schedules and gives us a goal of trying to reach our top level again,” said Stuyven.
“The Classics are still my main target and it will be a short period with a lot of races, so it will be important to find a balance between races, rest, and a little bit of training. No one knows what racing the Classics in October will bring, but from what I remember, for the last few years, the weather in October has been quite okay in Belgium. The chances are a bit higher for bad weather, but I don’t mind some rain and a bit of cold.”
Mads Pedersen is scheduled to make his return to competition in the Vuelta a Burgos (July 28 – August 1) while Tour de Pologne (August 5-9) will be Jasper Stuyven’s first race back.
Lizzie Deignan’s racing calendar will have the Giro Rosa and the Classics as key focal points. The former World Champion is particularly eager to race a stacked Classics program this fall, namely the Tour de Flanders, a race she won in 2016, and a goal once the 2020 racing calendar resumes.
“I’m particularly excited to race the ‘Spring Classics’! I don’t think it matters what time of the year they’re raced. They are iconic races and daydreaming about a victory there for the team is what motivates me now during lockdown training. Flanders has a special place in my heart and it will be another chance to experience the climbs and cobbles before the World Championships in 2021,” said Deignan.
COVID-19 dents Giant’s first-quarter revenue
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News posted this:
TAICHUNG, Taiwan (BRAIN) — As COVID-19 works its way through the global economy, Giant Group’s first-quarter revenue took a hit as predicted. But as lockdown orders in Europe begin to ease and as China begins a return to normal, second-quarter sales could pick up, the company said.
Giant Group, in a news release, also said that its sales in the U.S. and Korean market were “good” in the first quarter, but offered no specifics on unit sales, revenue or models. Still, sales of e-bikes and traditional bikes, particularly in Europe, were hurt by strict shutdowns in many European countries.
Overall, first-quarter revenue declined 9.3 % to $444.5 million (NT$13.2 billion) year-over-year. Net income before taxes was $27.4 million (NT$820 million), a 16.9 % drop. And net income after taxes dipped 8% to $21.1 million (NT$630 million).
Giant’s first-quarter revenue comes as the company ended 2019 with record revenue of $2.1 billion (NT$63.45 billion). That reflected faster growth in European e-bike sales and a double-digit recovery in the Chinese domestic market.
You can read the entire story here.
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