Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, October 29, 2020
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2020 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance. - Confucius
Current racing:
- Oct 20 - Nov 8: Vuelta a España
Upcoming racing:
- Jan 21 - 24, 2021: Schwalbe Classic & Tour Down Under (?)
Latest completed racing:
- October 3 - 25: Giro d'Italia
- Oct 21: Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne
- October 18: Ronde van Vlaanderen
- October 14: Scheldeprijs
- October 11: Gent-Wevelgem
- October 11: Paris-Tours
- October 7: De Brabantse Pijl/ La Flèche Brabanconne
- Sept 27 - Oct 5: Tour of Portugal
- October 4: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- September 29 - Oct 3: BinckBank Tour
- September 30: La Flèche Wallonne
- September 24 - 27: UCI World Road Championships
- September 22: Paris-Camembert
- August 29 - Sept 20: Tour de France
- September 15 - 19: Tour de Luxembourg
Vuelta a España stage eight reports
We posted the organzier's stage eight report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Primoz Roglic's Jumbo-Visma team:
Primoz Roglic has won the eighth stage of the Vuelta a España. The rider of Team Jumbo-Visma managed to stay ahead of his opponents on the Alto de Moncalvillo after the decisive attack. By doing so, he took important seconds on his closest attackers for the general classification.
Primoz Roglic wins stage eight. Photo: Gomez Sport
On the final climb team leader Roglic was well-surrounded by his teammates. Sepp Kuss attacked in the last kilometres after which the joust between the favourites began. In the last hectometres Roglic left the other riders behind and rode to his ninth victory of the season.
In the general classification the Slovenian approached classification leader Carapaz up to thirteen seconds. He also strengthened his leading position in the points classification. Roglic won his second stage this Vuelta, after having won the opening stage. Today’s victory is the twentieth victory of 2020 for Team Jumbo-Visma.
"The pace took off after the penultimate climb”, Roglic said. “I only knew the final climb from the road book and it turned out to be a tough climb. I had good legs and you should take every chance to win. In addition, I took important seconds on my opponents, but in the first place it is great to win here. The next two stages are relatively flat. The weekend ahead will also be tough. We look at it from day to day and we try to stay focused.”
Kuss again proved to be of great value to his Slovenian leader. “It was good that I could still stay with the riders for the classification. That way I was able to assist Primoz in the final. It was not my intention to go for the stage win. My move with Hugh Carthy in the last kilometres was mainly in the service of Primoz. It was just a very tough climb and it is great that we have won here and that we have taken back some time.”
Here's the update from GC leader Richard Carapaz's INEOS Grenadiers:
Richard Carapaz battled to a superb second place in a gripping GC encounter on stage eight’s summit finish, won by Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).
Richard Carapaz goes deep on the final ascent. INEOS photo
Carapaz and Roglic were the two remaining riders following a series of attacks and counters on the Alto de Moncalvillo finale until the Jumbo Visma rider accelerated to victory in the final kilometre.
The Ecuadorian ride fought to reduce the deficit, but was unable to bridge the gap, as Roglic won the stage by 13 seconds to move up to second overall, 13 seconds behind race leader Carapaz.
The stage’s summit finish always looked set to be the main battleground for the GC contenders and it did not disappoint.
In the early stages of the ascent, Dylan van Baarle and Andrey Amador were able to close down early attacks, most notably from Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) who looked to gain an early advantage on his rivals.
Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) was the first rider to test his rivals and he was able to escape a dwindling GC group, before Carapaz worked hard to bring him back and launch an attack of his own with two kilometres remaining.
Roglic was the only one able to follow the Grenadiers man, but with neither rider keen to push too hard too soon, Carthy and Dan Martin briefly rejoined the pair until Roglic's final push within the last kilometre saw hm win the stage and close the gap to Carapaz overall.
Richard Carapaz:
“It was a very animated stage and we’ve seen a strong performance from Roglic, but we’re still in the fight.
"The truth is this duel has been quite nice and it motivates me because it makes it more for an exciting race, mostly for the fans but also for us with the level we’re riding at.
“It seems like we have a couple of easier days ahead of us but we’re racing and we don’t know what’s coming.”
And here's the report from fourth-place Aleksandr Vlasov's Team Astana:
Aleksandr Vlasov has showed his improving form today at the 8th stage of the Vuelta a España. The Astana Pro Team rider looked strong during the whole final climb Alto de Moncalvillo, while inside the last 2 km he made a strong attack from the red jersey group.
It was a good attempt, but later Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz and Dan Martin were able to catch him back.
Aleksandr Vlasov couldn't make his escape stick. Getty Photo.
Finally, it was Roglic who took the stage win after a counterattack with 1 km to the top with Carapaz second and Martin third. Thus, Aleksandr Vlasov finished 4th, just 25 seconds behind the stage winner.
However, during this stage the leader of Astana Pro Team was able to gain some time on many other GC contenders and, in the end of the day he moved up to 15th position in the overall standings, still led by Richard Carapaz.
- I just did my best today. I felt good and during the whole stage my teammates did a great job for me, so I could save some energy for the final. Once we started the climb, I moved up there in front, trying to follow the favorites. There were many attacks, but I still could follow all of them. The climb was really tough, but I was able to keep on my rhythm. In a moment I decided to attack, and I think that it was a good one. I opened a gap while the rivals were looking to each other. I gave my all at the last kilometers, but today it was not enough for a stage win because a few riders, Roglic, Carapaz and Martin were just stronger. However, I am quite happy with the stage and with my form, which is getting better day by day. It was a good test in the mountains for me, - said Aleksandr Vlasov.
The 8th stage of La Vuelta started in Logroño and after 164 km finished on the top of the first category climb Alto de Moncalvillo. A break of 7 riders went away shortly after the start, but the peloton immediately opened a strong chase, taking the situation under control. Thus, before the final climb of the day the breakaway was neutralized.
A few teams increased the pace dramatically at the beginning of the climb, making a huge selection in the main group. With 4 km to go there was just a small group of GC contenders in front with Aleksandr Vlasov among the leaders. The last, the hardest kilometers of the final ascent, were full of attacks and also Vlasov tried to do something on this climb, but in the end of the day it was Roglic, who made the decisive move to win the stage, while Aleksandr Vlasov after a phenomenal race finished 4th.
Teniel Campbell on her way to Mitchelton-SCOTT
The team sent me this:
One of international cycling’s most promising young and raw talents, Teniel Campbell, will join Mitchelton-SCOTT for the next two seasons.
Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, the 23-year-old burst onto the European cycling scene when she was invited to join the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) in 2018. There, under the guidance of now Mitchelton-SCOTT Sport Director Alejandro Gonzales-Tablas, it was immediately evident the sheer numbers and natural ability Campbell possessed.
After two years of development in Switzerland, Campbell moved to Italy in 2020 to race under Valcar – Travel & Service and immediately put her learnings to work. A third-place finish at Vuelta CV Feminas and fifth at Omloop van het Hageland got the season off to a flying start before COVID-19 lockdown brought it to a screeching halt.
Whilst the re-start didn’t bring the results she was hoping for, the difficulties of 2020 have added even more wisdom to an already incredibly mature, level-headed and ambitious Campbell.
With potential across all disciplines and terrains, Mitchelton-SCOTT will use the next two years to work closely with Campbell to gain invaluable experience and unlock her ability across the world calendar.
Teniel Campbell:
“Mitchelton-SCOTT has been my dream team ever since I was in the World Cycling Centre, some days I have to pinch myself to believe it’s actually happening.
“To be given this opportunity here to continue growing and to give them the chance to help me grow and develop is really exciting because they have a lot of top-end riders, they have been here for some time now and you can progressively see how strong they are, how they develop a lot and how well they work together as a unit.
“I never thought I would get to this point so quickly… to be performing so well amongst the best in Europe was really a shock to everyone because they wouldn’t expect me to fit in so quickly and already be a force to reckon with on the circuit.
“There’s still so much to discover about myself because I am so young and there’s so much to learn and improve on so you never really know (what type of rider I am).
“In the first year in the WCC Alejandro told me that he believed my characteristics were for the Classics, I also believe I am a Classics rider, but you never know, maybe I can be a general classification contender.
“I just want to gain so much experience and knowledge because you can have all of the power in the world but if you don’t have the experience, that team around you to really push you and help you grow, I don’t think the results will come.”
Brent Copeland – General Manager, Mitchelton-SCOTT:
“We are extremely excited about the arrival of Teniel to Mitchelton-SCOTT. We have been keeping a close eye on her development since our sports director Alejandro pointed her out to us.
“Teniel went through the excellent schooling of the UCI World Cycling Centre and we believe she has an enormous amount of talent. Together with our team’s professional structure and experience, we will do our utmost to take the margin of improvement we feel Teniel has to the highest of levels.
“Teniel is a person who has made huge sacrifices to get to where she is and we will be giving her the support she deserves to make sure all her sacrifices have all been very much worthwhile.
“We also thank team owner Gerry Ryan who is always a big supporter of Australian talent but at the same time is encouraging us to keep the team as international as possible. Teniel fits in very well with this philosophy, we welcome Teniel to the team and we are very much looking forward to seeing her in our team colours.”
Teniel Campbell
Date of Birth: 23 September 1997 (23)
Nationality: Trinidad & Tobago
Joins Mitchelton-SCOTT: 2021
New Contract: 2021-2022
Top results:
- 1st 2019 Tour of Thailand – Stage 2
- 2nd 2019 Pan American Games – Road Race
- 3rd 2020 Vuelta CV Feminas
- 5th 2020 Omloop van het Hageland
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