Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, December 5, 2021
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2021 Tour de France | 2021 Giro d'Italia
Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it. - Soren Kierkegaard
Upcoming racing:
- Dec 11: Ethiascross-Essen
- Dec 19: Namur Cyclocross
- Dec 27: Heusden Zolder Cyclocross
- Dec 29: Diegemcross
- Dec 30: Azencross
- Jan 1, 2022: GP Sven Nys Cross
- Jan 16 - 23, 2022: Le Tour de Langkawi
- Jan 22, 2022: Flandriencross
- Jan 26 - 29, 2022: Challenge Illes Balears
- Jan 30 - Feb 6, 2022: Vuelta a San Juan
- Feb 12, 2022: Gavere Cyclocross
Latest completed racing:
- Dec 5:
Scheldecross Antwerp- Cancelled because of Covid-19 - Nov 13: GP Leuven
- Nov 7: Elite Men European Cyclocross Championships
- Nov 6: Elite Women European Cyclocross Championships
- Nov 1: Koppenberg Cyclocross
- Oct 31: Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Overijse Cross
- Oct 24: Ronde van Drenthe
- Oct 23: Ruddervoorde Cyclocross
Plato's Apology is available as an audiobook here.
Van Aert’s Jumbo-Visma team sent me this report:
Wout van Aert has marked his return to the field in style. After a strong start, the Superprestige race in Boom was right up the Belgian champion’s alley. Van Aert was able to win in Boom for the third time in his career.
Van Aert had been looking forward to the start of his cross season. "I’m looking forward to coming back to the start. I’m curious to see exactly how strong I’ll be", he said before the start. "I picked a real cyclocross race", he referred to the harsh conditions in Boom. Due to heavy rainfall in recent days, the course had turned very muddy.
A rather muddy day at the races in Boom.
Soon after the start it became clear that Van Aert had set his sights on a good result. He proved to be strong right from the start and was alert at the head of the race. When his competitors had to set foot on the ground, Van Aert was able to dig deep and be the only one to conquer a hill while remaining seated on his bike. After a new increase in pace by Van Aert, only Toon Aerts was able to follow. The latter was unable to prevent a crash on a descent, however, after which Van Aert found himself alone in the lead. The rider of Team Jumbo-Visma increased his lead with each kilometre. In the final, he slipped down but helped by his comfortable lead, the victory was no longer in danger.
"I hadn’t expected this result", Van Aert admitted. "Today’s course was made for me. The start was good and I could quickly move up a few places. After I got in front and noticed that there was no one in my wheel, I decided to go at my own pace. Fortunately, this turned out to be faster than that of the rest. At the end I got a little tired and crashed. Fortunately, I got away without any injuries. I’m glad that the training efforts of the past few weeks paid off today. This gives me motivation for the upcoming races."
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Here’s the team’s announcement:
The official presentation of the 2022 Astana Qazaqstan Team roster has been held today on Saryarka Velodrome in Nur-Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan.
29 riders from seven countries (Kazakhstan, Italy, Colombia, Spain, USA, Belarus, South Africa) will represent Astana Qazaqstan Team in its 17th cycling season.
Alexey Lutsenko from Kazakhstan (the winner of three races and seventh at Tour de France in 2021), Miguel Angel Lopez from Colombia (the winner of four races in 2021, third at Giro d’Italia 2018 and Vuelta a España 2018 with Team Astana), Vincenzo Nibali from Italy (the winner of all three Grand Tours, the winner of two Giro d’Italia and one Tour de France with Team Astana) and Gianni Moscon from Italy (the winner of two races and fourth in the dramatic Paris-Roubaix in 2021) were named among the leaders of the Kazakh team.
Alexey Lutsenko winning the 2021 Coppa Agostoni. Sirotti photo
Astana Qazaqstan Team presented two neo-pro riders: Nurbergen Nurlykhassym of Kazakhstan (U23 Kazakhstan road race champion in 2021) and Michele Gazzoli of Italy (the winner of Gran Premio della Liberazione, fourth at the road race of the U23 Road World Championships in 2021).
The racing calendars of the leaders as well as of all other riders will be discussed and established during the first training camp of the team in Spain (from December 4th to 19th).
The famous Kazakh specialist Alexandr Shefer has been presented as the lead sports director of Astana Qazaqstan Team. Also, the Italian specialist Mario Manzoni joined the group of team sports directors.
The Kazakh project will step into its 17th cycling season with a new name, directly related to Kazakhstan – Astana Qazaqstan Team.
Qazaqstan is the most accurate and correct name of Kazakhstan in its English transcription. Qazaqstan is a kind of new brand of the state on the international stage, which is combining centuries-old traditions, language, culture and strategy of the country’s development in the today’s world.
“Despite a difficult transfer period, we managed to gather a strong and ambitious team, with a number of riders who are able to lead the whole team in the fight for big achievements in the next season. We lost some strong leaders, but at the same time, we gained other high-class riders. The team has a new face, but we remain the same Astana team, which is well known all over the world. The return of such riders as Vincenzo Nibali, Miguel Angel Lopez and Andrey Zeits will bring to the team some additional sport stability and confidence. The arrival of Gianni Moscone, Joe Dombrowski, David De La Cruz, Valerio Conti and other guys will help to expand our interests and set new goals. And, of course, a leader like Alexey Lutsenko is the face of the team, its base.
"I am really happy to see the U23 Kazakh champion Nurbergen Nurlykhassym in our team, I hope that he, as well as all our Kazakh riders will spend a good season. Besides this, with return of Alexandr Shefer we also strengthened the positions of our sports directors group, as well as many other positions among the team staff have been strengthened too. I am sure that the team that we presented today in Nur-Sultan on the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of independence of our republic will be successful in the new season and will get many victories under the new name Astana Qazaqstan Team”, – said Alexandr Vinokurov, team General Manager.
“It is very symbolic that a few days before the big event, the thirtieth anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence, we are holding an official presentation of Astana Qazaqstan Team here in the capital of our country Nur-Sultan. Indeed, the team looks new in many ways, although it is still very recognizable. Most of its leaders are well known to all fans, while the new guys are known for their successful performances in other projects.
"The fusion of youth and experience, high motivation and the desire to reach the top are the ingredients that should be the key to success of the team in the new season. As the president of the National Cycling Federation, I am happy to see a large number of Kazakh riders in the team, to welcome newcomer Nurbergen Nurlykhassym and our honored veteran Andrey Zeits! I wish a big success to the whole team in its 17th season”! – said Nurlan Smagurov, President of Kazakhstan Cycling Federation.
The full roster of the 2022 season:
Leonardo BASSO (Italy); Samuele BATTISTELLA (Italy); Manuele BOARO (Italy); Gleb BRUSSENSKIY (Kazakhstan); Valerio CONTI (Italy); Stefan DE BOD (South Africa); David DE LA CRUZ (Spain); Joe DOMBROWSKI (USA); Yevgeniy FEDOROV (Kazakhstan); Fabio FELLINE (Italy); Michele GAZZOLI (Italy); Yevgeniy GIDICH (Kazakhstan); Dmitriy GRUZDEV (Kazakhstan); Sebastian HENAO (Colombia); Miguel Angel LOPEZ (Colombia); Alexey LUTSENKO (Kazakhstan); Davide MARTINELLI (Italy); Gianni MOSCON (Italy); Yuriy NATAROV (Kazakhstan); Antonio NIBALI (Italy); Vincenzo NIBALI (Italy); Nurbergen NURLYKHASSYM (Kazakhstan); Vadim PRONSKIY (Kazakhstan); Alexandr RIABUSHENKO (Belarus); Javier ROMO (Spain); Harold TEJADA (Colombia); Simone VELASCO (Italy); Artyom ZAKHAROV (Kazakhstan); Andrey ZEITS (Kazakhstan).
Sports directors:
Alexandr SHEFER (Kazakhstan), Giuseppe MARTINELLI (Italy), Dmitriy FOFONOV (Kazakhstan), Bruno CENGHIALTA (Italy), Sergey YAKOVLEV (Kazakhstan), Stefano ZANINI (Italy), Mario MANZONI (Italy).
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Here’s the team’s post:
“At first, the 2021 season didn’t take off that well with several cancellations such as the Tour Down Under, Vuelta a San Juan and Tour Colombia. But from the moment we started racing, we won, beginning with the Classics. As a Belgian team the spring is very important, of course we are internationally orientated, but our riders still want to be in the Flemish races”, Patrick explains.
Deceuninck – Quick-Step deployed a strong squad in the northern Classics and took the victory in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with Davide Ballerini, the Classic Brugge-De Panne with Sam Bennett, as well as the E3 Harelbeke and the Ronde van Vlaanderen, both with Kasper Asgreen. “After that haul, you can say the Classics period had already been more than successful, but then Julian gave us another fantastic moment at the Flèche Wallonne.”
Patrick Lefevere talking with Mark Cavendish at the 2014 Tour de France.
“Julian took three victories before the World Championships. Of course, I know that racing with the rainbow jersey on your shoulders isn’t easy, everyone watches Julian and nobody lets him ride. The opponents also didn’t become easier. Five years ago you didn’t have Van Aert, Van der Poel, Pogacar or Roglic. And if you look at the quality of wins you can say he did well: a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, the Flèche Wallonne and the first stage of the Tour which brought us the yellow jersey. I rewatched that finale several times, as it was kind of unique. And then of course he put the cherry on the cake by retaining his world title.”
There were so many highlights, but it was also the year of the comebacks, who turned out to be very successful.
“Normally he wasn’t going to do the Tour of Belgium, nor the Tour de France, but with the injury of Sam he had to step in. The way he wins and he keeps on winning brought a lot of emotions inside the team, but also from other people. When you hear during and after the Tour several people were crying in front of their television, you know what Mark and the team achieved touched many hearts. Also several production houses told me they thought it was a pity they weren’t there to film those unique moments.”
There were also the incredible stories of Fabio and Remco, who returned after injuries. “Everyone knows the miracle story of Fabio. We always kept believing he would come back as he’s so strong. The team always stood behind him and I think you can’t put into words what it meant to see him winning again. Fabio had face injuries, but with Remco you couldn’t see his injury. He also had a setback as he had to stop training at the beginning of the year, which was very difficult. Then the Giro came where we made the mistake to go with the story that was being created about him. It was a unique experience and we learned a lot from it. I think Remco is almost back to his old level, seeing how he came back to winning and showing what he did before – riding away from the bunch alone. With a good winter I believe he can make another step forward. Not to forget he turns only 22 in January.”
At the end of this incredible season, Patrick Lefevere’s team finished again at the top of the UCI classification. “I’m of course really proud. If you count everything together, we finished 151 times in the top three on an average of 260 race days, and then we don’t even count the world title of Julian and two kermesses, but which we don’t forget. Eighteen of our riders won a race, which is a lot. That has always been my tactic, it works and it’s one of the reasons why riders want to join the team. It’s the key to our success. But also the fact we have been calling ourselves The Wolfpack for a couple of years now is something that really lives inside the team, with both riders and staff.”
The long-term vision of winning a Grand Tour is still there. “We have several guys who can find their way in Grand Tours, and I’m thinking of Mattia, Fausto, Remco, Julian, and of course Ilan, who we welcome inside the team and who normally will be a guy for the three-week races in the future. Of course, a Grand Tour is unpredictable, 21 days where a lot of things can happen. You need a bit of luck as well. Only last year Almeida, who was a neo-pro back then, wore the Giro pink for 15 days and concluded fourth in the GC. I think it should also be possible for other guys. We’re one family that works together to be the best, every rider and staff member is important and I’m sure we’ll go full gas for it again next season.”
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