Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
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2020 Tour de France | 2020 Giro d'Italia
The audiobook version of The Story of the Tour de France, Volume 1 is available.
The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. - Niccolo Machiavelli
Upcoming racing:
- Feb 19 - 21: Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var
- Feb 21 - 27: UAE Tour
Cancelled & postponed races:
- Jan 31:
Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race(cancelled) - Feb 2 - 6:
Herald Sun Tour(cancelled) - Feb 3 - 7:
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana(postponed) - Feb 9 - 14:
Tour of Oman(cancelled) - Feb 17 - 21:
Vuelta Cicista Andalucia - Ruta del Sol(postponed) - Feb 17 - 21:
Volta ao Algarve(postponed)
Latest completed racing:
- Feb 11 - 14: Tour de la Provence
- Feb 14: Clasica de Almeria
- Feb 3 - 7: Etoile de Bèsseges
- Jan 31: GP Cycliste la Marseillaise
- Jan 21 - 24: Santos Festival of Cycling
- Jan 23: Flandriencross
- Jan 1: GP Sven Nys Cyclocross
2021 Volta ao Algarve postponed
The race organizer posted this notice:
The Portuguese Cycling Federation, organizer of Volta ao Algarve, today informed all partners and teams that the race will not be able to take place on the scheduled date, 17 to 21 February. Postponement is a difficult decision, but it has become inevitable, given the evolution of the pandemic situation in Portugal.
2020 Volta ao Algarve winner Remco Evenepoel time-trialing to victory.
The organization of Volta ao Algarve is aware that legitimate expectations were created for an excellent sports event, however the general context of the country imposes a postponement that signals the commitment of the Portuguese Cycling Federation to the defense of public health and motivation to offer fans a high quality race at another time of the year.
Efforts were immediately made to carry out the 47th Volta ao Algarve next spring. The new scheduled date is the period from 5 to 9 May, although the recalendar depends on the consensus with the teams and with the partners involved in the event, and must also be accepted by the International Cycling Union, as it is a race of the UCI ProSeries Circuit.
Team DSM's upcoming races
The team sent me this schedule:
Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, FEB 19-21
Michiel Elijzen - Team DSM coach:
"Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var will be a demanding stage race that takes place over three days, where every stage sees the bunch faced with a lot of elevation gain. We go to the race with a young and motivated group of riders, including debuts for Marco, Henri and Kevin; alongside Michael and Martijn who bring the experience of racing at the highest level. Looking towards the parcours we hope to ride an aggressive race and focus on the learning processes, setting out to achieve good day results within the team."
Line-up:
Marco Brenner (GER)
Leon Heinschke (GER)
Martin Salmon (GER)
Michael Storer (AUS)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)
Henri Vandenabeele (BEL)
Kevin Vermaerke (USA)
UAE Tour: FEB 21-27
Luke Roberts - Team DSM coach:
"Our main focus at UAE Tour will be on stage results, in particular the sprint stages, where there will likely be four opportunities for the fast men in the peloton. Cees will be our guy for the sprints and we have a solid train built around him with road captain Nikias using his experience to guide our sprint group. The race also contains a short TT and two mountain top finishes where our young climbers Thymen and Mark will be out to see how far they can go."
Nikias Arndt (shown at the 2019 Vuelta a España) will ride the UAE Tour. Sirotti photo
Line-up:
Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Thymen Arensman (NED)
Nikias Arndt (GER)
Cees Bol (NED)
Alberto Dainese (ITA)
Mark Donovan (GBR)
Florian Stork (GER)
House bill would give refundable tax credit for purchase of e-bike
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News sent me this:
WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — A bill introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives would give a refundable tax credit of up to $1,500 on the purchase of a new e-bike. [Ed: IRS definition is "A refundable tax credit means you get a refund, even if it's more than what you owe".]
Authored by Congressmen Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act supports the use of e-bikes as a zero-carbon transportation mode. Compared to other transportation modes, the bill recommends e-bikes because they are more affordable and accessible.
“E-bikes are not just a fad for a select few; they are a legitimate and practical form of transportation that can help reduce our carbon emissions,” Panetta said. “My legislation will make it easier for more people from all socio-economic levels to own e-bikes and contribute to cutting our carbon output. By incentivizing the use of electric bicycles to replace car trips through a consumer tax credit, we cannot only encourage more Americans to transition to greener modes of transportation, but also help fight the climate crisis.”
If signed into law, the bill would offer individual consumers a refundable 30% tax credit — up to a $1,500 for new e-bike less than $8,000. The credit would be allowed once per individual every three years, or twice for a joint-return couple buying two. The bill also mandates a report from the IRS after two years to understand the distribution of the credit by income tax bracket and adjust for equity in the future.
You can read the entire story here.
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