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Sunday, August 18, 2024

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

My favorite food from my homeland is Guinness. My second choice in Guinness. My third choice - would have to be Guinness. - Peter O'Toole

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Les Woodland's book Cycling Heroes: The Golden Years is available in the print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• August 17 - Sept 8: Vuelta a España
• August 12 - 18: Tour of Poland
• August 14 - 18: PostNord Denmark Rundt
  

Latest completed racing:

• August 13 - 16: Tour du Limousin
• August 11: La Polynormande
• August 10: Clasica San Sebastian
• August 5 - 9: Vuelta a Burgos
• August 4 - 7: Arctic Race of Norway
• July 27 - August 4: Olympic cycling
• July 22 - 26: Tour de Wallonie
• July 23: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
• June 29 - July 21: Tour de France
• June 9 - 26: Many National Championships
• June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
• June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
• June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour

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Vuelta a España stage one reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Brandon McNulty's UAE Team Emirates:

Brandon McNulty put in the ride of his life to secure a narrow victory in the stage 1 time trial from Lisbon to Oeiras at the Vuelta España.

The American cyclist expertly navigated the parcours ahead of second place Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) by just two seconds. The podium was rounded out by Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) who went off last.

McNulty was the second-to-last rider to start which meant he had his teammates and also his rivals times for reference.

Brandon McNulty will ride stage two in red. Sirotti photo

At the 7km mark, Van Aert was slightly ahead of Vacek, with McNulty trailing by two seconds. However, in the final stretch, McNulty displayed his strength, powering home with a blistering average speed of 57.197 kph to claim victory.

It will be the first time the American will don the leaders jersey of a Grand Tour.

McNulty: “I don’t know if I expected to win but I knew if something crazy happened, then I could win – so I guess something crazy happened, I was hoping for something good today but this is hard to believe for me.

"I just had super good legs. I’ve been feeling really good in training. I really went for the Olympics, and I’ve had good legs since then. I knew I could do something good, but I didn’t expect to win.”

Here's the report from second-place Mathias Vacek's Team Lidl-Trek:

In his first-ever Grand Tour stage, Mathias Vacek stunned the field with an incredible performance in Lisbon. He would have been crowned the victor, had it not been for an even better Brandon McNulty, who bested Vacek’s benchmark by two seconds, ejecting the young Czech from the hot seat. With an elite field of established time trialists on the startlist, few predicted Vacek to achieve such a top result, however the 22-year-old was quietly confident after a successful block of altitude training and string of solid TT results this season.

Mathias Vacek finishing his second-place ride. Sirotti photo

"I knew I could do a good time, but I didn't expect it to be that good. I've worked really hard for this and in the end it paid off. I gave it everything and couldn't do any better. I'm really happy with it. I felt really good, I had in mind to just go as fast as possible for the win.

"I've worked hard, I did a really nice preparation with the Team at an altitude camp and now we can see it pay off. I'm really happy with my performance and confident for what's to come." - Mathias Vacek

And whilst Vacek was close to the top of the overall standings, Lidl-Trek’s GC hopefuls Mattias Skjelmose (13th at 22") and Tao Geoghegan Hart (26th at 31″) both turned out strong rides, putting them near the top of the pack amongst their rivals. Speaking as he cooled down, Skjelmose revealed “This is the most power I ever produced on the TT bike. It was a great performance and I’m happy with the result. For now, I don’t think I could have gone any faster. It’s always good to start in a good way. In Denmark we say ‘A good start is half the job finished’, so we did well now, and we just have 20 stages to go.”

Third-place Wout van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike posted this Vuelta report:

Wout van Aert and Edoardo Affini came just seconds short of winning the opening time trial of the Vuelta a España in Lisbon. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders finished third and fifth, close behind stage winner Brandon McNulty. Defending champion Sepp Kuss limited his loss.

Lisbon was the setting for the start of the 79th Vuelta a España. The final Grand Tour of the season started with a 12-kilometre individual time trial along the coastline of the Portuguese capital. 

It was not long before the first top time at the finish line was set. Affini, deliberately starting early, managed to set a sharp time immediately. The 28-year-old Italian time trial specialist from Team Visma | Lease a Bike was in the hot seat for a long time. He eventually finished fifth in the stage, eight seconds behind McNulty. “The course was not technical, but the crosswind played a big role today. At times it was difficult to keep the bike in position. Personally, I am very satisfied with my performance today.” 

Meanwhile, defending champion Sepp Kuss was also doing his race against the clock. The 29-year-old American - who won the Vuelta a Burgos last week - eventually lost 53 seconds to his compatriot. “A time trial as the opener of a Grand Tour is always painful”, Kuss said afterwards. “This was a good warm-up for what's ahead in the coming weeks. I went full. I can be happy with the time trial I rode.” 

Third-place Wout van Aert. Sirotti photo

The last rider to leave the start ramp was Wout van Aert. The Olympic time trial bronze medal winner managed to set the fastest time at the intermediate point, but towards the end the Belgian lost a few seconds. “I'm not completely satisfied. I felt good, but not super. It started to hurt very quickly, after which it was a long way to the finish. I finished third, I can build on that in the coming days.”

Here's the Vuelta report from fourth-place Stefan Küng's Team Groupama-FDJ:

The third and final Grand Tour of the season started this Saturday, and it was from Portugal that the Vuelta opened with a twelve-kilometre time trial in Lisbon. Along the Tagus, Stefan Küng was able to show all his power and cover the course at an average pace of about 57 km/h. However, this was not enough for him to claim victory. The Swiss rider had to settle with fourth place on the day, six seconds behind the winner Brandon McNulty. On Sunday, the peloton will head to Ourém for a potential bunch sprint.

Stefan Küng finishing his fourth-place ride. Sirotti photo

For its 79th edition, the Vuelta a España had therefore chosen Lisbon and Portugal for its Grand Departure. The first of the three Portuguese stages, this Saturday, was a time trial along the Tagus River, over twelve kilometres without any real difficulties in terms of profile or technically-speaking. On the other hand, some specific weather conditions had to be taken into account.

“The wind was a little stronger at the end of the day, and we had actually bet on starting later with David and Stefan because the wind could push them a little in the last 4-5 kilometres”, explained David Han. “On the other hand, this also led to some strong gusts in the first part”. Before their leaders, Lorenzo Germani, Sven-Erik Bystrom, Reuben Thompson, Quentin Pacher, Kevin Geniets and Rémy Rochas completed the course. At 7:46 p.m., David Gaudu tackled the time trial, and he limited his losses quite well as he crossed the line around forty seconds behind the best time at the time, held by Edoardo Affini. “It’s decent considering the profile and his form,” said the Breton’s coach.

Affini was beaten shortly after by Mathias Vacek. When he left the start ramp at 8:08 p.m, Stefan Küng therefore had to go faster than the Czech rider. After seven kilometers, the Swiss specialist, however, was seven seconds behind, after a hectic start. “I had really crazy gusts of wind in the first half, and they kind of destabilized me,” explained Stefan. “I had trouble staying upright, keeping the position, and it was difficult to pedal against the gusts and keep the rhythm. Honestly, I was scared sometimes, especially on the downhill after the little climb. I was going 77 km/h and I was just praying that nothing would happen.” “The gusts were impressive,” confirmed David. “We got quite scared behind Stefan on one occasion. He was destabilized and I think that disturbed him a little in the first part.” In the last five kilometres, the former double European champion managed to gain a few seconds, but it was not enough to take the hot seat. With a time of 12’41, he set the second provisional mark, four seconds behind Vacek. “I heard that I was behind at the intermediate point, so I really hit the gas,” he said. “I didn’t want to have any regrets, and I don’t have any.”

In the end, the rider from Groupama-FDJ was also beaten by Brandon McNulty, winner with a time of 12’35, and Wout Van Aert, three seconds faster than him. “When your name is Stefan Küng, you obviously show up on a time trial to win it,” said David. “He is in the mix, but we know that it is decided by very little, especially on a course like this. There are no regrets about the approach or the starting strategy, because the first four started at the end. It is not the first time that he has come very close to a great performance. Today, there was a red jersey at stake, but it is only the beginning of the Vuelta.” “It is frustrating to be beaten again,” concluded Stefan. “I thought Tarling was the man to beat, I beat him, but on a time trial like this anything can happen. Some guys were stronger, and I have to accept the verdict. I would really like to make the wheel of fortune turn. There are twenty stages left to do that, I am in good shape, and I feel good again on the bike. I am looking forward to the rest of La Vuelta.”

Here's the Vuelta news from eighth-place Primoz Roglic's Team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe:

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe arrived in Lisbon for the Gran Salida of the Vuelta with many question marks. After his injury and a five-week break, Lisbon set the stage for Primož Roglič's race comeback. A short individual time trial was the first intensive test for the leader and the other seven riders in the Vuelta selection.

At the end of the 12 kilometers between Lisbon and Oeiras, Primož Roglič was in 8th place. He completed the technically easy course along the coast at an average speed of almost 56km/h. This puts Roglič well within the group of the GC riders after the opening stage. Florian Lipowitz needed just under 5 seconds more for the fast course - a 12th place at the start of his first Tour of Spain. Aleks Vlasov, who is also celebrating his race comeback, completed the good team performance with a solid 20th place.

Primoz Roglic finishes his time trial. Sirotti photo

The peloton will remain in Portugal for tomorrow's second stage. Between Cascais and Ourém there are 194 slightly undulating kilometers on the agenda. Two ramps in the last 30km could encourage the puncheurs to attack and make for an exciting finale.

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