Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, November 28, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Les Woodland's book Cycling’s 50 Craziest Stories is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- December 15: Namur Cyclocross-Citadelcross
Latest completed racing:
- November 17: Flandriencross
- November 3: European Cyclocross Championships
- November 1: X20 Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
- October 27: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
- October 15 - 20: Tour of Guangxi
- October 20: Japan Cup Road Race
- October 20: Veneto Classic
- October 16: Giro del Veneto
- October 13: Chrono des Nations
Here’s the team’s announcement:
One of the top amateur riders of the 2024 season, Victor Guernalec has signed up for the Arkea-B&B Hotels team for the coming season. Here are the details.
What does this move to the World Tour with the Arkea-B&B Hotels team mean to you, Victor?
Victor Guernalec: ‘It's a dream for me, because I'm from Brittany, to sign up with a team from my home region and one that's competing at UCI World Tour level. It's a very powerful feeling. My brother, Thibault, has been a professional with the team since 2018. I've been following Emmanuel Hubert's team since 2010. I used to go and see it when it raced at Châteaulin. I've seen the team evolve over the years, and when I was younger I was part of the team's training cycle. In fact, everything links me to Arkea-B&B Hotels. And this winter I was given the opportunity to join the team.
Victor Guernalec winning the Auvergne-Rhône-Alps Championship in 2023. Photo: Valentin Jacquemet
What are your ambitions for 2025?
VG: ‘For the team to shine, for us all to achieve as many victories as possible under the Arkea-B&B Hotels jersey. And if I'm given a card on certain occasions, it will be to seize it. I want to discover the professional level and the best UCI World Tour races. I know it's a tall order, but I'm motivated and I'm going to do everything I can to live up to the expectations that the Arkea-B&B Hotels team will have of me.
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How do you feel about racing with your brother, Thibault?
V.G: ‘It's also a dream to be able to race with my brother Thibault, which hasn't happened to us that many times in our careers. I don't have too many points of reference with him in the race. It's going to be cool, but it'll also be up to us to do our share of the work. Because we'll be brothers and colleagues at the same time, it's bound to be a special relationship. But I can't wait to experience that kind of emotion. I'll also be reunited with Louis Rouland, who is my training partner at Aix-les-Bains, as well as Ewen Costiou and Mathis Le Berre, with whom I raced under the same jersey in the amateur ranks.
Emmanuel Hubert, General Manager:
A Breton in a Breton team, what could be more normal! Victor Guernalec, who was one of the best riders of the 2024 amateur season, will join us as the 27th and final rider in the Arkea-B&B Hotels UCI World Tour structure, from 1 January 2025. Victor is a rider we know well, having had him in our training cycle for several seasons. Unfortunately, a number of injuries delayed his emergence at the highest level. He had a very good year in 2024, with a number of successes, demonstrating that he had rediscovered all the qualities we knew him for at youth level. Victor is a young rider who is driven by a strong desire to succeed, and there is no doubt that his acclimatization to the professional world will be rapid, because you can sense in him a rider who is ‘hungry’.
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Here’s the team’s news:
Tudor Pro Cycling announces the 2025 Development squad, showing its constistent commitment to fostering talent. Competing at Continental level, the team reflects a long-standing dedication to athlete’s development, a central pillar of the Team.
The team features 15 riders from 9 nations, with an impressive low average age of 20.7 years.
Joining from the junior ranks are two promising talents: Kryštof Král from Czech Republic and Oliver Mätik from Estonia, both eager to kick off their first season at this level.
The 2025 Tudor Pro Development Team.
The most represented birth year on the squad is 2005, with a solid group of riders who have already shown great potential: Italians Samuele Alari and Juan David Sierra and Swiss Victor Benareau will be joined by Noé Melot from France and Jesper Stiansen from Norway.
The 2004-born lineup includes Joël Tinner and Tim Rey (Switzerland), Diego Casagrande, promoted after his late Summer stage with the team in 2024 and Jackson Medway (Australia).
Luxembourg’s Arno Wallenborn will join the 2003 class, counting already on experienced Swiss riders Robin Donzé and Roman Holzer.
Rounding out the roster is Mathias Guillemette, class 2002 from Canada, who will guide the younger athletes through the season also thanks to his experience on the track.
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A key driver in the team selection was the scouting database program, launched in December 2023, designed to discover riders with potential. Out of almost 800 applicants, three of the seven new riders for 2025 were selected through this initiative.
The program included the “Talent Days”, held in May 2024 at the Team’s headquarters in Sursee, Switzerland. This week-long event provided ten riders with an immersive experience, including training sessions, performance tests, and one-on-one meetings with the Performance Development Staff. Among the attendees was Jesper Stiansen, who earned his place on the 2025 roster. Two more riders were discovered through the scouting initiative: Oliver Mätik, dedicated cyclist since his childhood following his father’s passion, and Diego Casagrande, relatively new to the sport.
"We’ve built this team around our philosophy of development, focusing on riders with potential to grow, helping them to get ready for the pro ranks."
Boris Zimine, Head of Tudor Devo Team, explains: “We’ve built this team around our philosophy of development, focusing on riders with potential to grow and helping them to get ready for the pro ranks. It’s also important to us to have a mix of everything: cultures, ages, with current riders sharing the team’s values and vision with the new ones, and variety of profiles. We don’t want to assign them specific roles. We encourage them to try everything and figure out what suits them best. This approach will help them discover their true potential while building a strong and united team."
The team gathered for the first time last week in Livigno, marking the start of an exciting journey for the upcoming season. The camp featured a mix of activities such as bike fitting, individual talks, shootings, sports activities on and off the bike in the mountains.
Up next: a team training camp in Spain in the second half of January to rack up the kilometers and build a solid base before the start of the racing season in February.
2025 Roster:
- Samuele Alari, Italy
- Victor Benareau, Switzerland
- Diego Casagrande, Switzerland
- Robin Donzé, Switzerland
- Mathias Guillemette, Canada
- Roman Holzer, Switzerland
- Kryštof Král, Czechia
- Oliver Mätik, Estonia
- Jackson Medway, Australia
- Noé Melot, France
- Tim Rey, Switzerland
- Juan David Sierra, Italy
- Jesper Stiansen, Norway
- Joël Tinner, Switzerland
- Arno Wallenborn, Luxembourg
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