Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. - Lao Tzu
Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 2: 1976 - 2018 is available in print, Kindle eBook & Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- October 8: Tre Valli Varesine
Upcoming racing:
- October 10: Gran Piemonte
- October 12: Il Lombardia
Latest completed racing:
- October 7: Coppa Bernocchi
- Sept 29 - Oct 6: Le Tour de Langkawi
- October 6: Paris-Tours
- October 6: Coppa Agostoni-Giro delle Brianze
- October 5: Giro dell'Emilia
- October 3: Sparkassen Münsterland Giro
- October 1: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- September 22 - 29: World Road Cycling Championships
- September 18 - 22: Tour de Luxembourg
- September 21: Super 8 Classic
- September 20: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- September 18: GP de Wallonie
- September 15: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
- September 15: Trofeo Matteotti
- September 14: Memorial Marco Pantani
- September 13: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
- September 12: Coppa Sabatini
We posted the report from second-place Alex Baudin's Team Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale with the results.
Here's the report from fifth-place Bart Lemmen's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Bart Lemmen finished fifth in the Coppa Bernocchi. Lemmen was on the attack all day and went solo towards the finish in the finale, but saw his escape attempt stranded one kilometre from the finish. The victory was for Stan van Tricht.
After a gruelling edition of the Giro dell’Emilia last weekend, the second classic in the Italian autumn block was on the programme for Team Visma | Lease a Bike today: Coppa Bernocchi. The first edition of the Coppa Bernocchi took place in 1913 and last year, it was won by Wout van Aert. So the Dutch team started as defending champion in Legnano.
Bart Lemmen's yellow Visma jersey can be seen in this photo of the finish. Sirotti photo
It soon became clear that Team Visma | Lease a Bike had travelled to Italy with big plans. Lemmen, who has been in good shape in recent weeks, was part of the early breakaway. With thirty kilometres to go, the Dutchman even rode solo at the front of the race. His attack stranded one kilometer from the finish when Lemmen was caught by a chasing group of six riders. In the end, Lemmen sprinted to a creditable fifth place.
“I really believed I could make it. I rode really hard. Maybe I was left alone a bit too early, because thirty kilometres is still quite a distance. Unfortunately, the finish line was a kilometre too far for me today. They worked well together behind me. It’s really unfortunate to get caught like that at the end, but that’s cycling too”, Lemmen puts things into perspective.
Sports director Marc Reef is proud of the 28-year-old rider. “Bart really did everything right. We knew in advance that the breakaway could make it to the finish today. Bart turned out to be the strongest in the breakaway and then you have to make the choice to go solo at one point. It’s a shame that he just didn’t make it. That would have been the icing on the cake for a very good first year with Team Visma | Lease a Bike. It didn't lead to a victory today, but that win will definitely come in the future."
"This was one of my best days of the season”, Lemmen says. "I'm in great shape. It was a close call and I almost got my first victory. I still have a good feeling and a nice result after today. This Saturday, another great race awaits: Il Lombardia. Afterwards my off-season starts."
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Here's the Coppa Bernocchi report from sixth-place Pavel Sivakov's UAE Team Emirates:
Pavel Sivakov was best of UAE Team Emirates today at the Coppa Bernocchi, taking 6th place from a small group which arrived to the line in Legnano (174km). The race was won by Stan Van Tricht (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
As soon as the lone breakaway Bart Lemmen (Visma LAB) was brought back Sivakov made his move and attacked with -1km to go but it was not to be successful and so had to settle for 6th spot.
Pavel Sivakov (in white jersey) next to Remco Evenepoel on the Piccolo Stelvio climb. Sirotti photo
Sivakov: “We tried to open the race quite early to make the race hard and avoid a sprint finish. When we went it was myself Hirschi, Remco and no Red Bull riders so they pulled behind. I was able to jump with the winning move in the final and I tried to anticipate the sprint in the finale but just didn’t have the legs. We’ll try again over the next days here in Italy.”
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Here's the team's news:
Last season, Ilan Van Wilder became the first Belgian rider since Eddy Merckx, in 1968, to win Tre Valli Varesine. It was a spectacular victory for our rider, who powered away from a select group with ten kilometers to go, holding off the chasers en route to his maiden win in a one-day race.
Ilan Van Wilder winning the 2023 edition of Tre Valli Varesine.
The 24-year-old from Jette will return at the start line of the 103rd edition, which takes place this Tuesday on a 200.3km course between Busto Arsizio and Varese – the host of the 2008 World Championships – featuring more than twenty climbs, the most important of which will be Salita dei Ronchi (1.9km, 5.3%), where the race is set to conclude. Soudal Quick-Step’s squad for our penultimate race of the season on European soil will also comprise Mattia Cattaneo, Remco Evenepoel, Jan Hirt, William Junior Lecerf, Fausto Masnada and Pieter Serry.
“Tre Valli Varesine is one of the hardest races of the month, up and down the entire time and featuring plenty of ascents that should whittle down the peloton with each kilometer that passes. We go there with a strong morale and a motivated team which has more than one card to play and we hope to feature in the finale and get a good result at the end of the day”, said sports director Davide Bramati.
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Here's the team's news:
After the Giro dell’Emilia on Saturday, Bahrain Victorious have stayed in Italy for the next Autumn Italian Classic from the UCI ProSeries: the Tre Valli Varesine, scheduled for Tuesday, October 8th. The race will start in Busto Arsizio and finish according to tradition on the Via Sacco in Varese, after covering nearly 200 km.
The squad remains largely unchanged from the Giro dell’Emilia, where they faced a hilly course in such difficult conditions that only 53 riders managed to finish. The one change is the addition of Santiago Buitrago, who comes in for Nikias Arndt. The Colombian climber will make his debut in this demanding race that is seen as the perfect preparation ‘Il Lombardia’ next Saturday. Along with others who have high hopes for the final monument of the year, Buitrago will use Tuesday as a final warm up for ‘The Race of the Falling Leaves’.
Bahrain Victorious’ last appearance at the Tre Valli Varesine was in 2019, with Damiano Caruso securing a 9th-place finish. Caruso returns this year as the team’s road captain, on the back of a strong performance at the Giro dell’Emilia. TBV has consistently performed well in this race, achieving top-ten results in all three of its participations, including a podium finish in 2017 with Vincenzo Nibali.
“We also have a former winner in our ranks,” said TBV Sports Director Roman Kreuziger, referring to Sonny Colbrelli, who claimed victory in Varese in 2016. “Sonny will be in the team car with me, providing valuable advice to the riders. He won from a reduced bunch sprint, which is one of the possible outcomes here. However, we could also see a solo breakaway or a finale filled with attacks and counter-attacks. What we can rule out is a full bunch sprint – that’s almost impossible in this race. An extra difficulty will be the bad weather. Under heavy rain, riding in good position will be fundamental. And at this point of the season mental strength will make a big difference.”
Sonny Colbrelli winning Tre Valli Varesine in 2016. Sirotti photo
The Tre Valli Varesine course consists of a long, undulating section leading into the challenging final circuit around Varese, with 3199m of climbing in total. The most decisive part of the race is typically the final circuit: the riders will tackle seven laps of 16 km, featuring the steep Salita dei Ronchi and Montello climbs, followed by two longer laps of 31.3 km that include the Barasso climb (900m at 7.9%).
“With this kind of course, you need not only to be fast, but also able to handle the climbs to stay in contention at the end,” added Kreuziger. “A podium finish would be fantastic, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”
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