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Saturday, October 19, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination. - John Dewey
Bill McGann’s book Why Your Bike Is Made in Asia: My career in bicycles as I watched two continents squander an industry is available in print & Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- October 15 - 20: Tour of Guangxi
Upcoming racing:
- October 20: Japan Cup Road Race
- October 20: Veneto Classic
Latest completed racing:
- October 16: Giro del Veneto
- October 13: Chrono des Nations
- October 12: Il Lombardia
- October 10: Gran Piemonte
- October 8: Tre Valli Varesine
- 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
We posted the report from stage winner Ethan Vernon's Team Israel-Premier Tech with the results.
Here's the report from stage four second-place and new GC leader Max Kanter's Team Astana Qazaqstan:
Astana Qazaqstan Team rider Max Kanter once again finished second in a bunch sprint, this time in Stage 4 of the Tour of Guangxi. With this result, Kanter reclaimed the overall lead in the Chinese stage race, just as he did two days earlier after Stage 2.
Stage 4 finish: Max Kanter (in light blue jersey) riding to the GC lead.
“I want to thank the team for their incredible support throughout the stage – the guys were always with me, protecting me from the wind, positioning me well, and supplying me with water. In the final kilometer, I found the right wheel behind the race leader, opened my sprint, and gave it everything I had. I ended up finishing second. I’m pleased to wear the leader’s jersey again, even though it was quite unexpected. Tomorrow’s stage doesn’t suit me, but I will do my best to carry the leader’s jersey with pride and help our climbers fight for the General Classification”, – said Max Kanter.
“It’s great to be back in the overall lead, even though we didn’t expect it. After the finish, we received the news that the stage winner was penalized 20 seconds, which put Max in the lead. In any case, we’ll defend the jersey, especially since tomorrow’s decisive mountain stage suits our leaders, Lorenzo Fortunato and Alexey Lutsenko”, – said Dmitriy Fofonov.
Here's the stage four report from third-place Alberto Bruttomesso's Team Bahrain Victorious:
A rolling stage seemed like it would be the ideal opportunity for breakaway specialists, but in the end the fast men survived the hills, and fought it out at Jinchengjiang. They included Bahrain’s Alberto Bruttomesso, who launched his sprint in the final 250 meters and finished third, just behind Ethan Vernon(IPT) and Max Kanter(AST). It is his first WorldTour podium in his debut year.
“Actually, this last part of the season I am feeling very good. I have 3 top 10s and one podium in CRO race. And also the second day here was good. Actually all the stages have been. Today I was struggling a lot on the last climb. I was dropped. I came back with around 20, 30 riders and then full focused in the sprint. I recovered well,” said the 20-year-old Italian.
“Maybe I started a bit too early, but if I waited more I could have been boxed in, so in the end it’s okay like this. A good final of the season, and hopefully a good start of 2025. Actually it was a crazy final. We did not find each other, so in the end I took the wheel of Max Kanter, later on Ethan Vernon’s wheel. I followed my instinct and it’s okay like this.”
Bruttomesso concluded with his ambition for the coming season:” I am happy with my first season because it started well. In Antalya with a podium, and I got a lot of experiences also in Belgium races. And here in the final race of the season I have some opportunities. I tried to catch them and get the best result possible. It’s my first time going to China. Tour of Guangxi is a really nice race. Super warm welcome, never seen warmer welcome.”
Lead sports director Gorazd Štangelj commented: “We expected more in the sprints, especially yesterday on stage 3. We spent a lot of energy not bringing home what we would like to. The boys were trying hard, but we still need to learn something. We are not the luckiest team, but we are in the game all the time. Let’s hope for the best for Robert and Torstein for the queen stage.”
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Here's the Tour of Guangxi report from fourth-place Lionel Taminiaux's Team Lotto Dstny:
The fourth stage, between Bama and Jinchengjiang, featured four climbs and was expected to be a challenging ride, but once again, the outcome was a bunch sprint. "We were a bit worried it would be a hard race all day, but in the end, a breakaway of four riders got away, and the peloton stayed in control," Lionel Taminiaux explained. "For us, Arjen (Livyns) did a lot of work, and other teams that benefitted from a sprint finish also took the lead."
Lionel Taminiaux winning Tour of Guangxi stage one.
"With 20 kilometers to go, things got tense for me when I got dropped on the last climb. The same thing happened on day two, the day after my victory. Fortunately, I felt much better today and had confidence that I could come back." He did indeed catch up, and Taminiaux was well-positioned by Livyns. "Just like on the first day, I positioned myself on the left side. Unfortunately, the other sprinters were on the right, which meant I missed out on their slipstream and ended up finishing fourth. I didn’t have many other options at that point, so I just rode my own sprint. In the end, I'm satisfied."
And here's a report from Mick van Dijke's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Mick van Dijke finished fifth in the fourth stage of the Gree-Tour of Guangxi. The 24-year-old Dutchman, usually one of Olav Kooij's lead-out riders, got in the mix of the bunch sprint in Jinchengjiang.
Without Milan Vader, who had to abandon on Thursday after an unfortunate crash, the remaining five riders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike started Friday's stage, which covered around 180 kilometers. The stage featured nearly 3,000 meters of elevation gain, the most of any stage in the Chinese race.
Mick van Dijke just after stage four finished.
Four riders attacked early in the race, with two of them managing to stay ahead until two kilometers from the finish line. After they were caught, the preparation for the bunch sprint began. Van Dijke was positioned well by his teammates at the front. The Dutchman joined the sprint and secured fifth place. Ethan Vernon won the stage for the second consecutive day.
“I’m pretty happy with this fifth place”, Van Dijke said after the stage. “Usually, I never sprint for myself. My job is to lead-out for Olav. It’s a big loss that he’s not here. Of course, it’s quite an adjustment for me to be the one designated as the sprinter. I’ve had three chances this week, and I’ve learned a lot. Today was the first time I really got to sprint, so I’m satisfied with this fifth place.”
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Here's the Guangxi Tour stage four report from Niklas Märkl's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:
After three sprint stages on the opening three days, today’s stage at the Tour of Guangxi offered room for a few more scenarios. Four categorised climbs and a bonus sprint on an uncategorised climb in the finale could have resulted in either another sprint finish or a strong group breaking away for the win. Once again, the break of the day got away soon after the start, with the peloton keeping the group at a controlled distance throughout the race. As the peloton closed the gap to less than a minute, things became tactical, with several teams launching attacks to try gain time in the GC. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL remained alert towards the front, covering the moves and even securing one bonus second with Oscar Onley behind the two remaining breakaway riders.
The race then settled down a bit, and it seemed likely that everything would come down to a reduced bunch sprint, with some of the fast men being dropped throughout the day. Niklas Märkl, who had to fight back from a late mechanical issue, was brought into position nicely by his teammates and sprinted to a solid eighth place for the team, who also kept their GC cards safe for tomorrow’s Queen stage and the climb at the finish.
Niklas Märkl earlier in the year.
Märkl said: “It was a really tough day today. We expected some action on the first climb, but things stayed calm and four strong riders formed the breakaway, which kept the pace in the peloton quite high all day. The race really kicked off in the final 35 kilometres. I had good legs today but had to ride my own pace over the top of the last long climb. I knew that I could make it back if I didn’t allow the gap to grow too much. I made it back, but had a bit of bad luck with a mechanical issue 12 kilometres from the finish and had to fight back again. The boys did a really good job setting me up for the finish, and I managed a solid sprint. I think we can be quite happy with the eighth place in the end. Now we are looking forward to two days that should decide the GC and where we have some nice cards to play, so we are motivated to play our part in that.”
And here's the Guangxi Tour report from Pepijn Reinderink's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Pepijn Reinderink became the new custodian of the KOM jersey with just two days to go at the Asian race, after another solid outing in the breakaway. The Dutchman jumped away from the peloton as soon as stage four got underway, and together with three other riders he built a solid gap over the peloton that allowed the breakaway to stay at the front until the closing kilometers.
Pepijn Reinderink sporting his climber's jersey.
Winner of the mountain standings at last month’s Tour de Luxembourg, Pepijn picked up points on the day’s four classified climbs, before once again forcing a selection in the final part of the stage. Only Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R) could follow Reinderink, and the duo began believing they could make it, only for their hopes to be crushed by a ruthless peloton just two kilometers from the line.
The stage once again ended in a bunch sprint, won by Ethan Vernon (Israel Premier Tech), the leader of the general classification. Arguably the most combative rider of the Tour of Guangxi so far, Pepijn took to the podium to pull on the race’s polka dot jersey, which the 22-year-old has a strong chance of taking home, the buffer he has over the closest rider being of 14 points with two days remaining at the Tour of Guangxi.
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Here's the team's announcement:
Team Visma | Lease a Bike is excited to announce the signing of Dan McLay, on a one-year contract.
32-year-old Dan McLay brings a lot of experience to the team, having competed at the highest level of professional cycling in the past ten years. Among other achievements, he has races like the Tour de l’Eurometropole and GP de Denain to his name. His expertise will be invaluable as he collaborates with sprinter Olav Kooij, helping to maximize sprint opportunities and contribute to the team’s overall strategy.
Dan McLay wins stage 5 of the 2020 Tour of Portugal.
Grischa Niermann on behalf of the sportive management of Team Visma | Lease a Bike: "We are happy to welcome Dan to the team. His experience and skills align perfectly with our goals, and we are confident that he will make a significant impact. He is a very experienced lead-out, and that’s exactly what we were looking for. In particular, he has executed some impressive lead-outs for Demare in the Tour, and we hope that he can do the same for Olav Kooij in our team next season."
Dan McLay: “I am looking forward to joining the team. Team Visma | Lease a Bike has a great track record in developing riders and despite being on the older end of the development curve I still think there is room to improve. My ambitions are to do the best job possible for the team and specifically in the lead-out for Olav.”
Here’s the team’s news:
Gianni Moscon will ride for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe from the upcoming season. The 30-year-old will primarily support the team's classics squad, which has recently been bolstered by several young talents.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe has undergone a generational change in the current transfer window. Six of the current eight new riders are under the age of 25. In addition, the team is focusing on selective reinforcement with experienced riders. Gianni Moscon is approaching his tenth WorldTour season and brings the experience of more than 30 monuments and grand tours to his new team.
Gianni Moscon racing in the 2017 Paris-Roubaix. Sirotti photo
Gianni Moscon:
“I'm incredibly excited to join Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and start this new chapter in my cycling career. From the moment I met Ralph, it was clear that we were on the same page. The trust that Ralph and the team have in me makes me motivated and determined to do my best. This is a great opportunity, and I can't wait to get started.”
Ralph Denk:
"When I think of Gianni's potential, I think of Roubaix 2021: an impressive solo that was only stopped by a puncture. We hope to bring him back to that level in a new environment and with our expanded performance structure. But with his experience, we are also looking beyond the classics. At the Tour de France this summer, we saw how well he fulfilled his role as road captain."
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