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Sunday, October 20, 2024

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Current racing:

• October 15 - 20: Tour of Guangxi
• October 20: Japan Cup Road Race
• October 20: Veneto Classic

Upcoming racing:

• October 27: Superpresitge Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross

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

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Tour of Guangxi stage five reports

We posted the report from stage winner and new GC leader Lennert Van Eetvelt's Team Lotto Dstny with the results.

Here's the report from second-place Oscar Onley's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:

The penultimate day of action at Tour of Guangxi saw the peloton take on the queen stage of the race, and the now traditional hill-top finish to Nongla where the GC battle was expected to come to the fore. Coming into the stage, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL had two finishers for the finale in the form of Max Poole and Oscar Onley, the latter of whom took a one second bonus on Friday’s stage. As a result, the team set out their stall early with Timo Roosen contributing to a lot of the early pace setting behind the four rider break.

Casper van Uden then took over as the race headed into the final 50 kilometres of the stage, before Patrick Eddy and Niklas Märkl brought the GC duo into position ahead of the lower slopes of the climb. With the break caught, a strong tempo continue to be set on the front as the peloton began to thin down. Knowing the steepest sections of the ascent came in the finale, the Team dsm-firmenich PostNL duo stayed in the wheels, before Onley set off in pursuit of Lafay inside the last 600 metres. Digging deep and kicking hard, he surged past Lafay but with 100 metres to go Van Eetvelt was able to come off Onley’s wheel and kick once more to the line, as the Team dsm-firmenich PostNL rider finished second on the stage and with it moved into the same spot on GC.

Lennert Van Eetvelt beats Oscar Onley to the line.

After the finish Onley expressed: “The boys rode really well today controlling the break and positioning myself and Max into the climb. On the climb it just came down to the legs for the both of us. I’m happy to come away with the second place and pick up another consistent result after a long season.”

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Callum Ferguson added: “We knew that we had a chance to fight for the victory today with both Oscar and Max. We decided early-on to ride with Timo, who did a really good job to keep things in check, and then Casper took over after that. It was some really good commitment from those guys. With the effort that we put in, the guys then knew that they had to go all-in. On the climb Max made the call for Oscar to ride his own effort as he was cramping a bit. Oscar learned a few things from this race last year and rode a smart ascent, where he could finish it off with a really nice second place and move into the same spot on GC. We’re five seconds behind Van Eetvelt so we will see how things go tomorrow and see if we can move up one more spot.”

Here's the Tour of Guangxi stage five report from fifth-place Pavel Sivakov's UAE Team Emirates:

Pavel Sivakov left everything on the road to take 5th spot on the hilltop finish on stage 5 of the Tour de Guangxi from Yizhou to Nongla (165.8km).

Tim Wellens hit out with a strong attack with -1.7km to go which triggered a chase by the team of eventual stage winner Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny).

Wellens would be reeled in with -800m when a select group containing  Sivakov came from behind at speed. Sivakov was unable to match the accelerations but hung on for 5th place on the line. He now sits 5th overall at +21” from Van Eetvelt. UAE Team Emirates lead the overall teams classification.

Pavel Sivakov leads Tadej Pogacar at the 2024 World Road Champiolnships.

Sivakov: “It was a good day for me and the team. It was just an all-out ten minute effort in the end and the strongest guy won.  I gave it all I had and finished fifth in the end which was the best I could manage today. I’m still in contention for a podium I think so tomorrow we will try something and enjoy some good racing.”

Here's the Tour of Guangxi report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Martin Svrcek was the highest-ranked Soudal Quick-Step rider on the queen stage of the season’s last World Tour race, which concluded atop Nongla Scenic Spot, a demanding 3.3km climb featuring a steep final kilometer that made for some significant gaps in the general classification. It was a good effort from the young Slovak, who continues to be the best placed member of our team with just one day to go.

Until three kilometers to go, the day belonged to a four-man breakaway featuring Soudal Quick-Step’s Warre Vangheluwe. The quartet got away moments after the start, and the stage two winner took some impressive pulls there, helping a group carve out a nice advantage which allowed them to stay clear until three kilometers to go, when a depleted peloton made the catch just as the road was beginning to rise.

The attacks came thick and fast, whittling down the group to just a handful of riders, from where Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) attacked on the steepest part of the ascent and soloed to a victory that moved him into the overall lead of the Tour of Guangxi.

Pepijn Reinderink remains in the climber's polka-dot jersey.

There were no changes at the head of the KOM classification, which means Pepijn Reinderink remains in the polka dot jersey going into the final stage of the race, starting and finishing in Nanning, where the peloton will tackle five times a local circuit featuring a short but steep climb.

And here's the Tour of Guangxi report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike once again made their presence known in the queen stage of the Gree-Tour of Guangxi. The team had Koen Bouwman in the breakaway of the day, but the Dutch rider was ultimately caught by the peloton on the final climb. Lennert Van Eetvelt claimed the stage win.

After four bunch sprints in as many stages, the riders faced the queen stage of this Chinese race on Saturday. The finish line was set at the top of a hill in Nongla, known for its steep final kilometer with an average gradient of almost fifteen percent. Last year, Milan Vader won the stage finishing on the same hill.

Milan Vader after winning ther Queen stage on 2023.

Bouwman had studied the stage profile closely. On the mostly flat roads at the beginning of the stage, he broke away with three other riders. The quartet was seen as dangerous, so the peloton kept control all day long. As a result, their lead never exceeded a few minutes. At the base of the climb to Nongla Scenix Spot, Bouwman left his breakaway companions behind, going all out for the win. However, he was soon reeled in by the chasing peloton. Van Eetvelt proved to be the strongest of the group, while Johannes Staune-Mittet finished thirteenth and now sits fourteenth in the general classification.

"It wasn’t necessarily the plan to be in the breakaway of the day," Bouwman admits. "The GC and sprinter teams have been holding the reins tightly all week. I had a bad crash recently, so I’m just happy to have made it to this race. I felt a bit better today when I woke up compared to the other days. I thought to myself: I only have two race days left for the team. It would be great to attack and show myself on one of those days. And it worked out. The four of us went full gas from the start, but it wasn’t enough. I had a good day, though. Tomorrow, I’ll enjoy one last day and give it my best, then head home and enjoy my holiday."

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