Welcome back to the GCN Racing News Show.
This week, we have the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, the start of the Vuelta a San Juan,
the final round of UCI CycloCross world cup, the track world cup, and a look at some incredible
times set at the British National Track championships.
Plus, news about a team that takes a priest on it’s training camp.
We shall begin, though, with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
In the men’s, a select group of around 40 riders made the finish together.
A break containing Laurens De Vreese, Nathan Elliot and Carter Turnbull gained 4 minutes
early in the race.
They were kept under control by the sprinters teams, mainly led by Mitchelton Scott, who
were mainly led by Sam Bewley.
With the break caught with 10 km to go, fresh attacks were made on the run in to the finish,
but none were powerful enough to stay away, so a thinned out bunch sprint was on the cards.
And it was a very closely fought battle that was ultimately won by Elia Viviani of Deceuninck
Quickstep, making up for his second place in the same race last year.
Viviani lunged for the line ahead of Caleb Ewan of Lotto Soudal in second, whilst rounding
out the podium and quite a way behind the top two sprinters was Daryl Impey of Mitchelton
Scott.
A job well done for Viviani in Australia, who is now already up on his win rate from
last year at this point - could he surpass his 18 wins of 2018?
We’ll see, he now heads to the UAE Tour at the end of Feb.
In the women’s it was a solo victory for Arlenis Sierra of Astana, who finished 19
seconds clear of chasing duo Lucy Kennedy and Amanda Spratt both of Mitchelton Scott.
The final 10 km proved to be even more aggressive than the men’s race.
Sierra only joined the very front of the race in the final 6 kms, but then at 4 km’s to
go, she simply rode everyone off her wheel and powered onto victory.
Arlenis is a rider with a quite incredible back story - I’ve mentioned it before here
on the GCN Racing News Show, but if you missed it, I thoroughly recommend you have a read,
we shall link to it in the description below this video.
Meanwhile, another set of stars were starting their season over in Argentina at the Vuelta
a San Juan.
The warm up criterium was won by Deceuninck Quicksteps Max Richeze.
But the main event started yesterday, with Fernando Gaviria taking his first win for
UAE-Team Emirates in a bunch sprint.
That means that it’s the 5th season in a row that he won his first race of the year,
quite an impressive stat for his age!
Remco Evenepoel made what has been a hotly anticipated pro debut.
The Belgian has completely skipped the U23 ranks to go into the WorldTour, which is a
rarity, to say the least.
He has apparently already earmarked a stage to make his first impression on the pro peloton
just days after his 19th birthday.
The race also saw Mark Cavendish back in the peloton after what can only be described as
his worst season ever.
He finished 8th on the day, and it’s going to be really interesting to follow his progress
on what could almost be called a comeback season.
More sprinter news now, as Andre Greipel raced in Africa for the first time in his career
last week.
I think it’s fair to say he had mixed results, and wasn’t quite producing the successes
he was hoping for, but, he finally sprinted to victory on stage 6 of La Tropicale Amissa
Bongo.
‘A huge relief’, was how Greipel described the result, which will no doubt build confidence
within his new team, Arkea Samsic.
What I particularly liked was the tweet of congratulations from his ex manager at Lotto
Soudal - I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, Marc Sergeant must be the nicest
and most encouraging manager in pro cycling.
That same race was also the dawn of a new era as Biniyam Ghirmay became the first male
rider born in the 21st century to win a UCI sanctioned road race.
The Eritrean was born on the 2nd April in the year 2000.
How depressing is that?!!
For everyone but him.
He outsprinted the likes of Greipel and Niccolo Bonifazio, but it was the Italian, now riding
for Direct Energie, who won the overall GC, having won 3 stages in total.
Over to CycloCross now where the season continues to build to its peak ahead of the worlds.
After skipping last week, Mathieu van der Poel was back on the grid at his home world
cup race in Hoogerheide yesterday.
His warm up for the World Championships in Denmark came off the back of an endurance
focused training camp, and It appeared that he was a little tired and not quite his normal
self in the race, because it actually took him until the final lap to sew up the win.
He even showed a little emotion as he crossed the finish line showered in confetti.
Toon Aerts took 2nd on the day, and with it the overall World Cup, as Wout van Aert was
3rd.
And next week, it’s the big one, the World Championships in Denmark.
Could there be a repeat of the last couple of years when Van Der Poel has won pretty
much every race, except the World’s?
Time will tell.
What we can predict is that the women’s Worlds will be unpredictable.
It really feels like there are around 15 riders with a genuine chance of winning the race.
In Hoogerheide, it was in fact double Dutch as Lucinda Brand won the women’s race, making
her a hot favourite for next week.
Another favourite, though, give her form on Sunday, is Katie Compton.
She finished 2nd to Brand, just 9 seconds back.
The 40 year old has that quite incredible record of 15 consecutive Elite national titles,
but although she has four World Championship medals, she’s never won gold.
Could this be her year?
She’ll also be up against Marianne Vos, 3rd at Hoogerheide yesterday, and a woman
you can never count out.
It’s also been a busy week on the boards with the UCI track world cup in Hong Kong,
and the British National Champs in Manchester.
The Dutch had a couple of notable performances Kirsten Wild taking the women’s Omnium,
and Theo Bos the men’s Keirin.
That was quite the story for Bos, who last won a World Cup Kieran 13 years ago.
Australia took home the most medals, Thomas Clarke taking 2 golds in the Sprint and Team
Sprint, whilst the experienced Cameron Meyer took the Omnium, and their haul over the series
gave them the team title.
There was a distinct absence of British riders there, though, with their national championships
on at the same time.
On his way to a National Title, John Archibald smashed the sea-level individual pursuit world-best
time he set in Switzerland just before Christmas, recording a time of 4:09.584.
– the second quickest time for a 4k pursuit in history.
Pretty impressive given he only took track cycling up a couple of years ago.
John isn’t the only Archibold, with a knack for pursuiting.
Katie, his Sister, a reigning olympic champion and world record holder in the team event
also took her 3rd national pursuit title, before going on to win gold in the team pursuit.
Talking of the Team Pursuit, Huub Wattbike once again stole a march in the men’s event,
to claim gold ahead of Team Inspired.
In addition to the fastest sea level pursuiter in history, the team also featured Charlie
Tanfield, a reigning world champion in the discipline.
They are now claiming that THEY are the team that should represent Great Britain at the
Olympic team pursuit in Tokyo in 2020, rather than Team GB’s own funded athletes.
And, given their performances in the last couple of years, and the consistency of those
performances, you’d have to say they’ve got a good case.
I mean how long can underdog’s be considered underdogs if they keep beating the overdogs?
On to some other race related news now - we all love new bike day, but I can imagine it
must be even better when you are a national champion.
Check out this custom De Rosa for Irish Champion Conor Dunne.
He claims to have wanted as many Irish flags as possible, although I did point out that
he could have fitted a few more to his uncut steerer.
It is cut now, apparently, in case you’re horrified.
Anyway, hot or not - take the poll on the screen right now.
RCS Sport last week announced the 4 wildcards that will compete at this year’s Giro d’italia
- they are Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, Bardiani CSF, the Israel Cycling Academy and Nippo-Vini
Fantini-Faizanè.
A few have spoken of their disappointment that Giovanni Visconti will not be at the
race, after his team Neri Sottoli were snubbed, but then you can’t please everybody all
of the time.
It was quite clearly a slow news week on the Sporza website in Belgium last week, who discovered
that Ultimo Kilometro run by an Ex Pro has won the Italian Ice cream salon of the year
award.
Which I can imagine must be quite prestigious.
Paolo Fornaciari was previously better known as deluxe domestique to Paolo Bettini, Gilberto
Simoni or Michaeli Bartoli, but that might now have changed, because he also won another
award for the best flavour, with the ‘Ari-Ari, ice cream with liquor, peanuts and orange
flavour.
Almost as obscure was the news that Spanish team BH Burgos have taken a priest on their
training camp in order to teach the team about morales and offer a chance to confess too.
This whilst the team endures a 21 day ban from competition following 3 riders testing
positive in the space of 12 months.
An unorthodox approach, perhaps.
But one that will hopefully see the team put their struggles behind them and move forward
as a stronger unit.
Regardless as to how you view their methods it is good to see them taking action.
In other news, Tosh Van Der Sande has been exonerated for his misdemeanor at the Gent
Six Day.
The substance found in his urine was rumoured to be prednisolone, found in a nasal spray,
which IS permitted, IF you declare it, which Van Der Sande didn’t.
The UCI released a statement last week declaring that it was an administrative error, therefore
clearing the Belgian to resume competition.
It’s certainly a lesson to him and any other athlete out there: if there is a permissible
drug you need to use, make sure you declare it at the anti doping control.
And on that note, we shall finish this week’s show.
Next week we’ll be back with the World Cyclocross championships, the conclusion of the Vuelta
a San Juan, the men’s and women’s Herald Suntours in Melbourne, plus the opening European
races over in Majorca.
Speaking of which, there are still some places up for grabs for our own Majorcan trip at
the end of March, so if you want to join me and the rest of the presenters for a lot of
fun both on and off the bike, make sure you check out our website, GCNevents.co.
One of the presenters who will be there is Chris Opie, and if you’d like to know a
little more about him, make sure you check out his ‘meet the presenters’ video, just
down here.