Romain Bardet (Team DSM) won stage 3 of the Vuelta a Burgos, crossing the line solo, with Domenico Pozzovivo (Team Qhubeka NextHash) (www.TeamQhubeka.com) leading the chase group home and taking 2nd place, Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) finished 3rd.

Stage 3 of the Vuelta a Burgos presented the first real test to the contenders for the general classification as the riders had to face the famous climb of Picon Blanco. The full stage covered 173 km, Picon Blanco culminating at just 18 km from the finish, followed by a technical descent to the line.

An early breakaway went well in the first kilometers of the stage, but the peloton had no problem controlling the gap, ensuring that the breakaways were caught on the climb.

Ineos-Grenadiers and EF-Education picked up the pace on the lower slopes of the climb, but it was an acceleration from Fabio Aru that really put the pressure, resulting in a refinement of the main group. Giro d’Italia winner Egan Bernal (Ineos-Grenadiers) then tried to control the pace of their protected rider Pavel Sivakov, but new attacks soon followed.

Aru and Pozzovivo rode well in tandem, following the movements until only 11 riders remained in contention 3 km from the top of the climb. It became quite tactical on the last kilometers uphill but it was Bardet who launched a revealing attack just before the summit and took a 15 ‘gap.

Pozzovivo was part of the first chase group with three other riders, Landa (Bahrain-Victorious), Nieve (Bike-Exchange) and Bouchard (AG2R Citroën), at the start of the descent. Aru followed a few seconds behind in the 2nd chase group.

Bardet came down like a rocket and extended his lead to 35 ″ over the Pozzovivo pursuit group. There was a big scare for Pozzovivo when Bouchard crashed in front of him in one of the many corners, but our Italian managed to stay upright and resumed the chase.

Bardet also slipped very close to the bottom of the descent but wasted hardly any time with an impressive and quick comeback. The Frenchman kept his gap on the line, winning a very good stage victory. Pozzovivo led the 3-rider home pursuit group to take 2nd place on the stage.

Aru would end up in the next group of chasers, just 11 ″ behind the Pozzovivo group, and sprint in 7th place on the stage. The solid performances of our Italian duo allowed Pozzovivo to climb to 3rd place in the general classification and Aru to 4th.

Domenico Pozzovivo
“Today was a stage that suited me better than the first two windy stages. On the last climb we did a good job, with Fabio it’s only Bardet who took Landa and me to the top and we know he’s very strong on the descent. I tried to avoid taking too many risks on the descent. Me, Landa and Nieve tried to get back to Bardet but he was very strong, even on the flat. Finally, I was happy to finish 2nd with a good sprint because it is not my best skill. We are now confidently awaiting our form for the last mountain stage and also for the Vuelta a Espana. “

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the Qhubeka NextHash team.

Media contact:
Jean Smyth (communication manager)
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +27 63 470 1710 or +31 625 739 033

About the Qhubeka NextHash team:
The Qhubeka NextHash team is a goal-driven high performance team, fighting to win on the world’s biggest stage, to inspire hope and create opportunity. Founded in 2007, Team Qhubeka NextHash (formerly NTT Pro Cycling) became the first African cycling team to win a UCI WorldTour license, in 2016.

We had our first major victory in 2013 when Gerald Ciolek won Milan-San Remo, one of the five monuments of cycling. We have participated in six Tour de France and won 7 stage victories, with Mark Cavendish wearing the coveted Yellow Jersey at the Tour de France 2016.

We are a multicultural and diverse team with bases in South Africa, the Netherlands and Italy. There are 19 nationalities represented in our World Tour and Continental Feeder team rosters. Our focus on the development of African cycling has enabled more than 55 riders from the African continent to be offered the opportunity to race on the world stage since the inception of the team.

We run to help people get ahead with cycling through our relationship with Qhubeka Charity. Through our work with Qhubeka, we have helped distribute over 30,000 bikes to communities across South Africa.

About Qhubeka:
Qhubeka is a charity that gets people moving with bikes. People are gaining bicycles through our programs, improving their access to schools, clinics and jobs.

A bicycle is a tool that helps people travel faster, farther, and carry more. In the face of extreme and persistent poverty, bikes can change lives by helping tackle socio-economic challenges at the most basic level – helping people get to where they need to go.

All images attached to the press release may be used with the respective image credit in conjunction with this release.

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Pozzovivo takes 2nd place in Burgos stage 3 – Aru also impresses as the Italian duo climb the GC (1)

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A shoulder injury may have cut short the 2021 season for Grace Brown, but there was no doubt it was the best season of the Australian rider’s career so far, but with big plans underway for the year to come, it may not stay that way for long.

It will be a new team in 2022 for the 29-year-old player who is moving away from the team she started her career with, Team BikeExchange, to join FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope. In addition, she will focus firmly on the Tour de France Women and Paris-Roubaix Women, as well as the road world championships at home and it doesn’t stop there. It may be a post-Olympic year, but there’s certainly no shortage of big goals for 2022 that Brown can afford when asked what would make next season a good one.

“I want to establish myself as one of the leaders of the peloton and have consistent results. Obviously it would be great to get some more WorldTour wins, â€said Brown. Cycling news, smiling as she continued her wishlist for 2022.

“And hopefully a Commonwealth Games medal in the time trial, preferably gold. And yes, I would say a medal at the World Championships, that would be a pretty good year, â€she added with a small laugh.

High hopes, but given how quickly the rider has progressed over her three years as a professional, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to dream big. Even with just 27 days of international racing in 2021, Brown earned her first victory in the Women’s WorldTour, followed by another, seven podiums, 15 top ten and a near-failure of the time trial podium at the Tokyo Olympics. .

An impressive record for a season cut short due to a shoulder injury suffered during the Giro d’Italia Donne. She managed to qualify for the Olympics, but it soon became apparent that her injury was not healing as it should have been and that surgery would be required. This meant there was no choice but to pause and watch from a distance – and hopefully without too many regrets – as the World Championships befitting and the very first Paris -Roubaix feminine was taking place.

“I gave myself a little time to reflect on the fact that it had been a really good year and that I was really proud of the success that I had had and that I put an end to it,†said Brown. . “It was a really great time until my injury, and then it was about saying, okay, now I just have to work on the surgical process and recover from that.

Vision and passion

Brown, 29, made a late start in cycling after giving up running, but quickly found his way into the sport and signed with Australian team GreenEdge, now known as Team BikeExchange, from 2019. In her second season as a professional in 2020, she has already started to stand out with opportunities to step into a managerial position, first due to the departure of Annemiek van Vleuten for Movistar, then with Amanda Spratt faced with problems due to iliac artery endofibrosis.

It was during this first season interrupted by a pandemic that she won her first European victory at Brabantse Pijl before reaching even higher heights in 2021. Given her growth within her national team, she joined the French team which finished eighth in the UCI ranking. this year it wasn’t exactly the expected option, but it was an option she wholeheartedly embraced.

“I spoke to other teams and in the end my instinct was that FDJ was the best fit for me, that cultural fit as well,†Brown said. “The obvious is to stay with GreenEdge, but when I’m done with my career I want a range of experiences and I think that means moving around a bit. I don’t want to be constantly moving, but I think I’ll be a more complete rider if I get out of the comfortable team environment and try something new.

At FDJ, she will join a team that appears to be gaining tremendous momentum, with an array of talented young riders developing and a few key players who cannot be ignored as a threat within the peloton. The longtime team have risen through the ranks over the past two seasons and Brown’s signing in 2022, with young Italian rider Vittoria Guazzini, is part of their plan to rise even higher.

“They had a lot of vision and passion to have me on the team and I was inspired by that and also by what they are trying to do with the team,†said Brown. “It’s a good thing to be a part of that and to be with a team that are really aiming to be on top and are coming a little behind. But yeah, that’s a nice goal they have and that’s inspired me, and I think they also really enjoyed the type of driver that I am and want that style of racing in their team.

It’s not hard to draw parallels between Brown’s attitude in the races and the decision to move on to her new team as she is a runner who looks for opportunities, will defend herself against the big names and, rather than stay seated and play the game safe or let others dictate terms, don’t be afraid to take a risk to try and win.

With these attributes, it’s easy to see why she seems to fit in well with the often-racing animation team of Futuroscope FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine, which includes Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Marta Cavalli, Evita Muzic, Clara Copponi and her compatriot. Australian Brodie Chapman. There she will come in as one of the leaders, who is also perfectly prepared to slip into a supporting role, and the team’s growing firepower means that attack on multiple fronts should more often become a option.

“I think with the other front runners they have on FDJ like Marta and Cecilie they are both very good climbers and I think my strengths compliment them because I’m not the same type of runner. than them, but I think we can really play against each other and get some good results. ”

Targets

Brown’s shoulder injury may have interrupted her season, but she was back on the bike and able to train from October, meaning she’s actually likely to start the season. 2022 before where it usually would be. However, while his form of training may have had time to develop, there was a lot of time between races.

His last event was the Olympic time trial in July, but luckily before heading to Europe there are a few Australian races to ease the transition as even though the international events are canceled there are still events. national in progress.

We spoke to Brown on the sunny foreshore of Geelong in December after the launch of the race that will be his first in more than five months, the Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits. The two-day event on January 8-9, where she will race for the Lexus of Blackburn team, will be an opportunity to test her form ahead of the Australian National Road Championships January 12-16.

First place at the Australian Championships will be the time trial, which she won in 2019, but has finished second behind Sarah Gigante in the past two years. The pair were head and shoulders above their rivals in 2021 but, having faced health issues in 2021, Gigante won’t be defending his title, so Brown looks almost unbeatable. Brown has also been on the podium in road racing for the past two years, but she will be lining up under very different circumstances this year.

As part of Team BikeExchange, Australia’s only women’s world team, Brown has lined up over the past three years with the team that is generally the dominant force in the race, but this year she’s been on the line. will face alone as her only Aussie teammate Chapman won’t. back to racing in Buninyong this time. This means that a different approach is needed.

“It won’t necessarily be harder, you just have to run in a different way when you’re on your own,†Brown said. “I think I have to be a little more courageous in a way. I will only have to commit myself. Depending on how the race goes, I might have to take bigger risks.

After the national championships, attention will then turn to the Santos Festival of Cycling, with a four-day National Road Series event held from January 23-26 to replace the usual international event, which was canceled for a second year in amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During this race, she will lead a young national team, Team Garmin Australia, before returning to Europe and settling in her new team FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope.

Brown said although she doesn’t have her exact schedule yet, she could start with February’s four-stage Setmana Ciclista Valenciana as a warm-up before the cobblestone classics where her main targets will likely be Flanders, where she came third. in 2021, and the second edition of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes. So the next big thing is the Tour de France Women, a huge event for everyone, but especially for a French team, and it’s a race where Brown has said she will target stages.

This will be quickly followed by the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in early August before September offers the rare opportunity to compete in the home world championships in Wollongong, Australia. Brown said that since full routes, lap details and elevation gain details had yet to be released, it was unclear exactly what the route – which crosses the coast before to travel a street circuit and a loop with an ascent of Mount Keira – would bring.

“From the information we have, I think it will be a Classic style race. There’s that longer climb, which is going to work a bit on the attrition in the race and then I expect it to be a bit more punchy towards the end, but it depends on how it all lines up. . But based on the information I have, I think this will be a suitable course for me.

“But, we have to wait and see and also I have to juggle the time trial and road racing so that more information comes out, we can make a better plan around it.”

There may still be some uncertainty around Brown’s exact timeline and plans, especially without all the details of the world being revealed, but there is one thing there is no doubt about.

“It will be a year filled with a lot of great things,†Brown said.

On October 21, 2021, conductor Bernard Haitink passed away at the age of 92.

The driver passed away peacefully at home with his wife and family.

Born in Amsterdam, Haitink was the son of Willem Haitink, a civil servant who would become director of the Amsterdam Electricity Council, and Anna Clara Verschaffelt, who worked for the Alliance Française.

He then studied violin and conducting with Felix Hupka at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, then took conducting lessons with Ferdinand Leitner from 1954 to 1955.

In 1954 he made his conductor’s debut with the Netherlands Radio Union Orchestra and became the second conductor in 1955. In 1957 he became the principal conductor of the orchestra and in 1956 he made his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, replacing Carlo Maria Giulini. . In 1959, he was appointed first conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra and became principal conductor in 1961.

He will begin a long relationship with the orchestra by recording numerous albums for Philips, Decca and EMI Classics. Haitink remained with the orchestra for 27 years until 1988 and 1999, he was appointed honorary conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

The conductor was also an advocate for his musicians and in December 2012, following his advocacy for the RFO following the proposed budget cuts for the orchestra and Dutch music in general, Haitink accepted the title of patron. of the RFO.

Haitink was also principal conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1967 to 1979 and musical director of the Glyndebourne Opera from 1978 to 1988.

At the Royal Opera House he was appointed Music Director from 1987 to 2002. He also served as conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden from 2002 to 2004, when he resigned following disputes with the manager. de la Staatskapelle, Gerd Uecker, on the choice of orchestra. successor. Haitink was also the Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1995 to 2004.

With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Haitink served as principal conductor from 2006 to 2010 and concluded his work with the orchestra with a series of concerts of Beethoven’s complete symphonies.

Throughout his career, Haitink has also been invited to conduct the Orchester National de France, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysée, among others.

Towards the end of his career, Haitink conducted master classes in orchestral conducting for young conductors in Lucerne and in June 2015, the European Union Youth Orchestra announced the appointment of Haitink in as a winning chef.

His last concerts were performed alongside the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic from 2018 to 2019.

Haitink has received numerous awards throughout his career, including Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and Officer of the Order of the Crown, among others. He also won the Grammy Award, the Gramophone Award and the Echo Klassik.

Haitink has also made over 450 recordings, including works by Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Mahler, Shostakovich and Vaughan Williams. He has also recorded the three operas by Mozart / Da Ponte and the complete cycle of operas by Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen. He has also published a book “Dirigieren ist ein Rätsel. “

The conductor is survived by his five children and his wife Patricia Bloomfield.

Anna van der Breggen leaves us asking for more.

The world champion doesn’t end her career with a whimper but is preparing to storm out when she retires at the end of the season. Whatever happens in the remaining months of the season, she will end a career decorated in style.

“I want to end my career with a great full season. Especially after this year, which has been largely lost due to the corona pandemic, I am extremely motivated to continue for another year, â€said van der Breggen when she announced her retirement last year.

“I want to get the best of myself on my bike for one more season. “

Read also : Anna van der Breggen is retiring and she wants you to be ok with that too

It’s hard to imagine a field without the attacking flair and flowing style of van der Breggen, but it’s a reality we’ll have to face. Of course, she will still be there next year as athletic director, but it just won’t be the same.

In many ways, knowing that every race she runs will be the last has freed her to go all-in when the opportunity calls for it.

There won’t be another chance next year.

What a feeling that must be for a rider.

Van der Breggen’s continued dominance this year was made all the more impressive by the fact that she could have won a lot more but gave up some of her winning chances to set up her own teammate.

Read also : La Course by Le Tour de France: Dutch riders look formidable ahead of the Olympic Games

Both at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and at La Course – two of the biggest events on the calendar – she put aside any ambition she might have to lead Demi Vollering to victory. She did the same in last year’s Tour of Flanders and in Strade Bianche 2021, using her own resources to kill dangerous escapes to enable Chantal van der Broek-Blaak.

And yet, it is well at the top of the world ranking.

Perhaps it is her ability to let go of the reins, even when it comes to a race she could win on her own, that sets van der Breggen apart from most champions.

As time goes by in her career, we have to savor her performances and appreciate one of the most talented and stylish riders in the peloton.

Dominating the Giro d’Italia Donne

Van der Breggen’s dominating performance at the Giro d’Italia Donne this week is further proof that she puts in her career time when she wants to, not when she is forced to.

Aside from the slight setback when SD Worx lost to Team Trek-Segafredo in the opening time trial, van der Breggen and his team were hardly wrong in the Italian grand tour.

Van der Breggen looked untouchable when she first came to the top of the race as she destroyed the competition to finish more than a minute ahead of her closest rival, teammate Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. In Monday’s Stage 4 time trial, she had such a great race that she sent 12 runners out of the race because they missed the 30 percent reduction in time.

Read also : As the Anna van der Breggen era draws to a close, SD Worx lays the foundation for future domination

Unless something drastic happens in the next few days, van der Breggen takes victory in the Giro d’Italia Donne. The main question is how much can she earn?

With one more finish at the top of Monte Matajur on stage 9 – the queen stage of the race – the rest of the peloton will have to do everything to prevent the flying Dutchwoman from adding an extra minute or two to her time.

Maybe if Annemiek van Vleuten had been in Italy van der Breggen might have had a tougher fight for the pink, but that does a disservice to the riders running against her. There are some serious climbing skills in the Giro d’Italia Donne peloton, but none have managed to snatch the lead.

With the Olympics on the horizon, her performances in the mountains and in the Giro time trials are a wake-up call for anyone hoping to win gold, including her own Dutch teammates.

Where she runs and what she does at the Olympics remains to be defined, but she will compete at the World Championships in Flanders in September. In the form she possessed in the 2021 season, who would bet against her by adding another set of Rainbow Stripes to her closet, but maybe we’ll see her set up a teammate to be successful. . Someone named Demi Vollering, maybe.

Whatever his schedule over the next few months, we probably have less than 20 more chances to see van der Breggen race before he retires.

Take advantage of it because we will miss her when she is gone.

Big Macs and fries, smiles on a bike and tumbles onto the tarmac because he couldn’t get off his pedals: it’s hard to believe, but Tadej PogaÄar really isn’t that different from all of us.

On the day he won his second Tour de France in just 10 months, Pogacar and his entire UAE-Team Emirates went to McDonald’s in Libourne and had their most unhealthy meal of three weeks.

A little over a decade ago, he was just a happy kid riding a bike and having fun. And a decade after ten years ago, he’s exactly the same: just a happy kid who rides a bike and opts for a Big Mac over a Happy Meal.

He’s an endearing winner of the Tour de France, he’s Tadej. “I’m still pretty young and I love my life,” the 22-year-old told reporters as he nearly got the number two yellow jersey, and just half an hour before ordering a big fat burger .

“If we don’t have fun at what we’re doing, it wouldn’t be great. Having fun is easier for me.”

Pogacar’s grip on the 2021 edition started when he avoided big crashes in stages one and three, then he consolidated his authority with a time-trial victory of the fifth stage, achieved massive gains in the Alps, then consolidated them with consecutive victories in the Pyrenees. His final victory margin in Paris will be 5-20.

How does it feel to be so completely dominant? “For me, it’s like playing games or sports with my brother or my friends as a kid,” he reveals, casually ignoring the enormity of winning once again. biggest cycling race in the world.

“I always try to win and I always have fun and enjoy the sport, the battle between them. Even if I lose sometimes, I accept it. If you are sad or angry about it, it doesn’t do not make any changes.

“I always try to have fun riding and be happy on my bike because it’s a great sport.”

Even the memory of a fall on his first road bike, a soft green aluminum Billato Italian bike, brings a smile. When he first rode it, it was so high for him that his feet could barely touch the ground. “The first training session, he begins, I fell because I didn’t know how to unclip.

“I have very good memories. I trained a lot with my brother on the local roads, a few kilometers from my house, doing laps, full of gas every day. It is a beautiful memory.

Another good memory is how he won this Tour. “My favorite moment was the victory at the Col du Portet,†he confides.

He appeared to be riding at easy speed in week three, not wanting or needing to increase his advantage. He disagrees when asked if he could have won by more.

“I don’t think so. I did my best on this Tour. In the Pyrenees I was super happy to get two wins, but if I’m honest I tried to go earlier [attack] but I couldn’t.

“In the end, it was enough for the stage victories and I was really happy with it. I did my best, my maximum, as I always do. That’s all.”

Pogacar is so relaxed, so childish, so at ease, that when asked if he’s the leader of the peloton it seems like a disbelieving claim to make, and not just because he looks like he is. enter his first adolescence. years.

But then you remember he’s a serial winner. Eddy Merckx was too. And Bernard Hinault. Here’s a generational talent that could eclipse anything that came before.

“I don’t see myself as a boss,” he answers the question. “I don’t like comparisons because every rider is unique and has their own personality and everything.

“Right now I’m not thinking about records. I’m just enjoying the moment. Of course I want to go back to Giro and Vuelta … [but] for the moment I am still relaxed, I will take advantage of Paris tomorrow, the Olympics and then I will see where the path takes me. “

His victory this time around is so different from that of last September, when he spectacularly passed his compatriot Primož RogliÄ in the final time trial. “I think it’s nicer this year because nobody expected it last year, not even myself. I didn’t expect to win at all.

“I was really happy with the second place and there was really a lot of emotion left and right after last year’s TT. But this year I can take advantage of the moment.”

Pogacar will fly to Tokyo after the highlight of the Tour and will be one of the favorites to win Olympic gold next Saturday in the road race.

The timing is not the best because, just like last year due to Covid-19 restrictions, he will not be able to fully celebrate his victory on the Tour.

A shrug of the shoulders. What will be, and all that. “After the Olympics, I hope to find a moment of calm, peace and relaxation,†he says.

It is hard to imagine Pogacar taking a break from his favorite toy, as the bike gives him such happiness. He has an eye on the future, but when you have the fearlessness and the confidence that he has, there is no need to worry about what will come next.

He mentions having won the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España, and a few one-day races. “I want to live it all, give the best of myself in each race,” he beams.

“I do not set myself specific goals for the future,” he concludes. “I’m just trying to be the same.”

More than five months after the heart of the Classics season, the stars of the one-day races are back in Flanders this week to try for a world title. The 2021 UCI Road World Championships will end on Sunday with the elite men’s road race.

As always, many of the biggest names in the sport will be vying for the rainbow jersey, and this year we will have the chance to see them fight for this title in the heart of the cycling race that is the Belgium. The stage is set for a great show.

Here’s what you need to know before the race …

The road

The elite men’s road race at the World Championships covers 268.3 km, starting in Antwerp and ending in Leuven. The geography of the route is best understood when accompanied by a map, as the route jumps several times between two circuits.

After leaving Antwerp, the peloton will head south to Leuven. There, the riders will do a lap and a half on a circuit in the Louvain region, a lap on a larger circuit in the southwest that the organizers have named the Flandrien circuit, four more laps of the Louvain circuit, another lap of the Flandrien circuit, then two and a half laps of the Louvain circuit to close things.

Although the “Flanders Worlds†may be reminiscent of the Tour of Flanders, the event is directed more towards the territory of Brabantse Pijl. A continuous stream of very short but hard-hitting climbs awaits once the peloton arrives in Leuven, and the climbs accumulate until a total elevation gain of 2,562 meters. None of the climbs are that difficult on their own, but most could be a launching pad for a lone striker or a small group trying to extricate themselves from a tired pack at the end of the race.

The last ascent of the Smeysberg on the Flandrien circuit could be an interesting place for a long move twice in the final) could see the attacks fly. Regardless of the size of the leading group in the final, the finish is slightly uphill, which will add an additional element of intrigue in the final moments of the race.

It will be interesting to see how the weather affects the races in Flanders. As of Friday, the forecast calls for rain in the morning, things should clear up as the day progresses, but with the wind also picking up in the afternoon.

Favorites

While there are plenty of riders worthy of contender status for the elite men’s road race at Flanders Worlds, it should be a fairly open race without any rider enjoying a privileged status at the front of the peloton. . The nature of the route plays a big role. With two days to go, it’s hard to say if it will be a solo attacker, a small group or even a small group sprint. In addition, this is a global race, which means that national teams of different sizes will be responsible for keeping things under control, which can make things unpredictable, as we saw at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. In other words, there are a lot of names up for grabs as potential winners here.

The one that stands out the most is Wout Van Aert, who heads up a strong home team. Van Aert’s big engine, strong climbing legs and elite kick make him a potential winner in virtually any scenario, and he showed off his strong form with an impressive Tour of Britain and a second place in the individual time trial at the Worlds last Sunday. Belgian fans have reason to be optimistic with a rider who won Milan-San Remo, Amstel Gold Race, Gent-Wevelgem and Strade Bianche leading on a course like this.

Additionally, the Belgians have a bit more firepower as a team than in Tokyo to chase late hits or even try something on their own. Remco Evenepoel, Jasper stuyven, and Yves Lampaert will make great lieutenants and maybe some extra cards for the team to play.

Van Aert’s longtime rival Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) is another obvious candidate. The course suits him as well, the biggest question mark being his health after dealing with back problems for some time now. That said, he won the Port of Antwerp Epic earlier this month, and he is Mathieu van der Poel, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in great shape. Despite having a quick finish himself, Van der Poel is perhaps best placed to launch a late attack, so keep an eye out for the Dutchman in the late climbs.

The defending champion, Julien alaphilippe (France), would probably have preferred a more difficult course, but if he hits a big blow in one of the late climbs, he could potentially break free. He won the Brabante Pijl last year on similar terrain, and his good performances at the Bretagne Classic and the Tour of Britain suggest he is in great shape.

Benoît Cosnefroy will give France a solid second option, with Arnaud Démare also present, hoping to hold on just in case it boils down to a bigger sprint.

Sonny colbrelli headliner for the Italian team, and he enters the race in fantastic form after winning the Benelux Tour, the European road title and the Memorial Marco Pantani. The most prestigious victories have escaped the very talented Colbrelli so far in his career, but this World Cup suits him perfectly. He doesn’t mind a rough day on the bike followed by a reduced sprint, and there’s a good chance that is the way this race is going. His teammate Mattéo Trentino makes a great backup option for Italy.

The Danes have perhaps the most interesting team in this race. In my opinion, there are no less four potential winners in the formation of Denmark, with the winner of the Tour of Flanders Kasper Asgreen open the way. Asgreen did well in the Worlds TT, finishing fourth, just two seconds off the podium. Michel valgren and Magnus cort both showcased their form with recent wins as well, and Mads Pedersen is of course a former world champion who thrives on classic grounds. If all four are feeling good, Denmark could potentially try to make or jump into moves with Valgren, Cort and Asgreen, and look to Pedersen if things end in a bigger sprint. Apart from the Belgians with the best pre-race favorite, the Danes seem to be the team most likely to win the world title, one way or another.

Slovenia also have an intriguing squad with three big names who will all try to get out of the field and avoid a sprint. Matej mohoric, who used to thrive on this terrain in the race now known as the Benelux Tour, had a great year, winning two stages of the Tour de France as well as a few other big results. And then, of course, there is Tadej Pogacar and Primož RogliÄ, who are much better day riders than the ones we are used to seeing among the Grand Tour champions these days.

If anything, the Slovenians at least have the firepower to make this race an interesting race.

Four years ago, Pierre Sagan (Slovakia) would probably have been the number one favorite for this race, but it has been a while since he showed the kind of dominance that has made him such a strong contender throughout the calendar. Still, he’s only 31 and if he’s in good shape he certainly has the tools and the experience to be in the mix. Michael matthews (Australia) is another runner with the versatility and experience to be a competitor. Like Sagan, he would have been more of a favorite a few years ago, but he’s still a runner to watch. Australia also Caleb Ewan; it would be a surprise to see him hold on to the final, but if he can, he would obviously be a competitor in a sprint.

Other foreigners to watch out for include Tom pidcock, Ethan Hayter, and Marc Cavendish (Britain), Marc Hirschi (Switzerland), Alexandre kristoff (Norway), and Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland).

We won’t have long to wait now to see how it all plays out. The battle for the elite men’s road world title kicks off Sunday at 10:25 a.m. local time, and that evening we’ll find out who earned the right to wear the rainbow stripes for next year.

Eritrean Biniam Girmay is aiming for further success for his country and himself after winning silver in the men’s under-23 race at the World Road Cycling Championships in Belgium on Friday.

Girmay’s sprint to silver behind Italian winner Filippo Baroncini has bolstered Eritrea’s reputation as Africa’s premier cycling nation and he is already looking to the future.

“I got the money but one day I hope to take the rainbow jersey (given to the senior world champions) – maybe in 2025, in Rwanda,“he said after the race.

“The world championships will be in Kigali. It would be fantastic to win there.”

Despite his success which propelled him into the limelight, Girmay is determined to keep his feet on the pedals.

“This [the silver medal] is for all of us Eritreans, “he told BBC Sport Africa.” Right now I’m not the big star – there are some taller than me.

“We ride a bike to get results and a good career, so hopefully I can get more results like this.”

italian influence

In some ways it was fitting for Girmay to finish behind an Italian given the impact the European nation has had on Eritrean cycling.

“A lot of Italians lived in Eritrea and they started to run. People started to like the sport,†says Natnael Berhane, who has taken part in the three Grand Cycling Tours in France, Spain and Italy.

“That’s why it has become such a popular sport in Eritrea. You have 35 days of racing a year, which is a lot, almost every Sunday. The fans and the media have come. It has given cycling a boost.”

This popularity translated into Eritrea’s success at the continental level with six wins, more than any other country, in the elite men’s road race at the African Road Championships.

The country’s biggest achievement globally came during the 2015 Tour de France, when Daniel Teklehaimanot became the first African to wear the polka dot jersey and Merhawi Kudus, then 21, was the youngest rider in the peloton. .

“Berhane, Kudus and Teklehaimanot opened the door,” says Girmay. “I was 15 when Teklehaimanot stepped onto the podium. Come to think of it, I’m still moved. It was a big step. They opened the doors.”

While his fellow cyclists provided him with inspiration, it was his relatives who provided the support as well as the world sports body, the UCI.

Hover in Aigle

Supported by his parents, family and friends, Girmay bought a mountain bike as a teenager before switching to a road bike which allowed him to gain recognition locally.

In 2018, he went on to complete a sweep of road races, individual and team time trials at the African Junior Road Championships.

He honed his skills that year at the UCI World Cycling Center in Aigle, Switzerland, but a young Girmay was homesick.

“I needed my family, but the UCI understood me, so I stayed for three months and then I went home for three months,” said Girmay.

“It wasn’t difficult, but you still miss your mom and dad. The year after, I adjusted. I said, ‘It’s my job, I like to cycle, I ‘love to run in Europe and it is also my dream, I am also living my dream “.

The UCI invites runners from backgrounds that could prevent them from reaching the elite in Aigle and the center has played a central role in the development of Girmay, Kudus, Teklehaimanot and Berhane.

At the foot of the Swiss Alps, all have received guidance, acquired experience and visibility to help them take them to the next level.

“If the UCI center did not exist, we would be stranded, stranded in Eritrea,” explains Berhane. “The younger generation of Girmay and Natnael Tesfatsion ride to win, which is a good example for young Eritrean riders to be motivated.

“Eritrean runners are now thinking about how to become a professional. When Teklehaimanot and I arrived there was not a single professional. We struggled a lot to reach that level.”

With Girmay in the books of the Belgian Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert team, Eritrea now has four riders (Kudus, Berhane and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier also) in teams competing at the World Tour level, the highest level in professional cycling.

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Nairo Quintana will lead the Arkéa-Samsic team during this year’s edition of Paris-Nice, from March 6 to 13, 2022.

In the weeks leading up to the early-season stage race known as the “Course au Soleil”, Quintana also plans to launch the Tour de la Provence (February 10-13), the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var ( February 18-20), and the Ardèche Classic (February 26).

“Nairo will start the 2022 season with a ‘classic’ program which worked perfectly for him two seasons ago when he joined the Arkéa-Samsic team. He has a reference for his training with a sporting year which will start with the Tour de la Provence”, declared the sports director of Arkéa-Samsic, Yvon Ledanois. “He will then go on to the Tour of the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var, then the Faune Ardèche, before Paris-Nice. The highlights of his season will be Paris-Nice and the Tour of Catalonia, a program which was planned two years ago but which could not be carried out due to the pandemic.

Read also : Nairo Quintana all-in for one more Tour de France race

Quintana won the green jersey and overall in the 2020 Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var. He also took the GC victory in the Tour de la Provence the same year.

At Paris-Nice 2021, Primož Roglič nearly secured the race until a series of accidents and a dislocated shoulder on the final stage put the three-time Vuelta a España winner out of action. These unfortunate events allowed Max Schachmann to claim a second consecutive overall victory.

While ‘Nairoman’ will lead the French team in France, Nacer Bouhanni and Warren Barguil will overlap at a few events in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

The team registered in Barguil for the Mallorca Challenge (January 26-30). He will continue with the Vuelta a Murcia (February 12) before heading to the Volta ao Algarve (February 16-20). Then it’s off to the Classics of Ardèche and Drôme (February 26 and 27). The following week, Barguil will be at the start of the Strade Bianche (March 5), then he will continue a campaign in Italy, in Tirreno-Adriatico (March 7-13), and will crown the campaign in Milano-Turin (March 16).

In 2019, Barguil finished third in the Drôme Classic. He returned the following year, in 2020, to finish one place better, in second place.

“Warren will start the 2022 season with the Trofeo de Mallorca and then race the Vuelta de Murcia and the Volta Ao Algarve in Portugal, where he will be named leader, then he will look back on a classic weekend for him, consisting of the Faun Ardèche and the Classic de Drôme. He will then compete in the Strade Bianche, which he did well in 2014, with a fine eighth place in Siena”, specifies sports director Yvon Caër.

Bouhanni also has a multi-country campaign to kick off his 2022 season and has plans for the Saudi Tour (February 1-5), followed by La Clasica de Almeiria, Spain (February 13) and Drôme Classic (February 27) . Bouhanni also has plans for the Milano-Sanremo monument on March 19.

“The return of the Saudi Tour to the 2022 calendar allows us to team up with Nacer, which in 2020 opened its victory account under our colors for this event,” said sporting director Sébastien Hinault. “The change of program for him this year is due to the fact that he will play Tirreno-Adriatico which will be for him a different approach from Milano-Sanremo which as everyone knows remains one of his main objectives.”

Barguil and Bouhanni will share managerial duties at Tirreno-Adriatico.

In 2021, Tadej Pogačar won the overall in the season-opening Italian stage race known as the “Race of Two Seas”.