The final weeks of the 2021 European road racing season will feature a new series of races organized by Filippo Pozzato in the Veneto region of northern Italy with an innovative professional gravel race placed between the Giro del Veneto Wednesday October 13 and the new Veneto. Classic on Sunday October 17.

The Serenissima Gravel race will take place on Friday October 15, with a Granfondo VENEtoGO ride on Saturday October 16 open to the public.

The series of races and rides is called “Ride The Dreamland” and was officially presented at the Venice Casino on Thursday evening. The aim of the racing series is to promote cycling and tourism in the Veneto region.

Pozzato, originally from Sandrigo near Vicenza, in the heart of Veneto, retired in 2018 after a 15-year professional career including victory at Milan-San Remo. He successfully organized the Italian National Championships in 2020 with his business partner Jonny Moletta and hopes to secure a place in the WorldTour for the Veneto Classic race.

Pozzato will also host a round of the new Cyclocross World Cup on December 12 in Vermiglio, in the region of Val di Sole which recently hosted the MTB World Championships.

“Our concept for events is focused on offering the public a full range of events, not just a bike race. It has been months and months of hard work by our whole group and now we are ready for the start of something special, â€said Pozzato in Venice.

“Our special thanks go to our partners, the Regione Veneto but also the Veneto Federation of the BCC, Campagnolo, Wilier, Sidi, Elite and Vittoria. Without their support, this multi-year project would not have seen the light of day.

“UCI President David Lappartient told us that if things go well we can aim to have the Veneto Classic in the WorldTour in two or three years. We would like to see the start of the race in Saint Mark’s Square in the heart of Venice and thus create one of the most spectacular race starts ever, â€Pozzato explained to Tuttobici.

Pozzato and Moletta had to establish ad hoc special rules for professional serious racing with the Italian Federation.

It remains to be seen which renowned riders will participate in the Giro del Veneto, Serenissima Gravel and Veneto Classic, with some classic riders ending their season after Paris-Roubaix on October 2 and others after Il Lombardia on October 9. However, a quality start list is expected, including a number of WorldTour teams.

The 168 km Giro del Veneto will start in Cittadella and end in Padua after a loop to Vicenza, the homeland of Campagnolo, then south into the hills of the Colli Euganei. The race will also visit Vo ‘Euganeo, one of the first places in Italy to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 126.6km Serenissima Gravel Race will start in the seaside resort of Jesolo north of Venice and head inland on the Sile and Treviso-Ostiglia cycle paths before ending in Piazzola sul Brenta near Padua . It includes 11 sections of gravel roads that represent approximately 75 percent of the race distance. The race ends with three 11 km laps around Piazzola sul Brenta so that spectators can see the race several times.

The 113 km Granfondo VENEtoGO race will start and end in Cittadella. Click here enter.

The 209.9 km Veneto Classic will start in Venice and visit Treviso, Conegliano and the Prosecco Hills before ending in Bassano del Grappa after three 13.8 km circuits that include the ascent of La Rosina and the cobbled ascent of Muro della Tisa.

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.

Most pro teams are currently gearing up for the 2022 season with new bikes, kits and riders. Israel – Premier Tech is preparing for the new season in Girona, Spain. Many cycling teams go there because of the reliable weather, good roads and climbs.

The team announced some big news last week with the official news of Premier Tech joining as a co-sponsor. The deal had been in the works for some time, but on Thursday it was announced that Israel Start-up Nation would become Israel-Premier Tech through 2024, with the Canadian company changing title sponsorship from Astana after a year.

Israel Start-up Nation obtains title sponsorship from Canada and becomes Israel-Premier Tech

Israel-Premier Tech has five Canadian riders: Guillaume Boivin, Alex Cataford, Hugo Houle, James Piccoli and Michael Woods. Canadian road legend Steve Bauer is its new sporting director. The continental team, Israel Cycling Academy, has Derek Gee as rider and Gord Fraser as athletic director.

The team received bad news upon discovering that 17 of their Factor bikes had been stolen from the truck overnight. This isn’t the first time a top team have had their bikes ripped off, at the 2021 UCI Track World Championships the Italian team had their super expensive Pinarellos stolen. Fortunately, they were recovered.

Are the thieves who stole Italian track bikes the dumbest criminals ever?

It’s unclear if the bikes belonged to Israel-Premier Tech or Israel Cycling Academy, but either way, it’s not a good way to start the season.

Today 17 from our Israel Cycling Academy @FactorBikes were stolen from the team’s truck near Girona, Spain. The frames are silver, red and black as shown below.

Please contact us if anyone has any information pic.twitter.com/yKqkVg5jft

— Israel – Premier Tech / Israel Cycling Academy (@IsraelPremTech) January 17, 2022

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.

Regarding my candidacy for the presidency of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), I am pleased to declare that my electoral campaign is continuing fully, said Farid Gayibov, president of European gymnastics, Trend reports citing his statement.

“In September, our offline meetings resumed after a long interval. During the pandemic, we held our European Championships in 2020 with the aim of conserving our events and giving our athletes the opportunity to compete in safe conditions. , overcoming the challenges we however only met to discuss our administrative issues face to face in Lausanne (SUI) on September 11-12, 2021.

Frankly, there is a big difference between online and offline meetings. This time around, we had lively discussions, in particular, regarding the theme of the strategy for the new cycle on the agenda …

But, first of all, I would like to stress that we have achieved our objective which we have been pursuing for 4 years. We have increased our funds thanks to the contracts we have concluded with our partners – SmartScoring, Eurovision and device suppliers (Gymnova, Janssen Fritsen, Spieth & Eurotramp). The Organizers of the European Championships have benefited considerably from these contracts. As a result, interest in hosting our events has increased. Thus, we managed to assign the events even for 2024.

… And, now, keeping in mind all the achievements and stable development, having funds to invest in other projects, we have deliberated on our new strategy for the next few years. We have clearly defined plans and tasks for ourselves that we need to finalize at our next meeting.

At our September meeting, technical regulations for 2022 and 2023, accreditation rules, medical rules and other regulations were approved. We also discussed preparations for the meeting of European gymnastics member federations in Frankfurt to be held tomorrow.

Impressed by the meetings and our fruitful discussions with our partners on our continued cooperation in Lausanne, I traveled to Pesaro (ITA).

This city is known as a frequent host of gymnastics events. And, this time, they opened their doors to members of the European Gymnastics family for 3 consecutive weeks. First, the European Aerobic Gymnastics Championships took place (September 17-19) followed by European competitions by age groups (September 23-26) and the European Championships (September 29 – October 3) of acrobatic gymnastics.

It was remarkable to see that the number of countries participating in the European Championships in aerobic and acrobatic gymnastics was almost the same as we had at this year’s World Championships in these disciplines. It can be associated with several factors and reasons including the global pandemic. This gives us a positive sign that we are gradually returning to a normal life. I congratulate all the winners of the European events. Thanks to the excellent work done by the Italian Gymnastics Federation, its Local Organizing Committee in close collaboration with the Technical Committees and the staff of European Gymnastics, we have had successful events. I am sure the Gymnastics family will be happy to return to Italy to participate in future events planned here in the near future.

September 13 marked the death of Bruno Grandi, who led the FIG for 20 years. A remarkable man with strong leadership and a love for our sport. We had the honor to visit his family and his resting place to pay homage to him and to show that we will always remember him as a friend, a leader and for all that he contributed to gymnastics .

As many of you know, last month I was appointed Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I am very grateful for all the kind messages and warm wishes I have received from all of you. I think it is a good stimulus for our gymnastics family that one of its members has become Minister of Sports, and I see it as a testament to the work we have done together to improve and popularize our sport both at the level national and international.

Regarding my candidacy for the presidency of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), I am pleased to report that my electoral campaign is continuing in all its glory. Following my appointment as Minister, I continued my commitments and responsibilities as President of European Gymnastics, attending all Gymnastics meetings, championships and events. The same will apply in the event of success in the FIG elections. As we all know, the activity of a President or a member of the Executive Committee within European Gymnastics or the FIG, is based on principles of volunteerism and should not be affected by time jobs. full that we all have. In my case, I only see positive impacts that could affect gymnastics, and I am determined to contribute to the good of our sport, to build policies and strategies for the progress of our disciplines, to involve the right partners to ensure the global development, and find new tools contributing to the prosperity of Affiliated Federations. We can achieve whatever we set for ourselves when we unite our ideas and steer our ship together as one.

The Golden Age Festival in Rethymno (GRE) started yesterday. The Hellenic Gymnastics Federation deserves special thanks as they have gone out of their way to organize the postponed events of 2020. This sporting event is unique in that it is inclusive for people aged 50 and over. Unique in the world !

Prior to the November Congress, the Artistic Gymnastics (October 18-24) and Rhythmic Gymnastics (October 27-31) World Championships will be hosted by Kitakyushu (JPN). Unfortunately, as a member of the FIG Executive Committee, I will not be able to attend these World Championships due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has been a difficult year for our gymnasts following the pandemic, the Olympics and all the hard work and stress that goes with it. You deserve more than praise, and I firmly believe this is something we should start working on. I have mentioned several times that our gymnasts deserve more recognition on a global scale for all the hard work they do, and I think the “Gymnasts Of the Year Awards†and the increase in the prize fund during this period. competitions would be a great starting point to give back.

I wish success to all the gymnasts who will participate in the last major events of the year, “he wrote.

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.

Filippo Ganna has no regrets and no disappointments after settling for the silver medal in the time trial at the European Championships on Thursday.

As the Italian has dominated over the past 12 months, any place other than first place is widely greeted with some degree of surprise.

But the world champion insisted that “the second is still an excellent result” and that “a silver medal is still on the list”.

Ganna looked like he was heading for victory as he clocked the fastest time halfway through the 22.4km Trento course, then turned into a tailwind for the break-in. However, the last rider on the course, defending champion Stefan Küng, made a big negative gap and crossed the line eight seconds off the mark.

“We knew who the opponents were to beat. There were a lot of champions and Küng was one to watch,” said Ganna.

“I cannot consider second place a disappointment. What should those behind in this case do? Hang himself ? “

Ganna had tasted gold at these European Championships before, helping Italy to win the team time trial on Wednesday. He said he wasn’t feeling quite his best on Thursday, but dismissed any suggestion he should have skipped the team event.

“I don’t regret a thing. I don’t think it cost me that much energy. We’re used to driving six hours a day in stage races,” he said.

“Yesterday [Wednesday] I have become a beautiful European champion. I don’t mind having a gold and a silver on my shoulders. The sensations weren’t great in the morning, but I would make the same choices anyway. “

The race was an important benchmark leading up to the World Championships, where the elite men’s individual time trial kicks off the event one week on Sunday. Küng placed himself at the heart of the favorites list, while Remco Evenepoel showed that he was once again close to his best level with third place in the Euros on a course which was undoubtedly better suited to the bigger riders of Ganna and Küng.

Ganna referred to the recent Olympic time trial, where, despite a runaway winner at Primož RogliÄ, the rest of the top four of Tom Dumoulin, Rohan Dennis, Küng and himself were only five apart. seconds.

“Everything is so close to each other. Just look at the Olympics, where we finished with four in five seconds,†he said.

“Details make the difference, it’s about seconds. Every second you save makes a difference.”

The Worlds time trial will take place next Sunday in Flanders, and although it is flat like the course in Trento, it is almost twice as long at 43.3 km.

“I have a good workload behind me heading into the World Championships, although we have to focus on Sunday’s road race first,†concluded Ganna.

“I am honestly happy. I won a silver medal, another to add to my collection. I also remain confident for the next week.”

The 22 track bikes stolen from the Italian team at the world championships in Roubaix are back in Italy after the team’s mechanics traveled to Romania to collect them from local police.

The bikes were valued at over € 400,000 and included 12 Pinarello Bolide bikes and the four gold bikes used by Philippe Ganna and his Olympic team pursuit gold medalist teammates.

Several bikes were fitted with custom 3D printed titanium handlebars, while the Team Pursuit team’s gold bikes are valued at € 30,000 each.

According to The Gazzetta dello Sport, 10 other road bikes belonging to different riders were also recovered and taken to Italy but several wheels are missing.

The bikes were stolen from a van parked outside the Italian hotel during the track world championships in Roubaix in October. The bikes were due to be brought back to Italy but thieves struck overnight at the Italian team’s hotel in Lille.

The bicycles were discovered by the Romanian police when they caught the criminals trying to sell the bicycles.

The bikes were recovered during house searches which also uncovered other stolen goods, including eight televisions, 10 cell phones, drugs and € 2,800 in cash. 20 people were arrested in connection with the operation.

The Italian Cycling Federation was worried about getting the bikes back, but after hiring a lawyer to complete the paperwork, the mechanics of the national team traveled to Romania on Monday and brought them back to Italy.

According to The Gazzetta dello Sportby Ciro Scognamiglio, the bikes are now secured at the Montichiari velodrome near Brescia.

“They loaded the bikes on Monday and left Romania immediately. Now the bikes are back in Italy, at the Montichiari velodrome. They are all there, only a few wheels are missing, â€said Italian Federation President Cordiano Dagnoni. The Gazzetta dello Sport.

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.

1950	Marcel Molinès, white Algerian and member of the French team from North Africa, wins the 13th stage in Nîmes
2007	Robert Hunter, a white South African, wins stage 11 in Montpellier
2013	Daryl Impey, also a white South African, becomes the first African to wear the Tour leader’s yellow jersey after stage six. Kenya-born Briton Chris Froome follows two days later and wins the race
2015	Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimanot becomes the first African to wear the polka dot jersey, as leader of the King of the Mountains category

Filippo Ganna, Elia Viviani, Elisa Balsamo and Letizia Paternoster are part of a strong Italian squad for this week’s UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Roubaix, with the Azzurri looking to continue their success in 2021 after winning a series of medals at the Games Tokyo Olympics.

The track world championships were scheduled for spring but were moved at the end of the European season and from Turkmenistan to France and due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The races begin with Team Pursuit qualifying laps on Wednesday afternoon in the Jean Stablinski covered velodrome in Roubaix – right next to the famous open-air velodrome – and continue with afternoon and evening racing sessions through see you on Sunday.

Ganna is once again the anchor of the Italian team pursuit team and will also be aiming for a fifth individual pursuit title. His biggest rivals are new world record holder Ashton Lambie of the United States and his young teammate Jonathan Milan, who recently won the European title.

Viviani finished her 2021 road racing season with Cofidis on Sunday, but will be on the boards later this week in the Open and individual races. He won the Omnium at the Rio Olympics in 2016, but surprisingly never won a world title on the track.

The Italian men’s athletics team also includes Liam Bertazzo, Davide Boscaro, Simone Consonni, Francesco Lamon, Manlio Moro and Michele Scartezzini.

Balsamo will swap her road racing world champion jersey for the Italian blue colors to participate in the endurance events.

She crashed suddenly in Tokyo during the Open but came back in good shape. She and Letizia Paternoster will likely team up for Madison and also move up to Team Pursuit, in a young endurance team that also includes Martina Alzini, Rachele Barbieri, Chiara Consonni, Silvia Zanardi and Martina Fidanza. Miriam Vece will compete in the sprint events.

The Roubaix World Championships will likely be the last moment in Dino Savoldi’s long career as head coach of the Italian national team on both road and track.

He helped create the success of the Italian national team for more than 20 years, with athletes winning 250 medals, but is widely expected to be sidelined by new Italian president Cordiano Dagnoni.