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We warm up for the Tour de France with the national championships. We have gathered as many as we could, some with video. American riders make statement against abortion law – TOP STORY. Tour news: The team start to list their Tour riders. Rider news: Davide Rebellin announces last race. Team news: Lotto Soudal Development Team goes Continental, EOLO-Kometa’s Lorenzo Fortunato injury, new riders for Jumbo-Visma Development Team, Negasi Haylu Abreha top African rider at the Baby Giro and Andrea Piccolo signs with Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli. Race news: CERATIZIT Challenge, Arctic Race of Norway and Deutschland Tour teams and Pontevedra to host 2024 European cyclo-cross championships. Cipollini to go to prison? You can help Amy Pieters by Crowdfunding.

TOP STORY: American Riders Make Statement Against Abortion Law In the United States the amendment to the law by the American Supreme Court has been in the news for several weeks. On Friday, the highest court in the United States decided to reverse women’s constitutional right to an abortion after 49 years.

That decision has been puzzling for weeks and the subject was put under the hammer on Friday. The historic and much-discussed Roe v. Wade from 1973 was overturned by the Supreme Court. That case made abortion a constitutional right for all women in the United States. Some states are now threatening to abolish the right to abortion. As an example: a woman who becomes pregnant by the perpetrator after being raped, is then no longer allowed to have an abortion due to the constitutional amendment.

It has been stirring the international media for weeks. The US Time Trial and Road Championships took place this week in Knoxville. That is in the state of Tennessee, which is one of the states that now threatens to abolish the right to abortion. The American criterium championship was on Friday and prior to that, the riders decided to kneel in protest against the constitutional amendment while listening to the national anthem.

The riders showed her displeasure by ‘taking the knee’ while the American national anthem was played.

Belgian Elite Men’s Road Championships 2022 Tim Merlier is the new Belgian road champion. In Middelkerke the result came down to a photo finish to show the Alpecin-Fenix ​​rider was the fastest finisher. Jordi Meeus and Jasper Philipsen were only just second and third.

The course for Belgian Championships in Middelkerke was billiard table flat for the 208 kilometres, and so the battle for the Belgian jersey was expected to be a bunch sprint. This wasn’t what happened as the race was very fast. In the early part of the race a strong leading group broke away, with strong riders such as Quinten Hermans, Oliver Naesen, Eli Iserbyt, Bert Van Lerberghe, Ludovic Robet, Maxim Van Gils, Brent Van Moer, Gianni Vermeersch, Milan Fretin, Dorian De Maeght, Kenny Molly, Andreas Goeman, Thomas Joseph and Timo Kielich. Their maximum lead was 6 minutes. In De Moeren, the peloton split into two pieces. Remco Evenepoel was the biggest victim of this split; he ended up in a second group. The gap to the leading group also decreased and when entering Middelkerke, the gap had almost gone. Only Van Moer, Vermeersch, Robeet, Hermans and Kielich tried to push on for a while.

When they were caught the storm broke with many attacks, plus a nasty crash with Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier, other teams attacked as they wanted to get rid of all the sprinters. Yves Lampaert, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Jasper Stuyven were all active. Sep Vanmarcke had the most success of all attackers and took off with about 50 kilometres to go. Along with Florian Vermeersch, Fabio Van den Bossche, Jasper Philipsen, Stuyven, Tosh Van der Sande, Stan Dewulf, Tom Van Asbroeck, Lindsay De Vilder, Tim Declercq and Peter Serry, their lead quickly increased to 1 minute, the race seemed over after that. However, on the last lap everything changed. Lotto Soudal decided to once again increase the pace in the peloton and Vanmarcke and Stuyven decided to attack again. The two looked like they might be successful, but the race came down to a sprint in Middelkerke. After the four riders were caught, about thirty riders sprinted for the win. A photo-finish had to split Merlier and Meeus on the line, Philipsen and Dupont were third and fourth.

Belgian Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix at 4:20:55 2. Jordi Meeus (Bel) BORA-hansgrohe 3. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4. Sasha Weemaes (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 5. Milan Menten (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB 6. Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto Soudal 7. Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB 8. Dries Van Gestel (Bel) TotalEnergies 9. Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels-KTM 10. Daan Soete (Bel) Group Hens–Maes Containers.

Spanish Elite Men’s Road Championships 2022 Carlos Rodríguez is the new Spanish road champion. The 21-year-old INEOS Grenadiers rider broke away on the final pass of the Coll de sa Creu and went on to solo to his first title with the pros.

The Spanish champs were held on the island of Mallorca, 186 kilometres from Cala Millor to Palma. After a long relatively flat run-up, the riders had four difficult circuits, with the Coll de sa Creu (6km at 5%) every lap. After the last passage over the Coll de sa Creu, it was a very fast descent to the finish in Palma.

With defending champion Omar Fraile, two-time champion Jesús Herrada, Alex Aranburu, Carlos Rodríguez, Ion Izagirre and Roger Adrià, there were several interesting riders at the start. Three riders made up the break: Marc Brustenga (Trek-Segafredo), Iván Romeo (Hagens Berman Axeon) and Joan Martí Bennassar (Manuela Fundación Continental), jumped away from the peloton and managed a maximum lead of more than 5 minutes. Of the three escapees, Romeo turned out to have the strongest legs. The 18-year-old rode away from his fellow escapees and was solo ahead of the peloton for a while. Romeo was swallowed by the peloton well before the finish. This was the signal for many riders to attack. Forty-five year-old Óscar Sevilla and Mikel Nieve got away, but these attempts were nipped in the bud fairly quickly.

With more than 30 kilometres to go, on the penultimate passage of the Coll de sa Creu, the top riders came forward. Alex Aranburu, third in the Spanish title race last year, was joined by Carlos Rodríguez, Jesús Herrada, Roger Adrià and Juan Ayuso. These five managed to build up a nice lead and would fight for the championship. The decision came on the last time up the Coll de sa Creu. Rodríguez was too strong for the competition and left his opponents. Herrada and Aranburu struggled on, but were unable to pull the INEOS rider back. Rodríguez started the descent of the Coll de sa Creu with about 20 seconds and was able to extend his lead over the following kilometres. The promising climber had plenty of time at the finish to celebrate his first national road title. The sprint for second place was won by Herrada, Aranburu had to settle for third place, the same as last year.

Spanish Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Carlos Rodríguez (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers in 4:21:43 2. Jesús Herrada (Spa) Cofidis at 0:51 3. Alex Aranburu (Spa) Movistar 4. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates at 2:04 5. Roger Adrià (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 6. Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar 7. Alejandro Ropero (Spa) EOLO-Kometa 8. Ander Okamika (Spa) Burgos-BH 9. Joel Nicolau (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 10. Txomin Juaristi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi at 3:02.

British Elite Men’s Road Championships 2022 Mark Cavendish has become British road champion for the second time and the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider didn’t win in a bunch sprint. At the end of a tough day in Scottish weather and hard roads, Cavendish out-sprinted his two final companions, Sam Watson and Alexandar Richardson to win the national championships.

Cavendish had been in the action at the front all day and was part of a leading group of five in the finalé. Ben Turner, Matthew Bostock, Sam Watson and Alexandar Richardson. Of them, Turner seemed the strongest. On the hilly course, the INEOS rider attacked several times, but each time the others were able to return. Only Bostock was dropped, due to a crash, towards the end of the race. In the final kilometre Richardson tried his luck, but his attack was neutralised by Watson, who eventually lost to Cavendish in a sprint. Richardson was third.

British champion, Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl): “I came good out of the Giro, I’m going so much better than last year and you know what happened last year I won four stages of the Tour de France and the green jersey. It’s unlikely I’ll go to the Tour de France so I might as well use it today and at least show the reason I’m not going on the Tour is not because of bad form. I love the nationals, it’s a racing race. Especially around this course. You just have to put yourself in the race. Quite often I sit and have to sprint but I enjoy racing. This course gave me the possibility of that. We’ve got a lot of classic style riders in Great Britain now and to race like that with these guys is pretty special.”

British Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Mark Cavendish (GB) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl 2. Sam Watson (GB) Groupama-FDJ 3. Alexandar Richardson (GB) Le Col 4. Ben Turner (GB) INEOS Grenadiers 5. Matthew Bostock (GB) WiV Sungod 6. Lewis Askey (GB) Groupama-FDJ 7. Connor Swift (GB) Arkea-Samsic 8. Owain Doull (GB) EF Education-EasyPost 9. Ethan Hayter (GB) INEOS Grenadiers 10. John Archibald (GB).

French Elite Men’s Road Championships 2022 Florian Sénéchal is the 2022 French road champion. After 240 kilometres Sénéchal was faster than Anthony Turgis and Axel Zingle in a sprint of five riders. Warren Barguil and Benjamin Thomas were also part of the decisive escape.

There was a strong break at the start of the French championships: Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Clément Champoussin, Benoît Cosnefroy, Valentin Paret-Peintre (AG2R Citroën), Pierre Latour, Valentin Ferron, Fabien Doubey, Geoffrey Soupe (TotalEnergies) and Clément Russo. Although they got a few minutes ahead of the peloton, they couldn’t stay out of their hands. A regrouping followed with 32 kilometres to go.

Then Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), Adrien Petit (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) and Rémi Cavagna (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) attacked on the Côte de la Séguinière. Burgaudeau would drop out on the descent. Despite a maximum lead of 30 seconds, this group was called to order by the troops of Arnaud Démare. The Groupama-FDJ men failed to control the final pass of the climb. Following a lead-out from World champion, Julian Alaphilippe, Sénéchal attacked taking Turgis, Zingle, Barguil and Thomas with him. They stayed together to the finish. Despite there being two Cofidis men, Sénéchal took the victory. Démare won the bunch sprint for 6th place at 26 seconds.

French Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Florian Sénéchal (Fra) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl at 5:12:48 2. Anthony Turgis (Fra) TotalEnergies 3. Axel Zingle (Fra) Cofidis 4. Warren Barguil (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 5. Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis at 0:06 6. Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:26 7. Romain Cardis (Fra) St Michel-Auber93 8. Sandy Dujardin (Fra) TotalEnergies 9. Thomas Boudat (Fra) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole 10. Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Arkéa Samsic.

Italian Elite Men’s Road Championships 2022 Filippo Zana has had a great season. The 23-year-old rider won the Italian road championship on Sunday, having won the Adriatica Ionica Race earlier this month.

Zana, who rides for Bardiani CSF Faizanè, finished ahead of Lorenzo Rota and Samuele Battistella on the hilly course. The very young Andrea Piccolo (21) was also part of the first group.

“I can’t believe it,” Zana told the RAI in tears afterwards. “I had to go very deep for this. I just don’t believe it, I’m so happy and grateful. We knew that as the biggest team we had to try something. We immediately managed to pull away and on the local track I got into the right break. Everything was perfect today.”

Italian Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè in 5:41:32 2. Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 3. Samuele Battistella (Ita) Astana 4. Andrea Piccolo (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli at 0:01 5. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 0:27 6. Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè 7. Marco Tizza Bingoal (Ita) Pauwels Sauces WB at 0:39 8. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) EOLO-Kometa at 0:48 9. Christian Scaroni (Ita) 10. Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) BORA-hansgrohe.

Slovakian Elite Men’s Road Championships 2022 Peter Sagan has become Slovak road champion for the seventh time. Sagan finished minutes ahead of Lukas Kubis and Matus Stocek. The 32-year-old rider of TotalEnergies succeeds himself on the honours list, because he also won the road race in 2021. At the time, the podium looked the same, only Stocek was second and Kubis third.

Slovakian Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Peter Sagan 2. Lukas Kubis 3. Matus Stocek.

German Elite Men’s Road Championships 2022 Nils Politt won the national championship in Germany this afternoon. The BORA-hansgrohe rider arrived solo after 210 kilometres. Nikias Arndt finished second within a minute, Simon Geschke was third after almost three minutes.

German road champion, Nils Politt (BORA-hansgrohe): “To win today, we had to make the race difficult early on and reduce the peloton. After Emanuel Buchmann’s mechanical, there were four of us in the leading group. Lennard Kämna, Simon Geschke, Nikias Arndt and me. Nikias and I then got away, Lennard and Emu controlled the back and with an attack shortly ahead of the finish I was able to break away. Everything just worked out – I had great legs and the guys did a perfect job. I’m now looking forward to spending a year in this special jersey!”

German Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Nils Politt 2. Nikias Arndt 3. Simon Geschke.

Eenkhoorn Claims Dutch Title on Col du VAM Pascal Eenkhoorn is the new Dutch road champion. The 25-year-old rider of Team Jumbo-Visma beat Daan Hoole on the Col du VAM and was allowed to put on the red-white-and-blue jersey on the podium.

An eager Tom Dumoulin showed himself in the beginning. After about sixty kilometres, he was the instigator of a sixteen-rider front group. Besides Dumoulin, Sam Oomen, David Dekker, Mick van Dijke and defending champion Timo Roosen were also represented in this group. While Dumoulin dropped back to the chasing group, Mike Teunissen and Eenkhoorn moved to the front group.

Eenkhoorn was alert when Hoole attacked with more than twenty kilometres to go. The two grabbed a comfortable lead and held on to it until the finish line. Eenkhoorn and Hoole battled it out on the Col du VAM. Eenkhoorn won and took his first victory of the season. He took Team Jumbo-Visma’s victory tally to 25 this season.

“This is a dream come true. I was considered one of the favourites beforehand. To finish it off and go down in the history of Dutch cycling is really great”, Eenkhoorn said. “I had good legs today and jumped from group to group. I ended up in the front group and jumped along when Daan attacked. That was a good move.”

Once at the front, Eenkhoorn felt he could win the national title. “Daan said that I had to do longer turns. It meant he was riding on his limit. Going into the last lap, I knew the situation was so good that the team could rely on me finishing it off.”

Eenkhoorn is honoured that he is allowed to ride in the red-white-blue for a year. “For many cyclists it’s a dream to be able to train in this jersey every day. For me, it’s going to be a reality now. That’s really cool.”

Nederland Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Pascal Eenkhoorn 2. Daan Hoole 3. Taco van der Hoorn

Yevgeniy Gidich is the New Kazakhstan Road Race Champion, Zakharov and Brussenskiy Complete the Podium After his second place last year, Yevgeniy Gidich came back to Kazakhstan to win his first national title in the road race. Today, Gidich became the strongest rider in 157-km-long race, winning the title in a four-man sprint ahead of his Astana Qazaqstan teammates Artyom Zakharov, Gleb Brussenskiy and Nurbergen Nurlykhassym.

“Well, it was a tough race due to weather conditions: it was hot, stuffy and rainy. The race turned out to be very intense and nervous, so we saw the first attacks inside the first lap already. I also tried to be active, staying in front and following dangerous moves. In a moment I decided to attack to join the right leading group. We were twelve in the break, quickly organising a good work all together. I tried to stay calm until the last lap, at the same time taking care of drinking and eating in the right time and saving the energy for the final. There were a few dangerous attacks in our group, but I was able to answer to all of them. Well, in the end of the day I launched an attack on the last short climb and we remained just four in our group, while in the sprint I made it. I am really happy with this win and with the jersey of the national champion. This means a lot for me, because it was my big dream to become Kazakhstan Champion. It will be a great honour and pleasure for me to wear it during the following year. I am sure this victory and this jersey will bring me more confidence and motivation”, – said Yevgeniy Gidich.

Meanwhile, in Under 23 category Nicolas Vinokurov of Astana Qazaqstan Development Team became the new Kazakhstan U23 road race champion, winning the title ahead of Ilhan Dostyev and his teammate Orken Slamzhanov.

Kazahkstan Elite Men’s Road Championships Result: 1. Yevgeniy Gidich 2. Artyom Zakharov 3. Gleb Brussenskiy.

Markus Takes Dutch Title on VAM-mountain Riejanne Markus has won the Dutch national championship on the VAM mountain. The 28-year-old rider from Team Jumbo-Visma Women beat Shirin van Anrooij in the sprint and won her first national title.

Markus tried to escape as one of the first riders. She gained a few seconds, but her breakaway attempt soon proved unsuccessful. Later on, Marianne Vos attacked. She broke away from the peloton with forty kilometres to go. The four-time Dutch champion quickly gathered a fifty-second lead, but at twenty kilometres from the finish, Vos was caught by the now depleted peloton.

At ten kilometres from the finish, Van Anrooij escaped from a twenty-rider group. Markus was on the young rider’s wheel in no time and because the chase did not really get going, the two had gained a twenty-second lead at the foot of the final VAM Mountain climb. The chasers managed to come within a few seconds but could not keep up with the strong duo. Markus attacked in the last few hundred metres and in initially it seemed Van Anrooij couldn’t follow. She fought her way back, but Markus eventually won the race. The first season victory for Markus meant Team Jumbo-Visma’s third victory of 2022.

“It’s great to win here”, the new Dutch champion said. “It was quite an emotional day. Before the start, we briefly reflected on the situation of Amy Pieters, a good friend of mine. But I quickly had to focus on the race. I felt good. We really raced well as a team today. In the final phase, it was wise not to get too much in the front because Marianne was still behind. It was important to keep cool. I attacked early and saw Shirin almost coming alongside. Fortunately, it was enough and I became Dutch champion. Last year I celebrated Amy’s title together with her. I’ve been missing her all year next to me in the race and think about her a lot. I hope she is a bit proud of me.”

Team DSM’s Liane Lippert Climbs to German National Road Race Success After winning the title in 2018, Team DSM’s Liane Lippert claimed her second German road race championships today on a challenging and climb-filled route.

Supported by teammate Franziska Koch, Lippert split the race up on one of the early climbs, catching the lone attacker and forming a group of five out front. Working well together, the group extended their gap and would ultimately fight it out for the win. Using experience that belies her relatively young age, Lippert bided her time and followed the attacks before unleashing a strong uphill kick to claim the win in the sprint; raising her arms aloft in jubilation.

Speaking after the finish a jubilant Lippert expressed: “It was a hard course this year which suited us well. It was a loop of around 12 kilometres and it was kind of a classic style route. There was a climb after two kilometres on the route and I opened the race up really early because we wanted to get rid of the sprinters. In the finish it was a long uphill drag and the last final kilometre got steeper but not steep enough to attack so I focused on the sprint and that went really well. Tactically I think it was a really good race. I rode smart, saved energy when I could and I’m super happy that it then paid off in the sprint. I’m delighted to win the jersey again.”

Remco Evenepoel is The New Belgian ITT Champion The Belgian is Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s fourth different rider since 2008 to capture the title

Remco Evenepoel took a hugely impressive win in Gavere, the East Flanders municipality more known for the cyclo-cross race it hosts each November. Fresh off his victory in the final stage time trial at the Tour de Suisse, the 22-year-old came at the start as the red-hot favourite and he lived up to the expectations, earning his first tricolour after a bronze and a silver at the previous participations.

Tucked over the aero bars of his Specialized S-Works Shiv to save watts and keep the speed, the “Aero Bullet” obliterated the field, putting himself in firm control of the 34.8km race by the halfway point and posting a time that put any questions about the winner to bed. The only rider to average more than 51km/h, Remco finished the time trial in 40:22 and took his tenth victory of a season which saw him taste victory also in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am with my maiden national title, one I had been chasing for a few years now. It was very hard with the heat today, I lost my bottle quite soon which wasn’t ideal, but I had an amazing bike and a good pace and could keep it the entire race. It’s great to be on the podium with a teammate and to know that I will wear this jersey in the time trials over the next twelve months. This win gives me a lot of motivation to keep working in this discipline. It’s an emotional day for me, because it showed that step by step I am returning to my top level”, Remco explained. “For Sunday we have a really strong team with several cards to play, and it will be important to support each other regardless of the scenario. We will definitely go for a good result.”

Last year’s winner Yves Lampaert finished runner-up, 37 seconds behind his teammate, giving our squad a memorable 1-2 in Gavere, while Dries Devenyns concluded the day in seventh place and made it three Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl in the top 10.

“I gave everything out there, but I knew it was for second place. The longer a time trial is, the better for Remco. It was a fight until the end, against myself in the first place. I’m happy the jersey stays in the team, and that it’s the first time Remco takes it in the pro ranks. It’s such a beautiful jersey and it’s a pleasure to hand it over to him”, Yves added after the race.

Cavagna Back on the Podium at the Nationals The 26-year-old Frenchman gets the silver medal in Cholet.

Rémi Cavagna did another strong race against the clock, which at the end of the day brought him a silver medal and a well-deserved return to the top 3 at the National Championships, after last year’s mishaps prevented him from properly defending his title.

The third-to-last rider to start the 44.3km race – one of the season’s longest individual time trials – Rémi produced a good 51-minute effort on the course which featured some short but hard uphill sections, setting the benchmark at all three checkpoints and even catching and passing his two-minute man inside the final ten kilometres before going into the hot seat.

By the time everything was done and dusted, only one rider, Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), could improve the time of Cavagna, who eventually finished runner-up for 24 seconds, adding the silver medal to the gold one conquered two years ago in Grand-Champ.

“I’m satisfied and disappointed at the same time. I wanted the victory today but it wasn’t possible, because one guy was stronger. I did a good time trial, gave my best out there, but suffered a bit in the final ten kilometres and I lost time there. I know that it wasn’t my best effort, but at the end of the day, taking into consideration how late I started the season, it’s a good result, from which I can only learn and take a lot of heart”, Rémi said after his third podium of the year.

German Championships: Lennard Kämna takes the time trial title, Nils Politt 3rd The time trial was the opener of the nationals weekend in Germany today. On a challenging 27.5km long course around the town of Marsberg it was none other than Lennard Kämna who sealed his first time trial elite title. Nils Politt proved his strong shape and was rewarded with the bronze medal.

Result: 1. L. Kämna 35:31 2. J. Steimle +0:15 3. N. Politt +0:24

From the Finish Line “I was expecting a really hard race and that’s what it definitely was! I knew from the last few training rides that my shape would be pretty good, but training is one thing and racing is another. I felt pretty good right off the ramp and was able to follow the pacing plan that we discussed ahead of the race. Juniors, U23 and now the elite title – it feels pretty good, to be honest!” Lennard Kämna.

Ben Healy Wins Irish national Time Trial Young Irish rider takes his first win as a WorldTour rider

Ben Healy took home the Irish time trial championships in Kanturk. Our young Irish rider – who is in his first year with the team and first year as a WorldTour rider – won the junior time trial title in 2018 as well as the under-23 in 2020 but this was his first time competing in the elite race, and Ben made sure to make it count.

“I set the fastest time for the elites as a U23 a couple of years ago but never got to take the elite jersey because it was two different categories but on the same course and the same day,” Ben says. “For sure, it was nice to give it a good go and actually race for that jersey this time.”

With changing winds and a challenging 31-kilometre course, Ben knew the only way to win this one was to be bold and go out of the gate fast. The tactic paid off and saw him cross the line a full minute and a half faster than the next best rider.

“It was slow on the way out and fast on the way back,” he says. “I did a pretty good split and it worked out well. I just held a nice average speed throughout the course. My legs obviously felt really good as well.”

In his first year in the top ranks of the sport, Ben has shown time and time again that he has the legs for a strong solo effort and often launches long solo attacks in closing stages of races. This victory though, is a special one for him.

“It’s my first time racing for the elites and being able to take home that jersey is obviously amazing. It kind of takes that pressure off now that I’ve secured that win and it’s obviously a pretty cool thing as well.”

On Sunday, Ben will take the start of the elite road race as well, a race he won two years ago.

Jannik Steimle Secures Silver at the Nationals Sixth medal in three days for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.

Another day, another Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider in action at the National Championships. This time, in Germany, where Jannik Steimle produced a stunning time trial to finish runner-up and earn another top 3 result for the Wolfpack, that keeps our team at the top of the medal classification ahead of the weekend, where we’ll take on road races in six different countries.

The 26-year-old, who came to the start after a solid outing at the Critérium du Dauphiné a fortnight ago, was in fine form Friday afternoon in Marsberg, where a 27.5km undulating course awaited the riders. A strong sustained effort which resulted in an average speed of 46/1km/h netted Steimle his first ever medal at the Nationals – just 15 seconds behind Lennard Kamna (BORA-hansgrohe), who took the win – and with it, his first podium of the season.

“I came out of the Dauphiné with a lot of confidence, and I carried it into this weekend, knowing that I had a fair chance of getting a nice result. The legs were good before the start and I was very motivated to give everything out there and show how much I have improved in this discipline since joining the team. It’s not a victory, but I am satisfied with this result – my first podium at the National Championships – especially as the parcours was a hard and demanding one”, Jannik said after the race.

Impressive Foss Extends National Time Trial Title in Norway Tobias Foss has convincingly prolonged his Norwegian time trial title. The 25-year-old rider was in a class of his own on the hilly course in and around Steinkjer. He took Team Jumbo-Visma’s victory tally to 24 this season.

Foss, who was the last to start as last year’s winner, started his race against the clock well. At the first measuring point, he was already eighteen seconds faster than the number two and continued to increase his lead. After exactly 19 kilometres, Foss stopped the clock at 29 minutes and 3 seconds, making him the only rider to break the 30-minute mark.

“I am thrilled that I was able to defend my title. This jersey is too beautiful to give away”, Foss said. “The course was much more challenging than last year’s, which contained fewer altimetres. The first part was tough with punchy climbs, but the second was a bit flatter and more technical. All in all, it was a good time trial.”

Foss said he felt very confident. “When I decided to participate, my goal was to win it. In addition, I saw it as a nice experience to go into a race as the reigning champion. It has given me confidence that I can handle that pressure.”

Jan Tratnik Wins Slovenian ITT National Championships Jan Tratnik retained his title as ITT National Champion of Slovenia on a 28.8km course in Novo mesto. Tratnik completed the course with a time of 35:22, as fellow Bahrain Victorious teammate Matej Mohorič took second place 8 seconds behind him.

Jan Tratnik was delighted to retain his title: “Today’s time trial was quite hard. I had good legs today, I felt good before the race and I am happy I have defended the National title.”

The latest signing for Team Bahrain Victorious, Matevž Govekar, also put in a solid ITT taking fourth overall and becomes the U23 Slovenian ITT National Champion: ”I am happy with today’s race, I made the first real chronometer since I have been on a road bike, so I am very happy. But I am still behind the best riders, what that means is I will have a lot of work to do in the future. I enjoyed the Team Bahrain Victorious jersey which made my first real result in it.”

Žigart and Craddock Double-up at National Time Trial Championships Slovenian Urška Žigart and American Lawson Craddock have both powered to their second national time trials title in stunning fashion on Thursday.

The victories give Team BikeExchange-Jayco their first national titles of 2022, with a busy weekend of racing still to come across the various national championships.

Žigart kicked things off with a measured ride against the clock in Novo Mesto to claim the Slovenian time trial championship she last won in 2020. The 25-year-old tackled the short but punchy 14.4km course in a time of 20:11 to take the win by 19 seconds.

Over in America, defending champion Craddock was the last rider down the start ramp in Knoxville, with a strong time of 40:43 set by Magnus Sheffield the current benchmark on the three-lap course.

The 30-year-old was in contention as he passed through the first intermediate checkpoint just 5.80 second down on the fastest time. Craddock then cut the gap to 3.43 second at the next split, before overhauling the deficit to take the victory by more than 3 seconds with a time of 40:39.

Urška Žigart: “Today was quite a short time trial, only 14.4km, but it had quite a few elevation metres, 240 I think. So I played that to my strengths, I paced myself well, I had good legs and I Ieft everything out on the line. I’m really happy that I got the title again, when I won it back in 2020 it was kind of a mountain time trial, but this one was a proper one. It was hard, but everything went well today and I’m really happy with it.”

Lawson Craddock: “I’m really happy and really proud to keep the jersey for another year. Obviously, it’s no secret that we at Team BikeExchange-Jayco have really stepped up all things ‘time trialling’ this year, everyone on the team has really taken it to a whole new level and I think this is a testament to the work we’ve put in with Giant, Cadex and our partners. There’s a lot of work that guys like Marco Pinotti have put in over the last six months to give us the best chance, and I think we’re really seeing the results from that. It was just me flying the flag for the team out here, but I felt the support from everyone back in Europe and Australia, and I’m really happy I had the opportunity to come here and fight for the jersey again. In the end it was a great battle with Magnus, he’s a really great rider with an incredibly promising future. I had to pull a few tricks out of the bag to squeak the win, but it’s a really exciting day for me and I’m really proud of what we, as a team, have accomplished.”

Nationals – Biniam Girmay and Rein Taaramäe win time trial titles One month after his historical victory in the Tour of Italy, Biniam Girmay returned to competition with a victory in the Eritrean time trial championships. He conquered his first title in the elite category this Friday by beating his World Tour compatriots Merhawi Kudus (EEF) and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Trek-Segafredo) on the 36 kilometre parcours around capital Asmara in 43 minutes 36, averaging 49.2 kilometre per hour.

In this way, the 22 year old conquered the title in the U23 and Elite category and offered the Belgian World Team its sixteenth victory of 2022. After his fourth success of the season, his first ever time trial win, Biniam Girmay will participate in the road race on Sunday.

Biniam Girmay: “I’m proud to be Eritrean and I dreamed of showing our flag everywhere in the world as a national champion. But winning one of both disciplines was everything but easy. The level in Eritrea is high. This season, I only participated in two time trials, in Paris-Nice and in the Giro. I really gave everything and to my surprise I managed to be faster than the defending champion and to conquer the title. The parcours was thee same as the previous years and maybe the rather flat profile played in my favour, as my main competitors were climbers. A big celebration started and after my victories in Europe, I really enjoyed celebrating this title with my family and dearest friends. At the same time I’m focusing on the road race on Sunday. It will be a challenging course in the heart of my home city Asmara. The battle against the numerical superiority of the local teams will be a very tough challenge. I’m hoping for a hard race and maybe the short climb on the course will take its toll at the end of the 171 kilometre race.”

Later, Taco van der Hoorn climbed on the third step of the podium of the Dutch championships, which were organised around the Col du VAM (Drenthe). The winner of the Brussels Cycling Classic spent most of the thirteen laps of 14 kilometre in the leading group, which battled for the victory. The Dutchman rode a strong final and crossed the line twelve seconds behind the winner.

Taco van der Hoorn: “I’m satisfied with my performance. I felt strong and I think I had the legs to win, but it was difficult to deal with the numerical superiority of Jumbo-Visma. This situation was of course predictable and they managed to finish it off. They were five in the leading group of sixteen riders, I was hoping to escape with one of them, but after several attempts I realised that they wanted to avoid this scenario. Oscar Riesebeek had the same problem so together we tried to keep a winning position as long as possible. Even though this meant that we had to drag several competitors along. I’m proud about how I raced because I did what I could to win the title. This bronze medal is a small consolation prize.”

This Wednesday, Rein Taaramäe extended his Estonian time trial title and offered the team its fifteenth success of the season. He defeated Tanel Kangert with a margin of less than a second on the 34.8 kilometre course around Kuremaa and conquered his sixth national time trial title. The cherry on the cake was the national title of his wife Hanna in the Elite Women category.

Hungarian rider Barnabás Peák took second place in the national time trial championships, beaten by 17 seconds on the parcours of 38 kilometre around Debrecen. Two days later, the 23 year old rider also obtained the bronze medal in de road race at the end of the 166 kilometre around Pannonhalma, in the East of the country.

On Thursday, the two representatives of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux at the start of the Belgian Time Trial Championships finished in the top ten, on the circuit around Gavere (East-Flanders). Jan Bakelants and Aimé De Gendt concluded the 34.8 kilometre, divided in three laps, in ninth and tenth place respectively.

For the first time; Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux was represented at the start of the Danish national championships, which kicked off this Thursday with the time trial. The young Julius Johansen, who rode in his 50th race day of 2022, set the thirteenth best time on the 39.6 kilometre circuit around Aalborg. The 22 year old rider will participate in the road race on Sunday, which is also ridden around this city in the north of the country.

Rüegg claims national time trial title in Switzerland Noemi Rüegg has won the Swiss time trial championship in the U23 category. The 21-year-old rider of Team Jumbo-Visma stayed ahead of her competitors on home soil.

This year’s Swiss time-trial championships took place in Steinmaur, where the riders had to cover a 19-kilometre course in the scorching sun. Ruëgg, who has been riding for Team Jumbo-Visma since this season, set a time of 27 minutes and 38 seconds on the hilly course. It resulted in the third victory of the season for the Dutch women’s team.

Rüegg was seven seconds faster than Zanetti, who crossed the line shortly after Rüegg. “I’m thrilled with this victory. The national time trial championships were a goal for me this season. Of course you still need to make it happen, but luckily the difference was big enough today. It’s great I actually managed to win.”

For Rüegg, the title was extra special because the time trial course was about a five-minute drive from her home. “I know all the roads and many people here, so that made it extra nice. The goal for today was not to start too fast so I would have something left at the end. That plan worked out well because I was able to speed up a bit in the second part.”

Team DSM’s Pfeiffer Georgi powers to British U23 TT title After finishing second in the same event last year, Pfeiffer Georgi left the start ramp in Dumfries looking to go one better this time round – and that she did; powering home to take the British U23 TT title.

Faced with the 22 kilometre long parcours, Georgi followed the pacing plan perfectly and kept a solid tempo and speed throughout the course. Putting the power down on the mostly flat route, Georgi kept enough in the tank to dig deep on the drag up to the line where she would ultimately best the second placed finisher Backstedt by 12 seconds.

A smiling Georgi said: “This win is really special for me as I didn’t expect it and wasn’t sure how I was going during the ride compared to the others. I went out pretty hard and just tried to hold on and was surprised to hear that it was enough when I crossed the line. I’m definitely going to enjoy this tonight and then focus on the road race on Sunday.”

The 22-year-old Delivered the Team’s Fifth Medal of the Week Just four days after wrapping up the overall title at the Belgium Tour and becoming the first Swiss rider in the history of the race – one of the oldest in the world – to finish at the top of the general classification, Mauro Schmid pinned on a number again, this time for the time trial race at the National Championships.

Held in Steinmaur, a town located not far from Zurich, over a demanding 38.2km parcours comprising two rolling laps, the event saw Mauro produce a solid effort and stop the clock in 47:29, less than half a minute behind Joel Suter (UAE Team Emirates), who finished victorious, for what was his best result in two participations at the Nationals.

“I am a bit disappointed, because this was a great chance to take the jersey home. I felt some pressure and the warm temperatures made it more challenging, but ultimately it came down to how I raced it. The course was tricky and it was a bit difficult to find the right pacing in the corners and in the valley.”

“The time trial was also longer than the one of last year and that complicated matters a bit, as I went too fast in the first part and began feeling that effort in the second half of the race. I tried to cut the gap to the first place, but was struggling and felt a bit empty, so second was the best I could do in these conditions. At the same time, this motivates me for Sunday. It will be difficult to control, but I am going to the start with a lot of confidence”, a confident Mauro said at the end of Thursday’s race.

Alberta & Quebec on the Top Step of the Podium at the 2022 Canadian Road Championships Saturday saw ten national Road Race titles awarded across Para-cycling and Junior categories at the 2022 Canadian Road Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. Athletes from the host province continued to impress, winning a total of three titles, while Team Quebec finished on the top step of the podium twice.

The day started with the para-cycling races, where eight titles were up for grabs in the T, H, C and B categories across distances ranging from 28.8 to 72 kilometres. The tandem duo of Carla Shibley and Meghan Brown (Team Alberta), Alexandre Hayward (Team New Brunswick) and Kara Douville (Team Alberta) all managed to hold on to their 2021 titles, with Shibley, Brown and Hayward also winning their second gold medals of the week. In the highly competitive men’s H3 category, Joey Desjardins (Team Ontario) was able to distance himself from his Paralympic colleagues Charles Moreau (Équipe du Québec) and Alex Hyndman to take home his first maple leaf jersey.

Kara Douville secured her Road Race title in the Women’s H1-5 category Photo: Grégoire Crevier/Ontherivet.photo

“I’ve been chasing the national title for a long time so I’m happy to go home with it today,” said a visibly excited Desjardins. “It was fun pacing myself throughout the laps, seeing where I was with the other guys [Moreau and Hyndman] and trying to keep a distance on them. You know it’s always going to be an intense race with those two so we just see who can make the others suffer the most the day of and come out with the win.”

The Junior women’s race followed immediately after and included several accomplished riders with multiple Canadian titles already under their belts. Despite the course including various hilly sections, the peloton remained together for much of the race, with only a handful of riders being dropped throughout the five laps. The competition came to a head in the final 500 meters following the last climb, where Team Alberta’s Anabelle Thomas took the lead to claim gold in a sprint finish, followed by six-time national track champion Kiara Lylyk (Team Ontario) and Time Trial silver medallist Éloïse Camiré (Équipe du Québec).

Anabelle Thomas after claiming gold in the final sprint Photo: Curtis Comeau Photography

“I always wanted to try for the sprint since I love sprinting, so I was just watching for breakaways throughout the race and trying to stay with the front group,” said Thomas. “I tried to stay on the outside on the final hill and then continue to the sprint and hopefully carry the gap. It’s great with my family, coaches and teammates all here to cheer me on and it was a really great experience.”

The day concluded with the Junior men’s 116.8 kilometre race, where 55 riders where vying for a spot on the podium. Time Trial bronze medallist Félix Hamel (Équipe du Québec) and multiple track medallist Gavin Hadfield (Toronto Hustle) broke off from the main pack halfway through the race, increasing their lead with every lap. Junior World Champion Carson Mattern tried to bridge the gap with three laps to go, but the lead was already too substantial for the Team Ontario rider. Hamel attacked with one lap to go to take home his first national title, followed by Hadfield 50 seconds back, and Mattern almost three minutes behind.

Today, U23 and Elite athletes will take on the 14.4km loop in Edmonton’s River Valley area, with the women tackling 116.8km, while the men will complete 11 laps for a total distance of 160.6 kilometres. Full results and schedules can be found here.

Results: T1-2 Men & Women: 1- Nathan Clement 2- Louis-Albert Corriveau Jolin 3- Marie-Ève Croteau C1-3 Women : 1- Mel Pemble H1-5 Women & Men H1-2: 1- Kara Douville 2- Katty Abran H3-5 Men: 1- Joey Desjardins 2- Charles Moreau 3- Alex Hyndman C4-5 Women: 1- Keely Shaw 2- Marie-Claude Molnar C1-5 Men: 1- Alexandre Hayward 2- Piotr Czyzowicz 3- Lachlan Hotchkiss Tandem Women: 1- Carla Shibley & Meghan Brown Tandem Men: 1- Daniel Chalifour & Jean-Michel Lachance 2- Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal 3- Benoit Lalumière Cloutier & Maximilien Moreau Junior Women: 1- Anabelle Thomas 2- Kiara Lylyk 3- Éloïse Camiré Junior Men – 1- Félix Hamel 2- Gavin Hadfield 3- Carson Mattern

Gavin Hadfield & Félix Hamel working together in the Junior men’s race. Photo: Curtis Comeau Photography

Tour de France Fast Approaches as UAE Team Emirates Eye Glory Once Again The Tour De France – the world’s most famous cycling race – will soon be kicking off once again as the world’s eyes turn towards the Emirati cycling team, UAE Team Emirates, as they aim to win a third consecutive Tour de France.

On Friday July 1st, the world’s greatest riders will take to the saddle for Stage 1 of the 21 Stage race. A 13.2km time trial will get the 109th edition of the Tour De France underway, before the riders eventually roll into the mountains and push their bodies and physical capabilities to the absolute limit.

The team to beat are UAE Team Emirates. The man to beat is Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian superstar is gunning for his third Tour De France victory in as many years, a feat that has only been matched by cycling greats such as Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain, and Chris Froome.

As Pogacar’s focus will be cementing himself amongst Cycling immortality, he will be ably supported by a UAE Team Emirates group hot from their incredible win in the Tour of Slovenia. After winning 4 of the 5 stages in the race, there can be no doubt that the morale is high within the camp ahead of ‘Le Grand Boucles’.

The Tour De France leaves no stone unturned in its quest for determining the victor – with wind, cobbles, sprints, echelons, big climbs, small climbs, and time trials all awaiting the riders and their support teams.

Ever famed for its mind-boggling climbs and ascents, the Tour De France enters the Alps at the beginning of week two. This is earmarked as an incredibly exciting period of the race, as we will start to see the formation of the General Classification (GC), as well as the Polka Dot Jersey (climbers jersey) starting to become hotly contested.

As the race enters week 3, the riders will see themselves tackling the Pyrenees Mountain range. This phase of the race will be the most challenging and testing for the riders, as the mountains come thick and fast with very little margin for error. Cycling fans around the world will be tuning in specifically to stages 16 through 18, renowned for their difficulty and brutality as the cyclists exert every last ounce of energy and channel it up the unforgiving mountain range.

One stage in particular to pay close attention to is stage 12; Briancon to Alpe D’huez, which happens to also fall on Bastille Day in France. One can be sure to see French riders battling fiercely in the hope of securing a memorable and widely celebrated victory on France’s national day.

Tadej Pogacar said: “As a team, we are focused, and we are ready. We are really close as a group and have complete confidence in each other’s abilities. Our preparation has been excellent and I’m feeling in really good condition, I can’t wait to get started.”

Team CEO, Mauro Gianetti said: “When we first started this team in 2017, we had an ambitious five-year plan to win the Tour de France and cement ourselves as one of the top teams on the World Tour. We stand here today having won it twice already and in a good position to be competitive once again – which is a fantastic feat. The team, the staff and our partners should be very proud of how far we’ve come in such a short space of time. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the UAE, and we’ll be doing all we can to make our fans in the UAE proud.”

Groenewegen & Matthews Headline Team BikeExchange-Jayco’s Hunt for Stage Wins at the Tour de France Team BikeExchange-Jayco has named a strong team of opportunists for the 2022 Tour de France, led by four-time stage winner Dylan Groenewegen and green jersey and three-time stage winner Michael Matthews.

With seven Tour de France stage victories between them, the experienced duo headline the versatile line-up, with stage success the Australian outfit’s primary objective across the three weeks of racing, which begins next Friday, 1st July in Copenhagen.

Team BikeExchange-Jayco Line-Up: Jack Bauer (NZL) – 7th appearance Luke Durbridge (AUS) – 8th appearance Dylan Groenewegen (NED) – 5th appearance Amund Grøndahl Jansen (NOR) – 5th appearance Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN) – 5th appearance Michael Matthews (AUS) – 7th appearance Luka Mezgec (SLO) – 3rd appearance Nick Schultz (AUS) – Debut appearance

Experience & Diversity The eight-rider squad is built on solid foundations, with the majority of riders lining-up for their fifth appearance or more at La Grande Boucle. Dane Chris Juul-Jensen will guide the support team, ready for a Tour de France start in his home country, alongside two Australian riders in the shape of Luke Durbridge, who lines-up for his eighth Tour de France and Nick Schultz, set to make his debut appearance.

Back for more, after two close second place finishes in 2020, will be Slovenian fast man Luka Mezgec and two powerhouses in New Zealander Jack Bauer and Norwegian Amund Grøndahl Jansen, both with crucial support roles.

Target Stages GreenEDGE Cycling has claimed seven Tour de France stage victories during its ten-year existence (2x 2013, 1x 2016, 4x 2019), plus two overall victories in the young rider classification (2016, 2017), three top-10 overall finishes (2016, 2017, 2020) and seven-days in the Maillot Jaune (3x 2013, 4x 2020). Returning to an opportunistic approach for 2022, the squad looks to get the ball rolling early on, with the second and third stage in Denmark marked out as early targets.

Once the race enters France, stage four and six are also noted as potential stages that can suit the team’s diverse strengths, bookmarking what is set to be an iconic stage five; the ‘Paris-Roubaix’ stage which features the infamous Arenberg cobbles. The middle week brings the high mountains where an open and opportunistic mindset will be key, before more favourable stages await on stages 13, 15 and 19, ahead of the traditional final stage on the Champs Elysées.

Brent Copeland – General Manager: “It’s almost time for the spectacle that is the Tour de France and we’re delighted to see the event returning to normal each year, with our fans and sponsors able to join us and be a part of what is one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Our technical staff have been working hard over the past months to select a well-balanced team ready to challenge for stage victories, which is our main objective for this year’s race, and we are looking forward to taking every opportunity with both hands. With the Grand Départ in Copenhagen, I am sure it will be a memorable edition, there is never an easy Tour de France and the parcours looks interesting and should create an exciting three-week race. We believe with the team we have put together; we have plenty of great possibilities to challenge for those prestigious stage victories and we are ready to get started in a week’s time.”

Matthew White – Head Sport Director. “This is an experienced group to be taking to what is always a beautiful, yet stressful block of racing. We have a team of guys who can win stages and be very competitive across the three weeks over various terrains. There is one thing for sure; this group will put their hearts and souls into our daily plans and objectives from day one in Copenhagen, until we cross that finish line in Paris.”

Dylan Groenewegen – 4x TDF stage winner: “I’m looking forward to returning to the Tour de France, the last time I raced was in 2019 and it was a success for me, and so it is great to be returning this year. I will have a strong team, the best support that I need, with really good lead-out men like Luka Mezgec. We’ve been working a lot together this year, we’ve had some good wins and that is the big goal for us in France. The second stage in Copenhagen is a stage I am looking forward to, I hope there is not too much wind so it can finish with a sprint. The sprints at the TDF are always hectic, not only with all the sprinters but there’s always general classification riders trying to stay at the front too for the time, so it’s always busy in the bunch and this makes it different to other races. Having these experienced riders around me in the finals will be important during the whole Tour.”

Team BikeExchange-Jayco – 2022 Tour de France Team Stats: Youngest rider: Nick Schultz (27) Oldest rider: Jack Bauer (37) Tour de France debutants: Nick Schultz (1x) Most Tour de France appearances: Luke Durbridge (8x) Total Tour de France appearances: (40x).

Bahrain Victorious to Tour de France Bahrain Victorious head to the 109th edition of La Grande Boucle with a strong line-up and a target of a podium in the General Classification with Jack Haig and Damiano Caruso. The GC leaders will have the support of Jan Tratnik, Kamil Gradek, Fred Wright and the experienced Luis Leon Sanchez. 2021 stage winners Matej Mohorič and Dylan Teuns, both looking for a third stage win at Tour de France, round up the strong and versatile line-up for Bahrain Victorious.

The 109th edition of the Tour departs from Copenhagen, Denmark, on 1st July 2022, concluding with the infamous sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées on 24th July 2022. The 21 stages cover 3,349.8 km and a versatile parcour with two time trials, classic like cobble stages, bunch sprints, chances for echelons, and plenty of climbs as riders tackle 48,530 vertical meters. The GC contenders will be cautiously looking towards the first week with the opening time trial and a technical stage 5, where they take on 11 sectors of Paris Roubaix cobbles.

The first summit finish is on stage 7 on Planche des Belles Filles, a happy hunting ground for Dylan Teuns, where he won his first stage at the Tour de France in 2019 and later proposed to his wife.

Stage 11 and 12 will be the big test in the Alps for the GC contenders as they battle a gruelling 8,730 vertical meters and five Hors Categorie climbs over the two stages. The next test comes in the Pyrenees on stages 17 and 18, with four category 1 climbs and two Hor Categorie climbs over 7,388 vertical meters, with the final shake-up in the GC coming on stage 20 on the 40km time trial ending in Rocamadour.

Jack Haig will focus on those key stages as he looks to fight for the GC: “I’m feeling really good coming into the Tour and maybe a little more relaxed this year than last year. Last year I went into the race with a lot of pressure on myself and to prove to my new team that I could perform. This year I feel much more comfortable in the team alongside the group of riders we have going into the Tour, so I’ve not got much to be nervous about. As I said, we’ve got a strong line-up going into the race with really good flat support, which will be important for the first 7-8 days, which will be about minimising the risk of any bad luck. For my personal ambitions, I want to go well in the GC, and if I get a top 5 finish by the end of the Tour, I’d be quite happy. For the team’s ambitions, we will look for some stage results, with the strong guys who will have opportunities to look for some results themselves.”

The double stage winner at last year’s Tour Matej Mohorič will offer key support for GC leaders but will also keep an eye out for opportunities to add to his stage win tally: “My goal in this year’s Tour is to try and win a stage again. My favourite stage will be stage 5 with the finish at Arenberg forest. I was the first rider to enter it at Paris Roubaix, so my dream is to be the first there again in July. I feel confident. I’ve worked as hard as I ever did to be ready for the season’s biggest race. If I can’t do it there, I hope to get a stage win elsewhere from the breakaway. My teammates are also ready; together, we will try and make an even better race than last year.”

Lead Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj on the team’s overall objectives: “Our goal is to take the team’s first podium at the Tour de France, which we narrowly missed out on with Landa back in 2020. We’ve selected a really strong group of riders for the Tour. It’s a Tour with plenty of challenges with chances for wind in Denmark and then more wind in France and Cobbles. After this, we go straight into a concentrated block of uphill finishes. I think we have got a group of riders to cover all these difficult challenges and support our leaders, Jack and Damiano, to achieve our objective. We will also be looking for chances with our other riders to take stage wins or help us gain time for our overall objective. I’m convinced we have a strong team for the race itself.”

Team DSM Announce Exciting Tour de France Line-Up A Grand Départ in Denmark awaits the peloton as they take on this year’s Tour de France, with Team DSM revealing an exciting eight-rider strong roster that will line-up in Copenhagen to take on an action-packed 21 days of racing at a La Grande Boucle that has something for everyone.

Getting underway, an intriguing three days of racing awaits the team in Denmark kicking off with a flat and technical time trial around the streets of Copenhagen, before a stage two finish over the Storebælsbroen, an 18-kilometre road bridge which potentially could be prone to crosswinds, with the three days concluding in an expected sprint finish. Returning to France, the riders face an array of terrain in the opening week including punchy finishes, a day on the cobbles and several in the mountains. That variety of terrain continues as the peloton makes its way down the east of France through the Alps, stopping off in Switzerland which is closely followed by a finish atop the famous Alpe d’Huez. The route then cuts across the country and snakes its way towards over some testing terrain ahead of the Pyrenees where the final mountain battles will take place on the Peyragudes and Hautacam. If not already, the GC battle will be decided in a 40-kilometre time trial on the penultimate stage before the sprinters have their day under the lights on the famous Champs-Élysées finish.

Looking to build on recent form and momentum through well engineered training and other specialist areas including altitude camps and targeted racing, Team DSM’s Tour de France group are ready to take their jersey adorned with its distinctive two stripes on the hunt for stage results in their journey around France.

Team DSM coach Matt Winston said: “We’re all looking forward to the 2022 Tour de France. Every day we will have to be sharp and that starts right from the opening day with the TT in Copenhagen which is followed by potential for crosswinds and nervous stages in the rest of our time in Denmark. We then transfer to France where we’re straight back into action with some tricky stages, including over the cobblestones, where we expect to see a big fight. A tough middle part of the race follows in the mountains which then continues as we head towards the Pyrennees before the traditional finale in Paris. Our main goal for the three weeks is to go for stage results. We will focus day-by-day on how the race is progressing and come up with plans for where we see that our chances lie. We have a really motivated group of guys who are full of ambition, as we look to compete in the sprint stages and in the more mountainous days as well.”

Full line-up: Romain Bardet Alberto Dainese John Degenkolb Nils Eekhoff Chris Hamilton Andreas Leknessund Martijn Tusveld Kevin Vermaerke.

The Selection for the Tour de France 2022 Vincent Lavenu: “We will start the Tour de France in Copenhagen with great ambitions. Since last year, Ben O’Connor has shown us the extent of his qualities. With him, we will focus on the best possible general classification, without setting a specific objective. We are certain that his sporting level, which he proved with his final podium at the Critérium du Dauphiné, can bring us real satisfaction. Taking a stage victory will also be a goal for all our riders. We know that it has a special meaning at a grand tour. It’s a tricky Tour de France where you’ll have to be careful, especially in the first week. Then the mountains will come, where our team will be able to show themselves in a beautiful way. It’s heartbreaking not to select a champion like Greg Van Avermaet. He remains one of the greatest riders in the peloton and his dedication to his profession is remarkable. However, the profile of the Tour de France seemed to us not quite suited to its current strengths. The sportsmanship with which he welcomed our decision further proves that he is a man of great professionalism and rare class.”

Vincent Lavenu, general manager of the AG2R CITROËN TEAM, presents the eight riders who will make up the squad at the start of the Tour de France 2022:

Geoffrey Bouchard 30 years old / 1 professional victory 1st participation

“Geoffrey won his place in the Tour de France thanks to his convincing results his last major tours (winner of the mountain classification at the Vuelta a España in 2019 and the Giro d’Italia in 2021, 14th in the general classification of the Vuelta a España in 2021) and he has had a very good start to the season (stage victory in the Tour of the Alps). He will discover the Tour de France and provide heavy reinforcement in the mountains for Ben O’Connor. He will also have the possibility of slipping into the breakaways when the opportunity arises.”

Mikaël Cherel 36 years old 7th participation Best results: 18th in the general classification (2015) and 8th on a stage (2014 and 2015)

“Mikaël had a good Giro d’Italia, finishing in 23rd place in the general classification. He took the time to rest and prepare and will provide valuable help to Ben O’Connor throughout this Tour de France. He is a rider who knows the role of teammate perfectly and who excels in this area, especially in terms of keeping his leader well positioned.”

Benoît Cosnefroy 26 years old / 12 professional victories 4th participation Best results: 20th in a stage (2021) and wore the KOM jersey for 15 days (2020)

“After a difficult start to the Tour de Suisse (June 12-19), Benoît regained good physical condition during the final stages. At his best, he rivals the strongest riders in the world in his style of racing. Benoît will be chasing a stage victory and will also have the opportunity to work for the team during these three weeks.”

Stan Dewulf 24 years old / 1 professional victory 1st participation

“Stan is a very versatile rider. He never hesitates to put himself at the service of the team and his good humour is contagious. He will be riding his first Tour de France, with the aim of protecting Ben, especially in the first week, but also with the prospect of slipping into breakaways and taking advantage of his good burst of speed to clinch a stage victory.”

Bob Jungels 29 years old / 23 professional victories 4th participation Best results: 11th in the general classification (2018) and 4th on a stage (2015)

“Bob showed at the Tour de Suisse (June 12-19) that he is back in shape (6th in the general classification) and that he remains a top-level rider. He naturally finds his place in the team. He will aim for a stage victory but will also be able to accompany Ben when the road heads upwards.”

Oliver Naesen 31 years old / 5 professional victories 7th participation Best result: 4th on a stage (2019)

“Oliver is a very important part of the team. He will provide essential protection for Ben the first week and throughout the Tour de France. It’s a role he masters perfectly. He will be able to bring his experience from his last six participations in the Grande Boucle, his qualities on the cobblestones, and can also try his luck for a stage win, as he knows how to do.”

Ben O’Connor 26 years old / 7 professional victories 2nd participation Best results: 4th in the general classification (2021) and a stage victory (2021)

“In view of what Ben showed us last year at the Tour de France (4th in the general classification and a stage victory) and during the first part of this season, in particular at the Critérium du Dauphiné (3rd in the general classification), he will naturally be our leader. He has proven that his physical level allows him to compete with the strongest and he will start the Tour de France with the ambition of achieving the best possible general classification.”

Aurélien Paret-Peintre 26 years old / 1 professional victory 2nd participation Best results: 15th in the general classification (2021) and 7th on a stage (2021)

“Aurélien completed his first Tour de France last year in 15th place. In recent seasons, he has shown he has great skills in stage races, notably finishing in the top 10 of Paris-Nice two years in a row (9th in 2021 and 10th in 2022). He will be an important element of the group and can help Ben. He will also focus on winning a stage.”

The number: 17 Mikaël Cherel will compete in his seventeenth Grand Tour. He has participated in six Vuelta a España, four Giro d’Italia and this will be his seventh participation in the Tour de France. Geoffrey Bouchard and Stan Dewulf will start their first Tour de France.

The news: The AG2R CITROËN TEAM taking part in the Tour de France publicity caravan For the second consecutive year, the AG2R CITROËN TEAM will be present in the Tour de France advertising caravan. This project, born from the common will of the team and its title partners, aims to meet the public of the Grande Boucle and to strengthen the link between the team and its fans. On this occasion, 100,000 sponge bracelets will be distributed to spectators throughout the 3346 kilometres of the Tour de France. AG2R CITROËN TEAM has chosen to offer a useful object, reusable by everyone and for all activities. This sponge bracelet has a small pocket with a zipper, ideal for storing your keys during a hike, a bike ride or any other activity. The two vehicles that will crisscross Denmark and then France are: a Citroën C5 Aircross Plug-in Hybrid and a Citroën Jumper dressed in a Caselani Type H kit in the team’s colours.

Davide Rebellin Says Goodbye to Professional Cycling in ‘His’ Giro del Veneto Davide Rebellin announced his retirement as a cyclist earlier this year, but the 50-year-old Italian now knows when he will pin on his last race number. The rider of the continental Work Service Vitalcare Vega team plans to say goodbye in his own region with the Giro del Veneto il 12 ottobre.

Rebellin, who made his professional debut in 1992 and is now in his thirtieth season, made his announcement in The Cycling Podcast. The Giro del Veneto is scheduled to be run in three months and will be Rebellin’s farewell. The former classic winner will celebrate his 51st birthday on August 9.

Rebellin won several great classics in his career. He won the Clasica San Sebastián, the Championship of Zurich, Amstel Gold Race, plus Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He experienced his miracle year in 2004, with wins in the Amstel, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He also won Tirreno-Adriatico (2001), the Giro dell’Emilia (2006 and 2014) and Paris-Nice (2008).

After a positive test in 2009 for CERA, a form of EPO, and a two-year suspension, Rebellin returned in 2011, riding for continental teams. The rider has been racing for Work Service Vitalcare Vega, a modest Italian team, since last year. Rebellin was 19th in the Giro dell’Appennino this year and 11th in the Adriatica Ionica Race. He rode the Italian road championships on Sunday.

Lotto Soudal Development Team Steps Up to Continental Level From Next Year Starting from next year, the Lotto Soudal Development Team will move up another gear in order to optimally prepare young, Belgian talent for a possible career as a professional cyclist. The U23 team of Lotto Soudal – from next year the Lotto Dstny Development Team – which until now operated at club level, will step up to continental level from 1 January 2023. After the WorldTeams and ProTeams, the continental teams are the third level of the international cycling pyramid.

In this way, Lotto Soudal aims to make the transition from U23 category to pro level even smaller, says CEO John Lelangue: “The switch from the Lotto Soudal Development Team from club to continental level has been in the pipeline for some time. It is a logical next step in the evolution of the Development Team, which already exists for over fifteen years with the mission to offer young, Belgian talent a professional environment in which they can develop into the pro riders of tomorrow. The step towards the continental level will allow the Development Team to even better integrate into the Lotto Dstny entity next year. To give you an example, U23 riders will be able to get a taste of racing at 1.1 or 1.Pro level, where they will be at the start together with several riders of the WorldTeam. This will only benefit their development.”

Kurt Van de Wouwer, who has been active as sports director and team manager of the U23 formation since 2007, applauds the decision. “In a period of fifteen years, over seventy guys have been kneaded into pro riders at the Lotto Soudal Development Team. So, the team has already proven its value for the cycling world. Now the time has come to make the step towards continental level in order to create an even better cross-pollination between the U23 and WorldTour team. Just like in previous years, our U23 riders will be able to participate in the most prestigious races such as the Giro d’Italia U23, Ronde de l’Isard and Giro Valle d’Aosta. Moreover, they will be able to get a taste of 1.1 or 1.Pro level, where they can measure themselves against, but above all learn from, the pros. That way, we can prepare our young, mainly Belgian talents even better for a possible career as a professional cyclist.”

Current Lotto Soudal rider Tim Wellens also became pro at the team after spending over two years at the U23 squad. The 31-year-old Belgian has fond memories of it. “After the junior category, I chose to sign with the then U23 Davo-Lotto team in 2010. Why? The nice international calendar I could race really appealed to me and also suited my qualities as a rider better. This has only stimulated my development and so I could turn pro in 2012. If you have a look at the list who turned pro before and after me, you can say it’s a more than successful project. And of course, performances like Lennert Van Eetvelt’s recent stage win and second place overall at the Giro U23 don’t go unnoticed amongst the WorldTour riders. The Development Team has only gained in professionalism and the step to the continental level now adds an extra dimension”, Wellens concludes.

Lorenzo Fortunato Injury After suffering several crashes during both races, Adriatica Ionica Race and Tour of Slovenia, the rider Lorenzo Fortunato underwent several medical imaging examinations that revealed a fracture in the 7th left rib and the scaphoid bone of his left hand. Therefore, he will not participate in the upcoming Italian Championships to be held next Sunday. The team’s medical staff will evaluate recovery time.

Huising and Boonstra Join Jumbo-Visma Development Team Menno Huising and Jelle Boonstra will become part of the Jumbo-Visma Development Team on 1 January 2023. The two eighteen-year-old riders, currently active in the junior circuit, will make their debut in the U23 squad of Team Jumbo-Visma.

Huising and Boonstra are both part of CyclingClassNL, the initiative of NOC*NSF, the KNWU and Team Jumbo-Visma that focuses on the professional coaching and development of talented young athletes. The junior riders sign a two-season contract.

Huising, who won a stage in this year’s Course de la Paix and Bernadeau Junior, among others, cannot imagine a better team for his transfer. “Jumbo-Visma Development Team is a very professional development team with a good atmosphere. I’ve been to a training camp several times and found a real top sports mentality there. The excellent management and pleasant interaction with the riders and staff make it a dream team for me. Learning and developing in the coming years is number one for me. I’m looking forward to it.”

Currently riding for WV De Amstel, Boonstra has also been present during Jumbo-Visma Development Team training sessions. It allowed him to get to know his future teammates. “Menno and I were well received, even though we were not yet part of the team. We felt very welcome during those first training moments, which was nice. Being part of Jumbo-Visma Development Team is an exciting prospect for next year. I’m convinced that the guidance and the varied race programme will give my development a new impulse. Just look at the development curve of the boys who are now riding with the development team and the number of riders who have moved on to the pros. Last year I already took a step in my personal development at CyclingClassNL, in nutrition and strength training, for example. I have become more aware of what I am doing and will take that with me.”

Head of Development Robbert de Groot looks forward to the two Dutchmen’s arrival with great pleasure. “Jelle and Menno are guys with great potential. They have several qualities. Together we will try to use that potential optimally and, therefore, very much look forward to the collaboration. We are off to a flying start because we have known them for a while and have seen them at work during training sessions. That’s an advantage.”

Negasi Impresses As He Finishes As The Top African Rider At The ‘Baby Giro’ An impressive ride from Ethiopia’s Negasi Haylu Abreha saw him finish an excellent 14th position overall in his debut Giro d’Italia under 23 – the ‘Baby Giro’.

This saw the 22-year-old from Mekelle finish the race as the highest-placed African rider in one of the toughest events on the calendar.

The race proved to be very challenging with some extreme levels of climbing, and was ultimately won by Leo Hayter of the Hagens Berman Axeon team.

14th was an excellent result for the young man who has proved an example to us all in showing incredible spirit in the face of great challenge.

Overall, the high level of racing saw Team Qhubeka’s contingent severely tested but come through the event cementing our continued belief in the spreading our message of hope in that bicycles change lives.

“It was a good, very hard race. It was my first time riding the Baby Giro and I’m very happy, I absolutely gave my very best. It’s the best result that I’ve achieved with Team Qhubeka, and it’s my best result overall on GC in a race,” said Abreha. “I want to thank my teammates and the team for the incredible support, and I look forward to using this result to continue to develop.”

There were top-10 stage finishes for Nicolo Parisini – 5th on stage two and 6th on stage four – as well as for Kevin Bonaldo, who was 8th on the opening stage.

Bonaldo was unfortunately forced to abandon the event due to illness while a crash suffered by Mattia Guasco saw him fight bravely all the way to the finish of the race but unable to effect the racing in the way he’d hoped. He did though play a crucial support role.

That was alongside the impressive Eritrean Nahom Zeray Aray, who at just 19-years-old and in just his first few months of racing in Europe, showed enormous potential in such a prestigious race. Along with Guasco, his piloting of Abreha in crucial parts of the race proved crucial in ultimately a very successful week of racing for Team Qhubeka.

Andrea Piccolo Signs with Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli Andrea Piccolo has signed a contract with Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli. The 21-year-old Italian had been under contract with Gazprom-RusVelo since the beginning of this season, but that team was punished in March because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Piccolo will sign with Gianni Savio’s team until the end of the year.

Piccolo is known as a top talent in the time trial, but his period in the WorldTour at Astana-Premier Tech in 2021 turned out to be a fiasco due to ‘personal health reasons’. “I can confirm that I had big problems, but I don’t feel ready to talk about it yet. The issue was serious and delicate, but for now it is enough to know that everything has been resolved for the better,” Piccolo said.

He made a step back to the amateurs midway through that year, after which he was picked up by Gazprom-RusVelo in the winter. In Russian service Piccolo only rode a stage race, the Tour of Valencia. After that, Gazprom-RusVelo’s license was revoked.

In the Italian cycling championship, Piccolo made his comeback in the red and black jersey of Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli and his contract runs until the end of the current season. “I’m looking forward to pinning on a number,” Piccolo said. “I have to thank the team and my manager Giuseppe Acquadro for their faith in me. I know this is a great opportunity and I don’t want to lose it. I have stood still for a long time and will therefore have to find a rhythm, but I have trained hard.”

Gianni Savio thought he should give Piccolo a chance. “He is without a doubt one of the greatest talents in Italy, but unfortunately several personal vicissitudes have meant that he has had a hard time with the pros. At Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli, we decided to help Andrea find himself. Hopefully we can give Italian cycling a talent back.”

CERATIZIT Challenge by La Vuelta 22: Teams Selection The organisers of the CERATIZIT Challenge by La Vuelta 22 have chosen the teams that will take part in the 8th edition of the women’s race which will be held from the 7th to the 11th of September. The most important Spanish race in the women’s World Tour calendar continues to grow and will feature five stages in total, from Marina de Cudeyo, Cantabria, to Madrid.

The following 14 UCI WorldTeams are automatically invited to the race: Canyon//SRAM Racing (GER) EF Education-TIBCO-SVB (USA) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope (FRA) Human Powered Health (USA) Liv Racing Xstra (NED) Movistar Team Women (ESP) Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad (SUI) Team BikeExchange – Jayco (AUS) Team DSM (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma (NED) Team SD Worx (NED) Trek – Segafredo (USA) UAE Team ADQ (UAE) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (NOR)

In addition to these 14 teams, the organisers have awarded the following wildcards: Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling (GER) Valcar – Travel & Service (ITA) Team Coop – Hitec Products (NOR) Cofidis Women Team (FRA) Rio Miera – Cantabria Deporte (ESP) Massi – Tactic Women Team (ESP) Bizkaia Durango (ESP) Soltec Team (ESP)

More information about CERATIZIT Challenge by La Vuelta: www.challengebylavuelta.com/en

Arctic Race of Norway 2022: China and Australia to Meet Up in the Northernmost Pro Bike Race The ninth Arctic Race of Norway will be held from 11 to 14 August 2022 on the same 4-day format as in previous years but for the first time below and not above the Arctic Circle. The event will welcome a well-balanced field of 19 teams, 10 of which will also take part in the 2022 Tour de France.

Accustomed to hosting the only African formation (Qhubeka) which has faded from the highest professional level, the race will be contested by teams from all other continents this time around: Oceania with the first ever participation of Team BikeExchange-Jayco, America with the return after a two-year hiatus of Human Powered Health that won a stage with Colin Joyce under the name of Rally Cycling in 2018, Asia with the brand new China Glory Continental Cycling Team, and of course Europe which keeps composing the majority of the peloton.

Two of the selected squads are from the hosting country: Coop that hasn’t missed a single edition of the ARN and won the mountains classification last year with Fredrik Dversenes, and Uno-X, the current talent factory of Norwegian cycling that developed the past two winners of the Tour de l’Avenir, Tobias Foss in 2019 and Tobias Halland Johannessen in 2021. Four UCI WorldTeams have famous Norwegians in their ranks: Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux (Alexander Kristoff and Sven-Erik Bystrøm), Team BikeExchange-Jayco (Amund Grøndahl Jansen), Team DSM (Andreas Leknessund and Jonas Iversby Hvideberg), as well as Israel-Premier Tech (Carl Fredrik Hagen).

August Jensen, a stage winner and second overall in 2017, first world class cyclist from northern Norway before the coming of age of Leknessund, is now with Human Powered Health along with Kristian Aasvold who came fifth overall in the 2021 Arctic Race of Norway. TotalEnergies features the inexhaustible Edvald Boasson Hagen who hasn’t said his last word on a bike yet.

Norwegian fans on the road side love their home favourites but the event equally attracts attention all over the world. It’ll be the seventh participation of Astana Qazaqstan Team that already bagged three overall classifications: with Rein Taaramäe in 2015, Sergei Chernetski in 2018 and Alexey Lutsenko in 2019.

“We appreciate the great loyalty of the teams who have regularly participated in the event and renowned runners like Warren Barguil also ask to come back”, commented technical director Yannick Talabardon. “There is something new this year with the BikeExchange-Jayco Team, the China Glory Continental Cycling Team, which represents a very big project for the world of cycling, and Trinity Racing, which should allow to discover new talents of international scope. It’ll make it a very interesting start list.”

The teams of the 2022 Arctic Race of Norway: UCI WorldTeams (6) Astana Qazaqstan Team Cofidis Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux Team BikeExchange-Jayco Team DSM Israel-Premier Tech

UCI ProTeams (10) Alpecin-Fenix Team Arkea-Samsic B&B Hotels-KTM Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-WB Burgos-BH Euskaltel-Euskadi Human Powered Health Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise Uno X-Pro Cycling Team TotalEnergies

Continental Teams (3) Team Coop China Glory Continental Cycling Team Trinity Racing

The stages of the 2022 Arctic Race of Norway Thursday 11 August, Stage 1: Mo I Rana – Mo I Rana (185 km) Friday 12 August, Stage 2: Mosjøen – Brønnøysund (155 km) Saturday 13 August, Stage 3: Namsos – Skallstuggu summit (180 km) Sunday 14 August, Stage 4: Trondheim – Trondheim (160 km)

Top Teams Confirmed for the Deutschland Tour 2022 Germany’s most important cycling race once again underscores its key position. Two months before the race’s start in Weimar, the Deutschland Tour confirms it will take place with the maximum of 14 teams from the UCI WorldTour. Two UCI ProTeams and four other German teams complete the list of teams.

BORA – hansgrohe leads the line-up of 20 teams on the Deutschland Tour. With Nils Politt as overall winner, the team impressed at their home tour in 2021. But strong competition for the German UCI WorldTeam has been announced for the upcoming August. The world’s best teams are set to come: Jumbo-Visma, INEOS Grenadiers, UAE Team Emirates and Bahrain-Victorious form the Top 5 of the current world rankings with BORA – hansgrohe.

Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux has riders in its ranks who left their mark on the last edition of the Deutschland Tour. Alexander Kristoff underlined his preference for German races with two stage wins and Georg Zimmermann showed his great talent by winning the jersey of the best young rider. Local cycling fans will also look forward to the international teams of many German pros. In addition to Team DSM, EF Education – Easypost, Israel – Premier Tech, Lotto Soudal, Movistar Team and Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team might nominate their German riders for the Deutschland Tour. The AG2R Citroën Team and Trek – Segafredo complete the list of UCI WorldTeams.

From the second division, Alpecin-Fenix and B&B Hotels – KTM have received an invitation to this year’s Deutschland Tour. After the German championships, which will take place from June 24 to 26, four more German teams will be selected to participate in the Deutschland Tour 2022.

The Deutschland Tour takes place from August 24 to 28. Running on five days, the route leads from Weimar and Meiningen in Thuringia to Marburg before the final weekend is held entirely in the southwestern part of Germany. The queen stage starts in Freiburg and ends on the Schauinsland with the first mountain top finish of the Deutschland Tour. The final day runs from Schiltach in the Black Forest to Stuttgart where the overall winner is awarded the red jersey after 710 kilometres of racing.

Teams Deutschland Tour 2022: UCI WorldTeams: AG2R Citroën Team Bahrain Victorious BORA – hansgrohe EF Education – Easypost INEOS Grenadiers Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux Israel – Premier Tech Jumbo-Visma Lotto Soudal Movistar Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team Team DSM Trek – Segafredo UAE Team Emirates

UCI ProTeams: Alpecin-Fenix B&B Hotels – KTM

Plus four German teams which will be selected following the national championships.

Pontevedra (Spain) Will Host the 2024 Cyclo-Cross European Championships The Galician city of Pontevedra will host the 2024 Cyclo-Cross European Championships (Spain) during the weekend of 2 and 3 November.

The agreement was signed in Madrid at the Higher Institute of Sport. It was followed by a press conference with, among others, the President of the Higher Institute of Sport and the General Secretary José Manuel Franco, the President of the Spanish Cycling Federation José Luis Lopéz Cérron, the President of the Federación Galega de Ciclismo, Juan Carlos Muñiz, the Mayor of Pontevedra, Miguel Anxo and the President of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme, Enrico Della Casa.

Enrico Della Casa, President of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme: “Spain has a great Cyclo-Cross Youth tradition. The awarding of the 2024 Cyclo-Cross European Championships to Galicia and the city of Pontevedra opens a new chapter for this discipline, which has its roots in Northern Europe.

With this event in Galicia bringing together around 2,000 people including athletes, technicians and fans, that will be broadcast all over Europe thanks to the agreement between the UEC and Eurovision, this movement will be given the opportunity to expand its horizons in line with the continuing global development of our sport.

I would like to thank the Autonomous Community of Galicia, the Higher Institute of Sport and its President José Manuel Franco and the city of Pontevedra and its Mayor Miguel Anxo for their enthusiastic support of the bid, as well as the Spanish Cycling Federation and its President José Luis Lopéz Cérron, the Federación Galega de Ciclismo and its Président Juan Carlos Muñiz for helping to promote Cyclo-Cross with a major event like the 2024 European Championships.”

Euro Cross champs in Spain:

Possible Prison Sentence for Mario Cipollini for Assault and Stalking Mario Cipollini faces two and a half years in prison. The Italian ex-cyclist has been told that this could be the sentence of the court of Lucca. The prosecution states that Cipollini is guilty of assaulting, stalking and threatening his ex-wife and her partner.

The case has been going on since March 2019 and concerns events that allegedly took place in 2016 and 2017. Cipollini’s ex-wife Sabrina Landucci and her new partner Silvio Giusti filed the complaint. Domestic abuse in Italy carries a prison term of two to six years, and for threats, they can get you six months to four years in prison. The prosecutor doesn’t ask for the maximum requirements. Cipollini could be sentenced to two years in prison for assaulting and threatening his ex. On top of that, there are another six months because of the threats to Giusti. The lawyer of Cipo’s ex is also demanding compensation of €80,000.

Mario Cipollini, who won 12 stages in the Tour and 42 stages in the Giro during his impressive career, denies all accusations. According to him, he never attacked or beat his ex-wife. He also denies threatening her with a weapon and says he did not grab her by the neck. His defence is still allowed to respond on July 13. A verdict will also be handed down that day.

You Can Help Amy Pieters by Crowdfunding for Optimal Rehabilitation Just before the start of the Dutch National Championships, a crowdfunding was started so that Amy Pieters can go for the most optimal rehabilitation. The organisers of the Dutch National Championships, where Pieters would normally defended her red-white-blue jersey on the road, handed over the first check for the fund to her family before the start of the women’s race.

Pieters had a crash in December during a training camp with the national team in Spain. She suffered severe brain damage and went into a coma. A life-saving operation was immediately performed in Spain. The first weeks were very tough for her and her family.

“We are now a few months further and Amy has regained consciousness. The further course of her recovery is still uncertain. She is working hard on her rehabilitation. Amy can’t talk at the moment, she also still has a loss on the right side of her body, which makes the recovery hard and difficult. No matter how hard the treatments are, and how difficult she is now, Amy lives by her own motto #smile to enjoy, and smiles at life again,” the press release reads.

The family adds: “It is not yet possible to predict how long her recovery will take, or how far she can get. What we do know is that Amy is a sportswoman at heart. She is combative, positive and never gives up. She has always committed herself and worked hard to achieve her goals. Both individually and in a team. Her effort and struggle now serves a much greater purpose, and she cannot do it alone. Treatments that Amy underwent, both at home and abroad, are not all reimbursed. Modifications and equipment are very expensive. A contribution appears to be necessary, in view of the long rehabilitation process that awaits her and the costs involved. Sometimes there are treatments that are not reimbursed and that may be successful. And insurance often only reimburses something afterwards.”

That is why the family, her loved ones and her team, Team SD Worx, have set up a fund so that Pieters can hopefully make use of all the opportunities that are possible for her, partly thanks to the donations. Her teammate Christine Majerus made a drawing of which special t-shirts were printed, which have been made available by Team SD Worx for a number of donors. All donations fully benefit the recovery of and by Amy. For more information and donations to the fund, please go to: www.amypieters.nl

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Alastair Hamilton has been a pro team mechanic on the road, track and mountain bike and worked for the Great Britain team at the World championships in all disciplines. Since moving to Spain and finding out how to use a computer, he has gone from contributor of Daily Distractions at the 2002 Vuelta a España to editor at PezCyclingNews.

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