Cyclingnews Racing News

2013 Cape Pioneer Trek route released

Sue George — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:46:45 GMT

The route for the 2013 Cape Pioneer Trek has been revealed. The fifth edition of the mountain bike stage race will travel through South Africa's Western Cape Province this October 20-26. The total distance of 549 kilometers over seven days is in line with the organizers' quest to deliver quality distance, not quantity distance. The ratio of vertical ascent isn't excessive, but it's relatively high and indicative of the gradient the route will cover. There's a total of 11,657 meters of vertical ascent, ...

Ted King excited to debut in Tour de France

Laura Weislo — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:48:44 GMT

At age 30, American Ted King will finally make his debut in the Tour de France , lining up at the start in Corsica for the 100th edition of the race as one of eight riders who will work to help Peter Sagan repeat as winner of the race's green jersey for the points classification. It is a long awaited debut for the Cannondale rider, who rode his first Grand Tour, the 2009 Giro d'Italia, with the Cervelo Test Team, but has not been chosen for any Grand Tours since joining the Italian team in 2011. ...

Tour de France 2013: 10-day countdown starts here

Barry Ryan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:56:38 GMT

There are just ten days until the start of the 2013 Tour de France , and the 100th edition of the great race promises to write another rich chapter in the history of La Grande Boucle. Over the next ten days, Cyclingnews will count down to the 2013 Tour de France with up-to-the-minute news, race and stage previews, exclusive interviews, pre-race analysis and press conference coverage. The absence of defending champion Bradley Wiggins means that Team Sky’s efforts are all channelled towards ...

Tour victory remains a dream for Valverde

Barry Ryan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:05:48 GMT

Alejandro Valverde ( Movistar ) has said that Tour de France victory remains a dream although he acknowledged that a podium finish might be the summit of his ambitions at this point in his career. The 33-year-old returned to the Tour last year after missing out on the race in 2010 and 2011 as he served suspension for his links to blood doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Valverde won the final Pyrenean stage to Peyragudes but made no impact in the fight for overall honours, finishing 20th in Paris. ...

Contador well supported on Saxo-Tinkoff Tour de France squad

Laura Weislo — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:32:10 GMT

Alberto Contador will have the picks of the Team Saxo-Tinkoff litter at his disposal in his quest to add another Tour de France title to his palmares when the 100th edition starts in Corisca on June 29. The Spaniard will have strong support from Michael Rogers , who helped usher Bradley Wiggins to the overall title in 2012, Roman Kreuziger, who recently finished third in the Tour de Suisse , and Nicolas Roche in addition to his two Spanish climbing lieutenants Benjamin Noval and Jesus Hernandez. ...

Orica GreenEdge name Tour de France squad

Jane Aubrey — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:50:16 GMT

Stage wins will be the focus of Orica GreenEdge in the outfit's second Tour de France , the team going close on several occasions in 2012. The team will be spearheaded by veteran Stuart O'Grady who will equal American George Hincapie's record of 17 Tour de France starts with the Grande Boucle a cornerstone of his career having been on the start line each year since 1997 when he made his debut with the Gan squad. Sports director Matt White said it's a more diverse line-up for the squad in 2013, giving ...

Andy Schleck leads RadioShack-Leopard Tour de France team

Barry Ryan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:49:19 GMT

Andy Schleck has been named as leader of the RadioShack-Leopard team for the 100th edition of the Tour de France but team manager Luca Guercilena has downplayed expectations admitting that a podium finish for the Luxembourger is "unrealistic." Schleck has endured a difficult period since a fractured pelvis at the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné ruled him out of last year’s Tour. Although he was able to return to action at the end of last season, he struggled for form and ...

Froome ready for his shot at Tour de France success

Laura Weislo — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:47:31 GMT

Chris Froome is ready to target the 2013 Tour de France as sole leader of Team Sky , without the support or distraction of Bradley Wiggins, confident that he has the form and ability to take on rivals who have already won Grand Tours. The Kenyan-born Briton is an obvious favourite to win this year's Tour de France after finishing a close second to teammate Bradley Wiggins last year. Yet he is also the outsider, the underdog - as he describes himself - after rising from his humble beginnings in African ...

Pierre Rolland cleared to return to racing

Barry Ryan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:16:06 GMT

Pierre Rolland has been cleared to return to racing by the French Cycling Federation. The Team Europcar rider had been requested to hand back his licence for eight days after he recorded abnormally low levels of cortisol in a test carried out in conjunction with the MPCC (Movement for Credible Cycling) on the final weekend of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The additional MPCC cortisol tests are designed specifically to combat the abuse of corticoids in the professional peloton, which are ...

Cannondale Tour de France team devoted to Sagan

Barry Ryan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:14:01 GMT

Cannondale has built its Tour de France team around Peter Sagan , who is aiming for a second successive green jersey, while 22-year-old Moreno Moser is set to make his Grand Tour debut. Sagan claimed three stage wins and the points classification at last year’s Tour, when the team was devoted largely to the podium challenge of Vincenzo Nibali. Following Nibali’s departure to Astana, and with Ivan Basso still recovering from the perineal cyst that ruled him out of the Giro d’Italia, ...

Sagan to target the yellow and green jerseys at the Tour de France

Stephen Farrand — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:29:42 GMT

Peter Sagan is hoping to wear the Tour de France race leader’s maillot jaune, the yellow jersey, before going on to fight for a second points competition green jersey in this year’s 100th edition of the Grand Boucle. The Slovak will be the sole leader of the Cannondale team . Sagan proved he will be at his very best in for the opening stages of the Tour de France by winning two stages at the Tour de Suisse. He was able to handle the hilly stages and then had the speed to beat his ...

Video: Tour de France stage previews with Magnus Bäckstedt

Laura Weislo — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:34:08 GMT

The 100th edition of the Tour de France is just around the corner and teams are finalizing their rosters. Which stages will be critical for the overall contenders? Which ones could create surprises? All of these questions and more are answered in 21 video previews featuring former Tour stage winner Magnus Bäckstedt. The Swedish/British commentator walks us through each of the stages, from the opening flat stage to the twilight finale in Paris, pointing out all of the features which ...

Haussler hopes to return before end of season

Barry Ryan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:34:12 GMT

If Heinrich Haussler didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. After claiming his first win in two years at the Bayern Rundfahrt last month, the IAM Cycling man was cruelly brought back to earth at the Tour de Suisse, fracturing his hip and pelvis in a crash on stage 6. Haussler spent two nights in hospital in Uster before returning home – “I’d been on the road already for six weeks before Suisse, between racing and altitude training and I just really ...

Cyclingnews Fantasy Tour de France game now live

Barry Ryan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:25:42 GMT

The Cyclingnews Fantasy Tour de France game is now open for registration. With less than two weeks to go before the 2013 Tour de France kicks off in Corsica, it's your chance to show that you could do a better job than all the other so-called pro team managers picking an unbeatable Tour squad. You can play for free, limited to one team per entrant. All you need to do is pick nine riders, a team and a bonus stage and you'll have a chance to transfer up to 24 riders during the course of the race. ...

Mollema to lead Team Blanco at the Tour de France

Stephen Farrand — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:21:37 GMT

The Blanco team has revealed its nine-rider squad for the 100th edition of the Tour de France, opting to name Bauke Mollema and not Robert Gesink, as team leader. The Dutch team, that was sponsored by Rabobank until the bank quit following a series of doping scandals last winter, is expected to reveal Belkin as its news sponsor on the eve of the Tour de France. Gesink has often been the team's leader at Grand Tours but after his poor performance and retirement at the Giro d'Italia and Mollema's ...

Argos-Shimano names its team for the 100th Tour de France

Stephen Farrand — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:49:38 GMT

The Argos-Shimano team has officially named its team for the 100th edition of the Tour de France, building its nine-rider squad around sprinters Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb. The Dutch team is riding its first Tour de France as a WorldTour team. Last year it secured a wild card invitation but made little impact. Ambitions are much higher this year. Kittel has already shown he can take on and beat the best sprinters in the world, winning Scheldeprijs, stages at the Tour of Oman, Paris-Nice, the ...

Cavendish wants yellow jersey in Corsica

Barry Ryan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:15:11 GMT

Mark Cavendish may be among the chief contenders for the green jersey at the Tour de France but yellow will be the only colour on the Omega Pharma-QuickStep man’s mind when he lines up for the opening stage on June 29. The Manxman has never worn the maillot jaune during his career but with the peloton facing a flat road stage from Porto-Vecchio to Bastia on the opening day of the race, he has the best opportunity of his career to date to hold the overall lead at the Tour. “I’d ...

Froome to target Tour de France "for next six or seven years"

Barry Ryan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:09:13 GMT

Chris Froome has said that he wants to target the Tour de France “for the next six or seven years” as he continues his preparations to tackle the race as Sky’s outright leader for the first time this year. Froome was a deluxe domestique for Bradley Wiggins last year and finished in second place behind his leader, who became the first British winner of the Tour. Speaking to The Times , the 28-year-old Froome said that he was not driven by the prospect of fame. “I don’t ...

Astana name Tour de France squad

Jane Aubrey — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:08:30 GMT

Astana has confirmed that Jakob Fuglsang will lead the squad at the Tour de France , announcing their long list for the French Grand Tour which starts on June 29 in Corsica. A 13-man squad has been announced with a final selection due next week following the conclusion of the Tour de Suisse . "For certain Fuglsang will be our captain when we line up to start in Corsica on June 29, but there are still some open slots and it's important to watch how the riders go in Switzerland before we choose ...

Rodriguez not ruling out Tour de France victory

Barry Ryan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:27:20 GMT

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) is not ruling himself out of the running for Tour de France victory although the Catalan has acknowledged that Chris Froome (Sky) is the favourite to carry the maillot jaune to Paris. Rodriguez is making only the second Tour appearance of his career – he finished 7th in 2010 – but at 34 years of age and after finishing on the podium of both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España last year, he is hopeful of making a big impact in July. “I’m ...

Royal greetings for Wiggins

Susan Westemeyer — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:03:59 GMT

Bradley Wiggins ' feat in winning the Tour de France has been recognized by the Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth II has congratulated him, Team Sky announced on its website. "I send you my warmest congratulations on becoming the first British cyclist ever to win the Tour de France, ” the Queen said in a message released on Tuesday. "Your historic achievement of claiming overall victory in this prestigious event is a great testament to the efforts of you and your teammates." ...

Van Der Ploeg chasing NRS trifecta at Santos North Western Tour

Jane Aubrey — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:31:13 GMT

Neil Van Der Ploeg (search2retain p/b health.com.au) is on a roll and the sprinter from Mt. Beauty will be hoping his winning trend continues this week during the fifth round of the Subaru National Road Series, the Santos North Western Tour . The 25-year-old has had an impressive run so far in 2013 with a handful of podiums in previous events finally culminating in stage victories at the Tour of Toowoomba and Adelaide Tour last month, the first of his career in the Australian domestic series. It's ...

Longo racing for another national title at age 54

Jane Aubrey — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:12:04 GMT

Veteran Jeannie Longo will compete in the French national championships this week in a bid to win her 60th title. The 54-year-old will be entered in both the road race and the individual time trial for the event which will take place in north western France. In 2012 , Longo finished 5th in the chrono and 12th in the road race which meant that for the first time since 1984, she did not qualify for the Olympic Games. Following that performance Longo denied she would be walking away from the sport ...

Pietermaritzburg mountain bike Worlds courses get UCI stamp of approval

Sue George — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:55:43 GMT

With the UCI MTB & Trials World Championships Pietermaritzburg less than three months away, local organisers received a major boost recently when International Cycling Union (UCI) MTB International Commissaire Joel Obodov of Israel gave the event's mountain bike curses an unqualified thumbs up. With the elite spectacle preceded by the UCI Mountain Bike Masters World Championships - a historic occasion in itself as the two events have never previously been staged consecutively at the same venue ...

Astana trio injured in training crash on Tenerife

Susan Westemeyer — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:33:22 GMT

A high-speed training crash took down three riders of the Astana Tour de France squad on Sunday. Team captain Jakob Fuglsang is expected to resume training again later this week, but Andrei Grivko and Assan Bazayev are apparently injured severely enough to miss the Tour. The trio, together with teammates Egor Silin, Fredrik Kessiakoff, Dmitriy Muravyev, Alexey Lutsenko and Kevin Seeldraeyers, were at a training camp on Tenerife. Shortly after starting out Sunday morning, Fuglsang, Grivko and Bazayev ...