The TOP STORY in this Thursday’s EUROTRASH is; when will we see the top cyclo-cross riders, Wout van Aert and World champion, Mathieu van der Poel fight it out in the mud? Plus all the other news from the peloton:
TOP STORY:
- Why is it taking so long for Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert to decide on their cyclocross race schedules?
Rider news:
- Tadej Pogačar is seriously underpaid
- Remco Evenepoel is in California for wind tunnel tests
- Biniam Girmay hasn’t experience racism in cycling
- Mads Pedersen sticks to a familiar spring program for Paris-Roubaix
- David Gaudu went through a very difficult period
- Alberto Bettiol wants to wear champion’s jersey to Giro d’Italia after the spring Classics
- Team dsm-firmenich PostNL join forces with Marta Cavalli for 2025
- French champion Clément Venturini prepares for short but busy cyclo-cross winter
Team news:
- Lapierre new bike sponsor of dsm-firmenich PostNL
- Lidl-Trek keeps faith in Tao Geoghegan Heart
- Suspended Nuno Ribeiro lashes out at W52 team boss
- Lotto Dstny has ongoing conversations with Maxim Van Gils
- Thomas Voeckler turns down offers and remains national coach of France
- Swiss Cycling Federation finds familiar name in search for new national coach
- 2-year contract for 21-year-old Ludovico Crescioli
- Intermarché-Wanty: Jean-François Bourlart: “We build the generation of tomorrow”
Race news:
- Tensions between Albania and RCS lead to stalemate over Giro start
- Tadej Pogačar leads the parade of stars lighting up Beking’s fourth edition
EUROTRASH coffee time!
TOP STORY: Why is it Taking so Long for Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert to Decide on Their Cyclocross Race Scedules?
Next Sunday is the first round of the cyclo-cross World Cup in Antwerp. The cross winter has been under way for a good seven weeks, but with World champion Mathieu van der Poel and rival Wout van Aert, the two best cyclocrossers still absent. Their return seems near, but why is it taking so long before we know their programs? WielerFlits has been looking into it.
The Dutch website has been talking to the teams Alpecin-Deceuninck and Visma | Lease a Bike, as well as to Christophe Impens of race organiser Golazo. They organise the X2O Trophy, the Exact Crosses and some rounds of the Superprestige. “We are not yet working on Wout and Mathieu at all”, says Impens. “Their managers know that they are more than welcome on our crosses. They know our calendar. We are quietly waiting to see what they decide together with their coaches, about where they are going to cross. We don’t make deals with those men either. They say: ‘I’m going to cross there and not there’.”
“Usually Wout and Mathieu are fair to keep the church in the middle of the village. That is, that they are visible everywhere once in all standings”, the Golazo boss continued. “We hear from Wout that he will cross, but it still depends on the recovery of his injury (his knee in the Vuelta). Nobody really knows anything about Mathieu. The Roodhooft brothers also said: ‘we don’t know ourselves yet’. If there is one party that I am sure is sincere and transparent, it is them. They are not sure how and whether yet, they’re not going to lie about that.”
That’s why we decided to ask both teams what is the basis of the fact that the program is feeling long in coming. Van Aert is currently training in Spain, where he is trying to prepare as well as possible for this winter and the new road season. A number of matches are fixed, the question now is only what the first one will be.
This depends on how Van Aert finishes his current training camp. “The decision regarding his program will follow after his training camp in Spain; that will be in early December”, a spokesman said. But at least he has announced that the Belgian will cross.
Alpecin-Deceuninck has not yet communicated about the winter plans of their leader, who himself previously openly doubted them. But the Van der Poel camp said that there will be more clarity in the course of next week. To be continued, but the cross fans don’t have to wait long for an answer if and where we get duels between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert again. Last winter they crossed each other seven times from 22 December to 21 January: MVDP won the first six, Van Aert was the best in the last in Benidorm.
When will Van der Peol and Van Aert hit the mud?
Tadej Pogačar is Seriously Underpaid
Tadej Pogačar recently signed a new contract with UAE Team Emirates. The best cyclist in the world will now earn 8 million euros per year, excluding bonuses. A considerable amount, but Tejay van Garderen does not think it is enough. The former professional, who is currently a DS with EF Education-EasyPost, states in the podcast Beyond the Podium by NBC Sports that Pogačar is seriously underpaid.
“It is time that the boys get the respect they deserve,” Van Garderen, fifth in the Tour de France in 2012 and 2014, responds to Pogačar’s salary increase. “But I still say that Tadej Pogačar, if you look at what he brings to the sport as a star, is seriously underpaid. Compare it to the NBA. For the amount that Pogačar receives, you might get a bench player there. The best NBA player, Steph Curry, gets 45 million (US $) per year. I understand that it is difficult to compare, but still…”
“Pogačar earns more than Chris Froome and Peter Sagan when I was still racing. They earned maybe four, five million a year. So yes, this is a big step. But that was in 2012 or 2013. At that time, Kobe Bryant was the best basketball player, who earned about 25 million. Now that amount has risen to 45 million…”
In the podcast, Van Garderen also talks about possibilities to increase the revenues for riders and teams, so that it goes more towards the level of ball sports. “I don’t know exactly what cycling has to do to catch up, but you can’t say that there are not enough viewers. In July (during the Tour de France) there is plenty of room: the whole world watches cycling.”
“If I were Tadej, I would ask the organisers: how much do you benefit if I start? And then I would make my participation conditional on me getting five percent of the TV revenue. Or maybe the team should do that. Then the teams might get a share of the revenue that they don’t see now.”
In January this year, La Gazzetta dello Sport published a list of top earners in cycling. Pogačar was already at the top of the list at the time. In second place at the time was Primoz Roglič, who is said to be earning 4.5 million euros per year at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in 2024 and 2025. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) followed on the list with an estimated annual salary of 4 million euros. The Dutchman, like Pogačar, recently extended his contract. It is unknown how much Van der Poel currently earns, also because the bonus conditions were not included in La Gazzetta’s list. The top ten of La Gazzetta from January also included Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers).
Pogačar not paid enough:
Remco Evenepoel is in California for Wind Tunnel Tests
Remco Evenepoel is now fully into his preparations for next season. The Soudal Quick-Step rider is currently in the American state of California for wind tunnel tests with his bike sponsor, Specialized.
From two Strava posts by Evenepoel, we can see that the 24-year-old rider is currently in the United States. The double Olympic champion went for a run of almost 10 kilometres on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. He did this in Morgan Hill, south of San Francisco. His teammate at Soudal Quick-Step, Tim Merlier, was also there. The two Belgians are currently in California for some wind tunnel tests and commercial activities, Het Nieuwsblad reported.
Evenepoel hopes to make some more aerodynamic improvements at the Innovation Center of Specialized, the American bicycle manufacturer of his Soudal Quick-Step team. Last year, the Tour rider was also spotted in the wind tunnel in Morgan Hill. At that time, he combined this with a holiday with his partner Oumi.
It is not yet known what Evenepoel’s program will look like in 2025. He did, however, announce that he will not be making his debut in the Tour of Flanders next year. “Milan-Sanremo is still an option, depending on whether Tirreno-Adriatico or Paris-Nice are chosen. We haven’t actually talked about specific programs yet. We have talked about ideas and goals,” he said in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.
Evenepoel in the US for wind tunnel tests:
Biniam Girmay Hasn’t Experience Racism in Cycling
Biniam Girmay thinks that cycling is further along in terms of inclusion than certain other sports. The African superstar, one of the few black cyclists in the professional peloton, has never had to deal with racism during his career, he said in an interview with Marca.
“During my entire career, I have not experienced a single case of racism,” Girmay, who won three stages in the Tour de France this year, told the Spanish sports-paper. “I have always been treated very well, wherever I went. In other sports, we have seen things differently. In cycling, it is the opposite. In Spain, for example, everyone is happy: they encourage me and support me. And here, in Japan (the interview was at the Saitama Criterium in Japan), it is the same. In that respect, there is a positive atmosphere in cycling.”
But, according to Dr. Marlon Moncrieffe, senior lecturer at Brighton University in the United States, there is indeed racism in cycling. He said this in 2022, after Girmay’s victory in Gent-Wevelgem, in an interview with The Cycling Show. “Is cycling racist? Yes, if you ask me,” said Moncrieffe, who wrote the book ‘Black Champions in Cycling’. “I found that black cyclists who have the ambition to reach the highest level are thwarted by sports associations such as British Cycling.”
Moncrieffe sees this reflected in the small number of black riders who make it to the top. He compared cycling with, for example, athletics, where there are many more black top athletes. “There are some opportunities for black Africans in the World Tour, but black cyclists from Europe, Great Britain or the United States never break through at the highest level,” he said.
Racism in cycling, yer or no?
Mads Pedersen Sticks to a Familiar Spring Program for Paris-Roubaix
Mads Pedersen will not make many changes to his program from last season. The Dane will ride practically the same program in the first months of 2025 as in 2024. His coach, Mattias Reck, told Ekstra Bladet.
Pedersen started last season with a series of victories in France. In February, he first rode the Etoile de Bessèges and then the Tour de la Provence, where he took six victories. In Paris-Nice, the Lidl-Trek rider also came close a number of times, but didn’t take the wins. He then contested Milan-Sanremo, where he was fourth and the E3 Saxo Classic, finishing in eleventh place, before winning Gent-Wevelgem after a battle with Mathieu van der Poel. Pedersen then crashed in Dwars door Vlaanderen. He started the Tour of Flanders a few days later, but finished in 22nd place. In Paris-Roubaix he finished third.
“We are not going to do anything different,” says Reck about Pedersen’s spring program for 2025. “It fits so well, so we are going to copy and paste what we have done so far in the run-up to Paris-Roubaix. He will ride two stage races in February. It will probably be in France, just like this year, when he rode in Bessèges and Provence, among other places. After that he will go to training camp in Mallorca, then he will ride Paris-Nice and then he will do all the major classics.”
Pedersen has his sights set on Paris-Roubaix in particular. “Everything I do is with one goal in mind,‘13.04.2025’”, the date of the next Hell of the North, he recently wrote on Instagram. In recent Roubaix’s, Pedersen was fourth in 2023) and third (2024) in Paris-Roubaix, respectively. What Pedersen will do after Paris-Roubaix is not yet clear. “Everything after the spring is uncertain,” says Reck. “We will have to see what the team and sponsors want regarding the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España.”
Mads Pedersen Sticks looking forward to Paris-Roubaix:
David Gaudu Went Through a Very Difficult Period
For David Gaudu, 2024 was a year of ups and downs. The French climber had a very strong end to his season, but had a few very difficult months before that. “I’ve been through a lot, but I can now say that I’m happy with my life again,” Gaudu told Ciclo21.
The 28-year-old rider of Groupama-FDJ went through a difficult phase, especially in the weeks before, during and after the Tour de France. “You ask yourself a lot of questions, because I had a lot of ups and downs. The period around the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour in particular was very complicated.” In the Tour de France, Gaudu turned out to be a shadow of the rider who finished fourth in 2022.
“After the Tour, I was incredibly motivated to show myself in the Vuelta a España. I also rode a great Vuelta (6th in the final classification, ed.) and then I even managed to win the Tour of Luxembourg. I also managed to end the season well in the Tour of Lombardy. I found myself again at the end of the season. I have experienced many difficult moments, but unfortunately that is part of it. You have to get through it. I think I have overcome it now. I can now say that I am happy with my life again. I am looking forward to getting back on the bike, racing and hurting myself again,” Gaudu concluded.
David Gaudu – Happy with life again:
Alberto Bettiol Wants to Wear Champion’s Jersey to Giro d’Italia after Spring Classics
Alberto Bettiol will contest the Giro d’Italia in the Italian champion’s jersey. That is what the Astana Qazaqstan rider wants and has started his 2025 season training. “The chance to wear the tricolor in the Giro is an even greater incentive for me,” Bettiol said.
The 31-year-old Italian spoke at the gala evening of the Giglio d’Oro, the Golden Lily. These are the most important cycling presentation in Italy. After winning Milan-Turin, a fifth place in Milan-Sanremo, victory in Boucles de la Mayenne and the Italian road title, Bettiol received the top prize. For the women, Chiara Consonni and Vittoria Guazzini, the golden duo in the Olympic Madison, won the Giglio d’Oro 2024.
In an interview with Tuttobiciweb, Bettiol, who switched from EF Education-EasyPost to Astana halfway through last season, was already looking forward to the new season. “I’m thinking about riding the Giro d’Italia, because I haven’t been there for a while either,” he said, adding that the champion’s jersey is an even bigger incentive.
Bettiol’s season looks to be starting in the Tour Down Under, followed by the spring Classics. The focus will be on the cobbled classics such as the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Bettiol surprisingly won Flanders in 2019, last spring he finished ninth.
Alberto Bettiol to the Giro and Classics in 2025:
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL Join Forces with Marta Cavalli for 2025
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL are delighted to announce that climber-extraordinaire and multiple race winner at the highest level, Marta Cavalli, joins their Women’s program in 2025. The Italian will wear the distinctive two-striped jersey through at least the 2027 season.
Hailing from Cremona in the picturesque Lombardy region of Italy, Cavalli made the step up to the elite level of Women’s racing in 2017. Finding her feet in the often-challenging jump straight out of juniors, Cavalli settled in well and progressed year-on-year, taking a brilliant win in the Italian national championship’s road race in 2018. A switch of team to the WorldTour level in 2021 saw Cavalli continue her trajectory as one of the best climbers and racers in the peloton with strong results throughout the campaign such as sixth at the Tour of Flanders, fourth overall at the Vuelta a España and a top ten at Paris-Roubaix.
2022 was a coming-of-age campaign for the Italian as she well and truly left her mark on the world of women’s cycling. A spectacular April resulted in Cavalli being crowned the queen of the Ardennes with wins at Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, alongside sixth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège; with a fifth place at Paris-Roubaix thrown in for good measure too. Continuing from there, she took fourth overall at Itzulia before winning the Mont Ventoux Challenge in June – once again highlighting her abilities when the road goes uphill. A sublime second on GC at the Giro d’Italia Women showed resilience and grit from Cavalli who went toe-to-toe with Van Vleuten for most of the race. However, her Tour de France Femmes participation that followed was cut short after a heavy impact. A true fighter, Cavalli lined up again the end of the year and finished sixth at the Giro dell’Emilia.
2023 saw more strong performances and GC wins at Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées and Tour Feminin l’Ardeche, plus a handful of podium places at a variety of races, as she found her feet once more in the peloton. However, 2024 has been a year of misfortune for Cavalli who suffered a pre-season hip injury. Returning to racing in March, she then withdrew from the Vuelta, before her series of bad luck continued when she was hit by a car while training in July; prematurely ending her season. 2025 offers Cavalli a fresh start and lots of promise as she joins Team dsm-firmenich PostNL.
Upon signing for the team Cavalli expressed: “I really enjoyed my time at FDJ-Suez but after four years I wanted a change and a chance to meet new people and experience new things. That gives me a lot of motivation to continue to make steps and I think there are opportunities to do that with Team dsm-firmenich PostNL. From our first talks the team has really trusted in me and believe that I can get back to where I was as a rider, and that was something important to me. There are a lot of people within the team who can help me grow as a rider and person. I’ve been a bit unlucky the past few years, so this is a good chance to restart and my goal is to come back to the highest level possible at Team dsm-firmenich PostNL.”
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL head coach Rudi Kemna added: “Marta is physically a very talented bike rider, and she has taken some incredible wins at the highest level of the sport. She’s not only just a pure climber as she also has a good engine and has fought for top results in some of the hardest cobbled classics out there. Of course, she has had a lot of misfortune in recent years which has been tough on her, but she is a really determined character who has shown tenacity to fight back to where she is now, and she always wants to give her all. We believe that we have a good support network within the team that can help her to regain her confidence even more; and with our experts and coaches that together we can compete for results in the biggest races.”
Marta Cavalli to Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:
French champion Clément Venturini Prepares for Short but Busy Cyclocross Winter
Clément Venturini rode his first cyclo-cross of the season on Sunday. In the regional cyclo-cross in Anse, the 31-year-old rider crossed the finish line first. For the six-time French champion, this is the start of a busy period of cyclo-crosses.
Venturini explained his cyclocross programme for the coming months to Ciclo21. “Now the Coupe de France competitions in Troyes follow. After that I follow an international programme, with most of the World Cup competitions, from Dublin to Hoogerheide.”
The Arkéa-B&B Hotels rider doesn’t intend to just ride, he will be on the start line with ambition. “I want to defend my French title in Pontchâteau, but I also hope to get a podium place in a World Cup cyclo-cross this winter. And then there are the cyclocross World championships.”
For Venturini, it is not just any World Championship, because the cyclocross riders will travel to Liévin at the beginning of February, to compete for the various rainbow jerseys on Venturini’s home French soil. “It is a championship with everything that entails. The weather conditions will play a major role. We will see whether the national coach will call me up for the next World Championship,” the French champion is cautious.
Venturini seemed to be the obvious successor to Francis Mourey as the French cyclocross top-man, but in recent years the rider has decided to focus more and more on the road. This has paid off, given his many places of honour. Last season he achieved nineteen top ten placings, making him an important points scorer for the troubled Arkéa-B&B Hotels team.
A busy period for Clément Venturini:
Lapierre New bikes for Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
Team DSM-firmenich PostNL will be riding Lapierre bikes next season, multiple sources confirmed to WielerFlits. The French brand is taking over from Scott, which has been the bike supplier of the Dutch WorldTeam since 2021. After a collaboration of four seasons, the contract has not been extended.
The decision to switch to a new bike is said to be based on a combination of circumstances. One of these is that the loss-making Accell, the parent company of Lapierre, would like to get rid of its excess stock. They wanted to do this by sponsoring a professional team and after several discussions they ended up with Team dsm-firmenich PostNL. The new bikes will be a white-blue colour.
For Lapierre it means a return to the highest level of cycling. Last year they disappeared from the peloton after being the bike sponsor of Groupama-FDJ for more than 22 years. Strangely, last summer Iwan Spekenbrink’s team had already ordered new bikes for 2025 from Scott. Sources in the team have confirmed that new Scott Addict bikes were even spotted in the Service Course this autumn. In October, riders were said to have been given new bikes from the Swiss brand to take home.
The Scott bikes have now been offered to companies that buy up stock from cycling teams. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL have yet to announce the new collaboration.
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL on Lapierre in 2025?
Lidl-Trek Keeps Faith in Tao Geoghegan Heart
Tao Geoghegan Hart moved from INEOS Grenadiers to Lidl-Trek at the end of 2023, but the American team has had little results with the winner of the 2020 Giro d’Italia 2020. But, the British climber still enjoys the trust of the Lidl-Trek team management.
Luca Guercilena, the manager of the WorldTour formation, said in an interview. “He was very unlucky last season, with some crashes during important moments. But in the Tour of Romandy he was still very strong. Falls and bad luck played tricks on him”, outlines the Italian, who has overcome his battle with lymph node cancer and is now back to work full-time.
Hart started the 2024 cycling season at a disadvantage, as he had to rehabilitate for a long time after a hard crash in the 2023 Giro d’Italia from a complex fracture in his hip. However, once back in competition, the 29-year-old rider encountered the bad luck several times. Hart crashed several times last season, which meant that he had to rehabilitate again and again. Yet Lidl-Trek has not yet given up hope. Guercilena still sees Hart as a suitable leader for the round work. “We have confidence in Tao when it comes to winning big games. He hopes to win another big round in 2025, or at least to be competitive.”
Tao Geoghegan Hart no having the best of luck:
Suspended Nuno Ribeiro Lashes Out at W52 Team Boss
Nuno Ribeiro will probably never work in cycling again. The 47-year-old ex-cyclist, who was team DS with the now defunct W52-FC Porto, was suspended for 25 years by the Portuguese Anti-Doping Authority (ADOP) last year. According to Ribeiro, former team owner Adriano Quintanilha is the evil one behind the coping system.
Ribeiro was tried in the context of ‘Operation Prova Limpa’ (clean evidence). Team boss Adriano Quintanilha and cyclists João Rodrigues, Rui Vinhas, Ricardo Mestre, Samuel Caldeira, Daniel Mestre, José Neves, Joni Brandão, Ricardo Vilela, José Gonçalves and Jorge Magalhães are also involved.
Documents, viewed by Portuguese media, show that Ribeiro, Quintanilha and general manager Hugo Veloso of W52-FC Porto drew up a ‘doping plan’ to improve the riders. From 2020, doping use, including blood transfusions, growth hormones and testosterone, would have been normal within the team. The team then decided to pull the plug on the project.
Ribeiro played an important role, according to the judge, but the former rider of Liberty Seguros and Efapel, cannot agree. “I have never spent money on doping and never incited the use of it. It was always Mr. Adriano (team manager Quintanilha) who did this”, said the Portuguese to the Lusa news agency.
“Quintanilha has spent thousands of euros to facilitate his doping practices. He wanted, paid and handed out the orders. He knew everything and did everything to win. He also said: I pay to win. There was a large-scale doping program. He blamed the cyclists and even came up with threats. He was a master at manipulating people. It was really hell. I didn’t feel like a criminal myself. I was weak because I gave in. I should have said no.” Ribeiro said with sadness. “And I’m sorry too. I know how wrong I was. I therefore apologise. To society, to everyone, but especially to my cyclists.”
W52 had a doping system:
Statement: Ongoing Conversations with Maxim Van Gils
At this moment, Lotto Dstny Team is in discussion with Maxim Van Gils and his management to decide about their future together. Ongoing talks regarding a potential departure are part of this process. All parties, however, wish for this to proceed in the most proper, legal, and serene manner possible. For the time being, we do not wish to provide further comments to ensure the discussions can continue calmly. Once there is official news, it will be communicated.
Will Van Gils leave Lotto?
Thomas Voeckler Turns Down Offers and Remains National Coach of France
Thomas Voeckler will continue to be France’s national coach in 2025. He confirmed in an interview with L’Équipe, after Le Télégramme reported the news on Monday. The former professional had offers from several teams, both French newspapers wrote.
Voeckler was appointed national coach by the French federation in 2019 and has since achieved successes. Julian Alaphilippe was World champion in 2020 and 2021, while Christophe Laporte took the European title in 2023. In addition, the French men with Valentin Madouas and Christophe Laporte won silver and bronze in the Olympic road race in Paris.
Voeckler’s contract as national coach expired, but he extended for one year. He rejected offers from some ‘well-known teams’ for this, according to L’Équipe. It is not known which teams showed interest.
“I really like to see young people, even very young people, reach the highest level”, Voeckler, during his cycling career the darling of the French people, explains his choice to remain national coach longer. “A great generation is coming, both in terms of climbers and sprinters.”
Due to his contract extension, Voeckler will at least be at the head of the French national team at the World Championships in Rwanda (21-28 September). He will also be at the European Championships in the Ardèche, France (October 1-5).
Thomas Voeckler – French national coach for another year:
Swiss Cycling Federation Has a New National Coach
Michael Schär will be the new elite and U23 national coach of Switzerland from January 2025. The 38-year-old Schär, who ended his cycling career last year, is the successor to Michael Albasini, who will start working as DS with Q36.5 Pro Cycling.
In 2021, after ending his cycling career, Michael Albasini succeeded his father Marcello as national coach of Switzerland. However, in October it was announced that Albasini was ready for a new challenge after four years and would move to Q36.5 Pro Cycling. In the search for a new national coach, the Swiss Cycling Federation found Michael Schär.
“I am looking forward to taking on the new challenge,” a motivated Schär said in a press release. “I am very passionate about passing on some of my experience to young cyclists. My goal is to work with the riders and the team, hoping to bring out the best in everyone, strengthen team spirit and create unforgettable moments.”
For the former rider of Astana, BMC, CCC and AG2R Citroën, it is certainly not a leap into the unknown, as he was already working as assistant national coach to Albasini at the last World Championships in Zurich. Schär was also a team DS with Lidl-Trek for a year, a position he will continue to hold in 2025.
“Michael knows all our working methods, the riders and brings a lot of knowledge with him,” said Patrick Müller, sporting director of the Swiss national team. “The fact that he is also a DS with Lidl-Trek is only an advantage. He sees the riders regularly at competitions and this only ensures better communication. He will receive support, especially for the U23 competitions.”
Michael Schär is the new elite and U23 national coach of Switzerland:
2-year Contract for 21-Year-Old Ludovico Crescioli
Winning a stage at the Tour de l’Avenir is no accident. Team Polti Kometa closely follows the French Under-23 race, where Piganzoli has tasted the podium several times in past seasons, and they did not miss the chance to secure Italian rider Ludovico Crescioli, who claimed victory in the second stage of this year’s Avenir at Plateau d’Hauteville.
A climber with a quick finish, the 21-year-old from Lazzeretto (in the province of Florence) joins Fundación Contador’s ProTeam on a two-year contract after three U23 seasons with the Tuscan team Mastromarco and the Emilia-Romagna-based Techniques: “I’m thrilled to have signed with Polti Kometa for 2025 and 2026!” he says enthusiastically. “Becoming a professional has been my dream since I was a child.”
Sports Director Stefano Zanatta commented: “I’ve followed young Crescioli since his junior years and appreciate his development. We’re delighted that he chose us among the numerous offers he had. He’ll be gradually integrated into the ranks and, with his perseverance, he should be able to carve out a significant role within the squad. He performs well from March to September and knows how to win, we must cultivate his talent in the right way.”
Jean-François Bourlart: “We Build the Generation of Tomorrow”
The campaign of 2024 will always be remembered as the year of firsts for Intermarché-Wanty. The first stage win in the Tour de France, on 1st of July in Turin, the first distinctive jersey with the green jersey of the Tour de France won in Nice on 21st of July, but also the first titles of European Champion in the youth categories.
With thirteen victories for the World Team and a fifteenth place in the UCI Team Ranking, the Belgian team can boast of a successful campaign, relying on a young team while having confidence in some more experienced riders like Taco Van der Hoorn who made his return to the highest level. On the occasion of the winter break, General Manager Jean-François BOURLART takes stock and is already looking ahead to next season.
Jean-François BOURLART (General Manager): “This year 2024 will be etched in memory. Not only for the 50th anniversary of the founding of VC Ath, but also and especially for the number of prestigious victories. These results are the reward of long term work and of our strategy of developing young talent, but above all also of the unwavering commitment of all members of our team.”
“Our spring hasn’t been easy, with certainly some beautiful victories for Gerben Thijssen or Laurenz Rex, but also with many crashes during the classics, which sidelined Arne Marit, Gerben Thijssen or Biniam Girmay for example. Not to mention the long absences of Taco Van der Hoorn or Kobe Goossens. However, we always continued to work with the will to shine during the summer. Inevitably, the very first stage victory in the Tour de France for our team was a crowning achievement. The accomplishment of our project which has progressed step by step over the years to finally triumph at the highest level of cycling. But the following two stage wins and the green jersey have above all shown that this is only another step in the development of our project.”
“Our strategy of long term investment in talent development is paying off. We have been following Biniam Girmay for many years, and since his recruitment, we have established a long term plan with objectives that mark his progress. These victories in the Tour de France call for more, why not in a first Monument. Alongside him, we have built a strong and promising team with notably Hugo Page, Laurenz Rex, Huub Artz, Vito Braet, Dries De Pooter or Roel van Sintmaartensdijk.”
“We’re already building the generation of tomorrow, with our Continental team, with for example European titles for Huub Artz in the U23 category and Felix Ørn-Kristoff in the Junior category. But they’re not alone, as young talents like Gualdi and Claisse are growing in their shadow. I’m convinced that our approach, despite working with one of the smallest but continuously growing budget in the World Tour, remains the healthiest on the long term.”
“I’m also proud to be able to count on the support of our historic partners, with whom we’ve worked to secure our future, both sporting and commercial. We’re also pleased to welcome new partners, as the arrival of any new company interested in our project helps us grow. We can rely on a team built around the classics, particularly around Biniam Girmay, who is tied to our project until 2028. We’re proud, along with all the riders and the performance team, to fight every day to reach the top and make the colours of our team and our partners shine. We already started the preparation for the next season before uniting again in December for our first annual collective winter training camp. This will be an opportunity for the riders to discover our new colours and prepare for a 2025 season that I can’t wait to begin!”
Tensions Between Albania and RCS Lead to Stalemate over Giro Start
RCS, the organisers of the Giro d’Italia, was forced to postpone the planned route presentation for 12 November. According to Cicloweb, it is uncertain whether the Grande Partenza in Albania can go ahead due to political developments, but what exactly is going on?
The Giro organisation may have to look for a new host for the upcoming Giro d’Italia, because of recent political developments. The relationship between Italy and Albania has become more complicated due to ‘the political dynamics of the past period’, they point out. RCS has also said through general director Paolo Bellino that there is ‘no change in the plans’.
However, the Italian newspaper Il Post has new information. There is said to be more going on behind the scenes. According to Il Post, the Albanian government is not happy with the reporting of TV channel TV La7 about Albania and RCS, the organiser of the Giro d’Italia, is a co-owner of TV La7.
The Albanian government finds it paradoxical to pay RCS Sport to organise Giro stages in the Balkan country. Albania was initially prepared to pay seven million euros for the Grande Partenza, but later pushed for a significant reduction in the amount. ‘Possibly as a result of dissatisfaction with the image of the country in the Italian media, in particular the RCS channels’, wrote Il Post.
This much lower offer is said to have stalled negotiations between RCS and Albania, leaving RCS with no other option than to postpone the presentation of the Giro route until mid-January. Cycling magazine Inbici may see light at the end of the tunnel. The recent separation between RCS Sports & Events and RCS Sport could be the key to breaking the diplomatic impasse with Albania. The split between RCS Sports & Events and RCS Sport creates a clear distinction between the organisation of the Giro and the editorial and journalistic activities of RCS.
Where will the 2025 Giro d’Italia start?
Tadej Pogačar Leads the Parade of Stars Lighting up Beking’s Fourth Edition
Along with the reigning road world champion, track world champion Jonathan Milan and many other big names in international cycling.
The countdown is on, with just a few days to go until Beking returns, the perfect opportunity to experience a day of emotion and commitment to sport, sustainability and solidarity.
The fourth edition promises to be another unmissable moment with the participation of numerous international cycling champions who will join forces to support the core values promoted by the event. This year’s edition, which will take place next Sunday, 24 November, will once again be well attended and engaging, with an extraordinary list of athletes ready to contribute to the success of a day that combines passion for cycling with social commitment.
It will be a new opportunity to discuss the sport and have fun with the stars, who form a real dream team, with Tadej Pogačar – the current world champion – leading the way alongside Matteo Trentin, the founder of the event, and many other prominent names from the world of cycling. Among the athletes attending will be Tim Wellens, Elia Viviani and his partner Elena Cecchini, Jakob Fuglsang, Matej Mohoric, 2018 World Champion Mads Pedersen, Giulio Ciccone, Davide Formolo, Urska Zigart, Ilaria Sanguineti, Alessandro Covi, Niccolò Bonifazio, Clement Champoussin, Sam Bennett, Fausto Masnada, Michael Matthews, Caleb Ewan, Anna Trevisi, Matt Walls, Lewis Askey, Antoine Berlin, Laurence Pithi, Jensen Plowright, Hugo Houle, Victor Langellotti, Nicolas Vinokurov, Robert Stannard, Antoine Huby, Steven Kruijswijk, Eddie Dunbar, Larry Warbasse, and Sam Wellsford.
Jonathan Milan will be competing in Monaco for the first time after a victorious season. In addition to his three stage wins at the Giro d’Italia, the Friulian cyclist won the gold medal at the Track World Championships in Ballerup and set a world record in the individual pursuit with an astonishing time of 3’59″153 and an average speed of 60.212 kph. He will be joined by 33 other athletes.
With 33 athletes ready to contribute to a day that celebrates cycling and offers a new opportunity to raise awareness among adults and children about ethical and quality projects, Beking remains committed to creating a positive impact in the community through various events throughout the day.
Starting in the morning, there will be several opportunities for the public and athletes to interact. The Pro-Am will take place at 9.30am, with amateurs, legends and professionals competing against each other, followed by a children’s session at 11.30am for a fun ride with the champions. At the end of the day, the big names will race on the popular city circuit, cheered on by the enthusiastic crowds.
Cycling enthusiasts, families and curious onlookers are invited to join in this extraordinary day – a true celebration of sport, passion and commitment to a better future.
BEKING:
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