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Giro d’Italia time! We hear what Mathieu van der Poel hopes for in Italy – TOP STORY. Race action form the 4 Jours de Dunkerque and the women’s Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia Ruta Del Sol with reports and video. Rider news: Chris Froome wants to ride the Tour and Vuelta, Tom Pidcock Back to Mountain Biking, Thibaut Pinot on the way back and Juan Ayuso to ride the Vuelta. Race news: Team announcements for the Giro d’Italia and a women’s Sanremo in 2023. Team news:SD Worx extends contract and Wolfpack Ardennes video. *** Stop the war in Ukraine. ***
TOP STORY: Mathieu van der Poel Wants to Finish the Giro
Mathieu van der Poel is one of the most important names at the start of the Giro and he spoke to the press in Budapest. He wasn’t particularly optimistic about his chances of winning the opening stage, which ends with a short climb. “It’s not obvious to drop the sprinters there,” he said.
Van der Poel took the yellow jersey last year in his debut at the Tour de France. Adding a pink jersey to his collection will be his goal this weekend. At the bookmakers, the double Tour of Flanders winner is also top favourite for the opening stage, but the leader of Alpecin-Fenix was slightly less optimistic after he had a look at the course. The stage between Budapest and Visegrád ends with a climb of 5.5 kilometres with a gradient of just over 4%. “That finish is indeed quite difficult,” Van der Poel agrees. “But it will not be self-evident to get rid of the fast guys. It will certainly not be as easy as everyone thinks.”
Van der Poel will start the second Grand Tour of his career on Friday. As he previously told WielerFlits, with a twofold purpose. On the one hand, performing, but at the same time also getting stronger, because he has never ridden a stage race of three weeks. He maintains that he wants to finish both the Giro and the Tour this year. “No, I don’t see this Giro d’Italia as preparation for the Tour de France. I have my goals here and I look forward to them. It will be a nice experience anyway. I’ve always found the Giro to be one of the best races of the year, even though I’ve never raced it. But I am a fan of Italy. And I saw Dumoulin win on TV five years ago. That was cool.”
“And yes, I really want to finish this Giro, but I also have to wait and see how my body reacts. There are, however, a number of question marks in this regard. Such as: how do I digest that third week? In addition, the cols in that final week are completely unknown territory for me.”
Van der Poel was asked a question about the time trial on Saturday. If he doesn’t manage to get the pink on Friday, he can try again on Saturday. But he hasn’t worked on that specifically, he says. “I was on the time trial bike once this week. Last year in the Tour that went well, so there was no need to adjust that position. Maybe I should do some more work on that.”
Pink to go with the yellow for MvdP?
4 Jours de Dunkerque/Grand Prix des Hauts de France 2022
Arvid de Kleijn won Stage 1 of the Four Days of Dunkirk. Initially, Sam Welsford had won the stage, but the DSM rider was relegated due to a manoeuvre in the bunch sprint. Arnaud De Lie, among others, crashed heavily in the last metres before the finish-line. Dutchman De Kleijn is the first leader on the general classification.
The first stage of the Four Days of Dunkerque started this afternoon in Dunkerque with a stage of 161.1 kilometres to Aniche. There were three climbs, but these were not difficult. The first break of the day was formed after a few kilometres: Cyril Barthe (B&B Hotels-KTM), Evaldas Siskevicius (Go Sport Roubaix-Lille Métropole) and Milan Fretin (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) made it into the lead group. The three took a minute on the peloton, where Lotto Soudal were in control. The Belgian team had set their sights on the stage and they didn’t let the leading group get too far away.
The front riders never had much of a lead, and so they let themselves be caught by the peloton. After that, new attacks followed from the men of Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert and Alpecin-Fenix. In the end it was again three riders who got away: Lionel Taminiaux (Alpecin-Fenix), Gijs Van Hoecke (AG2R Citroën) and Alex Colman (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise). The trio got about 30 seconds on the peloton, where Lotto Soudal had help from DSM. That there would be a sprint for victory in the opening stage of the Quatre jours de Dunkerque seemed likely. When tackling the last two local circuits of 10 kilometres, the break’s lead increased to 45 seconds, partly due Alpecin-Fenix slowing the chase. Lotto Soudal realised this, and put a riders back on the front. It was Philippe Gilbert who tried to close the gap to the break. The winner of four Monuments and the World championships had help from Burgos-BH, TotalEnergies and DSM.
With their combined forces, the sprinter teams closed the gap to the front riders. At 3 kilometres from the finish, the last escapee, Taminiaux, was caught. The run-up to the finish in Aniche was very chaotic. In the sprint it was Sam Welsford who started his sprint from far out, the Australian soon had Arnaud De Lie and Daniel McLay next to him. De Lie tried to dive between Welsford and McLay. The young Belgian hit the asphalt hard and took several riders with him in his fall. The win in the first stage was for Welsford of DSM. Second place went to Dutchman Arvid de Kleijn, Jason Tesson crossed the line in third. Then the race jury made the decision to declassify Sam Welsford, making Arvid de Kleijn the new winner of the stage, Nils Eekhoff moves up to third place. Lotto Soudal announced that Arnaud De Lie had been taken to hospital for further examinations.
Stage winner and overall leader, Arvid de Kleijn (Ned) Human Powered Health): “The final was hectic. I was a little bit too far back but I found some space at the end and I could get through. I thought I was second. I didn’t see what happened on the left side because I was too busy on the right. The guys did all they could. We can do a better job in the coming days, we need to fine-tune the sprint train a little bit more but it’s nice to see that all the guys are committed to the plan.”
4 Jours de Dunkerque/Grand Prix des Hauts de France Stage 1 Result:
1. Arvid de Kleijn (Ned) Human Powered Health in 3:31:14
2. Jason Tesson (Fra) St Michel-Auber93
3. Nils Eekhoff (Ned) DSM
4. Pierre Barbier (Fra) B&B Hotels-KTM
5. Alexis Renard (Fra) Cofidis
6. Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto Soudal
7. Bram Welten (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
8. Arne Marit (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
9. Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Emiel Vermeulen (Bel) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole.
4 Jours de Dunkerque/Grand Prix des Hauts de France Overall After Stage 1:
1. Arvid de Kleijn (Ned) Human Powered Health in 3:31:04
2. Jason Tesson (Fra) St Michel-Auber93 at 0:04
3. Nils Eekhoff (Ned) DSM at 0:06
4. Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels-KTM
5. Milan Fretin (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
6. Evaldas Šiškevičius (Lit) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole
7. Clément Russo (Fra) Arkéa Samsic at 0:07
8. Stanisław Aniołkowski (Pol) Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB at 0:08
9. Axel Zingle (Fra) Cofidis at 0:09
10. Pierre Barbier (Fra) B&B Hotels-KTM at 0:10.
Dunkerque’22 stage 1:
Stage 2 of the Four Days of Dunkerque was won by Jason Tesson. After a stage of more than 181 kilometres, the Frenchman of St Michel-Auber 93 was the best sprinter in Maubeuge, not far from the Belgian border. Tesson also took over the overall lead from Arvid de Kleijn who finished 4th on the stage.
Samuel Watson (Groupama-FDJ), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB), Ángel Fuentes (Burgos-BH), Alex Colman (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) and Evaldas Siskevicius (Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole) got away early stage, forming the leading group of the day. Their lead never grew more than 4 minutes.
Lotto Soudal, AG2R Citroën and DSM led the pursuit, after which St Michel-Auber 93 also helped in the final. Partly because of this, the gap to the five leaders was closed. Watson, Robeet, Fuentes, Colman and Siskevicius started the Hameau d’Ostergnies (700 metres at 5.7%) with a lead of 20 seconds, 13 kilometres from the finish. In the peloton it was Philippe Gilbert who made an attack on the climb. The great Belgian made a small gap with Chris Lawless and rode towards the escapees. They had lost a lot of time, because they missed a bend in the descent and rode into the long grass. Only Watson stayed on the road and started the last 10 kilometres solo.
He had Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) after him, but behind that Arkéa-Samsic and TotalEnergies took control. Thomas and Watson were caught 4 kilometres from the finish. Jason Tesson, second overall, was dropped off well at the front by his St Michel-Auber 93 team in the technical final. Overall leader, Arvid de Kleijn was also at the front. Hugo Hofstetter started the sprint early, but it was 24-year-old Tesson who pushed his wheel across the line first. He held off Gerben Thijssen. Thomas Boudat was third. De Kleijn finished fourth and lost his leader’s jersey to Tesson due to the bonus seconds.
4 Jours de Dunkerque/Grand Prix des Hauts de France Stage 2 Result:
1. Jason Tesson (Fra) St Michel-Auber93 in 4:04:25
2. Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
3. Thomas Boudat (Fra) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole
4. Arvid de Kleijn (Ned) Human Powered Health
5. Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
6. Clément Russo (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
7. Marc Sarreau (Fra) AG2R Citroën
8. Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) TotalEnergies
9. Bram Welten (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
10. Óscar Pelegrí (Spa) Burgos-BH.
4 Jours de Dunkerque/Grand Prix des Hauts de France Overall After Stage 2:
1. Jason Tesson (Fra) St Michel-Auber93 in 7:35:20
2. Arvid de Kleijn (Ned) Human Powered Health at 0:09
3. Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux at 0:13
4. Evaldas Šiškevičius (Lit) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole
5. Nils Eekhoff (Ned) DSM at 0:15
6. Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels-KTM
7. Thomas Boudat (Fra) Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole
8. Clément Russo (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
9. Samuel Watson (GB) Groupama-FDJ
10. Ángel Fuentes (Spa) Burgos-BH.
Dunkerque’22 stage 2:
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia Ruta Del Sol 2022
Cuban champion, Arlenis Sierra, took Movistar’s 11th success in 2022 following yet another brilliant team display. The sensational start to Arlenis Sierra’s debut Movistar season in 2022 reached new heights on Tuesday in Arenas, Málaga, as the Cuban champion claimed her first victory for the Blue squad on Stage 1 of the Vuelta a Andalucía (UCI 2.1), a very welcome addition to Spain’s women’s pro calendar.
The Manzanillo native bested Mavi García (UAD) over the final series of steep, twisty slopes after a solid, convincing performance from the whole squad directed here in the Ruta del Sol by Pablo Lastras. The early efforts from Sarah Gigante and a great approach to the last 10km uphill by Sara Martín (7th), Jelena Erić and Katrine Aalerud all led to an efficient response from Sierra over the climb, not getting nervous with García’s early move and ultimately getting to her wheel to beat her in the sprint.
The yellow jersey is now on the shoulders of Arlenis, who has two days ahead of her and a tie in the overall standings – with five of the six Movistar Team riders sitting within just over one minute.
Stage winner and overall leader, Arlenis Sierra (Movistar): “You always fight to achieve victories and it was a real team effort today, which makes me happy for myself but especially for the girls, who did so well all stage. We organised ourselves really well over the course, and that gives me confidence that we can hopefully keep the jersey until Thursday. When Mavi attacked, Paula was right on her wheel, and so I started the climb calm, always keeping an eye on Paula and Mavi, making sure she wasn’t dropped. When I realised Paula was conceding a couple of meters, I said: ‘OK, I’ve got to react now and bridge across, because otherwise, she’s going to go alone and leave Paulita behind,’ which was what happened. It took me a bit to get back to Mavi, because they had opened a considerable gap, but I could reach back halfway through the last descent, and it made things so much easier for me heading into the finish. It will be a tough day tomorrow, by how it looks and what they tell me. I know that Mavi is a huge competitor, a strong climber, and it will be difficult, you can’t deny it, but I won’t stop fighting. The best thing we have is the team, we get on well with each other and I trust my team-mates. I don’t know the routes well, and I also know I tend to struggle at longer climbs because I’m not a pure climber, but I’ll fight. You never know – it might be not myself, but any other rider from the team, who opens the decisive gap and takes this. We’ll dig deep until the very end to take this jersey home.”
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia Ruta Del Sol Stage 1 Result:
1. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar in 2:59:01
2. Mavi García (Spa) UAE Team ADQ
3. Ricarda Bauernfeind (Ger) Canyon//SRAM at 0:15
4. Paula Andrea Patiño (Col) Movistar
5. Nadine Michaela Gill (Ger) Sopela at 0:17
6. Antri Christoforou (Cyp) Farto-BTC at 1:02
7. Sara Martín (Spa) Movistar at 1:07
8. Urša Pintar (Slov) UAE Team ADQ at 1:08
9. Noémie Abgrall (Fra) Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime
10. Iurani Blanco (Spa) Laboral Kutxa Fundación Euskadi.
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia Ruta Del Sol Overall After Stage 1:
1. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar in 2:59:01
2. Mavi García (Spa) UAE Team ADQ
3. Ricarda Bauernfeind (Ger) Canyon//SRAM at 0:15
4. Paula Andrea Patiño (Col) Movistar
5. Nadine Michaela Gill (Ger) Sopela at 0:17
6. Antri Christoforou (Cyp) Farto-BTC at 1:02
7. Sara Martín (Spa) Movistar at 1:07
8. Urša Pintar (Slov) UAE Team ADQ at 1:08
9. Noémie Abgrall (Fra) Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime
10. Iurani Blanco (Spa) Laboral Kutxa Fundación Euskadi.
Andalucia’22 stage 1:
Arlenis Sierra took her second win in a row in the women’s Ruta del Sol Stage 2 on Wednesday. The Cuban Movistar leader was the fastest of a small leading group after almost 120 kilometres between Málaga and Mijas.
A peloton of 86 riders started the second stage of 118.9 kilometres between Malaga and Mijas. Only Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Norway) was absent. Eva Anguela (Río Miera-Cantabria Deporte) took the sprint in Alhaurín de la Torre. Ariana Gilabert (Laboral Kutxa) went solo at kilometre 12. She built up a lead of 4 minute lead after 35 kilometres, but was caught on the climb to Alto de La Mesa (Cat 2, 61.4km). Cypriot Antri Christoforou (Team Farto-BTC) was first over the top. On the descent the race came back together. After 70 kilometres it was the Australian, Matilda Field (Roxsolt Liv SRAM), who escaped in yesterday’s stage, went on a solo break and had 45 seconds, 25 kilometres from the finish line. However, the work of Massi-Tactic, with their minds on the sprint in Coín (100.9km), pulled her back after the sprint. Corinna Lechner was second to consolidate her leadership of the sprint classification.
Next it was Mexican rider, Ariadna Gutiérrez (Farto-BTC) who tried her luck. On the approach to the final climb of the day, the long Puerto de la Mar (Cat 3, 117km), the tactical game began between UAE Team ADQ and Movistar, with riders from both teams coming to the front. At the foot of the climb, Laura Tomasi was at the front for UAE, with Katrine Aaelrud for Movistar.
With 110 kilometres to go, Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ) tried a surprise move. Both Aaelrud and Becky Storie (CAMS-Basso) were on her wheel, as Colombian Paula Patiño controlled for overall leader Arlenis Sierra. From then on the Movistar team worked to pull her back as the UAE team tried to mess up the chase. Ricarda Bauernfeind (Canyon//SRAM) and Nadine Gill (Sopela) barely managed to stay in contention. Only six riders crossed the summit at the head of the race, with Bauernfeind in first position accompanied by Sierra, Patiño, Gill, García and Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ). It was all down to the sprint in Mijas and it was Sierra who triumphed again. Sierra kept lead on general classification, although the lead over Garcia is small. There are no bonus seconds in the Ruta del Sol and so Garcia is on the same time. Bauernfeind is third at 15 seconds going into the third and final stage of the Spanish race on Thursday.
Stage winner and overall leader, Arlenis Sierra (Movistar): “I thank my team, who did a very good job throughout the stage. With their help I overcame a crash I suffered in the first climb of the day due to a bottle, and also a puncture 50 from the finish line. I was going to go with Mavi García when he attacked, but I still felt the effort of the stage in my legs. She is a tremendous rider and she climbs very well. We couldn’t give her an advantage because she could go alone to the finish line. Luckily, all the Movistar riders did a great job so that everything went as we wanted. We knew the climb and we knew that little by little she could be caught. It was difficult, because Mavi’s attack was very strong; but, when our nerves calmed, it turned out fine. Regarding tomorrow, we know that all the teams want this leader’s jersey and we will do everything possible to keep it.”
Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ): “I plan to go for the victory until the end, and that’s why today I also tried it with all my strength. Arlenis [Sierra] is very strong. I feel that I am doing very well, my strength is not failing me. Today Arlenis played her cards well, leaning on her teammates to get closer to me and then accelerate to catch me. It’s not that I’m weak, but Arlenis is in great shape. It was her top speed that defined the stage in her favour. However, the race is not decided. The UAE Team ADQ are riding well as a team and we can do many things tomorrow, depending on the situation, to change the direction of the race. We will keep trying until the end.”
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia Ruta Del Sol Stage 2 Result:
1. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar in 3:22:57
2. Ricarda Bauernfeind (Ger) Canyon//SRAM
3. Mavi García (Spa) UAE Team ADQ
4. Nadine Michaela Gill (Ger) Sopela
5. Paula Andrea Patiño (Col) Movistar
6. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
7. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Movistar at 0:20
8. Andrea Ramirez (Mex) Massi-Tactic
9. Antri Christoforou (Cyp) Farto-BTC
10. Marte Berg Edseth (Nor) Norway.
Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia Ruta Del Sol Overall After Stage 2:
1. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar in 6:21:58
2. Mavi García (Spa) UAE Team ADQ
3. Ricarda Bauernfeind (Ger) Canyon//SRAM at 0:15
4. Paula Andrea Patiño (Col) Movistar
5. Nadine Michaela Gill (Ger) Sopela at 0:17
6. Antri Christoforou (Cyp) Farto-BTC at 1:22
7. Urša Pintar (Slov) UAE Team ADQ at 1:28
8. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Movistar
9. Marte Berg Edseth (Nor) Norway
10. Nicole Frain (Aus) Roxsolt Liv SRAM at 1:32.
Andalucia’22 stage 2:
Chris Froome Wants to Combine Tour and Vuelta this Year
Chris Froome wants to compete in two Grand Tours this year, the Briton told Velonews. The Israel-Premier Tech rider hopes to make the Tour selection this summer, and then also participate in the Vuelta a España in the autumn.
Velonews spoke to Froome on the final day of the Tour de Romandie. The four-time Tour winner is still very ambitious at 36. Froome hopes to be there in two months, when the 109th edition of the Tour de France starts in Copenhagen. “That is my big goal, to appear at the start of the Tour in the best possible shape. I still have quite a few steps to take.”
After the Tour, Froome does not intend to slow down, as the grand tour winner of the past also wants to participate in the Vuelta. “If you look at my previous seasons, you will see that towards the Tour I always needed time to grow to my top form. I was then able to maintain my form level with a view to the Vuelta. I hope to do that again, although it will depend on the further course of the season.”
Froome says he is still making progress, almost three years after his heavy crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné. “The legs are moving in the right direction. But more importantly, we notice that there is progress. And in the last month I can say that I feel I have taken a step. And that’s something I can build on. A lot of hurdles have been overcome. I have the feeling that my body reacts differently than last year,” he told WielerFlits at the Tour of the Alps.
Tour and Vuelta for Froome?
Tom Pidcock Back to Mountain Biking
Tom Pidcock will be back competing in mountain bike races soon. Due to a gap in his program on the road, the Brit has found time to get his mountain bike out again. INEOS Grenadiers announced on Twitter that Pidcock will be competing in two mountain bike events in May.
This weekend Pidcock will participate in the World Cup in Albstadt, Germany. Later in May he will also be in action in Nové Mesto, in the Czech Republic. The fact that Pidcock has time for mountain biking again has everything to do with the fact that he will not participate in the Giro d’Italia after all. The winner of last year’s Brabantse Pijl was on the start list for a long time, but was removed not long before the start in Budapest.
It now does not seem unlikely that he will make his appearance in the Tour de France in July. The day after Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the INEOS Grenadiers rider rode the cobble stage of the Tour de France.
Pidcock to MTB in May:
Thibaut Pinot: “A General Classification in the Tour? No, That is Still Too Much at the Moment”
Thibaut Pinot had to settle for 13th place on the GC of the Tour de Romandie. In his own words, the battle for a strong position in the final standings comes too early. “I’m not ready to take the associated risks yet.”
“The past week has gone fast, we haven’t really had much time to celebrate my victory in the Tour of the Alps. We quickly lost our focus on the Tour de Romandie. That victory in the Tour of the Alps is perhaps one of the most important of my career, I think it can relaunch me,” he told L’Équipe.
In the Tour de Romandie, the Frenchman lost a lot of time in the first stages. In the prologue he finished in 88th place, 34 seconds behind winner Ethan Hayter. He didn’t cross the line with the first riders on the first stage, but came in half a minute later. Thanks to some improvement in the last days, Pinot finished 5th in the Queen Stage and 6th in the hilly time trial and climbed to 13th place on the general classification.
“If I can win a nice mountain stage this year, especially in the Tour de France, then my season will be a success. Want to play for the general classification? I think that’s still a bit too much. In the Tour de Romandie I tried it but I felt it was still too much. I’m not ready to take enough risks yet. For a good result in the general classification, you have to do that.”
Thibaut Pinot back?
UAE Does Not Rule Out Ayuso Vuelta Participation
In November 2021, Juan Ayuso said he would not ride a Grand Tour in 2022. However, Mauro Gianetti, team manager of UAE Team Emirates, has now said that participation in the Vuelta a España is still a possibility. “We’ll see,” said Gianetti, who emphasises that they want to be careful with the young rider.
“He is only 19 years old, but he is such a great talent,” Gianetti says of Ayuso, who finished 5th in the Tour of Catalonia and 4th in the Tour de Romandie this spring. “We saw what he could do in the Tour de Romandie, without being one hundred percent. He is certainly someone for the future, but it is still too early to think about the Vuelta right now. The season is long and we have a great responsibility to build a good future for him.”
“We let the body speak and decide whether he is ready for the Vuelta,” continues Gianetti. “He’s not the type of rider who comes to a race just to watch. He is a racer, a winner. That’s why we will sit with him and his coach and decide.”
Big future for Juan Ayuso:
Giro d’Italia 2022 News:
See the PEZ ‘2022 Giro Preview’ HERE.
Giro d’Italia 2022 stages:
Stage 1: Budapest – Visegrád 195km flat
Stage 2: Budapest – Budapest 9.2km ITT
Stage 3: Kaposvár – Balatonfüred 201km flat
Rest day
Stage 4: Avola – Etna 170Km mountain
Stage 5: Catania – Messina 174km flat
Stage 6: Palmi – Scalea 192Km flat
Stage 7: Diamante – Potenza 196Km hilly
Stage 8: Naples – Naples 153km hilly
Stage 9: Isernia – Blockhaus 189km mountains
Rest day
Stage 10: Pescara – Jesi 196km hilly
Stage 11: Santarcangelo di Romagna – Reggio Emilia 203km flat
Stage 12: Parma – Genoa 202km hilly
Stage 13: San Remo – Cuneo 150km flat
Stage 14: Santena – Turin 147km hilly
Stage 15: Rivarolo Canavese – Cogne 178km mountains
Rest day
Stage 16: Salò – Aprica 202km mountains
Stage 17: SPonte di Legno – Lavarone 168km mountains
Stage 18: Borgo Valsugana – Treviso 151km flat
Stage 19: Marano Lagunare – Castelmonte 177km hilly
Stage 20: Belluno – Passo Fedaia/Marmolada 167km mountains
Stage 21: Verona – Verona 17.4km ITT.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl to the Giro d’Italia
Mark Cavendish heads up our squad for the first Grand Tour of the season.
Six summit finishes (Etna, Blockhaus, Cogne, Aprica, Lavarone and Marmolada), 26 individual time trial kilometres, five clear opportunities for the sprinters and more than 50 000 vertical meters – the Giro d’Italia didn’t disappoint when it came to designing an appetising course for the edition taking place between 6-29 May.
The race, running its 105th instalment, will get underway in just a couple of days from Budapest, the 14th different foreign city to host the start, and conclude in Verona for the fifth time after 1981, 1984, 2010 and 2019.
In the previous starts, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl has amassed 26 stage victories with 14 different riders, in addition to 11 secondary classification triumphs and 44 pink jerseys, and our team will look to be again among the protagonists this month and leave its mark on the race.
Mark Cavendish is one of the most successful riders in the history of the Corsa Rosa. In just five participations, he won a staggering 15 stages, took home the points classification once and spent a total of four days in the iconic maglia rosa. Now, the Manxman will make his first outing since 2013 at the first Grand Tour of the year having enjoyed a solid first part of the season, with three victories, one of which came on Italian soil at the oldest race in the world, Milano-Torino.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s roster for the three-week event will be a mixture of youth and experience and is set to include also Davide Ballerini, James Knox, expert lead-out man Michael Mørkøv, Mauro Schmid – a stage winner at last year’s edition – Pieter Serry, Bert Van Lerberghe, and Mauri Vansevenant.
“We go to the Giro d’Italia with a lot of motivation. We have a good team at the start, with Mark as our man for the flat. He has won a lot of stages at the Giro, and he can rely on many strong riders to support and guide him in the hectic bunch sprints. For the other stages, we’ll just take it one day at a time, fight for every opportunity and see what we can do. We know that it won’t be an easy three weeks, it never is, but we will try to do our best, because it’s in our nature”, explained Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sports director Davide Bramati.
Giro stage wins for Cav?
Giro d’Italia – MAY 06 – MAY 29
Matt Winston – Team DSM coach: “We head to Italy with a strong team to support Romain where we will aim for a good GC result as a team. We need to be switched on and in the race early, since there will be some difficult stages in the first seven days but we have to think about the final week in the northern part of Italy too, which also will be super hard. We have two sprint options with Cees and Alberto that we will take on a day-by-day approach so that we are in the hunt for the sprint results. We continue with that atmosphere that we brought together in Tour of the Alps and the Tour of Turkey, with a focus on good teamwork, which we hope will bring us to a good lap around Italy.”
Line-up:
Thymen Arensman (NED)
Romain Bardet (FRA)
Cees Bol (NED)
Romain Combaud (FRA)
Alberto Dainese (ITA)
Nico Denz (GER)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Martijn Tusveld (NED).
Top man for DSM – Romain Bardet:
Caleb Ewan Leads Giro d’Italia Line-up of Lotto Soudal
Lotto Soudal has announced its eight-rider squad for the 105th Giro d’Italia, which kicks off in Budapest this Friday 6 May. During the sprint stages, the Belgian WorldTeam is aiming for stage victories with the Australian Caleb Ewan (27). In his fourth appearance at the Giro, Ewan will be supported in the lead-out by the experienced Germans Roger Kluge (36), Rüdiger Selig (33) and Michael Schwarzmann (31). Thomas De Gendt (35) will be at the start of his sixth Giro, ten years after he finished third overall in Milan. The young Belgian climber Harm Vanhoucke (24) is aiming for a stage win as is the versatile Brit Matthew Holmes (28). Sylvain Moniquet (24) will be at the start of the Giro d’Italia for the first time in his career.
Movistar Team Announces 2022 Giro d’Italia Lineup
Alejandro Valverde’s last appearance in the opening Grand Tour of the season, Iván Sosa’s hopes after Asturias GC win headline Blues’ chances as they bring lineup combining experience and youth.
The Movistar Team confirmed on Monday their eight-man lineup for the first three-week Grand Tour of the 2022 season – The 105th edition of the Giro d’Italia.
Alejandro Valverde and Iván Sosa spearhead a block also featuring José Joaquín Rojas, Jorge Arcas, Sergio Samitier, Antonio Pedrero, Oier Lazkano and Will Barta. Maximilian Sciandri and Iván Velasco will be Blues’ sports directors in Italy.
The experience and brilliance of ‘Bala’, an overall podium finisher (3rd) + stage winner in his only Giro appearance to date (2016), and the talent of Sosa, last week’s GC victor in Asturias, will be combined with the reliability of Arcas and Rojas – 20th career Grand Tour appearance – the climbing prowess of Pedrero – top-25 overall in the last two editions of the race- and Samitier -13th in 2020 – and the youth and committed work from Lazkano – second Grand Tour for him- and Barta, who, just like Oier and Jorge, will make his Giro debut.
2022 GIRO GUIDE | All info on the Movistar Team + the ‘Corsa Rosa’
Bahrain Victorious to Giro d’Italia
May 6th marks the start of the first Grand Tour this season, with the 105th edition of Giro d’Italia starting from Budapest, Hungary. The 21 stage race will cover a total of 3,445.6km and 50,580 vertical metres before finishing in Verona, Italy.
Bahrain Victorious will be looking to go one better than last year, where Damiano Caruso battled to second in GC after losing Mikel Landa in an early crash. This year, Mikel will be hoping for better fortunes after showing strong form at Tirreno and Tour of Alps: “I feel really good for this Giro again, and after the crash last year, I’ve got a new opportunity, and I’m feeling super good and confident. I’ve got a super team around me, and my last races have been really positive, and I think everything has gone to plan in the lead up to the race.”
Landa will have the support of fellow basque rider and UAE Tour podium finisher Pello Bilbao, Ruta del Sol winner Wout Poels and Saudi Tour stage winner Santiago Buitrago in the high mountains. Alongside them will be Slovenian TT Champion Jan Tratnik and Domen Novak looking to support the race’s tricky flat and hilly sections. Finally, Jasha Sütterlin will lead Phil Bauhaus in the sprints, with Bauhaus looking to add to his success in Hungary, where he won two stages at Tour de Hongrie last season.
Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj shares his thoughts on the upcoming Giro: “We come into this year’s Giro looking for victory in the GC as the primary goal. However, we want to be active throughout this Giro and look for opportunities for potential stage wins in the sprints and breakaways. We start in Hungary with a potential sprint stage with a limited bunch, then the individual time trial and finally a sprint stage before moving to Sicily. We are hoping to come out of Hungary without losing time in GC and a good result by Bauhaus on the sprint stages and Jan, our TT specialist.
I would say this year’s route has more than a few difficult stages. From the first to the last week, there is no standout week that I could say is the hardest. Every week will have its challenges. Overall, we’ve got a really balanced team for flat, hilly and high mountain stages, which is a requirement for this edition of the race as there are a few tricky flat stages, while you can do a great job in the high mountains if you have the numbers.”
Giro d’Italia – V. Piva: “A team to win, no matter the terrain”
This Friday, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux will line up for its second Tour of Italy (2.UWT) in its history. The 105th edition of the Giro will start in Budapest with three days in Hungary before reaching Italy on day four.
In 2021, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux took a memorable stage win thanks to Taco van der Hoorn in Canale, the first success of the team in a Grand Tour. The team was omnipresent in the race and finished nine times in the top ten with five different riders.
For the 2022 edition, the organisation divided the parcours in seven flat stages, six in the middle mountains and six others in the high mountains, with also two time trials on the second and the final day. The first maglia rosa will be handed over to the strongest rider on a climb of 5 kilometre (4.2%) in Visegrád.
After an individual time trial of 9.2 kilometre and a flat stage, the peloton reaches Italy via Sicily. The top of the Etna, the first of seven mountain top finishes, is waiting for the riders during the two day stay on the island.
Both rest days is preceded by a difficult mountain stage, which brings the peloton respectively to the top of Blockhaus (9th stage) in the Apennines and Cogne (15th stage) in the Alps. This last one is an appetiser of what’s waiting for the riders in a very challenging third week.
The famous Passo del Mortirolo has to be covered halfway through the sixteenth stage, while an altitude of 2000 meter is exceeded on the penultimate day on the Passo Pordoi and the finish on the top of the Passo Fedaia. The Tour of Italy finished with an individual time trial of 17 kilometre though the streets of Verona.
For the sixteenth time in his career, Domenico Pozzovivo will be at the start of his national Tour. The winner of a stage in Lago Laceno (2012), finished six times in the top ten of the general classification among whom two fifth places (2014 & 2018). The climber finished in the top ten of 40 difficult stages.
Another stage winner in the line up is Rein Taaramäe, thanks to a strong performance on Sant’Anna di Vinadio in 2016. In the latest Vuelta he became the first rider of the team to wear a leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour. He also dreamed of pink last year during his breakaway in the fourth stage, in which he finished ninth.
The Czech climber Jan Hirt, will participate to the Giro for the second year in a row just like Taaramäe. The recent winner of the Tour of Oman was among the best climbers in the third week last year, obtaining fourteenth place in Alpe di Mera and eleventh in Alpe Motta. He finished twelfth in the edition of 2017 and took second place in the stage towards Ponte du Legno in 2019, which contained the Passo del Mortirolo.
Together, the three climbers participated 44 times to the Grand Tours. In contrary, it will be the first time for Biniam Girmay (22) and Barnabás Peák (23). The Eritrean rider was the first African to win a major classic in Ghent-Wevelgem and will start his first three-week event in the native city of his teammate and lead out Peák.
Belgian rider Aimé De Gendt, who discovered the roads of Le Tour with the World Team in 2019, will make his debut in the Giro alongside his compatriot Loïc Vliegen, who obtained two podium finishes this season before his second Tour of Italy. Lombard rider Lorenzo Rota will race on home roads in his fourth Giro under the direction of Steven De Neef and Valerio Piva.
Valerio Piva (Directeur sportif): “In our first Tour of Italy last season, we achieved success thanks to the aggressive racing style for which we are known. We aim to keep this identity during the next three weeks. This is why we chose for a balanced team, which will enable us to fight for the victory no matter the terrain. A lot of climbing is included in this edition, especially during a very challenging third week. We will take our ambition for the general classification day by day. In my eyes, the best climbers will automatically appear on top of the rankings once we’re in this final week. Domenico Pozzovivo has the capabilities to be one of them, with the support of Jan Hirt and Rein Taaramäe. Together, our climbers have a lot of experience in Grand Tours and in this regard they can play an important role for Biniam Girmay and Barnabás Peák, who both circled the first week on their calendar. From the first days in Hungary, several nice opportunities are waiting for our 22 year old Eritrean rider, who is motivated to make our colours shine in the flat and hilly stages, just like Aimé De Gendt, Lorenzo Rota and Loïc Vliegen.”
Line up:
Aimé De Gendt
Biniam Girmay Hailu
Jan Hirt
Barnábas Peák
Domenico Pozzovivo
Lorenzo Rota
Rein Taaramäe
Loïc Vliegen.
Sports Directors: Steven De Neef and Valerio Piva.
Giro d’Italia (May 6-29)
Two riders from the AG2R CITROËN TEAM at the start have already won a stage victory in the Giro d’Italia. Nans Peters won the seventeenth stage in 2019 and Andrea Vendrame won the twelfth stage in 2021.
Lilian Calmejane, who is taking part in the Giro d’Italia for the first time, can enter the exclusive group of riders who have won stages at all three Grand Tours. He won stage four of the Vuelta a España in 2016 and took the victory in stage eight of the Tour de France in 2017.
On Friday, May 6th, in Budapest (Hungary), Mikaël Chérel will start his sixteenth Grand Tour. He has participated six times in the Tour de France, six times in the Vuelta a Espana, and this will be his fourth participation in the Giro d’Italia.
Félix Gall is taking part in his first Grand Tour.
Laurent Biondi, sports manager for the AG2R CITROËN TEAM, presents the eight riders from the team who will be at the start of the Giro d’Italia 2022.
Lilian Calmejane
29 years old / 12 professional victories
1st participation
“Lilian is an experienced rider who will be able to bring his race craft to the group and in particular help out Félix. He will be an important element in our team plan, and especially in our quest for a stage victory. He will aim for the hilly stages that suit his qualities.”
Mikaël Chérel
36 years old
4th participation
Best result:
10th on a stage (2011)
“Mikaël is taking part in his sixteenth Grand Tour. His experience and qualities in the mountains will be essential alongside Félix. He will be able to help and advise the team, but also play his card on certain stages to snag his first professional victory.”
Félix Gall
24 years old
1st participation
“Félix has been the happy surprise for the start to the season for the AG2R CITROËN TEAM. He has shown that he had great potential in stage races thanks to his good recovery qualities. He will be our sole leader for the general classification. However, this is his first Grand Tour and therefore his first experience of managing a three-week race. He will aim for a top 15 in the general classification and depending on the opportunities, a stage victory.”
Jaakko Hänninen
25 years old
2nd participation
“Jaakko has had a rocky start to the season with health issues and crashes. We hope to see him regain confidence throughout this Giro and the physical qualities allowing him to be an animator at the front on certain stages. He will also be an important element in helping to protect Félix.”
Lawrence Naesen
29 years old
2nd participation
Best result:
8th on a stage (2021)
“Lawrence replaces Clément Berthet, who crashed and broke his collarbone in the Tour of the Alps. Even if he did not have the ideal preparation for a Grand Tour, he will have a key role in protecting Félix on the flat and tricky stages, and he will be able to play his card on certain sprint stages.”
Nans Peters
28 years old / 2 professional victories
2nd participation
Best result:
Stage victory (2019)
“Nans has had a good preparation including an altitude training camp at Etna. The Giro d’Italia is his big goal for the start of the season. He will be a valuable rider around Félix but also to go for a stage victory as he did in 2019.”
Nicolas Prodhomme
25 years old
1st participation
“Nicolas is a young rider. He will ride the Giro d’Italia for the first time after having done the Vuelta a Espana in 2021 where he took a nice top-10 on one of the stages. His climbing qualities will be useful in accompanying Félix but he will also be able to slip into the breakaway on difficult stages.”
Andrea Vendrame
27 years old / 4 professional victories
5th participation
Best result:
Stage victory (2021)
“Andrea is the rider on the team who knows the Giro d’Italia best. His knowledge of the roads will be an asset for the whole team. He has qualities as a puncher that can allow him to take victories in sprints from small groups and the strength to win from a breakaway like his victory last year.”
Yates striving to deliver Team BikeExchange-Jayco Giro d’Italia glory
Briton Simon Yates will lead a balanced Team BikeExchange-Jayco squad at the first Grand Tour of the 2022 season, the prestigious Giro d’Italia, a major goal for the 29-year-old and the Australian outfit.
After a whirlwind of experiences tackling the iconic Italian stage race, last year’s podium finisher Yates, lines-up ready to challenge for the overall victory on his fifth attempt.
A course & team that suits
With high mountains ranging from Etna to Blockhaus and the Marmolada, fast and flat stages, and a limited number of time trial kilometres, the 2022 route looks well suited to the tenacious Briton. With this, the Australian outfit has recruited versatile riders that can support Yates through an abundance of scenarios.
Protecting their leader throughout the three-week race will be Australian road captain Michael Hepburn, along with experienced powerhouses, in fellow Australian Callum Scotson and Dane Chris Juul-Jensen.
American and Italian time trial champions Lawson Craddock and Matteo Sobrero add to the capability of the team’s engine room, whilst Australian duo Damien Howson and Lucas Hamilton will provide crucial support for Yates on the climbs.
Experience & preparation
Learning from years of trial and error with many highs and lows from the race, including four Giro d’Italia stage wins and 13 days in the Maglia Rosa in 2018, Yates has followed a similar preparation template, beginning his season at altitude before building through target races.
With three stage victories under his belt so far this season and one of his best individual time trial performances to date at Paris-Nice, the Team BikeExchange-Jayco leader begins his 2022 Giro assault, having left no stone unturned, with all eyes on the top step of the podium in Verona in one month’s time.
Team BikeExchange-Jayco Line-Up:
Lawson Craddock (USA) – 2nd appearance
Lucas Hamilton (AUS) – 3rd appearance
Michael Hepburn (AUS) – 7th appearance
Damien Howson (AUS) – 3rd appearance
Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN) – 7th appearance
Callum Scotson (AUS) – 2nd appearance
Matteo Sobrero (ITA) – 3rd appearance
Simon Yates (GBR) – 5th appearance
Brent Copeland – General Manager
“The Giro d’Italia, it is always an exciting time of the year for us, even more so this year with the arrival of our team owner Gerry Ryan who has not been able to visit his team for the past few years due to the pandemic. So, it has been a long time coming, and we are all extremely delighted to be able to see him at the races once again.
This year’s Giro d’Italia is definitely going to be an exciting edition, not only because we are coming to the end of a few challenging years for cycling and finally we will get to see the fans in full force at this year’s race, but also there is a great depth of top riders this year who will all be racing for the general classification.
Our performance group and technical staff have selected a team which will ensure for some solid racing, and we look forward to contributing to the spectacle over the next three weeks.”
Matthew White – Head Sport Director
“The Giro d’Italia has been a big, big goal for the team over last few years and this year is no different. We have a really good squad with a lot of experience in Grand Tours and we will go into the Giro as one of the favourites for the race. It is a challenge we are looking forward to. Simon is coming off Vuelta Asturias and it was good preparation for him and for the rest of the team after an altitude block.
Thinking about the Giro, what we can always expect is a very tough back end to the race. The 2022 edition starts with three interesting stages in Hungary and after we will have a few challenges routes in the South of Italy with the Etna finish and with stage nine, climbing the hard Blockhaus.
Traditionally the Giro has always been the hardest of the three Grand Tours in the last week and this year is no different with many climbs in the Alps. Of course, the weather conditions can play a very important role, going from snow to very hot temperatures. One thing for sure is there’s always a surprise around every corner in the Giro and I think this is one of the attractions of the race and a reason we love it so much.”
Simon Yates – 3rd place in 2021:
“I have just finished the Vuelta Asturias and the two stage victories there have confirmed to me the good job done during the recent altitude training camp. I’ll be leaving for Budapest ready for my fifth Giro d’Italia. I still have memories of the great celebrations on the podium in Milan last year, and it wouldn’t be bad to re-live the same emotions again.
From the start in Hungary to the last stage in Verona on the 29th of May, the road will be long and tough, but I’m ready and I will have some great teammates with me.
A success in a way is not the end result. I want to go there in my best condition and do the best result possible. If I don’t win then, then that’s ok because somebody is better than me. If I go there and I am not at the level required, then that is a failure for me.
From an actual racing point of view, you always aim for the podium. We aim for the podium and once we get closer to the last week, we assess if we are in a position to win it or not, then we go at it from there”.
Here is our team for the Giro d’Italia
Here is the team that will take part in the next Giro d’Italia, which will start from Budapest on May 6 and will end in Verona on May 29 after 3,445.6 km.
Vincenzo ALBANESE (ITA)
Davide BAIS (ITA)
Erik FETTER (HUN)
Lorenzo FORTUNATO (ITA)
Francesco GAVAZZI (ITA)
Mirko MAESTRI (ITA)
Samuele RIVI (ITA)
Diego ROSA (ITA)
Fran Contador – GM EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team: “We arrive at this Giro d’Italia with the right team, a team ready for this race. A perfect team adapted to the route that awaits us. I also believe that the presence of a Hungarian rider like Fetter, with the start in Budapest, is something very important for us and for our sponsor Kometa”.
Ivan Basso – Sport Manager EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team: “We arrive at the Giro exactly as we wanted to arrive, with a team that has trained well and has performed well in recent months running very well in all the races that he did. This is definitely the result of the awareness gained from an extra year together. The message is only one: humility, feet on the ground, because this is the first rule at the Giro d’Italia. This is the race of the year: we have 21 days in which we’ll have to prove that we’ve earned the invitation and we’ll have to try to make ourselves sought and found by the fans. We don’t put limits on ourselves, but we want to start from last year’s result and improve”.
Stefano Zanatta – DS EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team: “This is the second Giro d’Italia for our team and we arrive with a little bit more awareness, and the certainty to have a good team and to have chosen the best performers to be present at a great stage like this. We’ll put all our strength, our enthusiasm to try to give our best to try at least to repeat the great performance of last year and fight for a stage success that would be the crowning achievement of a work and a path that we are pursuing to make this team grow. Feet on the ground, with the conviction that at the end of the Giro we will have done a lot of talk about EOLO-KOMETA”.
RCS Wants Milan-Sanremo for Women on the Calendar in 2023
Race organiser RCS is planning Milan-Sanremo for women in 2023. The Italian company is currently also organising the Strade Bianche for women. The women’s version of Milan-Sanremo would continue on the same day as the men’s race.
CEO Paoli Bellini has been focusing on women’s cycling for some time now. “For me, the Milan-San Remo classic is also part of the women’s schedule. Of course the race will not be as long as with the men (almost 300 kilometres). We are currently working on getting it on next year’s calendar,” he told VeloNews.
At RCS they already have experience with the Sanremo area, because from 1999-2005 they organised the Primavera Rosa there. That race for women was a World Cup race that was ridden over the last part of the Milan-San Remo course.
“It would be held on the same day as the men’s race, similar to the concept of the Strade Bianche,” said Bellino. The Italian also wants to get involved in the Giro Donne, the Tour of Italy for women. “I think I can bring more news on this in the coming months. Among other things, we would like to move the Giro for women closer to that of the men.”
Bellino is also very enthusiastic about the advance of women’s cycling in recent years. “It is all growing very fast. Also when I look at other sports, I see that great strides are made. We have some fantastic riders in the peloton at the moment, they are doing really impressive things,” he added with praise.
A woman’s San Remo next year?
SD Worx extends contract by two years
Leading European payroll and HR services provider SD Worx has extended its contract as main sponsor of the best women’s team in the UCI rankings until the end of 2026. “We want to pull out all the stops to maintain the leading position of Team SD Worx. In addition, by extending our sponsorship we want to help facilitate the further development of women’s cycling in general”, says CEO Kobe Verdonck.
Team SD Worx can look back on a successful spring with 15 podium finishes, including 5 victories in, amongst others, the Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders and the Brabantse Pijl. Just like last season, Team SD Worx is the world’s best team in women’s cycling and is the number one in the UCI team ranking. Reason enough for SD Worx to already break open the contract – which originally ran until 2024 – and extend it until the end of 2026. “This is a special collaboration,” says team manager Erwin Janssen. “In SD Worx we have found a main sponsor that shows enormous commitment to our team. The extension proves a lot of trust from SD Worx. We absolutely want to live up to that.”
The extended contract offers Team SD Worx the opportunity to continue building the team with a long-term vision. “Having certainty now for the next 4.5 years is exceptional in cycling”, confirms Janssen. “As a cycling team, it is very important that you can work on the future in peace and continuity. This is a long-term project. If you want to build and give top talent the chance to develop themselves, you need a horizon of four years. We have been number one in women’s cycling for six consecutive years. It is our goal to remain the best in the world for the next four years as well.”
SD Worx CEO Kobe Verdonck wants to help facilitate the further expansion of women’s cycling with this commitment: “Our company and our customers attach great importance to equal opportunities for everyone. By investing in women’s cycling we want to create an environment where top female athletes can develop themselves in the best possible conditions. We see a lot of common ground with the values of SD Worx. We are the European market leader in HR and payroll. Like us, this international cycling team goes all the way to win by having individual talent work together as a team. In recent years, we have seen an increase in the attention paid to women’s cycling, both by the media and the fans. There are more races and the prize money is being aligned with that of the men’s races. By extending our partnership until 2026, we are committing ourselves to the further professionalisation of women’s cycling.”
“We are linking our name to a sport that is growing and where team spirit and diversity are important,” continues Kobe Verdonck. “Of course, this sponsorship also helps us to build our international brand awareness. This is a successful partnership, where there is a great deal of trust between the sponsor and the team, hence the extension.”
Sporting manager Danny Stam emphasises that the extended contract with main sponsor SD Worx ensures stability within the team. “Ideally you want to work with a horizon of around four years,” says Stam. “Then you can work towards the future with young talent. In recent years we have consciously contracted young riders such as Demi Vollering, Niamh Fisher-Black, Anna Shackley and Blanka Vas, among others, so that we can invest in them in the first years. Especially now that women’s cycling is developing further and more big teams are joining, it is extremely important that we can offer continuity until the end of 2026. The fact that SD Worx broke open the contract early and extended it until 2026 is a sign of trust towards the team.”
Women’s cycling is evolving at a rapid pace. There are more teams, the tension is greater and with the arrival of races like Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France, the attention for women’s cycling is growing exponentially. Team manager Erwin Janssen added: “The competition has increased. This team has played a pioneering role in the development of the sport. This was possible thanks to our sponsors Boels, Dolmans Landscaping Group and SD Worx, who offered us continuity for the past ten years. This has always enabled us to think one step ahead and anticipate innovations within the sport. This extended cooperation with SD Worx up to and including 2026 offers us the same stability and opportunity. And even better, we are going for the next step.”
Demi Vollering winning La Flèche Brabançonne’22:
The Wolfpack Insider: Ardennes Classics
Episode 4 of this season takes you behind the scenes at the last two major one-day races of the spring.
Dazed, happy, emotional, triumphant – Remco Evenepoel was overwhelmed by a myriad of emotions the moment he crossed the finish line on the Quai des Ardennes, sealing the biggest victory of his career to date and giving Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl something huge to celebrate after enduring one of the toughest spring campaigns in the team’s history.
All this, and many more – from the heartbreak and tension to the unbridled joy and pure happiness generated by winning the spring’s final Monument – were brilliantly captured in the latest episode of our Wolfpack Insider series.
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