Author: Henri Giroud

Highlights Report Richard Carapaz and the INEOS Grenadiers stood up to one final test to claim an impressive overall victory at the Tour de Suisse. The Ecuadorian won his first stage race of the year by 17 seconds after fending off late attacks from closest rival Rigoberto Uran on a mountainous final stage. The Grenadiers had ridden hard as a unit to keep the race together during a fractured opening to the stage, and when the big attacks came on the cobbled Gotthardpass, Carapaz looked comfortable as he shut down each move. Eddie Dunbar put in a towering performance in…

Highlights Report A mountain time trial doesn’t suit most riders… then again, most riders aren’t Rigoberto Urán. The terrain and Rigo’s mettle proved an ideal match, as the Colombian made a joyous return to the podium Saturday, winning stage seven at Tour de Suisse by an emphatic margin of 53 seconds. “This race is hard because my first win in this race was in 2007, many years ago. Today’s time trial was special because there was the climb and then the downhill. It was a special day for me and the team,” said Urán. Not only is today’s win his…

Highlights Report Andreas Kron was awarded stage six of the Tour de Suisse after former world champion Rui Costa was relegated. Rui Costa crossed the line first but Lotto Soudal’s Andreas Kron protested after Costa changed his line in the sprint and denied Kron the chance to sprint for the win. After race officials looked at the race footage, Kron was handed the stage win. “I also saw the sprint footage in the truck at the finish line and the decision of the jury is right”, begins Andreas Kron. “We started the sprint on the right and ended up on…

Highlights Report Richard Carapaz powered into the overall lead at the Tour de Suisse following an impressive win on stage five. The Ecuadorian took his first victory of 2021 in Leukerbad after an attacking finale on a day in the mountains. Launching a move with four kilometres to go, the Grenadier bridged across to rival Jakob Fuglsang before the pair went on to contest the finish. Carapaz followed in the wheel as the Dane opened up his sprint on the uphill drag to the line. Victory saw Richie move into the yellow jersey and a 26-second lead over the Astana-Premier Tech rider…

It’s fair to say that the Summer of ‘21 could not be more keenly anticipated. As a toast to the easing of restrictions, Small Beer – specialists in brewing classic styles below 2.8% ABV – have launched an exclusive, sustainably sourced cycling jersey, designed to celebrate getting out of the house and onto the open road. Much in the same way that Small Beer serves as an answer to the everyday extremes of either ‘drinking’ or ‘not drinking’, its limited edition jersey is a rallying cry to enjoy the freedom of local adventure after an eternity of lockdown at home.…

USA Cycling, the national governing body for the sport of cycling in the United States, and FloSports, a leader in sports streaming and original content, have signed a three-year partnership to bring elite cycling competition to fans in North America starting in June 2021. Each year, the partnership will feature multiple cycling events on FloBikes, considered one of the leading destinations for live and on-demand cycling races, content, news, and analysis. The partnership will begin with the USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., on June 17-20, 2021, followed by a series of major competitive events scheduled throughout the year, including the USA Cycling…

Highlights Report Not only did Stefan Bissegger win a stage in his home country today — but he was victorious after a dramatic sprint finish. The only thing that could have made this day even more cinematic would be a dose of heavy rain showers pounding on the peloton as they made their way through the Alps. And the Swiss weather delivered. Yet some rain and slippery roads weren’t going to stop Bissegger from crossing the line first in Gstaad. “As soon as he could smell the victory, nothing was going to stop him,” said teammate Neilson Powless. A fast…

The Movistar Team’s two main references for the upcoming 2021 Tour de France, Miguel Ángel López and Enric Mas, completed their preparations with an impressive display at the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenges (UCI 1.1), held on Thursday over a really tough course -153km with 4,400m of elevation gain-, featuring two final climbs of the ‘Giant of Provence’, where the Telefónica-backed squad was the absolute protagonist. The great work from Mathias Norsgaard, Lluís Mas and Juri Hollmann to control the peloton into the early climbs allowed the Blue duo reaching the final 21km uphill fresh and calm, with a seven-man breakaway…