Author: Henri Giroud

Highlights Report On a very cold rainy day in the Pyrenees Ion Izagirre took a beautiful victory atop the famous climb Aramón Formigal. The Astana Pro Team rider made a strong attack from the breakaway group with some 3 km to go, taking a good gap enough to take his debut stage win at the Vuelta a España. By winning today’s stage Ion Izagirre became the 100th rider in cycling history, who won the stages of all three Grand tours! – It was a very tough stage. We knew that bad weather will hit the stage and that at the…

Highlights Report Tao Geoghegan Hart rode a perfect final stage to take overall victory at the Giro d’Italia. The INEOS Grenadiers rider wrote another page of British cycling history, winning the Italian Grand Tour by 39 seconds following an emphatic final day performance. Going into the final 15.7-kilometre time trial level with Jai Hindley (Team Sunweb), the London-born rider rode the stage of his life to capture the famous maglia rosa. Filippo Ganna completed a magical day for the team by winning the final stage in Milan, taking his fourth and the team’s seventh stage victory of the race. Winning a third of…

Highlights Report Lotto Soudal’s Tim Wellens claimed the stage win in Sabiñanigo after beating Guillaume Martin and Thymen Arensman in a three-man sprint. Wellens becomes also leader in the mountains classification. The three sprinted for the stage having broken clear from a larger breakaway group that formed earlier in the stage. After the stage Wellens announced having extended his contract with the team until end of 2022. “At the start of La Vuelta it was the goal of the team to win one stage”, commented aggressive rider Tim Wellens, who went in the break already for the third time in this…

Highlights Report Tao Geoghegan Hart struck a blow in the fight for Giro d’Italia victory by winning stage 20 atop Sestriere. The Brit showed his class on the race’s final day of climbing to out-sprint chief rival Jai Hindley at the line, with bonus seconds meaning the pair head into the final time trial level on time. In what looks set to be one of the closest Giro finishes in history, Tao’s second stage win (and the team’s sixth) sets up a final-day, winner-takes-all showdown in Milan. Just tenths of a second separate the two riders, with Hindley (Team Sunweb) narrowly pulling…

Highlights Report Sam Bennett racked ups his seventh win of the season after a flawless teamwork and a powerful sprint on stage 4 of the Vuelta a España, which on Friday gave the sprinters a rare opportunity to fight for glory in Ejea de los Caballeros. For Bennett, who is doing his second three-week race of the season after the Tour de France, where he became the first Irishman in 31 years to win the famous green jersey, it was the eighth win in a Grand Tour, one which underlined his status as one of the world’s best sprinters. Deceuninck…

Highlights Report Josef Černý was able to celebrate in style as he rode down the finishing straight on Giro d’Italia stage 19 after an impressive 20-kilometer solo effort saw him secure the biggest victory of his career to date. Černý, the Czech national time trial champion, showed off his power and speed in the closing kilometers of the shortened stage after a stinging attack off the front of the day’s 14-rider breakaway saw him ride away from the rest of the group, which had amassed a sizeable advantage of more than 10 minutes after the peloton sat up. Despite a…

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announces that the Italian rider Matteo Spreafico has been notified of two Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs) for Enobosarm (ostarine)* in two samples collected during the Giro d’Italia on 15 and 16 October 2020. The rider has the right to request and attend the analyses of the B samples. In accordance with the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, the rider has been provisionally suspended until the adjudication of the affair. At this stage of the procedure, the UCI will not comment any further on this matter. * Enobosarm (ostarine) is a Prohibited Substance listed under class S1.2 (Other…

Highlights Report Primoz Roglic has done well in the third stage of the Vuelta a España. At the top of La Laguna Negra, the Slovenian leader of Team Jumbo-Visma sprinted to another second place, behind stage winner Daniel Martin. In the overall standings Roglic saw Martin getting a little closer, but he increased his lead over his other rivals. Just like yesterday, the stage from Ladosa was controlled by Team Jumbo-Visma. The squad was waiting until the final climb for the battle for the stage victory. Roglic was well-positioned by his team and still had support from Sepp Kuss in…