Highlights Report It wasn’t just the drizzly weather that made it a day for ducks — Mount Etna proved the perfect launch pad for Jonathan Caicedo to take flight and pull off his first Grand Tour victory on stage three of the Giro d’Italia. Having to work hard early in the stage to jump across to make it into the break to join his fellow EF Pro Cycling compatriot, Lawson Craddock, it was a lumpy and winding stage right up until the 18-kilometer ascent to finish atop Mount Etna. As the rain fell on the black lava covered slopes of…
Author: Henri Giroud
Henri Giroud
Fifty years of pro cycling journalism and television commentary. It gets easier after the first forty years.
Highlights Report Shrewd tactics, a great team effort and a perfect finish were the key ingredients that led to success for Diego Ulissi in the 2nd stage of the Giro d’Italia, on the 149 km from Alcamo to Agrigento. On the final slope towards Agrigento (3.7 km at 5.3%), UAE Team Emirates showed all its strength, with Valerio Conti picking up the pace at the head of a main group that was being heavily reduced. Conti held out until 700 meters from the finish, when Luca Wackermann (Vini Zabù-KTM) tried a counterattack, followed by Diego Ulissi and Mikkel Honorè (Deceuninck-Quick…
Highlights (Women) Highlights (Men) Report (Women) Lizzie Deignan attacked from her nine-rider breakaway on the infamous La Redoute climb, starting her 30km solo journey to victory in Liège. A thrilling chase ensued between former World Champion Deignan and Grace Brown (Mitchelton-Scott), who set off in pursuit on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Facons. Deignan held off her pursuer to bask in the glory of a solo victory of the Monument. Behind, van Dijk – who was also part of the escape group – played the finish to her strengths by jumping early and masterfully held off the sprinters to take bronze…
Highlights Report Filippo Ganna powered into the maglia rosa as the Italian won the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia. The new world time trial champion carried his form into his Grand Tour debut, taking victory by 22 seconds in Palermo. The fast 15.1-kilometre course provided a tough test for the riders, with Ganna completing the test in a rapid pace of 58.831km/h. His victory also ensured he moved into the white young rider jersey. It was also a fantastic start to the race for Geraint Thomas. The Welshman took the fourth fastest time on the day, 23 seconds back on his teammate,…
Highlights (Women) Highlights (Men) Report (Women) Anna van der Breggen has made history again by winning the Walloon Arrow for the sixth time. On the Wall of Huy she managed to finish the strong collective work of the Boels Dolmans team in a phenomenal way. Van der Breggen led the last climb of the Wall of Huy from start to finish. In the last hundred meters she managed to fend off the attacks of Demi Vollering and Cecilie Ludwig. Van der Breggen sets a unique record by winning the Walloon Arrow six times in a row. When asked if winning…
In the current health context linked to Covid-19 and following the measures taken by the Dutch authorities, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) regrets to announce that the 2020 Amstel Gold Race and the 2020 Amstel Gold Race Ladies have been cancelled at the request of their organiser. The two events, featuring respectively on the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour calendars, were scheduled to take place on 10 October. Covid-19 pandemic: keeping track of events on the UCI International Calendar that are postponed or cancelled
The INEOS Gas Guzzlers have confirmed their team for the Giro d’Italia, built around Geraint Thomas as he targets the overall victory. Geraint Thomas, who returns to the Giro for the first time since 2017, will be supported by Jonathan Castroviejo, Rohan Dennis, Filippo Ganna, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Jonathan Narvaez, Salvatore Puccio and Ben Swift. INEOS Grenadiers Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford said: “The proximity of all three Grand Tours is a unique challenge this year but it’s something we’ve relished. We’ve seen a thrilling, open edition of the Tour and we’re expecting to see more of the same in…
Highlights Results 1Julian Alaphilippe (France)6:38:342Wout van Aert (Belgium)0:00:243Marc Hirschi (Switzerland)4Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland)5Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark)6Primoz Roglic (Slovenia)7Michael Matthews (Australia)0:00:538Alejandro Valverde (Spain)9Maximilian Schachmann (Germany)10Damiano Caruso (Italy)