EUROTRASH News Round Up Monday!

The first two stages of the 2021 Tour de France have been quite stunning, for good and bad reasons. All the results and videos from the French Grand Tour, plus La Course by Tour de France avec FDJ and the GP Lugano. That spectator – TOP STORY. Other news: Merhawi Kudus takes the Eritrean TT title, no 2022 Tour for Remco Evenepoel, Alexandr Vinokurov to step down as Astana Sports Team Principal, Giro d’Italia Awards: ‘The Oscars of the 2021 Corsa Rosa’ awarded and Bala vs. Superman video. Monday Tour EUROTRASH coffee time.

TOP STORY: Spectator Caused Massive Crash in Tour Stage 1
During the opening stage of the Tour de France, a spectator with a cardboard sign caused a big crash in the peloton. Jumbo-Visma’s Tony Martin was the first to hit the deck. The German took almost the entire peloton with him. Julian Alaphilippe, Wout van Aert, Primož Roglič and Sonny Colbrelli, among others, were amongst the fallers. With Martin, dozens of riders went down after the collision. Jasha Sütterlin (DSM), Ignatas Konovalovas (Groupama-FDJ), Cyril Lemoine (B&B Hotels) and Marc Soler (Movistar) all had to abandon the 2021 Tour, while several riders had to visit hospital after the stage.

Deceuninck – Quick-Step slowed the peloton after the crash, so that the victims could return to the bunch.

Tour de France organiser ASO has filed a complaint against the woman who caused the enormous crash. Ouest-France reported after a conversation with Christian Prudhomme. According to the newspaper, the woman ran away after the incident. To date, she has not been found, but it is presumed she has German nationality due to the message to her grandparents on her cardboard sign.

The Gendarmerie du Finistère said the woman, who also faces being sued by the race organisers, had run off before officers were able to talk to her. Police are today searching for the spectator who caused a massive crash. She was described as wearing glasses, blue jeans and a red and white striped jumper beneath a yellow jacket. Race deputy director Pierre-Yves Thouault told AFP: “We are suing this woman who behaved so badly. We are doing this so that the tiny minority of people who do this don’t spoil the show for everyone.”

No vaccination for stupid:

 

Tour de France 2021
Julian Alaphilippe powered to victory up the climb of La Fosse aux Loups (the wolfpit) with the help of his Deceuninck – Quick-Step Wolfpack. He became the first Frenchman to win the opening stage of the Tour de France since Christophe Moreau twenty years ago and only the third reigning world champion to exchange the rainbow jersey for the yellow jersey at the end of Stage 1 after Georges Speicher (1934) and Bernard Hinault (1981).

184 riders took the start of stage 1 in Brest at 12.33. Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka-Nexthash) was first to get a bit of gap for himself. It enabled him to collect the first KOM point up for grabs at côte de Trébéolin (cat. 4, km 8.6). Five riders managed to go clear at km 12 at the initiative of Franck Bonnamour (B&B Hotels), quickly rejoined by Danny van Poppel (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Cristian Rodriguez (TotalEnergies), Anthony Perez (Cofidis), Ide Schelling (BORA-hansgrohe) and later by Conor Swift (Arkea-Samsic) to make a front group of six at km 19.5 Eight kilometres further, their maximum advantage was 3:55. Tim Declercq and Petr Vakoc seized the reins of the peloton for Deceuninck – Quick Step and Alpecin-Fenix respectively.

Ide Schelling soloes to KOM glory
Following a strong attack by Schelling, Perez won the KOM at Locronan (km 61.5). Schelling attacked at the bottom of the côte de Stang Ar Garront in Châteaulin (km 111) to take one KOM point but he forged on and his former breakaway companions were reeled in by the peloton with 68km to go. A massive crash occurred at km 152 as Tony Martin hit a spectator. It led to the first withdrawal of the 2021 Tour de France as Jasha Sütterlin (DSM) was injured. It took a while for Wout van Aert, Miguel Angel Lopez, Sonny Colbrelli and Bryan Coquard to make it back to the pack.

Alaphilippe soloes in La Fosse aux Loups
Schelling was brought back with 28km to go. The peloton rode all together at a moderate speed towards Landerneau. Another massive crash split the peloton 7.5km before the end. Deceuninck – Quick-Step strongly led the peloton before the 3km long ascent of La Fosse aux Loups. Alaphilippe attacked on the steepest section before the 2km to go mark. He made a gap for himself. Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and the Slovenian duo formed of Primoz Roglič and Tadej Pogačar chased him down but he held them off. Michael Matthews sprinted to second place with Roglič taking a time bonus in third position. Chris Froome was badly affected by the crash. Last year’s podium contenders Richie Porte and Miguel Angel Lopez also lost some significant time.

# You can read the full stage 1 report and photo gallery HERE. #

Stage winner and overall leader, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step): “This is such a special victory I can’t find my words to tell you how I feel. First and foremost, I want to say a big thank you to all my teammates for taking care of me today and showing an amazing team spirit. I was involved in that first big crash, but with their help I made it back. They believed in me, worked hard the entire day and I am happy I could repay them. It’s incredible to take the victory and the yellow jersey after the birth of my son. If you would have told me before the start this will happen on the opening stage, I wouldn’t have believed it. I came into the race motivated and with the goal of getting a win and wearing yellow again at some point, and I’m happy I achieved it so early. Today, the plan was to make it a tough race for the fast men, so I asked the guys to ride full gas from the very beginning. Then, in the finale, Kasper guided me on the first ramps of the climb before Dries came on the left, which was the signal for me to follow him. I did just that and when he finished his effort I just took off. I decided to go all out and as soon as I noticed a small gap, I continued to pull hard and give everything. Now I’m hearing that I racked up the 100th Grand Tour stage win in the history of this fabulous team and all I can say is that I am proud to be part of this amazing achievement.”

2nd on the stage and overall, Michael Matthews (BikeExchange): “The goal was to win today, but there was just one guy stronger than me. I guess I have sort of mixed feelings, obviously you want to win, but it’s also nice to start the Tour de France already with a podium position. I think it sets the tone for us as a team going forward for these three weeks. He (Alaphilippe) always does this (attacking early) and it’s the best way for him to win the race, so his attack wasn’t unexpected that’s for sure. It was a tense day, and I went down in the first crash. It was a stupid sort of crash, one of those ones where it was starting to get nervous in the peloton and getting fast towards the finish and someone touches the wheel and I think 80 guys went down. Tomorrow I think the final climb is actually harder, but better for me. We can only take confidence from today’s performance.”

4th on the stage and overall, Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious): “We went into the stage with the hope that Sonny could fight for the stage win. But during the stage, it was quite fast and technical and two hard crashes. One with around 40 kilometres to go at the top of a climb, and both Sonny and I got caught up in this crash, and it took us quite a long time to chase back to the peloton. Then there was another big crash with 7 kilometres to go, where a few of the team got caught out there. Myself, Sonny and Matej had quite a good positioning coming into the final climb and left-hand corner, and I could see after a kilometre of the climb Sonny was suffering quite a bit. It was more of the climbing style riders doing well, and I managed to just follow some wheels and stay up there as much as possible, and to come 4th was really nice.”

5th on the stage and overall, Wilco Kelderman (BORA-hansgrohe): “The first day of the Tour de France is always hectic. We had a lot of up down in the day and it’s good we had Ide in the breakaway. He has the king of the mountain jersey so that’s really good. With about 50km to 60km to go there was a big crash in the peloton and Peter, a few other teammates and I got caught up. I managed to catch the peloton afterward and be in the front group in the finale. It was a hard finish, but I had good legs and tried to sprint and give my best, finishing fifth. My legs feel well but my elbow is hurting. It’s a bit of a disappointment but it’s not so bad. I will recover and fight in the next stages.”

6th on the stage and overall, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “It was a hard first day out there: there were a couple of huge crashes and we hope that everyone is okay. Marc took a heavy fall but we hope for the best. I’m glad the first day is over and we’ll hope for a calmer day tomorrow. I’m pleased to take the white jersey but after what we saw with all the crashes there’s not much to celebrate today.”

10th on the stage and overall, Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers): “It was a solid day – stressful with a few crashes. In the big crash at the end I had no idea who was in it. It ended up with Richie being in it which wasn’t great. I was just concentrating on staying on my bike basically. I was too far back on that last climb. At the time I thought it’s okay I’ll sit here and then slowly move up when it lulls. I was expecting it to lull after the steep bit and then move up a bit. But it never lulled! I think because Alaphilippe went so hard for so long, it was just full gas all the way up. It made my life a bit harder. But for me personally it’s not too bad. I never feel 100 percent on the first stage after a few easy days. Happy to get through it but gutted about Richie and Tao.”

Break rider, Ide Schelling (BORA-hansgrohe): “The goal for me today was to try to make it to the breakaway and take my chances at the polka dot jersey. It’s a beautiful jersey and I knew I had to do things differently to get hold of it. So, when I got the chance, I attacked the rest of breakaway to catch them by surprise and take the points. I managed to build a big gap and the DS in the car told me to go for it and give it my all to the next summit. I put in a big effort, it was hard but I’m extremely happy to put on this jersey. You don’t often get a chance to win it on the first day of the Tour de France. We’ll have to see how my legs are doing tomorrow but we’ll try to keep it.”

Break rider, Danny van Poppel: (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux): “It was very difficult to get into the breakaway, but we fought and finally got there. I wanted to fight for the polka dot jersey because I was keen to give it to the team today. But I probably showed too much in the second GPM that I was the fastest in the group. Then they tried to dropped me in the third GPM, and the breakaway ended, which is a shame. It was important for the team to be up front today, and this is the path we intend to continue this Tour on.”

Crash victim, Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma): “We had everything under control until the crash. I brought the guys to the front via the right side of the road, but crashed into the sign of the spectator. It all happened very quickly; suddenly almost the entire team was on the ground. Many spectators behave respectfully, but unfortunately not this one. Fortunately, Primoz came through it well. I hope the physical damage to myself and the other guys is manageable.”

Jasha Sütterlin (DSM) had to abandon: “I am so disappointed; I have no words for it really. I can’t really move my right wrist so it was impossible for me to carry on today. It’s good that nothing is broken, but I can’t say more than I’m really disappointed to go home. I wish the rest of the guys the best of luck for the Tour.”

Tour de France Stage 1 Result:
1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck – Quick-Step in 4:39:05
2. Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange at 0:08
3. Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma
4. Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) BORA-hansgrohe
6. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
7. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
9. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
10. Geraint Thomas (GB) INEOS Grenadiers.

Tour de France Overall After Stage 1:
1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck – Quick-Step in 4:38:55
2. Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange at 0:12
3. Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma at 0:14
4. Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious at 0:18
5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) BORA-hansgrohe
6. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
7. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
9. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
10. Geraint Thomas (GB) INEOS Grenadiers.

Stage 1:

 

Mathieu van der Poel came up with a masterpiece at the top of Mûr-de-Bretagne. He rode for the time bonus at the first passage before winning Stage 2 solo to take the yellow jersey that his grand-father Raymond Poulidor never had in his prestigious career.

180 riders took the start of stage 2 in Perros-Guirec. One non-starter: Marc Soler (Movistar). Loïc Vliegen (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert) was the first attacker but after a reaction from the peloton, Anthony Perez (Cofidis) attacked for the second day. Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo), Simon Clarke (Qhubeka-Nexthash) and Jonas Koch (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) joined and a six-man front group was formed at km 18 with polka dot jersey holder Ide Schelling (BORA-hansgrohe), who counter-attacked three times, and Jérémy Cabot (TotalEnergies). They got a maximum lead of 4 minutes at km 40.5. Tim Declercq set the pace of the peloton for Deceuninck – Quick-Step. The fight was on for the King of the Mountains competition. Perez bettered Schelling at côte de Sainte-Barbe (km 72) to take the virtual lead of the KOM once again. The Dutchman took his revenge in the côte de Pordic (km 103).

Theuns the most combative of the day
Perez and Schelling neutralised each other before the climb of Saint-Brieuc where Theuns attacked by himself. The Belgian crested in first place before Cabot came across to him on the Côtes d’Armor department. Koch remained in between while Perez, Schelling and Clarke, who slipped on a downhill, were brought back by the pack. Cabot and Theuns approached the last 30km with an advantage of 1:30. Theuns went solo 21km before the finish as the peloton was only 25 seconds behind. He took the 1 KOM point up for grabs at the côte du village de Mûr-de-Bretagne and it was all together with 18km to go.

Two finishes for MVDP
Van der Poel attacked at the foot of the first ascent to Mûr-de-Bretagne 17km before the finish. It enabled him to take an 8 second bonus on the first passage while Tadej Pogačar (5 seconds), Primoz Roglič (2 seconds) and Julian Alaphilippe crossed the line in that order. Approximately 80 riders were together for the last lap, led by INEOS Grenadiers. Richie Porte was at the helm of the reduced group with 1.2km to go when Nairo Quintana attacked. Italian champion Sonny Colbrelli was next to try 900 metres before the line, but was soon countered by Van der Poel. No one managed to catch the Dutchman who won with an advantage of 6 seconds over the Slovenian duo of Pogačar and Roglič, again in that order. Fifth at 8 seconds, Alaphilippe lost the Maillot Jaune to Van der Poel.

# You can read the full stage 2 report and photo gallery HERE. #

Stage winner and overall leader, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix): “Above all, it’s the way I did it. You can’t even plan something like this. I played everything I got at the first climb. I wanted to grab the bonus seconds because this was the last chance for me to get yellow jersey, and I needed them. When I launched my attack with 800 meters to go, no one followed me, so I kept going. The last 500 meters were really painful, but I knew I had to go full gas in order to win. I didn’t learn that I had taken the yellow jersey until 5 minutes after the finish line. To finish it off like this is incredible. I felt much better today than I did yesterday. Maybe yesterday I was under a bit of stress. Unfortunately, my grandfather [Raymond Poulidor] isn’t here anymore… But imagine if he was here, how proud he would be! I have talked about it many times with my Mum.”

2nd on the stage and 3rd overall, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “The day started well, as all my teammates involved in yesterday’s crashes managed to start, including Marc Hirschi. I would have liked to fight to win, but it was also nice to see Van der Poel win, today he was the best and he also surprised everyone by attacking already on the first pass on the Mur. He also asked me, jokingly, if I wanted to attack with him the first time up.”

3rd on the stage and 4th overall, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma): “It was a good day for me, better than yesterday. It went full throttle today, just like yesterday. We could have seen that coming. It was another good day for me, better than yesterday. But I still have some pain all over my body, especially in my leg. But we’ll just move on. I’m not really surprised by him (MvdP). He has already set up many big attacks and showed it again today. It was a good attack and he certainly deserved it. Congratulations to him.”

5th on the stage and 2nd overall, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step): “I enjoyed every single moment in the yellow jersey and I want to thank all my teammates, who once again worked hard for me and protected me the entire day. I gave my best there and rode really hard in my attempt to retain yellow, but I didn’t have the best legs when the attacks came. Nevertheless, I am content with my first weekend and with having another distinctive jersey on my shoulders.”

4th on the stage and 5th overall, Wilco Kelderman (BORA-hansgrohe): “It was another hectic day in the end, with the messy descents, narrow roads and passages in small towns. Actually, in the final 60km we were always in the front with the team, Niels and Lukas brought us to the start of final lap at the bottom of the Mûr de Bretagne. From that point on it was full gas. I was towards the front of the group and feeling good in the last climb. I had good legs but not enough to react to van der Poel. However, there was a gap behind, and with 400m to go, I attacked. Only Roglič and Pogačar were able to follow me. Unfortunately, they passed me but I think, overall, it was a good day. We were always sharp in the race, there was good teamwork and I’m actually happy. My elbow and shoulder were still a bit stiff from yesterday’s crash but in the finale, you forget about that and the legs do the rest.”

12th on the stage and 18th overall, Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers): “The stage was complicated. The final was quite nervous and a lot of people wanted to try and attack. For us, the team was there and they did some amazing work into the finish. The pull by Richie Porte was incredible to put us into good position. It’s a bit of a shame that G lost a few seconds but we remain in the fight and there is a lot to come. We will see little by little, day by day.”

Break rider, Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo): “On the team, we wanted to be in the breakaway the first two days because we knew that if we took the polka dot jersey on the first two days there were big chances that we would be keep it for almost the whole first week. I felt good yesterday, so at the team meeting I said I wanted to give it a try today. On the first KOM sprint I made a mistake because I didn’t see the line to sprint for. In the final kilometres, I wanted to take a prize, so I went full gas from afar in order to secure the Combativity award. I’m happy with my performance today.”

Ex-KOM and break rider, Ide Schelling (BORA-hansgrohe): “Our goal was, of course, to maintain or try to increase our lead in the polka dot jersey. I managed to go in the breakaway but it wasn’t easy. Anthony Perez was there as well and took the first summit. In the second one, I made it a long one and got away from him, taking the point and the lead. I wanted to get more points but it wasn’t possible. Van der Poel and I are tied on points but with his stage win, he takes the jersey.”

Break rider, Jonas Koch (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux): “I was happy to be in the breakaway because it was intense battle from the start. The interests of the teams present at the front were different, several riders were only interested in the polka dot jersey and that is why it was difficult to keep a perfect collaboration and hope to go far. The breakaway was therefore caught early, and of course it’s disappointing. But I’m already looking forward to help Danny van Poppel in tomorrow’s stage, which is likely to finish in a sprint.”

Tour de France Stage 2 Result:
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix in 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates at 0:06
3. Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma
4. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) BORA-hansgrohe
5. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck – Quick-Step at 0:08
6. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
7. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
9. Pierre Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies
10. Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious.

Tour de France Overall After Stage 2:
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix in 8:57:25
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck – Quick-Step at 0:08
3. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates at 0:13
4. Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma at 0:14
5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) BORA-hansgrohe at 0:24
6. Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious at 0:26
7. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
9. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
10. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ.

Stage 2:

 

La Course by Tour de France avec FDJ 2021
Demi Vollering (SD Worx) won the 8th edition of La Course by Le Tour de France powered by FDJ, held between Brest and Landerneau on Saturday 26 June. It was the final running of the race before its replacement by the Tour de France Femmes powered by Zwift next year. Hours before the inaugural stage of the Tour de France, Vollering out-sprinted Dane Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) and fellow Dutch rider Marianne Vos (Jumbo–Visma) at the summit of the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups. Vos was pipped on the line when it looked like she had it in the bag, echoing her near-miss in Nice last year.

The dim sunshine struggled to pierce the clouds above the harbour in Brest at the start of the 8th edition of La Course by Le Tour de France powered by FDJ. The gruelling course ahead failed to deter the 127-strong peloton from unleashing a barrage of attacks as soon as the flag went down at 8:41 am on Saturday 26 June. Drawn entirely within the confines of the Finistère department, the 107.7 km course started with 54 kilometres of undulating terrain and segued into a circuit featuring four ascents to the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups, the last of which wrapped up the race and will host the start line of the opening stage of the Tour de France in the afternoon.

Kerbaol creates the first gap
Despite numerous attempts, it took 27 kilometres for the first official breakaway to get away. Local rider Cédrine Kerbaol (Arkéa–Samsic) rolled the dice with a solo move and quickly expanded her advantage to over a minute. A counter-attack by fellow Breton Noémie Abgrall (Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime) eventually petered out, but Elena Pirrone (Valcar-Travel & Service) did manage to catch the woman in front. The Franco-Italian duo led the charge going into the final circuit with 54 kilometres to go.

Van der Breggen strikes from afar
Kerbaol was brought back into the fold at the top of the first of four ascents to the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups (3km at 5.7%), while the Italian held on with a 30-second gap over the laid-back peloton. Lucinda Brand (Trek–Segafredo) took off 39 kilometres before the line, dragging several other riders with her and overtaking Pirrone. A dozen riders started the second ascent with 26 seconds to spare. World champion Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) used the climb as a launch pad to easily catch the breakaway with the remains of the peloton in tow. The main group reached the summit with just 30 units in it. However, it soon split in half, giving rise to a 12-woman breakaway featuring Juliette Labous (DSM) and one of Van der Breggen’s teammates, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak.

Jumbo–Visma stays on top of things
The gap soon hit 1:15 and was still 43 seconds by the time the race entered the final lap. Evita Muzic (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), clad in her French national champion’s jersey, gained a few bike lengths on the peloton with a solo move, only to be caught with 8 kilometres to go. Driven by Marianne Vos’s two Jumbo–Visma teammates, the bunch reeled in the 12 escapees before the start of the final ascent to La Fosse aux Loups. Australian Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon–SRAM) went on the attack on the toughest part of the climb, soon followed by her leader, Katarzyna Niewiadoma.

Vollering on the line
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) put in a strong dig, but she was shut down before the flamme rouge, at which point there were only eight riders left in contention. Van der Breggen’s long-range sprint failed to surprise Marianne Vos, who zeroed in on the win… only to be denied by fellow Dutch rider Demi Vollering (SD Worx), who took her first victory in La Course by le Tour de France powered by FDJ two months after claiming Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Ludwig came in second ahead of Vos, who again came tantalisingly close to her third victory after finishing second in Nice last year.

Race winner, Demi Vollering (SD worx): “I was really looking forward to today, I don’t know what to say. It was a great race. Anna did it again! It almost went wrong, by the way, because Marianne Vos went all the way to the right side of the road. I was closed in a bit, but was able to stay upright. Because Anna accelerated, she forced Marianne to I was able to go in the slipstream and go past it. That was really cool. We hoped it would be a hard race, and if that didn’t happen we had to take care of it ourselves. It was already from the start quite heavy, so that was good for us. Niamh (Fisher-Black) did a good job by always being part of the break. Chantal (van den Broek-Blaak) also drove all the time from the front. Nikola (Nosková) in the beginning, Rox (Fournier)… And Anna of course. She did a really good job. It was real teamwork that we showed.”

La Course by Tour de France avec FDJ Result:
1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx in 2:50:29
2. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
3. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
4. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx
5. Grace Brown (Aus) BikeExchange
6. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM
7. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Liv Racing
8. Liane Lippert (Ger) DSM
9. Elizabeth Deignan (GB) Trek-Segafredo at 0:04
10. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) Liv Racing.

La Course’21:

 

GP Lugano 2021
Gianni Moscon won the GP Lugano in Switzerland on Sunday. The Italian INEOS Grenadiers rider moved into a leading group of four in the final of the hilly race, before breaking away in the last 5 kilometres. Moscon then soloed to the finish in the streets of Lugano.

The early leading group included Fabio Aru, who had to give up his place in the Tour selection of Qhubeka NextHash to Carlos Barbero. The Italian dropped the break. Barnabas Peak (BikeExchange) and Daniel Pearson (eolo-Kometa) were the last riders to keep up with Aru. The Italian then continued solo, but was caught two laps from the finish. Each 23 kilometre lap had the climb of the Agra, a short one of almost six kilometres at 4.5%. Jhonatan Narvaez attacked on the penultimate climb, but his attempt also didn’t succeed.

In the last lap the best riders came to the fore. Valerio Conti, Ben Hermans, Gianni Moscon and Simon Pellaud got together. The lead of the four on the first pursuers was just under a minute in the last 10 kilometres. Four kilometres from the finish, Moscon made the decisive attack, after which he crossed the line solo. The battle for second place was between Conti and Hermans and was won by the Italian. Hermans, who recently won the Giro dell’Appennino, finished third. Simon Pellaud had to settle for fourth place.

GP Lugano Result:
1. Gianni Moscon (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers
2. Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
3. Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
4. Simon Pellaud (Swi) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
5. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
6. Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
7. Dion Smith (NZ) BikeExchange
8. Davide Orrico (Ita) Vini Zabù Brado KTM
9. Marco Tizza (Ita) Amore e Vita
10. Markus Wildauer (Aut) Team Vorarlberg.

Lugano’21:

 

Merhawi Kudus Brings Eritrean TT Title to Astana – Premier Tech
Merhawi Kudus brings another national title to Astana – Premier Tech winning the Eritrean individual time trial.

Today, the Eritrean National championships started with the individual time trial of 36 kilometres. Merhawi Kudus showed a solid performance on a flat route, at the finish winning 34 seconds to the closest rival Mekseb Debesay. Dawit Yemane completed the race podium with the third position.

“I am really happy to take the win and wear the Eritrean national time trial champion skinsuit for the first time in my career! It’s really special to represent Eritrea and wear my country’s jersey in the WorldTour! I can’t say that today’s time trial suited me well because the course was quite flat, but I managed to find a good rhythm and to keep it during the whole race. Well, we did two laps of an 18-kilometre course, so it was 36 kilometres in total. I felt good and I was able to win by 34 seconds in the end. I was really motivated to take the jersey this year and of course, now I am looking forward to the road race. It is going to be another flat race so on paper the course doesn’t look really good for me. Also, with so many riders from different teams, it won’t be easy to control the situation. But with the form I have I am really motivated and ready to give everything I have to win the road race title once again as I did it back in 2018”, – said Merhawi Kudus.

Today success of Merhawi Kudus becomes the fourth National time trial title for Astana – Premier Tech after wins of Aleksandr Vlasov in Russia, Ion Izagirre in Spain and Matteo Sobrero in Italy.

Merhawi Kudus:

 

Lefevere: “No 2022 Tour for Remco Evenepoel”
Remco Evenepoel will have to wait a little longer for his debut in the Tour de France. That is what team boss Patrick Lefevere of Deceuninck – Quick-Step told RTBF. According to Lefevere, it is better if Evenepoel can first contest a full Giro d’Italia.

“Remco is not allowed to ride the Tour in 2022,” Lefevere stated in the Tour de France broadcast of the French-speaking public broadcaster in Belgium. “We are going to let him race a nice Giro first, in normal conditions, with normal preparation and winter and with a few races in his legs before the start. That is actually an easy, logical decision.”

Earlier this year, Evenepoel made his debut in the Giro d’Italia on his comeback after the bad crash in the 2020 Tour of Lombardy. After a strong first week, he slowly dropped out of the standings. After a crash and some injuries, it was decided to abandon after seventeen stages.

Remco Evenepoel:

 

Alexandr Vinokurov to Step Down as Sports Team Principal
Astana – Premier Tech today announces that Alexandr Vinokurov will step down as Sports Team Principal.

Despite the current decision, which has come from the team’s Board of Directors, Vinokurov will remain a valued member of Astana – Premier Tech but relinquish his management responsibilities for the time being.

Giuseppe Martinelli and Steve Bauer will assume responsibility for the Sports Team Principal role for the foreseeable future, working alongside Managing Director Yana Seel to coordinate the team’s day to day sporting operations.

“We can confirm that Alexandr Vinokurov will not be present at the Tour de France this year as he will step down as Sports Team Principal. Alexandr still remains part of the team but he will not be in charge of the team’s sporting operations at the moment and will move into another role. I hope that during this period Giuseppe Martinelli and Steve Bauer will work well together to lead the team from a performance standpoint and guide our riders to success, starting here at the Tour de France where Steve will work alongside Dmitry Fofonov and Stefano Zanini,” – said Yana Seel, Astana – Premier Tech Managing Director.

Job change for Vino:

 

Giro d’Italia Awards: ‘The Oscars of the 2021 Corsa Rosa’ Awarded
Egan Bernal and Ineos Grenadiers win seven awards. Prizes also go to Peter Sagan, Lorenzo Fortunato, Dan Martin, and the Campo Felice and Notaresco stages.

Egan Bernal won the Giro d’Italia Awards’ “Best Protagonist Rider”, “Best Attack” and “Amore Infinito Prize” (for having taken off his rain jacket to reveal the Maglia Rosa as he took a dramatic win in Cortina – photo above)

Casting 1,200,000 votes, the Giro d’Italia community has chosen the winners of the Giro d’Italia Awards, selecting the best moments of the 2021 Corsa Rosa.

The winners for each of the 12 awards categories were chosen by the Giro d’Italia community, who voted on the official Instagram channel of the race, via stories. Fans placed their votes across all 12 categories, with 4 nominees to choose from in each. Following this first vote, the two finalists in each category were announced, and voting for finalist nominees then took place.

The Winners of the 12 Giro d’Italia Awards

Best Protagonist Rider
Egan Bernal
Other nominees: Simon Yates, Damiano Caruso, Peter Sagan

Best Domestique
Daniel Martinez
Other nominees: Pello Bilbao, Daniel Oss, Mikel Nieve

Best Team
Ineos Grenadiers
Other nominees: Team Qhubeka Assos, Israel Start-Up Nation, Bahrain Victorious

Best Break
Daniel Martin
Other nominees: Alberto Bettiol, Taco van der Horn, Gino Mader

Best Summit Finish
Zoncolan
Other nominees: Sega di Ala, Alpe di Mera, Alpe Motta

Best Sprint
Foligno (Peter Sagan)
Other nominees: Novara (Tim Merlier), Termoli (Caleb Ewan), Verona (Giacomo Nizzolo)

Best 2021 Revelation Rider
Lorenzo Fortunato
Other nominees: Victor Lafay, Attila Valter, Tobias Foss

Best Attack
Egan Bernal (Stage 16)
Other nominees: Edoardo Affini (Stage 13), Simon Yates (Stage 19), Damiano Caruso (Stage 20)

Best Team Spirit
Daniel Martinez encourages Egan Bernal on the climb of Sega di Ala,
Other nominees: Damiano Caruso thanks Pello Bilbao on Stage 20, Vincenzo Albanese stops at 3km from the finish to watch his teammate Fortunato win on the Zoncolan, Joao Almeida stops to wait for Remco Evenepoel in difficulty on the dirt road of the Brunello di Montalcino Wine Stage

Amore Infinito Prize
Egan Bernal takes off his rain jacket to win in the Maglia Rosa in Cortina
Other nominees: Vincenzo Nibali starts and finishes the entire Giro despite his wrist injury, Attila Walter loses and kisses the Maglia Rosa in Campo Felice, Alessandro De Marchi wears his first Maglia Rosa

The Most Spectacular Stage
The dirt road of Campo Felice
Other nominees: the gravel roads of the Brunello di Montalcino Wine Stage, the climb of Sega di Ala, the climb to Alpe Motta

Best Host City Dressing
Notaresco and the sky of pink umbrellas
Other nominees: Canazei and the big Trofeo Senza Fine, Milan and its “90 Anni Maglia Rosa” projections, Bagno di Romagna with its 103 front pages of the Gazzetta dello Sport display

 

Bala vs. Superman: The Ultimate Faceoff! | Movistar Team x 226ERS
Alejandro Valverde. Miguel Ángel López. Who of these two can make an isotonic drink from 226ERS the fastest? And the most delicious? We discover the result with her from our lovely host and team carer, Juan Carlos Escámez. #FeedYourDreams

Learn more about 226ERS: https://www.226ers.com/es/

 

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