André Greipel must be relieved to not be on the books of Israel-Premier Tech, his final team of his lengthy professional career, this year. The same goes for Lotto-Soudal, the squad where he spent eight seasons. This is not because he is tired of cycling - he still loves it - or because he doesn't have the form, but because of the pressures on this pair of teams in 2022.

Both are involved in a relegation scrap as WorldTour licences come up for renewal and face the prospect of dropping down to the ProTeam level where spots at the top races are not guaranteed. As this article was published, both Israel and Lotto remain in the red zone, hunting for UCI points in an attempt to secure their future in the WorldTour.

"I think this whole points system is totally bulls**t because you have teams who have been in cycling for 20, 30 years, investing in cycling," the German tells Cycling Weekly. 

"It's just unfair to put them in a situation like this. Also Lotto makes a lot of events in Belgium. It's just not nice to see a team like this battling for something like this."

With his 158 career wins over 1319 race days - a win every eight races - one imagines that none of his former teams (which also include Arkéa-Samsic, one of the teams hunting for promotion) would be in trouble if they still had a fully fit "Gorilla" on their books.

He adds: "When you're still trying to get the points now you did something wrong, because it's three years and the mistake happened already."

Unlike other former top level professionals, notably Bernard Hinault, Greipel has not shied away from riding his bike in his retirement years. In fact, he seems to revel in the activity; he is speaking to Cycling Weekly at the first Global Bike Festival, where he seemed to enjoy the cycling as much as anyone. 

At one point, he cycled past this author on an 8% climb using one leg, and looked to be happy with the attention from those fans who were allowed to meet their legend at close quarters.

"I really enjoy it," he says. "Performance sport is behind me, so now I'm just doing what I really love. I've never had the possibility to enjoy events like this, so I'm just enjoying being a part of it.

"I actually have to calm myself down, because I just enjoy riding my bike," he explains. "It's a lifestyle for me. When I ride now, a bit too much. I already start to feel that my condition is getting too good. So I have to really pace myself.

Despite still being close to the level he was at in his final year as a professional, Greipel does not sound like he misses the top-level sport he was so successful in.

"When you have already a bit distance from the sport, it's easier because I wake up in my bed every weekend," he explains. "I'm just proud of what I achieved. Now I just keep going, living the lifestyle of bike riding. Being at events like this also shows me how beautiful the sport is. 

"I try to do the half like a normal bike week that I did in my professional life," he says. "Just to keep my heart fit. It's important because I don't want to be suffering with heart problems at the end of my life."

Greipel might not be tired of cycling the activity, and he isn't bored of professional cycling the sport either, just not participating. He's one of us now.

"I'm watching cycling now as a fan," he explains. "I have the distance already.  Last year I was still in the mix in the sprints, but I'm totally fine with it. It was my decision to stop because I still had a contract this year, but I was just fine with stopping last year."

He will go to the Tour de France, the first time since 2010 that he won't be racing it. This time, he will be there as a fan. Not even a VIP, in the village at the start or the finish; no free champagne for the 158-time winner.

Instead, he will take the ferry across to Copenhagen from north Germany for the Grand Départ with his family, where he will watch from the roadside. As he succinctly puts it: "I will be going to Copenhagen because it's a beautiful city, and we're going to watch the race from the fence."

Cycling has come a long way from the HTC Highroad days of the late 00s when Greipel was first racking up win upon win. At the Giro d'Italia, Mathieu van der Poel succeeded on seemingly all terrain, while at last year's Tour Wout van Aert won on Mont Ventoux and in a time trial before out-sprinting the best on the Champs-Élysées.

"The races are getting harder, always kind of hilly days as well," he says. "Somehow you need to be a good climber to get over the hills. I think the climbs are just getting faster and faster and the race is getting faster and faster. It's just hard sometimes to get the sprinters there. It's hard for people in my weight group."

The favourites for the green jersey are no longer pure fast men, like himself or Mark Cavendish, but all-rounders like Van Aert. This is reinforced by a Tour that does not have many flat days for bunch sprints.

"From what I have seen, there are not so many opportunities, especially when you see the beginning of the Tour," Greipel explains. "Okay, it's flat, but you have a lot of small roads, and wind. Then the Roubaix stage. It's going to be super interesting, but there are not as many opportunities like before."

Not that this matters to Greipel, he will be on the roadside with thousands of others, cheering them on. He's happy in retirement.

André Greipel was speaking to Cycling Weekly at the inaugural Global Bike Festival in Saalbach, Austria, where he hosted a number of group rides and talks about his stories career for hundreds of cycling fans. The festival was created by Play Sports Network to bring road, gravel and mountain bike riders together for four days of talks, skills sessions, rides and interactive events with iconic riders and brands. Ticket sales for 2023 will be announced in due course.

Sprint supreme André Greipel competed in the final race of his professional career at the Münsterland Giro yesterday, as he retires from professional cycling with a 10th place finish in Germany.

Greipel announced in July during the Tour de France that he was planning to retire from the sport at the end of the season, and he did so in his home country as he helped his Israel Start-Up Nation team-mate Alexis Renard to second-place.

"It's finished now, but I did my maximum," Greipel said, the German in a positive mood directly following the conclusion of the race.

"There was nothing more in the legs today, so I'm happy now that this day has finished and now I'll try to continue thinking positively for the future and see what happens."

>>> Mark Cavendish wins reduced sprint at Sparkassen Münsterland Giro 2021

ISN teammates Greipel and Renard both made several attacks during the race to get away from the front group, but their attempts were thwarted as the event ended in a sprint. Frenchman Renard launched his sprint first but Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck Quick-Step) managed to overtake him in the final few metres to win.

Greipel, who is retiring at 39-years-old, finished 90 seconds behind Cavendish, but that didn't stop the German fans from applauding their fellow countryman on a distinguished career as he crossed the line for the final time. 

The sprinter achieved 158 victories over a 19-year career, including 22 stage victories at Grand Tours: 11 at the Tour de France, seven at the Giro d'Italia, and four at the Vuelta a España. Greipel also won the points classification at the 2009 Vuelta a España plus the overall title at the Tour Down Under in both 2008 and 2010. 

Greipel hangs up his bike a year before his contract with Israel Start-Up Nation was due to expire and now moves onto the next stage of his life.

André Greipel has announced he will retire at the end of the 2021 season, calling time on a 16-year stint at the top level of cycling.

The German announced before the start of stage 20 of the Tour de France that he would be climbing off for good at the end of the year and that this would be his final French Grand Tour, where he's won 11 stages in 11 participations.

The 39-year-old had originally planned to retire at the end of 2022, when his three-year contract with Israel Start-Up Nation expired, but has called it a day a year early.

"So tomorrow’s stage will definitely be my last in the Tour de France and after 2021 I will also retire," Greipel said. 

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"I’m super happy with what I've achieved together with my team-mates and the staff around me. I was always happy with the support that I had around. Without my teammates, the staff, and of course my family I wouldn’t have achieved what I have."

Greipel says he's looking forward to spending more time with his family but also hopes to stay in the sport, although his exact plans are not yet defined.

"I’m not looking back in anger. I’m looking to the future with a lot of happiness because I can do what I want. I can suffer when I want and of course, spend a lot of time with my family. I wish everyone a good time in the pro peloton. I hope to somehow stay in cycling. I’m really thankful for everyone around me in my career. My family, my trainers, and everybody who was part of my career. I’ll see you around," he finished.

Greipel has taken 158 victories in his career, the most of any current active rider, and returned to winning ways in 2021 after a two-year drought, winning stage four of the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol and Trofeo Alcudia-Port d'Alcudia.

André Greipel came out on top in the bunch sprint on stage four of the Ruta del Sol 2021 beating Álvaro Hodeg and Mads Pedersen to the line.

Greipel (Israel Start-Up Nation) was the fastest after a great lead out by fellow German, Rick Zabel to finish ahead of Hodeg (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) and Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo).

It was the German sprinter's second win of the season after taking his first just a week ago at the Trofeo Alcudia in the final race of the Challenge Mallorca series. He had not won since a stage in the Gabon race La Tropicale Amissa Bongo back in January of 2019.

But Greipel didn't get to go up against all the sprinters who started as Mark Cavendish had to abandon the race due to stomach issues on his birthday. Cavendish had been looking like his old self in the Tour of Turkey where he took four stage wins but he has struggled in the Spanish race.

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The stage took place over 182.9km of undulating terrain between the towns of Baza and Cúllar Vega in southern Spain. But the day kicked off with a delayed start as the riders protested about unsafe roads and long transfers between stages with the CPA posting a statement about the reasons for the strike.

The race organiser later released a statement saying that teams already knew about the conditions of the roads and length of transfers and didn't choose to complain. It also reminded the riders that the race is still operating during the pandemic.

It was an uneventful stage for the riders in the overall fight though as Miguel Ángel López (Astana-Premier Tech) held onto his lead of 20 seconds over Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma).

There were some gaps in the peloton meaning some riders shuffled about in the overall standings, including stage two winner Ethan Hayter moving up to eighth overall.

The fifth and final stage should be yet another sprinters' stage as all the climbing days were right at the start of the race, oddly. But stage five starts in Vera and finishes after 107km in Pulpí.

André Greipel powered his way to a sprint victory in Spain, his first win in two years.

The 38-year-old sprinting star has struggled for results in recent seasons, dealing with illness and contract changes, which all left him without a victory since January 2019.

But this year, now in his second season with Israel Start-Up Nation, Greipel looking to be closing in on victory, taking multiple top 10s in the early-season stage races and hitting the podium in the Tour of Turkey last month.

Then on Sunday (May 16), the German found his way back to the top step of the podium, winning the sprint in the Trofeo Alcudua-Port d’Alcuedia stage race, part of the Challenge Mallorca series. 

The 1.1-ranked event is the third one-day race taking place over the last week on the Spanish island of Mallorca, with Greipel taking the victory in the sprint opportunity after Winner Anacona (Arkéa-Samsic) took victory in the Trofeo Andratx-Mirador des Colomer the previous day, and Ryan Gibbons (UAE Team Emirates) won the Trofeo Calvia.

https://twitter.com/ChallengeMca/status/1393898442666225665?s=20 

Greipel beat Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) to the win on Sunday, with Christophe Noppe from Greipel’s old team Arkéa-Samsic coming in third.

For Greipel, the slump in results started in the 2019 season, when he left Lotto-Soudal after eight years of success to join French ProTeam Arkéa. 

He went on to win one stage of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo stage race in Gabon, central Africa in January 2019 - his last win before this weekend. 

But after dealing with a bacterial disease that impacted his results in the first half of the 2019 season, Greipel then made the surprise announcement that he would be leaving Arkéa after just one year, as he asked team management to terminate his contract.

Greipel never explained the full reasons for his departure, but team manager Emmanuel Hubert admitted he was disappointed with Greipel’s results and said he did not oppose him leaving the team.  

The 11-time Tour de France stage winner then joined Israel Start-Up Nation, as the squad stepped up to WorldTour level for 2020, as one of the star signings for the team.

After joining the team, Greipel told Cycling Weekly: "If I was riding my bike for money, I would have stayed with Arkéa and made a holiday out of next year, but no that’s not my characteristic.

“I want to perform, I’m not just pinning my number on.

“That’s what I want to do next year, get back on the level where I was.” 

Last year Greipel wasn’t able to get back to his best, with his biggest result coming on stage 10 of the Tour de France where he finished sixth.

But this season he has been a consistent feature in bunch finishes and took a huge step forward in the Tour of Turkey, finishing on the podium three times without taking a victory, before his win in Mallorca this weekend.

>>> Matej Mohorič abandons Giro d’Italia 2021 after huge crash on a descent

Greipel isn’t the only star sprinter to return to form this season, as Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) was dominant in the Tour of Turkey, winning four of the eight stages and bringing an emphatic end to his three-year drought. 

André Greipel has revealed his plans to retire at the end of the 2022 season.

The German sprinting star, who has the most wins of any active rider in the men’s peloton, said he doesn’t want to continue racing into his 40s and that he wouldn’t accept a new contract if he was offered one.

Greipel, 38, is currently racing for Israel Start-Up Nation on a three-year contract, which takes him up to the end of next season, when he then plans to move onto the next stage of his career. 

As reported in German news organisation Radsport News, Greipel recently said in a documentary about his home life: “My goal is that I don’t want to sit on the bike anymore if there is a four in front of my age and that is a goal I will keep. 

“I don’t know what happens if I’m offered another contract, but I think I’m very good at communicating so everyone knows that I shouldn’t be offered another contract.”

He added: “I definitely wouldn’t accept [a new contract] - definitely not.” 

Greipel, winner of 11 Tour de France stages with 156 pro victories to his name, has been the leading sprinter for Israel Start-Up Nation in a number of key races in the last two seasons, including the 2020 Tour de France, the 2021 UAE Tour and is currently racing the Tour of Turkey.

Despite having not won for two years, when he took a stage of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in January 2019 Greipel, who turns 40 in July 2022,  is still able to hit the top-10 in a bunch sprint against the world’s fastest riders.

Earlier this week he took his first podium since joining ISN, finishing third on stage two of the Tour of Turkey as Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) went on to take victory. 

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On his plans for post-racing life, Greipel said: "I definitely want to continue doing something in cycling and pass my experience on to young talents.” 

André Greipel has abandoned the Tour de France 2020.

The Israel Start-Up Nation rider stepped off the bike after around 40km of racing on stage 18, during a savage day of mountain racing. 

German sprinting star Greipel has been battling hard to make it through the Tour’s toughest mountains, finishing stage 17 to Col de la Loze 32 minutes behind the stage winner, just a few minutes before the time cut off.

But as the peloton another huge day of climbing on stage 18 to La-Roche-sur-Foron, which includes five categorised ascents, Greipel had to give up the race.

The 38-year-old, an 11-time Tour de France stage winner, abandoned the race during the first climb of the day, the 19.3km-long, six per cent average Cormet de Roselend. 

Greipel, who joined new WorldTour team Start-Up Nation at the start of the season, hasn’t won a Tour stage since 2016, and looked to be off the pace early in the 2020.

After crashing on the opening stage and not finishing in the top 100 in the opening nine stages, Greipel then found his legs for stage nine in the crosswinds to Île de Ré, fighting his way to sixth place in the sprint finish as Sam Bennett (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) took the win.

Greipel left Lotto-Soudal in 2018 to step down to Professional Continental level with Arkéa-Samsic, but after suffering from illness he left the team before the end of the season, bringing his contract to a premature end. 

News then emerged Greipel would be returning to the highest level as Israel Cycling Academy merged with Katusha-Alpecin to become a WorldTour team. 

>>> Who’s out of the Tour de France 2020? 

Greipel is the 27th rider to leave the Tour and will miss out on the last sprint opportunities of the race, including the prestigious Champs Élysées stage, which he has won on two previous occasions during his 15-year longcareer. 

André Greipel will continue racing at WorldTour level for at least another two years after signing a new contract.

The Germain sprinter will remain with Israel Start-Up Nation until 2022, which will take him beyond his 40th birthday.

Greipel is among the best sprinters of his generation, with 11 Tour de France stages to his name over his 16-year career.

The 37-year-old said: “To tell you the truth, I was expecting the team to offer me a one-year extension.

“Of course I was very flattered and pleased that the team management have shown so much trust in me. It was an easy decision to accept the offer and I am fully ready to prolong my career and help the team keep growing.”

Greipel is the most prolific winner in the men’s peloton with 156 victories (Marianne Vos has 228), but has been through a turbulent few seasons.

After leaving Lotto-Soudal at the end of 2018, Greipel had a brief season with Arkéa-Samsic last year before he broke contract and joined Israel Start-Up Nation.

The Israeli WorldTour team is new to the peloton this year after taking over the remains of the Katusha-Alpecin squad.

Earlier this year, Cycling Weekly explore the celebration and controversy surrounding the squad.

When joining Israel Start-Up Nation, Greipel was not sure if he would continue racing beyond 2020, but after the coronavirus pandemic stopped all racing he decided he had at least a few more years in the legs.

He said: “I didn’t get the opportunity to race the full season, so when the team offered me the chance to stay, I consulted my family and that was it.”

Greipel has also impressed billionaire team owner Sylvan Adams, who said: “André carries himself with grace and humility, despite his impressive palmares. Prior to the corona shutdown, Andre had been a great mentor to our younger riders, in particular to our Israeli neo-pro sprinter Itamar Einhorn, who scored the first podium ever by an Israeli, at the Tour Colombia."

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It’s been 17 months since Greipel crossed the line first in competition (at the 2019 Tropicale Amissa Bongo), but after scoring three top-10 finishes in the Tour Down Under he feels he still has the ability to win.

“I am still capable of producing results,” he said, “but we all share the responsibility in this team.”

André Greipel will kick off a new season of insightful talks with cycling stars in London next month.

The German sprinting superstar will be answering questions and offer stories of his career for the first VeloTalk event of 2020.

Taking place on Wednesday April 1, the event will be held in Six Storeys, Soho Square in central London, where the 11-time Tour de France stage winner will take part in a Q&A session.

Tickets are available here for £45 each.

Organiser of VeloTalks, Trinity Sports Management, said: “André will share his stories of hard work and dedication that saw him become a prolific winner. He is often seen battling on the front line in the Classics but unfortunately a recent shoulder injury has sidelined him from this year's Classics campaign.

We are privileged to have André speak at our VeloTalks event and are excited to listen to him share his insights about the 2020 Classics and how he sees Flanders and Roubaix playing out. André will also give us a glimpse into his focus and goals for the future.

Greipel, now racing in Israel Start-Up Nation colours, is currently out of the peloton injured after he suffered a broken shoulder in a training crash.

The 37-year-old was forced to pop his shoulder back into place and ride home after a the fall. He had been riding in Cologne with his team-mate and compatriot Rick Zabel, later learning he had suffered a shoulder fracture.

Greipel’s career has spanned 16 season and seen him reach the top step a staggering 156 times.

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After spending most of his career with Lotto-Soudal from 2011 to 2018, Greipel then spent one season with French ProTeam Arkéa-Samsic before leaving his contract early and joining the new Israeli WorldTour team.

His biggest successes included 22 Grand Tour stage wins – 11 Tour de France stages, seven at the Giro d’Italia and four at the Vuelta a España.

André Greipel was forced to pop his shoulder back into place and ride home after a training crash that will take him off the road for three months.

The German sprinter was riding with his team-mate and compatriot Rick Zabel near Cologne when he fell and dislocated his shoulder.

A hospital examination revealed Greipel had also suffered a shoulder fracture and he will likely need surgery to fix a tear in the joint.

The 37-year-old said: “A car came in our direction so we went single file on a small road. There was water and mud on the road and somehow I came off the road and lost my balance. My front wheel slipped, and I slid towards a rock with my head and shoulder first.”

Greipel had a strong start to the season with his new Israel Start-Up Nation team, taking three top 10 finishes in the Tour Down Under, but he’ll now be forced to miss the Classics.

Israel Start-Up Nation team manager, Kjell Carlstrom, said: “It’s definitely a big setback for Greipel and the team.

“He started the season so well in the Tour Down Under and showed what kind of leader he is for the team.

“We already lost two riders for months with severe injuries – Rory Sutherland and Ben Hermans – so it’s definitely bad news and something we will need to overcome but it will not be easy.”

Greipel left his Arkéa-Samsic team before the end of his contract after he spent 2019 struggling with illness, but he has now teamed up with new WorldTour team Star-Up Nation.

The 11-time Tour de France stage winner made the step down from WorldTour level from Lotto-Soudal to French Professional Continental outfit Arkéa-Samsic at the start of 2019, taking an early win in La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in January but struggling to reach the podium since.

Could you keep up with one of the fastest sprinters in cycling history?

Thanks to the online training platform Zwift you might just get to find out and raise money for a good cause in the process.

On Saturday (February 8), 11-time Tour de France stage winner André Greipel will be attempting the biggest Zwift group ride ever held to raise awareness of the disease that killed his mother.

Greipel, who races for Israel Start-Up Nation on the road, will be riding with and chatting to fans on Zwift to help raise money to fight the brain disease ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after his mother Gudrun died from the condition in 2017.

To help the fight against ALS, Zwift will be donating one US dollar for ever Zwifter that joins in the group ride, up to $10,000 (£7,600), to the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Zwift said on it’s website: “On Saturday February 8th Join André, the Zwift community and Pros alike as we ride to raise funds for ALS research. To help André make this the biggest Zwift group ride ever Zwift will donate $1 for every Zwifter that joins the rides the ride, up to $10,000.

“In 2017, pro cyclist André Greipel’s mother Gudrun, passed away after a long fight with ALS (otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease), after her initial diagnosis in 2013. ALS is a brain disease that impacts nerve cells, deteriorating muscle control and eventually paralysing patients. Many die within five years after diagnosis.

“Gudrun was Andre's biggest supporter, and now it's up to us to help support him and her legacy by joining him in the fight against ALS. With this ride on February 8th, we’re raising awareness and money to accelerate the pace of ALS research. The donations go entirely to ALS researcher Professor Prudlo, currently conducting research at the DZNE, the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases.”

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Greipel has spent years raising money and awareness to help fund research into ALS, which affects around two in every 100,000 people worldwide.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as motor neurone disease, impacts nerve cells and causes deteriorating muscle control and most sufferers eventually suffer paralysis and many die from respiratory failure.

André Greipel says he’s not just pinning on his number as he returns to the WorldTour next season.

The sprinting superstar had a turbulent 2019 season, struggling to find his legs and then leaving Arkéa-Samsic before the end of his contract.

Greipel has now been picked up by Israel Cycling Academy, who jump to the WorldTour next season under their new name, Israel Start Up Nation.

When asked about the last year, the 37-year-old told Cycling Weekly: “No comment. I don’t talk about last year. I’m just thankful they let me out of the contract.”

But looking ahead to 2020, Greipel added: “If I was riding my bike for money, I would have stayed with Arkéa and made a holiday out of next year, but no that’s not my characteristic.

“I want to perform, I’m not just pinning my number on.

“That’s what I want to do next year, get back on the level where I was.”

Greipel made the step down from WorldTour level from Lotto-Soudal to French Professional Continental outfit Arkéa-Samsic at the start of 2019, taking an early win in La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in January but struggling to reach the podium since.

In October, he announced he would be leaving Arkéa after he asked team management to terminate his contract.

Team manger Emmanuel Hubert said he was disappointed with Greipel’s performances this season and that he did not oppose his leaving the team.

Greipel said he struggled with a bacterial disease that affected the first half of his 2019 season, only reaching full fitness two weeks before the Tour de France.

Last month, Israel Cycling academy announced that they had signed Greipel as the squad takes over Katusha-Alpecin to reach cycling’s top tier.

Speaking from the official team launch in Tel Aviv, Israel this week, Greipel added: “I started talking with [Israel Cycling Academy] on October 5 and we really found an agreement. I want to ride my bike, because I love it.

“Of course getting back to a WorldTour was my aim, plus they have ambitious riders.

“So that's why I'm here, sharing my experience, trying to make the best out of the winter of my career.”

Israel Cycling Academy has signed a strong selection of riders for 2020, including Greipel, Dan Martin, Germans Nils Politt and Rick Zabel, and British time trial champion Alex Dowsett.

With Dowsett and Zabel forming part of a formidable lead-out train – both previously rode in support of Marcel Kittel at Katusha-Alpecin – Greipel is optimistic about his chances of returning to form.

He said: “We have a really good potential train, but for that we have to start practising which hasn’t been possible yet.

“I know they are strong, but to be good you need to bring it out on the road. You can practice all you want, but if you don’t have the experience then it’s not going to work out.

“The first thing we want is to get results with Nils in the Classics and I’ll try to get back on my level in the sprints.”

With a WorldTour licence comes a guaranteed spot in the Tour for Israel Start Up Nation, but Greipel isn’t dwelling on that race yet: “We’ve left everything open. I said I just want to start the season. If I can start in a good way, then choices are easier to make than they are now in December.”

André Greipel will be back in the WorldTour next year as he joins Israel Cycling Academy for 2020.

The German sprinter terminated his contract with Arkéa-Samsic after just one season with the French Professional Continental outfit and will be returning to cycling's top tier at 37 years old.

Israel Cycling Academy (ICA) is making the step up to WorldTour level next year as they take over ownership of Katusha-Alpecin, fulfilling their ambition of racing the Tour de France next year.

Team manager for Israel Cycling Academy, Kjell Carlstrom, said: "André Greipel has such a vast palmarès from his years in the sport up to date that we are honoured to have him join the team.

"We are convinced that he can continue to win with us in 2020, but most importantly, the vast experience he brings to the team in both Classics and sprinter's races is going to be hugely appreciated both for the other riders as well as management. "

Last month, Greipel announced that he would be leaving Arkéa-Samsic after he asked team management to terminate his contract.

Team manger Emmanuel Hubert said he was disappointed with Greipel’s performances this season and that he did not oppose his leaving the team.

Greipel said he struggled with bacterial disease which affected the first half of his 2019 season, only reaching full fitness two weeks before the Tour de France.  

He joined Arkéa at the start of the season from Lotto-Soudal, taking an early win in La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in January but struggling to reach the podium since.

Greipel said: "I am looking forward to the challenge to perform at my highest level again with ICA, a project for the future with lots of motivated and talented riders.

"I followed the team and saw its fast evolution in the last few years and I wanted to be part of that, especially with the chance to go back and race in the WorldTour."

He added: "I am not somebody who looks back. I just want to look to the future and start from there and I know my abilities and I will try my best to get back to that."

In October, Israel Cycling Academy confirmed they would be taking over Katusha-Alpecin, a move which bumps them up to the WorldTour.

The Professional Continental outfit has stepped in to save WorldTour team Katusha, which faced an uncertain future as headline sponsor Alpecin and bike provider Canyon are believed to be moving their money elsewhere.

>>> André Greipel back in the WorldTour with Israel Cycling Academy

The team will race in ICA’s blue and white kit, provided by clothing brand Katusha.

Israel Cycling Academy have been pursuing promotion to cycling’s Premier League as a way of securing their spot at the Tour de France, with the team now taking over Katusha-Alpecin’s licence.

The team have also signed Dan Martin from UAE Team Emirates as a general classification and stage victory hopeful, while Greipel will be their man for the sprints.

André Greipel could join Mathieu van der Poel at Corendon-Circus, according to reports.

The German sprinter is searching for a new team after he terminated his contract with Arkéa-Samsic following a disappointing 2019 season.

Greipel, 37, is rumoured to be in talks with Professional Continental outfit Corendon-Circus, which is also home to star rider Van der Poel, according to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

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But Greipel may face tough choice, as WorldTour outfit Dimension Data and another unnamed team may also be interested in signing the veteran.

According to reports, the 11-time Tour de France stage winner could join Corendon as their German bike sponsor Canyon is looking for a strong German rider to join the ranks.

Rumours also suggest German shampoo brand Alpecin could also be joining Corendon as a sponsor, adding more demand for a German star.

Earlier this month, Greipel announced he would be splitting from his Arkéa team after a tough 2019 season that included a long illness and few notable results.

Greipel has now gone on vacation and confirmed he will make an announcement about his 2020 plans during the week of November 4.

Greipel joined Arkéa at the start of the season from Lotto-Soudal, taking an early win in La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in January but struggling to reach the podium since.

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Arkéa general manager Hubert said: “I am obviously disappointed by Andre’s performances this season even if I know he is the first affected. Our results together are far from satisfying. Getting out to the contract was an option, we are not opposed.

"It doesn’t take away anything from his human qualities which were greatly appreciated within the team or from the experience he brought to the squad. Personally, I met a great champion and a good person. I wish him good luck in his future endeavours.”

André Greipel has terminated his contract with Arkéa-Samsic after just one season.

The German sprinter asked the team management to terminate his contract at the end of the year and said he will soon make an announcement about his plans for 2020.

Team manger Emmanuel Hubert said he has been disappointed with Greipel’s performances this season and that he does not oppose the 37-year-old leaving the team.

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Greipel said: “About four weeks ago I asked the management of the team to terminate the contract towards the end of the year. Emmanuel Hubert and the team management have agreed to this request.

“I am very grateful for the cooperation we had in 2019. I would have liked to have extended the season's results, but I was not optimally prepared for my season highlights.

“In the first half of the season, I had to fight a bacterial disease for several months and once 100 per cent healed, unfortunately this was only two weeks before the Tour de France.”

The Münsterland Giro on Thursday (October 3) will be Greipel’s last race of the year and his last with French Pro Continental team Arkéa.

He says he will then go on vacation, leaving his social media accounts silent and not responding to requests from the media, before he reveals his plans for 2020 during the week of November 4.

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Arkéa general manager Hubert said: “I am obviously disappointed by Andre’s performances this season even if I know he is the first affected. Our results together are far from satisfying. Getting out to the contract was an option, we are not opposed. It doesn’t take away anything from his human qualities which were greatly appreciated within the team or from the experience he brought to the squad. Personally, I met a great champion and a good person. I wish him good luck in his future endeavours.”

Greipel joined Arkéa at the start of the season from Lotto-Soudal, taking an early win in La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in January but struggling to reach the podium since.

The team will bolster its general classification ambitions next season, with Nairo Quintana and Winner Anacona joining from Movistar and Diego Rosa moving from Team Ineos.

Stage six of the Tour de France 2019 provided the first opportunity to see the form of the GC contenders  as the peloton tackled La Planche des Belles Filles, with defending champion Geraint Thomas (Ineos) answering his critics with a strong ride.

However, an often forgotten group of riders on mountain stages is the sprinters, with television cameras rushing off to interview the victors as these heavier riders empty their tanks in order to reach the finish line within the time limit.

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One sprinter who has become accustomed to toiling up the mountains of the Tour de France is André Greipel (Arkéa-Samsic), the German currently riding his seventh French Grand Tour and never finishing inside the top 100 in the overall classification.

After getting to the top of yet another summit finish on stage six, the German decided to have a bit of fun after a gruelling 7km of climbing with an average gradient of 8.7 per cent, clambering off his bike and jogging across the finish line cyclocross style.

This acceleration on foot helped the German pip Tom Scully (EF Education First) to the line as the pair battled it out for 140th place on the stage, finishing over 20 minutes behind stage winner Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida).

Greipel is riding his first Tour for new team Arkéa-Samsic, although he has not yet been able to contest a bunch sprint, his highest-placed finish being on stage four when he came 12th as Elia Viviani (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) took his first ever Tour stage victory.

In April Greipel said his "instincts as a sprinter have gone" after failing to get a result at the one-day Scheldeprijs race, having only picked up one victory so far in 2019 at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo held in Gabon as part of the UCI Africa Tour.

“I just don’t feel ready to fight for the right positions any more," Greipel said, "Physically I am fine. When I sprint in training, I still have the same capabilities as my best times."

Despite his confessed lack of form, it's great to see the German having fun at the biggest race of the year.

André Greipel and Warren Barguil have been confirmed for this year's Tour de France, as Arkéa-Samsic announce the squad they will take to the French Grand Tour.

Alongside their two star riders will be four Frenchman, Maxime Bouet, Anthony Delaplace, Élie Gesbert and Florian Vachon, with the two final names for the eight-man squad set to be announced following the French national championships, which take place on June 30.

André Greipel will be looking to add to his 11 Tour de France stage victories, having last won on the Champs-Élysées in 2016.

It would appear the German will not be impeded by the stomach virus that forced him out of the Critérium du Dauphiné on stage seven, the sprinter requiring treatment and rest to recover in time for the Tour.

Greipel climbed off on stage 11 of the Tour last year, en route to Alpe d'Huez, alongside fellow sprinters Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma). Lotto-Soudal, who were his team at the time, then abruptly announced the German would be leaving the team at the end of the season.

Greipel stepped down from the WorldTour ranks to join the French Pro-Continental outfit for the start of 2019, following a 2018 where his most notable victories came at the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Britain.

So far in 2019, he has only managed one victory, a stage of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, a race held in Gabon part of the UCI Africa Tour.

Following his top 10 finish and polka dot jersey at the 2017 Tour, Warren Barguil was thrown out of the Vuelta a España by his own Sunweb team after disagreements over race tactics and goals, the Frenchman wanting to work for himself rather than team leader Wilco Kelderman.

Barguil therefore arrived at Arkéa-Samsic for the start of the 2018 season, however he failed to follow up his 2017 successes, only managing second place to Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) in the king of the mountains classification at the Tour. The 27-year-old recently finished in 13th at the Dauphiné and will be looking to build on that form come July.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) is rumoured to be moving to the French team next season, as they plan to become a WorldTour team for the 2020 season, and were once again given a wildcard spot for the 2019 Tour.

Next year, the four wildcard spots for Grand Tours won't be purely given out as invitations, with two spots at each of the three races going to the two top-ranked teams at the Pro-Continental level.

André Greipel  (Arkéa-Samsic) has quit the Critérium du Dauphiné 2019 after medical tests have revealed he is suffering from a stomach virus.

The German sprinter did not take the start line on stage seven after extensive tests showed the presence of a bacteria in his stomach that requires treatment and rest.

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It is not yet known how long it will take Greipel to recover or when he expects to return to racing but his inclusion in the 2019 Tour de France, which is less than a month away, could be put into jeopardy.

Despite having 11 Tour de France stage wins to his name, his last victory in the race came two years ago on the Champs-Élysees, and the 36-year-old has struggled to find the form that has seen him pick up a total of 22 Grand Tour stage wins.

In 2018, Greipel's most notable victories were a couple of stage wins each at the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Britain, but this year he has only managed one victory, a stage of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, a race held in Gabon part of the UCI Africa Tour.

Speaking in April earlier this year, Greipel said his "instinct as a sprinter is gone", adding "I just don’t feel ready to fight for the right positions any more. Physically I am fine. When I sprint in training, I still have the same capabilities as my best times."

Greipel moved down from the WorldTour ranks into the Pro-Continental division at the end of last season, after his former team Lotto-Soudal abruptly announced the German's departure during the 2018 Tour de France.

His new French team Arkéa-Samsic plan to join the top tier for the 2020 season, though, and were confirmed to have been given one of the wildcard spots for the 2019 Tour de France, meaning Greipel would make his eighth appearance at the Grand Tour.

It is not yet known whether this stomach virus will affect the German's ability to take the start line in Brussels on July 6.

André Greipel says his “instinct as a sprinter is gone” as he looks back on his recent lack of results.

The German stepped down to the Professional Continental ranks with Arkéa Samsic for 2019, having struggled for results with Lotto-Soudal.

With just a stage win in La Tropicale Amissa Bongo this year, Greipel feels his best days may be behind him.

“My instinct as a sprinter is gone,” he told Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws after another disappointing finish in Scheldeprijs on Wednesday (April 11).

“I just don’t feel ready to fight for the right positions any more.

“Physically I am fine. When I sprint in training, I still have the same capabilities as my best times.”

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The 36-year-old rode a mixed 2018 season, taking stage wins in the Tour Down Under and Tour of Britain, but abandoning the Tour de France on stage 12 after he fell outside the time cut.

He added: “Maybe I have become too old. That could be it right?

“I’m looking for reasons why it doesn’t work anymore.

“I need a click and it just won’t come.”

Greipel is one among a handful of era-defining sprinters struggling to compete this season.

Marcel Kittel’s Katusha-Alpecin team are planning a “crisis meeting” over the start sprinter’s recent run of poor form.

After an emphatic win in Challenge Mallorca in January, Kittel has not followed through on the expected return to form.

The German finished 99th in Scheldeprijs, a race he has won five times before, after he crashed in the closing kilometres.

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Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish has been absent from racing since he pulled out of Paris-Nice last month.

The Brit has been struggling with illness in recent years and took a long lay-off last season to recover.

But his team said the early season had taken its toll on Cavendish and the 33-year-old needs more time to rest, with the Tour de France the only race he is currently scheduled to ride.

André Greipel will have his chance at the 2019 Tour de France after his new team were invited to race as a wildcard.

The German sprinter stepped down from the WorldTour to join French outfit Arkéa-Samsic at the end of last season.

Tour organisers ASO have now revealed the final two teams being given wildcard entries – Arkéa-Samsic and Direct Energie.

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The two French teams will join Cofidis and Wanty-Groupe Gobert to make up the four second-tier teams racing the biggest Grand Tour of the year.

Competition between Professional Continental teams for Tour places was tough this year, with the French outfits all bolstering their line-ups to be awarded a coveted spot.

Alongside Greipel’s move to Arkéa-Samsic, Direct Energie signed double Monument winner Niki Terpstra from Deceuninck – Quick-Step.

Pierre Rolland, a two-time Tour stage winner and top-10 overall finisher, also moved to Vital Concept-B&B Hotels for 2019 from EF Education First.

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But the Frenchman will not be given the chance to repeat his previous glories as Vital Concept have missed out on a place.

Sprinter Bryan Coquard is another Vital Concept rider who will be disappointed to miss out on a spot, having last rode the Tour in 2016 and coming second and third in bunch sprints.

Arkéa-Samsic are also expected to take Warren Barguil to the Tour, after his two stage wins and King of the Mountain title from 2017.

The French rider appeared to have a breakthrough year with Sunweb, but has failed to take a win since moving to Arkéa-Samsic last season.

Alongside Classics specialist Terpstra, Direct Energie also count 2017 stage winner Lilian Calmejane among their number.

Full list of teams riding 2019 Tour de France

Ag2r La Mondiale (Fra)

Astana (Kaz)

Bahrain-Merida (Brn)

Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger)

CCC Team (Pol)

Cofidis, Solutions Crédits (Fra)

Deceuninck - Quick-Step (Bel)

Direct Energie (Fra)

EF Education First (USA)

Groupama-FDJ (Fra)

Lotto-Soudal (Bel)

Movistar (Esp)

Mitchelton-Scott (Aus)

Arkéa-Samsic (Fra)

Dimension Data (RSA)

Jumbo-Visma (Ned)

Katusha-Alpecin (Sui)

Team Sky (GBr)

Sunweb (Ger)

Trek-Segafredo (USA)

UAE Team Emirates (UAE)

Wanty-GroupeGobert (Bel)

André Greipel said he is not ready to retire and is looking to perform at Paris-Roubaix as he steps down from the WorldTour.

The German sprinting sensation is moving down to join French Pro Continental outfit Arkéa - Samsic, after learning he did not have a future at Lotto-Soudal.

Greipel, now 36, said the move does not mark the winding down of his career as he continues to target big races.

In an interview with Spanish newspaper AS, Greipel said: “In 2018, I quickly learned that I was no longer part of the plan at Lotto-Soudal.

“I spoke with Manu [Arkéa - Samsic manager Emmanuel Hubert] and he showed great enthusiasm about me signing.

“Finally, I decided to face this challenge with him.”

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Greipel’s winning form has been sporadic in recent years – his last Tour de France stage victory came in 2016, when he won the final day in Paris.

In 2017, he won one stage at the Giro d’Italia but none at the Tour.

Last year was another mixed season for Greipel, who won his first race at the Tour Down Under and followed it up with victory on the final day.

He struggled at the Tour de France, winning no stages before being eliminated when he finished outside the time cut on stage 12 to Alpe d’Huez.

But Greipel returned stronger in the late season, winning two stages at the Tour of Britain.

He said: “My head remains strong. I’m still passionate about my spot.

“I have not decided when I'll stop.

“One day my career will come to an end, but not yet.”

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Having won a stage of all three Grand Tours, including 11 in France, there is very little missing from Greipel’s palmarès.

But there is one gap in his illustrious career – he has yet to win a Monument.

His best opportunity came in 2017, when he finished seventh in Paris-Roubaix, just 12 seconds down on winner Greg Van Avermaet.

Looking ahead to the 2019 season, Greipel said “I would like to do a good Paris-Roubaix" - that goal is at least possible, after his new team have been given a wildcard spot to ride the cobbles.

André Greipel could find himself back in the WorldTour as his new team plans to join the top tier in 2020.

The German sprinter has left Lotto-Soudal for the Professional Continental outfit Arkéa-Samsic.

Despite taking the step down, Greipel could return to the WorldTour as his new team, previously known as Fortuneo-Samsic, hopes to move up after next season.

The team’s general manager, Emmanuel Hubert, told newspaper Ouest France: “The WorldTour must arrive very, very, quickly.

“I had a project for 2021, but my ambition is to be there from 2020.”

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Lotto-Soudal abruptly announced Griepel’s departure during the Tour de France, but did not give a reason or give details of his future plans.

The following week, Arkéa-Samsic announced they had signed the 36-year-old for two years.

Greipel is one of the best sprinters of his generation, with 11 Tour stage wins, seven Giro d’Italia stages and four from the Vuelta a España to his name.

He has struggled to perform at his best in recent years, having not won at the Tour since 2016.

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But Greipel showed his class at the Tour of Britain in September, picking up two wins over the eight days.

French banking and insurance company Arkéa has joined Fortuneo-Samsic as the lead sponsor, reportedly boosting the team’s budget from €8million (£7.1million) to €10million (£8.9million).

The UCI currently allows 18 WorldTour teams to race at the highest level with all of the vacancies currently filled, but that hasn’t knocked the team’s plans to move up in 2020.

Hubert added: “Of course, it is not by recreating a season like 2018 that we will put all the chances on our side” – the team won just two races this season.

André Greipel will be leaving the WorldTour at the end of the season after eight years with Lotto-Soudal.

After racking up 95 wins with the Belgian team, Greipel secured his place as one of the best sprinters of his generation.

Next year, the 36-year-old will leave the WorldTour team to ride for the pro continental level Team Fortuneo-Samsic.

As the 2018 season comes to an end, the German has looked back over his eight-year career with Lotto, and listed his best moments.

From his first victory with Lotto to triumph on the Champs-Élysées, here are André Greipel's highlights:

1. Volta ao Algave 2011 - stage four (Albufeira – Tavira)

“I believed it to be very important to start the season well with my new team and I hoped to obtain a victory as soon as possible.

"Back then, Philippe Gilbert was also a part of the team and had already won a stage, taking some pressure off on a collective level.

"In February, during the fourth stage of the Tour of the Algarve I was guided perfectly and brought in a good position by among others Roelandts and Sieberg.

"This perfect lead-out allowed me to beat Michal Matthews and to claim my first victory with the team.”

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2.  Tour de France 2011 - stage 10 (Aurillac-Camaux) - first Tour stage win

“A lot of people did not see me as a one of the best sprinters of the peloton, but once you can put a stage victory of the Tour de France on your record, that perception changes immediately.

"In this regard, that day in 2011 was a tipping point.

"For the outside world, this victory got me a place among the best sprinters, which made it an important victory for my career as well as for the team.

"It was a very tough stage with among others a nasty climb at twenty kilometres from the finish line.

"I had to pull out all the stops to follow but I succeeded and sprinted towards my first victory ever in the Tour.”

3. Tour de France 2012 - stage four (Abbeville - Rouen), stage five ( Rouen - Saint-Quentin) and stage 13 (Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Cap d'Agde)

“In 2012 I won three stages in the Tour de France: the fourth to Rouen, the fifth to Saint-Quentin and the thirteenth to Cap d’Agde.

"In the end, the fifth stage to Saint-Quentin was one of my two most beautiful victories of my career at Lotto-Soudal.

"In the finale, I was held up by a big crash at three to four kilometres from the finish. Greg Henderson brought me from an almost lost position to the front of the peloton again where Sieberg and Roelandts were and still could prepare the sprint, enabling me to take another stage.

"In the Tour de France of 2012, I had the best lead-out ever: everyone was at his highest level and all riders who were part of the lead-out, Henderson, Roelandts, Sieberg, Bak, Hansen and myself were perfectly in tune.”

4.  German National Championship 2013

“A few days before the championship, I had some doubts about participating.

"Since the course was not far from my residence at that time, I did the recon, so I could see the route with my own eyes.

"After that, I decided to participate, more as a preparation for the Tour de France, which started a week later, than with the purpose to win the race.

"The race took place in appalling weather conditions: the rain made the race very tough.

"In the finale about fifteen to twenty cyclists were left to compete for the victory and the medals. Sibi got away and was 600 meters away from the German title.

"I was not going to close the gap of course and adopted a wait-and-see strategy. When he eventually got caught, I was able to win the sprint of the reduced group.

"It was a very special moment because my victory was quite unexpected. It was the first of three times I could wear the national jersey, which is something very special.

"If you ask any national champion which place the national title occupies on his record, every riders will put it somewhere on top.”

5. Tour de France 2015 - Stage 21 (Champs-Élysées)

“At a certain moment you dream about becoming a cyclist.

"Once you turn pro, you hope to participate in the Tour de France and when you participate in the Tour, you want to win a stage.

"If you have won a stage as a sprinter, you hope to once win on the Champs-Élysées, the World Championship for sprinters.

"In 2015, I started the sprint from a lost position, but still was able to seal the victory.

"This victory proved my perfect shape in that Tour since it was already my fourth victory in the three-week race.

"The final week I felt a lot of pain in my knee, which almost prevented me from getting to Paris.

"In other circumstances a lot of cyclists, and maybe me just as well, would have abandoned, but with already three stage victories, I did not want to quit.

"I went through my pain barrier, so I could ride that last sprint.

"I was also in great shape and that victory was not only a culmination of that great Tour, but also a fabulous moment in my career; maybe the most beautiful victory ever.”

6. Giro d’Italia 2017 - stage two (Olbia – Tortolì)

“I was not sure that I would ride the Giro, but eventually I was at the start in Sardinia.

"The first two stages were suited to sprinters and if the first stage is a stage in line, as a sprinter you know that you have a chance at the leader’s jersey.

"During my period with HTC, I already pulled it off in the Vuelta and in the Giro of 2017, I saw my chance again.

"In the first stage Lukas Pöstlberger of Bora-Hansgrohe took everyone by surprise by riding off in the final phase, heading solo to the finish and taking the pink jersey.

"In the evening, we all were a bit down: I did not win the sprint of the peloton either, so I wouldn’t have taken the pink jersey anyway.

"It was a disappointment, but the second stage made up for it all.

"The stage towards Tortolì was not considered as a stage for sprinters because it was a bit hillier with also a nasty climb in the finale.

"Everybody expected a group of forty cyclists to ride towards the finish and that the sprinters would not play a role anymore.

"The strong headwinds kept the race relatively closed, increasing the chances to sprint.

"Thanks to great work of Jasper De Buyst, I was able to take part of that sprint and won.

"The stage victory was a huge relief and the pink jersey was a magnificent bonus. Wearing the leader’s jersey as a sprinter in a Grand Tour is very special!”

7. Four Days of Dunkirk 2018 - stage five (Wormhout-Cassel)

“In Dunkirk I won two stages, but the fifth stage is a highlight in my career because, exceptionally, I did not win it in a bunch sprint.

"In the Tour of Luxembourg, I had already won in that way, so I was glad I could do it again a few years later.

"I rode solo to the win from afar: I escaped from a small group and rode alone in front for a few dozen kilometres.

"Such a victory is unique for a sprinter and I am thus very proud of it.”

8. Stage 1 and stage 4 in the Tour of Britain 2018 - Stage one (Pembrey Country Park - Newport) and stage four  (Nuneaton - Royal Leamington Spa)

“Of course, I knew it were my last weeks and races with the team, but I did not really realise it could be my last two victories with Lotto-Soudal.

"These two stage victories brought me joy in cycling and training again after a very hard period.

"In that manner I have the feeling I did well during the last weeks and had a pleasant and good Tour of Britain.

"That week in September, I was able to put a lot of stuff behind me, so I could start the final phase of the season and my period with Lotto-Soudal in a positive manner!”

André Greipel won the first stage of the 2018 Tour of Britain, beating Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) and Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) to the line in Newport.

The Lotto-Soudal rider timed his effort perfectly, countering an early sprint from Gaviria who faded well before the line, and beating Ewan by a wheel after the Australian had also made a late surge.

The sprint was far from nailed on in the closing 10km, with Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) caught 1km from the line having broken clear from a four-man group that got away on the final climb of Belmont Hill with 7.8km to go.

After his sprint win, Greipel takes the overall lead of the race after the opening stage, with another potential sprint on stage two to Barnstaple.

How it happened

Bright sunshine greeted the riders on the opening day of the 2018 Tour of Britain, and it didn't take long for a breakaway to go clear on the opening 175km stage from Pembrey Country Park.

Matthew Bostock (Great Britain), Nic Dlamini (Dimension Data), Mark Downey (Team Wiggins), Thomas Moses (JLT-Condor), Rory Townsend (Canyon-Eisberg), Richard Handley (Madison-Genesis) were the six riders to get clear early on, establishing a maximum gap of just under three minutes.

The peloton were happy to let them stay within reach out front, with gap dropping quickly in the final 50km.

The gap was down to just 55 seconds with 35km to go, though the six breakers fought on.

Quick-Step did the majority of the work on the front for Gaviria, with EF-Drapac chipping in as they eyed a sprint for Dan McLay or Sacha Modolo.

That work brought the gap down to 20 seconds with 22km remaining. With a catch now looking inevitable, the breakaway began to attack each other, with Dlamini the first to try with 20km to go.

Still with 17 seconds over the bunch, the move that finally stuck saw Rory Townsend go solo with 16km to go.

His effort was in vain however, with everyone finally caught with 11.5km to go ahead of the final climb of Belmont Hill.

Sky ramped up the pressure with a potential attack on the cards on the short, steep ascent.

Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) then attacked with Julian Alaphilippe following on Belmont Hill, which topped out 7.8km from the finish.

Thomas quickly faded however, and a counter-attack from Jungels and Alaphilippe got away over the summit. They were joined by Jonathan Hivert (Direct Energie) and Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin) on the descent, gaining 11 seconds advantage.

Jungels then went clear with 5.2km to go, with no real chase in earnest from his fellow breakaway riders.

Those three behind were caught by the peloton with 3.3km to go, but Jungels stayed out front with nine seconds in hand.

There was nothing the Luxembourg champion could do to hold off the chasing bunch though, and he was eventually caught with 1km remaining.

BMC then led into the final 750m, but it was Gaviria who launched his sprint first from a long way out. He was matched by Caleb Ewan on the left side of the road, before a late surge from Greipel to the line sealed the win.

Results

Tour of Britain 2018, stage one: Pembrey Country Park to Newport (175km)

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal, in 4-00-54

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott

3. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors

4. Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Team Wiggins

5. Jürgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing

6. Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

7. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Great Britain

8. Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

9. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

10. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky, all same time

Overall classification after stage one

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal, in 4-00-54

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at 4s

3. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors, at 6s

4. Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Team Wiggins, at 10s

5. Jürgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing

6. Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

7. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Great Britain

8. Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

9. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

10. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky

André Greipel will leave Lotto-Soudal at the end of the season to join Fortuneo-Samsic, the French squad have announced.

The German's current team abruptly announced his departure on Twitter last week during the Tour de France, with no indication as to why, or where he would be heading next.

But the sprinter will now drop from the WorldTour to Pro Continental level to join the Bretagne team, who have had regular wildcard invites to take part in the Tour over recent years.

Fortuneo-Samsic also announced the Greipel would stay with them for at least two seasons, which will see him through until he turns 38 in 2020.

Greipel boasts a stunning palmarès through his time at HTC and Lotto, taking 11 Tour de France stage wins, seven at the Giro d'Italia and four at the Vuelta a España.

He has struggled for results in recent years however, managing to take a stage at the Giro in 2017, but without a win at the Tour since the 2016 edition when he was able to grab victory on the final stage to Paris.

In the 2018 Tour, Greipel's best result was third on stage four behind winner Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) and world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe). He later abandoned the Tour in the Alps on the 12th stage from Bourg-Saint-Maurice Les Arcs to Alpe d'Huez.

His new team, Fortuneo's current biggest name is Warren Barguil, who moved to the team after winning two stages at the 2017 Tour and the king of the mountains competition with Team Sunweb. The team also currently has former Quick-Step and Ag2r rider Maxime Bouet and former BMC Racing rider Amaël Moinard on their roster.

André Greipel has issued an apology after he insinuated that Arnaud Démare had held on to cars up the final climb in order to make the time cut on stage 17 of the 2018 Tour de France.

Démare was dropped almost immediately after the start of the stage in Bagnères-de-Luchon and rode on his own for much of the day as he fought to make the time cut which was set at 35-21 behind stage winner Nairo Quintana.

The French sprinter would eventually cross the line at the top of the Col de Portet 29-16 behind Quintana, comfortably making the time cut, and actually wasn't in last place on the day with Mitchelton-Scott's Michael Hepburn more than two minutes behind.

However Greipel, watching the race at home after abandoning on stage 12, clearly believed that Démare had held on to cars to help him make the time cut.

In a tweet that has since been deleted, Greipel posted a screenshot from the Tour's live tracking site showing Démare 20-32 behind the front of the race at the base of the final climb with the caption: "Maybe someone should tell @GroupamaFDJ and @ArnaudDemare that there is GPS tracking in @LeTour. Chapeau to lose just 9min on a 17km climb on Quintana #notforthefirsttime"

>>> Police officer causes Chris Froome to crash after Tour de France stage 17 by mistaking him for a fan

The hashtag #notforthefirsttime is a reference to the 2016 edition of Milan-San Remo which Démare won in a sprint ahead of Ben Swift. However his win was overshadowed by allegations from other riders that he had held on to cars while climbing the Cipressa in order to recover from a crash, allegations which Démare has denied and were never proven.

In response to Greipel's tweet, Démare responded to say that he had been watched by commissaires throughout the race, and that he would send his data from his ride to Greipel for the German to cast his eye over.

Analysis of Démare's GPS data by Twitter user @Velofacts showed that the French sprinter had consistently lost time on all three of the day's climbs, and had in fact lost time more quickly on the final climb of the day.

On Thursday morning Greipel took the decision to delete his original tweet, and also issue an apology to Démare saying that he had got the times wrong about the final climb and that he shouldn't have tweeted about an event that he wasn't able to witness.

Démare will be hoping for an easier day on stage 18 to Pau, which has only two small climbs and should end in a bunch sprint.

We first spotted the new Ridley Noah Fast at the Tour de Suisse, when New Lotto-Soudal were riding an as-yet-unnamed new bike.

Now Ridley has given us the new bike’s name – Noah Fast – and other details of the aero machine being ridden by André Greipel at the Tour de France.

The Noah Fast comes in both rim brake and disc brake variants. Ridley says that it’s the result of months of CFD computer modelling as well as testing at its on-site wind tunnel in Belgium. Ridley says that the Noah Fast weighs around 250g less than the older Noah, with the entire bike weighing under 7kg with rim brakes and around 500g more with discs.

Ridley says that it has designed the fork-to-frame interface to be as smooth as possible and limit drag at a range of wind yaw angles. Like the Pinarello Dogma F10, the fork blades include wings at the dropouts to smooth airflow. In the disc brake bike, Ridley says that it has integrated the thru-axles so that they don’t interrupt the airflow.

Other aero details include a seat post clamp that is integrated into the frame, out of the airflow and protected by a cover.

The Noah Fast comes with its own aerobar with a super-sleek profile. Ridley says that there are stem length options between 90mm and 140mm, while its 3mm, 5mm and 10mm aero spacers let you change the bar height in 1mm increments. Cabling is fully internal through the bar and stem from the lever to the brakes and mechs for the disc version, with an external front brake cable when rim braked.

Ridley also stresses the Noah Fast’s ease of assembly, citing 2 minutes or less to replace the cables, thanks to continuous outers through the frame.

The Noah Fast Disc retails at €7899 and comes with Shimano Ultegra Di2 and Ridley’s own brand Forza R45 carbon wheelset. The rim brake Noah Fast will cost €7399, also with Ultegra Di2 and Forza R45 carbon wheels.

Caleb Ewan could be one of the biggest name riders to change teams at the end of the season after it was reported that he is close to signing a deal to join Lotto-Soudal for the 2019 season.

As reported by Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Lotto-Soudal are lining up 23-year-old Ewan as a replacement for André Greipel who is out of contract at the end of the year.

Despite his tender age, Ewan has already picked up nearly 30 professional victories, including wins on stages of the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, and second place behind Vincenzo Nibali in the 2018 edition of Milan-San Remo.

Ewan joined Mitchelton-Scott, which was then known as Orica-Greenedge, towards the end of the 2014 season after a year-and-a-half at the Jayco-AIS development team.

At the team he has enjoyed growing success over the last few years, including a growing number of wins in Europe after he was criticised early on for only being able to perform at his best while racing Down Under.

According to Het Nieuwsblad, Ewan has been offered a new deal at Mitchelton-Scott, but has decided not to sign as he looks to start a new chapter in his career.

The likely destination looks to be Lotto-Soudal, with the Belgian team trying to sign a top-level sprinter as wins for the previously prolific André Greipel start to dry up with the German turning 36 during the Tour de France. Ewan has apparently already been offered a contract, but has not yet signed as he hopes his stock will rise with victories in the Tour in July.

Greipel was reportedly offered a new one-year deal by the Lotto-Soudal management, but declined to sign as he held out hope for a two-year deal instead.

With Ewan being lined up as a replacement, Greipel could be on his way out of the team along with fellow sprinter and Classics man Jens Debusschere.

André Greipel will have to sit out the remainder of the 2018 Classics season after fracturing his collarbone in a crash during Milan-San Remo on Saturday and undergoing surgery to repair the break.

The German sprinter was in near the front of the chase group following lone leader Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) on the descent of the Poggio inside the final five kilometres of the race when he crashed along with Lotto-Soudal team-mate Jasper De Buyst.

Up until that point, Greipel had looked in good shape to contest the finish despite also crashing earlier in the feed zone and suffering an abrasion to his left leg.

Greipel said via Twitter on Sunday: "Unfortunately not the way I wanted to finish my @Milano_Sanremo. 2 crashes and the last one 4 km from the finish let our amazing @Lotto_Soudal teamwork not getting the result we worked for-now off to surgery for my broken collarbone."

Lotto-Soudal manager Marc Sergeant said: "Of course we are disappointed that we had such bad luck today. As a team we probably rode one of our best editions of Milan-San Remo.

>>> No serious injuries for Mark Cavendish after horrific Milan-San Remo crash

"Until ten kilometres from the finish Jasper De Buyst, Jens Debusschere and André Greipel were still part of the first group. Jasper and André crashed on the descent of the Poggio.

"Jens Debusschere got held up because of that crash. We had already lost Jens Keukeleire just before the foot of the Poggio. He had already done a lot of work by that point, just like Bak, Maes and Sieberg.

"As a team we performed very well. Everyone was strong, but luck was not on our side.”

Greipel had already shown that he was in good shape this season, with two stage wins at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January.

On Monday afternoon, Lotto-Soudal issued an update on Greipel's surgery, which reportedly required a plate and 10 screws to fix his collarbone in place, undertaken by Dr Toon Claes in Herentals

Greipel said after the surgery: "Doctor Claes said it was a difficult, but successful operation. The collarbone was broken into different pieces. I already could go home this morning.

"The upcoming week I need to leave the bike aside and afterwards, depending on the amount of pain I have, I can start riding on the rollers. The next weeks I can’t ride any races, so I try to be patient and not to rush anything.”

“I immediately felt my collarbone was broken. Scans in the hospital of Nice Saturday night confirmed that. As a rider you always hope for a miracle, so you can start in the Classics, but that hope disappeared quickly. The next weeks will be all about rest and rehabilitation and I will come and cheer for the team in one of the races. Unfortunately this is also part of a cyclist’s life."

The team reports that both De Buyst and Keukeleire suffered abrasions, but with no other significant injuries.

Greipel was not the only notable sprinter to have crashed out of the 2018 edition of Milan-San Remo. British Dimension Data rider Mark Cavendish hit a bollard on the approach to the Poggio and was sent flying through the air, landing heavily on the road.

>>> Vincenzo Nibali: ‘The final kilometres of Milan-San Remo were endless. It was pure suffering’

Cavendish's team reported that he suffered a possible ankle injury, abrasions and a fractured rib, separate to the one he also fractured in Tirreno-Adriatico.

Nibali's attack on the Poggio ultimately netted him the Milan-San Remo victory, with Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) leading the peloton home for second place.

Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) won the 2018 Tour Down Under as André Greipel won the sixth stage of the race.

Victory for Lotto-Soudal's Greipel is his second of the race, having sprinted to victory on stage one. It also takes his total of number of stage wins in the Australian race to a record 18.

The German beat Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) on the line in the centre of Adelaide, with Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) third. Impey finished safely to secure the final Ochre jersey.

Despite finishing on the same time as Richie Porte (BMC Racing), Impey's triumph comes courtesy of three second-placed finishes in the race. It is his first general classification victory since he won the Tour of Alberta in the Canadian Rockies in 2014. His only other overall stage racing success was the Tour of Turkey nine years ago.

Two stage wins for Greipel is the perfect start to his season and immediately stores away the horrors of 2017, when he only managed five wins.

How it unfolded

The sixth and final stage of the opening WorldTour stage race of the season was a traditional 90km criterium in downtown Adelaide comprising of 20 laps of a city centre circuit.

Two breaks formed in the first three laps, the first bigger than the second, but both failed to stick. AG2R La Mondiale's Mikael Cherel jumped away from a regrouped peloton on lap four, and he was chased down by Koen de Kort (Trek-Segafredo) and Manuele Boaro (Bahrain-Merida). That break, too, wasn't allowed to stay away.

On lap five, the break finally stayed away. Education First-Drapac's Logan Owen and Astana's Truls Korsaeth weren't judged as too much of a threat and were permitted to stay away, joined not long after by Laurent Didier (Trek-Segafredo).

That break, though, began to fracture, and four laps later only Owen was stay away, accompanied by Dimension Data's Ben O'Connor. The pair maintained a slender lead of around 90 seconds.

>>> ‘A wheel ain’t gonna cut it’: Riders borrowing fans’ bikes and other stories from the Tour Down Under through the years

With four-and-a-half laps to go, and Lotto-Soudal and Mitchelton-Scott working hard at the front of the peloton to protect their respective interests, Owen opted to go alone. His lead, however, was brought to an end on lap 18.

The main sprinting teams all took it in turns to lead the peloton through the final two laps, Quick-Step Floors in particular looking strong working for Elia Viviani.

A crash in the final lap didn't upend any of the stage contenders and the peloton were still together as they passed under the flamme rouge.

Viviani was in pole position as the sprints begun with 500m to go. Further back, in 13th wheel, Ewan launched his acceleration, rapidly moving to the right of the road and past the dozen riders who were in front of him.

He powered towards the line and Greipel swung out from the middle to latch onto Ewan's back wheel. With metres running out, Ewan edged his bike towards the finishing line, but Greipel came to the left of the Australian and took victory on the line by half-a-wheel.

Results

Tour Down Under 2018, stage six: Adelaide to Adelaide, 90km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal, in 2-01-19

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott

3. Peter Sagan (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe

4. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb

5. Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors

6. Steele von Hoff (Aus) University of South Australia

7. Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE-Team Emirates

8. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo

9. Carlos Barbero (Esp) Movistar

10. Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin, all at same time

Final general classification after stage six:

1. Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott, in 20-03-34

2. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing, in same time

3. Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data, at 16 secs

4. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE-Team Emirates, at 20 secs

5. Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors

6. Egan Bernal (Col) Team Sky

7. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Bahrain-Merida, all at same time

8. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana, at 23 secs

9. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo, at same time

10. Robert Gesink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 24 secs

André Greipel turned grief into gratitude and paid tribute to his late mother after claiming stage one and the first leader’s jersey of the Tour Down Under on Tuesday.

The German beat home favourite Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) and world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) in a straightforward sprint to take line honours at the end of the 145km race to Lyndoch.

Greipel lost his mother, Gudrun, 57, to ALS last year, which some of his Lotto-Soudal team staff partly attributed to an uncharacteristic dry run at the Tour de France.

The 35-year-old never used the deep loss as an explanation for his performance there and didn’t need to in Adelaide where he was clearly back to his best.

>>> André Greipel beats Caleb Ewan to win opening stage of Tour Down Under

Greipel when asked post-race if he’d dedicate the stage victory to his mother, openly went one further.

“I think my whole career is dedicated to her,” he said.

“She was my biggest supporter, all my career, and I know she keeps looking.

“It wasn’t the easiest off-season … but I have to look to the future.

“We have a lot of support from around the family, around the team. It wasn’t easy to deal with, and still isn’t, but the sport helps me to deal with everything.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOWSreFKLkU

Greipel marked five victories last season but his scoreless run at the Tour saw even himself question if he’d lost his racing instinct, a statement he retracted in Adelaide.

“That was a big disappointment in the Tour, and then you say stupid things, but I will never lose that,” he said.

“It’s nice when you are 35, everybody tells you, you will get slower but I don’t feel that. I really like to race my bike.”

>>> Tour Down Under 2018: Latest news, reports and race info

Greipel has the full support of reduced six-man Lotto-Soudal squad at the Tour Down Under and now the momentum to match as the race moves to hillier ground on Wednesday before another flatter stage to Victor Harbor on Thursday.

“We were calculating we are probably the oldest team around here but I think we have a lot of quality and experience … and you saw that today,” he said.

“We have the right riders still in our team.”

The 2018 Tour Down Under takes place from Tuesday, January 16, to Sunday, January 21.

André Greipel won stage one of the Tour Down Under, the first WorldTour race of the 2018 campaign.

The Lotto-Soudal sprinter edged out home favourite Caleb Ewan (Michelton-Scott) in Lyndoch, with Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) in third place.

>>> Five things to look out for at the 2018 Tour Down Under

World champion Sagan, who won the People's Choice Classic just a few days ago, lost his leadout man Sam Bennett in the final kilometres due to a slipped chain, while Elia Viviani, riding for his new team Quick-Step Floors, failed to capitalise on strong positioning.

It is the first time in three years that Ewan hasn't won the opening stage of Australia's premier stage race. Greipel's win is his 17th in the history of the race and is the perfect start to his season after a disappointing 2017 where he only won on five occasions.

>>> Tour Down Under 2018 start list

"It was a nice one, a pretty long sprint. I could wait for as long as possible and I could do a nice sprint," Greipel said.

How it unfolded

The opening WorldTour race of the season started on the coast in Port Adelaide and worked its way inland towards the finish in Lyndoch, via a series of not-too-signficant undulations, meaning that the stage was expected to eventuate in a sprint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOWSreFKLkU

Three riders formed the day's break almost instantly. Dimension Data were represented by neo-pro Nicholas Dlamini, EF Education First-Drapac by Will Clarke, and Scott Bowden, riding for a composite University of South Australia team, also worked his way into the escape group. Their lead stretched to almost five minutes after just 10km.

>>> Tour Down Under live TV guide

35km later, however, and Bowden failed to keep pace and retreated back to the peloton, leaving just two riders out in front. The course included three laps of a 26.5km finishing circuit, and after the first lap was completed, the break's lead had been reduced to two minutes, 30 seconds.

Dlamini, who picked up the King of the Mountains jersey, was absorbed by the peloton with 30km remaining and Clarke holding a lead of 95 seconds. Maciej Bodnar, riding for Sagan, led the peloton in the final chase, with Clarke being swept up at the 10km to go mark.

A gradual descent greeted riders in the last three kilometres before a flat final 200m. Ewan's Michelson-Scott team packed out the front of the peloton towards the end, but with one kilometre to go Viviani looked to have the best support.

As the race rounded the final bend, Viviani launched his sprint first on the left but seemed to go too early. On the opposite side of the road was Ewan in his trademark low sprinting style.

Greipel was wise, however, and used Ewan's slipstream to conserve energy and then swing left into the middle of the road where he found an abundance of space to open up his sprint.

The German powered towards the line and successfully held off Ewan and the chasing Sagan who emulated Greipel's line, but required an extra 10 metres if he was to win.

Greipel is the first non-Australian to win a stage of the Tour Down under since Wouter Wippert in 2015, ending the home country's recent stage dominance.

Results

Tour Down Under 2018, stage one: Port Adelaide to Lyndoch, 145km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal, in 3-50-21

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott

3. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe

4. Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors

5. Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE-Team Emirates

6. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb

7. Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin

8. Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale)

9. Ramunas Navardauskas (Lit) Bahrain-Merida)

10. Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana, all same time

General classification after stage one:

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal, in 3-50-21

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at 4 secs

3. Will Clarke (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac

4. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 6 secs

5. Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data

6. Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin, at 9 secs

7. Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin

8. Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors, at 10 secs

9. Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE-Team Emirates

10. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb

After failing to win a stage of the Tour de France (the first time he had not picked up a stage win at a Grand Tour since 2007), André Greipel has admitted that he has lost some of the sprinting instincts that have seen him take 140 professional wins.

Speaking after finishing 13th on stage three of the BinckBank Tour (won by Peter Sagan), Greipel said that he was grateful that Lotto-Soudal continued to back him despite his recent poor form.

"This is not my best time as a cyclist, but what can I do about it?" the German sprinter told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

"As you can see, the team continues to believe in me. But it's as if I've lost all instincts to make the right decisions.

"Today [on stage three] I was in fourth position with 400 meters to go. In the end, I cannot even sprint. I've completely lost my instinct on the bike."

Greipel's last victory came back in May on stage two of the Giro d'Italia, but since then has been unable to cross the line first in a sprint finish, despite finishing in the top-three on four stages of the Tour de France.

"It's frustrating for us, but especially for him," admitted Lotto-Soudal sports director Herman Frison. "It just does not work. André will have to flip the switch himself."

Three of the leading sprinters remaining in the Tour de France have labelled André Greipel as the favourite to win the final stage in Paris.

The German sprinter has not won a stage of this year’s Tour yet and is enduring his worst season in terms of wins up until this point of the year since 2007.

But his expected rivals on the Champs-Élysées believe that the Lotto-Soudal man is in the strongest shape to win in the French capital.

Four of the would-be contenders in Paris – Mark Cavendish (Dimension-Data), Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors), Arnaud Démare (FDJ) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) – will not be present, thus giving hope to more sprinters.

>>> ‘We understand the rules, so why not?’: Sky to continue with ‘vortex’ skinsuits in Tour de France time trial

“Greipel will be motivated,” Katusha-Alpecin’s Alexander Kristoff predicted. “He has not won a stage of this Tour yet and he didn’t look bad in the climbs the past days. He will be really set for Sunday.”

Greipel has won the final stage of the Tour twice before, and Dimension Data’s Edvald Boasson Hagen – who has impressively stepped up to the role of team leader in Cavendish’s absence – has singled out the German. He said: “Greipel is always good up there. For sure he will be excited.

“I was close to Kittel when he was here and that was good for my motivation. I’m ready to try and I look forward to doing that.”

Andre Greipel shows us his cycling scars

Another one backing Greipel was Dylan Groenewegen, LottoNL-Jumbo’s designated rider in Paris, who said that there are still a number of riders capable of winning, despite a depleted field of fast men.

“We do have a lot of sprinters still in the race,” the Dutchman said. “Greipel will be there, Boasson-Hagen, [Nacer] Bouhanni, too. These are good riders. Boasson-Hagen is strong and he has showed that here. We will try to beat him.

“Marcel was very strong, he was the best sprinter, but he is home now so it makes it a better chance of victory for a lot of sprinters.”

John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) and green jersey incumbent Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) were both picked out as potential winners by Kristoff who hopes that he can overcome the injuries he sustained in a crash in the Alps.

“If I did not crash, I would be quite optimistic,” the Norwegian said. “I know that today [stage 19] I will not be there at the finish, but hopefully on Sunday I can feel a bit better.

“I was hoping for way more in this Tour. I came into it with quite good shape, but the crash was the worst thing that could happen.”

Due to the mountainous third week it is an easy decision for sprinters to leave the Giro d'Italia after Friday's stage to Tortona, says André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal).

Giro organiser RCS Sport offers no sprint finishes over the following eight stages towards Milan, where the race will end on Sunday, May 28.

"To be honest, this year, it's not a hard question at all," Greipel, who won stage two, told Cycling Weekly about the decision to leave.

"If you look at the parcours, you go home or you stay, but that decision is easy to make if you have the Tour de France in July."

Greipel's team has him scheduled to race the Tour de France for sprint stages so he will need to save energy to do so.

>>> Giro d'Italia 2017 route: maps and elevation for every stage

Other sprinters like Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott), also a stage winner in this Giro, will not race the Tour but are still likely to be heading for a nearby airport when the race reaches the Alps.

"It depends on the rider, some want to try for the ciclamino jersey and some are hunting for stages from escapes," said sprinter Jakub Mareczko (Wilier-Selle Italia).

"The team often decides for you. After Tortona tomorrow, though, I need to think of my race programme coming up and what's best, but the Giro's three weeks helps you develop as a rider."

Watch: Giro d'Italia stages 16-21 preview

Greipel, Ewan, Mareczko and others like Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) could pull the plug. Others, like Colombian Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors), racing his first Grand Tour, will fight on to Milan.

“It's the first Grand Tour in my career, my first three-week race,” Gaviria said. “It's going well and the stage wins pushed me up to top in the points classification.

“I've never done anything this hard before, nothing compares to a three-week race. It's clear that for my career, building up three weeks of racing and the kilometres in my legs is worth it. The Tour de France is not in my programme, so I can back off and think of the Vuelta a España.”

>>> Can Tom Dumoulin win the 2017 Giro d'Italia?

"It's really important for me to be here in the Giro," Greipel added. "I always want to challenge myself and compete against the best. That's why I'm here, and I hope I can make the sprints a bit more interesting.

"If you don't have the Tour de France in July, it's really important to get through the Giro. You get three weeks, that's something that makes you stronger as a rider."

Giro d'Italia 2017 stage winners Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) and André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) are among the star names to have signed up for the inaugural edition of the Hammer Sportzone Limburg event over June 2-4.

The Dutch event is the first in team organisation Velon's newly developed Hammer Series, which focuses on team competition.

The majority of the leading WorldTour teams – who are also members of Velon – have committed to the series, including Team Sky, BMC, Quick-Step Floors, Movistar, Orica-Scott, LottoNL-Jumbo, Cannondale-Drapac and Trek-Segafredo.

>>> Velon partners with Infront Sports & Media to revolutionise the fan experience

Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) and Sep Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac) have also signed up. Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) will join Colombian Gaviria and German Greipel in representing the world's fastest sprinters.

The Hammer comprises three events: the Hammer Sprint, the Hammer Climb and the Hammer Chase.

Velon created the event in association with marketing company Infront to try and fill a gap in the more traditional race calendar. Although there is just one event this season, Velon hopes to expand it to around four events in 2018 and up to 10 in future seasons.

Hammer Limberg teams

BMC

Movistar

Bahrain-Merida

Cannondale-Drapac

Lotto-Soudal

Orica-Scott

Quick-Step Floors

LottoNL-Jumbo

Team Sky

Aqua Blue Sport

Team Sunweb

Trek-Segafredo

UAE Team Emirates

Sport Vlaanderen

Nippo-Vini Fantini

How does Hammer Series work?

Teams – Seven riders but just five in each event

Day 1 – Hammer sprint

Teams race ten laps of a city-based circuit of around 10km. Points are awarded for the first ten riders each lap. Bonus time is awarded at the end of the day.

Day 2 – Hammer climb

Teams race a hillier circuit, probably taking them out of town, with the finish line at the top of the hill. Points are awarded for the first ten riders each lap. Bonus time is awarded at the end of the day.

Day 3 – Hammer chase

Teams are seeded according to the points, and bonus time, accrued on the first two days with the top seed setting off first with a 30-second advantage over second place. The third team starts 25 seconds further back, the fourth team another 20 seconds back with 15 seconds between all the remaining teams. They complete laps of the course in team time trial mode and the first team over the line wins the whole event.

Additional reporting by Vern Pitt

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) says a dream has been fulfilled by wearing the Giro d'Italia's pink jersey of overall classification leader. The German earned the prestigious top today after winning the sprint in Tortolì, along Sardinia's eastern coast.

By placing third in stage one and first in stage two, Greipel earned enough bonus seconds to take the lead from Austrian Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe).

“It's a childhood dream to wear a jersey like this," the German explained.

"We tried last year but it didn't work out, so this year was another chance. We tired yesterday but it didn't work and it paid off today. I'm happy to have reached our goal, and we'll enjoy tomorrow's stage with the jersey."

Greipel heads into stage three, another sprinters' stage, as the Giro's overall leader with four seconds on Pöstlberger and eight on Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott). If he retains it during that stage then he'll keep it through the transfer/rest day on Monday, before almost certainly losing it on Tuesday, when the race finishes on Mount Etna.

He now counts 11 Tour de France stage wins and seven in the Giro. Last year, he won three times before pulling out in the mountainous third week with the points jersey still on his back.

"That was not an easy decision last year, to be honest, but this year is another chance for stage wins. We did so second day and got the pink jersey. I'm really proud to have made this possible."

Many followers did not expect the sprinters to keep up with the front-runners over the final 1,000-metre pass at 20km left to race in stage two. But Greipel was aided by the slower pace in the group after an early escape went free.

"I didn't believe in a sprint today. We expected more attacks in the beginning and I think the head wind played in our favour," he said. "Nobody tried anything on the last climb, which could have exploded the race for sure."

Greipel's success will be warmly welcomed by his Belgian WorldTour team, Lotto-Soudal, which suffered through the Classics without a win.

"When you ride Classics as a Belgian team, you always try to be successful, but others were prepared too. We fought for it, and for sure the results didn't come as expected. That's why it was really important to be successful here in the Giro.

"I think we've come to a turning point for our team."

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) took victory on the second stage of the Giro d'Italia in a bunch sprint finish, claiming the maglia rosa too thanks to a time bonus on the line.

The German champion beat Roberto Ferrari (UAE Team Emirates) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) into second and third respectively, while race leader Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) wasn't able to finish high enough to defend his overall lead.

There was more disappointment for Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott), who, after missing out yesterday due to Pöstlberger's late attack, lost all momentum as he began to launch his sprint when a collision with Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) saw his foot come unclipped and take him out of sprint contention.

Until that point, both Greipel and Ewan's leadout trains had been the most prominent in the final kilometres, with a drag race between the two looking set for the finish.

Greipel benefited from being dropped off right at the front of the bunch, while Ewan had to begin making his way around other riders to catch up with the German. As he moved to the right to to overtake a rider, he collided with Colombian Gaviria who was moving inwards.

It wasn't enough to take either of the riders down, but it saw Ewan's left foot unclip and he was unable to get back in to contention after that, finishing eighth.

Gaviria likewise was unable to make any gains on Greipel, and finished fourth after Ferrari and Stuyven unexpectedly passed him to claim podium spots.

There was no stopping Greipel though, who looked head and shoulders above the rest as he claimed his seventh career Giro d'Italia stage win and his first stint in the pink jersey.

How it unfolded

This was not a day to remember for most riders on the Giro d'Italia.

With a parcours that looked to offer something to those daring enough to make it a hard race so early on in the three weeks, featuring a big climb coming in the final 70km of the 221km route, there was anticipation of a potential breakaway making it to the finish.

However, only a small group of five, Daniel Teklehaimanot (Dimension Data, Lukasz Owsian (CCC Sprandi Polkowice), Ilia Koshevoy (Wilier Triestina), Evgeny Shalunov (Gazprom - Rusvelo) and Simone Andreetta (Bardiani CSF) were able to get away from kilometre zero, and the peloton settled in for a relaxing ride across the Sardinian countryside.

That group took a maximum gap of over seven minutes on the bunch, but the five were more interested in the two offerings of King of the Mountains points along the route than a stage win. Teklehaimanot was able to take the maximum 15 on the category two climb of the day the propelled him into the blue jersey for stage three.

And by the time they'd reached that second KOM line, the peloton were right on them, and the final 50km saw Vincenzo Nibali's Bahrain-Merida squad take control on the front and guide riders down to the finish in Tortoli.

The only GC contender to lose out on the day was Katusha-Alpecin's Ilnur Zakarin, who punctured with 8km to go and had to rely on his team-mates to try and pull him back to a rampaging peloton that was gearing up for the bunch sprint at this point. The Russian lost 20 seconds on the stage.

After a slow day it was a fast finish, and Greipel walked away the victor of stage two. He'll be eyeing a chance to double up on stage three on Sunday, when the peloton heads to contest a 148km flat stage to Cagliari.

Results

Giro d’Italia 2017, stage two: Olbia to Tortolì (221km)

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal, in 6-05-18

2. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates

3. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo

4. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors

5. Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Dimension Data

6. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL-Jumbo

7. Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data

8. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky

9. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott

10. Valerio Conti (Ita), UAE Team Emirates, all same time

General classification after stage two

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal, in 11-18-39

2. Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 4 secs

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott, at 8 secs

4. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, at 8 secs

5. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo, at 10 secs

6. Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo, at 12 secs

7. Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Dimension Data, at 14 secs

8. Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data

9. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors

10. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL-Jumbo, all same time

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) used his experience and power to navigate through a tricky finish to win stage five of 2017 Paris-Nice on Thursday.

Several of the sprinters' trains were disrupted on the run-in to Bourg-de-Péage after a series of roundabouts, turns and a draggy rise into a headwind to the line.

Greipel put himself into the perfect position in the scrappy bunch sprint finale to win by over a bike length ahead of former race leader Arnaud Démare (FDJ), with Dutch champion Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) in third.

Overnight race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) finished in the peloton to retain his position in the yellow jersey. The Frenchman leads compatriot Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) by 33 seconds overall, with Spaniard Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) in third at 47 seconds.

>>> Paris-Nice 2017: Latest news, reports and info

It wasn't all plain sailing for Alaphilippe, as he momentarily lost contact with the front group after the peloton split as a result of a crash just inside the final 20km.

As the two parts of the peloton rejoined, they soon after caught the remnants of the day's escape group, which had comprised Axel Domont (Ag2r), Natnael Berhane (Dimension Data), Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fortuneo-Vital Concept), Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie), Federico Zurlo (UAE Team Emirates) and Remy di Gregorio (Delko-Marseille) after they attacked in the opening kilometres.

Watch: André Greipel's Ridley Noah SL

As various teams moved to the front of the race, some squads became fragmented due to the number and size of the roundabouts. At one point, Alaphilippe tagged himself onto the back of the Katusha team at the front of the bunch, evidently mindful of the earlier incident.

In among all the chaos, Greipel did not panic. Positioning himself perfectly in the finale and using his strength to burst ahead of his rivals into the headwind and take the victory – his third of the year, and first in a 2017 WorldTour race.

Thursday's stage represented the last chance for the sprinters to go for a win, as the race heads into more mountainous terrain. Friday's stage six runs for 193.5km from Aubagne to Fayence and includes six categorised climbs, including a final second category ascent to the line.

It will be a stern test for Alaphilippe, as the 24-year-old leads a major stage race in his home nation with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. Paris-Nice has not been won by a Frenchman since Laurent Jalabert in 1997.

Result

Paris-Nice 2017, stage five: Quincié-en-Beaujolais to Bourg-de-Péage, 199.5km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal

2. Arnaud Démare (Fra) FDJ

3. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

4. Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb

5. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo

6. Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-Scott

7. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors

8. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie

9. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida

10. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe, all same time

Other

13. Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates

14. Dan McLay (GBr) Fortuneo-Vital Concept

19. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, at same time

General classification after stage five

1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, in 17-20-02

2. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal, at 33 secs

3. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Movistar, at 47 secs

4. Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky, at 1-05

5. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-20

6. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-24

7. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin, at 1-28

8. Arnaud Démare (Fra) FDJ, at 1-29

9. Alberto Contador (Spa) Trek-Segafredo, at 1-31

10. Rudy Molard (Fra) FDJ, at 1-32

Other

15. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 2-16

With Fabian Cancellara retired and Tom Boonen riding his last few professional races, there's a definitely feeling of the changing of the guard at this year's Classics.

That said Peter Sagan has stepped into the position of overwhelming favourite for both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, with the likes of Greg Van Avermaet, Ian Stannard, Sep Vanmarcke, and John Degenkolb also among the main contenders for the two major cobbled Classics.

But away from the big names, which riders can we look to for an upset? We've picked out four young riders looking to seize their chance, and four older riders looking for new opportunities who could provide a shock.

Young guns

Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal)

Having finished fifth in the Tour of Flanders at the tender age of 21 in 2015, Tiesj Benoot looks set to become a regular face in the Classics for years to come, and even though conventional wisdom would dictate that it is too soon to see the young Belgian become the youngest Tour of Flanders winner in the post-war era, we'd all love to see a surprise.

Flanders certainly seems to be Benoot's best chance of Classics glory, as although at 6'3" he stands as tall as many over cobbles specialists, he concedes more than 10kg to the likes of Boonen and Stannard, putting him more in the territory of Peter Sagan, even if he doesn't have quite the same killer sprint.

Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo)

Another great young Belgian hope, Jasper Stuyven really started to step up in 2015, winning Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in spectacular style and following that up with fifth place in E3 Harelebeke.

The Trek-Segafredo rider didn't have quite the same luck at Flanders where he had a series of mechanicals that forced meant he ended up riding five different bikes over a hectic 30 kilometres in the middle of the race. A bit more luck, and with his new position as team leader in the absence of Cancellara, and Stuyven could hit the jackpot.

Gianni Moscon (Team Sky)

No Italian has won the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix since Alessandro Ballan won the latter in 2007,  but Team Sky have not one but two young Italians hoping to end that drought. Salvatore Puccio is the first, with an U23 Tour of Flanders victory on his palmarès from 2011, but Gianni Moscon, who finished second in the same event in 2015, is perhaps more promising.

Riding in his first season as a professional, the prodigiously talented Moscon instantly secured a place at the centre of Team Sky's 2016 Classics squad, performing well through all races and being unfortunate to crash while leading the front group at the sharp end of Paris-Roubaix. For the time being the 22-year-old will continue to be used as a domestique for the likes of Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard, but if the opportunity arises to go for personal glory, Moscon is the sort of rider who can take it.

David Per (Bahrain-Merida)

The outsider in this list of outsiders, David Per coming into the Classics in his first year as a professional rider, and with very limited experience over the cobbles. The good thing is that this experience includes victory in last year's U23 Tour of Flanders, where he out-sprinted new Team Sky recruit Jon Dibben, which came on the back of fourth place in the U23 Ghent-Wevelgem.

Of course a look over previous U23 Tour of Flanders winners reveals plenty of riders who haven't quite made the grade (whatever happened to Gatis Smukulis?), with Nick Nuyens the only rider in recent times to convert his U23 win into a senior Tour of Flanders victory. Per really is an outside shout then, although the fact that he is in relatively weak Bahrain-Merida team should mean he is given some opportunity to ride for himself and get stuck in.

Seasoned campaigners

Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data)

Mark Cavendish rode Paris-Roubaix for only the second time in his career in 2016 just "to see what's possible", and wound up producing an excellent performance, finishing as the third highest-placed British rider in the race, and only missing out on the winning move going clear after having to break for a crash with 115km remaining.

That performance showed what the Manxman is capable of, and he certainly seems open to looking at new races and new opportunities as he enters the autumn of his career. Cavendish might find himself again called into team duties as Edvald Boasson Hagen goes in search of a major Classics win, but if Cavendish can hold on and make it to the famous Roubaix velodrome in the front group, then it would be hard to bet against him.

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal)

Like his long-time rival Cavendish, André Greipel is also looking to broaden his horizons in the final years of his career, and has even gone as far as saying that he is looking to specifically focus on the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in 2017.

A powerful sprinter, you would have thought that Greipel would be suited to the flat terrain of Paris-Roubaix, but he's actually been most active in Flanders in recent years, making his way into a couple of long-range attacks in the last few editions of the race and managing to finish 15th of the race in 2015. His power files also show that he's got the numbers to challenge, even if he could be held up by the abundance of other options in the Lotto-Soudal team.

Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin)

Another man who certainly has the legs to compete over the cobbles, Tony Martin may have only competed in one edition each of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but he was still able to put in a hell of a shift in last year's Roubaix as he pulled along the powerful Etixx-Quick Step team for kilometre after kilometre.

Now at Katusha-Alpecin, Martin is still likely to find himself on domestique duties for Alexander Kristoff, but should be a second option for leader - much higher up the pecking order than he was at Quick Step. That could provide an opportunity for the four-time time trial world champion to deliver on the potential he showed by winning the cobbled stage of the 2015 Tour de France.

Imanol Erviti (Movistar)

Before last year's Tour of Flanders, you could be forgiven for not knowing much about Imanol Erviti, but the Movistar rider then produced one of the rides of the season to make the early break then hang on to the leaders to finish seventh, making him only the second Spanish rider in history to finish in the race's top-10. Then seven days later he followed that up with ninth place in Paris-Roubaix, making him the first Spaniard to take top-10 placings in both races in the same year.

Before that, Erviti's best placing at either race had been 40th at the 2009 Paris-Roubaix, so he certainly found something extra last year that he will hope to repeat in 2017. Expect to see the Spaniard once again make his way into the early breaks in both races, and if he is able to latch on to the passing leaders as he did in 2016, then there's always a chance for this 300/1 outside.

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) beat John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) and Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) in a photo finish to win stage four of the Volta ao Algarve on Saturday.

Devoid of a lead-out train, Greipel showed a wicked turn of speed to come from far back and overturn Degenkolb's lead in the closing metres, with Groenewegen joining the pair in a finish separated by the smallest of margins.

It is Greipel's second win of the season - he won his opening race of the campaign at Challenge Majorca - and his fourth in the history of the race.

Primož Roglič, who took the race lead after stage three's time trial, finished comfortably in the bunch to ensure that he goes into Sunday's final stage as leader.

>>> André Greipel set to focus on Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in 2017

Ireland’s Ryan Mullen (Cannondale-Drapac) helped to initiate the breakaway after just six kilometres. He was joined by Taco van der Hoorn (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij), former One Pro Cycling rider Dion Smith (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and João Matias (LA Alumínios-Metalusa).

They were allowed to build a lead of over 6 minutes after 55km, and even though they lost Matias with 30km left, the remaining three riders started to believe they had a chance of prevailing when 2:40 was their advantage with 22km until the finish.

10kms later and they still had 80 seconds, with a peloton headed by Quick-Step Floors furiously doing the pacing to reign the trio in.

They were eventually caught with just over two kilomotres to go by a peloton that was spearheaded by Degenkolb’s Trek-Segafredo.

Quick-Step and Trek swamped the front of the race in the final kilometre and Jasper Stuyven led Degenkolb expertly into the final 500 metres, just as Quick-Step did for stage one winner Fernando Gaviria.

Greipel started his sprint from deep, but it appeared to help him as he was allowed to get between Gaviria’s and Degenkolb slipstream before forcing himself beyond the former and in line with his German compatriot.

Arnaud Démare (FDJ) and Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) also both came from far out, but it was Groenewegen who edged himself parallel with the two Germans, requiring the race jury to turn to a photo finish that determined Greipel as the winner.

Roglič didn't lose any time and remains in the leader's jersey by 22 seconds going into Sunday's final stage, an 2.8km uphill finish to Malhão.

Results

Volta ao Algarve 2017, stage four: Almodôvar to Tavira, 203.4km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal in 4-57-51

2. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo

3. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

4. Arnaud Démare (Fra) FDJ

5. Jasper Steven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo

6. Andrea Pasqualon (Wanty-Groupe Robert)

7. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors

8. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis

9. Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe

10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data all at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNL-Jumbo, in 14-34-20

2. Michael Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky, at 22 secs

3. Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Movistar, at 36 secs

4. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal, at 55 secs

5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana, at 59 secs

6. Dan Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-31

7. Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin, at 1-40

8. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 1-49

9. Amaro Manuel Antunes (Por) W52-FC Porto-Porto Canal, at 1-54

10.  Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Sporting Clube de Portuga/Tavira, 1-56

Top German sprinter André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) will possibly skip Milan-San Remo to focus specifically on the cobbled classics including the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Greipel has been putting more focus on Flanders and Paris-Roubaix over the recent years. He attacked and led in a group until the final time up the Oude Kwaremont in the 2016 Tour of Flanders,  producing 1000 watts at times in his efforts.

“It’s important for every rider to focus on other goals now and then," said Lotto-Soudal general manager, Marc Sergeant. "That helps to stay motivated and is challenging.

"He’s 34 years old and wants to try to start the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix in the best possible shape."

>>> Muur van Geraardsbergen returns to the Tour of Flanders for 2017

Greipel began his 2017 season with a bang, winning his first race in the Challenge Mallorca.

He will continue in Spain at the Vuelta a Murcia and in Portugal at the Volta ao Algarve. He will then travel to the Middle East to lead the sprint team in the Abu Dhabi Tour.

"It’s a WorldTour race since this season and so a more important race. Just like last year, he will participate in Paris-Nice," Sergeant added.

"It’s not certain yet if he will take the start in Milan-San Remo. Afterwards, André will race the Volta a Catalunya for the first time in his career."

Watch: André Greipel's toughest day

Milan-San Remo, won by Mark Cavendish in 2009, is considered the sprinters' monument. However, with a Catalunya trip, Greipel is more interested in building for the cobbled roads in the north. He said that he is too heavy for Milan-San Remo's final Poggio climb.

Greipel should team with Lotto-Soudal's Tiesj Benoot and Jürgen Roelandts for Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, and although he has been prominent at times at both races in the past, he thinks the latter suits him best.

"I would then like to ride a different programme," he told Het Nieuwsblad over the winter. "I also like the Flemish classics, even if I usually ride for the team. We'll see what role I have."

Sprinters can fair well in the Hell of the North at times. Australian sprinter Stuart O'Grady won a dry and dusty edition in 2007 and John Degenkolb won in 2015.

Cavendish returned in 2016 to support the team and test the water for future rides.

"I don't know, we'll see," Cavendish, who placed 30th, told Cycling Weekly when asked if he could return for a result.

"I can never really take the race on myself like the big power houses, but I can do a good job for the team."

Video: Andre Greipel @AndreGreipel wins Porreres - Felanitx - Ses Salines - Campos trophy! @Lotto_Soudal @ChallengeMca pic.twitter.com/gDAtkZfe2u

— Ciclismo en Mallorca (@ciclismallorca) January 26, 2017

German André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) opened his 2017 early with victory in the opening day of the 2017 Challenge Mallorca on Thursday, the Trofeo Porreres-Felanitx-Ses Salines-Campos.

Britain's Dan McLay (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) came in for third in his first race of the season, with Belgian Jonas Van Genechten (Cofidis) in second after the peloton had reeled in the day's four-man escape.

Greipel claimed the bunch sprint win in the traditional European season-opening race, a favourite among several of the big WorldTour teams as they coincide the event with training camps on the Spanish island.

>>> It’s snowing in Mallorca, and the pros are still out training

The 34-year-old German road race champion won the same race at the start of 2016, before going on to win three stages of the Giro d'Italia and one in the Tour de France.

There were numerous British riders in the bunch, including Alex Dowsett (Movistar), Tao Geoghegan Hart, Jon Dibben (both Team Sky) and a Great Britain national team.

Dibben made an impressive debut for Sky, placing sixth behind Greipel.

Thankfully there was no sign of the snowy conditions that gripped the island last week, and forced some of the riders to abandon their training camps.

The Challenge Mallorca comprises four days of racing, with each day treated as a separate race allowing squads to chop and change their teams. However, a prize is awarded to the rider with the best overall performance in the series.

Friday's race is the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana.

Result

Challenge Mallorca 2017: Trofeo Porreres-Felanitx-Ses Salines-Campos, 161.8km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal

2. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Cofidis

3. Daniel McLay (GBr) Fotuneo-Vital Concept

4. Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe

5. Raymond Kreder (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij

6. Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky

7. Alexander Porsev (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo

8. Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij

9. Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Sky

10. Vicente Garcia (Esp) Spain, all same time

We've not been short of critics for Team Sky's use of Therapeutic Use Exemptions to allow riders to take otherwise banned substances to treat medical conditions, but the words of Marcel Kittel and André Greipel could be the most scathing yet.

The British team has been under fire in recent weeks after hackers leaked details of TUEs approved for the likes of Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, both of who suffer from asthma.

While there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of the team or the riders, Kittel and Greipel made their thoughts on the matter very clear ahead of the World Championships road race on Sunday.

"If you have trouble with your illness, then you should not ride a bike [professionally]. We at Lotto-Soudal are in the MPCC (Movement for Credible Cycling). Now you know why Sky is not there," Greipel said.

Kittel was slightly more blunt with his assessment, with the German Press Agency article claiming he said that riders who suffer from asthma severe enough to require a TUE should compete at the Paralympic Games.

The rider, however, clarified his comments on Friday afternoon, saying his remarks had been taken out of context.

Fellow German sprinter, John Degenkolb, believes that an independent body should be set up to approve or deny TUEs to ensure fairness. All three riders have reportedly not made use of TUEs during their career.

Andre Greipel will lead Germany in the UCI World Championships road race in Doha next month but will have sprint rival Marcel Kittel alongside him in a 'joker' role.

It was expected that one of the pair would stay at home, with Germany putting all their eggs in the other one's basket, but managers Jan Schaffrath and Andreas Klier have chosen to take both to maximise their chances of success.

Last week, Greipel bemoaned the fact that the German federation had left their selection so late but says he is now looking forward to becoming Germany's first road race world champion since 1966.

"I would like to thank those responsible for trusting me with the captaincy. With only six riders we are not the favourites, but if we all pull together we have a good chance," Greipel said.

With Kittel reportedly given a free role in the team, Greipel may not be able to count on the help of all five of his teammate on the day, should the race come down to a bunch sprint in downtown Doha.

Could we get a situation similar to that of the Australian squad at last year's World Championships, when Michael Matthews complained that Simon Gerrans was sprinting against him for the win rather than helping him catch Peter Sagan?

German squad for the 2016 World Championships (Six places)

John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal), Marcel Kittel (Etixx-Quick Step), Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step), Nils Politt (Katusha), Marcel Sieberg (Lotto-Soudal), Jasha Sutterlin (Movistar)

Sprinter André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) has said getting caught behind a crash with 1km to go on stage four of the Eneco Tour was instrumental in his loss to Peter Sagan in a photo finish.

Greipel came a close second to Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), who clashed with Arnaud Demare (FDJ) in the finishing straight.

He said he had been caught behind Michael Matthews (Orica-BikeExchange) who crashed and was fortunate to escape with just abrasions.

>>> Peter Sagan takes Eneco Tour lead with stage four win

Greipel said: “I was behind the crash at 1km I was maybe 40th position. Jürgen Roelandts brought me up to the front again and I choose the wheel of Sagan.

“He was fighting with Demare, I though they were going to crash at one point. So I hesitated a little bit and if you lose by one cm you are not first and that is sport.”

He added: “If you come back from 1km to go from 40th position you are not fresh at all, you have to wait and time it. I timed it wrong in the end.”

The German sprinter added that his team had been the “only team” to “take responsibility” for chasing down the day’s breakaway and that had depleted his lead-out train for the final kilometres.

Sagan offered a similar assessment of his win saying he was fortunate that Greipel ran out of road to get ahead.

“After I start my sprint André was behind me and he starts to sprint also, maybe a bit later, and that’s why I won because he passed me very fast but it was already finished. I was a bit lucky today,” he said.

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) took the sprint win on stage one of the 2016 Tour of Britain to take the first leader's jersey. Caleb Ewan (Orica-BikeExchange) followed over in second after he was unable to come round the German in the closing 100 metres.

The win puts Greipel in the first leader's jersey of the race and bodes well for his preparations for the World Championships.

"It’s always nice to start of with a victory," said Greipel. "We’re setting goals to win a stage and we’ve reached that on the first day. We can be happy.

"It’s not always easy to make a lead-out with six guys. We had to chase down the break and we did a good job to keep me up there in the last corner," the Geramn champion continued.

"I had a really good lead-out until the final 150 metres with Marcel Sieberg and Jens Debusschere in front of me. Of course I’m happy to finish it off."

Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), who would have had his eye on the win, was not able to contest the finish after he was caught up in a crash on a sharp bend in the closing kilometre.

The Manxman rode across the finish line and didn't look too badly affected by the fall.

"I don’t know [what happened]," said Cavendish. "Next thing Elia [Viviani] was underneath me and I think he lost his front wheel."

The British rider confirmed that's he isn't seriously injured, "I’m all right. I’ve hurt my arm a bit, but nothing is broken.”

The early break included five riders all looking for points in the subsidiary competitions, under the assumption that the WorldTour teams will scrap for overall honours.

Tom Moses (JLT-Condor), Pete Williams (One Pro), Johnny McEvoy (NFTO), Jasper Bovenhuis (An Post Chain Reaction) and Emiel Wastyn (An Post Chain Reaction) were all present at the head of the race, and at best their advantage went out to around three minutes before the chasing peloton began to reel them back in.

With the peloton charging them down, Wastyn tried to go solo and gained an advantage of about 20 seconds on his breakaway companions but they soon brought him back. All the while the peloton slowed its chase and left the group to dangle around 55 seconds up the road, before slowly bringing the gap down.

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In familiar style, Ian Stannard (Team Sky) spent much of the day on the sharp end of the chasing peloton, and that despite being visibly bloodied and bruised from an early fall. The Team Sky rider was assisted in the chase by LottoNL-Jumbo and Orica-BikeExchange as the breakaway's lead dropped below 30 seconds with 20km left to race.

As a light rain started to fall, Wastyn reached out from the front group for a second time only to have the gap closed down almost straight away. The four other riders went straight past him, and Wastyn was the first to be caught by the peloton with 10.2km left to the finish.

The final catch was made with 9.6km to go and the sprinters' teams began to organise themselves at the front.

The low down on the Tour of Britain

Result

Tour of Britain 2016, stage one: Glasgow – Castle Douglas, 168km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange

3. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Giant Alpecin

4. Max Richeze (Arg) Etixx-Quick Step

5. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

6. Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

7. Steele von Hoff (Aus) One Pro

8. Chris Latham (GBr) Team Wiggins

9. Dan McLay (GBr) Great Britain

10. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

General classification after stage one

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange

3. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Giant Alpecin

4. Max Richeze (Arg) Etixx-Quick Step

5. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

6. Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

7. Steele von Hoff (Aus) One Pro

8. Chris Latham (GBr) Team Wiggins

9. Dan McLay (GBr) Great Britain

10. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

Olympic omnium silver medalist Mark Cavendish will return to road racing at September's Tour of Britain, where he will face sprinting rival André Greipel (Lotto Soudal).

Cavendish will join up with his trade team Dimension Data for the eight-day national Tour that starts in Glasgow on Sunday, September 4 and finishes in London a week later.

With a possibility of seven stages being determined by sprints in this year's race, Cavendish and Greipel have ample opportunity to add to their tally of 10 and four stage victories respectively in the race.

>>> Tour of Britain 2016 route: stage by stage

Greipel won one stage last year and crossed the line first in the final stage in London but was relegated after being penalised for a dangerous sprint. Elia Viviani, who beat Cavendish to omnium gold in Rio, was subsequently awarded his third victory of the race.

Cavendish's teammate Steve Cummings will also race and he could be competitive in the 15km time trial in Bristol on stage 7a, that is a target for several riders, including BMC duo Rohan Dennis and Taylor Phinney.

There are 10 WorldTour teams confirmed for the 13th edition of the modern Tour which has been tailored as a preparatory race for the Qatar World Championships.

Race director Mick Bennett said: "In Mark Cavendish and André Greipel we have two of the world's top sprinters, who are both already multiple Tour of Britain stage winners, while we are delighted that BMC Racing Team will be bringing two outstanding time trialists in Rohan Dennis and Taylor Phinney to the race.

"This is the first of several exciting rider announcements that fans can look forward to and will build excitement for what will be another world-class edition of the Tour of Britain."

Chris Froome (Team Sky) elevated himself further among the cycling greats by winning the 2016 Tour de France in Paris on Sunday, his third Tour victory.

Froome took the lead after winning stage eight of the 103rd edition of the race and never looked back. He survived running up Mont Ventoux and crashing in the Alps to secure the historic victory.

Froome finished the race four minutes and five seconds ahead of Frenchman Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), with Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in third at 4-21.

Along with Froome's overall win and two stage wins, plus four stage wins for Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) and one for Steve Cummings (Dimension Data), British success continued with Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) securing the white jersey of best young rider and placing fourth overall. It's the first time a British rider has ever topped the best young rider classification and has now set him up as an exciting new Grand Tour prospect.

German sprinter André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) won the bunch sprint at the end of the final stage, out-pacing points classification winner Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) to the line. Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) was third. British sprinter Dan McLay was 12th, having completed his first Tour.

It's Greipel's sole stage victory in the 2016 race, and is his 11th Grand Tour since 2008 with at least one stage victory.

Before the frantic finale, the traditional procession after the start of the last stage saw a slow pace as riders chatted and got to enjoy rolling along in the warm, sunny weather. Froome and Sky team-mates indulged in an unconventional bottle of beer followed by a more conventional glass of Champagne.

It wasn't until the race hit the Champs Élysées that the pace picked up and a break formed with 50km to go.

Jan Barta (Bora), Marcus Burghardt (BMC), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Lawson Craddock (Cannondale-Drapac), Brice Feillu (Fortuneo-Vital Concept), Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Jérémy Roy (FDJ) and Daniel Teklehaimanot (Dimension Data) were the eight riders to finally get away.

Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) suffered a technical mishap, and was seen throwing his rear wheel across the road after a couple of bike changes. He then paced himself back up to the bunch without the help of team-mates, but the effort would see him out of the running in the final sprint.

The break was joined by Sky duo Luke Rowe and Wout Poels, who bridged over with 18km to go evidently trying to get rid of any unexpended energy from the previous three weeks.

>>> Chris Froome and Peter Sagan’s special bikes for Tour de France final stage

All escapees were caught with 10km to go, and the bunch was still all together with one lap of the cobbled loop and 6.6km to go. It took a while for the sprinters' teams to get organised at the front, with a jumble of riders initially jostling for position.

A couple of late crashes took out a few riders, and French sprinter Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) appeared to suffer from a puncture with 3km to go, his hope of a stage win over.

The tight corners into the finish straight disrupted Greipel's Lotto-Soudal sprint train, but he jumped on Kristoff's rear wheel and accelerated away on the cobbles. Sagan was gaining on him as Kristoff faded, but Greipel lunged clear on the line to win on the Champs Élysées for a second consecutive year.

Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) was a surprise abandon during the final stage after suffering from knee pain during the stage. It left 174 riders left in the race, the highest ever number of finishers in the race's 103 editions – the previous record was 170 in 2010.

>>> Tour de France 2016: Latest news, reports and info

Results

Tour de France 2016, stage 21: Chantilly to Paris Champs-Élysées, 113km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal in 2-43-08

2. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff

3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha

4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data

5. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange

6. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo

7. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Drapac

8. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis

9. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18

10. Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data all same time

Final general classification

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky in 89-06-01

2. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 4-05

3. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar at 4-21

4. Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-BikeExchange at 4-42

5. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC at 5-17

6. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar at 6-16

7. Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha at 6-58

8. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Lampre-Merida at 6-58

9. Dan Martin (Irl) Etixx-Quick Step at 7-04

10. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff at 7-11

King of the Mountains classification: Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff

Points classification: Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff

Young rider classification: Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-BikeExchange

Best team: Movistar