Out of all the tech on show at the Tour Down Under, the absence of valves on the wheels of Intermarché-Wanty is intriguing. At first glance, one might wonder how the tire is filled with air, with just a small cap on the wheel - where the valve hole usually is - the only suggestion of an inflation method.

On closer inspection, and with the help of Intermarché mechanic Aloïs Gevaert, it becomes clear that there is a valve there - it's just hidden in the rim of the Newmen Advanced SL R42 wheels.

"It's a Schrader valve, like you have on cars," Gevaert explained. "It's not a usual Presta. We have them also for doing the Classics, but for 80% of the races we use the aero version of the valves."

To pump the tires up, an extended head is inserted into the rim to locate the valve, and then the machine gets to work. Obviously, professional cyclists don't need their tires re-inflated while on the go, so it doesn't really matter how convoluted the process is - on the road, they'll just swap a wheel. However, this probably isn't a bit of tech for ordinary cyclists.

Gevaert told Cycling Weekly that there were some teething issues to begin with, as the team got used to their new toys, but that now it is pretty straightforward, and seems like second nature.

"Last year, it was something new from Newmen too," he said. "If you have something new, there will always be some little problems, like this was tricky to pump up [to start with]. 

"But now it's on point, we have also improved with the sealant, we searched for the best [tubeless] sealant for it to work. It's easy to use, and it's nice to inflate also."

Of course, the reason behind the lack of valves is all about watts. Intermarché say that the absence saves each rider a couple of watts. This might not seem like a lot, but a couple of watts saved here and there across a bike might make for a winning machine; that's the theory anyway.

"It's just a couple of watts less, but everything in the WorldTour counts," Gevaert said "The wax and the oil really matters too, [chain] wax is better for the watts. I think it's between three and five watts, and if you have ten things that are improving the watts like that, it's 50 watts. It's going to be a great thing. We worked with Effetto Mariposa for the sealant and the tubular rims too."

If other wheel manufacturers and teams follow suit, then we will know that Intermarché are onto something. As it is, the Belgian squad are currently on their own in the new, valve-less world.

The two Intermarché-Circus-Wanty riders involved in a racist incident at the Tour of Guangxi, have been fined and sent to an education course by cycling's governing body.

Madis Mihkels and Gerben Thijssen were withdrawn from the final WorldTour race of the season last month after a photo of the former making a racist gesture was posted on the latter's Instagram page. The pair later apologised, but have now been sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

In a statement published on Wednesday morning, a UCI spokesperson said: "The incident involved the publication of a video on Gerben Thijssen’s Instagram account with an image of Madis Mihkels making a racist and discriminatory gesture. Both riders acknowledged the violation of article 12. 4.004 of the UCI Regulations and accepted the sanctions proposed by the UCI. 

"Besides the immediate withdrawal from the Gree - Tour of Guangxi, in China, by their team – Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (BEL) –, they shall each pay a fine and physically attend an educational course on the fight against discrimination.

"Upon ratification of the proposed sanctions by the UCI Disciplinary Commission, the proceedings were settled by means of an Acceptance of Consequences pursuant to article 12.6.019 of the UCI Regulations.

"The UCI unequivocally condemns all forms of racist and discriminatory behaviour and is committed, through the UCI Constitution, the UCI Regulations and its programmes, to ensuring integrity, diversity, inclusion and equity in cycling."

In an apology after the incident in mid-October, posted by Thijssen, the pair said it was never their "intention to harm anybody", and that they realise what they did was "offensive and wrong".

“We felt honoured to be invited to participate in the Tour of Guangxi," the pair wrote. "We feel really sorry for what happened yesterday morning, we realize that our social media publication was offensive and wrong. We feel really good in a multicultural environment, so it was never our intention to harm anybody,” the statement said.

“We want to apologise for our behaviour and our lack of education about the Asian culture to all people who felt offended, especially the Chinese fans and all parties involved in the organisation of the Tour of Guangxi," they continued. "We accept our withdrawal from the race. This error is an important life lesson for us both, which will definitely guide us to adopt a more humble attitude in the future.”

Mihkels was pictured on teammate Thijssen's Instagram making a crude action with his eyes while in Beihai, in the south of China, where Intermarché were for the Tour of Guangxi. Thijsen's Instagram story, along with his account, were removed. His account has now been reactivated.

At the time, Intermarché apologised, and said that the "necessary disciplinary steps" would be taken over the incident.

The two Intermarché-Circus-Wanty riders sent home from the Tour of Guangxi after a photo was posted on social media of one making a racist gesture have apologised.

On Wednesday, Mads Mihkels and Gerben Thijssen were withdrawn from the final WorldTour race of the season after a photo of the former making the gesture was posted on the latter's Instagram page.

On Thursday morning, Thijssen posted an apology on his X, formerly known as Twitter, account, which was sent on behalf of himself and Mihkels.

In it, the pair said it was never their "intention to harm anybody", and that they realise what they did was "offensive and wrong".

“We felt honoured to be invited to participate in the Tour of Guangxi," the pair wrote. "We feel really sorry for what happened yesterday morning, we realize that our social media publication was offensive and wrong. We feel really good in a multicultural environment, so it was never our intention to harm anybody,” the statement said.

“We want to apologise for our behaviour and our lack of education about the Asian culture to all people who felt offended, especially the Chinese fans and all parties involved in the organisation of the Tour of Guangxi. We accept our withdrawal from the race. This error is an important life lesson for us both, which will definitely guide us to adopt a more humble attitude in the future.”

Mihkels was pictured on teammate Thijssen's Instagram making a crude action with his eyes while in Beihai, in the south of China, where Intermarché are for the Tour of Guangxi, which begins tomorrow. Thijsen's Instagram story, along with his account, were removed. Screenshots are still circulating on social media.

In a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning, Intermarché apologised, and said that the "necessary disciplinary steps" would be taken over the incident.

"We sincerely regret the behaviour of our rider Madis Mihkels and the images shown on the social media," the team said. "We would like to apologise to the Chinese people and fans, to the government of Guangxi, to the Chinese Cycling Association, and all parties involved in the organisation of Tour of Guangxi for the image given of our sport.

"For ever, our team Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, composed of more than 15 nationalities in our project, and our partners always defend firmly equal opportunities and fight daily against racism. We will withdraw Madis Mihkels from the race and take the necessary disciplinary steps to close this incident."

A later updated statement said that Thijssen was also withdrawn.

It is an abrupt end to Mihkels' first year with Intermarché, during which time he won a stage of the Deutschland Tour. Thijssen was the winner of this year's Ronde van Limburg and Bredene Koksijde Classic.

On Wednesday afternoon, the UCI, cycling's governing body, released a statement condemning the incident.

"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) strongly condemns the behaviour of riders Madis Mihkels and Gerben Thijssen for the publication on Gerben Thijssen’s Instagram account of a video including two photos of Madis Mikhels making a racist and discriminatory gesture," a spokesperson said.

"The UCI commends the swift reaction of the two riders' team, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty , which decided to withdraw them from the Gree - Tour of Guangxi and assess the disciplinary actions it may take following the incident. The event organiser also acted quickly by organising a meeting with those concerned and the local authorities, during which the riders expressed their apologies.

"The UCI has decided to refer the matter to the UCI Disciplinary Commission for a possible breach of article 12.4.004 of the UCI Regulations, which states that any person who, by word or deed, bemeans, discriminates against or denigrates a person or a group of persons in a manner that violates human dignity, on grounds such as race or ethnic origin, shall receive a disciplinary action."

Mihkels is not the first to be sent home from a race after a social media controversy. In 2019, Iljo Keisse was thrown off of the Tour of San Juan after he was photographed miming a sex act behind the woman, who said she felt “disrespected and worthless” after the incident.

In 2019, Gianni Moscon was suspended by Team Sky after an incident at the Tour de Romandie during which the 23-year-old said racist insults to FDJ's Kévin Reza.

The Italian was given a "formal written warning", suspended from racing for six weeks, and was sent to a "diversity awareness course".

In 2020, Trek-Segafredo's Quinn Simmons apologised for tweeting a black hand emoji while stating his support for Donald Trump, adding he did not intend it to be interpreted as racist.

The 19-year-old Trek-Segafredo rider was caught up in controversy after tweeting "Bye" followed by a black hand emoji in response to Dutch commentator José Been, who had told her followers to unfollow her if they supported US President Donald Trump.

Good morning and welcome to another Cycling Weekly live blog.

Join me, Tom Davidson, as I dig far and wide across the globe, searching for cycling news to share with you. If you spot anything yourself, or want to give your opinion on any of the stories mentioned here, feel free to tweet me @t_davidson or drop me an email at tom.davidson@futurenet.com. 

Latest updates:

9:24 - Intermarché-Circus-Wanty lead UCI World Ranking 

9:49 - 2024 Olympics tickets phase one closes today

10:48 - LEJOG record holder get back on bike after hit-and-run

11:09 - Gent-Wevelgem confirms participation of all 15 Women's WorldTour teams

11:22 - Olympic champion Anna Kiesenhofer joins Israel-Premier Tech Roland

11:57 - Tom Pidcock tips Wout van Aert for fourth cyclo-cross world title

13:16 - Arkea-Samsic boss "very interested" in signing Julian Alaphilippe 

14:05 - Lizzie Deignan to return to racing at La Vuelta Femenina in May

14:22 - Jonathan Milan sprints to victory in Saudi Arabia 

15:33 - German gravel route updated after 'access issues' 

15:53 - Cycling Ireland to cut back U23 programme

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty lead UCI World Ranking

For the first time in the team's history, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty are at the top of the UCI's World Ranking. 

Yes, it's still only January, but the team have had an excellent start to their 2023 campaign, with wins for Rui Costa and Kobe Goossens in Mallorca, Spain. 

"We never though that we would ever reach such a milestone. It's a great reward for all involved since 1974," the team wrote on Twitter. 

"We must remain humble & pursue our project while enjoying this historic moment."

Intermarché's next race will be the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which starts tomorrow in Orihuela, Spain. 

Last chance to apply for Olympics tickets

Today, 31 January, marks the last chance to apply for the first phase of tickets for the Paris Olympics in 2024. 

Anyone hoping to attend the Games should enter the draw on the official ticketing website, which has been open for the past two months. 

This initial draw is for 'made-to-measure packs' of tickets, where spectators can pick and buy seats for three different events. The draw for single tickets will open in May 2023. 

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Great Britain topped the cycling medal table, picking up six gold medals, four silvers and two bronzes. Standout performances included Tom Pidcock's vicory in the mountain biking, as well as Charlotte Worthington's and Beth Shriever's surprise BMX triumphs. 

The road races were won by Ecuador's Richard Carapaz and Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer, who outfoxed the peloton and soloed to victory. 

LEJOG record holder back on her bike after hit-and-run

Land's End to John o' Groats record holder Christina Mackenzie is back training on her bike for the first time since suffering a broken pelvis in a hit-and-run in September. 

The 45-year-old told BBC Radio Scotland that getting back on out on the roads was "really quite daunting" following the collision. 

"I just felt really twitchy," she said, "looking over my shoulders the whole time." 

Last year, Mackenzie was struck by a motorist in a Ford Ranger-type SUV, who did not stop. Police are still looking for the driver responsible. 

The ultra-cyclist described the months after the incident as being "horrific", adding that she had "no mobility whatsoever." Since September, she has had to learn how to walk again. 

In July last year, MacKenzie became the first rider to beat Lynne Biddulph's 20-year-old LeJoG record, setting a new mark of 51 hours, 5 minutes and 27 seconds. She then went on to become the Scottish 100-mile time trial champion in August, completing the feat in just under 4 hours and 20 minutes. 

All 15 Women's WorldTour teams confirmed for Gent-Wevelgem

Organisers of the Belgian one-day classic Gent-Wevelgem have confirmed that all 15 Women's WorldTour teams will compete in the 2023 edition of the race. 

There will also be nine Continental teams present, including AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step, Lifeplus Wahoo and Cofidis. 

Last year, Trek-Segafredo's Elisa Balsamo won Gent-Wevelgem, claiming her fifth victory since winning the rainbow bands six months prior. The former world champion is down to compete again at this year's race, scheduled for 26 March. 

Yesterday, it was announced that two WorldTour teams - Jumbo-Visma and EF Education-Tibco-SVB - would skip the inaugural UAE Women's Tour, which opens in Dubai next Thursday.

Olympic champion signs for Israel-Premier Tech Roland

Olympic road race champion Anna Kiesenhofer has joined women's WorldTour outfit Israel-Premier Tech Roland for the 2023 season. 

The Austrian has been without a professional team since 2017, racing only as a guest for Soltec Team at the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta last year. 

“I am very happy to join Israel – Premier Tech Roland," Kisenhofer said in a press statement shared today. "The environment and equipment are ideal for me to perform at my best in some of the most important races of the WWT calendar."

The 31-year-old added that her main target this year will be the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, alongside other "hard stage races". 

Team manager Ruben Contreras said it was an "honour" to welcome the Olympic champion to the team. "Anna is extremely talented and races courageously as we saw with her Tokyo win," he said. "She will be a great addition to the team and help us as we continue our development in the Women’s WorldTour."

Tom Pidcock tips Wout van Aert for fourth Cyclo-cross world title

Current cyclo-cross world champion Tom Pidcock has tipped Wout van Aert to take his crown this weekend, saying the Belgian has the best "pure power". 

Van Aert, who last won the Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2018, will go up against his long-standing rival Mathieu van der Poel in Hoogerheide, Netherlands this Sunday. 

Asked by Het Nieuwsblad who he expects to come out on top, Pidcock said "Wout".

The Brit then caveated his response, adding: "Wout is the best in terms of pure power, but in the end the title is decided after one hour of cross. It is not just about strength, but also about the tactics set out to become world champion.”

Van der Poel's last cyclo-cross outing was at Sunday's World Cup event in Besançon, France, where he won by almost a minute ahead of Laurens Sweeck. After the race the Dutchman looked ahead to Worlds, explaining that his chances are "fifty-fifty" and that him and Van Aert are "evenly matched". 

Pidcock will not defend his title in Hoogerheide, instead opting to focus on his road season with an ambition to perform well at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. 

Arkéa-Samsic boss says he is 'very interested' in Julian Alaphilippe

Arkéa-Samsic boss Emanuel Hubert has said that his team are "very interested" in potentially signing Julian Alaphilippe from Soudal Quick-Step in the future.

Speaking to Eurosport, Hubert said he would certainly explore the option of signing Alaphilippe if he were to become available in the coming months.

"Could I take an option on Julian [Alaphilippe] if he were released? Why not, after he is under contract until 2024. I am very interested in Julian because on the one hand, he is a very, very likeable boy. On top of that, he would be at home here. He is someone who is very endearing," Hubert said.

"He is also double world champion and has worn the yellow jersey several times at the Tour de France in a memorable and remarkable way. We have spoken in the past but he was not necessarily wanting to return to a French team at that time," he added.

Alaphilippe was recently criticised by Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere, who explained he wants to see improvements in the Frenchman in 2023. 

Lizzie Deignan to return to racing at the Vuelta

Former world champion and Paris-Roubaix winner Lizzie Deignan plans on returning to racing at La Vuelta Femenina this May, following the birth of her second child last September. 

In a blog post shared on her team Trek-Segafredo's website, Deignan said she had been gradually increasing her training load, and is currently riding around 20 hours per week. 

"If everything goes to plan, my first race will be the Vuelta," she said. "I figured why not jump back in at the deep end?"

Her reasoning is that a stage race will help her quickly clock up racing miles, much more so than doing a series of one-day events. 

This year's Vuelta Femenina marks a rebrand of the former Ceratizit Challenge and will see the race expand from five stages to seven.  

Deignan added: "I’ve planned a lot of race days between my comeback and the Tour de France Femmes because I’m a rider who likes to have lots of racing in the legs to reach my best condition.

"The Tour only finishes a week before the World Champs in Glasgow so I would love to be hitting my peak form at that time."

Jonathan Milan wins stage two of the Saudi Tour

Over in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain-Victorious rider Jonathan Milan has just pipped Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) to the win on stage two of the Saudi Tour. 

The Dutchman looked like he might take back-to-back victories in his team's "home race", but a rapid acceleration from Milan saw him beaten to the line. 

The stage, which ran through a backdrop of desert dunes, was characterised by strong winds, which split the peloton at parts and whipped sand across the roads. 

Groenewegen will continue to wear the leader's jersey on tomorrow's stage three, with Milan trailing at six seconds. Cofidis's Max Walscheid is in third, 12 seconds off the lead. 

German bike-packing route updated after 'access issues' 

Ultra-distance cycling website Bikepacking.com has updated its 1,000-mile Trans Germany route, after some sections were deemed unrideable. 

In a statement shared this afternoon, the site said it has now removed "several critical passages that posed an issue regarding legality" and that the off-road tracks are now "fully rideable". Until recently, the route had been closed since 2021.

The Trans Germany ride is said to follow rolling gravel roads and "quite a few technical trails" through the German countryside. According to the GPS file, the entire route is 1,024 miles long with 55,250 feet (16,840m) of elevation, which is mostly ticket off in the first 700 miles. 

For more information, visit Bikepacking's website. 

Cycling Ireland to cut back U23 programme, including Tour de l'Avenir

According to cycling news website Stickybottle, Cycling Ireland is reducing the number of races the Irish U23 road team will compete in this season to just three events. 

The three races will be Rás Tailteann, the European Champions and the World Championships, meaning the Tour de l'Avenir will be cut from the schedule. At the French race last year, Jumbo-Visma development rider Archie Ryan finished fourth, and was likely to have been among the favourites for this year's edition. 

The reduced schedule, Stickybottle says, is due to financial pressures faced by Cycling Ireland. The governing body is said to have spent around €1 million on consultants' and lawyers' fees over the past few years due to controversies within the organisation. 

Last September, Cycling Ireland chose not to send a team to the Road World Championships, meaning there was no Irish representation in the elite events for the first time since 1999. Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly described the decision as "disappointing" at the time. 

After the longest week in UK history it’s finally Friday and you know what time it is, it’s time for yet another edition of tweets of the week. 

The cycling transfer window is now in full swing, and we’ve seen multiple WorldTour riders moving elsewhere and the season of mud, beer and drama (aka the Cyclocross season!) will soon get underway. Mathieu Van der Poel and Marianne Vos are both the two big names expected to compete in competition this autumn therefore providing plenty of reason to tune in. 

Elsewhere, reverberations have continued to be felt throughout the cycling community at that new sponsorship deal as well as the sad news that team Ribble Weldtite are no more. 

In the wider world the soap opera at Number 10 has continued to unfold with shocking revelations. Since the news that UK prime minister Liz Truss’s time in power lasted less time than Dan Bigham’s hour record, we’ve had multiple cyclists throw their helmets into the ring to take over behind Number 10's big black door. 

We've also seen pro cyclists try their hand at football as well as have a night out on the town.

Once again, we have gone to the trouble of sorting through the minefield that is social media to pull together the best cycling related content out there. 

Happy reading!

1. WHAT HAPPENS ON TOUR STAYS ON TOUR

2. ETHAN VERNON WILL BE GETTING A VALENTINES DAY CARD OR TWO NEXT YEAR!

3. YOU'RE THE BEST! NO, YOU'RE THE BEST!

4. JUANPE TURNS TO FOOTBALL!

5. BINIAM HAS A NEW FRIEND ON THE WORLDTOUR

6. IS THIS THE BEST NATIONAL ANTHEM EVER?

7. MICHAEL VALGREN MAKES AMAZING PROGRESS

8. THE NEXT MATHIEU VAN DER POEL FOLLOWS IN HIS HEROES FOOTSTEPS!

9. DAN BIGHAM KNOWS HOW TO HOLD A HOT SEAT FOR LONGER THAN LIZ TRUSS!

10. 47 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER LIZ

11. CONOR HAS A NIGHT TO REMEMBER 

12. TOM PIDCOCK FOR PM!

13. BEND IT LIKE BEN SWIFT 

14. INEOS GRENADIERS FC MAY WELL CATCH ON

Biniam Girmay is back in racing action at the Tour de Wallonie for the first time since suffering a freak eye injury at the Giro d’Italia in May. 

Prior to starting the Belgian race, Girmay shared an image on his Instagram stories on social media. The image had clearly been taken at a cafe stop during a training ride, and featured a striking new helmet design as well as a delicious looking slice of cake.

The Eritraen's Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux team is sponsored by helmet brand Force, and Girmay had neatly positioned a new custom painted Orca lid next to his cup of coffee. On the side of the blue custom design is a - pun intended -eye-catching angry cork to make reference to his injury. 

Girmay made history at the Giro d’Italia by winning stage 10, beating the likes of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) to become the first African rider to ever win a stage at a grand-tour. 

Disaster - or more specifically a cork - would then strike, turning what was a dream day for the Eritrean into a calamity. On the podium, Girmay accidentally fired the cork from the celebratory bottle of stage winner's Prosecco stage winners received into his face. Initial injuries and the need for further checks forced the 22-year-old to then abandon the race. 

To add a touch of comedy to the new headwear, the cork is even wearing a pair of red boxing gloves to remind the world of when Girmay was given a good whack. 

Outside of his freak injury, Girmay has grabbed the headlines on other occasions this year.

The 22-year-old was left stunned after becoming the first African rider to win Gent-Wevelgem in March taking a hugely unexpected victory at the Belgian classic. 

Earlier in July, when discussing the lack of black African cyclists at the Tour de France Nic Dlamini said he hopes that other aspiring young black african riders can follow in Biniam Girmay’s footsteps as they look to further develop within the world of professional cycling. 

Depending on how his comeback goes in the coming months, the Eritrean is reportedly targeting the World Championships in Australia later in the year. 

"I WANTED TO SHOW THAT THE JERSEY GIVES ME WINGS"

Girmay isn’t the only cycling superstar with his own custom lid.

Throughout the recent Tour de France, the Jumbo-Visma phenomenon Wout Van Aert, was seen wearing a Red Bull helmet.

When Van Aert won stage four in Calais whilst wearing the yellow jersey, he flapped his arms like a bird when he crossed the line in celebration. Red Bull’s catchphrase is of course that the energy drink ‘gives you wings’.

At the time, Van Aert was quick to play down the celebration and insisted that with his flapping arms, he “wanted to show that the jersey gives me wings”, nothing to do with being sponsored by the brand of course.  

Typically, the Belgian was seen wearing his Red Bull helmet during Cyclocross races but announced at the beginning of the year that he planned to wear it on the road.

The UCI doesn’t have any rules stopping riders from displaying personal sponsorship during races. Instead teams are the decision makers and regulate what personal sponsors their riders are allowed to showcase.

Three other professional cyclists have previously been seen wearing the same Red Bull helmets. Anton Palzer (Bora-Hansgrohe), Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Justin Williams (L39ION of Los Angeles).

If you have been paying attention to the Giro d'Italia, then one team may well have been particularly conspicuous this year. Not in the same way as Ineos Grenadiers, with their mountain train at the front of the peloton, but through their continued presence. It is hard to miss the high-visibility helmets of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert.

The Wallonian team are one of the three teams to have two riders in the top 12 on general classification, along with Bora-Hansgrohe and Bahrian-Victorious. Domenico Pozzovio and Jan Hirt might not be the most heralded of GC riders for this Grand Tour, but they are both still up there, with Pozzovivo one of the five riders within 61 seconds of each other at the top.

In just 15 stages so far, they have been in the top-five nine separate times, including Biniam Girmay's historic win on stage ten, which is more than any other team. Not bad for the team which probably has the smallest budget in the WorldTour. The team with reportedly the biggest, Ineos Grenadiers, has achieved four top-fives at this race.

None of this is particularly a surprise to their directeur sportif Aike Visbeek. Speaking from the Veenendaal-Veenendaal Classic, he tells Cycling Weekly: "I was hopeful, but we are doing really good. I think we will walk away with some more results. It's not unexpected, we had a strong Vuelta a España last year."

The results haven't come from nowhere. The team started the season winning from the beginning, with Biniam Girmay taking one of the days at the Challenge Mallorca, the traditional warm up even at the end of January.

Intermarché went on to have a tremendous Classics campaign, with three top tens in WorldTour one-day races before Girmay made history by winning Gent-Wevelgem at the end of March, cementing his place at the top of the sport.

"The mood is from the Classics, the confidence from there," Visbeek explains. "We were also second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with Quinten Hermans. That's the vibe you see here, that's the vibe you see at the Giro. If you work together as a team, you can achieve great things. That has really sunk in. Before it was more individual, but now it's more together."

Intermarché have already won eight races this season, just two behind their total for all of 2021, and have emerged as a genuine power.

As a result of their success this year, they have been insulated from the relegation battle, which has dogged their fellow Belgian team Lotto-Soudal, and others including Israel-Premier Tech. Their consistent performances have seen them claim enough UCI points to rise above the mess involving other teams.

"If we were not serious and thought about points at the beginning of the season, then we would need to focus on it for the rest of the year, and that would create less opportunities..." Visbeek says. 

"If we want to create a good situation for the whole team then we need a good start, and that is what we did. I don't have to look at the points ranking now to decide the leader. Also for the riders, they are not stupid. It's easier for us to sign riders now, because we will stay in the WorldTour."

That can't be said of both Lotto and Israel, who are in danger of missing out when WorldTour licences get handed out for 2023 and beyond — both Alpecin-Fenix and Arkea Samsic have declared their ambition to join the top table, and have more points than their established counterparts.

"We had a good start to the season, and that was one of my main goals for this winter," Visbeek says. "We could notch everything up a bit. We had a clear goal, we wanted to stay in the WorldTour, I think we were 17th in the ranking. If we wanted to have a future, we had to take it seriously. 

"As a small team with the smallest budget in the WorldTour, we really have to stick together, and make it work. That also united us. From February it was already clear that we had to start chasing for sprints and things like that."

One of the big things that has changed at Intermarché is the way they race. A few years ago, the Belgian team were classic breakaway fodder at the big races, sending riders up the road just for the sake of sending riders up the road. It was the squad of Yoann Offredo, a perennial escapee at the Tour de France, without much to show for it.

Now, they have a plan. "The main big change is that we ride with a different strategy," Visbeek explains. "Before it was about being in the breakaway and showing ourselves, and when I arrived I made changes to that strategy. We want to be in breaks that have a chance of going to the finish, and if we don't see a chance, then we focus all of our resources on the bunch sprint."

This strategy has been seen at this Giro: on stages where there will be a guaranteed sprint, everything has been held back for Girmay, while on others, riders have been sent up the road to challenge. On stage 12 this almost paid dividends, as Lorenzo Rota finished second.

It helps that they have actual sprint options in Girmay and Alexander Kristoff now, but there has also been a change in mentality. Their GC ambitions have been bolstered, and they are not afraid to try things either, this is coupled with fresh energy on things that can be improved for the riders.

"We made big strides in performance, training wise, in nutrition, and on equipment, Cube developed a climbing bike for us, and we made the next step," Visbeek says.

The team is not one of big stars, they are still the underdog most of the time, especially with that low wage budget. Aside from Girmay and Kristoff, they're a squad of journeymen, but this is helping foster the right vibe within the team.

"We don't have really big big expectations," Visbeek says. "Obviously it grows, last year we were having press conferences and there were no journalists showing up, this year it was already a lot busier. We have same family atmosphere, the same DNA in the riders."

Intermarché are still keen to foster that underdog spirit, despite their growing success. Visbeek is keen to stress that they are ready for things to dip as well as continued growth; he points to Alpecin-Fenix's tremendous 2021 as something they want to ape.

"It's good for the sport," he says. "You see the reaction of the people that they like the underdog. You saw that at Gent-Wevelgem with Biniam. It was him, but it was also a small team that won a Classic, which made it extra big. Sometimes you have to pinch yourselves because it's going so well. 

"We are in a good flow, and everything is going well. Sometimes there will be a headwind, but we have the confidence that we are getting it right."

One star of now and the future that the team has is Girmay. The first black African to win a Belgian Classic, the first to win a Grand Tour stage, he could be era-defining. The team have tied him down until 2026, a huge deal for an outfit as small as Intermarché. It feels like he chose it because of how hard they have already worked for him.

"Bini was already a good rider when we signed him, he had a lot of teams interested, but I'm not sure they realised what was involved," Visbeek says. "When you come from Eritrea, it's not easy to fly in and out, and then visas to get everywhere too, it's not easy. You have to take more things in consideration. 

"Now he is becoming a star, we have one person for media with him, we have created some people around him to deal with his situation. It's an eye opener for us, especially at Frankfurt. We have to think about that."

Despite his success and growing stature, it is likely the team will stick to the plan they made at the beginning of the year and not send him to the Tour de France. At just 22, the Eritrean has time to grow and thrive on the brightest stage later in his career, and will continue on his allocated programme, once he has recovered from his eye injury.

"At the moment, it is not our plan," Visbeek explains. "We have a plan for August and September with clear goals there. His next race will probably be the Eritrea national championships. The thing that decides most of this is his injury and what his doctors say, but at the moment we will leave his plan as it is. 

"Biniam is a top cyclist, his goal is to win races, not to just win the Tour de France. At the moment, it is also in the mind to not be busy with that." 

For now, Intermarché will focus on getting the most out of the rest of the Giro, but after next week, expect them to be sticking around at the top for a while longer, too.

There was a sour end to Biniam Girmay's historic day out at the Giro d'Italia as the Eritrean rider was taken to hospital after an accident on the podium.

During his celebrations, the Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert rider was struck in the eye with the cork while opening the bottle of Prosecco presented to stage winners.

He missed the planned post-race press conference with the media in order to be attended to by medical staff, after suffering the injury to his left eye.

Minutes earlier, Girmay had powered across the line in Jesi ahead of Mathieu van der Poel to become the first black African to win a stage of a Grand Tour. The painful end to the day is not the one that he or his team would have envisaged when he looked so ecstatic post-victory.

The 22-year-old is not the first to suffer problems with the cork on the podium Prosecco at this year's Giro. On stage one, Van der Poel hit himself in the face while fiddling with the opening of the bottle on the podium after his victory.

Race organisers said that the Eritrean was checked over by race and team doctors and then taken to a local hospital following the incident.

A Sporza reporter outside the hospital caught the stage winner as he left the hospital with a heavily bandaged eye. It seems the up-and-coming star is unlikely to be able to continue the Giro, though his team has yet to make an official announcement. 

More to follow in the morning...

Missing a turn with about 7km to go to the finish might have spoiled everything for a lesser rider. Not Biniam Girmay. The Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert rider might have gone right when everyone else went left, but he wasn't ruffled (or, if he was, it didn't show). The Eritrean rejoined the lead group, and prepared to win. 

Seven minutes later, Girmay outsprinted Mathieu van der Poel - yes, the two-time Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche, Tour de France stage winning Mathieu van der Poel - in Jesi on stage 10 of the Giro d'Italia.

In case it wasn't already abundantly clear, Girmay is the real deal. The first black African to win a Grand Tour stage, and the first black African to win a Belgian Classic at Gent-Wevelgem earlier this year, he is a champion who - at 22 years-old - will go on to win many, many more races.

"It’s amazing," his directeur sportif Valerio Piva said. "We believed from the morning… we tried to motivate all the team, and we saw a fantastic team around him today. He finished in an amazing sprint against a big champion like Van der Poel. This victory is more important because he beat one of the top riders in the world."

Girmay's sheer delight, relief even, at the finish line was clear, as he finally won in this Giro after coming close on stages one, three, five, six, and eight. His popularity was also clear- immediately he was congratulated by Van der Poel as the pair crossed the line, and then one of the first people to give him a hug was maglia rosa winner Juan Pedro López.

Some questioned why Girmay was not racing the Tour of Flanders after his success at Gent-Wevelgem, but at the time he was clear in his wish to return home and spend time with his family ahead of the Giro. It clearly worked for him. No one would bet against him taking more wins on the few opportunities left for fast men at this Giro, or from claiming the points jersey in the process.

"Unbelievable," was all Girmay could say at first in his post-race interview. It feels it.

"The team controlled the race from the start," he continued. "I don’t have any words for my team, but what they did today… I’m really happy. Unbelievable.

"All the team, everybody was pulling, even the GC riders, like you saw [Domenico] Pozzovivo, Jan Hirt, Rein Tarrame everyone. They did a super great job and in the end end Pozzo was amazing. He just said come in the last 600m, he did a really good leadout and then amazing.

"Until I started the Giro, we had a possibility to win, to make good results, so this is part of the success, my team, my family, everybody. Every day new history comes, so I’m really grateful and happy with what I did."

Girmay is a superstar. Eritrea is a cycling-mad country and legions of fans have been following him around Europe this year. The turnout for a race like Eschborn-Frankfurt of Girmay-mad spectators was incredible.

This success will only propel him further into stardom, both in his home country, and across Africa. But the young man has the form and the power to deliver the results his compatriots crave.

What makes this result all the more notable is that Eritrea was colonised by Italy in the 19th century, during the 'Scramble for Africa', which it remained until the Second World War, before coming under British control and then part of Ethiopia.

No Italian has yet won at this Giro, yet an Eritrean has, in a watershed moment for cycling, for sport, even. European imperialism might still cast a shadow over Africa, but there is hope in the emergence of those like Girmay.

"It means a lot. A new continent comes at the top of cycling, that is the future," Piva concluded. 

Girmay is the future, but he is also the present. Unbelievable.

Racing with "bravery" is how Lotto-Soudal are achieving impressive results so far this season, John Lelangue, their general manager says, as his team heads into a crucial year.

The Belgian team have won seven races with four different riders so far in 2022, meaning they have tasted victory in 23% of events they could have. It is not even the end of February and the team are just five away from their total last year, which was 12. Only serial winners, and Belgian rivals, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl have won more so far this season.

They are not alone in being a smaller team over-performing, with Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux achieving four wins (versus nine in 2021), the same as Cofidis (12 last year), and Arkéa-Samsic being on five (10 in 2021). This comfortably puts all four squads in the top-10 on the UCI rankings.

Lelangue explained that his squad's goal is to "take every opportunity to race with bravery, to race every race like it was the last one of the season".

This might be incredibly important, because at the end of the year new WorldTour licences are available, which means there might be some movement in the makeup of cycling's top teams. Lotto-Soudal are also set to lose Soudal as title sponsors from 2023, so this is also a factor in performing well this year.

Based on last year's UCI team rankings, Cofidis and Lotto-Soudal were in the 'drop zone', while Alpecin-Fenix and Arkéa-Samsic were two ProTeams which could be promoted. 

Points are earned by a squad's 10 highest-scoring riders at all UCI races, so every event matters. For example, for his overall win at the Saudi Tour, Lotto-Soudal's Maxim van Gils won his team 125 points, while Caleb Ewan's two sprint victories so far this year have netted 14 points each.

However, Lelangue insists that his Lotto team are not fighting purely on a points basis, and that he rejects a "conservative" approach to racing in order to win UCI points.

"We aim to take a lot of pleasure and to enjoy it. We are not looking to begin to count on points and everything. Because then from time to time, we would be racing defensively. We want to race offensively and we want to race to try to go for the victory, even if from time to time, it's better to put three guys in the top 20, than to be second. This is not the mindset, the mindset is to win races.

"It is not that I am not thinking about the points, but we are not making our strategy against other teams all around the points. We are making a strategy because we want to win races and we want to be offensive and we want to race with bravery."

It is a similar story with Intermarché. One of their sports directors, Aike Visbeek, explains they are working towards a system where they get the points "automatically" through achieving results, rather than aiming directly for points.

The Walloon squad have achieved good results so far this season, with a victory for new signing Alexander Kristoff proof of their investment. Biniam Girmay Hailu, a 21-year-old sprinter, has also impressed, winning once. They also won the overall at the Tour of Oman through Jan Hirt, their first GC win since joining the WorldTour. For this they earned 200 UCI points.

"I would lie if I would say we don't look at it [the points]," Visbeek says. "I think looking at the points is the last 5% of the planning. 95% is making sure that the team is in the right composition, that you have the right team planning for the guys so they can make good periods in the top shape. Getting several races that suit their qualities. 

"Then in the last 5% you can maybe make some smart choices, but to be honest, I was also internally discussing it. I would not do a hell of a lot different if I was not focused on the points. I mean, I would still have the leadout train for Kristoff with Pasqualon in it. 

"He's one of our riders that scores a lot of points for us, but he is now in the leadout train because we want to do results with Alexander. If you would narrow it down to a pure 100% points approach, you would not have Pasqualon in that leadout train."

On why his team have won almost half as many races as they did all of last year, Visbeek explains that the riders are focused and operating in a good atmosphere.

"We did a lot of work, we had to sign I think 11 riders this year," he explains. "We put a lot of focus on having the right guys with the right mentality. I think Alexander Kristoff was the right guy with the right mentality, he's really down to earth, a hard worker. I think that he fitted really well with the team. From the first team meeting in the beginning of November, we started training already and we were really focused on the team having a good start. 

"The riders that planned to be good, in the beginning of the season they were good, and that is always good for confidence. In all aspects it brings good confidence. I'm happy with how it's moving and it was also a reward for the hard work we did.

"For me, the big thing for the team was to start off in a good way this season," the Dutchman concludes. "By doing that, when you have guys doing the results, and the placings in the GC, what you create is that you take the points automatically, and then it is less of an issue. I mean, we have two good years behind our name. So we have to be careful we are not in stress, we are in a good situation."

The WorldTour has been around since 2009, but the UCI points system has had little scrutiny, possibly because there has not been much prospect of teams moving up or down from the WorldTour.

However, with new licences up for grabs from the end of the season, there is a fully-fledged battle for the points. ProTeams like Arkéa-Samsic and Uno-X have expressed an interest in joining the top table while others like Lotto-Soudal and Cofidis appear to be in danger of losing out. 

The 18 WorldTour spots next year will be decided on ethical, financial, administrative and organisational criteria, but it is the sporting element which has attracted the most attention.

For Lelangue and his Lotto team, this might mean targeting top-20 placings in order to win points to guarantee survival.

"The system of points is not in our advantage," the Belgian argues. "When Caleb [Ewan] is winning a stage against the best sprinters of the world in Saudi, he is taking 14 points, which is nothing. 

"In [the Clasica] Jaén Paraiso with three riders in the top ten I was taking 200 points [sic]. And in some 1.2 races at the beginning of the season, where the WorldTour teams are not allowed to participate, the second place in such a race is taking 30 points. This is the system but we have to agree with it like this." 

Instead of aiming for points, Lelangue insists that Lotto-Soudal are aiming for victories, and it is a strategy that has paid off handsomely so far.

"The first thing is that we have to be victorious, and then it will come by itself," he says. "If we have to race around the points, we would have a strategy against some of the other teams and also to be more conservative to be sure that I have three or four guys ending in the top 20. But this is really not fun. 

"So we'll do this. At the end, our first aim is to take pleasure, to enjoy racing. To race with bravery, and to win races. At the end of the season, we will see."

Asked if other teams are already racing defensively, he says: "Honestly, yes, it is like this. But if I'm doing this, I will not take pleasure in racing, and I would prefer to change jobs."

For now, Lotto-Soudal will focus on keeping up their form; now the first wins have been recorded, it might become easier to keep winning or challenging at bigger races, as the WorldTour rolls on.

"This is good when you feel this at the beginning of the season," Lelangue says. "You know that you're going for a big season. We need a bit of luck also we need to have luck about crashes, technical problems, the COVID situation. This is touching us like it's touching all the teams and we have to live with this for a few more months, and we will see, but we don't have to stress and we have to take pleasure and to enjoy riding the bike and going for the victory."

The Lotto manager concludes: "I told the guys I was in a situation 10 years ago in 2011 or 2010, where it was really hard. When I was with BMC and we had to wait for Flèche Wallonne, it was only in April when we won with Cadel Evans our first victory. When you are in this situation, there is always a lot more pressure and you are making mistakes. 

"But at least now we are done and we are enjoying every race and there is a good motivation between all the riders to know who will be the next one winning. It is taking the whole team to another level."

Road cycling is back. It might still feel like the depths of winter in the UK or in America, but in the sunnier climes of southern Europe, men's elite road racing is back. Cyclocross might have dominated the news, but there were still some exciting things happening on tarmac.

In the coming week we have the first elite stage races to look forward to, but there has already been some action. In Mallorca, the five races that make up the Challenge Mallorca have taken place, with stars of the WorldTour winning the Trofeos. Meanwhile, the French racing scene got underway with the GP de Marseille. 

The WorldTour season does not kick off for another three weeks with the UAE Tour, while traditionalists insist that racing does not matter until Omloop Het Nieuwsblad a week later. However, you can't ignore the fact that professionals are already battling out for wins on the road this year. Here are some things we learned from the opening races of 2022.

Alejandro Valverde has still got it

This is Alejandro Valverde's 21st year as a professional cyclist. The man is 41. This year will be his final season before retirement, it has already been announced, but the Spaniard shows no signs of slowing down.

Back in 2002 his second race with his first pro team, Kelme-Costa Blanca, was part of the Challenge Mallorca, and this was how the Movistar rider chose to start his last season on the road. 

Three races, three top-six finishes, including winning the Trofeo Pollença-Port d'Andratx on Sunday. He sprinted away to victory out of an elite group which included Tim Wellens and Brandon McNulty, who had already won this year. 

Following the race, the 41-year old expressed his surprise that he was still winning, two decades after his debut. 

"It's something so difficult to achieve, both physically and especially on the psychological standpoint," he said. "I'm really surprised to continue doing well. When I was younger, I stated that I thought I wouldn't be in the peloton when I reached 34 – now I'm turning 42 in April, and I'm still racing, and winning."

It was Valverde's 131st win of his lengthy career, and he has won a race in every year of his career apart his neo-pro season, the 2011 season when he was banned for doping, and 2020.

While the level at Mallorca might not be the highest, this result proved that Valverde is not going to quietly shuffle off into retirement, there will be no rest until the very end.

Biniam Girmay might just be the Eritrean star cycling needs

Cycling is huge in Eritrea, so it is a huge shame that they have not yet had the breakout star that the country deserves and is desperate for. Merhawi Kudus is still on the WorldTour, now with EF Education-EasyPost, but others have faded away or not been offered opportunities in the first based by European-based pro teams.

Biniam Girmay might just be the breakout star. Second at the U23 World Championship Road Race back in October, the 21-year old signed for Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert last year, and has already delivered for them in 2022.

He won the Trofeo Alcúdia-Port d'Alcúdia in front of established sprinters such as Giacomo Nizzolo, Pascal Ackermann and Michael Matthews, and impressed in what was just his sixth victory of his career so far.

Girmary is scheduled to race the Giro d'Italia, so it will be fascinating to see how he goes against sprinters on the highest levels, but this early season victory will be nothing but good for his confidence. Considering Intermarché only won nine races all last season, the Ethiopian will surely get more chances as the season goes on, as the team hunt for precious victories.

He has a contract until 2024 with the Belgian team, so he has plenty of time to bed in, and establish himself as a force in the WorldTour.

Lotto-Soudal love early season results, and they desperately need them

Lotto-Soudal, ever presents in the WorldTour, had a difficult 2021. They won just 12 races, the same in 2020, which was their worst return since 2010. With three-year WorldTour licences being awarded at the end of this season, it is imperative for the Belgian team to step up should they wish to stay at the top table.

Fortunately, they have already won two races this year. Tim Wellens won the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana, before Arnaud De Lie won Trofeo Playa de Palma-Palma on Sunday. 

Not that early season form is new to Lotto-Soudal. The squad have won at least one race in January every year apart from 2021 since 2015, when they won on the first day of February. Even in the dry spell years of 2020 and 2021, they triumphed at the beginning of the season. What they need to do next is convert this into results throughout the season.

Whether this is because they just take the Challenge Mallorca more seriously than other teams, or they come into the season red-hot is up for debate.

One reason for their performances early in the year is Wellens, who has a habit of being on-song from the beginning. He has won the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana four times in his career, showing that the Mallorcan races are more than just a warmup for him.

Should Lotto wish to remain in the WorldTour, they will need more than just a couple of wins from their stars like Wellens, however. It will be interesting to see whether they can sustain it this year.

Brandon McNulty means business

Riding in the shadow of Tadej Pogačar must be difficult, and when UAE-Team Emirates signed more talented climbers, you feared for the future prospects of Brandon McNulty.

The American is a proven climbing talent, and was part of Pogačar's team at last year's Tour de France, but had not won for UAE until last week. He won the first day of the Challenge Mallorca, triumphing after attacking from 60km out and soloing to victory. 

That performance underlined how he is looking to go about this year, and the 23-year old backed up his level with fourth behind Wellens and second behind Valverde in the coming days. It served as a statement to his team that he means business this year and should not be forgotten about in a vastly talented squad.

A dutch pro rider has been rushed to hospital after being hit by a scooter while out with his family in the Netherlands.

Maurits Lammertink, who rides for Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, was out with his partner and two children for a relaxed day after he heard the news he was not selected for the Tour de France, which starts on Saturday, June 26.

While his wife looked after his children, Lammertink went to get ice creams at Van der Poel Ijs in Hengelo. As he went back to get the final one the Dutchman was struck by a scooter. Lammertink was severely injured with an ambulance arriving quickly on the scene.

The 30-year-old was rushed to hospital with brain injuries and underwent surgery later that night on Tuesday, June 22 into early Wednesday morning, confirmed Lammertink's wife to Tubantia.

Lammertink is now in a stable condition and will continue to recover at hospital in Hengelo after suffering a brain haemorrhage. 

His team released a statement saying: "On Tuesday evening, Maurits Lammertink was struck by a scooter near his home while walking with his family. He suffers from head trauma and underwent overnight surgery for a brain haemorrhage. His condition is now stable and the injuries are not life-threatening anymore.

"Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux would like to thank the medical team, and wish Maurits the smoothest recovery possible.

"We will keep you informed on the progress of Maurits recovery process."

Lammertink last raced on Sunday, June 20 at the Dutch national championships road race where he came 39th behind winner Timo Roosen (Jumbo-Visma).

He has been a professional for over a decade with wins at the Tour of Luxembourg as well as stage wins at the Tour du Limousin and the Belgium Tour.

He recently raced at the Tour de France build-up race of the Tour de Suisse but had to abandon after stage four. But has taken part in 20 races this season including a full Ardennes Classics campaign.

It is not yet known when Lammertink will return to racing but for now, the focus will be on recovery.

Josef Černý (CCC Team) soloed away from the breakaway on stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia 2020 to take his first Grand Tour stage victory.

The Czech rider broke clear of a six-rider group which had formed from a large 14-man breakaway, soloing away with 22.4km to go.

>>> 'Someone will pay' says Giro d'Italia race director following stage shortening debacle

He built up a 40-second gap with 15km to go but looked to be suffering as the time gap fell to around 20 seconds inside the final 5km and it looked like he could be caught.

In the last kilometre Victor Campenaerts made a last-ditch attempt to bridge the gap to Černý, but couldn't catch the 27-year-old who was able to sit up and celebrate his biggest career victory.

Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) retained his overall lead after finishing safely in the bunch, but had to be wary as Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos) attempted to steal some seconds back in the final few hundred metres but was tracked by Deceuninck-Quick-Step.

How it happened

Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia was meant to be the longest of the entire race at 251km, before a late edition of another 7km by the organisers due to obstructions on the route.

Riders were set for a rainy start in Morbegno and did take to the neutralised start before pulling up in protest. After long discussions, the organiser eventually agreed to shorten the stage to 124.5km, with riders boarding team buses and cars to head further down the route to the new start in Abbiategrasso.

After the chaos of the day’s start, riders finally got underway to start racing in earnest. From the gun Victor Campenaerts (NTT) attacked along Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) and Josef Cerny (CCC Team) and were able to gain a lead of just over a minute into the final 100km.

Bora-Hansgrohe were the only team to set off in pursuit, and controlled the front of the bunch after 11 other riders were able to get away and eventually bridge to the leading trio with 99km to go.

That strong leading group of 11 riders joining the three leaders included Iljo Keisse (Deceuninck-Quick-Step), Sander Armée (Lotto-Soudal), Giovanni Carboni (Bardiani), Nathan Haas (Cofidis), Marco Mathis (Cofidis), Simon Clarke (EF Pro Cycling), Lachlan Morton (EF Pro Cycling), Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation), Albert Torres (Movistar), Jacopo Mosca (Trek-Segafredo), and Etienne van Empel (Vini Zabù).

Bora continued to chase to try and bring things back for Peter Sagan, with Arnaud Démare’s FDJ also joining the at points. But with the gap still hanging at around a minute and such a strong group up front, the chase was eventually called off with 56.5km to go.

That saw the breakaway group’s advantage shoot up sharply as the peloton took natural breaks and began to cruise towards the finish.

As the attacking started to begin in the break with 30km to go, the gap back to the peloton was now up to around nine minutes. Campenaerts was the main instigator in attacks, but nothing was able to stick initially.

Six riders then got away on a short ascent with just over 26km to go thanks to an acceleration from Campenaerts, with Mosca, Clarke, Armee, Černý, and Pellaud gaining a 23-second gap along with Campenaerts.

It didn’t take long for subsequent attacks to come from that splinter group, and it was Černý who went solo with 22.4km to go.

No one was able to follow the Czech rider, who immediately established a healthy gap on the chasers.

Behind, Keisse bridged across to first chase group with 16km to go and immediately went on the attack, but by this point Černý had established a 40-second advantage.

His form seemed to fade as the kilometres ticked by, moving a lot on the bike as he tried to keep a big gear rolling.

The chasers were able to work together to pull Černý back to within 20 seconds with 4km to go, and things began to look ominous for him.

But Černý was able to hold on and entered the final kilometre still with 20 seconds in hand, which sparked a late charge from Campenaerts to try and close him down just before the line.

The Belgian couldn’t make the sufficient inroads in time though, and had to settle for second place while Černý celebrated his victory across the line.

Over 11 minutes later the peloton rolled in towards the finish, with the only movement coming from Tao Geoghegan Hart who tried to steal back some seconds to cut his 15-second deficit to race leader Wilco Kelderman.

In the end the GC contenders rolled in together with the race now tantalisingly poised heading into Saturday’s mountain stage, a 190km route from Alba to Sestriere.

Results

Giro d'Italia 2020, stage 19: Abbiategrasso to Asti (124.5km)

1. Josef Černý (Cze) CCC Team, in 2-30-40

2. Victor Campenaerts (Bel) NTT Pro Cycling, at 18 seconds

3. Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 26 seconds

4. Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Pro Cycling

5. Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-Quick-Step

6. Sander Armée (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, all at same time

7. Alberto Torres (Esp) Movistar, at 1-10

8. Simon Pellaud (Sui) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec

9. Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè

10. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-Up Nation, all at same time

General classification after stage 19

1. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Sunweb, in 80-29-19

2. Jai Hindley (Aus) Sunweb, at 12s

3. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 15s

4. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain-McLaren, at 1-19

5. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck- Quick-Step, at 2-16

6. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana, at 3-59

7. Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 5-40

8. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 5-47

9. Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceunicnk – Quick-Step, at 6-46

10. Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-McLaren, at 7-23

CCC Team have agreed to sell their WorldTour licence to Belgian ProTeam Circus-Wanty Gobert.

Polish WorldTour outfit CCC Team have been on the hunt for a new sponsor as their main sponsor will pull out at the end of the season, because of the financial strains caused by coronavirus.

While team boss Jim Ochowicz has been on the hunt for a new backer to save the team, the squad have instead agreed to sell their licence to help Circus-Wanty reach the WorldTour for the first time. 

Ochowicz, co-owner of CCC Team's holding company Continuum Sports, said: “2020 has not been the year that any of us expected but we are motivated to finish the season as CCC Team on a high. Looking ahead, 2021 will see a new direction for the Continuum Sports organisation and we are happy to be paving the way for Circus-Wanty Gobert to move to the WorldTour in what is a significant milestone for the Belgian team and a well deserved promotion.”

He added: “Since the inception of Continuum Sports in 2007, we have made our mark on the cycling world with BMC Racing Team and CCC Team and we are well positioned to assist Circus-Wanty Gobert in this transition to the WorldTour. With ambitious long-term goals and a shared vision, we believe Circus-Wanty Gobert, under the leadership of Jean-François Bourlart, is an ideal fit to carry on the Continuum Sports legacy and we are in a position to support their efforts where needed.” 

Circus-Wanty Gobert is owned by umbrella company Want You Cycling, which will take over Continuum Sports from 2021.

Launched in 2001 as the Vc Ath Club, Circus-Wanty has climbed to the ranks, becoming Professional Continental in 2011.  

CCC Team raced as BMC Racing before the death of their main benefactor Andy Rihs in 2018, with Polish handbag company CCC coming on-board as the main sponsor for 2019.

But due to the financial impact of the global pandemic, CCC will be pulling out, forcing Ochowicz to find an alternative as star riders Greg Van Averment and Matteo Trentin both jumped ship to join other teams for 2021.

The sale will need to be ratified by the UCI License Commission in December.

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General manager of Want You Cycling, Jean-François Bourlart, said: “With the co-founders of Want You Cycling, Benoit Soenen, Christophe Wanty, Ronald Gobert and David Sauvage, we built our project step-by-step with the ambition to one day move to the WorldTour. The moment had to be right, the structure had to be ready, and our partners eager to follow us. We are therefore very proud today to take over the project from Jim Ochowicz and Gavin Chilcott and present to the UCI the continuation of Continuum Sports in the WorldTour. 

“With the long experience of Jim Ochowicz and Gavin Chilcott, we will do everything possible to ensure the sustainability of our WorldTour project. I have no doubts that our team will become a success in the WorldTour, as it has at the Professional Continental level over the years, and as BMC Racing Team and CCC Team have too."

Ilnur Zakarin has abandoned the Tour de France 2020 a day after he crashed in the neutral zone.

The CCC Team rider fell with Astana’s Alexey Lutsenko before the official start of stage 11 as the peloton rolled out of  Châtelaillon-Plage. 

Zakarin and Lutsenko hit a road sign on a roundabout early in the day, with Zakarin able to remount his bike and finish the stage albeit with some rib pain.

Medical examination after the stage revealed the Russian had suffered a broken rib. 

He was able to start stage 12 in Chauvigny, but stepped off the bike early in the stage and abandoned the race.

CCC Team doctor Daniele Zaccaria said after stage 11: “Ilnur Zakarin was involved in a crash in the neutral zone of stage 11. He was able to finish the stage but was experiencing some rib pain which required further examination.

“X-Rays performed at the finish in Poitiers will confirmed a non-displaced fracture of the sixth left rib.”

The doctor said at the time: “At this stage, Ilnur will continue racing while we adopt some conservative therapies which won’t be jeopardised by racing. We will continue to monitor Ilnur’s condition and make any further decisions accordingly.”

CCC Team then said the following day: “Unfortunately, Ilnur Zakarin has been forced to stop racing on stage 12 as a result of the injuries he sustained in the crash at the start of yesterday’s stage. 

“Join us in wishing Ilnur a speedy recovery.” 

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Zakarin, a Tour stage winner in 2016, had been active in the Pyrenees and made the breakaway on the first real mountain test of the race to Loudenvielle, where  he was leading the race into the final but eventually finished fourth due to his struggles with the descent.  

Matteo Trentin is the latest rider to leave CCC Team as the Polish WorldTour squad is still looking for sponsorship.

The squad has been struggling to find a replacement after its main backer announced it will be pulling out due to the financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus.

While team boss Jim Ochowicz is still searching for a new headline sponsor, his big name riders have been busy negotiating contracts with other outfits.

As star rider Greg Van Avermaet is leaving for AG2R La Mondiale, Italian sprinter Matteo Trentin will also be leaving CCC. 

Trentin said: “First of all I have unfinished business at the World Championships and I would like to go one better there than last year. 

“Then there’s Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. I would also like to aim for the green jersey at the Tour de France, obviously while still working towards the overall classification objectives of the team.” 

Trentin, 31, has built a hugely impressive palmaès as a versatile sprinter, with three Tour de France stage victories and four in the Vuelta a España while riding for Quick-Step and Mitchelton-Scott. 

Last season he came within inches of victory in the World Championships in Yorkshire, heading to the line as the favourite to take the sprint victory but missing out to Mads Pedersen.  

UAE Team Emirates principal Mauro Gianetti said: “Matteo is a strong reinforcement for our team, particularly in view of our classics roster. He has proved that he is a very versatile rider across many types of races, and has a great turn of speed. We like his way of racing and his winning mentality. I am convinced that he will integrate very well into the team.”

CCC Team are suffering a rough 2020 season, when in June Ochowicz confirmed Polish shoe company CCC would be pulling out due to its own financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus.  

The team, formerly BMC Racing, have also struggled for results this year and are yet to win a WorldTour race in 2020, before or after lockdown, although the team did dominate the 2.1-ranked Tour de Hongrie this month.

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Ochowicz is now considering setting up a new team below WorldTour level.  

CCC Team are now letting their riders search for new contracts as management have not yet found a new sponsor for 2021. 

The Polish WorldTour team, currently home to Greg Van Avermaet and Matteo Trentin, is facing an uncertain future as its headline sponsor CCC has cut its contract short due to the coronavirus crisis. 

Team boss Jim Ochowicz has been on the hunt for a new backer, but on Tuesday (August 19) CCC Team announced contracted riders were free to explore other options for 2021. 

The news came as Fausto Masnada, the Giro d’Italia stage winner who joined CCC at the start of 2020, would be making a mid-season transfer to Deceuninck - Quick-Step. 

CCC Team said in a statement: “Without a new title sponsor secured for 2021, contracted riders have been given the freedom to explore other options for the coming season. 

“Fausto Masnada was presented with an opportunity to transfer mid-season to Deceuninck - Quick-Step and after consultation with Fausto, we have agreed to allow the transfer to take place.” 

Masnada is the first contracted CCC rider to leave the team early, while the team’s talisman rider Greg Van Avermaet will be transferring to AG2R La Mondiale next season as his contract comes to an end at the close of the season.

Deceuninck has signed Masnada to fill a place in the squad opened up due to injury, with Masnada due to make his debut with the team at the Italian National Championships. 

News of CCC Team’s difficulty emerged in June when Ochowicz confirmed Polish shoe company CCC would be pulling out due to its own financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus. 

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The team, formerly BMC Racing, have also struggled for results this year and are yet to win a race in 2020, before or after lockdown.  

Greg Van Avermaet has confirmed that he will be leaving CCC Team at the end of 2021; the team he has ridden with for just over nine years through its various guises.

The Classics star has previously said that he is willing to wait and see if his current team could find a new sponsor but he now says he has "no options" but to leave and join a new team for the 2021 season.

Speaking to Sporza, the Olympic champion said: "I've given my manager the green light to look at other teams. I have no options in this team anymore.

"At the moment it does not look like this team will continue. Jim Ochowicz keeps looking, but I can't wait. Other possibilities now need to be worked out in detail. I hope it will be completed in a few weeks."

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It has been rumoured for some time that the 35-year-old may be looking at going elsewhere with multiple teams said to be interested.

"Different teams are interested. It is important for my manager Dries Smets to work out everything and to put forward a concrete offer. Then I can make a decision," Van Avermaet said.

"I'll try to get the best out of it, financially and also on the sporting side."

Israel Start-Up Nation are one of two teams heavily linked to the Belgian rider. The Israeli team are building a very strong squad around Chris Froome for 2021, and have also just lost their main Classics man, Nils Politt, to Bora-Hansgrohe next season.

The other team looking like they are already setting up for the arrival of Van Avermaet is AG2R La Mondiale, who have signed Gijs Van Hoecke and Stan De Wulf to add to their already strong Classics team. Their current Classics leader Oliver Naesen is a good friend of Van Avermaet and would bring great options for them in the cobbled Classics

AG2R have also announced their new title sponsor of French car manufacturer, Citrôen, making them AG2R Citroen for the 2021 season.

Van Avermaet will be focusing on his racing for now, and will next be in action at Milan-San Remo this weekend (August 8), where he'll lead CCC Team along with Matteo Trentin.

CCC Team have announced that they tried to refuse to accept the leader’s jersey at the start of stage two of the Tour of Poland.

A horror crash at the end of stage one resulted in Deceuninck-Quick-Step’s Fabio Jakobsen being hospitalised and placed in an induced coma after he crashed into barriers just metres from the finish line.

His current condition is described as stable, but he remains in a coma. Doctors will attempt to wake him this afternoon.

Dylan Groenewegen, Jumbo-Visma’s sprinter, forced his Dutch compatriot into the barriers and was disqualified from the race.

>>> Julian Alaphilippe says there are ‘a lot of things to change’ in cycling after Tour of Poland crash

Jakobsen was awarded the stage win by race organisers afterwards, but because he was unable to start stage two in Opole, race leadership was given to Kamil Małecki of CCC.

Marc Sarreau of Groupama-FDJ should have inherited the lead, but the Frenchman was also injured the crash and also failed to start stage two.

Sarreau went to hospital but was discharged at 1am. He suffered multiple burns and acromioclavicular dislocation.

However, given the seriousness of Jakobsen’s situation, CCC asked not take the leader’s jersey and give it to a Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider. However the request was refused and Małecki wore the leader's jersey for stage two.

>>> Patrick Lefevere confirms Deceuninck-Quick-Step will report Dylan Groenewegen to Polish police

In a statement, they said: “CCC Team was last night informed by the Tour de Pologne race organisers that Kamil Małecki would technically be race leader on stage two after the terrible crash involving Fabio Jakobsen.

“In light of the circumstances and out of respect for Fabio and Marc Sarreau, who was also injured in the crash, both the team and Kamil do not feel it is appropriate for Kamil to wear the leader’s jersey and have instead requested that the jersey be given to Deceuninck - Quick-Step for stage two. However, this was not possible due to race regulations.

“All of our thoughts are with Fabio, his family and friends, and the entire Deceuninck-Quick-Step team, and we wish Fabio well in his recovery.”

The crash has sparked a debate within cycling about the safety of finishes, with Julian Alaphilippe saying that there are a “lot of things” to change in the sport.

Sarreau commented: "The accident happened yesterday but this sprint has been contested for several years.

"The most unfortunate part of all this is that we still ride on beautiful roads, outside the city centre. There is a possibility to finish a little further or a little earlier, on a beautiful avenue, rather than on a descent as it is now.

"Even sportingly, the result does not necessarily say much about the true level of each rider. My Power Sensor recorded an 81.7 km/h peak yesterday. It’s a special sprint.

"We voluntarily put a bigger gear that day. It’s also difficult to stand on your pedals because there is so much speed that you are not aerodynamic at all."

Rumours are circulating that CCC Team may have found a new sponsor with a €20 million budget.

The WorldTour team is losing its main backer as Polish handbag company has been hit hard by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, forcing the boss to announce there wasn’t enough money for a top-tier cycling squad.

But according to reports, team boss Jim Ochowicz may have found a new sponsor in Rally, a US-based online health insurer with a history of cycling sponsorship.

Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports that Rally could step in to take over the team with a budget of €20m (£17m).

Rally is already sponsor of US men’s Continental and women’s UCI teams Rally Cycling, which regularly feature in races like the Saudi Tour, Tour Colombia and the Women’s Tour Down Under.

The company joined cycling in 2016 when they took over the Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies outfit.

CCC Team is one of the WorldTour squads hit by the coronavirus crisis, with the team forced to suspend a majority of their staff and cut rider salaries in April.

Earlier this month news emerged that CCC would be pulling out of the sponsorship at the end of 2020.

CCC joined cycling’s top tier as a sponsor in 2019, stepping in to take over the former BMC Racing team run by Jim Ochowicz.

But the planned three-year sponsorship deal has been cut short due to the global crisis, leaving Ochowicz searching for a new backer.

The team’s star rider Greg Van Avermaet, Olympic champion and Monument winner, is considering leaving the team during the uncertainty.

When asked if he might consider a transfer to a Belgian WorldTour team, particularly one with a mighty reputation in the Classics, he added: “I will certainly ride for a good team. Many teams are interested.”

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Van Avermaet and Ochowicz have worked together since 2011, when the Belgian star transferred to BMC Racing from Omega Pharma-Lotto.

Greg Van Avermaet is considering a transfer as CCC Team are due to lose their main sponsor at the end of the year.

Polish shoe company CCC has been plunged into financial uncertainty due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, forcing the boss to announce that there wasn’t enough money to fund a WorldTour cycling team.

CCC joined cycling’s top tier as a sponsor in 2019, stepping in to take over the former BMC Racing team run by Jim Ochowicz.

But the planned three-year sponsorship deal has been cut short due to the global crisis, leaving Ochowicz searching for a new backer.

The team’s star rider, Greg Van Avermaet, says he hopes the team can be saved, but added that he is open to a transfer.

Van Avermaet, winner of the 2017 Paris-Roubaix, told cycling news website Wielerflits: “I hope Ochowicz finds a new sponsor, but I am also open to a transfer.

“There are many teams that are interested. My performance is still there and I was the best one-day rider in the UCI ranking last season. That reassures me for next year.”

When asked if he might consider a transfer to a Belgian WorldTour team, particularly one with a mighty reputation in the Classics, he added: “I will certainly ride for a good team. Many teams are interested.”

Van Avermaet and Ochowicz have worked together since 2011, when the Belgian star transferred to BMC Racing from Omega Pharma-Lotto.

The 35-year-old had his biggest successes with BMC, including a Tour de France stage victory in 2015 and his biggest career win, Paris-Roubaix.

After the death of team owner Andy Rihs in 2018, CCC stepped in as the main sponsor for 2019.

The change of ownership saw a number of star riders leave the team, including Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis, with Van Avermaet staying on as CCC Team’s main leader.

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Van Avermaet, whose contract is up at the end of 2020, says he’s not looking to leave the team immediately as he hopes a new sponsor will turn up.

Team CCC boss Jim Ochowicz has confirmed the Polish shoe manufacturer will end their sponsorship of the WorldTour team at the end of the 2020 season.

The coronavirus pandemic had plunged the sponsor into financial turmoil, with the shoe company's boss saying the firm was fighting for its future and didn't have the money to fund a top tier cycling squad.

Riders had gone without pay in recent months until a compromise was agreed to pay them half of their yearly wage, while non-essential staff were let go.

Bike manufacturer Giant will stay on with Ochowicz and could even join another company as a co-headline sponsor. Before cutting the agreement short, CCC had initially signed on for a three-year deal at the start of 2019.

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"Looking ahead to the 2021 season, CCC will no longer be the title sponsor so we are now actively looking for a new title sponsor," Ochowicz said in a statement released on Monday morning.

"We are in an unprecedented time but we are confident there are companies that want to invest in cycling, especially given the global rise in the popularity of bike riding in recent months. Under the Continuum Sports ownership and license, we have grown from a US Continental Team in 2007 to one of the biggest WorldTour teams in the peloton in recent years and we have every intention of continuing under new title sponsorship."

Ochowicz was the man behind the successful 7-Eleven and Motorola teams before running BMC during the 2010s, then saving the team thanks to a last-minute deal with CCC in 2018.

The grim economic outlook makes the chances of finding a replacement sponsor even tougher than usual, although Ochowicz says his first concern is achieving the goals the team set out with at the start of the 2020 season.

"Our first priority is returning to the start line and achieving the season goals we set out in December," Ochowicz said.

"The racing calendar may be more condensed now but we are more motivated than ever to achieve the key wins we outlined for 2020; a Monument win, a WorldTour one day win, a WorldTour stage race win, and a stage victory at each of the three Grand Tours. Every race day is an opportunity for our riders and it is clear that strong performances in the early races are going to be instrumental in securing the team’s long term future."

CCC have suspended the majority of their support staff for the rest of the non-racing period due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Riders' salaries will also be heavily reduced for the rest of the season, the team says, in order to allow the WorldTour outfit to continue to operate "at a minimum level" until racing resumes.

This news follows uncertainty over the financial health of their title sponsor, Polish shoe company CCC. Founder and apparent fourth richest person in Poland, Dariusz Miłek, said sponsorship would have to be "reduced or stopped" due to cost-cutting measures being implemented as the company's revenue fell nine per cent and the company share price fell to just 90 per cent of its 2018 level.

CCC Team President Jim Ochowicz said the decision to suspend staff was due to cash flow issues, with the team hoping to safeguard budget for if racing continues later in the year.

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"The decision to make widespread cuts has been a painful process and one that we did not foresee even a matter of weeks ago. The economic implications of the Covid-19 pandemic have had a drastic effect on business for our title sponsor CCC and like other professional cycling teams, we are now faced with a lack of cash flow due to unforeseen reductions in our sponsorships," Ochowicz said.

"This aspect of our business is beyond our control. We know there will be no racing until June at the earliest but the situation is constantly evolving and right now, we can only act on a short-term basis. In order to have the budget to race should the season start again, we have had to temporarily suspend all but a handful of staff and heavily reduce rider salaries. As soon as racing can resume, we hope to be in a position to reinstate as many support staff as possible and reevaluate our budget.

"This is a difficult time for everyone and we will continue to represent our sponsors and fans to the best of our ability while we eagerly wait to get back to what we love doing; bike racing. We will do everything possible to keep the team going during this period and hope to bounce back once the Covid-19 situation improves."

Bahrain-McLaren's riders have already been forced to take 70 per cent pay cuts, with Lotto-Soudal's riders also taking salary reductions as their support staff were made temporarily unemployed.

CCC's sponsorship of their WorldTour team could be "reduced or stopped" as the Polish footwear giant run into serious financial issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dariusz Miłek, the founder of CCC and apparent fourth richest person in Poland, has said hard decisions will be made in the coming weeks as CCC's revenue fell nine per cent and the company share price is just 90 per cent of its 2018 level. Miłek has suggested cost-cutting will be severe, using the anology that they will be made with an axe rather than a penknife.

"We are now fighting for our company," Miłek told Polish website Rowery. "It would be immoral to reduce our number of employees while maintaining sponsorship of cycling teams.

"We have a contract that obliges us [to sponsor the team] for this year and for the next, but the company must and wants to withdraw from it at a low cost because the cyclists simply aren't providing promotional services. We don't have 265 racing days at Eurosport, the Giro d'Italia's been cancelled, the Tour de France is also looking uncertain. So it makes no sense to invest in this sponsorship since we have no benefit from it," Miłek said in a press conference, reported by Sportowe Fakty.

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The team's star rider, Greg Van Avermaet, has said the squad is open to salary cuts to ease the pressure, with other WorldTour outfits such as Lotto-Soudal and Bahrain-Merida already planning salary cuts amidst the financial turmoil brought on by the lack of racing.

"Our sponsors are affected by this crisis," Van Avermaet said. "I'm currently not doing 100 per cent of my job because I can't race. We are open to a salary reduction. We must be loyal to our sponsors and support them. Most importantly, so they can continue and have no problems with their sponsorships in the future."

Attempts are being made to salvage some racing for teams, sponsors and fans after the pandemic shut down sporting events around the world for the foreseeable future.

A virtual Tour of Flanders will be held in place of the real race on Sunday April 5, featuring CCC's Van Avermaet, Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).

Thirteen riders in total will complete the final 32km of the race, which will be held on indoor training platform Bkool and feature the iconic climbs of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg.

Ilnur Zakarin hasn't quite reached the heights we thought he would after his podium at La Vuelta a España in 2017, but now he has moved to the Polish squad, CCC Team.

The Russian climber, who raced for Katusha-Alpecin in previous seasons, is known for being a little unorthodox on the bike at times but can put in some excellent rides.

Some of these rides have been on the time trial bike, so giving him the top kit is going to definitely help in his TT development.

Giant's stealthy new Trinity Advanced Pro with brand new Cadex Aero TT tubeless wheels is a gorgeous machine to look at.

The Taiwanese bike builder makes almost every part of their bikes, most notably the frame, bars, stem, saddle, tyres and wheels.

Zakarin will be running the Giant Contact Aero time trial bars, a Giant integrated seat post with Giant saddle.

The groupset is Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, allowing smooth riding in all conditions.

Giant's wheel company Cadex recently released the Aero Wheelsystem, which Cadex claim to be incredibly fast after years of work in their ACE wind tunnel. The Aero Four-Spoke and the Aero Disc WheelSystem, Cadex says, has "superior stability, consistent performance and astonishing speed. In the lab and on the course, nothing is faster."

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All this kit and also being in the team with TT master, Patrick Bevin, Zakarin could be making some impressive time trial performances this season.

In the peloton, CCC Team will also be riding the TCR Advanced SL O on the climbing stages, and the Propel Advanced SL Disc on the fast and flat terrain.  All of the team will be running Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets.

Patrick Bevin has been side-lined for the Tour Down Under after a heart scare while training.

The Kiwi, who came to overall victory in the 2019 edition, experience an irregular heartbeat during training and was taken to hospital for checks, his CCC Team have announced.

Bevin underwent a heart scan that revealed a heart condition, which the team say is not life-threatening but required immediate treatment to regulate his heart rhythm.

CCC Team chief medical officer Dr Max Testa said: “Patrick Bevin was admitted to the Calvary Wakefield Hospital in Adelaide after noticing some irregularities in his heartbeat during training. Patrick does not have a history of heart problems, however, an electrocardiogram detected an episode of supraventricular arrhythmia.

“Fortunately, this is a non-life threatening condition and is quite common, but it did require immediate treatment to regular the hearth rhythm.”

The 28-year-old is disappointed to skip the race after he won stage two Down Under last season and led the race into the final two stages when a crash ruined his chances of overall victory.

He will now need rest and recovery but says he will back to racing in around a month.

Dr Testa said: “Thankfully, Patrick experience this episode whilst with the team and we were able to treat the arrhythmia immediately.

“We will continue to monitor his recovery and run further tests as a precaution, however as we are less than a week out from the race, Patrick will not be in a position to line-up at the Santos Tour Down Under.

“Patrick will return to New Zealand where we are confident he will make a full recovery and will be able to resume his racing program shortly.”

Guillaume Van Keirsbulck is now on his way to Adelaide to step in and replace Bevin in the CCC roster for the first WorldTour race of the year.

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Bevin said: “It’s disappointing to miss the race after preparing all off-season for it and especially after coming so close to the win last year. I was really looking forward to returning and trying to repeat my success, however it’s definitely a case of being safe than sorry and the timing has made it impossible to race here in Adelaide.

“I feel completely fine now and it’s now just a matter of rest and recovery to ensure it doesn’t happen again. With the solid block of off-season training in my legs, I’m confident I can still have a strong start to the season one-month later than planned.”

Greg Van Avermaet is extending his off-season to peak later into the 2020 season for the spring Classics, says his CCC Team.

The 2016 Olympic champion pushed his break out two weeks longer, from four to six, in order to be flying when he faces races like the Tour of Flanders in April.

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"We want to prevent Greg from getting into shape too quickly, so that he can peak for the classics," sports director Valerio Piva told Het Nieuwsblad.

"Greg has been very good during his first races in early February in recent years, but these are actually preparation races. In 2019 he was very good in the Classics, from the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to E3 Harelbeke, but afterwards he fell a bit quiet.

"With this new approach, we want to prevent him from getting back into shape too early."

The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad opens up the Classics season on March 2, but the big cobbled Classics come only one month later. The E3 BinckBank Classic is on March 29, but Van Avermaet and CCC Team want him to be sharp for the Tour of Flanders, April 7, and Paris-Roubaix, April 14.

"When Greg broke his ankle in the winter of 2016 and could only start training later, he rode his best spring. We now want to simulate that plan," continued Piva.

"In consultation with his trainer Max Testa, we have decided to rest for a long time and start again slowly. Greg knows the importance of resting, but he is so driven and has a temperament that made him forget that rest."

That rest left Van Avermaet time to reset. Sometimes he would walk for long periods over the last six weeks, but that is it.

"The intention to insert a long break and to completely reset my body," Van Avermaet said. "I needed it after a tough season.

"I don't have to hurry. It is more than three months before the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad."

On December 2, Van Avermaet will head to a training camp in Spain a week earlier than his team-mates so that he can leave a week earlier to be back home for the birth of his second child.

In early January, he will go to Tenerife to train at altitude. It is a 'new' method for Van Avermaet who tried it for the first time since 2013 to prepare for the 2019 Worlds in Yorkshire. The Worlds on September 29, when he finished eighth, was his last race of the season.

Van Avermaet will stay home instead of going to the Tour of Oman, likely starting his season and run for the Classics with the Vuelta a Valenciana on February 6.

Young Brit Fred Wright will be given an opportunity as a stagiaire for a WorldTour for the rest of the 2019 season.

The 20-year-old will join CCC Team to gain more experience of racing at the highest level and help him develop his talent after an impressive year.

Wright, winner of stage seven of this year’s Baby Giro, will debut with the team at the Deutschland Tour later this month.

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Jim Ochowicz, the general manager of Polish team CCC, said: “In the short time Fred Wright has spent as a road racer, he has shown a lot of potential which was confirmed with his stage win at the Giro Ciclistico d’Italia earlier this year.

“Fred already has experience racing against WorldTour teams, at the Tour of Britain and Tour de Yorkshire for example, but he will now have the chance to learn from some of our most experienced riders, as well as working with our performance team.”

Wright has already had plenty of success on the track, being crowned under-23 European Madison champion this year, and previously having been junior European omnium champion and part of a junior Euro-winning team pursuit squad.

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Wright said: “I didn’t think I would necessarily be prioritising racing on the road, but the way that this year has gone I would like to step up and try to race on the road for the next few years so I’m really looking forward to racing with CCC Team.

“I’m hoping to gain as much experience as possible and really just see what it’s like racing at the top level in a WorldTour team. I just want to enjoy it too. I like the look of my race schedule and I think the races will suit me as a rider.”

Matteo Trentin will move from Mitchelton-Scott to CCC Team for 2020, it has been confirmed.

Trentin has signed a two-year deal with the Polish WorldTour outfit starting next season, after two years with Mitchelton.

The Italian will be riding high after his solo stage 17 victory at the Tour de France, which proved the versatility that is a characteristic CCC bosses have picked out in Trentin.

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General manager of CCC Jim Ochowicz said: “Matteo Trentin is an exceptional cyclist so we are excited to welcome him to CCC Team for the next two years.

“Not only will Matteo add strength to our Classics team, where he will ride alongside Greg Van Avermaet, but his versatility as a rider will make him an asset to the team.

“As we saw in the Tour de France, not only can Matteo sprint, but he can also climb and it was his attack on the final climb on stage 17 that led him to the impressive solo stage win.”

CCC are looking to improve their roster for 2020 as they have struggled for direction in their debut season.

After the transition from BMC Racing, the team lost a lot of talent including their general classification leader Richie Porte.

Classics specialist Greg Van Avermaet has been forced to carry the team’s ambitions but hasn’t delivered a big win so far this year, while CCC’s GC pursuits have been non-existent.

European champion Trentin is the first confirmed signing for the team after the transfer window opened on August 1.

Ochowicz added: “Having raced for the last nine years as a professional, Matteo brings a wealth of experience to the team but he is still only 30 years old, so we believe the best is yet to come.”

Trentin has won stages in all three Grand Tours, including four at the 2017 Vuelta a España while this year’s Tour victory takes his tally to three in France.

After a long seven-year run with Quick-Step, Trentin moved to Mitchelton-Scott in 2018.

>>> First major transfer confirmed for 2020 as Lucinda Brand switches to Trek-Segafredo

Trentin said: “I wasn’t necessarily looking to change teams but I found myself with a good opportunity to join CCC Team.

“I think I will have more opportunities day-by-day.

“I’m still missing a victory, or even a podium, in a big Classic, so I would like to achieve that in the next seasons.

“I would also like to target the sprint jersey in a Grand Tour.

“Of course you always need to be up there, but I showed in this Tour de France that I was always there.”

Alessandro De Marchi suffered serious injuries including a collapsed lung in a crash that left him face down at the side of the road on stage nine of the Tour de France.

The CCC Team rider had been a major animator on the previous stage, joining stage winner Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) in the breakaway.

But De Marchi’s Tour was brought to a severe close when he crashed around 50km into stage nine, being seen led face down at the side of the road after the fall.

>>> ‘We don’t want to keep racing this way’: Romain Bardet finishes tough first week in hometown at Tour de France 2019 

The Italian suffered a broken collarbone, ribs, abrasions, as well as bruising and a small collapse in his lung, and will remain in hospital for at least 24 hours, his team have confirmed.

Chief medical officer at CCC team, Dr Max Testa, said: “Alessandro’s recovery timeline will depend on whether he has surgery, but it will be at least three to four weeks before he can start riding on the rollers, following which he will ease back into training on the road. He will hopefully be in a position to race again in early September but we will continued to monitor his recovery and adjust this plan accordingly.”

Dr Testa said that De Marchi was take to hospital in nearby Saint-Étienne where X-rays and examination confirmed the multiple fractures, small pneumothorax (collapsed lung), and a laceration above his eye, all on the left side.

He will be kept under observation for the next 24 to 48 hours while doctors decide if he needs surgery to fix his collarbone in place.

The Tour de France 2019 is De Marchi’s fourth time in the French Grand Tour and is the first time he has been forced to abandon a three-week race after 12 different participations.

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De Marchi, 33, said: “I’m really sorry to leave the Tour de France without having won a stage, which was my big goal. I’m disappointed to interrupt my tradition of finishing Grand Tours, as this will be the first time I’ve abandoned one.

“I’m fortunate that my injuries are not worse than they are. I’ve had a chance to speak to my family and I’m in good hands here at the hospital. I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike as soon as possible.”

CCC Team is believed to be beefing up its roster for 2020 with Giro d'Italia stage winner Fausto Masnada as incoming Bahrain-Merida boss Rod Ellingworth is expected to welcome new riders to the squad.

The UCI's August 1 opening day of transfers is approaching but behind the curtains teams, riders and agents are signing deals.

Those contracts will only be made official and pubic on August 1 or after.

CCC Team has signed Italian Fausto Masnada from Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, multiple sources confirmed to Cycling Weekly. He won two stages in the Tour of the Alps and the San Giovanni Rotondo stage at the Giro d'Italia.

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The 25-year-old from Bergamo raced the last three years with Androni and is considered mainly a general classification rider.

Masnada will makes the move with Russian Ilnur Zakarin, coming from Katusha-Alpecin. Zakarin has won two stages in the Giro, including one this year to Lago Serrù, a stage in the Tour de France and placed third overall in the Vuelta a España.

Long-time Team Ineos coach Rod Ellingworth is on the move to Bahrain-Merida, having worked with the likes of Geraint Thomas and Mark Cavendish in the past.

Team Ineos announced Ellingworth would leave but Bahrain-Merida has yet to confirm the deal. Ellingworth is set to become the team principal.

"I find it strange that another team announces that he is joining our team," John Allert, the Managing Director of McLaren Cycling, told Cycling Weekly.

"We are 12th now or so on the team rankings, so it's clear we are going to make changes to become the best. You look at other teams, they have layers of riders coming through, and we need that."

Any signatures may be held up as currently Brent Copeland is the team manager and responsible for signing off contracts with the UCI governing body.

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Vincenzo Nibali is expected to leave Bahrain-Merida for Trek-Segafredo. However, Ellingworth's new team is thought to be signing Mikel Landa from Movistar, a source said. Also, according to Marca newspaper, Pello Bilbao (Astana) – winner of two Giro stages this year – and José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar) will join Bahrain-Merida.

Dane Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) could join Movistar, according to Marca. He won the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2017 and this spring, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In July, he will lead Astana at the Tour de France.

Astana, according to a few different sources, will bring in Mattia Cattaneo from Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec. The Italian won the Giro dell'Appennino this spring and placed second behind Dario Cataldo, currently with Astana, in the Giro d'Italia 2019 Como stage.

Greg Van Avermaet will race on to Liège-Bastogne-Liège next Sunday, his CCC Team have confirmed.

The Belgian was originally set to end his Classics season at Amstel Gold Race last weekend, but he says his condition is good enough that he can carry on to the final Ardennes Classic.

Van Avermaet has struggled to take a major result in the 2019 Classics, with his best result a third place finish at the E3 BinckBank Classic in March. He was unable to follow Alberto Bettiol (EF Education Drapac) in his solo move at the Tour of Flanders, eventually finishing 10th, before missing the key break at Paris-Roubaix, eventually finishing in 12th place.

After a 14th place in Amstel Gold on Sunday, the 33-year-old will now eye a chance at victory in Liège with it's new flat finish that will suit the punchier riders over the climbers.

“I was happy with my legs and condition yesterday at Amstel Gold Race so, after taking a day to think about it, I have decided to line up at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday," Van Avermaet said.

"I think I have managed to maintain my form from the cobbled Classics to the Ardennes and with the new finish in mind, I think I have a good chance to make a nice result.

"For sure, I will not be lining up as a favourite but I will line up motivated to do my best and end the Classics season well."

Van Avermaet has raced Liège just four times in his career, last taking part in 2017 when he finished in 11th place on the old uphill finish to Ans. The 256km race will this year return to a finish in the centre of Liège, with the last climb of the Roche-aux-Fauçons coming 15km from the finish before a flat run to the line.

Fellow Belgian Serge Pauwels will also line up in the CCC Team squad for Liège, along with Italian Alessandro De Marchi with the rest of the team to be decided after Wednesday's La Flèche Wallonne.

“Despite a long Classics season, Greg had good sensations yesterday and is not feeling too tired so, with an easy week this week, he should recover well and be in a good position to start Liège-Bastogne-Liège," sports director Valerio Piva said.

"The new finish will suit Greg more than the previous editions and it will probably mean the race will open up earlier than usual.

“Greg is, of course, our best option for a result but we also have riders like Alessandro De Marchi, who was good yesterday to finish in seventh place, and Serge Pauwels, who showed his condition is also improving, so I think we will line up with a few cards to play. We will make the final team selection for Liège-Bastogne-Liège after La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday.”

Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) missed his chance to win the Tour of Flanders again, but says it was not his job to chase down solo Alberto Bettiol (EF Education First) and lead the others to the finish line.

Bettiol won the race solo with an attack from the Oude Kwaremont. Behind, the others looked at each other, not willing to work to take strong sprinters like Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), the 2015 winner, and Michael Matthews (Sunweb) to the finish line in Oudenaarde.

"For me it was the case, if I went full, I'd bring a lot of fast guys with me who were not pulling for the whole day," the Belgian said.

>>> Alberto Bettiol takes first career victory with spectacular solo ride at Tour of Flanders 2019

"So you are always making the tempo on the climbs for the guys following so it was not my job to take them to the line and let them win Flanders. That was not the answer.

"I tried to do my best and hoped to do a good race but then yeah, I tried to do a good result but not for first."

Van Averment, 33 years old, rode his 13th Tour of Flanders. He has finished second twice so far, in 2017 and 2014, but is still missing a win to add to his 2018 Paris-Roubaix and 2016 Olympic road race title.

Once Bettiol attacked, the group of 15 still had many danger men for the sprint. He and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) tried to split the group, but it wouldn't happen.

"I was quite good and happy with my form, I think you saw on the climbs, I was with the best in the race," he continued.

"I did my best as much as possible, but we didn't have enough gaps especially on the last climb on the Paterberg, I was hoping to go with a strong group of riders to close the gaps, but when you come on the top with 15 with some fast riders it's hard to work together to catch Bettiol back."

The race began to take shape early after the famous Kapelmuur. Danny Van Poppel (Jumbo-Visma) attacked, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Bob Jungels (Deceuninck-Quick Step) came to the fore and Van Avermaet too.

"It broke up fast after the Muur, I thought that was a good thing for me because I was was in the first group, but then I spent some energy and it was for nothing because the group came back," he said.

"And then [the race began] on the Kwaremont the second time, like always, but it was really hard to make a big gap on the others. A lot of riders are on the same level and it was hard to make a good race against the others."

Trying to put his finger on any mistakes, Van Avermaet pointed 100 kilometres down the road.

"Maybe I could've saved a bit more after the Muur having known how it ended up but in the end, I did the final how I wanted to do it."

Van Avermaet was not too surprised with Bettiol's win, having had a chance to know him well riding last year with him in Team BMC Racing.

"I think the performance of Bettiol was the biggest one, no one expected him for the win," Van Avermaet continued. "He was my team-mate last year. I saw he had some attention, but he was never had a super level in BMC. No one was expecting this."

Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) says he would like to have better support in the cobbled Classics after a hard fought day in Ghent-Wevelgem on Sunday.

The 2017 winner placed 20th on Sunday after riding the final 50 kilometres alone without fellow team-mates in orange at his side; a problem he also faced in Milan-San Remo two weeks ago.

>>> Riders’ Strava stats reveal how tough Ghent-Wevelgem really was

"I hope the team is a little better," he told Het Nieuwsblad with an eye on Sunday's Tour of Flanders.

"But that is another game. Flanders is more like the E3 Harelbeke. That suits me better. In that race, you have to do it on your own there anyway. "

When the hammer fell early in the race on Sunday, CCC looked after is rider in the echelons. When it began to climb the Kemmelberg, the 2016 Olympic champion lacked help from team-mates.

In the group of 34 speeding towards Wevelgem, where Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) won, even Mathieu Van Der Poel counted on a lead out from his professional continental team Corendon-Circus. WorldTour teams Jumbo-Visma, Trek-Segafredo and Deceuninck-Quick-Step counted three or more, teams UAE and Lotto-Soudal had two.

"It was at a very strange moment," Van Avermaet continued. "The wind at our backs. I thought 'they can't move free here'. But then a gap opened and it had happened anyway. Stupid. I'd rather have had a team-mate with me. Then I would have been at ease."

Van Avermaet was not going to sprint for the win, but with a team-mate, he could have been to play a game as Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) or Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) did by attacking in the final kilometres.

The team management admits its a young and developing team alongside Van Avermaet, who won the 2017 Paris-Roubaix. Pawel Bernas and Szymon Sajnok rode the race for the first time.

"Everyone did his best. But in that large group, I would have liked to have had someone along with me. That would make it so much easier for me," Van Avermaet added.

"I have experience, yes, but you are always racing ahead in the wind. That takes strength. But I can't change anything about it either."

Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) is forced to refocus ahead of the E3 BinckBank Classic and Ghent-Wevelgem after "riding himself to death" in a frustrating series of races cumulating in with Milan-San Remo.

Van Avermaet lost position ahead of the climb to the Poggio on Saturday and missed what he saw as a chance to win.

>>> Tour of Flanders 2019 provisional start list

"I rode myself to death, doing 480 watts with nine sprints of 800 watts to reach the others," he told Het Laatste Nieuws.

"You must take your own responsibility. I don't blame my team for anything, I blame myself. I could have hit my head through the wall. I was so mad at myself. I am disappointed in myself. Maybe I should comfort myself with the thought that I had no guarantee that I was going to win that sprint."

Van Avermaet rode to 42nd in San Remo behind winner Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step). It was the second time, after 2017, that he left the Italian Monument upset about missing his chance.

"And for the second time I was not there. I was too far on the Poggio. Frustrating, especially when you see how many people rode to the finish line. I had to be there," he said.

"I felt pretty good. At a kilometre and a half from the foot of the Poggio, I was still in the front of Michael Schär's wheel, but I lost him in the turns and pushing. I tried to find my own way, but everywhere I went I got blocked."

He needed to be "more attentive, more aggressive" leading to Milan-San Remo's final climb.

"It's not like in the Tour of Flanders, for sure. The run-up [to the Poggio] is too easy, so to speak, we are still together with 200 riders. You can't let your legs speak for themselves. That makes it a little harder, and I don't like it," he continued.

"There have been years when I was the first on the Poggio. But there are no excuses. Simple, it's my fault."

The frustration comes after finishing second in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico.

Van Averment, winner of the 2017 Paris-Roubaix and the 2016 Olympic road race, returned home to Belgium to face a series of cobbled races starting with the E3 BinckBank Classic on Friday and Ghent-Wevelgem on Sunday. Next weekend, he leads the Tour of Flanders team.

"It's always exciting to get to this point in the season, the final races before Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix," he said in a press release.

"I feel good and am confident in the shape I have after Italy. It was frustrating to have a few near misses so I'm going to channel that frustration into these classics and hope to be back on the podium."

Greg Van Avermaet will chase Tour of Flanders and Yorkshire World Championships success as the sole leader of the new CCC Team in 2019.

The Belgian Classics maestro has stepped up to the top spot in the new Polish WorldTour team after the departure of the general classification hopefuls from the former BMC team.

But Van Avermaet seems comfortable, and confident, as he carries the team’s hopes into the new season.

Speaking at the first CCC training camp in Dénia, eastern Spain last week, the 33-year-old said: “With BMC we had three leaders, with Richie and Rohan in different places.

“Now I’ve got to be the only leader in the team for Classics, so if the Classics go wrong then we’re going to have a problem with the team. Before, Richie or Rohan could have still got results and performed.

“I know what I’m capable of. Most of the races I’m there in the top-10 but it would be nice to win in this team, to take the pressure off and to launch the team for the next year.”

After posing for a dozen team photos (where he sat front and centre), Van Avermaet spoke with journalists during a roundtable event in the team hotel in Dènia.

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He said he decided to stay with CCC, which is formed from the DNA of the BMC Racing Team, out of loyalty after eight years racing for the outfit.

A lot has changed during the transition, most notably the departure of star riders like Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis, who left before the new sponsor was confirmed.

Van Avermaet is not the man to lead CCC to Grand Tour success, but his exploits still generate plenty of excitement for cycling disciples.

In 2018, he won the overall at the Tour de Yorkshire and held the yellow jersey at the Tour de France for more than a week.

But he fell short in the early season where he traditionally shines, his strongest Classics results third in E3 Harelbeke and fourth in Paris-Roubaix, which he won in 2017.

One race that has always eluded the amiable Flandrien, the Tour of Flanders, is high on his priority list for next season.

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“It’s Flanders,” he said.

“I say it every year and it never comes. I think this is the race that fits me the best and I’m always saying Flanders, which is expected I think.

“I haven’t won it yet. I’ve been on the podium so many times and I’m super motivated.

“In Classics we have a really strong team. I don’t see any big difference compared to last year. I think we have seven or eight really good guys on paper. I think our strength is going to be almost equal to last year.”

Van Avermaet will need to hit the ground running and make the most of his premiership role in 2019, as CCC are already on the hunt for a new leader in Grand Tours.

Team bosses have been clear they desire a Polish leader to captain the Polish team, with Michał Kwiatowski and Rafał Majka both receiving honourable mentions from sports directors.

And in the later season, Van Avermaet is looking ahead to the Yorkshire 2019 World Championships, bolstered by his success in the Tour de Yorkshire.

He said: “It’s a good course for me. I like the distance, it’s super long. It’s going to be a hard race. It’s good for me.

“The problem is by the Worlds I’ve had a really long season and sometimes I need some extra freshness in the legs to win at the Worlds.

“I’m going to try to do the combination again, do the Classics and Tour, which is really important, and then try to build up again to the Worlds.

“Yorkshire is a race I love. I’ve been three times and it’s a parcours that suits me. Every time I go there I get good results, so lets hope I can show it in the one-day race.

“I’m looking forward to the atmosphere already.”

The newly formed CCC Team hope to sign Team Sky’s Michał Kwiatkowski as a home favourite leader.

Dominant force Team Sky is losing its main sponsor at the end of 2019, with many of its star roster likely to start pursuing other contract options.

CCC, the first Polish team to ever ride in the WorldTour, is currently without a general classification favourite, but team bosses say signing Kwiatkowski top of the priority list.

Team sports director for CCC Piotr Wadecki told Polish sports channel TVP Sport: “It does not matter if Sky falls apart or not.

“The acquisition of Michał has been our priority from the very beginning, but we know he has a two-year contract.

“We would like the CCC Team to be Polish not only by name and thanks to the sponsor, but also by leaders coming from our country.”

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He added: “Riders like Kwiato or Rafał Majka are the best known Polish riders, and our goal is that the best Polish racers ride in the orange jerseys of the team.

“It certainly will not be an easy task.”

All-rounder Kwiatkowski has been an all-season stalwart of Team Sky, capable of Monument wins in spring and superhuman domestique efforts in Grand Tours.

However, his GC leadership at the 2018 Vuelta a España was far from fairytale as he finished 43^rd overall, being hampered by crashes.

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New kids on the block CCC are formed from the DNA of the BMC Racing team, but plenty has changed for the outfit.

Along with the new lead sponsor, Polish handbag and shoe brand CCC, the team also lost their GC hopefuls, Australians Riche Porte and Rohan Dennis, who had show potential for longer races.

Olympic road race champion Greg Van Avermaet, who stays on from BMC, takes on the sole leadership duties.

A proven Classics star who can shine on individual stages of the Tour de France, Van Avermaet is not the man to lead CCC to Grand Tour success.

Instead the team must find its feet in 2019 while looking to sign a new star rider for the 2020 season.

Stefan Denifl is the latest Aqua Blue Sport rider to move from the collapsed team to the WorldTour.

Denifl will be returning to the highest level with CCC Team, the Polish outfit taking over from BMC Racing.

The Austrian picked up Aqua Blue Sports only Grand Tour victory during it’s short existence at the 2017 Vuelta a España.

CCC Team general manager Jim Ochowicz said: “Stefan had a breakthrough year in 2017 with a stage win at the Vuelta a España and overall win at the Tour of Austria and we believe he can reach his potential with CCC Team.

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“Stefan has showed that he is capable of winning races and will be a valuable team-mate at stage races and Grand Tours.

“Stefan brings a wealth of experience to the team and will be an asset at the Ardennes Classics and the hillier Monuments, Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia.

“We are looking forward to seeing what Stefan can do next year and we are excited to welcome the first rider from Austria, which is a key market for CCC, to the team.”

Irish team Aqua Blue Sport collapsed suddenly ahead of the Tour of Britain earlier this year.

After just two years racing Aqua Blue Sport announced they would be closing, with management blaming a failed merger, equipment sponsors and race organisers.

The closure left a 16-rider roster without contracts, including Brit Adam Blythe, Ireland’s Conor Dunne and American Larry Warbasse.

Denifl said: “The end of Aqua Blue Sport was a big blow for all of us.

“I was under contract until the end of 2019, so I wasn’t talking to any teams.

“The rider market that late in the season is always complicated so I’m very happy to sign with CCC Team.

“It is an international squad with strong riders, good staff and a solid structure in place, as well as an impressive new sponsor on board and top material.

“Although my race programme isn’t yet determined, the Giro d’Italia would be really cool and it is my dream to race the Tour de France one day.

“Racing at the WorldTour level means there are so many good racing opportunities so I am excited to return to this level.”

The 31-year-old raced at WorldTour level previously with IAM Cycling, which folded at the end of 2016.

Other riders from Aqua Blue who have found themselves WorldTour contracts include Larry Warbasse who will join AG2R La Mondiale and Adam Blythe who heads to Lotto-Soudal.

Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar moved from the collapsed outfit to Team Sky at short notice earlier this year.

7. The team’s first major win

2010 was the year that the fledgling US-Swiss project BMC first took significant strides into becoming a serious force in the peloton. A pro-continental team at the time, marquee names such as Alessandro Ballan and George Hincapie were recruited for the new season to ensure debut appearances at the calendar’s most prestigious races.

Their headline signing was Cadel Evans, and it was he who delivered the team’s first major victory at Flèche Wallonne, outwitting Alberto Contador and mastering the Mur de Huy with a perfect sprint in the rainbow stripes, and announcing BMC’s arrival at the big stage.

6. Victory on home roads

Although their WorldTour licence is registered to the USA, the team’s sponsors and significant core of riders means BMC has always been a Swiss team at heart. Consequently, it has always aspired to perform well in Swiss races, but the nation’s highest-profile race, the Tour de Suisse, had remained elusive.

There had been near misses, most notably when Mathias Frank lost the long-held leader’s jersey on the final day in 2013, and last year when Damiano Caruso finished second overall, but no rider was able to seal the team overall victory - until earlier this year, when Richie Porte produced a dominant performance across all terrain to at long last win BMC its home race.

The Australian might not have delivered as hoped for in the Grand Tours during his three years at the team, victory here was a substantial return for the faith shown in him.

5. Philippe Gilbert crowned world champion

OK, so technically Philippe Gilbert might have achieved this result in 2012 riding for the national Belgium squad and not in the colours of BMC, but having a world champion on your books is a glorious result for a trade team too.

It meant BMC got to enjoy the honour of having their name adorn the iconic rainbow jersey and exploit all the much-sort-after publicity that comes with that, even if Gilbert did only manage just the one win (at the Vuelta) that year.

BMC never really did the very best out of its expensive major star, at least compared with his excess success earlier at Lotto and subsequently at Quick-Step, but he nevertheless remained a great asset thanks to his headline-grabbing panache and glamour.

4. The 2015 Tour de France

Whether fighting for GC or chasing after stages, BMC were always a major player at Grand Tours, and, with one obvious exception (see below), the 2015 Tour de France was arguably their most successful.

Things got off to a perfect start when Rohan Dennis road the fastest time trial ever recorded at the Tour de France to claim the yellow jersey, and, though he conceded it the very next day after being caught up in crosswinds, their Tour continued to bear fruit through two more stage wins; stage nine’s team time trial, and a Greg Van Avermaet uphill sprint in Rodez.

Things would have been even better had Tejay van Garderen hung on to his podium place in the final week, but as a whole the 2015 Tour remains a showcase in BMC at their very best.

3. Team time trial world champions

One thing BMC will be remembered especially favourably for will be their mastery of the team time trial discipline.

There are few things if any that better express an image of team harmony than a whole squad of riders speeding along in single-file unison, and for much of its existence BMC were the best in the business.

Their first major triumph in the discipline came in 2014, when a six-man line-up featuring the likes of Rohan Dennis and Tejay van Garderen trounced the competition in Ponferrada to be crowned world champions. It was a result that set the template for much future success, including a defence of their title the following year and Tour de France stage wins in 2015 and 2018.

2. Greg Van Avermaet’s record breaking spring

For many years after signing for the team in 2011, Greg Van Avermaet raced under the shadows of his then-bigger name teammates such as Thor Hushovd and Philippe Gilbert. He was a reliable, consistent performer, but one who lacked that something extra to be the team’s foremost star.

That all changed for good during the sublime spring of 2017, when the Belgian was, for six glorious weeks, virtually unbeatable, achieving an unprecedented quadruple of Classics victories comprising of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke, Ghent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix.

The Paris-Roubaix victory, which Van Avermaet won in a five-man sprint, was the crowning achievement, and as BMC’s only ever Monument victory, is easily the most prestigious one-day race in the team’s trophy cabinet.

1. Cadel Evans wins the Tour de France

There’s no doubt about what is the greatest feat in the history of BMC - the 2011 Tour de France, when the team reached the pinnacle of the sport in just its first year at the elite level by winning the yellow jersey through Cadel Evans.

Looking back, what was so remarkable about the result was that it preceded the influx of cash and big spending that saw BMC become the major force we grew accustomed to. Evans had to rely on plucky performances from the likes of Steve Morabito and Amaël Moinard, as well as the more experienced head of George Hincapie.

Even though BMC failed to go on to win another Grand Tour in the following years, Evans’ heroics means that they will go down in the record books with the grand honour of being Tour de France champions, and is the result that will live longest in the memory.

The newest team in the WorldTour has announced its bike sponsor for the 2019 season.

CCC Team, which will be formed from the remains of BMC Racing, will be riding Giant in their men’s team while the women’s outfit will use Liv bikes and gear.

The new outfit, which is the first ever Polish WorldTour team, will include the elite men’s team, an under-23 men’s development team and an elite women’s team, which will ride under the name CCC-Liv Team.

Giant had sponsored Team Sunweb, who will be riding Cervélo bikes in 2019.

The group chief branding officer at Giant, Phoebe Liu, said: “Pro road cycling is always dynamic with teams and sponsors.

"We’re always striving to find the best partners to align with our mission to help athletes perform at their best.

“These partnerships also play a big role in helping us develop better products for cyclists of all levels.

“We can be proud of what we achieved with Team Sunweb, and we’re thrilled to now begin a new partnership with the promising CCC Team.”

BMC Racing will cease to exist in its current form at the end of the season after the death of their financial backer Andy Rihs earlier this year.

The team will be taken over by the company that sponsor professional continental outfit CCC-Sprandi Polkowice, and will race under the name CCC Team from January 1.

Polish shoe and bag manufacturer CCC will also become the headline sponsor of the WoawDeals Pro Cycling women’s team.

Liv is Giant’s range of women’s bikes, and the Taiwanese brand have partnered with CCC for three years.

The team’s general manager Jim Ochowicz said: “In 2019 we will start a new chapter as a team and the partnership with Giant will see our riders race on some of the best bikes in the world.

“The biggest WorldTour races, including time trials, one-day Classics, and Grand Tours, have been won on Giant bikes over the years, which is a testament to their expertise and groundbreaking technology and design.”

The new team will be led by Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet.

On the women’s side, Dutch rider and 11-time world champion Marianne Vos will lead the team.

Full team lineups are due to be announced later this year.

The men’s teams will race the latest Giant TCR, Defy and Propel bikes, as well as the Trinity TT bike.

While the women’s team will ride the Liv Langma and the all-new EnviLiv aero bikes.

The merged BMC/CCC team have confirmed their name for the 2019 season.

From January 1 the holding company for BMC Racing, Continuum Sports, will be racing under the name CCC Team.

BMC Racing began searching for a new title sponsor after the death of team owner and financial backer Andy Rihs earlier this year.

In July, the team announced that professional continental team CCC Sprandi Polkowice would step in and secure the future of the team.

The new Polish WorldTour team will be a combination of senior management and sports directors from BMC and CCC.

General manager Jim Ochowicz said: “After announcing CCC as the new title sponsor of Continuum Sports in July, we are pleased to confirm that the team will be known as CCC Team from 2019 and become the first Polish UCI WorldTour team.”

The existing professional continental team CCC Sprandi Polkowice will continue as a development team, but will drop down into the third division.

Polish shoe and bag manufacturer CCC will expand their sponsorship to include a women’s team and become the title sponsor of WaowDeals Pro Cycling.

The team will be led by Classics specialist Greg Van Avermaet, alongside BMC riders Joey Rosskopf, Patrick Bevin and Alessandro de Marchi.

Other names confirmed for the new team include Team Sky’s Łukasz Wiśniowski and Simon Geschke from Team Sunweb.

CCC Team’s management will consist of Ochowicz and chief operating officer Gavin Chilcott, who will be joined by CCC Sprandi president Robert Krajewski.

Sports directors Piotr Wadecki and Gabriele Missaglia will join CCC Team from the professional continental outfit, joining Fabio Baldato, Valerio Piva and Jackson Stewart.

Marco Pinotti will remain as head of performance.

Ochowicz said: “Planning for the 2019 season is well underway so there is no better time to confirm our sports director team.

“The rider roster and race program are taking great shape so we are approaching the coming season with a great sense of excitement and motivation to hit the ground running in January.

“All five of our sports directors have many years of experience in cycling and have been instrumental in some of the team’s biggest wins.”

The general manager added: “As planning continues, we will have further announcements to make with new technical sponsors joining us from 2019 and more riders to add to the already confirmed list of 20 riders.”

Team Sky’s Łukasz Wiśniowski will be joining the new BMC/CCC team next season to focus on the spring Classics campaign.

The new team, which has not yet been named, confirmed the Polish rider’s transfer on Wednesday morning.

Wiśniowski has ridden in Team Sky colours for two seasons, but BMC Racing's parent company Continuum Sports has announced he will move to the new team for 2019.

>>>Out of contract Mark Cavendish could strike deal with Bahrain-Merida for 2019

BMC's general manager Jim Ochowicz said: “Łukasz Wiśniowski has emerged as one of the up-and-coming Polish talents, so we are excited to welcome him to Continuum Sports in 2018.

“With Greg Van Avermaet as our team captain, Łukasz will have the opportunity to learn from Greg and play a key role in the Classics team next season."

The BMC Racing team faced closure after the death of team owner and financial back Andy Rihs earlier this year.

But during the Tour de France it was announced BMC would merge with Polish outfit CCC Sprandi Polkowice for the 2019 season.

A number of headline riders had already signed contracts for other teams by the time the merger was confirmed, including Richie Porte, Rohan Dennis and Tejay van Garderen.

Van Avermaet will stay on to lead the team.

Polish rider Wiśniowski will now join the team to bolster their Classics lineup.

The 26-year-old put in some standout performances in the early season, finishing second in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and eight the following day in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

BMC manager Ochowicz said: “Łukasz will gain more experience in the Grand Tours and have his own opportunities at stage races throughout the season.

“At 26-years-old, Łukasz has a long career ahead of him so we are looking forward to helping him reach his potential in the coming years with Continuum Sports.”

Wiśniowski will join a growing list of Polish riders to sign with the new team, as Polish shoe and bag manufacturer CCC merge with the Swiss BMC team.

He joined the WorldTour with the Etixx-Quick Step team in 2015, where he rode for two seasons before moving to Sky.

Wiśniowski said: “I am really happy to join Continuum Sports next year. It is a team with strong riders and of course, I am especially looking forward to the spring Classics as it is a big focus for the team.

“It will be really nice to race with CCC as the new Polish title sponsor and with the Polish riders in the team.”

He added: “Greg Van Avermaet will be our leader for the Classics so I want to support him as much as possible and help the team to have some nice results during the season.

“After the classics, I am excited to do a Grand Tour next year and fight for a stage victory.”

BMC Racing is closing out its team with one last grand tour in the 2018 Vuelta a España. The riders say it's a team that "will be remembered" well for its achievements over the past decade.

General manager Jim Ochowicz was only able to save the team by merging with professional continental team CCC Sprandi for 2019. Many of the riders and staff have already found jobs elsewhere, effectively ending the formation that began in 2007.

"This is one of those teams that will be remembered," said Nicolas Roche, who rode for teams Sky and Saxo Bank in the last few years, before signing with BMC in 2017. He'll move on to Sunweb next year. 

"It's always been a big team. Even in the first years the BMC team was always decent, it was never a small team but one full of big champions, world champion titles, challenging in the Tour and then winning that plus a lot of other races.

"It's a big team with a lot of victories. I think it'll be remembered for its consistency over the last 10 years."

BMC bikes has announced the end of its sponsorship, which began 12 years ago, when the outfit set out as a continental team.

After signing Cadel Evans for the 2010 season, it raced on a wildcard invitation in the Tour de France where Evans wore the yellow jersey. In 2011, as a WorldTour team, the Australian cyclist led the team to Tour victory.

Belgian Greg Van Avermaet carried the red and black colours well in the last few years. The winner of the 2017 Paris-Roubaix and Olympic champion on the road held the Tour's yellow jersey when the team announced the merger in July.

Van Avermaet agreed to a three-year deal. The team will race in orange and under the name CCC. Roche, Tejay van Garderen, Richie Porte, Rohan Dennis, Dylan Teuns and other stars are leaving.

"They are still going on but with a different name and a big change in the team," Teuns said.

"It's an incredible team if you see what they have achieved in the last 10 years. I owe a lot to this team, for me it was a perfect kick off to my career.

"I've been very grateful for the opportunities I've had at this team, grateful to Jim and all the management. I've been feeling very good in this team and that's why I stayed here for years, but I made my decision to join Bahrain-Merida before he could announce there was a new title sponsor coming in."

The Belgian rode for BMC as a stagiaire and then joined full-time in 2015. American time trail champion Joey Rosskopf also joined in 2015 from the Hincapie Sportswear development team. Ochowicz will still have the big motor pulling along his new CCC team in 2019.

"It'll be a whole new look next year," Rosskopf said.

"I have learned almost everything that I needed to be a professional in this team.

"I had a good start with the Hincapie team but I've learned so much from the riders and the staff here in the last three or four years. I would not have been able to do all the things I'm doing now without a team like this."

Alessandro De Marchi (BMC Racing) took victory on stage 11 of the Vuelta a España, attacking from the day's main break to eventually win solo.

De Marchi had gone clear on the final classified climb of the day with Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha-Alpecin), but was able to drop the Colombian on an unclassified ascent with around 4.3km to go.

There was no way back to the Italian then for Restrepo, with De Marchi able to cruise home as the day's winner after a fast and frantic start along the hilly course.

Simon Yates retained the red jersey after arriving among the other overall favourites, but had to stick with some late attacks from the likes of Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in the final kilometre.

How it happened

The riders of the Vuelta started the day with the race's longest stage in front of them at 207.8km. While the race featured four categorised climbs along the way, there was no real hint of flat road anywhere along the profile, which could suit a breakaway attempt.

Clearly the riders had a breakaway in mind as well, with a chaotic opening two hours that saw attack after attack from various riders including the likes of Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).

The pace was so high that even riders like Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) were briefly dropped on one of the early climbs, with the peloton averaging 49kmh in the first hour and 48kmh in the second hour.

Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) was the GC contender to get caught out early on, suffering a mechanical and having to fight for a long period to get back to the peloton after dropping to a minute down.

With just over 100km to go, the peloton finally gave in and let a big group of riders get up the road, with Alessandro De Marchi, Nicolas Roche, Dylan Teuns (BMC Racing Team), Thibaut Pinot, Léo Vincent (Groupama-FDJ) Franco Pellizotti (Bahrain-Merida), Nans Peters (Ag2r La Mondiale), Omar Fraile (Astana), Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal), Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott), Winner Anacona (Movistar), Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data), Pierre Rolland (EF Education First-Drapac), Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha Alpecin), Sergio Henao (Team Sky), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Sergio Pardilla (Caja Rural) and Mikel Bizkarra (Euskadi-Murias) making up the group.

Despite the presence of Pinot, just 2-33 down on race leader Simon Yates at the start of the day, the break was allowed to gain over 4-30 advantage by Mitchelton-Scott.

Into the final 70km, the break still had around four minutes, but their cohesion was on the wane as riders started to slip off the front, with Pinot then attacking.

He was joined by Dylan Teuns, with riders constantly attacking to try and bridge to the Frenchman out front. With 57km to go, it was back together and still led by four minutes, with Pinot's team-mate Léo Vincent driving on the front in service of his leader.

Gap down to under three minutes, Mollema attacked with 48.5km to go, but his move didn't last long with Pinot, Haig, and Majka eventually making it across and the remaining breakers were all together again with 33km to go, though Vincent had lost contact after his efforts for Pinot. They still held an advantage of three minutes heading towards the final 30km.

The leaders hit the final classified climb with around 27km to go, the Alto de Mirador de Cabezoas, an 8.8km climb at 4.3 per cent average.

The climb instigated attacks from the breakaway group, with Restrepo, De Marchi and Roche who getting away. De Marchi then went clear with around 5.5km to go on the climb, 23.5km to go to the finish, establishing a gap of around 45 seconds.

Restrepo paced the climb well though, and was able to get back to De Marchi around 500m from the summit, and the two worked together as they took on the final 18km with around 30 seconds back to the Pinot group.

As they reached the final 10km, the leading pair had around 50 seconds on the Pinot group. That chasing group had dropped to around two minutes on the peloton, meaning Simon Yates looked set to retain his overall lead.

With Restrepo the best sprinter of the leading pair De Marchi tried to to test the Colombian on an unclassified climb with around 5km to go but couldn't shake him.

700m later though he was able to get a gap, while behind in the peloton, Michael Woods (EF Education First-Drapac) attacked, stretching out the remaining riders.

De Marchi was able to put a 24 second gap into Restrepo and it was clear the Italian would hold on for a hard earned solo victory.

Pinot then came in at 1-50 down, but could only take around 13 seconds on the favourites group who arrived together despite attacks from Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Lopez in the final kilometre.

Results

Vuelta a España 2018, stage 11: Mombuey - Ribeira Sacra. Luintra (207.8km)

1 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team, in 4-52-38

2 Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin, at 28s

3 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, at 59s

4 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, at 1-24

5 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team, at 1-45

6 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal, at 1-46

7 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time

8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team, at 1-48

9 Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky, at 1-50

10 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at same time

Overall classification after stage 11

1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott, in 45-57-40

2 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar Team, at 1s

3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team, at 14s

4 Ion Izagirre (Esp) Bahrain-Merida, at 17s

5 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, at 24s

6 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time

7 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team, at 27s

8 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac, at 32s

9 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, 43s

10 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo, 47s

Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) won the opening time trial of the 2018 Vuelta a España in Malaga, beating Michal Kwiatkowski to the stage victory and the overall lead.

The Australian champion blitzed the 8km course at over 49.6kph, well up on Kwiatkowski at the intermediate check before driving the pace to finish six seconds up on the Pole.

It adds a Vuelta stage win to Dennis' palmarès, meaning he has now won a stage in each of the three Grand Tours, having completed the set of leaders' jerseys with the stage win and the pink jersey after opening time trial of the 2018 Giro d'Italia.

Among the GC contenders, most of them remain clustered fairly close together, with Kwiatkowski holding the most advantage after the first day.

Dennis' team-mate Richie Porte, a hotly tipped favourite ahead of the race, was probably the worst off as he finished 51 seconds down meaning he already has a chunk of time to overcome if he wants to win the race overall. Last year's runner-up Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) also finished with a disappointing time, 40 seconds behind the winner.

How it happened

Jorge Cubero (Burgos BH) was the first rider down the start ramp in Malaga for the 2018 Vuelta a España, however the first real benchmark for the 8km time trial came from Sebastian Langeveld (EF Education First-Drapac) who rode into the lead with a time of 10-04.

The first major GC contender to set off was Richie Porte, who looked to be off the pace with a time of 10-26.

The next man out after Porte, Dylan van Baarle (Team Sky), would have a long stint in the hot seat, after he set a blistering time of 9-59, the only rider to break the 10 minute mark until he was beaten almost an hour later.

A number of riders had come close to van Baarle's time, including Alessandro De Marchi (BMC Racing) who finished just a second behind, with his team-mate Dylan Teuns and Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo) a further second back.

The man to finally beat the Dutchman was Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), who was able to set the new best time by three seconds over van Baarle, with a time of 9-56.

With some more elite time triallists taking to the course in the latter part of the race, Oliveira's time looked severely under threat. And it didn't take too long before it was eclipsed, with former Polish champion Michal Kwiatkowski coming through in a time of 9-45, 11 seconds quicker.

European champion Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Soudal) was the next rider to come close to the lead, with the Belgian giving it his all in the final 100m but ultimately coming up short by one second at 9-46.

The big favourite for victory was then shortly after out on the course, with Rohan Dennis looking like he was living up to his billing as he went five seconds quicker than Kwiatkowski at the 4.8km mark.

The Australian continued to increase the pace, and eventually crossed the finish line six seconds faster than Kwiatkowski to take the win and the red jersey with just David de la Cruz (Team Sky), Nario Quintana (Movistar) and Vincenzo Nibali left out on the course and all well off the pace.

Nibali and Quintana finished at 40 and 30 seconds down respectively, while Britain's Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) will be pleased to finish 29 seconds down.

Potential GC contenders Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) and Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) will both be satisfied with their efforts on the short time trial, finishing inside the top-10 at 22 seconds.

The Vuelta continues on Sunday with stage two with a 163.5km stage from Marbella to Caminito del Rey.

Results

Vuelta a España 2018, stage one: Malaga (8km ITT)

1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team, in 9-39-81

2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky, at 6s

3 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal, at 7s

4 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team, at 17s

5 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky, at 20s

6 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team, at 21s

7 Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Team

8 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb, all at same time

9 Ion Izagirre (Esp) Bahrain-Merida, at 22s

10 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 22s

Overall classification after stage one

1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team, in 9-39-81

2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky, at 6s

3 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal, at 7s

4 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team, at 17s

5 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky, at 20s

6 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team, at 21s

7 Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp) Team

8 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb, all at same time

9 Ion Izagirre (Esp) Bahrain-Merida, at 22s

10 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 22s

BMC Racing and CCC Sprandi to merge for the 2019 season, saving the team and keeping star rider and current Tour de France race leader Greg Van Avermaet.

American general manager Jim Ochowicz and the team confirmed the deal in a news conference on Monday afternoon.

Many BMC riders have already signed contracts with new teams including Richie Porte, Rohan Dennis and Tejay Van Garderen. It will welcome the influx of Polish cyclists to fill out the 25- to 28-man roster with Van Avermaet and helpers Michael Schär and Nathan Van Hooydonck.

Greg Van Avermaet, winner of the 2017 Paris-Roubaix, Olympic Champion on the road and current Tour yellow jersey, agreed to a three-year deal. Given his deal length, the merger agreement could run for a similar term.

Dennis, stage winner and leader of the Giro d'Italia, has signed for Bahrain-Merida. Porte, who crashed out of the Tour in the Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, will join Trek-Segafredo in 2019. American Tejay van Garderen is confirmed for EF Education First-Drapac.

"We are going to look different, orange, and have a different name, but we have the WorldTour licence and we are going to continue this team that has been going on for 12 years," Ochowicz said on Monday.

"CCC will be our new sponsor starting in 2019. The name is still to be determined. We will have new goals, objectives and a new look.

"We'll no longer be spending time at altitude and training camps for Grand Tours, we'll race differently."

Without Porte, the team will not have a big Grand Tour leader. Ochowicz said that could change in 2020 or 2021.

Ochowicz risked losing most of his riders as he searched for sponsors deep into the 2018 season. Van Avermaet was said to be following BMC bikes to Dimension Data, but decided to stay in the same structure.

He earns around €1.2 million currently, but the amount of his new contract could be around €1.8 million per year through 2021.

"It wasn't easy, I wanted to decide earlier, after the Classics, I wanted to have it secured, but I remained loyal and waited," Van Avermaet said.

"The most important thing was just to keep the team going after eight years of this project. That's also why I stayed two years ago, I wanted to win a big Classic with BMC. I did it, and I want to continue to do more."

Ochowicz risked losing most of his riders as he searched for sponsors deep into the 2018 season. Van Avermaet was said to be following BMC bikes to Dimension Data, but decided to stay in the same structure.

He earns around €1.2 million currently, but the amount of his new contract could be around €1.8 million per year through 2021.

Richie Porte will never wear the red and black BMC Racing colours on the podium in Paris after he crashed and abandoned again in the Tour de France.

The Australian fell in the Arras-Roubaix stage nine, before the race hit the first of 15 cobbled sectors. He dislocated his right shoulder and pulled out immediately.

The team is set to wind up this year, with Porte tipped to move to Trek Segafredo. He has perhaps one more chance, at this year's Vuelta a Espana, to win a Grand Tour for BMC.

"It was stage nine last year, too," said team-mate Stefan Küng. "Getting Richie on the podium in Paris in BMC colours just wasn't meant to be."

Porte crashed in the first half-hour after leaving Arras for the cobbled journey to the famous monument finish at Roubaix. He never had a chance to ride the cobbles that had caused so much consternation since the race began last Saturday.

"There was nothing he could have done differently," added Küng. "I was on the right hand side of the road and he was in the middle of it. At this point it just happened. I was a big bummer to the team."

Yellow jersey leader Greg Van Avermaet had the freedom to ride his own race even before the stage began, while the other six men aimed to stay with classification leader Porte.

With the Australian out, Van Avermaet took the focus. He made the lead group of three, but lost the day to John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo). He did however extend his yellow jersey lead to 43 seconds over Geraint Thomas (Team Sky).

Porte never had a chance to lead BMC to the top in Paris, unlike his compatriot Cadel Evans in 2011. Last year Porte crashed in stage nine and fractured his collarbone and pelvis.

"It was a pretty hectic day, we lost Richie after 10 kilometres," Van Avermaet said. "Two years in a row. You can lose one year your GC goal but now two years, at 32, it is not the best for him. It will not be easy to get back for him mentally. Good thing his crash was not as bad as last year."

"We have worked on this for a whole year," Allan Peiper, BMC Racing's performance manager said.

"This was a whole year of work from a big organisation. This is the pinnacle event, we have worked for that with Richie Porte and it is taken away from you in a flash.

"There is a lot of hope that a lot of people carry, and there is a lot of work that a lot of people have put in, and it's gone just like that."

Team boss Jim Ochowicz gave an update on Porte's situation and was already looking to the future.

"He seems to be OK," he said. "They transported him to Cambrai. We have a vehicle there and we got to pick him up. He will get down to Annecy tonight and probably go home tomorrow with his family [in Monaco].

"He's fine and now we make a new plan. What do we do? Maybe we are looking at the Vuelta a España now. That is not such a bad thing. He is in good form.

"He is going to go home and heal, but again it is not a fracture that is going to keep him out from training for six weeks. He will back on his bike in a couple of days."

As reports emerged that BMC Racing could be saved by a merger with CCC Sprandi Polkowice, general manager Jim Ochowicz refused to comment on the deal.

The French newspaper L'Equipe reported on Wednesday morning that a merger could be in place. Cycling Weekly understands that the Polish team, after racing the Giro d'Italia in 2015 and 2017, is pushing for a spot in the WorldTour, meaning the fit could be perfect.

BMC Racing, currently holding the yellow jersey in the Tour de France through Greg Van Avermaet, needs a new backer with BMC bikes leaving at the end of the season.

"They have been in the sport for eight years or so, they know cycling," Ochowicz said. "We don't comment on rumours, though, that's our policy. We've had rumours about sponsors for months on end, every week something new.

"We are here focused on the Tour de France, we're in the yellow jersey, and we are pleased with our performance so far. That's our focus right now. Sponsorship is also a focus, but it's a daily actively we go through all the time."

>>> BMC Racing confident Richie Porte will be able to cope with Paris-Roubaix cobles at Tour de France

In May, reports emerged that Deloitte would sponsor the team with Giant bicycles for 2019 and beyond. However Ochowicz said that his was just a rumour.

"That Deloitte rumour in the Giro hurt us," Ochowicz said. "The people who were looking assumed I was fine and eased off their efforts. That was a three-week setback or so."

Watch: Tour de France 2018 route guide

Polish team CCC Sprandi Polkowice has been racing since 2000 with a beefed up push in the last few years that saw it race the Giro d'Italia in 2015 and 2017 having first appeared in the race in 2003. The American manager of BMC joked about the three-letter connection.

"And I'm Polish too!" he said. "I've never been to Poland in my whole life. My grandfather took a ship to Philadelphia somehow and ended up in Milwaukee."

The team must find a sponsor soon as riders are already signing for other teams. Cycling Weekly can confirm that Richie Porte will race with Trek-Segafredo in 2019, while Tejay van Garderen is said to be with EF Education First-Drapac while Rohan Dennis moves to Bahrain-Merida.

Greg Van Avermaet could follow BMC bikes to Dimension Data. The bike manufacturer could bring extra cash to pave the way for the 2016 Olympic road champion and Classics star to join the South African team.

Right now, the Belgian wears yellow and BMC enjoy an extra bit of publicity that could catch a potential sponsor's eye.

"What we are doing here is concentrating on the Tour de France and that's why we are in the yellow jerseys right now," Ochowicz added.

"That's our mission and that's our goal. We are focused on that, we are happy we are in the yellow. We have been in the sponsorship search for more than a year now, that's just an ongoing process that take place every single day.

"First, the yellow jersey pays our bills right now, it pays right now for the sponsors that we have for the year. We are getting tremendous publicity globally that has value and with that value comes exposure, and that exposure is probably helping us in some way."

BMC Racing put in a storming performance to take victory in the Tour de France 2018 team time trial on stage three, with Greg Van Avermaet moving into the overall lead.

Van Avermaet sat at just 16 seconds down on race leader Peter Sagan at the start of the stage, with the world champion's team only able to come home with a deficit of 50 seconds to BMC and Sagan himself dropped in the latter part of the course. Van Avermaet finished ahead of his team-mate Tejay van Garderen to move into yellow with the pair on the same time at the start.

The American team clocked a fastest time of 38-46 over the 35.5km course around Cholet, four seconds faster than Team Sky who had sat in the lead briefly before being beaten.

The only team to look like threatening BMC in the hot seat were Quick-Step Floors, who went through the second intermediate split at just six seconds down, but were unable to make up the ground and eventually finished third at seven seconds.

Richie Porte and Sky's Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas will all finish the day satisfied with their gains in GC. Thomas is the best placed rider sitting in third place at three seconds behind Van Avermaet and van Garderen respectively. Porte sits at 51 seconds, while Froome is back at 55 seconds overall.

Mitchelton-Scott, who had gone off first on the stage, will be satisfied with keeping their leader Adam Yates in touching distance of the likes of Porte, Froome and Thomas, having finished fourth at just nine seconds on the winners and five on Sky.

Former world champions at the discipline Team Sunweb also managed to keep their leader Tom Dumoulin in contention, finishing in fourth place at 10 seconds and leaving the Dutchman 11 seconds behind Van Avermaet on GC.

Movistar may end the day thankful that Alejandro Valverde and Mikel Landa took early gains on some of their rivals in the first two stages, with the Spanish team finishing 53 seconds back and dropping to 53 seconds behind on GC as well. They remain amongst a clustered group of GC contenders however, just ahead of Froome.

Nairo Quintana has a huge amount of ground to make up now though, sitting 2-08 down on the overall lead and 2-05 down the best placed of the GC hopefuls in Welshman Thomas.

Likewise Ag2r La Mondiale's Romain Bardet will be thankful he made the front group on stage one, as his time buffer on some of the favourites was obliterated after the French team came across the line at 1-15 down on BMC.

Dan Martin expectedly finished the day with a big chunk of time to make up after his UAE Team Emirates squad came in 1-38 down. With a time trial coming at the end of the race, the Irishman will need to make significant gains in the mountains if he stands any chance of taking victory.

Of the other contenders, Vincenzo Nibali and Bahrain-Merida finished at 1-06 down after looking like they would mitigate any losses in the early stages, while EF-Education put in a fine ride for Rigoberto Uran at 35 seconds, with the Colombian now in the top-10 overall.

The Tour de France continues on Tuesday with stage four, a flat 195km route from La Baule to Sarzeau.

Results

Tour de France 2018, stage three: Cholet - Cholet (35.5km, TTT)

1 BMC Racing Team, at 38-46

2 Team Sky, at 4s

3 Quick-Step Floors, at 7s

4 Mitchelton-Scott, at 9s

5 Team Sunweb, at 11s

6 EF Education First-Drapac, at 35s

7 Bora-Hansgrohe, at 50s

8 Astana Pro Team, at at 51s

9 Katusha-Alpecin, at 52s

10 Movistar Team, at 53s

11 Bahrain-Merida, at 1-06

12 AG2R La Mondiale, 1-15

13 Team LottoNl-Jumbo, at same time

14 Trek-Segafredo, at 1-16

15 UAE Team Emirates, at 1-38

16 Groupama-FDJ, at 1-42

17 Fortuneo-Samsic, at 1-46

18 Direct Energie, at 1-51

19 Lotto Soudal, at same time

20 Dimension Data, at 1-52

21 Wanty-Groupe Gobert, at 2-24

22 Cofidis, Solutions Credits, at 3-23

General classification after stage three

1 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team, in 9-08-55

2 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team, at same time

3 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky, at 3s

4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors, at 5s

5 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors, at 7s

6 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, st

7 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 11s

8 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb

9 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb, all same time

10 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-First Drapac, at 34s

Others

13 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team, at 51s

14 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing, at same time

15 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin, at 52s

16 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 53s

17 Mikel Landa (Esp) Movistar, st

18 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 55s

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20 Adam Yates (Gbr) Mitchelton-Scott, at 1-00

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22 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, at 1-06

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25 Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 1-15

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39 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates, at 1-38

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59 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 2-08