Fans of BikeExchange-Jayco can breathe a sigh of relief. With just a few races to go for this season, the Australian team has all but guaranteed its future in the WorldTour for three more years, with its haul from the World Championships among other races meaning it is 1243 points above the danger zone.

It is looking increasingly likely that Israel Premier-Tech and Lotto Soudal will be the teams left out of the WorldTour next season, with Arkéa-Samsic and Alpecin-Deceuninck taking their places at the top table. It means teams like BikeExchange, Movistar, EF Education-EasyPost and Cofidis are practically safe from the drop.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly on Wednesday, BikeExchange's head directeur sportif, Matt White, said that it was good "not having to worry about scrapping over points to the death" in the last races of 2022.

"We've tried to keep it away from the riders," he explained. "They were definitely aware of the situation though, they're not idiots. I know some teams and riders were saying they didn't talk about points. That's absolute bulls***. Any of those teams in the bottom six have totally changed their race programmes to adapt to this points system. We've added 40 race days this year. "

It has forced BikeExchange to adapt their whole plan, sending riders to races they wouldn't normally go to, as their rivals in the relegation battles have picked up points at small events on the calendar.

"We've had to cancel race days we were scheduled to do because small stage races don't give you any points," White said. "You can go to a one-day race and get the same points as a five-day race. You had to go to Belgium and do three, four one-day races instead of one stage race.

"The riders understood the situation, we made it clear to them that we needed to be in the top 18. The boys and our leaders have adapted really well, we've been very consistent post-Tour de France.

"The guys knew what we needed to do, there has been that pressure in the background, but we went into this year with a very good plan of where we're going to get our points."

It would have been a much easier run in for the Australian squad had Simon Yates not been forced out of the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España due to injury and Covid, respectively. Even if he had finished fifth in both these races, this would have been an almost 800-point bump  that vanished. The points system has been a bit of a lottery through the pandemic.

"When you look at 2020, our biggest goal of the year was the Giro d'Italia, and we got sent home cos of Covid," White said. "2021 he was third at the Giro. Then this year, we lost him at the Giro because of an injury, and we lost him at the Vuelta a España because of Covid. We've had to adapt. 

"We are a team who relied on our top three or four guys to get all the points, we're not a team that has a lot of depth when it comes to winners and guys scrambling for points. But we got it done, we had a plan, we've adapted it really well, and now we're in a safe place."

Now the team is safe for the next three years - WorldTour licences last for this period - it means that BikeExchange can relax for now, and start to think about next season, although this poses problems.

As for now, White said: "Michael Matthews was supposed to race four more races after the worlds. Because of the points he earned from there, and our goals for him for next year, which will highly likely be Tour Down Under, we stopped his season straight away.

"TDU is middle of January, so it comes round pretty quick. Any guys we can rest up any earlier, it'll be handier, now we are in a position where we can do that."

As for the future, it is a bit of a lottery, with the points system for the next three years still to be decided. Cycling's governing body, the UCI, still needs to confirm what points will come from which races in the coming seasons.

"Maybe we can have a look to make some adjustments if necessary," the UCI's president, David Lappartient, said this week.

"I think it will be discussed, but it will not be a complete revolution in the system because we need to keep a certain balance," the Frenchman continued. "But it's true that we can sometimes discuss if the gap is enough, or not, between the WorldTour and Class 1. and ProSeries races."

White said that teams have been in dialogue with the UCI, but there is still nothing concrete to work on, which is making planning difficult.

"What I'm really curious about, is that most teams have 95% of their roster already signed, but we don't even know what points system we're going to be working with," he said. "We're assuming that the UCI will do something, we've been in consultation with them. The points system is clearly broken. When you can rock up to a kermesse and win more points than a stage win in the Tour, there's something wrong.

"We're going into next year completely blind, until the UCI come back to us with a new plan. We plan on going with the same system from the last three years. There has been dialogue with the UCI, cos sixth place on a queen stage of the Tour earns you zero points."

This year has been quite unique in professional cycling, with so much dependent on points from smaller races. For White, this situation has come about thanks to the pandemic, but also due to there being more teams than ever wanting to be at the top table. Unlike previous years, there is no team that has gone bust or disappeared, like Katusha-Alpecin or Tinkoff-Saxo have in the past.

"We've never had a situation before where more teams want to join the WorldTour than not," he told Cycling Weekly. "If you look at the last three or four years we've lost a few teams, so when they set this criteria, not one thought there would be 20 teams trying to get into the WorldTour.

"The other thing is we have just had this system through a pandemic that is still not finished. When we were at our best in the rankings, it was only WorldTour races and five years. It's a totally different ball game now."

Despite having brushed closely with the threat of relegation in the last few months - at the end of the Tour de France BikeExchange were neck and neck with Lotto - White is not against the concept of teams dropping out of the WorldTour should they deserve it.

"I haven't got a problem with relegation," he said. "Giving teams an opportunity to come through is healthy. The way you do it needs to be adjusted. This last window of qualification has not been a normal one, so I do feel sorry for the teams that miss out."

"Is there a perfect solution? There's definitely a way we could work it out. It needs to be a lot more balanced, I think what the system is lacking is balance. At the moment it is very heavily weighted to north European one-day races. The amount of points they offer at the level of races they are, compared to Grand Tours, the most esteemed races, and that needs to be balanced out."

For now, though, BikeExchange are safe. Relief.

Kristen Faulkner took a breakaway win for the ages winning stage nine of the Giro Donne on Saturday.

Having been in the breakaway on Friday’s stage, the American escaped the front of the race about half way up the day’s opening climb, with about 95km to go. Riding with Italian climber Gaia Realini, the BikeExchange-Jayco rider built a lead of about 3-30, dropping the Italian and riding solo for the final 26km to take her second win so far in the 10 days race.

It really was a remarkable ride from the American, who was last to be caught on yesterday’s mountainous stage, and finished fourth. Not only that but behind her her the GC riders were swinging punches.

Elisa Longo Boghini (Trek-Segafredo) riding hard in an effort to move on to the overall podium and Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvele Aquitaine Futuroscope) attacking a small group late on hoping to take the stage. In the end Cavalli finished second on the day, 59 seconds behind Faulkner.

Longo Borghini led home for third place, with overall leader Annemiek van Vleuten taking fourth place, the Movistar rider holding on to her overall lead, only losing 15 seconds to Cavalli.

It was another fantastic day’s racing, with action from the gun through Italy’s mountainous northern vineyards. Though Sunday’s final day might ride through vineyards it will be a stark contrast, riding as it does on the flatlands between Abano Terme and Padova, where a bunch kick is expected.

How it happened 

If stage seven was not the queen stage, then stage nine was. The race might not have finished at the top of a climb as Thursday’s did, but with three demanding climbs on the edge of the Brenta Dolomites to deal with, it was certainly no easier.

Starting in San Michele all’Adige and arriving in San Lorenzo Dorsino 112km and 2758m of climbing later, the ascent to Fei della Paganella was the first obstacle. More than 11km at 6.7% average gradient, it was merely a warm up. Then came Passo Duron, slightly shorter and shallower. 

But the main challenge for the peloton was the Passo Daone. This year’s Cima Coppi - the highest point - it climbed to 1291m above sea level, but it was not the altitude but the 10.2% average gradient for its 6.3km which would be most telling.

The race began in the car park of a college surrounded with Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards, the mountains towering high above the valley of the Adige river, Italy’s second longest. And the moment the flag dropped the attacks began, first a group three escaping, then another break of 13 chancing their arm.

They too were caught, and only as the peloton shrank on the smooth, wide roads of the first climb did two women head up the road, Italian climber, Gaia Realinni (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria) and Kristin Faulkner (BikeExchange-Jayco) gaining a lead of 40 seconds on a peloton of only around 25 women.

Faulkner had been in the break on stage eight, eventually finishing finishing fourth, and was clearly in the mood for a fight, especially after the team team lost their leader, Amanda Spratt to COVID.

By the time their lead reached one minute, approaching the top of the first climb after 23km, the so-called peloton was a group of only 16 riders. Of the two leaders Faulkner was the highest placed on GC, in 13th overall, but Realiini is the more accomplished climber, though only proven on Italian soil, and while she was no threat to the GC, she was for the stage.

The long descent brought a change in the race dynamic, as the two riders increased their lead on what was by now a nearly full peloton to more than three minutes, four chasers attacked the favourites group in pursuit.

Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo), Anouska Koster (Jumbo-Visma), Brodie Chapman (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ) headed up the road, sitting about two minutes behind Faulkner and Realini who had a lead of 3-20.

As was expected the peloton split again on the second climb, though it made little difference to the time gaps between the leaders, the chasers and the favourites groups. Chapman and Koster were briefly dropped on the descent but otherwise the race entered a period of calm

On the final climb Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ), who started the day third overall came to the front and upped the pace on the already reduced favourite’s group. Though this made little difference to her rivals, when second placed Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) upped the pace the group shattered, and with 29.5km to go only the top three on GC remained in the peloton, the Italian joined by Van Vleuten and García. 

As in Friday’s stage García was unable to hold the pace, and slipped backwards as they caught the four woman chasing group, including, in a tactical masterstroke, Cavalli’s team mate Chapman, who briefly worked then passed her bottle before dropping back.

Just over one kilometre from the top of the climb Faulkner attacked, riding away to win both the Cima Coppi prize and the green climbers jersey, reaching the top 25km from the finish, still with a lead of two minutes.

After Van Vleuten’s stage eight crash it was expected that Cavalli would attack the descent, but it was surprising when the Italian opened a gap instantly, though the Dutch rider was fully aware she was unlikely to lose 2-13 lead she started the day with.

After the descent the two came together just as Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) latched on the back, the trio then catching Realini. With 15km remaining Faulkner was still 1-47, but even with Longo Borghini working hard to relegate García from the podium, and all four trying to keep the pace high, they made little impact on the leader, who entered the final 10km with a lead of 1-30.

Seven kilometres later Cavalli launched her last gasp effort to win the stage, leaving Van Vleuten behind, but she was unable and Faulkner took the day.

ResultGiro Donne, stage nine: San Michele all’Adige - San Lorenzo Dorsino Race (112.8km)

1. Kristen Faulkner (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco in 3-36-36
2. Marta Cavalli (Ita) FDj-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 59 sec
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 1-14
4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Movistar at same time
5. Gaia Realini (Ita) Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria
6. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx at 3-35
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service (Ita) at same time 
8. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM at 3-38
9. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ at 3-42
10. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 4-06

General classification after stage nine

1. Annemiek van Veuten (Ned) Movistar in 24-55-08
2. Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 1-52
3. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ Marta at 6-10
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 6-59
5. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx 11-26
6. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 12-28
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service 13-22
8. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 15-27
9. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM at 15-49
10. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM at 17-43

It felt like business as usual at the Tour de France on Sunday night, as Dylan Groenewegen returned to winning ways, his fourth consecutive edition where he has won a stage. The flying Dutchman has now won five, and judging by the celebrations, made his team's race. 

To add to the sense of deja vu, Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) finished fourth; on three of Groenewegen's previous stage wins the Slovakian made it into the top four. It might well have been 2018 all over again.

It was not smooth sailing to this point, however. The Team BikeExchange-Jayco missed the last two Tours, partly due to nine-month ban for causing the crash at the Tour of Poland two years ago which left Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) in an induced coma. While the latter, who suffered horrendous injuries, has already returned to the top of the sport, it has been a longer road for Groenewegen.

There was a sense of this matter closing with this win, which came the day after Jakobsen won himself, both redemptive victories in a way. The 29-year-old moved teams, almost to escape his past, this winter, and is now at BikeExchange, a team where he feels supported, given opportunities. While he refused to be drawn on just how important Sunday's performance was, his emotion was clear on the finish line.

"It was a long way [back]," he said immediately after the stage. "I want to say thanks to my team, family and friends to bring me back to the Tour in a good shape. It's beautiful.

"Not physically but mentally it was a hard time, of course. After all that happened... This is for my wife and my son. It means a lot for me."

What Groenewegen did at the Tour of Poland in August 2020 left Jakobsen in a life-threatening state, and yet he has made it back to winning at Grand Tours. While the Quick-Step rider made an astonishing recovery, it has almost appeared a harder road back for the man who caused the crash. 

"Of course he's a normal rider, he's here competing on the same terms as everyone else... I don't think you can say anything against that," was the verdict of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's Michael Mørkøv.

"I think he will be very happy with this, I actually don't care," Jakobsen said. “Before the crash, I had a lot of respect for his record and how he approached his sport. That has since gone away, because in my eyes he really made a mistake in Poland. My admiration for him has gone, but he shows today that he can still do it.”

There was a time when Groenewegen was seen as potentially the leading sprinter in the sport, and while others have laid claim to this title in recent years, it might well be a battle between the two Dutchmen, who are indelibly linked by the crash.

Asked if this was his most "beautiful win", he was diplomatic, but paid tribute to his new team, which took a chance in signing him.

"I had this question before, and I said every victory in the Tour de France had something special," he said. "The Champs Élysées [his first Tour win] was really special... Every time had something special. This one has also a story. 

"This means a lot for me that I’m back at the Tour de France, and it means a lot that my new team gave me this chance, believe in me, and give me the whole sprint around me. 

"Yesterday I made a lot of mistakes and I was very angry with myself and really disappointed. My teammates said you can't turn back what happened today, moving forward and tomorrow is a new chance, we believe in you and you go for it."

It took hard work to get to the point of being able to win on Sunday. Groenewegen was involved in the crash with about 10km to go, which left him out of position, but he was able to fight back to the front. Then, once it finally came to the sprint, the Dutchman had to fight and throw his bike to beat Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) by just a tyre width. It was not easy.

"Wout made the joke we always made in the Jumbo team: if you’re not sure at the finish line you have to claim the victory, to celebrate," he said. "I was celebrating a little bit, but I was sure that I won. I was waiting for the word, and then the screaming and celebrating, celebrating with my team. 

"Then I saw my dad, he’s following me the full three weeks, but normally I do not see him. That means a lot for me. I trained really hard last time and the time before, but all that happened… It means a lot for me for sure. My dad is also happy, and when you can win in the Tour de France the pressure is off."

The pressure might now be off Groenewegen, but it might also be that the monkey is off his back now too. As his teammates pointed out to him, the past cannot change, and now he is here in this race, he might just keep winning.

Winning the opening stage time trial victory at the Giro Donne  on Thursday was a dream for Kristen Faulkner, but it was hot work, and with the podium celebrations done and her first ever her maglia rosa on her back, the America headed to cool down.

The 4.7km time trial was held along the sea front next to one of Sardinia’s best beaches, in Poetto, near Cagliari, and after sitting in what was literally a hot seat for the best part of 90 minutes watch tourists in the azure blue sea she could resist no longer.

The American won the 4.7km opening day time trial by three seconds from her team mate Georgia Baker giving BikeExchange-Jayco options ahead of the race’s first road stage on Friday.

“It’s a dream for sure,” she told reporters while sat on a cool box behind the race podium and before her impromptu swim. “I never thought coming into this race that I would be wearing the pink jersey, so I'm just really excited that I can do that for my team and hopefully we can hold on to it for a few more days.

“Last year was my first Giro Rosa ever, and I didn't expect to finish today in the pink jersey but I'm not going to complain. That's a really great place to be and yeah, we're really we're really happy with it.”

The course itself was completely flat, and the team got off to a great start with their first rider, Georgia Baker setting what was then the fastest time, and good enough for the Australian to eventually finish second behind her team mate.

“That was really motivating and inspiring,” Faulkner continued. “It was a really short TT so I knew we had to just go full gas the whole time. I tried to make sure that I was safe around the corners and took really good lines and the directors were really helpful in the car letting me know where I was and which lines to take and where to be and yeah, and then after I turned that last turn at one point, I had six seconds on the next person so that was really motivating to hear.”

Though the time gaps are small after such a short time trial, BikeExchange-Jayco now have the advantage of two women at the top of the general classification, with the near overall favourite Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) some nine seconds down and Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) a further second back.

However, despite previously proving she can race for GC the overall is not the priority for Faulkner.  

“We'll see what the team strategy is for the rest of the race, but we didn't plan on having me race for GC actually coming into this race, so we'll see how things evolve and what the team wants to do. 

Faulkner only began racing professionally in 2020 and has progressed swiftly, winning a stage at the Tour de l’Ardeche that year, and another at the Tour of Norway last season. Despite time away from racing for injury, this season has been even better for the Alaskan native.

Earlier in June she performed excellently at the Women’s Tour finishing fourth on Black Mountain South Wales. The following week she won the 25.6km time trial at the Tour de Suisse and was a close second on the final mountain to Lenz taking the same place on GC.

“Switzerland was one of my first major TTs. Earlier this year I had a concussion so I came back only in May, my coach and I have been working really hard since me to get my fitness back, and it feels great that it is finally back and that I can show all the hard work that we put in.”

BikeExchange-Jayco has today announced its Tour de France selection and the surprise omission from the Australian team's lineup was Simon Yates.

Yates' most recent racing action was at the Giro d’Italia earlier this year in which he won two stages. He later abandoned the Giro due to pain from a knee injury picked up in a crash on stage four during the race. 

Yates was expected to race the Tour de France if he had recovered in time. But after a longer recovery period, including some time away from his bike, he will now ride the Vuelta a Espana later this year instead. It is a race he won in 2018. 

The 29 year old climber has enjoyed success at the Tour in the past. He won the best young rider classification in 2017 and won two stages at the 2019 edition of the Tour but crashed out of proceedings in 2021.

In this year's Giro he won the stage two time trial in Budapest before later taking victory on an enthralling stage 14 in the hills around Torino. The second stage win came despite Yates battling with the knee injury that would eventually cause him to leave the race. 

The absence of Yates means that BikeExchange-Jayco will arrive in Copenhagen with their hopes of stage wins pinned on sprinters Dylan Groenewegen and Michael Matthews. Both have proven success at the Tour de France, racking up one green jersey and seven stage wins between them.

Another notable absence for the Australian team was US National Time Trial Champion, Lawson Craddock. 

Team manager Matt White said the team’s selection for the grand-tour could be competitive over various terrain.

“This is an experienced group to be taking to what is always a beautiful, yet stressful block of racing. We have a team of guys who can win stages and be very competitive across the three weeks over various terrains. There is one thing for sure; this group will put their hearts and souls into our daily plans and objectives from day one in Copenhagen, until we cross that finish line in Paris,” said White

Groenewegen’s last featured at the Tour de France in 2019, taking a stage win that year. 

A big target for the Australian outfit is the second stage in Copenhagen.

Groenewegen said: “I hope there is not too much wind so it can finish with a sprint. The sprints at the TDF are always hectic, not only with all the sprinters but there’s always general classification riders trying to stay at the front too for the time, so it’s always busy in the bunch and this makes it different to other races. Having these experienced riders around me in the finals will be important during the whole Tour.” 

BikeExchange-Jayco line-up in full: 

Dylan Groenewegen, Luka Mezgec, Michael Matthews, Luke Durbidge, Chris Juul-Jensen, Jack Bauer, Nick Schultz and Amund Grøndahl Jansen.

Simon Yates has abandoned the Giro d'Italia on stage 17, after managing his knee injury became too much for him.

The Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider injured himself in a crash on stage four to Mount Etna, when Yates struck a kerb after being hit from behind by another rider. His knee has been noticeably strapped in the fortnight since he hurt himself, but it did not prevent Yates from winning stage 14 around Torino last Saturday.

There had been speculation that his heavily-strapped knee was causing him such problems that he would be forced to quit the Giro on the second rest day, but that did not come to pass, with the Briton battling on.

Yates had earlier won the stage two time trial in Budapest, with his tally of stage wins at this race standing at six.

The two in 2022 were added to the he won four before this year, including three in his thrilling tilt at pink in 2018, which actually saw him end up in 21st place overall. At last year's edition, Yates finished third, his first podium at the Italian Grand Tour.

He was clearly disappointed with his efforts at the Giro, a race he came into aiming for general classification victory.

Dr. Matteo Beltemacchi, Team BikeExchange-Jayco's doctor, said in a statement: “Yates' fall on Mount Etna and subsequent knee problem (likely edema of the bony spongiosa of the patella) weighed down on the rider for all following stages of the Giro d’Italia. 

"Despite daily therapy and Simon's tenacity, that resulted in a second stage win, the knee pain grew worse and worse, eventually leading to the decision for his retirement from the race.”

He is expected to ride the Tour de France as well in July, but it is unlikely that he will target GC there as well after his tilt at the overall at the Giro. If that was the case, one would expect him to have headed home early in order to be at his best for that race.

Yates has had a turbulent relationship with the Giro since his debut in 2018, when he won those stages and led the race for 13 days before conceding it to compatriot Chris Froome. The 2019 and 2020 editions were fruitless for him, but he roared back in 2021 to take a sensational stage win to Alpe di Mera and finally grab an overall podium, finishing third.

Among the interesting figures jumping off the front in the final kilometres of stage 10 of the Giro d'Italia was Simon Yates. The Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider is sticking around at the race, and so we should expect to see a lot more of the Briton in the coming stages, especially once the Giro heads to the Alps.

Yates escaped off the front, and was joined by Mathieu van der Poel in an unsuccessful move, but one that hinted that the man from Bury will be seeking to force things more in the coming days.

It represents a change in tactics from him and his team, after his general classification ambitions ended on the climb to Blockhaus. Yates, suffering from a knee injury and struggling with the high heat on stage nine, lost over 11 minutes.

The injury came from a crash on stage four to Mount Etna, when Yates struck a kerb after being hit from behind by another rider. There was speculation that his heavily-strapped knee was causing him such problems that he would be forced to quit the Giro on the second rest day, but that has not come to pass.

He is expected to ride the Tour de France as well in July, but it is unlikely that he will target GC there as well after his tilt at the overall at the Giro. If that was the case, one would expect him to have headed home early in order to be at his best for that race.

With the weight of riding for the pink jersey taken off his shoulders, however involuntarily, Yates will now have the freedom to target stage wins later in the race. Of course, he has already won one in this edition, in the time trial around Budapest.

He had won a further four before this year, including three in his thrilling tilt at pink in 2018, which actually saw him end up in 21st place overall. He has the speed and the skill to win on punchy finishes as well as on the days in the mountains, so it would not be a surprise to see him win on multiple occassions.

Yates has had a turbulent relationship with the Giro since his debut in 2018, when he won those stages and led the race for 13 days before conceding it to compatriot Chris Froome. The 2019 and 2020 editions were fruitless for him, but he roared back in 2021 to take a sensational stage win to Alpe di Mera and finally grab an overall podium, finishing third.

His BikeExchange directeur sportif Matt White told VeloNews this week that Yates did not have an injury severe enough to send him home, and that they would now be looking at new objectives.

“The health of our athletes is always the first priority,” White said. “Our medical team would not want to him start if there were any issues.”

“We have to look to different goals. We haven’t got a sprinter here, so we will take it day-by-day, and reassess what we want to do. There is still plenty of Giro left.”

Yates' next chance might come on Thursday's stage 12 to Genoa, if he fancies getting in the breakaway, before there are lots more climbing opportunities in the final week. 

His attempt to get away on Tuesday showed that he has not lost the fight yet, and he might be able to return to success rather than disappointment at this Giro.

Simon Yates has not won many time trials. Before Saturday he had only ever won one before, a stage of Paris-Nice in 2019. However, if a time trial was to suit the BikeExchange-Jayco rider, it was to be stage two of the Giro d'Italia.

The course was just 9.2km long and had a punchy finish, meaning it would not necessarily favour the flat-track rouleur bullies, so Yates could make his mark. 

However, even the Briton himself described his win as a "bit unexpected". Not only was he the fastest across the whole course, he was fastest on the flat section too.

Yates does have a tiny bit of form on Giro opening time trials, finishing second on stage one of the 2019 edition, which was a punchy effort against the clock in Bologna. Even then, few expected him to make the difference.

Speaking shortly after his win, which elevated him to second on general classification, Yates said it was "my best" performance.

"I’m of course really happy," he said. "A bit unexpected, but I’ll take them as they come.

"I just tried to go as fast as possible. I want to thank our partners Giant and Cadex who have put a lot of work into our equipment this year."

Yates triumphed over established time trial specialists like Tom Dumoulin, Edoardo Affini and João Almeida. However, his period in the hot seat was not a comfortable one, and he still had to watch riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Wilco Kelderman and Ben Tulett come close

"I was never confident there," he explained. "Van der Poel was pretty close as well. You always have that belief you could win and in the end I managed to hold on."

The Dutchman was so close, in fact, that he managed to hold onto the maglia rosa for the second day running; he finished just three seconds behind Yates. Not that the BikeExchange rider minds too much, as his goals are further down the road. It's almost a bonus that he won a stage so early in the race.

"Today was a 12 minute effort, we still have some much more demanding stages in front of us," Yates said. "Of course we’ll celebrate today. One of two time trials that I’ve ever won, my first in the grand tour. We’ll look at the bigger picture now."

As the mountains loom, he has put himself in an excellent position in the general classification, already 24 seconds ahead of a rival as big as Richard Carapaz. Unexpected maybe, but a sign of form, and a very useful start to the race.

Simon Yates will lead Team BikeExchange-Jayco at the Giro d'Italia, with the Briton stating that he is aiming for a podium position in Verona at the end of May.

The Australian squad released their eight-man squad for the Corsa Rosa on Monday, with Yates as the absolute leader, but in a press release the team shied away from saying they were targeting pink.

"From an actual racing point of view, you always aim for the podium," Yates said. "We aim for the podium and once we get closer to the last week, we assess if we are in a position to win it or not, then we go at it from there".

The 29-year-old has been close to a "position to win it" before at the Italian Grand Tour, leading the race for 13 days in 2018 before losing out in the final days, and finishing third overall last year.

Yates has won four stages at the Giro in the past, and will be looking to add to this tally over the next few weeks. He comes into the race after two stage wins at the Vuelta Asturias last week. 

"I have just finished the Vuelta Asturias and the two stage victories there have confirmed to me the good job done during the recent altitude training camp," he said. "I’ll be leaving for Budapest ready for my fifth Giro d'Italia. I still have memories of the great celebrations on the podium in Milan last year, and it wouldn't be bad to re-live the same emotions again."

The man from Bury impressed at Paris-Nice earlier this year, winning the final stage and finishing second overall, but then had an aborted ride at the Volta a Catalunya due to illness. His team will be hoping that he can repeat his top form in Italy.

"A success in a way is not the end result," Yates said. "I want to go there in my best condition and do the best result possible. If I don’t win then, then that’s ok because somebody is better than me. If I go there and I am not at the level required, then that is a failure for me."

He will be joined by three riders who were on the team last year as well, when he finished third: Michael Hepburn, Chris Juul-Jensen and Callum Scotson. Hepburn is down as road captain for the race.

The US and Italian time trial champions, Lawson Craddock and Matteo Sobrero, are also part of the squad, and Australian climbers Damien Howson and Lucas Hamilton will provide support to Yates on the climbs.

Matt White, the team's head sports director, said: "“he Giro d’Italia has been a big, big goal for the team over last few years and this year is no different. We have a really good squad with a lot of experience in Grand Tours and we will go into the Giro as one of the favourites for the race. It is a challenge we are looking forward to. 

"Simon is coming off Vuelta Asturias and it was good preparation for him and for the rest of the team after an altitude block."

Kaden Groves of BikeExchange-Jayco sprinted to victory on stage two of the Volta a Catalunya after crashes and crosswinds affected the race.

The Australian won his team's second victory in the two stages so far, outsprinting Phil Bahaus (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Hugo Hofstetter (Arkéa-Samsic), led out by stage one's winner Michael Matthews.

It was not all plain sailing for BikeExchange, however, as their team leader Simon Yates lost 33 seconds due to a crash with 16km to go.

Crosswinds threatened to blow the race apart, with Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) also losing time alongside Yates.

The race lead switched to Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (Team DSM) after he gained time in bonus seconds through the day.

How it happened

It was a nervous day in Catalunya as the peloton headed north from L'Escala to Perpignan. There was a threat of crosswinds breaking things apart all day, which meant all riders had to be switched on.

It looked destined for a sprint as the race went out of Spain to France, but that did not mean a calm day in the bunch, with multiple crashes and incidents throughout the day.

Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (Team DSM), who lead the king of the mountains classification, Joan Bou (Euskaltel - Euskadi) and Adrià Moreno (Burgos-BH) formed the day's break, establishing a lead of above five minutes at times.

Hvideberg claimed points on the three classified climbs of the day to cement his lead in the KOM competition. He also claimed five seconds in bonuses in the intermediate sprints.

A crash with 73km to go claimed seven riders, including the British rider Ethan Vernon (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), but they all returned to the peloton. There were multiple more crashes, but it was illness that claimed Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers), with the Australian forced to abandon.

The break was caught with 30km to go, with things being set up for a dramatic finish in the crosswinds.

Simon Yates was involved in a crash just outside the final 10km, which led to him chasing off the back of the peloton alongside Tom Dumoulin.

Crosswinds then impacted the race, splitting the packs apart and leaving a smaller group in front. The gap between the first and third groups was over 40 seconds at one point, although that did come down in the final kilometres.

Entering Perpignan, it was difficult to judge who was looking good for the day as various sprinters and team leaders had missed the all important split.

Entering the final kilometre, race leader Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) was on the front pulling for his teammate Kaden Groves. However, Phil Bahaus (Bahrain Victorious) looked well positioned to take the win.

It was Groves who powered over the line just ahead of Bahaus in the end, taking his first WorldTour win in the process. Ethan Vernon (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) came fourth, his highest finish in his career so far.

Yates, Dumoulin and Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) were among those to cross the line 33 seconds behind the lead group. The race lead switched to Hvideberg after the time he gained in the intermediate sprints.

The Norwegian now holds all four jerseys at the end of stage two.

Volta a Catalunya 2022, stage two: L'Escala to Perpignan (202.4km)

1. Kaden Groves (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco, in 4-44-28
2. Phil Bahaus (Deu) Bahrain-Victorious
3. Hugo Hoffstetter (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic
4. Ethan Vernon (GBr) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl
5. Juan Sebastián Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates
6. Manuel Peñalver (Esp) Burgos-BH
7. Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
8. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team DSM
10. Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo, all at same time

General classification after stage two

1. Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (Nor) Team DSM
2. Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco, at 1s
3. Hugo Hoffstetter (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic, at 7s
4. Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo, at 11s
5. Juan Sebastián Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates
6. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
7. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X
8. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe
9. Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert
10. Sam Oomen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, all at same time

Michael Matthews powered up the final uphill drag to win the opening stage of the Volta a Catalunya on Monday afternoon.

The BikeExchange-Jayco rider timed his effort to perfection, outsprinting Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Victorious) in the final metres of the stage to Sant Feliu de Guíxolss. Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) came third.

It is the second time that the Australian has won in the Catalan town, after 2019's edition. It was also Matthews' first win since 2020, "it has been a long time", he said post-race.

Following the stage, Colbrelli collapsed and received medical treatment at the finish line, and was then taken to hospital, but was reportedly in a "stable condition".

How it happened

There was an attack right from the gun in Sant Feliu de Guíxols on Monday morning, as the Volta a Catalunya got underway.

The six were caught quickly by the peloton, however, before there was a flurry of further attacks out of the main bunch. It took until 43km in for the first break to stick, however, with Jetse Bol, (Burgos-BH), Marco Brenner (Team DSM) Jonathan Klever Caicedo (EF Education-EasyPost), Carlos Canal and Antonio Jesús Soto (btoh Euskaltel - Euskadi), and Raúl García Pierna (Equipo Kern Pharma) establishing a gap.

The time between the leaders on the road and the peloton grew to over three minutes, however it never looked like they would stay away.

With 88km to go there were echelons in the peloton as crosswinds affected the action, which left Israel-Premier Tech and BikeExchange looking to be taking an advantage, with six and five riders in the front group respectively.

The six in the break were caught with 78km to go. Teams caught out in the crosswinds split pushed on behind, and the main peloton was reassembled with 50km to go.

Caicedo took the opportunity to attack once again, and was followed by Nans Peters (AG2R Citröen), with the two grand tour stage winners looking good for a brief moment before the latter suffered a puncture.

The Ecuadorean was joined by Pieter Serry (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Théo Delacroix (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Jonas Hvideberg (Team DSM), and Alex Molenaar (Burgos-BH). That six held a lead of about a minute heading into the final 35km.

On the descent from the Alt de Romanyà there was a small crash which seemed to have affected Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), with his team working hard to bring him back.

The escapees were finally caught with 7.7km to go, when the pace really stepped up in the peloton ahead of the last few kilometres.

On the final drag to the finish line, Carapaz was one of the first to attack, while behind Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Victorious) and Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) waited for their moment.

Matthews finally sprinted, with Colbrelli following and taking the other side of the road, but the former held out to claim victory in Sant Feliu de Guíxols.

Results

Volta a Catalunya 2022, stage one: Sant Feliu de Guíxols to Sant Feliu de Guíxols (171.2km)

1. Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco, in 3-47-11
2. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious
3. Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
4. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe
5. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl
6. Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
7. Simon Clarke (Aus) Israel-Premier Tech
8. Eduard Prades (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
9. Hugo Hoffstetter (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic
10. Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ, all at same time

General classification after stage one

1. Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco, in 3-47-01
2. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, at 4s
3. Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (Nor) Team DSM, same time
4. Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 6s
5. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, at 10s
6. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe
7. Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
8. Simon Clarke (Aus) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Eduard Prades (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
10. Hugo Hoffstetter (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic, all at same time

"I had to try something", Simon Yates explained after his attack on stage eight of Paris-Nice which brought him victory in Nice.

The Team BikeExchange-Jayco rider launched his solo effort on the Col d'Èze, the final classified climb of this year's race. While his advantage sometimes ticked up past 25 seconds, he was held in check by Primož Roglič and Wout van Aert of Jumbo-Visma, and remained second overall.

"I'm not going to win a sprint against Van Aert or Roglič, so I had to try something, and I wasn't feeling great either," the Briton said. "I wasn't confident to make an advantage, but if you don't try then you never know. I tried, and there was no real tactics, I just had luck."

Yates trailed Roglič by 47 seconds going into the day, and ended just 29 seconds behind the Slovenian. However, he maintained that he was only thinking about winning the stage in Nice.

"I don't know, I was not think about the GC today," he said. "I was just thinking about the stage win. Of course it crossed my mind once the gap really started to go out, but today I was all in for the stage win and that was it."

It is Yates' fourth stage win at Paris-Nice, but his first since 2019. It caps a week off which saw him deliver an impressive time trial on stage four. It is his best stage race result since winning the Tour of the Alps in April last year, and his first WorldTour stage race win since Tirreno-Adriatico in 2020.

However, he urged people to not read "too much" into his performance over eight days this week.

"The Giro [d'Italia] is still a long way away, at least as far as I'm concerned," Yates said. "Of course I'm very happy with my performance this week, it's been good. I do Catalunya next as well, which is not far away, so hopefully another good performance there. 

"I think I'm really happy with the stage win, but the time trial was the best one I've done for a long time, so of course I'm very happy with that performance there."

After Saturday's stage to the Col de Turini, Yates had said that Roglič was hardly breathing while the others were panting on the mountain pass.

However, he argued that the final stage suited him a lot more, and that he also drew on experience to bring home the win.

"Shorter climbs, much more explosive," he said. "Yesterday I think it took us maybe 40 minutes to do the final climb, more of an aerobic effort. Obviously the conditions as well. I don't like racing in the rain or the cold but I had a lot of clothes on today. Maybe after the long descent into Nice that's where I gained a little bit maybe, I kept a lot of clothes on. 

"I did that with a bit of experience, because I've raced this circuit in the rain before and frozen up, in 2018 and not had the legs, so maybe that's where the difference was."

Yates might not have won the yellow jersey, but he proved that he is in very good form ahead of a spring in which he hopes to pull on the pink jersey instead.

Team BikeExchange-Jayco has pulled out of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana ahead of stage three after two positive covid results from within the team.

The Australian squad has been testing daily during races, and received the pair of positives on Thursday evening. It means they will miss the final three stages of the race.

Christopher Juul-Jensen had already withdrawn from the five-day race due to injury, and so the team might have been severely depleted with the covid withdrawals. It was not stated whether it was riders or staff members who tested positive.

Brent Copeland, the team's general manager, said that withdrawing the whole squad was the "only correct decision".

In a statement, he said: “The safety of all our riders and staff, and that of everyone involved in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana is of the utmost importance, and we believe the only correct decision to be taken in these circumstances is to withdraw from the race.

“We would like to thank the race organisation for their understanding and support, and will continue to carry out our team policy to ensure the safest possible outcome.”

According to UCI protocols, riders must be fully vaccinated or present a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours of the race start, in order to take part.

There is no requirement for a team to test its riders every day from the UCI, but this might differ based on team, race organiser, and nation protocols.

BikeExchange-Jayco was yet to impress at this year's Valenciana so far, with its best result on the first day being Damien Howson in 20th and Dion Smith in 35th crossing the line first for the team on the second stage.

Meanwhile, its new sprinter Dylan Groenewegen won his first race for the team at the Saudi Tour on stage three.

The press release said that Valenciana's race organisers were informed immediately. It continued: "The medical team are now working to move riders and staff safely to areas of quarantine where necessary, and to continue further testing."

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl have won both stages of the race so far, with Remco Evenepoel soloing to victory on stage one before Fabio Jakobsen comfortably outsprinted the field to claim stage two.

Team BikeExchange-Jayco are to ride in blue for the men and "aubergine" for the women in 2022, with the roster on Giant and Liv bikes respectively. 

The Australian WorldTour team announced separate colour schemes and identity for their men's and women's squads for the first time, on Monday. The women's team will ride Liv bikes, with the company's aubergine reflected in the kit, while the men's team will use Giants and have "cobalt blue" on the jersey to reflect this.

The new kits are made by Italian brand Alé, who BikeExchange-Jayco have signed a deal with for the next two seasons. The company also makes the kits of Groupama-FDJ and Bahrain Victorious.

Both the women and men will wear blue bibshorts, but will have different highlights across the whole kit.

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Giant's deal with the team runs until 2024, and marks the return of the Taiwanese firm to the WorldTour after they departed along with CCC at the end of 2020. Liv also sponsor Liv Racing Xstra in the Women's WorldTour. 

The bikes will be equipped with Shimano groupsets and Giant's subsidiary brand of Cadex wheels, saddles, handlebars and other accessories

Team owner Gerry Ryan, who part-funds the team through the businesses he runs, said that the new deal will push the Australian team forward into its second decade.

"It seems like yesterday that we began this adventure into WorldTour cycling with the first ever Australian professional cycling team, and now we already find ourselves going into the second decade of GreenEDGE Cycling," Ryan said. 

"Then again, as they say, times flies when you are having fun while hard at work. Time has passed by very fast, and the excitement and commitment is still the same as it was on day one."

He continued: "We are proud to be able to begin this new decade with the partnership of Giant, Liv and Cadex. It makes us proud to partner with Giant as they rejoin the men’s WorldTour peloton.

"It means that what we have done in the last decade and what we are bringing forward with our staff, led by our General Manager Brent Copeland, is the right route to follow. We will continue with the same spirit that has characterised us during the last ten years as we begin this new and exciting era."

New signings for the men's team include Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen and the American Lawson Craddock. Meanwhile, Grace Brown and Sarah Roy may have left the women's team, but Kristen Faulkner and Nina Kessler have been brought in.

Mikel Nieve is dropping out of the WorldTour and joining second division Spanish team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA for the 2022 season. 

Nieve, who has been part of the WorldTour for 13 years, is leaving Australian squad Team BikeExchange to return to the team where he started his racing career as a junior and under 23 rider.

Since leaving Caja Rural, Nieve has gone on to be one of the most sought after mountain domestiques in the world, supporting the likes of Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, both Adam and Simon Yates, and Samuel Sánchez among many others.

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Nieve has also won the mountains jersey at the Giro d'Italia as well as three stages at the Italian Grand Tour and one at the Vuelta a España. A stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné is his only other career win.

Nieve said: "It will be special to put on the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA jersey again. It is the team where I started learning to be a cyclist, enjoying five very good years of which I keep very good memories. 

"Since then the team has grown, in this time I have been able to be part of other teams, with different languages and cultures, and returning to compete at home feels good."

Nieve was part of the Caja Rural set-up when it was called Club Ciclista Burunda before it was a professional team. Five years were spent at the team as he developed as a rider until he was 22. His biggest win for them was the Memorial Valenciaga in 2007.

Nieve then joined Orbea-Oreka before launching into his WorldTour career with Euskaltel-Euskadi where he stayed for five years, before then venturing on a four-year stint with Team Sky and a five-year spell with Team BikeExchange.

"I want to contribute on the bicycle and also off it, transmit my experiences to the young colleagues and help them in their progression," Nieve said. "On a personal level, I want to enjoy cycling again, since in 2021 I had several falls that prevented things from going well. 

"This new season I face it with great enthusiasm and motivation, all races will be special with this jersey and I want to do my best while enjoying the bike."

Team BikeExchange, changing their name to Team BikeExchange Jayco from 2022, have confirmed their 28-man roster ahead of the upcoming season, and are focussing on widespread wins across the team.

The Australian team managed just nine wins last season, which saw their UCI ranking fall from 11th in 2020 to 18th. However, seven new riders from seven different countries will join Team BikeExchange Jayco next season, bringing a mix of experience and youth to a squad that faced structural changes and adjustments last year. 

Michael Matthews and Simon Yates remain as team leaders, while the seven new signings include track riders Kelland O’Brien and Campbell Stewart, who are looking to transition to the WorldTour road ranks, mountain biker Alex Balmer, talented young Colombian Jesus David Peña, Matteo Sobrero, who beat world champion Filippo Ganna to win the Italian time trial, the experienced Lawson Craddock, and strong mountain rider Jan Maas. 

Despite the changes in personnel and rebuilding phase of the team, Team BikeExchange Jayco management are confident that they can achieve more victories in 2022 from a range of different sources.  

Head Sport Director Matt White said: “Over the last two seasons our roster has changed, so we also need to do things differently and adapt. 

"We have traditionally been a team that has won races across our roster from January to October and never relied on one star to deliver the majority of our wins. We did not achieve this in 2021 and it’s an area we will again focus on in 2022. 

"The Grand Tours are of course very important objectives, especially with leaders like Simon Yates and Michael Matthews, but in this rebuilding phase, winning races anywhere and everywhere is also crucial. With these changes in mind, we will alter some of our goals for the coming season, and that also involves adapting our style of racing when required.”

While the team faced a difficult season in the one just gone, General Manager Brent Copeland explained that they are happy with the results upon reflection. He also claims that the struggle was necessary, making everyone more optimistic for widespread success next year.  

Copeland said: “We can be very satisfied with the work that has been done this year by the performance staff, who have done an exceptional job together with the sport directors and technical staff.

"We have done a detailed analysis of the past season and we are confident that the decisions have been made in the best interest of the team, both with regards to rider selections as well as team goals and ambitions.” 

Team BikeExchange Jayco for 2022:

• Alex Balmer (SWI, 21) New rider for 2022
• Jack Bauer (NZL, 36)
• Sam Bewley (NZL, 34)
• Lawson Craddock (USA, 29) New rider for 2022
• Kevin Colleoni (ITA, 22)
• Luke Durbridge (AUS, 30)
• Alex Edmondson (AUS, 27)
• Tsgabu Grmay (ETH, 30)
• Lucas Hamilton (AUS, 25)
• Michael Hepburn (AUS, 30)
• Damien Howson (AUS, 29)
• Amund Grøndahl Jansen (NOR, 27)
• Kaden Groves (AUS, 22)
• Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN, 32)
• Tanel Kangert (EST, 34)
• Alex Konychev (ITA, 23)
• Jan Maas (NED, 25) New rider for 2022
• Michael Matthews (AUS, 31)
• Cameron Meyer (AUS, 33)
• Luka Mezgec (SLO, 33)
• Kelland O’Brien (AUS, 23) New rider for 2022
• Jesús David Peña (COL, 21) New rider for 2022
• Callum Scotson (AUS, 25)
• Nick Schultz (AUS, 27)
• Dion Smith (NZL, 28)
• Matteo Sobrero (ITA, 24) New rider for 2022
• Campbell Steward (NZL, 23) New rider for 2022
• Simon Yates (GBR, 29

Team BikeExchange's general manager Brent Copeland has confirmed that Tom Dumoulin is among the riders they will consider signing for the future as a potential general classification (GC) rider. 

The Dutch rider is out of contract at the end of 2022 with his current team Jumbo-Visma, so for Team BikeExchange this would be a move looking to the future, rather than a short-term possibility. Last month L’Equipe reported that Dumoulin could terminate his contract with Jumbo-Visma, but he quickly denied the claim. 

However, with the 30-year-old out of contract in a year's time, Copeland revealed that the team will definitely consider bringing him to the Australian outfit.  

“Tom Dumoulin is a rider that's on the market at the end of next year and he is a rider that most teams would like to have on board if he performs like he did at the Olympics, for example,” Brent Copeland told Cyclingnews.  

“If he's wanting to carry on with GC ambitions he is definitely a rider that we would sit down and say, ‘okay, is this someone that we could bring on board for the future and work with’. He has still got a good couple of years ahead of him, so those discussions are ongoing all the time.”

Dumoulin's 2021 season featured a limited race schedule, after announcing in January that he would take an indefinite leave from the sport to better understand his motivations for cycling. However, he still managed to show his quality in the year, with both first place in the Dutch National Championships time trial in June, his first event after his return, and a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games time trial. 

The 2017 Giro d'Italia winner, Copeland argues, now has to prove he is able to perform over the year before the team makes a decision. 

“You have to see how he goes next year; if he's going to invest in GC still, or three week GC or just one-week GC races," said Copeland. "That's something we'll have to look at but it’s not a decision we make today. He's one of many riders that we have on the list that we are continuously looking at and thinking about for the future."

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Should the Dutchman convince Team BikeExchange management of his quality, they could have a strong contingent of riders capable of challenging at the Grand Tours, after the team lost Adam Yates and Jack Haig to rival squads. 

A leaked contract shines a light on the supposed deal for the Manuel Fundación to take over WorldTour outfit Mitchelton-Scott in June 2020, an episode that caused much confusion across the cycling world.

Revealed to Spanish newspaper Marca, the deal allegedly valued Mitchelton-Scott, now called Team BikeExchange, at €6,980,000, with the Manuela Fundación planning to become the main sponsor and "100%" owner. 

The deal stated the entire Mitchelton-Scott structure would be transferred from the Australian team's owner, Gerry Ryan, to the Granada-based organisation, with the team's kit and vehicles bearing their colours and name until at least the end of the year. The deal seemed done but the Manuela Fundación had not purchased the UCI licence that was still owned by Ryan, allowing him to pull out of the deal at the last minute, and even after the team had gone public with the news.

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Marca claims the breakdown of this deal alerted other WorldTour outfits to Manuela Fundación's supposedly deep pockets, the newspaper printing a photo of Francis Huertas, the organisation's signatory on the leaked deal, at a restauarant in the Costa del Sol with Deceuninck - Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere a few months after the Mitchelton-Scott deal fell through. Huertas was apparently trying to negotiate a price tag of €8 million for the Belgian team.

While that conversation evidently amounted to nothing, the Manuela Fundación has instead opted to start from the bottom, acquiring a UCI Continental licence to race next year.

At the time of the original announcement of Manuela Fundación's involvement with Mitchelton-Scott, a press release from the team said the deal was a "long-term" agreement, calling it "welcome news" during the difficult economic environment caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

BikeExchange have also recently called an end to talks with Premier Tech, according to Cycling News, the Canadian company that sponsored Astana this season.

The company was apparently willing to invest €5 million but wanted a 50 per cent stake in return, which Gerry Ryan was seemingly unhappy to agree to.

Team BikeExchange riders woke up on the morning of stage five at Tour de l'Ardeche to find that 12 of their Bianchi bikes had been stolen overnight, putting their race at risk. 

Fortunately though, the peloton helped rescue Team BikeExchange, with Trek Segafredo, Liv Racing, and Movistar all lending the Australian team spare bikes. Team BikeExchange took to the start line in Saint-Jean-en Royans thanks to the act of kindness, after riders and staff rallied around to help continue their general classification battle.

Marta Bastianelli (Alé -BTC-Ljubljana) won the fifth stage, 22 seconds ahead of second-place Emma Langley (Tibco-SVB), while Team BikeExchange rider Ane Santesteban ended as the team's highest finisher in sixth-place. Despite the disruption, Santesteban remains nine seconds behind race leader Leah Thomas in the general classification after stage five, with just two stages remaining.

The Spaniard was full of gratitude for everyone that helped Team BikeExchange even start the race, which keeps her in contention to win Tour de l’Ardeche. 

“I was able to race today’s fifth stage on a Bianchi Specialissima that the mechanic built for me in the last few hours," said Santesteban. "So first of all, I want to thank all the staff and teams for the job in helping to get us to the start line."

"The girls all did really good today, it was so nice to have [Amanda] Spratt in the break and on the last two climbs I was able to get away with Mavi Garcia and Leah Thomas. I was feeling really good and wanted to try on the last climb but I was not able to open a gap. 

"In the end we arrived together to the finish line, I am still second on the general classification, just a few seconds from the first position and we still have two more stages to go to fight.”

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Team BikeExchange's Sport Director Alejandro Gonzales-Tablas was also extremely grateful for the generosity of the other teams. 

“It is not something you ever want to happen," said Gonzales-Tablas, "but we are proud of how the riders handled the situation and would like to thank the teams that helped us get to the start line today so that we could continue in this race. 

"Ane was able to have a strong ride to finish in sixth place on the stage despite the disruption and could continue to fight for her strong overall placing where she now sits in second place on the general classification, so we are very grateful to still be in the race and able to participate in today’s stage, given the unfortunate circumstances.”

Esteban Chaves will be leaving the Australian squad Team BikeExchange after eight years to join the American team EF Education-Nippo in 2022 on a one-year contract.

The Colombian has had a turbulent time of late having battled the Epstein-Barr virus between 2018 and 2019 and has since been slowly getting back to top form. He put in a superb display at the Volta a Catalunya to take a stage win, as well as second on another and taking two jerseys (points and mountains).

While at BikeExchange, Chaves won the Italian Monument Il Lombardia in 2016 as well as three Giro d'Italia stages and two Vuelta a España stages. He's also podiumed in both of those races, not to mention winning the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Herald Sun Tour along the way.

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The 31-year-old is now moving on to join EF Education-Nippo on a one-year deal, beginning at the start of next year.

Chaves said: "I wanted to join the EF Education-Nippo for several reasons. First of all, from the outside, you can see it is like a big family where everyone is driven by the passion of cycling. Also, one of the directors is a rider I really admired when I started riding my bike - Juanma Garate - and finally, I would love to have Colombian team-mates. But most importantly, the cycling kit is really cool, don’t you think?"

The Colombian looks set to be the replacement for Sergio Higuita who will be joining Bora-Hansgrohe from 2022. Chaves will be joining fellow countryman Rigoberto Urán among others.

"I love the feeling of freedom when riding your bike and the pride of getting to the top of the mountain or finishing a race," Chaves continued. "Also, I love that it is a sport that you can practice with friends and family. Most of all, I really like the power of cycling as a tool to show that dreams come true if you work hard. 

"I’m excited about everything! New bike, new kit, new team-mates, new helmet, new races, new challenges. I feel like a neo-pro again,"

Esteban Chaves is one of many riders on the move, keep up with all the transfers in the men's and women's WorldTour with our transfer page.

Team BikeExchange have released an update on Simon Yates' condition after he abandoned the Tour de France 2021 due to a heavy crash on stage 13.

The team's doctor confirmed that the British climber had trauma to his abdominal wall before he was then transferred to the hospital in the finish city of Carcassonne where he underwent a precautionary CT scan which fortunately didn't show further issues. He is aiming to ride the Olympic Games road race in Tokyo on July 24, so will be hoping the after-effects of the crash don't hamper his preparations.

Yates went down with a large group of riders including his team-mate and climber, Lucas Hamilton, who also abandoned the race soon after Yates did with it later revealed that he suffered a dislocated shoulder.

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The team's head sport director, Matt White said: "It is devastating for Lucas and Simon; everybody knows how much hard work the boys put in to prepare for the biggest race of the year. We have lost two of our three climbers going into the Pyrenees which means we are going to have to adjust our tactics but the immediate priority for us is to see how the guys are and that they recover well."

The team would have been targetting days in the Pyrenees to try and take a stage win but now they're only left with one climber in the race, Esteban Chaves. 

Yates has been in the breakaway on a couple of occasions at the race but did look a bit off the pace, being dropped by the likes of Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) on the climbs, which is not what we're used to seeing from the 2018 Vuelta a España winner.

Yates was involved in a crash with around 62km to go after the pace had rocketed due to a plethora of attacks at the front of the peloton. The peloton went onto a fast and tight descent that had patches on gravel on the right-hand side of the road which brought a large number of riders down, with some falling down the side of the hill next to the road.

Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) went on to win his 34th and record-equaling stage win at the Tour de France on stage 13 but it's back to the climbing with 183.7km in the foothills of the Pyrenees between Carcassonne and Quillan.

Simon Yates has revealed he believed Egan Bernal would let him ride away on stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia, after reading comments from his rival in the media. 

British star Yates is hoping to take the maglia rosa from Bernal’s shoulders in the pivotal final stages of the 2021 Giro, and went on the offensive again on the penultimate mountain stage.

After attacking 6km from the summit of Alpe di Mera, Yates went clear of Bernal and Ineos Grenadiers to win his first stage of this year’s Giro.

But with one more road stage remaining the job isn’t done for Yates, as he still sits third overall, with a 2-49 deficit to Bernal.

Speaking after the finish of stage 19, Yates said: “I’m really happy. The team did a fantastic job today, controlled at the start, worked a lot and I managed to finish it off.

“I saw the boys from Ineos, they were happy to ride at tempo behind [after João Almeida attacked] and I had a feeling they would let me go today. 

“I read something from Egan on Twitter about how they would be more conservative and control rather than try to go with me.

“I had a feeling they would let me go and as soon as I attacked I saw I was correct, so I just tried to ride full gas and that was it.” 

Yates has been focused on winning this year’s Giro d’Italia, and has clawed his way back onto the podium after some time losses in bad weather during the middle week.

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But after attacking Bernal on stage 17 to Sega di Ala and gaining some time, Yates picked up another 28 seconds on Bernal and 32 to Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), who is second overall. 

With one mountain stage remaining before the final time trial in Milan, Yates needs to make up 20 seconds on Caruso to move into second, and 2-49 on Bernal if he wants to take over the leader’s jersey before the TT.  

On his chances of taking pink, Yates said: "I tried to do my best today. It wasn’t the most difficult of stages, a very difficult final climb. Tomorrow is very different, a very hard stage, back in the high altitude so we’ll see what I can do. 

"I’m just doing my best at the moment, and I’m happy with the stage win." 

Simon Yates says the maglia rosa is now beyond him at the Giro d'Italia, after losing time on stage 16, and will now aim to take a podium spot, which is still "well within reach".

“It was a difficult stage, not what I was looking for, but I did my best," the BikeExchange rider said after the finish. "The victory is a bit far away now, but the podium is still well within reach, so we’ll keep the head up, keep the chin up and go from there."

Yates was distanced on the Passo Giau, the day's major test, and eventually finished 11th, losing 2-37 to stage winner Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), two minutes to second-place Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious), and over a minute to EF Education-Nippo's Hugh Carthy.

The result was the Brit slipping from second and a minute-and-a-half behind Bernal to fifth and four minutes adrift, but with plenty of uphill kilometres still to come in the final week of the Italian Grand Tour.

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“It was a difficult stage, a little bit less difficult because we didn’t run the full stage. Lucky we didn’t as it was cold enough today and I think they (RSC race organisers) made the correct decision," Yates' sports director Matt White said. "It was cold and if we had gone over those other two passes in those temperatures, we would have seen even bigger gaps, so I think it was the best decision for rider safety."

White says that Yates and the team will now reset and get ready to go on the offensive as they try to claim a podium spot before arriving in Milan.

"With us, it didn’t go as planned. You have to manage your bad days; they are just as important as managing your good days. There’s still a lot of racing to come, there’s a well-deserved rest day tomorrow and then we press reset and attack our last block before Milan.”

Simon Yates says he's happy with how he performed on the gravel roads of Tuscany during the 11th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2021 and that he's glad he rode Strade Bianche earlier in the season.

Yates (BikeExchange) has slowly been making his way up the overall standings and has gone under the radar a bit now that Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) have been seemingly the dominant riders.

However, Evenepoel slipped to seventh at 2-22 in the overall standings with Yates jumping above him to fifth a whole minute ahead of the young Belgian.

>>> Egan Bernal extends lead on the gravel roads of Giro d'Italia 2021 stage 11

Yates spoke after the stage: "It was a good day today looking at the situation with the GC. I have moved up to fifth overall now so onwards and upwards.

"It is was not one of the days I was looking forward to but I think I did a good ride there and had good legs, so I am looking forward to the days to come."

The British rider made his debut on the gravel roads of Strade Bianche this year as he looked to get used to the feel of the uneven surface. 

He finished 63rd then but it clearly helped as he came in 15th on the Giro stage just 26 seconds behind the pink jersey of Bernal, who finished third at Strade Bianche.

"It is not my favourite terrain, I don’t have any experience of riding off-road other than in Strade Bianche earlier in the year, which I think was very valuable in doing just for the experience and it helped me a lot today as well as doing the recon before the race. I am just happy to get through it really."

Yates may have learnt from past mistakes when he has gone all-in early and suffered for it later in the race. With 2018 being a perfect example when he lost almost half an hour on a flying Chris Froome (the Team Sky).

Stage 12 of the Giro is another day of climbing with the stage taking in four categorised climbs over 212km between Siena and Bagno di Romagna.

Team BikeExchange sports director Gene Bates has been thrown out of the Giro d’Italia 2021 after hitting Pieter Serry with his team car on the final climb of stage six.

Serry (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) seemed to be okay after a pretty heavy impact but he was understandably furious with Bates who, from what we saw from the helicopter shot, was quick to apologise to the Belgian veteran as the BikeExchange mechanic sorted out his bike.

Later that evening, BikeExchange tweeted that Bates had spoken to Serry and apologised before leaving the race with both teams posting their relief that Serry finished the stage and that he was okay.

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Matt White, who was the passenger in the car, was fined 2000 CHF after the stage, which is just over £1500.

White spoke to Eurosport GCN before the start of stage seven: “We take responsibility for the action that we made. It was an unfortunate accident, but the best thing is that Pieter Serry didn’t get injured and Gene Bates, our sports director rang him personally and they had a good discussion and there’s no bad blood between the two teams.

“We’re doing this every day for 250 days a year and it's very tight driving. A lot of people in the cars are very good drivers. This is our job. We’re doing it 10 months of the year and it was an unfortunate accident.

“The main thing is that Pieter Serry is fine. The unfortunate thing for us is we’ve lost our sports director for the rest of the race, which I personally think is a very harsh penalty for an accident where no-one was injured. That’s it. It was an accident.”

The crash took place in the closing stages of the sixth stage with Serry dropping out of the peloton after doing his job for his team leader, Remco Evenepoel. But the BikeExchange car was driving alongside the commissaire's car as the race officials were handing team jackets back to the team car as riders will have given them to the officials instead of throwing them to the side of the road.

This was all taking place while cars were still driving and clearly not concentrating on the road when Bates drove into the back wheel of Serry. The Belgian rider then landed on the bonnet of the car before hitting his backside on the road.

This isn’t the first time Serry has been knocked off his bike by a vehicle in a race convoy this season as he was hit by a motorbike on the opening stage of the Volta a Catalunya to Calella.

Serry recalled this after finishing stage six of the Giro: “It’s a really sad feeling because one month ago in Catalunya I had the same with a motorbike - my back really hurts and I was a bit emotional.”

Race director of the Giro d’Italia told CyclingNews: “It’s the job of the commissaire's to decide whether there should be a sanction or not. But I’ve said before that cycling has become such a difficult sport, wherein every moment you have to stay concentrated on everything. 

“Riders can make mistakes, the organisation can make mistakes and so can the people driving team cars. It’s a pity but it’s not something we’ve discovered today. I’ve been doing this job for 45 years and in these 45 years I’ve seen a lot of things.”

Deceuninck - Quick-Step raced on and managed a fourth place on the day with Evenepoel looking very strong in the main favourites' group whereas BikeExchange’s leader, Simon Yates lost a little bit more time but moved himself to 10th overall after suffering in the cold, just under a minute down on the overall leader, Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ).

The seventh stage is another day for the fast men with the sprint teams expected to control before yet another day for the general classification as the first week comes to a close.

Simon Yates comes into the Giro d'Italia 2021 to try and make it fourth time lucky after falling short on his previous rides of the Italian Grand Tour, but says he is wary of past failings in week three.

Yates (BikeExchange) comes into the race, yet again, as one of the top favourites after a very impressive performance at the recent Tour of the Alps where he beat rivals such as fellow Brit Hugh Carthy (EF-Nippo) as well as Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers), and Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) to overall victory.

The British rider from Bury has, in the past, come out of the traps all guns blazing, especially in 2018 when he took three stage wins but he suffered in the final week, slipping out of pink to 21st with Chris Froome (then Team Sky) taking the overall win.

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When asked in a pre-race press conference about his tactics he said: "We'll see, we have to see how the prologue goes first, I know it's a cliché but we take it day-by-day.

"I can't predict what's going to happen in the first, second, or third week but we'll try to do our best every day. It also depends on what the other teams' want to do and how they want to race. But of course, if there is an opportunity I will try and take it."

Yates' new motto for this year's race is that he and the team have to be "calm and cautious," repeating the phrase multiple times throughout the press conference, taking in that the entire race is a very difficult one this year.

He continued: "We have to be careful at all moments, save energy when we can but of course we have to try and win the race and for me, I will have to take some time at some point before the final time trial. We'll see how it goes but calm, cautious and we'll just try to do our best."

"It will be challenging and of course the stage with the gravel I'll be looking to avoid any mishaps, any crashes, any splits and really concentrate on later in the race."

The 2018 Vuelta a España winner suffered from more disappointment at the race in 2020 when he had to abandon due to catching Covid-19, but says he hopes for better luck in this year's edition with a very strong team around him that he trusts.

Yates will be hoping these past difficulties have helped him for this year's race as he looks to avoid the same things happening again.

"It's hard to say [where the race will be won], you look at the last few years the race has always been won in the third week. There are guys who come from nowhere to win the bike race. I know that very personally as well.

"I'm getting older, getting more experienced as time goes on so I hope I'm learning to manage myself better. We're also evolving as a team we haven't really been targeting the GC for that long compared to other teams so I hope we can learn those experiences from the past to try and help us win this Giro."

The Giro starts on Saturday, May 8 with an 8.6km individual time trial around the city of Turin before heading on a three-week adventure around mostly central and northern Italy. 

Simon Yates took the overall title after stage five of the Tour of the Alps 2021 with Felix Großschartner holding on from the breakaway to cross the line first and take the stage victory.

Yates' squad, Team BikeExchange, had control of the race for almost the entire day despite 16 riders including Irishman Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) going clear in the breakaway. Almost all of the break was brought back on the final climb with Yates's team-mates neutralising any attack.

Großschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) attacked the leading group at the base of the final climb to go clear from the rest with no-one able to follow the Austrian climber. He quickly pulled out a convincing lead and descended to victory.

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Nicolas Roche (DSM) and Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) tried to hold off the peloton to take the podium spaces on the stage with Roche managing to out-sprint De Marchi.

Yates finished comfortably within the peloton along with Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) who stayed at 58 seconds and 1-06 in GC.

How it happened

The stage started in the town of Idroland at Valle del Chiese before tackling the five climbs of the day during the 120.9km, only two of the climbs were categorised on the way to Riva del Garda.

The peloton passed the finish line three times before the finish as the riders took on the Lago di Tenno climb twice, with just the first passage giving out points in the mountains competition. The other categorised climb on the day came earlier on the Passo Duron.

A huge breakaway of 16 riders got away including potential threats to the overall including Martin who slipped down the general classification on stage four after crashing on the fast descent. He started the day just over four minutes down in 14th place.

The break held a maximum gap of three minutes but was not giving much breathing space due to the dangerous riders in the general classification.

The break broke down with Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Roche, De Marchi, Georg Steinhauser (Tirol-KTM), Großschartner, Tony Gallopin (Ag2r-Citroën) and Julen Amezqueta (Caja Rural) going clear before the first ascent of the Tenno climb.

Trek-Segafredo were put onto the front to chase down the break to try and go for the stage but they had just over two minutes with 38km to go. Astana-Premier Tech started really pushing the tempo with Luis León Sánchez leading birthday boy Aleksandr Vlasov to maybe set up an attack at the 32km to go mark.

Nothing came of that move and BikeExchange retook control of the peloton on the descent down to the second of three passages of the finish line.

The chasing group were slowly catching the leaders had Martin in there as well as Iván Sosa (Ineos Grenadiers), Michael Storer (DSM), Matteo Fabbro (Bora-Hansgrohe), Vadim Pronskiy (Astana-Premier Tech) and Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain Victorious) but they struggled to make it across.

Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo) attacked on the first descent of the Tenno climb and really committed to the chase, almost overcooking a sharp hairpin on the way down. He caught Martin on the valley bottom.

The leaders were working well together coming into the second ascent of the Tenno with 22km to go, they held just over a minute on the chasing peloton as they crossed the finish line for the penultimate time.

Most of the chasing groups were brought back before the final ascent. This included Brambilla and Martin as well as Sosa’s group. Storer hit out alone to try and bridge to the leaders.

Storer managed to get across to the leaders on the early slopes of the climb but Großschartner had launched an early attack. Pinot and Steinhauser got dropped straight away. Amezqueta and Roche then lost touch as Gallopin and De Marchi continued the chase of the Austrian climber.

But Großschartner only held about 40 seconds back to the chasing peloton that was still being led by Yates’ team of BikeExchange with Ineos Grenadiers following closely. An Astana-Premier Tech rider clipped a wheel and went down hard taking out several riders on the climb, most of the riders fighting for the overall managed to avoid the spill with 17km to go.

The Austrian extended his lead again thanks to his fast pace pushing the gap to Roche and De Marchi to 43 seconds and 1-30 back to the peloton. The first attack went away with Alejandro Osorio (Caja Rural) launching the first move from the peloton.

Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) and Ruben Guerreiro (EF-Nippo) then countered that but BikeExchange controlled everything to calm the pacing down. At the 13km to go mark as Großschartner went over the top.

Großschartner held on all the way to the line with Roche and De Marchi managing to hold off the peloton to fill the podium spots on the stage. Yates finished comfortably within the peloton alongside the podium sitters of Bilbao and Vlasov.

Yates and a lot of the other riders in the race will now turn their attention towards the fight for pink at the first Grand Tour of the season at the Giro d'Italia which kicks off on May 8.

Results

Tour of the Alps 2021 stage five, Valle del Chiese/Idroland to Riva del Garda (120.9km)

1. Felix Großschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3-03-38

2. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team DSM, at 34 seconds

3. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation, at same time

4. Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, at 40s

5. Alejandro Osorio (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

6. Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM

7. Luis León Sánchez (Esp) Astana-Premier Tech

8. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo

9. Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain Victorious

10. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, all at same time.

Final general classification

1. Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange, in 18-36-06

2. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain Victorious, at 58 seconds

3. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech, at 1-06

4. Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, at 2-25

5. Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-Nippo, at 2-37

6. Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 2-44

7. Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkéa-Samsic, at 2-54

8. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo, at 3-12

9. Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM, at same time

10. Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange, at 3-36.

Simon Yates won stage two of the Tour of the Alps 2021 with a very impressive 25km solo effort after attacking multiple times to drop all his rivals on the penultimate climb.

Yates (BikeExchange) put in his attacks after Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) tried multiple times too. Defending champion Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) was the last man to hold on the longest to the British rider.

Sivakov attacked on the final climb after being caught by a large group at the base of the climb where the Russian held on to take second on the day 40 seconds down on Yates.

Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) led in a group of three a few seconds later to take third on the day. Yates takes the overall lead as well as the stage by an impressive margin of 45 seconds going into stage three tomorrow.

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How it happened

The second stage of the Tour of the Alps 2021 started in the finish city of stage one in Innsbruck before taking on four climbs, two of which were categorised before finishing in Feichten im Kaunertal after 121.5km.

Six riders got away eventually after a fast start, Felix Engelhardt (Tirol-KTM) made it up there for the second day in a row taking maximum points in the intermediate sprint to hold his red intermediate sprints jersey.

The other five riders in the break were Reuben Thompson (Groupama-FDJ), Reinhardt Janse Van Rensburg (Qhubeka-Assos), Mathias Vacek (Gazprom-RusVelo), Morten Hulgaard (Uno-X) and Davide Bais (Eolo-Kometa), who got a maximum gap of three minutes.

Janse Van Rensburg lost touch on the first categorised climb of the Gachenblinck-Piller Sattel and faded back into the peloton with 55km to go. Thompson went clear to take maximum points on the first climb and pushed on with Bais over the top with 44km to go with the gap at 2-30.

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Ineos Grenadiers led the peloton throughout the day with Salvatore Puccio leading the way for the vast majority of the race alongside fellow Italian and team-mate Leonardo Basso.

At the 35km to go mark Thompson and Bais had a 22-second lead on the descent to the rest of the breakaway and pulled the gap back to the peloton up to over two minutes again. They hit the second ascent of the Kaunergrat side of the Piller Sattel with 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the break and two minutes to the peloton at 29km to go.

Ineos Grenadiers led onto the climb but Arkéa-Samsic came to the front en-masse for their leader Quintana with the time gap plummeting to the leaders, who were dragged back with 26km to go.

Winner Anacona (Arkéa-Samsic) was drilling the pace up the climb with Quintana on his wheel as the snow started to fall lightly on the riders. Quintana attacked with 24km to go, Dani Martínez, Sivakov and Iván Sosa (all Ineos Grenadiers) all able to follow.

Sivakov countered that with Quintana following. Hugh Carthy (EF-Nippo) tried to launch across to the leaders but that dragged the rest back. Quintana kicked a third time with Carthy and Sivakov going with it.

Jefferson Cepeda (Androni), Yates, Jai Hindley (DSM), and about 15 others managed to stay with it. Martínez countered the next move but Yates led everyone back before having a go himself.

The Yates surge saw the peloton crack dramatically with just Sivakov, Carthy and Quintana able to follow with 24km to go. Yates then put in a huge attack that dropped both fellow Brit Carthy as well as Quintana. Sivakov made it across to stay with Yates though.

Yates upped the cadence again and this time the rider from Bury managed to leave the Russian Ineos Grenadiers rider. Sivakov dropped back to Carthy and Quintana very quickly as Yates went over the top of the climb with 21km to go holding a gap of 20 seconds.

Behind, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious) and Romain Bardet (DSM) made it to the chasing trio at the bottom of the descent. Bardet attacked straight away but was brought back as the group swelled to 15 riders with 9km to go. Yates continued to hold 45 seconds.

Alejandro Osorio (Caja-Rural) and Martínez went clear from that group before being joined by Hindley, Cepeda and Ruben Guerreiro (EF-Nippo) with 8km to go. Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech), Sivakov, and Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) joined them but they just continued attacking each other.

It finally snapped allowing Sivakov, Vlasov, Hindley, Martin, and Cepeda to get away as they started working hard to catch Yates who was 44 seconds further up the road.

Sivakov attacked the chase group and went clear with Cepeda before dropping the young Ecuadorian and going clear in the final 4km. Sivakov held on for second with Martin and Vlasov catching and beating Cepeda to the line.

Yates rode on to win the stage by 41 seconds, taking a 45 second lead in the general classification over Sivakov going into stage three which is likely to suit the punchy sprinters on a hilly route from Imst to Naturno over 162km.

Results

Tour of the Alps 2021, stage two: Innsbruck to Feichten im Kaunertal (121.5km)

1. Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange, in 3-17-42

2. Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 41 seconds

3. Dan Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation, at 58s

4. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech

5. Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, all at same time

6. Jai Hindley (Aus) Team DSM, at 1-17

7. Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-Nippo, at same time

8. Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange, at 1-42

9. Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM

10. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo, all at same time.

General classification after stage two

1. Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange, in 6-46-56

2. Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 45s

3. Dan Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation, at 1-04

4. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech, at 1-08

5. Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, at same time

6. Jai Hindley (Aus) Team DSM, at 1-27

7. Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-Nippo, at same time

8. Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange, at 1-52

9. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo

10. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain Victorious, all at same time.

Esteban Chaves described his win on stage four of the Volta a Catalunya as a "joy", saying it "gives me a lot of confidence".

The Colombian attacked with seven kilometres remaining of the final 18.6km finishing climb at Port Ainé and held on for a memorable solo victory, crossing the line seven seconds ahead of a bunch of nine riders.

Just a day after finishing second on another summit finish, the victory is the 31-year-old's first triumph since an emotional win at the 2019 Giro d'Italia and confirms that he is back among the world's leading climbers after a number of seasons disrupted by injury and illness.

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"I am very happy, very pleased," he said, producing his trademark smile.

"I had a lot to do to win and I couldn't lose anything but we controlled it really well.

"I had really good sensations but above all it's the first victory for the team as BikeExchange."

Chaves, whose European base is in Andorra, knew the climb well having trained on the slopes of the ski resort a number of times.

But the Volta is his first race of the season, the latest he has ever started a campaign.

His form, therefore, was an unknown at the start of the week. "I have never started the year with a spring like this before," he added.

"There have been difficult years but always we have continued working and fighting and it is very gratifying.

"We have worked really hard in the last few years, there have been difficult years, but the team, my girlfriend and everyone has really helped.

"It is a joy to win. It gives me a lot of confidence."

Chaves told Cycling Weekly earlier in the winter that he still believes he can win the Tour de France. Overhauling a 1-04 deficit to Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) at this race's GC, however, looks a tall order.

"For sure [he will aim to keep the mountains and points jersey]. They are a lot of options in play.

"(But) it is hard [to fight for GC] but if I have the opportunity then we'll see."

Esteban Chaves came out on top on stage four of Volta a Catalunya 2021 after kicking on solo with around 7km to go on the summit finish and holding off the group of overall favourites.

Chaves (BikeExchange) managed to stay ahead of the chasing group of favourites led by Ineos Grenadiers all the way to the line with Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) leading in the chasers seven seconds later.

The pace was high all day due to the break having Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) within it, the 24-year-old German was just over a minute down in the overall standings. Ineos Grenadiers kept the chase rapid with the break eventually being caught at the bottom of the final 18.4km climb.

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Ineos Grenadiers continued the pace for the entire climb with a couple of riders trying attacks, but only Chaves managed to stay away to take the stage, moving him up to sixth in the general classification.

Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) holds onto his overall lead of 45 seconds over team-mate, Richie Porte with another team-mate, Geraint Thomas, in third at 49 seconds.

How it happened

The fourth stage of the 100th Volta a Catalunya started in Ripoll before taking on three tough climbs over the 166.5km to the summit finish up Port Ainé.

A 12-man breakaway went away on the first climb of the day, the Port de Toses. The break was made up of Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo), Clément Champoussin (Ag2r-Citroën), Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ), Antonio Pedrero (Movistar), Sergio Samitier (Movistar), Joe Dombrowski (UAE Team Emirates), Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma), Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), and Juan Pedro López (Trek-Segafredo).

The break got a maximum gap of around five minutes before Ineos Grenadiers started properly chasing due to Kämna being just over a minute down on the overall leader, Yates. But Kämna decided to kick on solo on the second of the three climbs, pulling out 1-20 over the rest of the break and holding around 3-30 on the peloton.

All of the chasing riders behind Kämna were caught just before the final climb with 19km to go as the gap had dropped to 2-20 up to the German. Ineos Grenadiers continued the high pace on the Port Ainé with Rohan Dennis riding the solo Bora-Hansgrohe rider back, catching him with 14km to go on the climb.

Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) was the first rider to try and attack with 10km to go but Ineos pulled him back very easily with Richard Carapaz and Geraint Thomas working for Yates with Richie Porte also well placed.

The next to chance their arm was Esteban Chaves (BikeExchange). He started the day 1-21 down in ninth place overall, which meant that he quickly pulled out a gap of 16 seconds with 7km to go.

Enric Mas (Movistar) was the first rider who tried to attack across to Chaves with 3.5km to go, but the push on by the Spaniard only saw the gap up to the leading Colombian jump to 20 seconds.

Further attacks came with Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) trying a move, but he was unable to get a gap on his other main rivals as Thomas took over from Carapaz, quickly bring Mas back into the fold.

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Porte took over the pacing just after the 2km to go mark, slowly bringing the gap down to Chaves out front. But the pacing was not enough to close in on Chaves, who took his first win of the season, and first victory since the 2019 Giro d'Italia.

That win moved him up a few places in GC but it was Yates who remained in control at the top ahead of fellow Ineos Grenadiers riders Porte and Thomas at 45 and 49 seconds respectively.

The remaining three stages of the Volta a Catalunya all suit a rider who packs more of a punch instead of pure climbing ability, as they slowly make their way to the race finish in Barcelona on Sunday.

Results

Volta a Catalunya 2021 stage four, Ripoll to Port Ainé (166.5km)

1. Esteban Chaves (Col) Team BikeExchange, in 4-29-47

2. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation, at 7 seconds

3. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers

4. Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers

5. Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma

6. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar Team

7. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers

8. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe

9. Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkéa-Samsic

10. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Team BikeExchange, all at the same time

General classification after stage four

1. Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, in 14-14-15

2. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 45s

3. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 49s

4. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar Team, at 1-03

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe, at the same time

6. Esteban Chaves (Col) Team BikeExchange, at 1-04

7. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 1-07

8. Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-Nippo, at 1-20

9. Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma, 1-29

10. Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange, at 1-32

Simon Yates is set to try and retain his Tirreno-Adriatico title after taking victory last year in fine style against fellow British rider, Geraint Thomas.

Yates (BikeExchange) is using the week-long stage race as part of his preparation towards his main goal of finally winning the Giro d'Italia.

Last year saw the rider, from Bury in Greater Manchester, put on an amazing performance on the main mountain finish, riding away from his rivals before holding on in the final individual time trial around San Benedetto del Tronto.

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But his fortune didn't carry into last year's Giro, which was much closer on the calendar to the 'race of the two seas' due to the rescheduling of races after the Covid-19 shutdown, as Yates had tested positive for the virus after losing several minutes, forcing him to abandon.

Ahead of the 2021 Tirreno, Yates said: "I’m going okay. I had a small crash in Strade Bianche, nothing too serious but we are taking everything very consciously and calmly. I hope to arrive in Tirreno ready to go and hopefully I can do a good performance.

"It looks like a very classic route, from what I can see, you have sprint stages and a summit finish. It’s not a climb that I know, but I have seen the videos of it in the past, and hopefully I can do a good ride there. As always, the last stage time trial and it will be a good to test myself against the clock and just to see where the form is.

"Compared to last year, it’s just a little bit different where I am in my preparation. Last year Tirreno was the final race before the Giro d’Italia and this year I have some more time to prepare.

"This year is more like a building block, a step towards my main goal which is the Giro, but of course I’d still like to do a good ride and hopefully put on a good performance."

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Yates has put in some brilliant performances at the Giro, particularly in 2018 where he led for most of the race before losing out to Chris Froome and plummeting down the order.

Team BikeExchange sports director, Matt White, said: "Tirreno has always been a good hunting ground for the team. The teams first European win was achieved here 10-years-ago and we have continued that success in recent times with Adam Yates and last year Simon Yates who returns as defending champion.

"It’s the start of Simon’s Giro preparation and we are excited to be back at such a beautiful race and we intend to challenge for victory in what has to be the best start list in the race’s history."

Simon Yates has confirmed his Grand Tour plans for the 2021 season, as he will target the Giro d’Italia for a fourth consecutive year.

The British star, winner of the 2018 Vuelta a España, will return to the Italian Grand Tour this spring after developing a love-hate relationship with the race in the last few years.

While Yates led the race for 13 stages in 2018, taking three stage wins before dramatically falling out of contention with two days left to race, he has never finished on the Giro podium. 

But as the organisers announced the 2021 Giro d'Italia route this week, Yates has confirmed his attendance at the 104th edition this May.

The 28-year-old said: “The last two or three years haven’t gone as I would have hoped with a combination of bad luck and some mistakes along the way.

 “All I hope for is to have a clean run in 2021 without these things and that I can show myself in the best way possible.” 

This year’s race features a number of notable inclusions - two time trials on stage one and stage 21 totalling just 38.4km combined, a Monte Zoncolan summit finish and a gravel stage featuring 34km of off-road terrain in Tuscany. 

Yates said: “The 2021 Giro route looks really nice, there’s a good mix of stages and there’s even some gravel roads thrown in for good measure.” 

 “As always with the Giro, the final week looks hard and with only a small amount of time trial kilometres I think that is where the race will be decided.” 

“I remember watching the gravel stage from the 2010 Giro d’Italia and I expect a similar battle for this year’s race,” continued Yates. 

Yates will start his season at Strade Bianche in early March, so he can test himself on the white roads of Tuscany in preparation for the gravel stage of the Giro.

He will then race Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of the Alps, completing an all-Italian preparation to the Giro, which runs from May 8-30.  

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Team BikeExchange’s head sports director Matt White said: “It’s a well-balanced Giro route.

“We have a real variety of stages with the epic white roads of Tuscany, some tricky hilltop finishes on dirt and of course the historic, brutal climbs of northern Italy in the last week.

“The low time trial kilometres are certainly an advantage for the pure climbers, but the rider that wins the 2021 Giro d’Italia will have to be a complete all-round athlete.”

Almost five seasons on since the world anointed him as a future Grand Tour winner, Esteban Chaves has declared that he can put his barren run of form behind him and still win one of cycling’s biggest races.

In 2016, BikeExchange’s Colombian star won a stage and finished second in the Giro d’Italia, following it up with a third-placed finish at the Vuelta a España, just weeks before he won Il Lombardia.

Those standout results followed a fifth place at the 2015 Vuelta when he first showed his immense promise.

The hope of kicking on and winning one of the three Grand Tours, however, has yet to materialise, with injury and illness setting him back in the past few years.

In 2018, after winning a stage of the Giro d’Italia but then dropping out of overall contention after sitting in second place, he was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever, with one of the main symptoms being chronic fatigue.

At the 2020 Vuelta a España, Chaves looked in good form until stage 10 when he dropped away from a high of seventh on GC to finish 27th.

Asked if his future years will be focused on chasing stages and one-day victories, the 31-year-old flatly rejected such suggestions. “Not really, no,” he told Cycling Weekly from his Colombian home where is continuing his winter training.

“I have had a few really good results in one-day races but that’s not my objective. I am a pure climber, my abilities can show better in Grand Tours and one-week races. It’s not a mystery.

“I still really believe I can win the Tour de France. If I didn’t believe, I wouldn’t ride my bike anymore.

“This is why I am still doing this job, still riding as a pro because I really believe. I know I have the talent and I know my body can do it. I hope it will be sooner rather than later because it’s too painful [not competing for top honours].”

In his return to form, Chaves won an emotional stage of the 2019 Giro, and he is convinced by the process and the method he is pursuing.

“We need to get back to basics, keep believing and working and let the body come back to the feeling it had in 2017, when the health problems, and issues and injuries started,” he added.

“Every Grand Tour I have done after has been one step forward. The body doesn’t change in six months and it’s harder with injuries. It hasn’t been easy because the body needed time to adapt.

“But more than the body, I need to get the confidence back, get the head where it should be.

“I don’t know about genetics and ages and that stuff, I’m not a doctor or medic, but I do know that I feel young. I turned 31 last month but I feel as I did 10-12 years ago.”

Currently training at an altitude of 2,400m before he returns to Europe in March to begin his season racing at the Volta a Catalunya, País Vasco and the Ardennes Classics, Chaves is reluctant to set specific time frames and instead offers a pragmatic view.

“It’s impossible to know how the body will respond and what will happen,” he said. “I wish that we could set a year or a goal and can say in one year, in six months, in five years. I wish.

“But it’s not like this and this is the beauty of life. It’s a question mark and it makes you fight every day.

“If you know in five years you will do this, it’s boring. This is life, this is why it’s beautiful and awesome because we have no idea.

“We have to keep working, keep fighting and pass through all of these moments - good, bad, lonely. And when the results arrive it will be awesome. If you don’t enjoy this process then you’re f***ed.

“You need to enjoy the process and learn a lot, not just the numbers, results, and objectives. But this perspective comes with a lot of maturity and experiences in your life.”

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After he’s made his bow for the season, he and the team will decide whether he should target the Giro d’Italia or the Tour de France, with selection for the Olympic road race a target thereafter.

“I have the belief that it is the big dream for every single athlete in the world to be on the startline in the Olympic Games,” he said. “We have five spots, a really strong team, and the goal at first is just to be there.”

Does the course in Tokyo offer him a chance of winning and improving on his 21st at the 2016 Rio Games? Patience, once more, is the game.

“It’s too early to talk about that,” he said. “It’s a one-day race, a lot of things can happen and it depends on how you approach the race, your progression.”

There will be plenty of changes to the WorldTour team bikes next year, as Mitchelton-Scott, Jumbo-Visma and Sunweb will all be exchanging their current sponsors.

All three teams announced on Monday afternoon (October 19) that they would be changing their machines for the 2021 season.

Mitchelton-Scott are currently riding Scott bikes, Sunweb are on Cervélo and Jumbo-Visma race Bianchi machines.

From next season however, Sunweb will switch to Scott bikes and Jumbo-Visma will race on Cervélos.

The teams all have men’s and women’s squads (Jumbo-Visma from 2021), with both squads racing on their new sponsors.  

Mitchelton-Scott will be parting ways with headline sponsor Scott to join up with Bianchi, but the team have not yet released their new name for 2020. 

Owner of Mitchelton-Scott Gerry Ryan said: “We have witnessed the incredible success of riders using Bianchi equipment and are inspired by their plans for the future. The UCI WorldTour is consistently seeing more technological innovations and we are confident our collaboration with Bianchi will result in our riders racing on the most cutting edge road and time trial bicycles that will deliver many victories in the world’s biggest races. 

“It’s been an incredible journey with Scott Sports, who believed in the GreenEdge Cycling project before it was a reality. Our partnership has spanned nine years, a testament to its strength and we have lived all of the highs and lows of our story so far with them. We thank Scott for the support and wish them the very best for the future.”

Scott was a founding sponsor of Mitchelton-Scott back in 2012, but the bike builder will now be joining forces with German-registered WorldTour squad Sunweb.

Sunweb’s head of science Narelle Neumann said: “Scott has an unprecedented track record in designing the fastest race bikes on the grid and to always introduce new revolutionary technology. Despite Scott’s premium reputation today, their engineering team have the dynamic of an energetic challenger, while they live and breathe the absolute will to keep revolutionising the bikes of the future, and keep presenting race bikes which effectively make the difference at races at the highest level in the world.”

Finally, Jumbo-Visma have announced their new partnership with Cervélo bikes, which will be ridden by Primož Roglič, Tom Dumoulin and Wout van Aert next year.

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Cervélo’s managing director Nick McAdams says, ‘We are very proud to partner with Team Jumbo-Visma. We’ve been involved in World Tour racing for a long time and with that comes access to the best athletes and testing for our bikes.” 

Mitchelton-Scott have pulled their entire team from the Giro d’Italia after a number of coronavirus positives. 

The Australian WorldTour squad has opted to pull out of the Italian Grand Tour after four of their staff members tested positive for Covid-19 on the first rest day.

Mitchelton-Scott had already been forced to pull their general classification leader Simon Yates from the race after he also tested positive for the virus in the first week. 

All riders and staff at the Giro d’Italia were tested during the first rest day on Monday (October 12), with two riders and six staff members on the race returning positive results. 

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Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) and Michael Matthews (Sunweb) were the two riders found to have Covid, with both being withdrawn from the race by their teams. 

Mitchelton-Scott’s general manager Brent Copeland said: “Unfortunately we received the news on Monday evening that we have returned a number of positive Covid-19 results to members of our staff after our third round of tests in three days.

“As a social responsibility to our riders and staff, the peloton and the race organisation we have made the clear decision to withdraw from the Giro d’Italia.

“Thankfully those impacted remain asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, but as an organisation the health of all of our riders and staff is our main priority and we are now focused on safely transporting them to areas where they are most comfortable to conduct a period of quarantine.

“We wish the RCS and the rest of the peloton a successful finish to this year’s edition of the Giro d’Italia and we look forward to returning in 2021.”

In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the UCI and Giro organiser RCS confirmed that two riders and six staff members had tested positive.

Jumbo-Visma has confirmed their GC leader Kruijswijk has coronavirus while Sunweb announced Michael Matthews would also be leaving the race after contracting Covid-19. 

Mitchelton-Scott had four staff members test positive, while AG2R La Mondiale had one and Ineos Grenadiers had another worker contract the virus. 

 The staff members have all been left in the care of their team’s doctors and will undergo isolation procedures. 

Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) had to switch from eyeing a stage win to limiting his time losses on the Giro d'Italia stage three to Mount Etna.

The Briton set out to take victory on the Giro's first summit finish, near where he and Esteban Chaves had been so successful two years ago. While his team-mates were active in controlling the peloton through large parts of the stage, they were put on the defensive as Yates appeared to crack on the climb with 9km to go as the other GC contenders upped the pace.

He ended up finishing the stage 4-22 down on stage winner Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling), but more pertinently, sits at just shy of three minutes down on Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) and closer to 2-30 down on the likes of Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma).

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Yates' sports director, Matt White, now says the team will have to change tact in the Giro, taking a more aggressive approach instead of defending from the front. Before stage three, Yates was just 26 seconds off the best placed GC contenders, Geraint Thomas (Ineos). Thomas crashed in the neutral zone of the stage however, and finished over 12 minutes down on the stage as he appeared to ride through injuries.

"The big game-changer at the start today was Geraint Thomas’ crash in the neutral, who looked like he’d hurt himself pretty bad and clearly, he did," Matt White said.

"We’re one of the favourites for this race and we wanted to win the stage, so we wanted to take control to give ourselves a chance to win.

"The boys did a good job controlling the breakaway and we didn’t have an indication at that time that Simon wasn’t on a good day. Then when we did get an indication Trek-Segafredo had already taken over and they did a job there to try and maybe put some time into Geraint Thomas and push the pace.

"Then when Simon lost time today it was just about limiting our losses. It’s a long race, everyone has a bad day, unfortunately for us it’s early in the race. Hopefully, that’s the last one. We’ll just be coming at it from a different angle now. We we’re looking at coming at it from the front with a couple of early mountain stages and a time trial. Now we’re coming from behind."

Yates, who led the Giro for 13 days in 2018 and won three stages, will no look deeper into the race to claw back time. The race still has plenty of brutal mountains stages to come in its remaining 18 stages, with three huge summit finishes in the final week.

The race still has two time trials to come, with Yates showing on stage one he had the edge over many of the other GC contenders in the race against the clock.

Simon Yates has unfinished business heading into the 2020 Giro d’Italia and Mitchelton-Scott have announced their formidable team to support him. 

The British Grand Tour winner came within days of winning the maglia rosa back in 2018, having dominated the final two weeks of the race, before his dramatic collapse on stage 19 to Bardonecchia. 

This year Yates is back for revenge once more, after a slightly disappointing return to Italy in 2019, but this year looks to be in great form after a convincing victory in Tirreno-Adriatico.  

But Mitchelton-Scott will have to overcome a major hurdle in the shape of Geraint Thomas and his Ineos Grenadiers team.

With three time trials totalling 65km in this year’s Giro, Yates will have to be aggressive in the mountains to distance world class time triallist Geraint Thomas, who was fourth in the Worlds TT last week. 

Head sports director at Mitchelton-Scott, Matt White, said: “We’re going up against a world-class time trialler in the leader of Ineos, Geraint Thomas. The rest of our rivals are in a similar bracket to Simon and we will all be looking to limit our losses in those three time trials and take opportunities on the climbs when they are there.

“All of the climbers need to be aggressive, including us. When and where, and from who, will be interesting but we’re going to have to take time.

 “The 65km of time trialling is substantial, especially in the modern era where you don’t see that many Grand Tours with this much time trialling, and it has an effect on our tactics.”

Supporting Yates in the  mountains will be Jack Haig and Lucas Hamilton, with Hamilton looking good this year after stage victory in Tirreno, while Haig has been an impressive domestique since the season re-started. 

The rest of the Mitchelton-Scott squad will be geared to keeping Yates out of trouble on the flats, with Edoardo Affini making his Grand Tour debut, while Cameron Meyer, Damian Howsen, Brent Bookwalter and Michael Hepburn will complete the squad.

Yates said: “Tirreno was a great victory and I’m very proud of what I accomplished there but the big goal has always been the Giro, so I hope I can hold my form from there until the end of the Giro.

“The Giro is a hard and unpredictable race. You need to be ready at any moment to adapt the strategy to prepare for victory. Normally at the Giro the weather is getting better day-by-day as we start in Spring and approach summer, whereas this year will be the complete opposite. I’m expecting some bad weather this year and I’m mentally prepared for that.”

Since winning Tirreno, Yates returned to Andorra to spend time at altitude and be at home in the build-up to the race.  

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White added: “Regardless of the result in Tirreno, we were always going to come in as one of the favourites. We haven’t hid the fact that Simon is motivated to try to win the Giro, it’s a race we came close to winning in 2018 and I think we’ve continued to learn since then. As a unit, we’re going back knowing what we are capable of – you do learn from your mistakes and your experiences and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since 2018. 

“It’s not rocket science, but it’s going to be about consistency over three weeks. It’s the toughest of the three Grand Tours; we have a hard start, a hard finish and a lot of kilometres in between.”

Annemiek van Vleuten has been forced to pull out of the Giro Rosa 2020 while leading the race, after a crash in the final of stage seven.

The Mitchelton-Scott rider and her team-mate Amanda Spratt were both caught in a crash during a downhill section into Maddaloni, as Lotte Kopecky (Lotto-Soudal) rode to stage victory.

Van Vleuten was able to get back on the bike and finish the stage, but she and Spratt were taken to hospital after the finish.  

Scans confirmed that Van Vlueten had suffered a broken left wrist, while Spratt didn’t suffer any fractures but has also abandoned the race after suffering concussion and an injured right shoulder. 

While Van Vleuten has had to give up her Giro Rosa title defence because of the injury, perhaps the most disappointing news is that she will miss the World Championships in Imola next week. 

Van Vleuten, who still led the race by 1-48 over Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) at the close of stage seven, said: “I was in a good position just going safe to the finish. It was a good day for us, I was never in trouble, we were in control, I was having fun on the bike until the last 500 metres when the girls crashed in front of me and I couldn’t avoid them.

“I felt immediately it was not good with my wrist, because I saw that my wrist was not straight, so I knew straight away that was not good. I will go home now and I will have an operation on my wrist on Saturday.

“I’m super sad it’s not possible to defend the maglia rosa, but even more, no Worlds on a course that suits me. I’m disappointed that I cannot defend my world champion's jersey."

Spratt added: “Right now my biggest feeling is just disappointment, not just for me but for Vleuty and the whole team. Our Giro was going perfectly, and it all fell apart in one instant.

“I think I am lucky I don’t have a broken bone but the shoulder is very painful still and with a concussion I have to take it easy now. I hope to recover as quick as possible and be back racing soon. Thanks to the team for the incredible support.”

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The race lead now passes to Niewiadoma, who leads Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) by just 15 seconds, with two stages left to race. 

Defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten stamped her authority on the Giro Rosa on Saturday, winning stage two and taking the race lead.

The rainbow jersey attacked at the bottom of the day’s only classified climb, a four kilometre stretch of rocky Tuscan white gravel, with 16km to go, and characteristically soloed to the win ahead of Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) in second and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) in third.

That final climb was littered with deep gravel, making it hard to keep moving, and Van Vleuten was one of a number of riders who were forced to dismount and walk. However, she emerged from the top of the climb with 11km to the line leading Van der Breggen by almost a minute.

Van Vleuten’s final advantage was 1-16 on her compatriot, wiping out the mere five-second deficit she began the day with, and putting her in a good position with seven days remaining. Indeed, such are the time gaps it would take an incredible turnaround for any of the top three to be caught.

Tomorrow’s third stage is another hilly affair, the 142km route between Santa Fiora and Assisi taking in over 2,300m of climbing.

Its short, sharp final climb gives riders an opportunity to take back time, though Van Vleuten will surely be on her guard, and already appears to be the strongest in the race.

How it happened

One of the toughest stages of the race was exacerbated by temperatures into the low 30s, and with over 3100m of climbing in the 124.8km race the peloton were set for a tough day.

The climbing started from the flag, the race onto steep narrow roads immediately, winding through the baked Tuscan countryside heading toward the first of two white gravel sectors, similar to those used at Strade Bianche, not far away.

With such a tough day in store, the peloton were in no mood to go too hard, at least until they reached the gravel road. Here, with dust reducing visibility to just a few metres, the race split into three small groups.

However, even on the ensuing climb to the town of Roccalbegna a large peloton reformed, as the road dragged up and up.

It was only over the top that anyone managed to get away, with former French champion Aude Biannic (Movistar) and Italian Soraya Paladin (CCC-Liv) sneaking up the road, as it undulated its way through small, sleepy villages.

However, with the GC so tight after the stage one team time trial they were brought back before the intermediate sprint at Roccalbegna, won by Equipe Paule Ka’s Emma Nørsgard.

With 62km remaining Julie Van De Velde (Lotto-Soudal) attacked, gaining a lead of 50 seconds and taking the bonus at the final intermediate sprint, though as soon as the bunch crossed the line they upped the pace, closing her down quickly.

But strangely, when they had her within sight they let the gap go again, the Belgian rider taking her lead out to 50 seconds once more.

However the action began as the bunch closed in on the day’s only classified climb, the final, 4.5km gravel sector which topped out with only 11km remaining.

Van De Velde was caught by a strong quartet of Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT), Elsie Chabbey (Paule Ka), Alison Jackson (Sunweb), and American champion Ruth Winder (Trek-Segafred0).

That group were soon caught though, bringing a counter-attack from Lizzy Banks of the super-aggressive Paule Ka. The Brit gained 25 seconds’ lead but was caught as the peloton battled for position ahead of the final climb. 

There, when she attacked, Van Vleuten was originally joined by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) but the Danish rider was unable to stay with the world champion on the incredibly steep pitches of rocky road and fell back to a chasing group.

That group eventually shattered leaving only Van der Breggen in pursuit. 

Results

Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile, stage two: Paganico - Arcidosso (124.8km)

1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton Scott, in 3-53-20

2. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels-Dolmans, at 1-16

3. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon SRAM, at same time

4. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope, at 1-29

5. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) CCC-Liv, at 3-07

6. Mavi García (Esp) Ale-BTC Ljubljana, at same time

7. Mikayla Harvey (NZ) Equipe Paule Ka, at 3-11

8. Soraya Paladin (Ita) CCC-Liv, at 3-52

9. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT, at 3-55

10. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at 3-57

General classification after stage two

1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton Scott in 4-13-20

2. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels-Dolmans at 1-18

3. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon SRAM, at 1-33

4. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope, at 2-54

5. Mikayla Harvey (NZ) Equipe Paule Ka, at 3-26

6. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) CCC-Liv, at 3-54

7. Mavi García (Esp) Ale-BTC Ljubljana, at 4-01

8. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at 4-07

9. Elise Chabbey (Sui) Equipe Paule Ka, at 4-15

10. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 4-27

Lucas Hamilton came out on top in yet another two-up sprint at the 2020 Tirreno-Adriatico, beating Fausto Masnada to the finish in Cascia.

The second half of the fourth stage was peppered with attacks and plenty of action after some riders lower down the general classification tried to get away with an early move to bridge to the breakaway.

Hamilton (Mitchelton-Scott) and Masnada (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) came back to the main GC group after the final climb of the stage and they immediately attacked with 7km to go, with no-one else able to follow.

Michael Woods (EF Pro Cycling) keeps the blue leaders jersey after limiting his losses to 10 seconds and also taking four bonus seconds on the line, meaning he still leads but now with a nine-second gap ahead of Rafał Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe).

How it happened

Stage four of Tirreno-Adriatico started in the town of Terni with a mountainous 194km route to Cascia for the riders to tackle.

The break went away and had a maximum lead of around five minutes before it settled at three minutes with 11 riders up the road.

The break was made up of Mathias Frank (Ag2r La Mondiale), Davide Gabburo (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Manuele Boaro (Astana), Jan Tratnik (Bahrain-McLaren), Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), Marco Canola (Gazprom-RusVelo), Allesandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè), Michael Goossens (Lotto-Soudal), Samuele Battistella (NTT Pro Cycling), and Héctor Carretero (Movistar Team).

The action really got going on the first high category climb of this year's race up to the Forca di Gualdo, when Frank attacked the break, followed by Carretero with 59km to go.

The pace meant that the break was broken to bits with Matthews slowly pacing himself across to the leading duo, which he did rather quickly.

Behind, Alpecin-Fenix really started to ramp up the pace for about 5km before using up all their riders, this slow up saw Daniel Navarro (Israel Start-Up Nation) attack with 55km to go.

The pace didn't get going in the peloton and this was seen by Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates), Louis Meintjes (NTT Pro Cycling), and Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ) with the French rider unable to follow.

Meintjes and Costa made it up to Navarro who started to work with the two climbers who had joined him.

Over the summit of the climb Tonelli made it back up to the leading part of the breakaway with 46km to go as the rain started to come down on the plateau on the top of the climb.

EF Pro Cycling used this flat plateau to try and drill the gap down, which they did by around half as the break went onto the descent with Trek-Segafredo and Ineos Grenadiers joining the pacing.

Navarro suffered a rear puncture as Costa and Meintjes made it to the leading riders with 21km to go and the gap back to the peloton at 47 seconds.

As the riders hit the final climb up the Ospedaletto climb, the break was brought back after Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ) attacked.

The pace was then upped by Ineos Grenadiers when Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) attacked, Michael Woods (EF Pro Cycling) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) following.

Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana) and Rafał Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) bridged across as the riders when over the top as they descended down to the finishing kick in Cascia.

In the chase it was Team Sunweb and Deceuninck - Quick-Step that were the teams frantically chasing with the gap only peaking at 15 seconds.

James Knox (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) and Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) brought it back for their leaders as Hamilton went immediately on an attack that drew out Masnada, Oomen and Thomas with 7km to go.

Woods and Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) got across to Thomas and Oomen which then brought the other GC riders back with Oomen on the front.

The chasing group lost the pace with 2km to go as Masnada and Hamilton started pulling away some more with a gap of 16 seconds with 1km to go.

Masnada was forced onto the front for the last kilometre as the rider who joined Deceuninck - Quick-Step from CCC Team just a few months ago, had more to gain in the GC along with Hamilton having Yates and Jack Haig behind.

Hamilton kicked hard past of the Italian climber in the last 200 metres and, much like Woods against Majka on stage three, took the win comfortably.

Woods managed to win the sprint behind, taking four bonus seconds as they head to the queen stage of the race finishing up Sarnano-Sassotetto on stage five.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2020, stage four: Terni to Cascia (194km)

1. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, in 4-46-22

2. Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at same time

3. Michael Woods (Can) EF Pro Cycling, at 10s

4. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana

5. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers

6. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb

7. Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott

8. Rafał Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe

9. James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

10. Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott, all at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Michael Woods (Can) EF Pro Cycling, in 18-05-52

2. Rafał Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 9s

3. Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 18s

4. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at 27s

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 30s

6. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 34s

7. Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott

8. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana, at same time

9. Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at 47s

10. James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, all at same time

Adam Yates started the Tour de France in good form with a third place finish on stage two and taking the yellow jersey two days later.

Yates came into the Tour with very little racing in the legs after only racing the Critérium du Dauphiné before the French Grand Tour, with his team revealing that he'd also suffered from a mystery illness a few weeks before the Tour.

"He had some kind of parasite - there was a lot of vomiting - we think from fountain water he drank." said his team according to BBC Sport.

"It knocked him for six - he had 10 days completely off the bike, then two or three weeks when he was certainly on restricted training. And that was right at the time when we are going hard on the training."

>>> Tour de France 2020: No riders test positive for coronavirus, but four staff members have

This makes his ride in the first week of the Tour even more impressive after taking the race lead from Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), who was penalised for taking a bottle inside the last 20km of stage five.

Yates looked in superb form on stage two when he attacked across to Alaphilippe, who went on to take the stage win, and Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb).

The race was then rather simple to control for Yates' team in the days after him unexpectedly going into yellow.

On the first day of the Pyrenees the other riders going for the general classification peppered the last climb with attacks but every time they came back together Yates managed to get back on.

While he couldn't follow any moves of the big favourites, he rode up the climb at his own pace and finished with them and kept yellow.

>>> Tour de France 2020: Five things to look out for during the second week

Stage nine saw Yates crack and slip out of yellow and dropped to eighth overall at just over a minute down on the new leader, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).

The British climber will likely now target stages in the coming mountain stages that pepper the end of week two and the final week of the race as he looks to improve his condition as he races on.

“I did everything I could. I said from the very beginning, even before the Tour started, that I wasn’t at 100 per cent,” Yates said after the finish of stage nine. “And I think we did well. We hung on for as long as we could. And yeah, there are a couple of guys going better than me. So I did the best I could and I think we can be proud.

“It’s a big honour riding in yellow,” he added. “It was good fun while it lasted.”

Simon Yates is going to be taking to the start line at Tirreno-Adriatico for the first time in his career.

He will be hoping to go one better than his brother, Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), at the race after he lost the overall by one second last year to Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).

Roglič and Adam Yates are racing for yellow at the Tour de France this year, with Adam wearing yellow.

Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), in the meantime, has his focus firmly set on pink in October. His season target is to win the overall at the Giro d'Italia and Tirreno-Adriatico is an ideal warm-up race.

>>> Tirreno-Adriatico 2020 route: Stages for revised 55th edition

In a Mitchelton-Scott press release, Yates said: "I’m looking forward to the race and excited to be there for the first time. Normally I would race Paris-Nice while Adam (Yates) would be here in Tirenno as we split responsibilities.

"Looking onwards to the Giro, my condition is always improving and I’m looking forward to get stuck into this race as it’s an important hit out.

"On a side note, I am excited to have a go to try and get that unique trident trophy."

This will be a good test for the man from Bury with some very tricky days, including a few stages that will test the climbing legs as well as a 10km individual time trial on the final stage.

It's very important that Yates performs well in the ITTs as he will have to ride three at this year's Giro against some traditionally stronger riders against the clock, with Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) set to start in October.

>>> Five things to look out for at the Tirreno-Adriatico 2020

Those same riders are riding Tirreno, along with other GC men for the Italian Grand Tour, so it will be a good test.

Sports director at Mitchelton-Scott, Gene Bates said: “We are going in pretty pointed; Simon will be the leader and we will be going after stage results first and foremost and obviously that has a knock-on effect for the GC.

“With the TTT being replaced by another sprint stage this year, it really comes down to the Queen mountain stage on stage five and the final individual time trial. Those will probably be the biggest factors in the overall battle.

“It will be a good loading event pre-Giro d’Italia and everyone is really one their roles and responsibilities.”

Annemiek van Vleuten will be leaving Mitchelton-Scott for Movistar.

The Dutch superstar will be leaving her current team after five seasons of dominating the women’s peloton.

Van Vleuten, reigning world champion, will join the Spanish Women’s WorldTour team on a two year deal. 

The 37-year-old said: “I'm not the youngest in the peloton anymore, but I am super ambitious and I want to do very well with this team. It is not in my head to think about retirement, far from it. Right now what matters to me is to keep improving. 

“Hopefully joining this team and enjoying this new environment will give me new energy. In addition to improving that performance, I see this opportunity as a good time to join a team of young girls who, after these years of growth of the Movistar Team, surely can take advantage of having someone like me by their side, who transmits those little things to them, those important tips to take the last big leap. 

“I like working with young talents, and helping them and also supporting Spanish cycling is another goal for me here.” 

Van Vleuten has history with Movistar dating back to 2014, when one of the team’s coaches invited her to train with the men’s team in Sierra Nevada, Spain. 

The training session was the first time Van Vleuten had ridden with a men’s squad, an approach she has become famed for as she now regularly rides with the men’s Mitchelton team.

She said: “We trained quietly, they waited for me after the climbs, each one did their work and every day, after dinner, you could tell that there was good vibes in the team, they got together to stay a while longer instead of going back to their rooms ... I even played table tennis one day with Alejandro Valverde!

“With the women's team, the feeling is the same.”

Van Vleuten will transform the Movistar squad when she arrives, as the outfit have been lacking an international star. The team hope Van Vleuten can win big in a huge range of races.  

>>> UCI will announce new venue for World Championships this week 

Manager of the Movistar women’s team, Sebastian Unzue, said: “Her greatness lies in the fact that she is, perhaps, the only cyclist who, from my point of view, is capable of winning any race on the calendar. For the team it is a great challenge, a great motivation and it allows us to aim high and aspire to win, or be in front, in the most important races on the calendar.”  

Simon Yates has extended his contract with Mitchelton-Scott, as the Brit chases another Grand Tour victory.

The 28-year-old, winner of the 2018 Vuelta a España, has signed a new two-year contract with his current team amid speculation about whether he and twin brother Adam would stick with Mitchelton. 

While Simon will be sticking with the Australian WorldTour team, there is still no update on Adam’s future, as rumours suggested he could transfer to Team Ineos. 

On his new contract, Simon said: “We have had a lot of success together, and I just want to continue that going forward, mainly at the Grand Tours. We won our first Grand Tour two years ago and I truly believe we can do it again so we will keep working hard so we can take another one.

“The team know me as a rider, the way I work and I’m very comfortable in the environment which goes a long way once we’re on the road racing. You really need that in a team. Once we’re two or three weeks into a Grand Tour it’s very stressful and very tiring, not just for me, but for the whole organisation, so being comfortable with each other is very important.”

Earlier this year rumours suggested that Trek-Segafredo were interested in signing Simon to bolster their team in Grand Tours, while Adam was rumoured to be in talks with Team Ineos. 

Mitchelton-Scott also faced an uncertain future due to a botched sponsorship deal with Manuela Fundacion, which was called off after a dispute over who would actually own the team under the new contract.

On Simon’s new contract, team owner Gerry Ryan said: “Simon has provided some of our organisation’s proudest moments, including our first Grand Tour victory, and we’re confident that together we have many more highlights to achieve.”

>>> Team Ineos announce squad for Tour de France 2020, with no Chris Froome or Geraint Thomas

There have been plenty of Grand Tour stars changing teams for 2021 with Chris Froome heading to Israel Start-Up Nation and Romain Bardet joining Sunweb.  

Annemiek van Vleuten continued her incredible winning streak, taking a remarkable victory at a breathless Strade Bianche 2020 on Saturday.

The world champion caught solo leader Mavi Garcia (Alé-BTC Ljubljana) inside the closing six kilometres, before putting seconds into the Spanish rider.

With 25km to go the race had been all but lost for the Dutch Mitchelton-Scott rider, but she bridged a gap approaching five minutes from the peloton on the steep, penultimate gravel sector, passing a chase group and closing in on the leader.

Garcia was able to sit on the world champion’s wheel until the steepest section of the final climb of Via Santa Caterina, into the centre of the Tuscan city of Siena, but was finally dropped, the Dutch woman becoming the first woman to win the race twice since its inception in 2015.

Van Vleuten has won every race she started since winning the world championships in Yorkshire last September, Saturday’s success taking her to six consecutive victories.

How it happened

With coronavirus causing its suspension after only one race, the 2020 Women's WorldTour resumed with Strade Bianche on Saturday, 123 women rolling out for the 136km event which included eight gravel sectors.

Taking place in summer and not the regular early March spot of the preceding five editions, the race was run in blistering sun, temperatures in the high 30s celsius. 

Despite the conditions, two hardy souls made an early bid for glory, Melissa van Neck (BePink) and Giorgia Vettorello (TopGirls Fassa Bortolo) attacking just 10km after the start in Siena.

The pair soon built a lead of 50 seconds, but by the time they reached the first gravel sector they were caught as the bunch prepared for the tough sector two, which climbs steeply to Ville di Corsano.

As the sector began Canyon-SRAM's Israeli road champion Omer Shapira escaped solo, building a lead of 30 seconds, as behind her the road surface, gradient and heat combined to stretch the peloton with a number of riders being dropped.

However, the race was entering a period of wax and wane, and Shapira fell victim of one of many increases in speed and was caught on the third sector, just six kilometres later. On this sector the bunch split briefly before reforming the race entering a period of relative calm.

The steep and exposed gradients of sector five saw the bunch explode leaving many favourites including Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) leading over the top. However, once again the pace eased and around 40 riders re-forming at the front, before the race defining move came with the bunch entering the closing 50km.

Eleven riders representing 11 different teams emerged from this period of action, with Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott), Soraya Paladin (CCC-Liv), Mavi Garcia (Alé-BTC Ljubljana), Karol-Ann Canuel (Boels-Dolmans), Leah Thomas (Paule Ka) and Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) present, and all possible winners.

Shortly afterwards Garcia, who finished second to Van Vleuten at one of last week's Spanish races, launched an optimistic solo move with 46km remaining. The Spanish rider soon had a lead of 20 seconds, while behind the peloton, including all the pre-race favourites, were quickly two minutes down.

With the gap growing and 30km to go, cohesion in the chasing group broke down as first Van Dijk then Thomas attacked in van attempts to close the gap on the former Spanish road and time trial champion. 

With Garcia’s lead on the chasers out to 3.10 as they passed 30km, the peloton were even further back, 5.40 behind the leader, who was riding strongly on the sixth gravel sector, her gap remaining at 3.25 as she passed the 15km to go banner. However no one had reckoned on Van Vleuten’s (Mitchelton-Scott) form as she closed the deficit to the chasers, using her climbing abilities on the steep gradients of sector seven.

The world champion took a brief rest in the chasing group before attacking again and reaching Garcia and her extraordinary victory.

Strade Bianche Women Elite: Siena - Siena (136km) - Result

1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott, in 4-03-54

2. Mavi Garcia (Esp) Alé BTC Ljubljana, at 22 sec

3. Leah Thomas (USA) Equipe Paule Ka ,at 1-53

4. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels-Dolmans, at 2-05

5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 2-11

6. Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv, at 2-26

7. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope, at 2-40

8. Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling, at 3-26

9. Karol-Ann Canuel (Can) Boels-Dolmans, at 4-20

10. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) Alé-BTC Ljubljana, at 5-20

Annemiek van Vleuten has returned from the season break utterly dominant, as she has extended her winning streak to five races.

The Mitchelton-Scott rider is undefeated since the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire, after she took a clean sweep of wins in Spain as racing returned last week.

After a five-month lay-off due to coronavirus, the women’s peloton returned to racing on Thursday (July 23) with a trio of one-day races in the Navarre region of Spain, with 37-year-old Van Vleuten taking solo victories in all three.

She said: “I don’t want to be arrogant, it’s unbelievable for me to win these races. I never believed this would have happened.

“To win every race in the [World Champion’s] jersey; for sure I can’t keep this record but for now it’s nice. At first, they wanted to interview me about the curse of the rainbow jersey, but I am really happy I don’t have that curse.”

Van Vleuten’s winning streak started with her 100km solo break during the World Championships last September and continued with her first race of 2020 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, which she won alone 42 seconds ahead of Marta Bastianelli (Alé BTC Ljubljana).

The coronavirus pandemic then stopped all racing shortly after, but racing returned with the Emakumeen Nafarroako Klasikoa in the Navarre region of Spain on Thursday (July 23), with Van Vleuten taking victory 18 seconds ahead of Mavi Garcia (Alé BTC Ljubljana).

The following day Van Vleuten rode away from her rivals again in the Clasica Femenina to finish 1-14 up on Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo).

Sunday saw Van Vleuten do battle with her compatriot and rival Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) in the Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria with the reigning world champion crossing the line 18 seconds ahead.

Van Vleuten said: “Anna was just behind me between 10 and 15 seconds so I had to go full gas on the descent. I had a bit of a flashback to La Course and last year in the Giro, so it was a really interesting fight between Anna and me. I could not relax on the descent or really enjoy it, but it was a beautiful final.”

>>> Watch: Big crash in one-day race due to road furniture 50m before finish line 

She now continues her season in Italy on Saturday (August 1) with the first WorldTour race of the new season, Strade Bianche.

Mitchelton-Scott has announced they will not be targeting the yellow jersey at this year’s Tour de France, as they go all in for the Giro d’Italia with Simon Yates.

The Australian WorldTour team had their most successful Tour to date last season, taking four stages after the initial disappointment of losing their general classification chances.

But this year the team are going to focus on stage honours, as Yates looks for revenge in the Italian Grand Tour after coming close in 2018.

Mitchelton have released their long lists for the Tour and Giro squads, with the final selection due to be made once racing has returned.

Explaining the team’s approach to the Tour, head sports director Matt White said: “After the success of last year, we want to chase stage wins at the Tour de France. We rode an aggressive style of racing last year and we want to continue in that vein this year.

“The stacked GC field can affect stage opportunities, but it can also create opportunities. It’s no secret the strongest squads are Team Ineos and Lotto-Jumbo but once the GC is stabilised, there’ll still be opportunities because no one wants to control the Tour de France for 20 days; you just have to pick the right moments.”

White said the team are recceing stages and that the best chances are after stage 10, when the race leaves the Pyrenees as the GC picture will be more settled.

For the Giro, it’s all about Simon Yates after the Brit wore the pink jersey for 13 days in 2018 and came within two stages of the win before his dramatic collapse.

But the 27-year-old proved himself a Grand Tour star by dominating the Vuelta a España that year to win his first three-week race.

White said: “The focus for us at the Giro d’Italia will be to support Simon Yates as best as possible, to help him achieve the optimal result we can as a team and ultimately try to win the race.

“For me, the Giro d’Italia is the most physically demanding Grand Tour, so having a strong team around you certainly makes a difference.  The team we will send will be a deep one and I’m confident Simon will have great support across all facets of racing.”

All the riders will be returning to competition after a long lay-off, which White says is similar to time off due to injury.

>>> Annemiek van Vleuten considering transfer away from Mitchelton-Scott

He said: “In general, we know the guys have been training well in this period so we know more or less where they are at, but now they need to convert that training into race condition with a limited race program. It will be the equivalent of starting back racing after a major injury, with the lockdown period and different mental challenges that had to be dealt with.

“I am happy with where the guys are at currently but we will make our final selection decisions based on how guys adapt back to competition.”

Mitchelton-Scott long lists

Giro d’Italia

Edoardo Affini (ITA, 24)

Brent Bookwalter (USA, 36)

Jack Haig (AUS, 26)

Lucas Hamilton (AUS, 24)

Michael Hepburn (AUS, 28)

Damien Howson (AUS, 27)

Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN, 31)

Cameron Meyer (AUS, 32)

Nick Schultz (AUS, 25)

Simon Yates (GBR, 27)

Andrey Zeits (KAZ, 33)

Tour de France

Jack Bauer (NZL, 35)

Sam Bewley (NZL, 32)

Brent Bookwalter (USA, 36)

Esteban Chaves (COL, 30)

Alex Edmondson (AUS, 26)

Tsgabu Grmay (ETH, 28)

Daryl Impey (RSA, 35)

Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN, 31)

Luka Mezgec (SLO, 32)

Mikel Nieve (SPA, 36)

Adam Yates (GBR, 27)

Annemiek van Vleuten is considering a transfer away from her Mitchelton-Scott squad.

The reigning world champion has confirmed she is in talks with other teams as her contract with the Australian WorldTour squad comes to an end this year.

Mitchelton-Scott has been through a turbulent 2020 so far, with riders having their wages cut because of coronavirus and management then being involved in a bizarre sponsorship debacle.

In an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS, Van Vleuten said: “I am currently talking to other teams, but of course also to my current team.

“An important consideration is which team will best help me go for the medal in the Olympics, and which team will keep me happy as a rider?

“I perform my best when I am really enjoying myself.”

Van Vleuten, 37, has been dominant on the road in recent seasons, winning the World Championship time trial in 2017 and 2018, following up with the Worlds road race in Yorkshire last year.

She has also won two editions of the Giro Rosa and taken titles in Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

But despite her remarkable winning record, Van Vleuten was forced to take a “substantial” pay cut as racing was suspended earlier this year due to coronavirus.

The Dutch rider admitted “it’s not nice to be the world champion and get a pay cut.”

Mitchelton-Scott has been hit by financial difficulty this year, which prompted management to search for new sponsorship.

Last month, the team announced they would be changing name and kit as Manuela Fundacion came on board as headline sponsor.

But a dispute then emerged over who would actually own the team, as current owner Gerry Ryan was convinced he would keep responsibility while Manuela Fundacion intended to take over the team. The deal was cancelled a week later.

Van Vleuten has admitted she was concerned about the deal and that she is relieved Ryan will still own the team.

>>> Patrick Levefere says he doesn’t understand cycling’s ‘fascination’ with gravel sectors

She added that she has not been contacted by any Dutch teams and that she has not yet made a decision on where she will ride in 2021.

Mitchelton-Scott has announced a major management shake-up in the wake of a failed sponsorship deal.

Last month the Australian WorldTour team announced it would be changing name for the rest of 2020 as a new sponsor came on board, but a dispute then emerged over who would own the team after contracts were signed.

The confusion resulted in Mitchelton-Scott cancelling the deal with Spanish non-profit organisation Manuela Fundacion just a week after it was announced.

Now Mitchelton has revealed a shake-up of its management, as former Bahrain-McLaren boss Brent Copeland joins the team as general manager.

Darrach McQuaid, Mitchelton-Scott’s commercial adviser and a key figure in the Giro d’Italia’s Ireland Grande Departenza in 2014, will take up a newly created chairman role with the team, working closely with team owner Gerry Ryan.

The team’s current general manager, Shayne Bannan, who helped set up the team and has been the boss since 2012, will be leaving the squad.

Australian businessman and owner of wine company Mitchelton Gerry Ryan said: “We are looking forward to having the experience of Brent, who we believe will fit immediately into our proud culture, coming into the team as the new general manager, as well as Darach into the role as chairman and are even more excited to see the action back out on the road in just a few short weeks.”

Mitchelton-Scott had a strange month, at first surprising the cycling world with a name change and a new kit before things took a bizarre turn.

But a dispute quickly emerged between team owner Gerry Ryan and the new sponsor, as they appeared to disagree on who would actually own the team.

Ryan insisted he would retain ownership of the team, while Manuela Fundacion believed it would have control.

The head of Manuela Fundacion’s sports department said publicly the team would be Spanish with a headquarters in spain.

After a week of confusion, the deal was cancelled.

Bahrain-McLaren operations director Brent Copeland will be leaving his current team after helping set up the project in 2017.

He served as general manager of the squad until September 2019, when Copeland moved into the operations director role as Rod Ellingworth took over as principal.

On his time with Bahrain, Copeland said: “It has been a memorable experience and I’m proud to have been part of this exciting project. I was drawn to the opportunity to make history by enabling Bahrain to be the first Middle Eastern country to join the WorldTour.”

He added: “Mitchelton-Scott has always been a team which I have recognised as been leaders in the world of cycling, not only for the great organisation and competitiveness they always show but also the image as a team which they have created over the many years.”

McQuaid was closely involved in taking the Giro to Ireland for the first three stages in 2014, as well as Richmond’s bid for the UCI Road World Championships in 2015.

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He said: “I am honoured to be appointed Chairman of this world class team. It is a great privilege to work alongside Gerry Ryan and now Brent Copeland in leading this organisation. I look forward to working with everyone in delivering the sporting, commercial and business strategy in the years to come.”