Qualifying for the Olympics in one sport is hard enough, but a rare breed of athletes have been known to pursue two sports at the elite level. One such athlete is Colorado-based triathlete and cyclist Taylor Knibb.

The 26-year-old returning Olympian became the first American athlete to qualify in two sports for the Paris 2024 Olympics when she won the 2024 USA Cycling Time Trial National Championships in May. The victory earned her a trip to Paris, where she was already scheduled to compete in a triathlon. 

She's now got a busy schedule ahead, with the Olympic time trial on July 27, the individual triathlon on July 31 and the mixed relay triathlon on August 5.

This gives her three chances to expand her trophy collection, which already contains a silver Olympic medal from her part in the triathlon mixed team relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

While still relatively unknown in the cycling world, Knibb is no stranger to world-class competition.

A star triathlete, Knibb is a two-time Ironman 70.3 world champion, an Olympic medalist, and a multi-time World Triathlon Championship Series medalist.

Knibb grew up in the triathlon world. Her mother, Leslie Knibb was an Ironman competitor, and Knibb herself started dabbling in triathlon at an early age and enjoyed a stellar junior and U23 career. She belongs to a select club of female triathletes who have won the Junior, U23 and Elite World Championships. In college, Knibb competed in Division 1 level Track and Field and swimming for Cornell University. In 2017, at the age of 19, Knibb became the youngest athlete ever to be selected for the U.S. national triathlon and again took that honour when she qualified for the Olympic team at Tokyo 2020. 

Looking to take her talent to new arenas, Knibb joined the  Trek-Segafredo cycling team (now Lidl-Trek) in 2023 as a way to ‘test herself at the highest level of professional cycling and learn all about the ways I can continue to improve and develop.’

She made her pro cycling debut at the 2023 U.S. National Road Racing Championships, where she finished fourth in the individual time trial behind Chloe Dygert, Lauren Stephens and Amber Neben.

Since then, Knibb has only grown in both cycling and triathlon. She has spent the last two seasons racking up a series of wins and podium finishes in both short-course and long-course triathlons. She is especially dominant in the bike leg of a triathlon and often out-bikes other formidable professional female triathletes. 

She is currently ranked first in the world in the Professional Triathlete Organization rankings. In Paris, Knibb is favoured to win gold in the women's individual triathlon and play a big part in Team USA's medal candidacy in the mixed team relay. 

On the cycling side, Knibb was originally also scheduled to compete in the Olympic road race. However, with a busy schedule as is, Knibb chose to bow out, and Kristen Faulkner was called up to take Knibb’s place.

Knibb's first race takes place the morning after the opening ceremonies. Follow along as she takes her chance to make history. See the Olympic cycling schedules and streaming services here.

Knibb’s schedule of Olympic events:

• July 27: Individual time trial
• July 31: Women’s individual triathlon
• August 5: Triathlon mixed team relay

The national championships are always a reunion of sorts. Contestants converge on the American host town from all over the country and, for those competing on the WorldTour, from overseas. It’s often a unique opportunity for old friends and teammates to catch up, and for the best domestic talent to see how they stack up against those competing at the WorldTour and Continental level. 

Yet at the start of the women’s elite time trial race this morning, a new face appeared. Making her pro cycling debut in the colors of Trek-Segafredo, the recently signed Taylor Knibb quickly found herself in the hot seat as she set a blistering time of 31:41 at the completion of the 14.6-miles course.

Knibb, however, was only the ninth rider off the starting ramp and she faced stiff competition in the second and third wave which held the likes of former world and national time trial champions Chloé Dygert, Lauren Stephens and Amber Neben. 

Stephens and Dygert each managed to outpace the newcomer, moving her out of the hot seat and into third. At the intermediate timing point, it looked like Neben, the day's last starter, was off-pace and lagged behind Knibb. But the 48-year-old made up for her loss of time in the second half, unseating Knibb from the podium altogether. Still, a fourth-place finish among the best in the country is not a bad start to one's road racing career. 

But Knibb is no stranger to world-class competition, and in fact,  a world champion in her own right. While not yet known in the cycling world, Knibb is a star triathlete. Currently ranked fourth in the world for short-course triathlon, the 25-year-old Boulderite is the reigning Ironman 70.3 World champion and an Olympic silver medalist (team relay, Tokyo 2020).

A lifelong athlete, started competing in triathlons as a young girl, inspired by watching her mother, Leslie Knibb, compete in Ironmans. In college, Knibb competed at the Division 1 level in Track and Field and swimming for Cornell University. Knibb was selected for the US national team in 2017 at just 19 years old, the youngest age anyone has ever joined. 

She made true on her potential by winning gold in the season opener of the 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series and thereby becoming the youngest woman yet to qualify for the Olympic triathlon. In Tokyo, she finished 16th in the women's Olympic event before helping the mixed relay team win the silver medal.  

Her rise in the triathlon world has been meteoric and many are calling her the next great American triathlete. She now hopes to also bring her talent and dedication to professional cycling with a combined triathlon and road calendar. 

Already a Trek-sponsored athlete in triathlon, Knibb signed with the Trek-Segafredo road program mid-season to ‘test herself at the highest level of professional cycling and learn about all the ways I can continue to improve and develop.’

“I see the cycling events as on a parallel path to triathlon, I guess, like just adding a rail,” Knibb said in a team statement.

The idea to complete at the U.S. National Time Trial Championship was born from a lingering foot injury that prevent her from running. More time on the bike meant she was looking to find competition outside of triathlon. 

“If you probably asked me like two years ago, what I would be doing in sport in general I would not have picked what I’m doing right now. And that’s just two years. So like, in four or five years? I have no idea. The whole reason why I want to try cycle racing is to learn,” she said. 

Following her debut at the national championships, Knibb will combine her regular triathlon program with a small selection of races on the road.

With more and more riders competing in multiple disciplines and succeeding, such as Tom Pidcock racing road and mountain biking, and Cameron Wurf racing road and triathlon, there is much more space for multi-discipline athletes in cycling these days. Knibb may be the next to succeed. 

The week after a Grand Tour is usually a bit of a fallow one, and this has been the case in the days following the Giro d'Italia, as everyone decompresses and tries to work out what to do with their time now they can't watch cyclists struggling in the rain in Italy.

The less said about a rather tepid Giro the better - the last word goes to Ed Pickering of Rouleur, who wrote: "It’s one thing having suspense to the end; it’s another to kill the racing for two and a half weeks in order to get it." But it's fine, because we can quickly move on.

The Critérium du Dauphiné is here to take your attention away from Sunday, then it will be the Tour de Suisse, and then it's practically time for the Tour de France, just a month away.

A fallow week it might have been, but that does not mean the social media machine stops - it never stops. First, there was the wrapping up to go with the end of the Giro; it ended with a heartwarming moment as Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) helped his old friend Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) to his final stage with at the Italian Grand Tour. Cue pandemonium on Twitter.

Also this week, Trek-Segafredo announced it will be known as Lidl-Trek from the end of the month, so that meant lots of fun with brightly coloured kits and products from the budget German supermarket chain. Julian Alaphilippe showed off his unusual training methods ahead of the Tour, Chiara Consonni had fun at RideLondon, and Pierre Rolland lost a bike to the depths. All this and much, much more.

1. Mark Cavendish was rather happy to get his first win of 2023, and his final ever Giro d'Italia stage win, at the last opportunity

2. Some of the thanks has to go to Geraint Thomas, who helped an old mate out. Cycling is pretty simple sometimes.

3. Geraint Thomas was very gracious in defeat to Primož Roglič, as is the other Geraint Thomas on Twitter

4. Ryan Gibbons of UAE Team Emirates didn't have much riding on the penultimate stage of the Giro, so could enjoy his cable car ride

5. Not having a good time the day before was Carlos Verona, who got taken out by an AG2R Citroën car while in the break on stage 19...

6. Meanwhile, Marc Madiot gave up the day job to help his Groupama-FDJ team out

7. She might not have won a stage, but Chiara Consonni had fun in Essex at the RideLondon Classique

8. Also having fun was Pfeiffer Georgi, who helped her teammate Charlotte Kool to two stage wins and the overall at RideLondon

9. Julian Alaphilippe and Marion Rousse are one of cycling's super couples, and the Soudal Quick-Step man and Tour de France Femmes director have a cool way of spending time with their child

10. Derek Gee had a standout debut Grand Tour, and it's good to see him celebrated

11. Poor Pierre Rolland - it's never nice to lose a bike. You don't have to understand French to see what happens here

12. Nope, this isn't anything crude, but a celebration of Richard Carapaz's first pro win for EF

13. Charlie Quarterman is missing his friends from the Giro

14. It's Lidl time. Is Richard Carapaz secretly riding for the new Lidl-Trek?

15. Elynor Backstedt-Calvert is already ready for the German supermarket chain...

16. If the kit looks like this, I will be delighted

17. However, Mads Pedersen, graphic designer, has other ideas

18. Peter Sagan, four weeks away from his final Tour de France, is very much doing his own thing. Yeehaw.

19. Finally, happy Pride month.

Charlie Quarterman says that when he heard he had made the selection for Corratec’s Giro d’Italia squad it seemed almost too good to be true.

The British rider joined Italian ProTeam Corratec at the start of the current season, after spending time with Philippe Wagner Cycling, which followed being dropped by Trek-Segafredo. Quarterman from Oxford told Cycling Weekly that finding out he would be making his Grand Tour debut this weekend was surreal.

“I couldn’t quite believe it really,” Quarterman said. “It’s been months since we found out we were going, and there’s been months of preparation for this race. It was also quite late that I found out, so it’s such a big relief that it’s almost hard to believe and it’s obviously a dream as well.”  

Since turning professional, Quarterman developed a formidable reputation in time trialling, and was under-23 British national champion in 2019. He was fifth in the elite time trial behind Ethan Hayter in Castle Douglas at the British national championships last year.

This year’s Giro course is top heavy with time trialling, with more than 70 kilometres of racing against the clock spread over three stages. Quarterman explained to CW that despite his prowess in time trialling, he can bring plenty of other strengths to the Corsa Rosa for Corratec.

“I think I can do a good job, although I haven’t quite got it right in a couple of TT’s this year but the form is much better than it was,” he added. “I’m getting to grips with the TT bike we have… I think they [Corratec] are going to count on me for the breakaways on some of the flatter stages. Another big part of what I do is working for the others, taking the wind and putting them in the right place for the important moments.” 

Quarterman explained that he believes his strong performance in a recently completed block of racing in France also helped put him in the picture when it came down to Giro team selection. After getting up the road in two of the three one day races - the Classic Grand Besançon Doubs and the Tour du Doubs - the British rider believes it demonstrated his adaptability across various terrain.

“A couple of weeks ago I did three one day races in France one after the other,” he said. “I managed to get in the breakaway on two of the three days which were in the hills, so not really profiles for me actually.”

“I think that made quite a big difference, as it showed that I’m able to deal with all the things that can get thrown at us in these races and get in the breakaway. It’s something I’m not really used to, even though it suits my riding style… If we ignore the first race of the year in Argentina where I got cooked in the heat, I think I’ve shown my ability to recover pretty well in stage races and on some of the climbs.”

“Things have always been going in the right direction, but it’s probably getting in these breakaways in the last few races that’s shown everything is getting better building up towards the Giro,” Quarterman added.

After spending two years on the WorldTour with Trek-Segafredo, Quarterman was forced to drop to amateur level with Philippe Wagner cycling for 2022.

During his time spent at that level, the Oxford-born rider explained that riding in a Grand Tour peloton seemed so far out of reach that it didn’t even enter his mind. Instead, Quarterman kept his focus firmly on earning another professional contract, which he was rewarded with when Corratec came calling.

“I wasn’t even thinking about it to be honest,” Quarterman said. “The main thing was just to find another professional contract to enable me to continue living this dream… It was only once I started racing this year that I started to realise it was a possibility. There were moments where it would have felt really far away, although it was so far away that I didn’t even consider it.”

Quarterman joked that he could “write a book” on his experiences in cycling in recent years, but said the biggest lesson he’s learned is to focus on himself, and then the results will follow.

“I think looking after myself, and realising that everything counts has been key for me,” he explained. “It’s the little details that make the difference in some of these races. It’s the small things on and off the bike that you do throughout the year that end up making a big difference. Whether it’s daily stretching or regular visits to the osteopath, these kinds of things can change a lot.”

“When I signed for Trek, I was signed mostly for the physical potential I guess,” he added. “Although I’d been working really hard too. I don’t think I quite realised at times how many 1000’s of people want to be in that position. So when you fall back down and have to work your way back up, you realise how hard it is, and how fortunate we are to be here really.”

Trek-Segafredo have announced that Giulio Ciccone won’t be able to lead their challenge at the upcoming Giro d’Italia as a result of ongoing symptoms of Covid-19. After delivering a positive test result for Covid on 24 April, the day after he had finished 13th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Italian climber had been hoping that he might still be able to take his place in Trek’s line-up for his national tour, which starts in his home region of Abruzzo. However, he’s been unable to train since then due to sinusitis, a cough and fatigue.

‘Giving up the Giro breaks my heart. I can’t find any other words to describe my feelings right now,’ said Ciccone, who’s had a very strong start to the season, taking summit victory wins at the Tour of Valencia in February and the Volta a Catalunya in March, plus a string of high GC finishes. ‘I would have faced my favorite race after the best start to a season of my career. I would have started from home, from my Abruzzo; a historic event, even unique. Everything was perfect and then…’

Trek team director Gregory Rast admitted that Ciccone will be difficult to replace. ‘We are losing a very important part of our Giro squad. With his innate talent and with the great condition he has shown in the very first part of the season, Giulio had everything needed to be one of the protagonists of the race. We are sorry for him, because we know how much he wanted to be there, and it’s a pity that we won’t have our strongest man for the climbs,’ Rast said of the Italian, who’s a three-time stage-winner at the corsa rosa and was the race’s King of the Mountains champion in 2019 and runner-up in that competition last year.

The American team will announce the replacement for Ciccone on Tuesday, when they confirm their final line-up for the season’s first Grand Tour, which gets under way next Saturday (6 May) with a 19.6km individual time trial into the Adriatic port of Ortona. ‘Replacing a captain a few days before the start is impossible, as is finding someone capable of taking over his leadership,’ said Rast. ‘In the next few hours we will decide the rider who will take his place. We have some good options who, although in a different role, will guarantee their contribution to the team.’

Ciccone, meanwhile, will continue his recovery from his illness and use this setback as motivation for new goals, which will be revealed during May. ‘I have to swallow a bitter pill and the thought of what I could have done in this Giro will be in my mind for a long time,’ he said.

‘On the other hand, I have to listen to my body. I have to recover in the best way possible because the season is long and the risk of compromising it would be too high. It’s a tough decision, but I have to accept the fact and look beyond it. As soon as I return to racing, I will turn this disappointment into determination.’

Antonio Tiberi, the Trek-Segafredo rider who was was convicted of killing a cat with an air rifle, has had his contract terminated by the American team.

The Italian rider was previously suspended by Trek after the incident where he killed a cat belonging to the former head of state of San Marino, Pedini Amati.

On Friday, the squad released a statement saying that Tiberi's "actions during his suspension did not meet our criteria for a return to competition". 

As a result, they have "mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately". The promising 21-year-old is therefore a free agent.

The statement added: " With the rider’s contract now terminated, he is free to sign with another team. No further comments will be given at this time."

After the February incident Trek called the incident "reprehensible", it was apparently previously unaware of the incident.

The suspension was supposed to last 20 days, with the team donating the rider's pay from that period to an animal welfare charity.

Italian-born Tiberi was handed a €4,000 fine after killing the cat, and Amati, who is now the Minister of Tourism, called for Tiberi to have his residency in the tax haven rescinded.

At the time the rider said: "I deeply regret my shameful actions... I accept with [a] sense of responsibility and repentance the consquences and the blame for my action."

In February he said he would make donations based on prize money earned this season to San Marino organisations that look after stray cats, and said he would also carry out volunteer work for them.

The incident took place last summer at Tiberi's San Marino home, after the 21-year-old bought the gun and decided to "test it out", Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.

Shooting from his apartment window, Tiberi first targeted a road sign, before spotting the cat. Tiberi admitted to shooting at the animal, which died from a head wound.

The police were called by Amati himself, who witnessed the incident.

"My intent was simply to measure the shooting capacity of the weapon, so much so that I aimed at a prohibition sign," Tiberi told the court before he was convicted. "I also admit that I just as stupidly and unconsciously tried to hit a cat, and to my surprise I actually hit it. I had no intention of killing the animal, in fact I was convinced that the weapon wasn't lethal."

Amati was clearly unhappy with the punishment, saying: "You cannot kill a pet and get away with a €4,000 fine… We do not need to give residency to these people."

Tiberi signed for Trek-Segafredo in 2021, having won the junior World Championship time trial at Harrogate in 2019. He won a stage of the Tour of Hungary in 2022. His last race for Trek was the UAE Tour, where he finished seventh overall.

Lizzie Deignan will return to action for Trek-Segafredo at La Flèche Wallonne and is a possibility for Liège–Bastogne–Liège on April 19 and April 23 respectively.

The British rider announced that she was expecting another child last year, and took time away from racing. After giving birth, Deignan was initially anticipated to be returning to the peloton in Spain at La Vuelta Femenina in early May.

However, a press release from ASO, the organiser of La Flèche Wallonne, released on Friday, hinted at the possible appearance of the former winner of Paris-Roubaix in next Wednesday’s race.

“The field of champions is notably completed by Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo), returning to competition after giving birth to her second child,” the press release read.

According to a report from Cyclingnews last week, Trek-Segafredo had told Deignan to prepare for both races in case she is needed.

On Monday afternoon Deignan confirmed on social media that she would be riding, that was then followed up by an announcement by her Trek team.

"Where did that 6 months go?!" she wrote on Instagram.

"I actually can’t put it all in to words, Flèche Wallonne here I come."

Deignan won Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes in 2020, and has finished second at Flèche Wallonne in both 2014 and 2017.

Trek-Segafredo are yet to announce their full rosters for Flèche and Liège. However, ASO has listed Deignan, Elisa Longo Borghini and Shirin van Anrooij in the team's squad for Flèche Wallonne. The latter two rode the Amstel Gold Race at the weekend, with Van Anrooij finishing third in the Netherlands.

Longo Borghini has past experience of the Flèche Wallonne podium, finishing third in 2014 and 2021. After recovering from a bout of Covid earlier this spring, she will be a hot favourite for the podium once again next week.

Deignan gave birth to her first child in 2018, and then made her return to racing during the Ardennes Classics in April 2019. After the birth of her second child, she was initially expected to skip the Ardennes this time around, making a return to racing at La Vuelta Feminina in May.

The Spanish stage race has moved on the calendar from its traditional September spot to May.

Her team's initial plan for her was to build form with seven days of racing at the beginning of her comeback, but that may now be extended to include two of the three Ardennes Classics due to rider availability at Trek-Segafredo.

Deignan will then build her season around the Tour de France Femmes in July, before turning her attention to the World Championships road race in Glasgow in August. 

US cycling brand Trek has launched its new Ballista road bike helmet, which it claims to be its “fastest, most aerodynamically-advanced” model to date. 

Designed with input from the professional riders at Trek-Segafredo, the new Ballista MIPS prioritises aerodynamics, and is said to bring a 5.4 watt power saving compared to the previous generation of the helmet, based on an hour’s riding at 45km/h. 

This is the equivalent of saving 17 seconds on a standard hour test at 300 watts.

According to Trek, the helmet’s advantages are a result of its “unique shape” which was conceived following interviews with Trek-Segafredo riders. “Further improvement was gained from the addition of an air trip, vent design, and internal channels,” the press materials detailed. “Together, the whole system makes the Ballista the fastest helmet Trek has ever made.” 

Compared to the previous generation of the Ballista, which was released in 2015, the new model has larger front vents and an extended rear part, in a bid to manipulate and improve air flow. It also incorporates a MIPS Air safety system, which is said to reduce rotational forces in the event of a crash. 

Trek-Segafredo riders have already been wearing the helmet in races this season, with Elisa Longo Borghini donning it on the flatter stages at the UAE Tour. Likewise, former world champion Mads Pedersen wore the new Ballista during Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, where he finished third. 

In tandem with the launch of the Ballista, Trek has also released its third generation Velocis helmet, a more lightweight, all-round race option. The two lids are the first to be released under the company’s name, as part of a re-brand from its Bontrager range. 

“Velocis is a versatile, race-ready performer designed to meet the everyday training and racing needs of Trek-Segafredo,” the brand said. Weighing in at 235g in its European version (260g in the US version), the statement continued, “Velocis is the lightest helmet in Trek’s lineup.”

Both helmets are available now in sizes small to large, all priced at $299.99/£229.99. 

Lizzie Deignan, the only woman to have won the Women’s Tour on two occasions, has expressed her disappointment at the cancellation of this year’s race.

The Trek-Segafredo rider won her home race in both 2016 and after her return from maternity leave in 2019 and voiced her support for the organisation when its financial woes were revealed early in March. 

“Obviously I'm really disappointed by the news that the Women's Tour won't be taking place this year,” she told Cycling Weekly after the race’s cancellation was revealed on Friday. 

“It's a shame that someone can't see the value of it as a sponsor considering the crowds it attracts and the quality of racing.”

Since its inception in 2014 the Women’s Tour has been renowned for its tough racing, with one rider saying it was physically far more demanding than the 10 day Giro Donne.

The race was among the first to produce comprehensive highlight on free-to-air TV and has always attracted good crowds, both at stage starts and finishes and along the road, with organisers activating schools who would turn out and cheer the peloton along.

Only the crowds of last year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift were a match for those in Britain, but despite the standing and profile of the Women’s Tour on Friday morning the organisation called time on the 2023 event. 

“Owing to a combination of increased running costs (approximately 20% higher in comparison to the 2022 race) and a reduced level of commercial support, it has proved impossible to deliver the event that was proposed for June,” read the organiser’s press release.

“The decision has been taken now following a three-week renewed appeal for funding, which included an incredibly popular crowdfunding scheme that was enthusiastically supported by over 500 race fans. The Women’s Tour thanks everybody who donated for their unwavering loyalty, as well as all the messages of goodwill that have been sent.”

Deignan has a long and successful relationship with her home Tour, starting six and finishing four of the eight editions to date. And with three stage wins to go with her two general classification victories the race has been a happy hunting ground.

Her attendances have not always been positive experiences though. After withdrawing with injury on the final day of the inaugural edition, in 2015 she won the opening stage but crashed over the line and was forced to withdraw.

The Women’s Tour was a game changer when it came onto the calendar in 2014, bringing much needed professional organisation to a sport where races were largely run by committed, talented but mostly amateur groups.

Riders and teams would praise the organisation and hotels, though the parcours would come in for occasional criticism with stages often concluding with bunch sprints. Though this year’s financial shortfall will need to be addressed, organisers are hopeful the race will return for 2024, as is Deignan. 

“I know it will be a loss for the Women's WorldTour season for a lot of riders. I really hope it will be back bigger than ever next year,” she concluded.

When the podium announcer read out Gaia Realini’s name as the best young rider at the UAE Tour Women, Elisa Longo Borghini punched the air. 

Her diminutive Trek-Segafredo team-mate, who has idolised her since she was seven years old, had given everything for her on stage three’s climb to Jebel Hafeet. So strong were the duo, that from 5km to go, they rode solo up the craggy limestone monolith. They laughed together as they approached the line, where Realini eased off and let Longo Borghini roll her wheel over first. 

The Paris-Roubaix winner didn’t want to speak about herself in her press interviews after the race. Immediately, she launched into a eulogy of her 21-year-old compatriot. “Gaia is such a young talent,” she said, “and I really want to have her on my side in the next years, to see her grow as a rider and a person. 

“She’s a very strong climber and I’m looking forward to see her climbing up the world rankings.”

For most of the steeply pitched 10km ascent, Realini rode with Longo Borghini in tow, leaving their rivals in tatters. First they dropped UAE Team ADQ's Silvia Persico - who eventually fought back to finish third - before young Brit Anna Shackley (SD Worx) lost the wheel. Team DSM’s Esmée Peperkamp held on the longest, but at the halfway point, she couldn’t hold the pace, and watched on as the Trek duo floated away up the road. 

With victory guaranteed, Longo Borghini and Realini needed to decide who would take it. “First I said ‘Gaia takes the win, and I take the jersey’,” Longo Borghini said. But with just three seconds separating them in the GC, and bonus seconds on the line, the team bosses intervened. 

“The sports director of course did some calculations and said ‘It’s better that Elisa takes the jersey and the victory and we give Gaia an opportunity the next time.’

“Gaia was like ‘I really want you to win this race.’ She was really, really into it, and then all of a sudden, when I was in the front, she said in a South Italian dialect ‘Oh gosh, I want to cry.’ And it was just funny, I had to laugh. She’s always making everybody laugh.” 

When Realini came to the media tent, it was Longo Borghini’s turn to protect her team-mate. “Her English is good,” the stage winner told the press, “but only ask simple questions.” 

How had the 21-year-old found the day? “Incredible,” she replied. “For me this is the first race in the big team, this team, and for me to arrive in second position… Whoa. It’s a good day, it’s impossible for me."

Asked what her own career ambitions are, Realini spoke like a true domestique. “For me, my goal in the future is to help Elisa in other races, on the climbs,” she said, “and Elisa will help me on the climbs as well.” 

Longo Borghini now leads the UAE Tour ahead of Sunday's finale in Abu Dhabi. Barring any incidents, Realini should finish in second. The question now is who will join them on the podium, with the final spot currently held by Persico. 

Teams have begun to share their kit designs for the 2023 season through the off season. There are just a few days until we make it to the new year, but there are still a lot of jerseys to be uncovered. 

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, the artist formerly known as Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, released its new jersey on Christmas Day, which is surely the best present any of us receieved.

The highly anticipated EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-Tibco-SVB jersey was released in January, and for the first-time ever, Rapha has produced identical eye-catching jerseys for both the men and women.

Human Powered Health released its kits for both women and men on Boxing Boxing Day, or the 27 December to the rest of us. Same colours, but a bit different.

In the run up to the big day, Lotto-Dstny, Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers all released their kits, with some continuation and other startling changes.

Lotto's kit reflects the team's new sponsors, with blue and orange given pride of place; Jumbo continue with its tried-and-tested yellow and black colours, while Ineos Grenadiers went wild and changed to red and orange.

Astana-Qazaqstan's jersey is barely changed, with the now familiar light blue fading into navy down the chest.

With new sponsors Soudal coming aboard, Soudal Quick-Step have a bit more red on their kit than before, while Israel-Premier Tech's kit is not dissimilar to the one they wore at the Tour de France last year. UAE Team ADQ, meanwhile, stick with largely the same colour scheme of violet, orange and red, but in a new configuration.

Groupama-FDJ’s new jersey sees the team completely overhaul their previous colours, with their new jersey featuring multiple shades of dark blue instead of their previous mainly all-white design. The jersey also features an eye-catching zip in the colours of the French national team. 

Bora-Hansgrohe have shared their new Le Col kit which has largely retained last year's design in which Jai Hindley rode to victory in the Giro d'Italia. 

Bahrain Victorious’ new kit is largely similar to the previous design manufactured by Alé, but with flashes of black added to the main body and light blue and a zig zagged design on the rear.

UAE Team Emirates has switched kit suppliers for the new season, with Italian brand Pissei taking over from their previous kit provider Gobik. 

The team’s new kit provider will be making their debut on the WorldTour, but the Tuscany-based company has worked on a design that follows a similar pattern to the UAE kit of previous years. 

Meanwhile, Trek-Segafredo has released new kit designs for both its men’s and women’s teams, with both sharing a similar design. Santini will continue as the team’s kit provider for another season. 

In terms of other women's squads, UAE Team ADQ and AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step have provided fresh designs, while Jumbo-Visma and Lotto-Dstny will have the same kits for both their men and women.

We will continue to share new designs as they come in. 

EF EDUCATION-EASYPOST

British cycling brand Rapha has continued its partnership with EF Education-EasyPost for a fifth consecutive season.

Rapha have released images of new EF Education signing Richard Carapaz on training rides in the teams new kit which as always, is an eye catching bright pink. A press release from Rapha said the team will debut their new kit on training rides ahead of the fast-approaching Tour down Under, the first WorldTour race of the season. 

Once again, the kit is based on Rapha's Pro Team range, with the cutting edge technology that you would expect from Rapha's elite range.

The jersey is once again dominated by the teams iconic pink, although this year's design features panels of varying shades as a nod to the team's past present and future. 

Now in its second year partnering with the women's team, EF Education-Tibco-SVB, Rapha  has produced for the first time ever an identical jersey for the women's team, which will be differentiated from the men's only by sponsor logos.

Both teams will race in black bib shorts with the sponsors logos printed in white. The logos on both jerseys are printed in black.

For the past two-seasons, Rapha have produced another limited edition kit for the team for the Giro d'Italia in order to avoid a clash with the hallowed Maglia Rosa, or pink jersey, at the Italian Grand Tour which is worn by the race leader.

It's highly likely we can expect similar from the partnership later this season.

UAE TEAM EMIRATES

Two time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar, along with new signing Adam Yates, will have a choice of kit depending on the weather next year. 

Pissei will be providing the team with different designs, depending on the weather, with ultralight and breathable fabrics available to the squad in hotter weather.The other design has thermal qualities for when the temperature drops and the cold starts to bite, as it did when Pogačar rode away from his rivals at the 2022 Tirreno-Adriatico in the snow.

Pissei’s first offering as kit provider is very similar to the UAE Team Emirates design of previous season, with a mainly white jersey with flashes of red and black. The logo of Emirates is still clearly visible in a red band, with the UAE, Whoosh and Colnago logos also being prominently displayed.

The sleeves are predominantly black, similar to the design of 2017 and 18, with a large black section on the rear of the jersey on its middle pocket. The hashtag #WeAreUAE is also present in the middle.  

Pissei have also included a motto on the inner collar, “Race with Heart”. 

TREK-SEGAFREDO

The kit produced by Italian giant Santini for Trek-Segafredo is smart and sleek for both men’s and women’s teams and features an eye-catching design on the back of both jerseys.

Both jerseys have a mainly white base, with Trek emblazoned in a red band across the men’s, and in navy for the women’s. The two jerseys share a Trek logo in black down the side of each. They also share a similar pinstripe design on the sleeves, with the men’s being red and the women’s a light, duck-egg blue shade. 

The two jerseys both have a prominent Segafredo logo on the front panelling, with the logos of sponsors SRAM, Bontrager and of course, Santini, all clearly visible in the top corners. 

But it's the back of both jerseys is what really stands out. A new design has been incorporated into both jerseys, using dark blue as the main colour in a pattern consisting of checkerboard and striped blocks.  

In the men’s, red is the second colour to link together with the red Trek band that also features on the rear. For the women, light blue continues as a secondary colour in order to blend together with the navy Trek logo that features on the shoulders of their jersey. 

The shorts for both men and women will stay dark blue, with a red band at the base for the men's, and a light blue line for the women. 

GROUPAMA-FDJ

Groupama-FDJ’s new kit is full to the brim with different shades of dark blue, as well as a nod to their country with the French flag being prominent down the front of the jersey in the zip. 

The front of the jersey is made up of blue panelling, with the Groupama logo present in a dark navy band across the top of the torso and the FDJ logo printed in white on a more royal blue background. Beneath the FDJ logo is another dark navy band which is a very similar colour to the jersey of the French national football team. 

One of the jersey sleeves is the royal blue shade with the other being navy. The back of the jersey features the bands of colour that match with the front, with the Groupama logo backed by the navy shade and the FDJ logo the royal blue. 

The new shorts are the same navy that features in the jersey, with the Groupama logo emblazoned on the thigh and the Alé logo prominent on the upper hip. 

Groupama-FDJ shared a video on Twitter which shows off the new kit in all its glory.

BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS

The likes of Fred Wright, Matej Mohorič and Mikel Landa will be appearing in a kit next season which is largely unchanged from the design that has brought the team so much success.

Touches of black have been added to the traditional red and yellow of the team’s jersey, with the jersey featuring a zig-zag style stripe design in the team's colours on the rear. 

The jerseys produced by Alé are part of the PR-S collection, which the brand dedicates to teams and professional cyclists. The collection is designed to be light, breathable and fast. 

Bahrain Victorious will keep the same black shorts for next season, with a flash of light blue around the base of the thigh. 

Astana-Qazaqstan

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, the saying goes, although it is a bit of a shame that Astana Qazaqstan have stuck with the same kit for the second year in a row. That's why we're using last year's team picture above, because it's exactly the same.

In fact, it's pretty much the same Giordana kit as 2021 too, with just a change in sponsors on the front. Which is all good and sustainable, but what if I want a bit of Kazakh excitement in my life?

Well, I suppose at least you don't have to think too hard about Astana next year, because they are almost exactly the same. Without Miguel Ángel López, though.

Soudal Quick-Step

One thing that you do absolutely have to get your head around is the new Quick-Step, which are now sponsored by Soudal, becoming Soudal Quick-Step. That means a revolution in design to cram Soudal and its customary red bar on the front of the jersey, ending up with this slightly messy looking kit.

There's an exciting trailer for the new kit starring Yves Lampaert, and it can already be purchased for €89.95 on Quick-Step's website.

Castelli's second kit for the Belgian super-team is largely blue, with a white bit blasted out of the middle to make way for SOUDAL and its customary red bar. I can already picture Fabio Jakobsen and Julian Alaphilippe winning in it.

Israel-Premier Tech

No longer a WorldTour team, Israel-Premier Tech have turned once again to stycle.design, otherwise known as Stijn Dossche, who designed their Tour de France kit last summer.

It's a mix of hues, with blue, white, pink and purple all in there. 

The jersey is made by its new kit supplier EKOÏ, and is designed to standout in the peloton with its "abstract blue, pink, and orange design of the jersey complimented by simple navy bib shorts which allow the jersey to shine".

Kjell Carlström, the team's general manager, said: "When it came to designing our 2023 kit, we wanted to do something a little different. Our Racing For Change kit at the Tour de France was a huge success and, in our opinion, one of the best kits in the peloton in recent years. 

"So we figured, why not do something a bit different all season long. Blue and white, the Israeli colors, are at the core of our identity. But, as we saw in 2022, there was a lot of blue and white in the peloton. So, we wanted to add some additional color into the mix and create a fresh and modern look that stands out on the bike. 

"Particularly on the back of the jersey, where we have replaced the team logo with the monogram of our star and P from Premier Tech so that we can be easily spotted on television. That’s our aim for 2023: stand out in the peloton when it comes to our kit design and the way we race."

The newly named Women's WorldTour team Israel-Premier Tech Roland have a similar, but not completely identical design.

UAE Team ADQ

UAE Team ADQ might share a name, a bike, a name, and a sponsor with the men's UAE Team Emirates, but its jersey is radically different. Also made by Pissei, the  kit is similar to last year, but subtly different.

It has light blue and red that fade into one another, vaguely similar to the Israeli teams above. Maybe its a Middle East thing.

Lotto-Dstny

Lotto-Dstny has changed quite a lot for the 2023 season, with new sponsor Dstny bringing its light blue and orange on board.

With Soudal leaving, the red bar and white middle no longer is required on the front of Lotto's kit, with a light blue lower half coming in its place. That's about it in terms of changes, with the light blue helmets continuing.

The team might no longer be in the WorldTour, but it will still be recognisable at races across the season.

The shorts remain black.

“The launch of this new outfit means that all eyes are now fully on the upcoming season,” Yana Seel, the chief business officer at Lotto-Dstny said in the press release. “We will have been riding in Vermarc Sport kit for more than half of the team’s existence. This says a lot about the quality of the equipment, the mutual trust and the shared love for the sport.”

Ineos Grenadiers

Ineos Grenadiers will race in red, orange and navy in 2023, with the team deviating from their previous navy jersey.

It is a departure from the team's previous colours, with navy not present as the main colour on the kit; that honour is instead given to a vibrant orange and red, which is perhaps more redolent of Bahrain Victorious.

Only once since the team's inception in 2010 has their main kit been something other than navy or black - 2018's white kit - and so it might take some time for viewers and fans to adjust.

The team are using Ineos' "brigade red" colour, according to the press material. It is the second year that Belgian firm Bioracer has made the team's kit.

The front of the jersey is red, with orange, red, and navy sleeves. The orange featured on the right arm is apparently "safety orange", which is also a colour used by the Ineos Britannia America's Cup team, which is also sponsored by Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos' owner.

Rod Ellingworth, the team's deputy principal, said in a statement: "The team is shifting up a gear with our 2023 jersey. We’re excited by the evolution of the design and hope our fans love this new look as much as we do. The shift to Ineos' brigade red reflects the way we plan to race - with passion, grit and determination.

“The introduction of the distinctive orange colour is also important. It will increase the visibility of our riders during racing, as the orange kit they wear does whilst they are training, helping to keep them safe on the road and supporting them in all conditions. Bioracer has really risen to the challenge with our 2023 jersey and we’re looking forward to racing in this ‘Visibly Fast’ kit.”

Jumbo-Visma

Jumbo-Visma's new kit is very similar to the old kit. It still is mainly yellow - shock - and has the black band with the sponsors across the middle.

The "roots to rise" jersey will be worn by both the men's and women's team, with only a small change in sponsors between the two.

The difference comes with the rainbow highlight either side of the black band, and the new sponsors, which are Bet City, SRAM and Lease a Bike for the men, and Elfi, and the same latter two for the women.

The kit has been designed to mark ten years of the Dutch team, which began as Blanco Pro Cycling Team in 2013 after the demise of Rabobank - the finance sponsors pulled out due to the prevalence of doping in cycling.

The team was then known as Belkin, before it became LottoNL-Jumbo, and then finally Jumbo-Visma.

"With this jersey, we pay tribute to what we have achieved together over the past ten years, and it is a starting point for further growth over the next ten years”, general manager Richard Plugge said in a statement. 

"We built the team from the ground up to where we are today, with the Tour de France victory last summer being the absolute highlight. By wearing this jersey, we pay tribute to our history, but at the same time, we look forward to the future."

"We have had some wonderful moments in recent years. Think of winning our first grand tour with Primoz Roglic in 2019, the monumental victories, last year's Tour de France, the results of culture carriers like Robert Gesink and Steven Kruijswijk, and the development of talents like Olav Kooij."

“We pioneered new territory a few years ago with the launch of our training and women's teams. We started from scratch and completely redesigned the team. “We now have a solid foundation and will build on the future of the team and Dutch and international cycling."

As a result of it being a 10 year anniversary kit, anyone who buys the jersey before 6 January will received 10 artworks on cards which remember the team's greatest moments, from Lars Boom winning over the cobbles at the Tour de France in 2014 to Jonas Vingegaard winning the Tour de France last year.

AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step

AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step is quite a mouthful of a team, but it is the formalisation of the connection between the all-conquering Quick-Step men's team at the AG Insurance-NXTG women's team, which will be joining the Women's WorldTour next year.

As a result, the team's kit is quite redolent of their Soudal Quick-Step brothers, with the white band across the middle; in fact, it might be exactly the same aside from the different lead sponsors.

Among the riders donning this in 2023 will be Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, who has left SD Worx to be with the new WWT team, and Lotta Henttala, who spent 2022 without a squad.

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty

Last year Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert went for simplicity with coloured sleeves and a plain white front. Now they have changed its name to Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, there has been an explosion of colour on the front of the kit.

The Nalini kit looks a bit like someone has taken a plain white jersey and thrown fluorescent yellow and navy blue paint at it. With 18 sponsors across the kit, it is a heady mix of the old and the new.

One that will stand out in 2023.

Human Powered Health

For its second year as Human Powered Health, the American squad formerly known as Rally has kept the orange and purple that made it stand out in the men's and women's pelotons last year, but made everything a little bit bolder.

The press release for the kit says: "The jersey’s vibrant gradient is refreshed, incorporating rich dark blue and purple hues. The team’s striking bolt symbol is more significant than ever on the front and back of the jersey, and a subtle geometric pattern enhances closer views."

One to watch out for in the Women's WorldTour and the men's ProTour in 2023.

“Our design team has created a kit that is informed by the core principles of our Human Powered Health brand and movement,” the managing director of Circuit Sport, Charles Aaron, said. “It’s about maximizing human performance in the right ways. That means a holistic, whole body and mind approach to performance.” 

These “core principles” that inform Human Powered Health – movement, fuel, recovery and mindset – are reflected in the kit’s rich colour scheme. 

“The warmth and energy of movement and fuel are represented on one end of the gradient,” Human Powered Health’s chief creative officer Sam Wiebe said in the statement, “and on the cooler end of the spectrum are recovery and mindset. We want these cooler colors on our kit to remind people that performance isn’t just about consuming and burning energy. A calmness of mind and body is a critical factor.”

BORA-HANSGROHE

Bora-Hansgrohe have kept a similar design to last year's jersey for their 2023 kit, which will be manufactured by Le Col once more. 

Australian Jai Hindley won the Giro d'Italia for the team last year and as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". 

With that in mind, the jersey features the same Bora-Hansgrohe colours of green, black and red, with black panelling making up the left side of the jersey torso and green on the right. 

The logos of sponsors Bora and Hansgrohe occupy the same position on the jersey in large font across the chest, along with other positions on the shoulders. Fellow sponsors logos, Le Col and Specialized, are on display at the top of the front of the jersey too.

Le Col also say that the teams 2023 jersey features a "subtle adjustment" to the design which brought them so much success last year.

Strategically placed tripping panels have been added to the jersey, along with seam layout work. Both additions are in order to increase and smooth the airflow, while also minimising drag to further increase rider efficiency when travelling at speed. 

Bora-Hansgrohe's new shorts are black once more, with the teams other colours visible in coloured panelling at the base of each thigh. White socks will complete their look for the upcoming season. 

Hindley said that he hoped the team could build on Le Col's Grand Tour winning reputation in their new kit in 2023. 

“Winning the Giro earlier this year was a career highlight for me, with the Le Col kit definitely helping along the way," he said. "It’s really exciting to be testing out the new kit for next year’s season and hopefully continue to build on its Grand Tour winning reputation.”

MOVISTAR

Spanish team Movistar have flipped their kit design on its head for the upcoming season for both their men’s and women’s teams. 

The team have largely been known for their dark blue colours for many years, and that’s still the case this year with the jersey largely being made up of a shade of dark blue which fades out into a lighter shade at the base of the sleeves and towards the waist. 

However, they have opted to lose the horizontal light blue lines across the jersey and chosen the colour fade instead. Another change to the jersey is the sponsors logos are all now white instead of light blue with the large M in its usual positioning in the centre. 

Spanish brand Gobik are manufacturing the team's kit this year after their agreement with La Passione came to an end. To pair with the jersey the team will be racing in dark navy blue shorts with a slightly lighter navy band at the base of each thigh. 

Current World champion Annemiek van Vleuten has gone for a timeless, classic look with her new rainbow jersey, with small rainbow bands appearing on her shorts too. 

Various national champions in the team, including Liane Lippert and Vinicius Rangel Costa, have gone for similar jersey designs to Van Vleuten, with their nations colours proudly on display.  

COFIDIS

Cofidis will be appearing on the road in a stylish new kit designed by Decathlon’s cycling brand Van Rysel this season. 

Even though the kit contains the same colours and same sponsors, it’s a stepforward on last year's design and will certainly see Cofidis sporting one of the most eye-catching designs in 2023. 

The red and white colour blocks, which have been a key component of the French squad’s kit for many years, are largely retained. Although the red now stretches up to the neckline instead of finishing half way up the front of the jersey. 

Instead of just a straight ahead red, Van Rysel have added in a tie-dyed pattern across the jersey with the sponsors appearing in white over the top.

The team's sponsors are largely the same as last seasons, although the Look logo has replaced the logo of De Rosa now that Cofidis have changed bike sponsors for the year ahead. 

To go with the new jersey the team are sticking with black shorts once more which are essentially identical to last year’s design. 

JAYCO AlUIa 

The team formerly known as BikeExchange-Jayco have a shiny new Alé kit to go with their name change to Jayco AIUIa for the upcoming season. 

The men’s jersey features various light blue tones to correspond with bike sponsor Giant, with the shoulders largely white apart from the flashes of light blue in various sponsors logos. Jayco’s logo is prominently displayed in large font at the top of the jersey in a sky blue colour, with Giant in the same shade down both sleeves. The AIUla logo sits just underneath Jayco as well as on the side panels. 

The women’s team have a largely similar jersey to the men, but with a darker shade of blue which is verging on purple. The women will ride Liv bikes this season, and the logo of the brand is in the same place as the Giant logo on the men’s jersey down on each sleeve. 

UNO-X

Norwegian team Uno-X Pro Cycling are keeping their kit exactly the same as last seasons, with no changes whatsoever. 

According to the team, this decision is for sustainable purposes and the need to reduce consumption. The team shared the news of their decision on Twitter, with a picture of new signing Alexander Kristoff wearing last season's kit. 

“Our 2023 design. No changes from last season. We need to reduce our consumption. Keeping the design allows us to cut our overall clothing order for 2023,” the team wrote. “Not to mention our fans which will recognise us from day one in the upcoming season.”

My favourite bit of the off-season sis when the new kits get released, because it makes the coming season seem tangible, you can actually start to imagine it, think about what people will look like at the Mallorca Challenge or Valenciana.

It seems to come earlier every year, and Trek-Segafredo releasing its kit on 1 December has rather fired the starting pistol of kit releases; expect a slew of riders trying to be goofy on camera over the next month. It has rather been a small bright spark in quite a dark week, with Davide Rebellin's death casting a shadow over everything else.

Tweets of the week is here to try and cheer you up, with the help of (probably) the best team social media account out there, Trek. With respect to pretenders to the throne like Intermarché and Human Powered Health, Trek are the rulers of the Twitter game, if that counts. Maybe they should get UCI points for it.

As a result, we have Elisa Balsamo with an inflatable unicorn, Bauke Mollema with a goat, and everyone looking happy in their smart kits. Keep reading for Tadej Pogačar rapping, Remco Evenepoel looking a little happy, but not too happy, and Mieke Kröger.

1. Trek-Segafredo's new kit is pretty smart, and I like the backs, but the best thing to come out of the launch is the behind-the-scenes shots from the photoshoot. I kind of imagine Elisa Longo Borghini always wears this expression

2. Inexplicable bit from the photoshoot - is Bauke Mollema with a sheep or a goat here? Are they implying that he is the GOAT or that he's a shepherd? I don't know

3. Elisa Balsamo is one of the best cyclists in the world, but she also looks great holding balloons. Adorable. Reminds me of the photos of Buyako Saka on an inflatable unicorn from a couple of years ago

4. Meanwhile, if Toms Skuijnš is pretending to bowl in the third picture here, he needs to work on his follow through. Great moves from the Latvian, though

5. It's business at the front, party at the back on both kits. Ellen van Dijk approves

6. Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar appears to be enjoying his off season, even if he does look a bit cold. I'll level with you, I have no idea what's going on here

7. In an alternate reality, Remco Evenepoel could have been starting for Belgium at this World Cup, and maybe as a result they wouldn't have gone crashing out at the group stage. As it is though, he's world champion and Belgium... very much are not

8. Speaking of Remco, I can't work out if he's delighted to win this trophy or if he is grimacing at the weight of it. You can decide

9. It's Spotify Unwrapped week, and surely the Mieke Kröger anthem was at the top of everyone's most played songs. It's just a meme, I don't know

10. Ever got the feeling that a car park might be a bit too low for your car? Well

11. I am passionately anti-car, but I will allow pedal powered ones. This is ingenious, if a bit impractical

12. Imagine if everywhere could be like Paris, eh. Bristol, I'm waiting...

Annemiek van Vleuten once again showed she is the world’s best stage racer, winning the Ceratizit Challenge for the second consecutive time.

Her victory came on the back of an imperious climbing and descending show on the race’s second stage to Colindres. There she overhauled a 25 second deficit from the opening day team time trial, building a lead approaching two minutes which she defended to Madrid.

The win comes on the back of those at the Tour de France Femmes aves Zwift and the Giro Donne, the Movistar rider bagging the women’s version of all three women’s ‘grand tours’ within 10 weeks of each other.

The stage itself was won by Elisa Balsamo, the world champion winning in Madrid for the second time. Perfectly placed by her Trek-Segafredo team mates she was able to sit on the wheels after team mate and compatriot Elisa Longo Borghini launched an attack with 500m to go.

As others chased Longo Borghini they inadvertently led out Balsamo, who won the sprint by about five bike lengths, kissing her rainbow jersey as she raced in it for the final time.

Lotte Kopecky (SDWorx) was second with Marta Bastianelli (UAE ADQ).

That the organiser televised only the final 32km was a huge disappointment. Previous days’ coverage didn’t start until well after the men’s Vuelta stage had finished, but with Sunday’s concluding stage starting before the men, and, with a good chance of aggressive racing throughout, organisers seemed to have missed a trick by not screening the race in its entirety.

The lack of visual coverage and the near total absence of race updates on the organiser’s social media channels meant the early part of the stage was held in an information vacuum.

Next year’s race will be extended to seven stages, and with the race moving to the start of May there will be no overlap with the men’s event, so perhaps organisers more comprehensively show their race to the world. 

How it happened

For its final stage the race returned to where it all began on 2015, the centre of Madrid for 16 and-a-half laps of an almost flat city circuit, totalling 95.7km.

While the format on its own might not be expected to create exciting racing, the presence of three two and one second bonus seconds on laps eight, 10, 12 and 14 historically makes for frantic, aggressive racing.

Sure enough, on the first lap home rider Sandra Alonso (Ceratizit-WNT) made a move off the front, the team clearly honouring their sponsor’s backing of the race. She was soon joined by Sara Poidevin (EF Education-Tibco-SVB), Nina Buijsman (Human Powered Health) and Carlijn Achtereekte (Jumbo-Visma) and they set about gaining a lead. 

Starting the day in 46th place overall, 22-34 behind the Van Vleuten’s overall lead, Alonso was the best placed of the breakaway, so they were quickly allowed to build a lead of around one minute. That grew slowly to 1-35 at the end of the sixth lap and it seemed the bonus sprints might not affect the race after all.

The leaders eventually shared all of those sprints among themselves, the bunch still around a minute back one lap later. However, before the second bonus sprint the gap began to drop significantly, and they crossed the line after 10 laps only 35 seconds back, though they were not ready to bring them back just yet, allowing them to dangle within touching distance.

The breakaway were still out front with four laps remaining, though by then only 25 seconds ahead, Van Vleuten lingering at the back of the race, avoiding the bustle of the bunch and the crashes that almost inevitably happened.

With two laps to go the battle for the combativity jersey became heated up, Buijsman attacking the break and taking Alonso with her, but they were caught with just over nine kilometres remaining. Instantly Sara Martín (Movistar) and Niamh Fisher-Black (SDWorx) attacked hoping to ease the pressure on their sprinters, but they too were caught, the pace lifting.

BikeExchange-Jayco led the bunch across the line to begin the final lap, but the race was far from settled, attacks heading up the road. However, SDWorx took control, their Swiss powerhouse Marlen Reusser setting an infernal pace as the sprinter’s teams repositioned themselves again.

In the final lap all the sprinters’ teams were present at or near the front, Movistar led around the final hairpin turn, but when Long Borghini launched her all or nothing love 500m from the line the day was Trek-Segafredo’s.

ResultCeratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, stage five: Madrid - Madrid (95.7km)

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 2-21-37
2. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx 
3. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) UAE ADQ
4. Megan Jastrab (USA) DSM
5. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) UAE ADQ
6. Maria Giulia Confalionieri (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT
7. Tereza Neumanová (CZE) Liv-Xstra
8. Alex Manly (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
9. Julie Leth (Den) UNO-X
10. Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) FDJ-SUEZ_Futuroscope all at same time 

Final general classification

1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Movistar in 12-21-46
2. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 1-44
3. Demi Vollering (Ned) SDWorx at 2-11
4. Liane Lippert (Ger) DSM at 2-34
5. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ-SUEX-Futuroscope at 2-43
6. Ane Santesteban (Esp) BikeExchange-Jayco at 3-03
7. Anna Shackley (GBR) SDWorx at 3-07
8. Elisa Chabbey (Sui) Canyon-SRAM at 3-29
9. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM at 3-35
10. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM at 3-38

Trek-Segafredo put down a marker by winning the opening stage team trial at the Ceratizit challenge by La Vuelta on Wednesday.

The US registered team covered the 19.9km race in northern Spain in a time of 23.31, beating their nearest challengers, BikeExchange-Jayco by six seconds. FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope finished third, a further five seconds down.

After winning the Vårgårda team time trial just under five weeks ago Trek-Segafredo started the day as the squad to be and so it proved, finishing with only the required four women from their six starters, they covered the final kilometre in less than a minute, setting a time of 23-31.

Elisa Longo Borghini was first across the line and will wear the red leader’s jersey going into the second of the race’s five stages, and as their best climber, has a genuine shot at overall victory.

Defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten got off to a good defence of her title, her Movistar team finishing fifth, only only 25 seconds behind the winners. Two stage wins saw the Dutch rider win last year’s race conclusively, and she will be hoping for a repeat this year.

Victory would be a remarkable achievement, and mean she had won the women’s versions of all three grand tours in one year, all within 10 weeks of each other, and on the first time such a feat was available.

How it happened

For 2022 the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta has expanded once again. First ran in 2015 the opening three editions were one day races ridden around the men’s Vuelta finish circuit in Madrid. In 2018 organisers added a team time trial in a Madrid suburb, switching that to an individual effort on the same course the following year. 

In 2020 an opening road stage was added before it became a proper gnarly four stage race with a mountain time trial and very tough hilly day around the north-western province of Galicia. 

This year’s five day race is the last to be run alongside the men’s Vuelta, as next season’s race will grow more and move to May as part of a block of Spanish WorldTour stage races next spring.

For 2022 though, the race began with a 19.9km team time trial starting and finishing in Marina de Cudeyo, just a short ride east of Santander on the country's northern coast, the race looping clockwise to the coast and back.

First down the ramp were Rio Meira-Cantabria Deporte. Riding in their home region, they have not raced a UCI event outside Spain this year, and Wednesday was their first WorldTour race for the year. And that showed, their six women eventually finishing last, almost five minutes down.

Another Spanish team, Soltec were third down the ramp, and included Olympic road race champion and time trial specialist Anna Kiesenhofer among their international squad. But even with Kiesenhofer’s talent they managed only 20th place.

Sixth to start, Human Powered Health were the first WorldTour team to start, and briefly took the lead with 25-49, but they were bested first by UNO-X and then by Ceratizit-WNT, whose 24-52 saw them settle into the hot seat. 

But they had little time to get comfortable, as BikeExchange-Jayco smashed their time, clocking 23-37, an average of more than 48kph. They were pushed close by FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope, the French team finishing only five seconds down, but the Australian squad’s effort was good enough for the day’s podium, putting Ane Santesteban and Kristen Faulkner in strong positions for the rest of the race.

For its second stage the peloton remains in the northern region of Cantabria, heading a few kilometres east for a winding, circuitous 105.9 stage covering five classified climbs where the GC should begin to take proper shape.

ResultCeratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, stage one: Marina de Cudeyo - Marina de Cudeyo Race (19.9km)

1. Trek-Segafredo (USA) in 23-31
2. BikeExchange-Jayco (Aus) at 06 sec
3. FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope (Fra) at 11 sec
4. SDWorx (Ned) at 23 sec
5. Movistar (Esp) at 25 sec
6. DSM (Ned) at 44 sec
7. Canyon-SRAM (Ger) at 59 sec
8. Jumbo-Visma (Ned) at 1-01
9. Ceratizit-WNT (Ger) at 1-21
10. UAE ADQ (UAE) at 1-28

General classification after stage one

1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 23-31
2. Elynor Bäckstedt (GBr) Trek-Segafredo
3. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
4. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo all at same time 
5. Georgia Williams (NZ) BikeExchange-Jayco at 06 sec
6. Alex Manly (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
7. Kristen Faulkner (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco
8. Ane Santesteban (Esp) BikeExchange-Jayco
9.  Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco all at same time 
10. Grace Brown (Aus) FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope at 11 sec

It is difficult to stop Fred Wright smiling. Even after he came second at his first chance of winning a stage of the Tour de France, he still had enough energy to raise a wry smile.

The Londoner spent the entire day in the break on the Tour’s 192km thirteenth stage to Saint-Étienne and was second in the final three-up sprint behind Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and ahead of Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech).

The 23 year-old, who is riding his second Tour, said he was “gutted” to lose out in the final but that second was still “pretty good”. “Fair play to Mads he was super strong,” he said.

Reflecting on his plan to win the Bahrain Victorious rider said: “I needed to attack on the last climb. That tempo was as hard as I could go and as soon as I got over it I was like ‘Damn it’s going to be a sprint and I'm not going to be able to beat him.’” 

He said he hadn’t expected Pedersen to attack on the final climb and that although he could follow the move and close the gap to the Dane he wasn’t able to up the pace further.

“I just needed that little bit of extra strength,” he said, a touch of regret creeping into his voice. “I nearly did it.”

Wright declined the opportunity to blame his missing out on the heat, which hit 34 degrees Celsius at points during the day. “When you’ve got ice and bottles from the car in the break, it’s actually easier than being in the bunch,” he said.

Breakout year

This year has been a further step up from his performances in 2021 where he mostly fulfilled team duties at the Tour de France. In 2022 He came into the Tour after a breakthrough classics campaign that saw him net a top ten place at the Tour of Flanders and racking up a strong ride at Paris-Nice.

However his Tour preparation was compromised by a bout of Covid in the weeks leading up to the July race around France.  

Today was Wright’s third time in the breakaway at the Tour after a first attempt in the race’s first week in France. Then on stage eight he ended up as the last rider ahead of the peloton and was only swallowed up with 3km left to go. He was then again in the break on stage 10 but was distanced before the finish.

Now he has a Tour de France stage podium finish to his name too.

When asked about what he felt was behind the progress he’d made he said, smiling again: “It's funny, it's only small percentages, you're 2% better and all of a sudden things get easier. You're just not breathing so hard so you can focus on what tactics to play.”

Wright added: “I’m learning every time. I did it better this time than last time and I'll do better next time. Hopefully there will be next time. Maybe not this Tour, but at some point there will be a next time.”

When that time comes and he goes one place better the smile won’t need to be bitter sweet.

All 165 riders at the Tour de France tested negative for Covid after testing performed on Sunday evening

The rest day covid tests were performed after the finish of stage nine, and were administered by the UCI and the Tour's organisers, the ASO.

A statement from the UCI confirmed the news on Monday morning, saying that all tests had come back as negative. 

On Sunday, riders were immediately tested as they made their way back from the stage finish, a stage which was won by Bob Jungels.

The statement reads: “In accordance with the "Rules for the organisation of road cycling competitions in the context of the coronavirus pandemic" established by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and recently updated for the Grand Tours, all riders participating in the Tour de France were tested on the evening of 10 July.

"All tests were negative.”

With the statement there was also a reminder to all race participants of the wider covid rules put in place. 

"However, the UCI reminds all participants that the rules introduced over the last two years in the interests of everyone's health and safety continue to apply. These include the obligation to wear a mask, to maintain sufficient physical distance and to disinfect hands frequently.”

Race leader Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates teammates all returned negative results. This comes despite the news that Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE Team Emirates) tested positive last week and was sent home from the race as a result. Matteo Trentin, who was scheduled to ride for UAE, also tested positive and did not make the start in Copenhagen.

Guillame Martin (Cofidis) and Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) both did not start stage nine yesterday due to returning positive covid test results over the weekend. Laengen, Martin and Bouchard are the only withdrawals so far which are due to the virus. 

Monday's news will come as a relief to race organisers, as there was worry that Covid would impact the Tour with numerous riders being forced to go home. The race will therefore resume as expected on Tuesday.

Under the new UCI rules introduced before the Tour, a team no longer has to head home if two riders test positive, and the door has been opened to asymptomatic people to remain in the race if they are not transmitting it, as is the case of Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroën).

Teams will now not be obliged to test their riders until the next rest day, at which time the nerves about Covid positives will creep up again. Some teams are doing rapid tests every other day, but most are not.

"We're not," Ineos Grenadiers' Tom Pidcock said. "There's no point testing if you don't have symptoms, it's a normal illness. If you're ill, you're ill. It's simple. It's not like if you've got Covid and you've got no symptoms you go home. We test when we need to test."

Tuesday will bring stage ten, and a second day in the Alps, without the stress of Covid immediately. 

In an incredible day of drama at the Tour de France stage five, the emotion was on display at the finish line. Simon Clarke (Israel-PremierTech) won a frenetic sprint ahead of Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies) to secure his first-ever Tour de France stage win.

The Australian rider had endured a winter of not knowing whether he would have a team for the 2022 season. Clarke was part of the Team-Qhubeka setup when they left the World Tour and didn’t know whether a contract would come from elsewhere. 

“He’s half-man half Jack Russell! He’s a terrier!” said Robbie McEwen in his race hilariously accurate analysis on Eurosport.

Following the race, an emotional Clarke said: “Yeah, after the winter I had no team to then have Israel ring me up and say yes, we’ll give you that chance. It just gave me such a reality check to make the most of every opportunity you know. I think you’ll have seen already that I just come out at every race swinging, I try to make the most of every opportunity.” 

Clarke added: “It was a long sprint. I just said to myself you just have to not panic and be as cold as you can." 

Dissecting the race, he expained: "Even when Powless [who moved up 23 places on the general standings after the stage] attacked… he got a gap and I thought maybe that’s the move, but fortunately Edvald decided to chase him down and I managed to slipstream him and bide for some time. 

"Then Taco came over, already at 350, and I thought now is my chance. I let him pass and went behind him, waited and waited, and went for the line at the last minute," the soon-to-be 36-year-old said,

Clarke knew that behind them, chaos was unfolding. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) were hot in pursuit and the Aussie feared they would be caught. 

Commenting on the race dynamics, he told reporters: “We had info that they had a gap, but as we’ve seen in many Roubaix editions, in the final KMs of Roubaix it’s very difficult to close the gap, even a 10-15 second gap in such a challenging stage. I had info they were coming, but they were going to have to ride super fast. Fortunately, we had enough to go to the line.” 

Behind the breakaway, it was looking to be a day full of disaster for Jumbo-Visma. 24 hours previously Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) had stormed to victory but today their gains were rapidly slipping. 

Earlier on in the stage Jonas Vingegaard suffered a mechanical and after two bike changes, struggled to get back in touch with the main field. Meanwhile further ahead, disaster struck for  Primož Roglič as a hay bale slipped from the side of the road bringing him down along with Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal). 

In the dramatic finale, Wout Van Aert managed to pull Vingegaard back into contention ensuring Jumbo-Visma kept two riders inside the top 10 overall. But Primož Roglič was nowhere to be seen and reportedly suffered a dislocated shoulder in the incident. 

The sprinter’s hierarchy was firmly established at the Giro Donne on Tuesday as Elisa Balsamo taking her second stage win in Reggio Emilia. 

With her parents watching in the crowd, the World Champion was side-by-side with Charlotte Kool into the final corner 150m from the line, but out-dragged the DSM rider to take victory.

Kool took her second second place of the Giro, banging the bars as she crossed the line ahead of Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) who was third, and had been on her wheel in that final corner.

Once again the run in had been a battle, with no team having the numbers to take complete control of the peloton. Jumbo-Visma were very obvious on the run into town, FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope were stringing things out at one stage, and Valcar Travel and Service also took the front. 

But whenever other teams tried to overwhelm them Trek-Segafredo were able to regain control. Their leader Elisa Longo Borghini went down in a crash one kilometre from the line, but was in good spirits and sporting no obvious injuries when she stopped to congratulate her namesake after the race. 

Overall race leader Annemiek van Vleuten finished in the bunch and retained her overall lead ahead of Wednesday’s sixth stage, a 114.7km affair between Sarnico and Bergamo. 

How it happened 

A sprint stage awaited the peloton for stage five, but first they had to deal with the small town of Carpi which hosted the start of the 126.1km race to Reggio Emilia. 

A small choir of women stood in the shade of Palazzo der Pio singing about a woman who would rush to her errands by bicycle. Teams parked in Piazza dei Martiri, one of Italy’s largest, and the riders signed on in front of the Carpi Duomo. Built in two styles, the Baroque facade was only rebuilt recently after it collapsed in a 2012 earthquake which ruined the town’s textile industry.

The riders might have noticed its beauty as they waited in the sun to head out for the race’s longest stage. Heading north they then looped south, flirting with the edge of the Apennine mountains before running into Reggio Emilia. 

With little in the way of climbing the day was a good one for the sprinters, though, after a hard and incredibly hot stage four which created huge GC time gaps a breakaway might be allowed its head.

And sure enough, it took a little while, but soon enough two women were up the road, Matilde Vitillo (BePink) and Iris Monticolo (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) fought for a lead of 30 seconds before being joined by three others.

With former British champion Hannah Barnes (UNO-X), Anastasia Carbonari (Valcar Travel and Service) and a second Top Girls rider, Gorgia Bariani, five women set about  building a lead. That was out to 3-20 after 50km, and eventually exceeded five minutes, an advantage rarely seen in the women’s sport.

But, as if the 10km per minute rule talked about in every commentary were gospel, as the race entered the final 50km the gap began to drop. At 40km the lead was four minutes, but at 30km it was 2-24 and the breakaway’s day in the sun was seemingly doomed to failure.

As opposed to the sprint days on stages two and three , different jerseys were helping with the chase. With a rider in the break Valcar Travel and Service were able to sit back for their sprinter, Chiara Consonni. But the notable jersey was that of Liv-Xstra, a team normally seen in the break were instead  working for their sprinter Rachele Barbieri, hoping to win outside Reggio Emilia University where she was a student.

With the break’s lead just over one minute, and the five woman group apparently a lost cause, Bariani attacked with 18km to go. While the rest of the break gently succumbed into the peloton, the 21 year-old fought on, and at one stage her lead was 30 seconds. But there was no holding back the wave of colour that was the hungry peloton, and she was caught with 4.3km to go, and a bunch sprint was on the cards.

ResultGiro Donne, stage five: Carpi - Reggio Emilia (126.1km)

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafedo in 3-06-02
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) DSM
3. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 
4. Chiara Consonni (Ned) Valcar Travel and Service 
5. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
6. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar
7. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) Liv-Xstra
8. Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
9. Emanuela Zanetti (Ita) Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria 
10. Lea Lin Teutenberg (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT all at same time 

General classification after stage five 

1. Annemiek van Veuten (Ned) Movistar in 11-51-35

As Lauretta Hanson crossed the Giro Donne finish line after stage two the Australian could be heard shouting almost desperately to no one in particular, “Did she get it? Did she get it?”

Hanson had done much of the work to control the day’s six woman breakaway, and, her work done finished 128th of the 138 finishers, so when someone said her Trek-Segafredo team mate Elisa Balsamo had won it was good news. A huge smile cracked her face and she rode off into the throng of riders, photographers and journalists to find the team and celebrate.

After an excellent stage one time trial Balsamo began the second of the 10 day Giro Donne within six seconds of overall leader Kristen Faulkner (BikeExchange-Jayco). With a maximum of 13 seconds available from an intermediate sprint and on the line, meant a career first Giro stage win would have the added benefit of earning the world champion the overall lead. And a coveted pink jersey to replace the rainbow stripes.

Though Balsamo has proved she can cope with a good deal of climbing, the day’s only serious climb came immediately after the start of the 106.5km stage between Villasimius and Tortolì making the world road champion one of the favourites for the stage. 

In the end she only needed the finish line bonus seconds, and after her stage victory the 24 year-old could not stop smiling. Even while being interviewed in the sweltering heat of a black tent beside the podium her teeth were still on show through a huge grin.

“It was a really hard sprint,” she told a TV interviewer. “My team gave me a great lead out, they worked the whole day from the first k to the last one.” Podium celebrations done she returned, this time for press interviews, that smile still intact.

“It's a dream becoming true and I'm very happy today,” she said when CW asked how it felt to wear the maglia rosa. “Of course when I was a child I always went to see the Giro, the Women's Giro and men's Giro, and of course for every Italian rider it is a dream to wear the pink jersey. I'm very, very happy.”

And as world champion she has a choice of jersey for stage three; “Of course I will wear the pink one. But yes, I'm very happy we will try to keep this jersey, but we really wanted it today.”

From the outside it was a fairly regulation day, a break getting a gap before the sprinters teams came to control and bring it back. And it was Trek-Segafredo who were first to take responsibility, putting in place a plan made possible by Balsamo’s excellent prologue.

“She had a very impressive prologue and really demonstrated she has great legs and a lot of confidence, so it made great sense for today,” explained American team mate Leah Thomas of Balsamo’s day one performance. 

“Our goal for today was to take the stage and try to get Elisa in pink and it feels pretty special because we accomplished that. Originally our plan was to get some seconds at the intermediate sprint but a break went up the road with non GC contenders, so we took control of the race. Lauretta and Amalie [Dideriksen] did a ton of work on the front to keep that break in check and they were able to finish it off so it was a really good day.”

And what of tomorrow? “She’s demonstrated that she can do some pretty hard courses and still have a sprint, but tomorrow’s another day to race for her and defend the jersey.”

World champion Elisa Balsamo took her first Giro Donne win to move into the overall lead of her home tour on Friday.

The Italian was the pre-stage favourite and out-sprinted 30 time Giro stage winner Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and young Dutch sprint promise Charlotte Kool (DSM) in Tortolì. 

The victory came on the back of some excellent work by Balsamo’s Trek-Segafredo team. With Lauretta Hanson and Amalie Dideriksen the team took control of the day’s breakaway, eventually bringing it back with 10km to go.

When other teams began to form their sprint trains the American squad remained patient, staying put even when Vos’s team mate Anouska Koster surged off the front with 1500m to go. In the final straight Balsamo stayed on a team mate’s wheel until Vos started her sprint. The Italian swang across to the Dutch rider’s wheel only coming over the top with around 75m remaining.

It was a momentous win for the 24 year-old who, after an excellent stage one time trial now leads the race overall, nine seconds ahead of stage one winner Kristen Faulkner (BikeExchange-Jayco).

Tomorrow’s third stage could be another opportunity for Balsamo. The 113.4km stage between Dorgali and Olbia starts with a significant descent after which it is relatively flat all the way to the line.

How it happened 

For stage two the Giro Donne moved east, to the seaside town of Villasimius, on the far south-eastern tip of Sardinia, closer to Africa that to the race’s ultimate destination in Padova.

The stage was lumpy but not mountainous and at 106.5km the ride to Tortolì, further up the island’s east coast, was likely to finish with a bunch sprint, albeit possibly from a reduced group. 

With a tailwind blunting temperatures forecast to be 35º the day was likely to be a fast one, and with a category four climb straight from the flag the fate of some riders from some of the smaller teams lay in the hands of those with ambitions to create an early breakaway. A break was far from certain though, with small time gaps on GC after the opening time trial, the overall lead was up for grabs if sprinters Lotte Kopecky (SDWorx) or world champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) were able to harvest bonus seconds.

Both were comfortably within striking distance of Kristen Faulkner’s (BikeExchange-Jayco) overall lead, and if they were able to survive the weather and parcours their teams were likely to want to fight for the three seconds available at an intermediate sprint after 74km in the village of Tertenia, and the 10 waiting for them on the finish line.

With the classified climb coming after only four kilometres two women set off in search of the green climber’s jersey, Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) and Fanziska Brausse (Ceratizit-WNT) taking a lead of 30 seconds over the top where the German took the points. Their lead didn’t last too long though, and within 10km they were back in the bunch.

Two home riders then set off up the road, Matilde Vitillo (BePink) and Cristina Tonetti (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) building a lead of 1-45 with 40km completed, with the bunch riding on the slowest estimated speed.

With that lead established another group headed off in pursuit. Inga Češulienè (Aromitalia-Basso-Vaiano), Marta Jaskulska (Liv-Xstra), Francesca Pisciali (Mendelspeck) and Beatrice Ratto (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria) closed the gap, and as they got closer to the leading duo, the bunch got further away. By the time a group of six formed at the front the peloton were three minutes behind with only 45km remaining.

it was only then that Trek-Segafredo, Valcar Travel and Service and the Jumbo-Visma squad of Marianne Vos began working on the front and the gap began to drop and by the time Jaskulska won the intermediate sprint with 31km to go the lead was down to 2-15.

A further 10km up the road and the leaders were less than one minute ahead and it seemed the expected bunch sprint would happen. With the break apparently doomed and nothing to lose, Pisciali attacked the leaders, gaining a small advantage before being caught. Meanwhile the bunch, still led by Trek-Segafredo, let the team dangle until the 10km point when they were caught sprint lead outs starting to form.

Jumbo-Visma were particularly dominant, their distinctive yellow kit lining out the buch behind, but when Anouska Koster lost her team 1500m out, the lost their cohesion, and a large group headed onto the final straight for the expected bunch sprint.

ResultGiro Done, stage two: Villasimius - Tortolì (106.5km)

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 2-39-13
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 
3. Charotte Kool (Ned) DSM 
4. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx 
5. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service
6. Isotta Barbieri (Ita) Servetto-Makhymo-Beltrami TSA
7. Georgia baker (NZ) BikeExchange-Jayco 
8. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
9. Silvia Zanardi (Ita) BePink
10. Lea Lin Teutenberg (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT all at same time 

General classification after stage 2

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 2-44-54
2. Kristen Faulkner (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco at 04 sec
3. Georgia Baker (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco at 08 sec
4. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx at 10 sec
5. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 12 sec
6. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 13 sec
7. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Movistar at 14 sec
8. Lucinda Brand (Ned) Trek-Segafredo at 14 sec
9.Riejanne Markus (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 15 sec
10. Leah Thomas (USA) Trek-Segafredo at 16 sec 

Despite giving up sprinting for village signs, Elisa Longo Borghini’s fast finish earned her overall victory in the Women’s Tour on Saturday. 

After starting the final stage level on time with Grace Brown, the Italian champion needed to find time in the final bunch kick to take the win.

In was an exciting finish to what was the tightest edition in the Women’s Tour’s eight year history, the Trek-Segafredo rider rode into Oxford needing to finish third or better to take the honours. 

And she duly obliged. Her third place behind Lorena Wiebes (DSM) won her four bonus seconds and overall victory by one solitary second.

It might have been easier for the Trek-Segafredo rider had the first of two intermediate sprints gone to plan. There she benefited from an excellent lead out from her team, but could not convert the chance, finishing out of the bonuses. Brown took all three seconds and the general classification seemed settled.

“We decided to go for the intermediate sprint and I was fourth, so I was like, okay, that’s the second place,” Longo Borghini told journalists after the race.

“But then my team mates kept me up, and they said we try at the finish line and we do the lead out for you.” The 30 year-old is not renowned as a sprinter and is happier climbing or against the clock. In April she soloed to victory at Paris-Roubaix and she has taken plenty of other victories in similar style. 

But the hurly burly of bunch kicks is not normally her natural habitat, even if we do often see her late in a lead out for her team mates. “I was really doubting but when you see such a team that is motivated and really believing in you, you just want to give them back everything.

“Audrey [Cordon-Ragot] led me at 500m and I know in corners I am pretty good, so I let some riders go in to take the draft and I sprinted on my own.”

Longo Borghini’s has sprint improved in recent seasons, on stage three of the Women’s Tour last Wednesday she placed fifth, once again behind Wiebes. However, the next day she raced into Welshpool as part of a three woman group, with Brown and Kasia Niewdiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), but finished third in the sprint.

So, despite the win there’s clearly work to do. “I was sprinting with my boyfriend for town signs, but we stopped. We regretted that in stage four when I was third out of three and he was joking with me.

“We will be back sprinting for town signs soon.”

Elisa Longo Borghini took a surprise general classification win at the Women’s Tour on Saturday, bonus seconds once again proving key.

As expected the final stage ended in a bunch kick, and as expected Lorena Wiebes took the stage win. What was not expected was Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) finishing third in a sprint. And it was the four bonus seconds which gave her the overall, relegating Grace Brown (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) to second place, one second down.

Kasia Niewiadoma took third place for Canyon-SRAM.

Longo Borghini and Brown started the day equal on time, so bonuses were always likely to come into play. However, when Brown took three seconds at the first intermediate sprint and the Italian none all had seemed lost. But perfect positioning ensured Longo Borghini clawed back enough time to overhaul the Australian and take the win.

Brown had taken the race lead after her stage four win in Welshpool on Thursday, but Longo Borghini drew level when she won 24 hours later on Black Mountain in South Wales on Friday. 

Wiebes’s win might have been expected by most, but not by her and the DSM team, who were instead working for Charlotte Kool. But when Kool found herself out of place in the final it was left to her Dutch compatriot to take the honours, and with it equal the Women’s Tour stage winning record of five.

How it happened 

Going into its final stage the Women’s Tour was more finely balanced than any other year in the race’s eight edition history. 

After Grace Brown (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) took victory in the fourth stage and Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) won the fifth, the two riders were tied on time ahead of the 142.9km stage between Chipping Norton and Oxford.

Brown led the overall only by dint of count back, and for Longo Borghini to overhaul her she would need either to bag bonus seconds on the two intermediate sprints or on the line, or finish 24 places ahead of the Australian on the stage.

However, the top two also had Kasia Niewiadoma to worry about, the Polish rider beginning the day only two seconds down and leading an always aggressive Canyon-SRAM squad.

The course was one for the sprinters though. The only proper climbing coming early in the race as the peloton wound through the Cotswolds. The second half of the route was mostly flat, and a bunch sprint seemed inevitable, though the sprinters’ teams would need to position themselves carefully, especially with a left hand bend just under 300m from the line.

With so much at stake on the final stage it was little surprise no breakaways were allowed up the road, the odd attempt stifled before they could gain more than a few bike lengths. On the approach to Burford and the day’s second classified climb the teams of the three leading riders came to the front, Canyon-SRAM leading out Niewiadoma in an effort to split the race ahead of the intermediate sprint a few kilometres later.

Though Trek-Segafredo were caught out, they headed straight to the front and drove the bunch into Carterton for the sprint. However, despite an excellent lead out Longo Borghini could only finish fourth, behind team mate Audrey Cordon-Ragot. Worse still she ceded three seconds to Brown, who won, and one to Niewiadoma.

The first bonus seconds secured the race then lit up with repeated attacks until, half way through the stage a group of around 18 women got away. Though this included riders from all three leaders’ teams, as well as stage favourite Lorena Wiebes’s DSM squad, they were never allowed too much space.

Caught soon afterwards, FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope led into the final 50km, though only until Ane Iversen (Coop-Hitec Products) decided to head up the road. With her lead around 40 seconds Alessia Patuelli (UAE Team ADQ) and Mieke Kröger (Human Powered Health) set off in pursuit.

As a trio formed up the road DSM came to the front of the peloton, controlling the gap with a bunch kick and third stage win for Lorena Wiebes in mind. By this time though, no one was interested in the intermediate sprint, the breakaway taking the extra time, 21km from the line.

The leaders didn’t make things easy for the bunch though, the advantage remaining stubbornly above 30 seconds. Then, ten kilometres out with the gap around 20 seconds Kröger tried her luck, attacking her fellow escapees, though she was unable to make a difference. 

It was a last gasp effort, though. Soon after Iversen was dropped and while the remaining two battled on gamely their time was limited and they were caught five kilometres from the line.

Driving into Oxford the race was split between two trains, BikeExchange-Jayco on one side of the road, Trek-Segafredo on the other. However, with 1500m to go DSM moved up to prepare the bunch sprint.

ResultWomen's Tour, stage six: Chipping Norton - Oxford (142.9km)

1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) DSM in 3-38-15
2. Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
4. Tereza Neumanova (Cze) Liv-Xstra
5. Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Movistar
6. Charlotte Kool (Ned) DSM
7. Maike van der Duin (Ned) Le Col-Wahoo
8. Arianna Fidanza (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco
9. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT
10. Christine Majerus (Lux) SDWorx all at same time 

Final general classification 

1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 19-19-07
2. Grace Brown (Aus) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 01 sec
3. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM at 05 sec
4. Alex Manly (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco at 24 sec
5. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) SDWorx at 32 sec
6. Elise Chabbey (Sui) Canyon-SRAM at 49 sec
7. Kristen Faulkner (BikeExchange-Jayco) at 54 sec 
8. Veronica Ewers (USA) EF Education-Tibco-SVB at 1-45
9. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 1-50
10. Mikayla Harvey (NZL) Canyon-SRAM at 1-56

Trek-Segafredo might have been flying high at the Women’s Tour, with Elisa Longo Borghini winning stage five and the GC, but for the second time in two weeks the team have had bikes stolen at a race.

On Thursday night, while the team were parked at the Mercure Hotel in Swansea thieves broke into the mechanics’ truck, and stole two Trek Emonda bikes among other items.

It’s not the first time this summer the team have fallen victim to thieves in their two-race stay in the UK. Two weeks ago at the final stage of Ride London, staff were unloading bikes for the race while parked in Northumberland Avenue where it joins Trafalgar Square, when one was taken.

Of the two bikes stolen in Wales one belonged to Welsh rider Elynor Bäckstedt, while the other was former French champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot’s. Luckily Bäckstedt lives relatively locally and her father, Magnus brought her home bike so she had a spare in the race.

The bikes stolen in Swansea and the one taken in London, which was former world champion Amalie Dideriksen’s, are highly distinctive. Each one has the rider’s name on the top tube and are decked out on the women’s squad’s striking blue colours. 

They are equipped all equipped with SRAM Red ETAP AXS 12 speed groupsets and Bontrager Aeolus wheels. 

While Bäckstedt’s bike is a 54cm the other two are 52cm frames, though Cordon-Ragot’s is the most distinctive. Not only does it have gear changing blips under the bars, it also sports 37mm deep wheels with yellow valves.

Though far from ideal it is not the worst theft the team have suffered. The night before the 2020 Strade Bianche thieves stole all the team’s bikes, leaving them to beg borrow and steal machines for other teams and their men’s squad.

The incident was reported to South Wales Police who are investigating.

 “South Wales Police is investigating the theft of two bikes from a parked van which was in a secure car park on Phoenix Way, Swansea," read a police statement.

"The theft occurred sometime between Thursday (June 9) night and Friday (June 10) morning. 

"The items stolen were two bikes, wheels and other items, worth approximately £50,000.

 "If anyone has any information which will assist us in our investigation, please go to https://bit.ly/SWPProvideInfo or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 and quote 2200193690.”

Giulio Ciccone suggested his stage 15 win at the Giro d’Italia on Sunday is the best moment of his career, highlighted in the raw emotion he displayed during his post-race celebrations.

The Italian spent two stages in the yellow jersey at the Tour de France in 2019 as he led the GC on the sixth and seven days. Ciccone had also picked up two stage victories at the Giro before yesterday, and also won the 2019 mountains classification at the Italian Grand Tour.

However, the 27-year-old regards his stage 15 win to Cogne yesterday as his career-best victory. Ciccone triumphed on the mountain-filled stage by over a minute from Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious), after attacking with 18km to go.

Speaking after the race, Ciccone said: "This was my most beautiful victory.

“It leaves me with a better feeling both than the yellow jersey I wore in the Tour de France, and the successes I have achieved at the Giro, because it comes after two difficult seasons between falls, physical problems and Covid."

Indeed, Ciccone’s preparations for the 2020 Giro suffered after catching Covid a month before the race, while he crashed out of both the Vuelta a España and Giro last year, too. 

With that in mind, Ciccone’s assertion that this win tops everything else in his career so far is understandable. Securing Trek-Segafredo’s third-ever Giro stage win certainly proved his ability, something he is proud to have displayed after a difficult few years of racing.  

"I felt strong. I decided to attack alone 19km from the finish because it was the hardest part of the climb and I wasn't sure I would be able to break away from the others later.

"I felt like myself. I knew that the condition could come, it had to arrive on this stage. It was especially tough mentally, because when you struggle to win, believing in yourself is always difficult.

"I've been criticised by practically everyone lately. But inside me I knew how things were, what I could rely on and attach myself to: I just did what I know how to do."

Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini won a coruscating second edition of Paris-Roubaix on Saturday. The Italian champion attacked solo with 38km of the race remaining, and though her lead was never secure her Trek-Segafredo team mates behind made the case difficult.

Behind her a group of seven women formed in pursuit, but with two team mates in attendance the chase was unable to gel and the Italian took a lead approaching 30 seconds into the Roubaix velodrome.

Her winning margin was eventually 23 seconds, Belgian champion Lotte Kopecky taking second place for SDWorx, the winner’s team mate Lucinda Brand third. 

Trek-Segafredo entered the race as defending champions, Lizzie Deignan taking a remarkable victory in last year's debut edition. Though the Brit was absent on maternity leave, the American team bossed the race from the start, dealing with setbacks with aplomb, from mechanicals for Van Dijk, a crash for Chloe Hosking and disqualification for a sticky bottle for world champion Elisa Balsamo.

It could be said Trek-Segafredo's strength allowed them to play cycling as art, Longo Borghini’s performance as breathtaking as any Italian fresco, two Dutch masters a picture of control behind.

How it happened 

For its second edition Paris-Roubaix Femmes has grown, though not much. At 125km Saturday’s race has added just under nine kilometres, though the only change to the course was one extra circuit around the start town of Denain.

With those local laps complete the race then meandered north, picking out 17 of the fabled sectors of pavé. The first of those, came at Hornaing after 42km, the peloton riding a total of 29.2km of cobbles. Though Saturday’s race was set to be the shortest of the WorldTour spring one dayers, those hellishly tough roads would make sure it would be nowhere near the easiest.

The race was on the moment the flag dropped with five women getting away in the opening kilometres. Leoni Bos (Parkhotel Valkenburg), Amalie Lutro (Uno-X), Katie Clouse (Human Powered Health), Gaia Masetti (AG Insurance NXTG) and Tanja Erath (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) eking out a lead which extended to 1-35 as they left the opening laps and headed north.

That expanded to approach two minutes but with last year’s winning team, Trek-Segafredo leading in the form of Ellen van Dijk, by the time they reached the first sector of cobbles at Hornaing that was down to one minute.

Pressure in the peloton continued, Trek-Segafredo continuing their work, and by the time the leaders exited sector 15, with 70km behind them only Erath remained off the front, with a minimal lead.

Trek-Segafredo’s assertiveness though had its price. Not only did Van Dijk suffer a puncture, but the loss of Chloe Hosking to a crash left them short handed, SDWorx coming to the front of the peloton and Erath’s lead increasing once again.

While Erath was soon caught, Van Dijk was on her way back as the leading group headed onto the four star graded cobbles at Auchy-les-Orchies. Here Tour of Flanders winner Lotte Kopecky (SDWorx) made a move off the front, taking former world champion Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) off the front.

This move served to further reduce the size of the peloton ahead of the day’s first five star sector of pavé at Mons-en-Pévèle, less than 50km from the velodrome. All incredibly strong, the leading trio continued to establish their advantage but the bunch were not happy to let them go.

Even with Trek-Segafredo and SD-Worx interfering on sector at Pont-Thibaut the gap was much reduced, and as they exited the cobbles, the gap under 10 seconds, former British champion Alice Barnes (Canyon-SRAM) attacked, almost bridging to the front.

This move, though saw a number of others set off in pursuit and the three leaders were caught only for Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) to launch her winning move. Third last year, the Italian champion won the 2015 Tour of Flanders with a long range move, and while she is an excellent climber, she is a fabulous all-rounder and soon built a lead of 20 second on two chasers.

There was little in the way of conviction in that pair and both dropped back the help their respective teams chase the Italian, SD-Worx taking much of the burden as they entered the Bourghelles sector.

Onto sector six and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak was so successful in the chase she tore a group off the front where she lacked any team mates, allowing Longo Borghini more time in the lead. 

The leader also had Brand lurking in the seven woman group, which also included two from FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope. However, when an attack from British champion Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM) was brought back the impetus went out of that group and they were consumed into a pack of around 25.

That didn’t last though, and a Kopecky led the chase at he head of nine women not the fearsome Carrefour de l’Arbre, 26 seconds behind the leader. On that sector the gap remained static, Kopecky emerging with Amstel Gold winner Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and two of the Italians team mates, Van Dijk and Brand.

When cooperation in that chase waned the group swelled to seven and Longo Borghini’s lead did the same, topping 30 seconds for the first time with 10km to go and increasing as she raced towards the famous velodrome.

In Van Dijk and Brand in the chasing group Longo Borghini could not have hoped for two better team mates, and their tactical astuteness and positioning ensured one would catch the Italian.

ResultParis-Roubaix Femmes: Denain - Roubaix (125km)

1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 3-10-54
2. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx at 23 sec
3. Lucinda Brand (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
4. Elise Chabbey (Sui) Canyon-SRAM
5. Marta Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
6. Floortje Mackaij (Ned) DSM
7. Ellen van Dijk (Ned) Trek-Seagfredo all at same time
8. Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (Ned) SDWorx at 32 sec
9. Pfeiffer Georgi (Gbr) DSM at 2-22
10 Sandra Alonso (Esp) Movistar at same time

Elisa Balsamo will head to next week’s Tour of Flanders as one of the favourites for the first women’s Monument of the 2022 season.

The world champion has been on stellar form this season, taking four wins already. Sunday’s imperious sprint victory at Gent-Wevelgem has marked her out as the peloton’s most successful sprinter of the year so far.

Such is the 24-year-old’s superiority, on Sunday other teams were clearly trying to avoid taking her to the line, repeatedly sending attacks up the road. However, Balsamo was able to rely on her Trek-Segafredo team-mates to close down anything that moved.

“It was a very hard race. And also in the last kilometres there were a lot of attacks. My team was perfect, they closed every attack and they did a great job,” Balsamo explained after the race, the longest in the event’s 10-year history.

The only moment of jeopardy came when a group of 13 escaped late on, building a small lead that seemed to be gradually expanding. However, when European road and world time trial champion, Ellen van Dijk dropped back to Balsamo’s group she was able to close the gap in a matter of seconds.

“We panicked a little bit, but Ina [Teutenberg, sports director] was so good from the car, she kept us calm, then Ellen dropped back and closed the gap. She was incredible.” 

If it weren’t for the rainbow jersey Balsamo would have been hidden all day long. Elisa Longo Borghini, herself wearing the striking tricolore jersey of Italian champion could occasionally be spotted escorting her compatriot, while, in the latter part of the race Van Dijk and Shirin van Anrooij - another of Trek-Segafredo’s plethora of young talent - covered all the moves.

However, with her team-mates exhausted she was left to her own devices in the final sprint. In her previous team, Valcar Travel and Service she was often the beneficiary of an exemplary lead out, her colleagues releasing her with 200m to go. That has changed since her winter move to Trek-Segafredo.

In the last eight days she has won three WorldTour one-day races, and in each of them she has been left to fend for herself in the final kilometre. On each occasion she has not been found wanting, picking the right wheel and timing the delivery of her sprint to perfection.

The only sprinter who can currently threaten Balsamo is Lorena Wiebes. The Dutchwoman was forced into second place behind Balsamo at last week’s Brugge-De Panne, but roles have been reversed on their two previous head-to-heads. The DSM rider taking the win at Ronde van Drenthe and winning the sprint for third place at Omloop het Nieuwsblad in February.

When it comes to the Tour of Flanders though, the Italian is likely the more versatile.

Form, ability on short climbs, adroitness in positioning and team support are everything Balsamo needs to win next week’s Tour of Flanders. However, she has never placed better than 15th, and Flanders has never finished in a group of over 20. If it does though, Balsamo will be there or thereabouts. 

“It is very hard race, now I have one week for rest, and I really need some rest,” she said. “Today I won my favourite race, it’s dream come true.”

Elisa Balsamo took a third consecutive win at Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday proving herself as the most accomplished sprinter in the peloton.

Coming the back of her wins at Trofeo Binda and Brugge de Panne, the world road champion was the beneficiary of excellent teamwork. Her Trek-Segafredo team reareactedcting to a multitude of attacks and placing her perfectly for the final of the longest ever edition of the women’s race.

Marlen Reusser led SD Worx team-mate Lotte Kopecky out for the sprint, but Balsamo was perfectly positioned on the Belgian champion’s wheel, and when the Italian opened her sprint no one was able to get near her.

Coming into the wind late, last year’s winner Marianne Vos took second place for Jumbo-Visma, while Maria Giulia Confalonieri was the second Italian on the podium for Ceratizit-WNT.

After an attritional race where each of nine climbs caused splits, which then re-formed in a smaller bunch, the closing stages of the race were among the most aggressive you will see, no team wanting to take Balsamo to the line. 

Along with Jumbo-Visma, SD Worx were particularly active, all five of Kopecky’s team-mates attacking in the final 20km, however Kopecky was only able to claim fourth place, after Trek-Segafredo closed every move.

How it happened 

The 2022 Women’s WorldTour continued apace on Sunday, Gent-Wevelgem coming only three days after Brugge De Panne, and a week after a thrilling edition of Trofeo Binda. 

While the Italian race has been around since 1974, the women’s Gent-Wevelgem has only been on the calendar since 2012. Indeed, there was a squabble between the two races, the Belgians wanting promotion for what was a .2 race, the Italians unwilling to change date.

The bigger, more established race organiser, Flanders Classics won the day, and the Belgian Classic and joined Binda in the top tier of women’s racing in 2016, both races retaining their characters.

Flanders Classics have been doing much to promote their burgeoning stable of women’s races in recent years, increasing TV coverage and making event more similar to the men’s version, and this year’s Gent-Wevelgem is no exception.

Increased from its original distance of 115km, this year’s 159km race from Ypres was the longest ever. And, while the women have always climbed the shallower, Belvedere side of the Kemmelberg, for the first time they tackled the hellish Oussuaire side, as the final of nine hellingen climbs.

While the women's peloton has plenty of experience of racing across the notoriously windy ‘moeren,’ this year was the first time the riders tackled it in Gent-Wevelgem.

However, little wind meant nothing happened as they passed the section which is at and below sea level, and an early move was able to retain its lead on the bunch. 

Gulnaz Khatuntseva (Roland-Cogeas-Edelweiss), had been up the road in Italy last week, and Anne van Rooijen from the ever aggressive Parkhotel Valkenburg squad, worked well led by almost three minutes with 30km done.

However, that was reduced rapidly as the day's climbs approached, and with the race heading towards two laps around the Scherpenberg, Baneberg, Monteberg and Kemmelberg they were caught. 

The first time up the Baneberg Christine Majerus kicked off the aggression for SD Worx, splitting the peloton and allowing her team-mate Lotte Kopecky to take group of four up the road.

With Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), Liane Lippert (DSM), and British time trial champion Anna Henderson (Jumbo-Visma) the group was a strong one. And though they only took a handful of seconds onto the Belvedere climb of the Kemmelberg, that climb shattered the chasing group and only three emerged in close pursuit.

With 45km to go the leading group was seven but, with both SD Worx and Jumbo-Visma now represented by two women in that break, cohesion died almost instantly and the Trek-Segafredo-led peloton caught them.

SD Worx launched a dig ahead of the second ascent of the Baneberg, then another on the climb itself, but though the peloton was briefly thinned, a large group led the race towards the final ascent of the Kemmelberg.

The climb failed to have the desired effect though, and while Grace Brown (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) took a small lead over the top, she was soon swallowed up, only for the 2016 winner, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak to lead a group of four away.

Hers was the first of a series of further punches from SD Worx, with Majerus, Marlen Reusser, and Elena Cecchini all trying their luck before other teams joined the party, all trying to drop Balsamo.

However, the stop-start nature of this racing allowed other groups to get back on and a group of around 40 women rode through Ypres with 21km remaining. The aggression continued on the final run to Wevelgem, but nothing would stick, and even when a group of 13 women finally broke the elastic, Balsamo's team-mate, Ellen van Dijk dropped back and the gap was closed.

After her earlier heroics over the Kemmelberg, Brown got a gap three kilometres from the line, but when she was caught 2,000m later a bunch kick was inevitable.

Result

Gent - Wevelgem 2022: Ypres - Wevelgem (159km)

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Seagfredo, in 3-39-15
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
3. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT
4. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx
5. Emma Norsgaard (Den) Movistar
6. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
7. Susanne Andersen (Nor) UNO-X
8. Tamara Dronova (Neutral) Roland-Cogeas-Edelweiss
9. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service
10. Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope, all at same time

Elisa Balsamo took her first home win in the rainbow jersey at Trofeo Binda on Sunday, winning the sprint from a group of around 20 women. 

It was an imperious finish from the Italian who was hidden by her team for the entire race. After her Trek-Segafredo team-mates had brought her back to the front group in the closing eight kilometres, she was around 10th wheel in the final bend, about 250m from the line. 

After the tactical masterclass from her team, the 24-year-old put on a sprinting masterclass, staying hidden until she started her sprint about 100 meters later, powering over the top with apparent ease.

It was an all-Italian podium, with Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) finishing around two bike lengths down in second, and Soraya Paladin (Canyon-SRAM) third.

Balsamo only reached the front group on the descent of the final climb, escorted to the front on the wheels of three Trek-Segafredo team-mates. A late move from SD Worx’s Swiss champion Marlen Reusser seriously depleted their resources though, and it was the European time trial champion who led into the final corner.

It was another entertaining Women’s WorldTour race. Not only was the early breakaway thwarted when the race was briefly stopped and neutralised, it was punctuated by almost perpetual attacking. 

While the race followed a pattern, with the first climb on the closing circuit bringing short-lived attacks, and the longer second climb bringing more sustained moves, the race was wonderfully unpredictable.

How it happened

With this year its 46th edition, Trofeo Binda is the oldest race on the Women’s WorldTour calendar, and while it has been portrayed as one for the climber, it is more traditionally won by aggressive opportunists, or punchy sprinters.

Of the two previous winners present on Sunday Coryn Labecki’s (Jumbo-Visma) is from the latter group, while double victor Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), the defending champion, is among the former, and just a short ferry ride across Lake Maggiore from home.

Based around the village of Cittiglio, birthplace of four time Giro winner, Alfredo Binda, the 2022 edition set off from the nearby town of Cocquio Trevisago for the 141.8km race. The race opened with a winding route to cross the finish line in Cittiglio, before one long loop which was followed by four smaller ones. 

Each of these shorter loops tackled the race’s signature climb to Orino, the top of the final ascent coming only eight kilometres from the finish. 

After less than 10km Gulnaz Khatuntseva, riding under a neutral flag for the new Roland Cogeas Edelweiss squad, escaped and built a gap in excess of one minute. However, soon after the climb to Caldana she was joined by Michaela Drummond (BePink) and Giorgia Vettorello (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), the trio passing the line in Cittiglio after 27km with a lead of 1-30.

At the far eastern end of the the long circuit the gap began to come down, but before the breakaway was caught the race was neutralised, a crash between two vehicles outside the race’s rolling bubble blocking the road. With the closure set to remain in place, organisers were forced to re-route, though the final four laps remained unaffected. On resumption the breakaway’s lead, which had been reduced to just 30 seconds once again expanded, the trio taking a lead of 1-45 onto the closing four laps and the final 70km. 

However, on the first ascent of Orino Khatuntseva and Vettorello were caught, leaving Drummond alone, and though she was briefly pursued by her New Zealand compatriot, Mikayla Harvey (Canyon-SRAM) the bunch returned to Cittiglio as one.

Early on the second short circuit Brodie Chapman (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) attacked, leading a group of eight onto Orino. With Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ), Soraya Paladin (Canyon-SRAM), Shirin van Anrooij (Trek-Segafredo), Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange-Jayco), Karlijn Swinkels (Jumbo-Visma), Paula Patiño (Movistar) and Brit, Anna Shackley (SDWorx) many of the strongest WorldTour teams were represented, leaving only Team DSM to chase.

They did not hesitate though, as the gradient kicked up, former German champion Liane Lippert made her move, and lead which had approached 30 seconds was almost instantly closed. What emerged though was a group of only about 40 women, the race becoming increasingly aggressive.

Having been part of break last time round, Magnaldi went again on the penultimate lap, the 29-year-old doctor allowed to take a small lead onto the Orino ascent. She was unable to resist though, and after Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) shredded the peloton on the climb, Swiss champion Marlen Reusser (SDWorx), another doctor, took a slim lead onto the descent.

Last year’s winner, Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM), yet another doctor, and Uttrup Ludwig caught Reusser as they crossed the line at the start of the final 17.6km lap. But the group would not collaborate, Longo Borghini apparently riding for Balsamo, and they were soon caught.

As with every previous ascent the final climb to Orino brought more action, and a group of seven headed over the top for the final eight kilometres. However, with Trek-Segafredo absent from the front and set on setting the race for Balsamo, the US team brought the race back together from a sprint finish. 

Grace Lister was the top British rider in the junior race, the opening round of the UCI Nations Cup. Representing the national team she was fifth behind Francesca Pellegrini (Valcar Travel and Service U19).

Result

Trofeo Alfredo Binda Commune de Cittiglio 2022: Cocquio Trevisago - Cittiglio (141.8km)

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, in 3-36-29
2. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
3. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Canyon-SRAM
4. Chantal van den Broek Blaak (Ned) SD Worx
5. Elena Cecchini (Ita) SD Worx
6. Coryn Labecki (USA) Jumbo-Visma 
7. Elise Chabbey (Sui) SD Worx
8. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service 
9. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 
10. Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (RSA) SD Worx, all at same time 

Lizzie Deignan is pregnant and will miss the 2022 season, her team Trek-Segafredo announced on Wednesday.

The Paris-Roubaix winner and former world champion is expecting her second child with her husband Phil, and said that it was an "emotional but logical decision".

The 33-year old will return to racing in 2023 with Trek, and has signed an extension to her contract which means she will keep racing until at least 2024.

Deignan missed the 2018 season during her first pregnancy with her daughter Orla, and returned to racing in 2019, winning the Women's Tour. Her partner Phil is a former Irish professional cyclist who last rode for Team Sky.

In a statement released by Trek-Segafredo on Wednesday, the rider from Yorkshire said: "Obviously having a baby is a big decision, but it wasn’t a difficult one for us. We’ve always wanted to have a big family and I think the time is right to have another child.

“Orla is ready for a sibling, I feel like I am established and able in my career to make the next step to have another child and everything behind the scenes fell into place. All the logical stuff like having a settled team and settled where we live was all really good. It was an emotional, but logical decision to make our family bigger.”

The news will undoubtedly weaken Trek in a big year for women's cycling, with the first Tour de France Femmes on the horizon, but Deignan made it clear that they have given her "complete support".

“It’s been quite an emotional experience, actually. Talking with Trek and telling them about my pregnancy, they gave me their complete support,” she said. “I first told Ina, my Sports Director, and her immediate response was ‘That’s f***ing awesome, congratulations!’ That took me back, really. 

"It meant so much to me personally to have that support. I’m a professional athlete in a professional cycling team, but the support feels very personal and I’m incredibly grateful.”

Deignan won the first edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes in October, and has won pretty much all the biggest women's races, from the Women's Tour to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, via La Course. She said that she still has "plenty to give", hence extending her contract with Trek.

“I feel like I still have plenty to give from an athletic standpoint. For me, it was always obvious that if we were able to have another baby then I would still return to cycling,” Deignan said. 

“I never expected to continue my career through not just one, but two pregnancies, but actually there’s been so many examples now of successful women returning to the sport, and especially older women returning to the sport. I don’t think the same stereotype of athletes retiring at 30 in their prime is necessarily true anymore.”

Deignan is not the only British cyclist to take a break from cycling due to pregnancy, with Elinor Barker and Dame Sarah Storey also doing similar.

She said that she would draw on her previous experience to return to cycling after having her second child.

“Having been through the journey of having a baby and returning to the sport, I’ve realised that it is possible, and physically it’s actually easier than I expected," Deignan said. "It’s obviously demanding and challenging on your body but it’s certainly not limiting, so that was a huge surprise after having Orla, and something that helps my decision in coming back after another baby. 

"It’s the stuff around it; the family life balance that sometimes is difficult to manage, but I also think that we’re at the point now, three years after having Orla, that we know what we’re doing and we feel like we can manage more, and we actually enjoy that.”

The news also means that she will miss this year's Commonwealth Games, as well as the first Tour.

She has previously said that the inaugural editions will be a "massive goal" for everyone, she said. "Not just the individual riders but the teams and the sponsors. They're expecting a lot there so we have to plan a bit differently."

"I don’t think there’s ever a perfect time to have a baby," she explained on Wednesday. "Just like there’s never a perfect time to retire or to have an injury. There’s so many things in sport that might make you miss an event, and for me it’s the Tour de France Femmes and the Commonwealth Games this year. 

"Next year it could be the first ever women’s Milan-Sanremo, and that would be an amazing thing to take part in. I’m able to see past what I’ll miss. I’ll be there watching the girls and I’ll be right behind them. I know I’ll be envious at some points too, but it’s worth it.”

As of Tuesday, all men's WorldTour teams have released their jerseys for this season, which is good news for those among us who like to be prepared ahead of the season, and who get giddily excited over news about kits.

Some teams have departed wildly from previous offerings, with a whole host of name changes going on as well, so it is important to cast an eye over these strps.

While many teams and riders have maintained a relatively consistent aesthetic, it is worth brushing up on the colours they will be wearing this season before it all kicks off. It also gives us a chance to put on our fashion critic hat - a fetching beret, of course - and rate the kits.

You might not agree with all of these ratings, out of five, and of course appearance is a subjective decision. However, since I'm in charge of the narrative here, this is how I feel about the respective strips right now. When further women's WorldTour kits emerge, we will update this list further.

AG2R-Citroën - 4/5

AG2R-Citroën go for the same look as last year, with the sponsor plastered diagonally across the largely white jersey. The French team have a habit of keeping the same kit for a few years at a time; they had the same horizontal blue, white and brown striped kit for three years between 2018 and 2020.

Let's tackle the brown shorts. Yes, they are a bit much, but they are a staple of the AG2R wardrobe, and mark the team out. Are they really that bad? I certainly don't mind them, and it would a shame to see them out of the peloton, they're something a bit different from all the blacks and blues, certainly. 

The introduction of Citroën as a co-sponsor last year saw the light blue of AG2R La Mondiale disappear, and that's no bad thing, with the largely white jersey giving a cleaner look.

Astana-Qazaqstan - 2/5

I think my immediate reaction to this kit is to shrug. It is almost exactly the same as their 2021 kit, so reasonably boring. The big difference is the absence of Canadian sponsor Premier Tech, who have now moved onto the jersey of the team formerly known as Israel Start-Up Nation instead.

There are too many blue tones in the peloton, and the fade into the diamond patterns on this kit does not save it. It could really do with an update, but props to the lack of confusion through using pretty much the same kit again.

Vincenzo Nibali and Miguel Ángel López will return to the Kazakstani team and pull on the familiar colours, which have largely stayed the same since they entered the pro cycling scene over a decade ago.

Bahrain-Victorious - 4/5

Right, this is getting silly now. The third team in a row to keep the same kit as 2021, Bahrain-Victorious will use the same strip that saw them achieve great success across the season.

It is similar, but not exactly the same, as the kit they revealed at the beginning of last year - that one was made Italian brand Nalini before they switched to Alé mid-season. It was in this kit that the team impressed at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, before Sonny Colbrelli went on his winning streak which concluded at Paris-Roubaix in October.

The block pattern is appealing, and I like the light blue sleeves, which add a little bit of excitement to the kit. It is very smart, just a shame that we do not get to seem something a bit different for the new year.

Bora-Hansgrohe - 5/5

Here we go, something different and radical. Bora-Hansgrohe were bound to see their kit change at least a bit once they swapped outfitters from Sportful to Le Col.

The eye-catching blocks of colour really mark this one out for me, with two different shades of green and a splash of red lower down the jersey. The differing colours of the sleeves look smart, too.

It is a fitting change as Bora-Hansgrohe head into a new era without Peter Sagan on the team, and look to the future with Jai Hindley, Aleksandr Vlasov and Sergio Higuita joining.

Canyon-SRAM 5/5

I will not hold back, I love this kit. It's another one in the Women's WorldTour that is pinky/purple, yes, but it is distinctly different. It will certainly stand out in the peloton, with the green triangles on the shoulders.

I even like the strange meteorological symbols, even if I don't really understand what they mean, and I would happily wear this kit out and about myself. Canyon have outdone themselves in their first in-house made offering for the team.

Canyon-SRAM will be looking to Sarah Roy to deliver this season as a new signing, and hoping that Kasia Niewiadoma continues to perform at the highest levels.

Cofidis - 4/5

This is a refreshing look from Cofidis, a change from their quite staid and dated looking recent offerings. This will be worn by their men's team and their new women's team as well.

The iconic red and white remain but with a stylish update, sectioned off into block colours. The shoulders are white, torso red, and the jersey is joined by accompanying black shorts.

It is made by Decathlon's cycling brand Van Rysel, which is an interesting entrant into WorldTour kit-making, and one that features heavily in our guide to the best cheap cycling clothing, based on reviews under the previous name of B'Twin. Ion Izagirre and Bryan Coquard are among the riders appearing in the colours for the first time.

EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-Tibco-SVB 4/5

Rapha have made two similar kits for the EF Education sponsored teams: EF Education-EasyPost (men's) and EF Education-Tibco-SVB (women's). Both are good, but I think I prefer the women's with the lighter blue, rather than the darker blue/green on the men's kit.

The men's team has competed in a kit featuring pink since 2018, when EF came on board, but this season features more dark blue in blotches across the jersey, and it is combined with navy shorts. The women's team, previously known as Tibco-SVB, is joining the EF Education stable this season.

A press release from Rapha read: "The new design, executed through creative coding and image/pattern manipulation, is a modern interpretation of the Argyle pattern that has been a staple part of EF’s visual language for years."

FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope - 4/5

FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope's is a great kit, stylish but different from a lot of the Women's WorldTour peloton.

The jersey is designed by Gobik, and is very different from the similarly sponsored men's WorldTour team Groupama-FDJ. It is mostly vibrant blue, with a hint of red around one shoulder and white sleeves. The dark navy shorts are nice and complement it as well.

Grace Brown is the team's biggest signing, joining from BikeExchange, and they will have high hopes of her and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig firing together.

Groupama-FDJ - 3/5

No discernible changes for another French team, with Groupama-FDJ following AG2R in going down the sustainable route. It is a very smart kit, deliberately redolent of the French tricolor.

It will look fitting on riders including Michael Storer and Quentin Pacher, who have joined the outfit from Team DSM and B&B Hotels p/b KTM respectively. Groupama-FDJ always do a great job with national champion's jerseys, with Ignatas Konovalovas and Kevin Geniets sporting their country's colours. 

Again, while there is nothing wrong with the kit as it is, perhaps it is due a refresh. We can but hope that before 2023 Marc Madiot has a word with kit suppliers Alé.

Human Powered Health - 4/5

Human Powered Health, formerly Rally Cycling, are stepping up to the Women's WorldTour and have added a bit of flair to their previously block orange jersey with some reds and purples.

The jersey alone is great, it is just a shame that they are not the only women's team to feature orange merging into purple and red, with SD-Worx and UAE Team ADQ opting for similar designs.

The men's ProTeam will wear the same kit, and it is very smart, paired with black shorts. We will have to hope that the orange-purple kits all look very different from a birds-eye view once racing begins.

Ineos Grenadiers - 4/5

After a few years with Castelli, Ineos Grenadiers have moved to a brand beloved by cycling clubs looking to print custom cycling kit, BioRacer. The kit has new-look red shoulders, a slight upgrade to the mostly navy jersey that the British team wore last year.

It is pretty smart and will make sure they stand-out amid the other blues of the WorldTour, although it does remind me of Bristol Bears rugby union team. Belgian brand BioRacer probably didn't think of them in their design.

The British squad has looked towards youth this year, signing Luke Plapp, Ben Turner, Ben Tulett and Magnus Sheffield among others. Elia Viviani also returns to the team he last raced for while it was still Team Sky. Not a bad kit.

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert 2/5

It is fine, I guess? Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert have kept their, um, interesting colour scheme of fluorescent greeen and dark blue, but there is more white space on the centre of the jersey.

This space has been filled with sponsors, a lot of them, which seems a little unbecoming of a WorldTour team, but then everyone has to survive somehow. Other teams seem to do it more tactfully, however.

The Belgian squad will hope they can get Alexander Kristoff firing this season in order to deliver some needed victories. Taco van der Hoorn, stage winner at last year's Giro d'Italia, is also one to watch out for.

Israel-Premier Tech - 2/5

There is nothing wrong with the newly-named Israel-Premier Tech's kit, it is just a bit underwhelming. It has changed from 2021, with the introduction of a bit more white on the jersey and a patterned blue lower half, rather than plain navy.

I should say at this point I am biased against sports teams in the colour blue thanks to my dislike of Portsmouth Football Club. This might be why blue kits are spoiled in my eyes, sorry to much of the WorldTour.

We have not seen the kit on a rider yet, so it may look much better in person. Jakob Fuglsang and Hugo Houle are among the riders that are going to pull on the Israel-Premier Tech kit for the first time this season, after both moved from Astana.

Liv Racing Xstra

This Liv Racing Xstra kit is bold, with its flower motif, and that should be noted. However, it is the same jersey as last year, just with the new Xstra headline sponsor added.

Also, it is reasonably dark and I think I prefer a brighter kit, but it definitely is different from the rest of the Women's WorldTour peloton. Furthermore, thanks to other teams changing their colours, this Liv kit should not clash with others anymore.

With the departure of Lotte Kopecky to SD Worx, the Dutch squad will be forced to look elsewhere for wins. They still have Canadian Alison Jackson and signed
Eva Buurman in the off-season.

Lotto-Soudal - 4/5

Just as I mostly dislike blue kits, I mostly like red kits. So cheers to Lotto-Soudal for what is the reddest kit in the peloton this season. It's smart, it doesn't try too hard, and it will certainly stand out in the peloton.

Apart from a white band around the middle for the main sponsors, and black around the cuffs, the kit is all in the vibrant hue which just promises to be fast. The team will be hoping for a much improved 2022 after a disappointing season last year.

Lotto-Soudal have signed Victor Campernaerts back from Qhubekha NextHash, and will be hoping Caleb Ewan delivers in sprint finishes throughout the year and avoids injury.

Movistar - 3.5/5

Movistar's new look comes from the production lines of Italian kit brand, La Passione, which replaces Alé as the team's new clothing brand. It's simple and smart, but a little bit boring.

It reminds me of Team Sky's kit from 2017, and seeing as Sky won the Tour de France and Vuelta a España that year, Movistar will be hoping some of the magic rubs off on them.

The same jersey will be worn by their women's team, led by the effervescent Annemiek van Vleuten, with a Tour de France-Giro Donne double possibly on the cards. This could be a historic kit. 

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl - 4.5/5

Rules are there to be broken, aren't they? After telling you all how much I disliked blue, I'm now saying that Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's jersey is one of my favourites of the year. Castelli have moved to the Belgian team from Ineos Grenadiers, and their first offering is a belter.

The new jersey has less blue than last season's effort, and is reminiscent of what the team wore in 2017. There is white across the shoulders and a band of pink around the chest.

Might we see a record-breaking Tour de France stage win for Mark Cavendish in this kit? More definitely, we will see more feats from Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel. 

SD Worx - 3/5

The second of the purple-pink-orange kits on this year's list, SD Worx's jersey is fine, and I like the fact it is with black shorts, but that is about it. A few too many colours on the jersey for me, but there is nothing bad about it either.

I prefer the team's efforts with its national champion's jerseys, which is good because they have two more to sort now Lotte Kopecky and Marlen Reusser have joined the squad.

The team are in transition after Anna van der Breggen retired, but still have lots of firepower with Demi Vollering, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak and Ashleigh Moolman Pasio.

Team BikeExchange Jayco - 1/5 for the men's, 2/5 for the women's

My aversion to blue is rearing its ugly head again here, but I am not convinced there's too much to like about BikeExchange's kit. The women's one is better thanks to the strength of the "aubergine" colour on its jersey, but the weak blue on the men's does not work for me.

It is the third kit on this list from Alé, with the Italian manufacturer joining the squad along with bike manufacturers Giant and Liv. This is the reason for the change in colour from the old BikeExchange kit, apparently.

The shorts are far too light a shade of blue for my liking, and might not leave much to the imagination mid-race. Dylan Groenewegen, Kristen Faulkner and Lawson Craddock are among the new signings that will be wearing this kit soon. 

Team DSM - 3/5

DSM have not changed their kit for this season, like so many other teams. This is a good thing, however, as it is pretty smart. Unlike a few years ago, there aren't that many teams in black either, so they do stand out in the bunch.

The men's and women's teams wear exactly the same kit, with 'Keep Challenging' stripes down the middle of the jersey. It also manages to have a few little sponsors and yet not look cluttered.

John Degenkolb is heading back to the team he left when it was still Sunweb, and they also have quite a few graduates from their development team making the step up. Meanwhile, the women's team will surely focus around Lorena Wiebes as before.

Team Jumbo-Visma - 4/5

Not a lot has changed, but this is a solid effort from Jumbo-Visma, who manage to have multiple sponsors across the jersey without it looking like too much. The big Cervélo logos on the shoulders do not even really get in the way.

As long as they alter it for the Tour de France, it should work throughout the season. The women's team will likely wear the same kit, with Marianne Vos leading the line.

Tiesj Benoot, Rohan Dennis and Christophe Laporte have joined the Dutch super team, where they will hope to link up well with Primož Roglič, Tom Dumoulin and Wout van Aert.

Trek-Segafredo - 3/5

Both kits are broadly fine, minimalist efforts, with Trek-Segafredo's men wearing white with a red hilight, and its women wearing white with a band of light blue.

They are reasonably prosaic, however, which is not a massively bad thing but does not thrill me. There are also quite a few teams with largely white kits in the men's peloton, which means it might be a little hard to distinguish between them.

Joining the women's team this season is world champion Elisa Balsamo, of whom much is expected. On the men's side, riders brought in include Tony Gallopin and Dario Cataldo.

UAE Team ADQ - 2/5

The third and final Women's WorldTour kit to feature orange and purple, the inaugural UAE Team ADQ kit is not really my cup of tea, with a bit too much colour blending going on, and it lacks a solid identity.

It is interesting that the women's team did not copy the UAE flag-based colour scheme of it's men's counterparty. The flag does feature lower down on the front and back of the jersey, but there is more colour across the whole thing.

Riders who have switched across from Alé BTC Ljubljana include Mavi García and Marta Bastianelli.

UAE-Team Emirates - 3/5

I am hard-pushed to find a difference between this one and last year's UAE-Team Emirates' kit. The jersey of Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar is still quite smart and classy, however, with the little red and gold accents doing a lot.

It is made by Gobik, the same people who make FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope's kit, and is simple. However, it is yet another largely-white jersey in the peloton, which might blend together a bit next season.

João Almeida, Marc Soler and George Bennett have all joined the super-team, bolstering its climbing ranks.

A double win at the Giro d'Italia Donne and the eight stage Tour de France Femmes is "possible", for a "big champion", Elisa Longo Borghini has said.

Speaking at a Trek-Segafredo training camp, the Italian champion said scheduling both races for July wasn't her preference, but riders had to "accept it" and do everything they can to be in their "best shape for both races."

>>> 'Not over yet': Concussion lingers for Ellen van Dijk after Paris-Roubaix crashes

Both the ten-stage Giro d'Italia Donne and the eight-stage Tour will take place in July, while the men's editions take place in May and July respectively. Longo Borghini is down to ride both prestigious stage races.

She said: "It would be great if the Giro could be May straight after the men's Giro, then it would give a better structure to the calendar. This season it's like this and we have to accept it and go with it, and do everything to be in our best shape for both races. 

"Or maybe go to the Giro having in the head that we want to be very strong at the Tour. For me it's prestige to be at the start line of both races, and I would not choose only one, at least not this year."

The last man to win both the Tour and the Giro in the same season was Marco Pantani in 1998; with both women's races happening in July this year there is a chance that one woman will attempt both.

"It depends who is taking the start at the Giro and what she wants from the Giro too," Longo Borghini said. "I see some riders going into the Giro with a good block of training. It needs to be a hard Giro where people can train hard rather than staying at home. I think it's possible to do the double, but you have to be a big champion to do so."

The route itself is "very exciting", she said. "All the girls that were at the presentation told me that it was something really big, and the expectations are really high. I want to stand with my feet on the pavement, and not fly too much, and be there fighting all the time. This is the only thing I am able to do."

Longo Borghini, who won four individual races in 2021, including the GP Plouay and the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, said that she would like to go to the inaugural Tour de France Femmes with an "open role".

"I would like to go there with an open mind and also an open role," she explained. "If you just focus on the overall, then you put too much pressure on yourself. It's good to be there and just dive into the race, and see what's happening at every stage, and try and get away with a stage win."

The strength of Trek-Segafredo comes from its "unity", Longo Borghini has said, explaining that the environment within the team is "really good".

"We have a very good strong point, which is our unity. We can switch roles during the race pretty easily, and the environment is really good. We like to race for each other and with each other, and it can be natural who is the leader. Sometime we decide during the race too."

There will be a new Italian at Trek-Segafredo in 2021, another Elisa, Elisa Balsamo. The young rider won the World Championship road race for Italy back in September.

The pair have a good relationship, according to Longo Borghini, as they come from the same police department and they raced the Italian championships together.

"I think Elisa is a very talented rider, as you can see," she said. "I have always had an eye on her when she was younger, because in my opinion she can still grow a lot and grow into a very good classics rider. I'm very happy to have her on the team."

The Tour de France Femmes will be a "great watch" due to its "dynamic" racing compared to the men's version, Lizzie Deignan has said. 

Speaking from Trek-Segafredo training camp on Tuesday, the Paris-Roubaix champion explained that the first edition of the Tour Femmes has been "really well designed".

"I really like the stages, the dynamic aspect of it," she said. "I think there is something for everybody. I think that it will be a really great watch after something like the men's Tour. 

"With these super-teams like Jumbo or UAE, there will be a certain amount of control [in the men's Tour], and probably an inevitable yellow jersey at the end of it. In the women's race it will be quite dynamic in comparison to that and quite interesting."

>>> Van Aert and Van der Poel are not the only ones to beat, says Pedersen

The Tour de France Femmes will be the first time that race organiser ASO has put together a female Tour de France, although various guises of a similar race ran between 1984 and 2009.

The race will begin in Paris on the same day as the men's Tour finishes, and will end eight stages later with a summit finish on the Super Planche des Belles Filles.

Research based on last year's World Championship road race showed that women's racing was just as popular as men's racing on television in the Netherlands. The Metro newspaper reported: "An average of 358,000 people tuned into the women’s race on Saturday, representing a 30 per cent market share, compared with 338,000 for the men on Sunday, which translates to a 15.5 per cent share."

Deignan said that she believes a three-week Tour for women should be the end goal, saying that "there's no reason why not", but that it is good to start somewhere with the eight-stage edition.

"I think it's important that there are stepping stones and we don't just go boom straight into a three-week Tour de France," the British rider said.

"Any change that happens needs to be sustainable, and I think in recent years there has been a good progression in women's cycling. Sometimes you need to push the boundaries so the teams catch up, so it is a difficult balancing act. But at the moment I think the scales are balanced."

The one thing that needs to be looked at, according to the former world champion, is the gap between junior and elite levels, with no formal under-23 level existing for women, unlike men.

She said: "In the future I think the thing that needs to be looked at is developing the jump from junior to elite, so that we do have that beginner pool of athletes to sustain a full calendar. Things like the U23 world championships are going to help that, but there still needs to be more races for the under 23 women coming through."

Deignan is in Trek-Segafredo's provisional squad for the inaugural Tour de France Femmes, but she explained that she still is unclear on her role for it just yet.

"The Tour de France is huge, but it depends a lot on the team dynamic and what the expectations of me are, and I don't know that yet," she said. 

"I'm keen to know what the team wants from me because I could say 'the Tour is a huge goal', but it might be a huge goal of Elisa [Longo Borghini]'s or Ellen [van Dijk]'s, and I need to fall in line. I need to pick areas where I am going to go for myself and also areas where I need to be a good teammate."

The Tour will be a "massive goal" for everyone, she said. "Not just the individual riders but the teams and the sponsors. They're expecting a lot there so we have to plan a bit differently."

One race that she does want to target is the Amstel Gold Race, one of the few big races that Deignan has not previously won. Her palmarés includes the Tour of Flanders, the World Championships, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and now Paris Roubaix.

"I’d like to focus on Amstel Gold and the Ardennes Classics. I’ve still not won Amstel, so it would be nice to tick that one off."

It would be a "mistake" to only focus on Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel as the riders to beat, Mads Pedersen has said.

Speaking from Trek-Segafredo's  training camp, the Danish rider said that there were "plenty of good riders in the peloton", and that if "you always look at other guys when you're racing you're always one step behind".

The former world champion said: "I do not see them as the only guys to beat. You see Van der Poel, he was full in the final of Roubaix, but still [Sonny] Colbrelli is beating him fair and square. They are not the only two guys we have to take into account when we are racing. It's not only those two we have to look at, there are plenty of good riders in the peloton and for the classics. 

"For me it would be a mistake to only look at those two. Of course, I would agree that they are the two biggest stars in cycling right now, but that's not only because they are good in the classics, it's because in general they are f***ing good bike riders."

>>> 'Not over yet': Concussion lingers for Ellen van Dijk after Paris-Roubaix crashes

Pedersen won three races in 2021, including Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne on opening weekend, but none at WorldTour level. He describes his season as being full crashes: "From Dauphiné to Roubaix it was mostly crashes. I will mostly remember the crashes of 2021."

He will begin his season at the GP Marseillaise and Etoile de Bessèges, but will skip opening weekend this year due to Paris-Roubaix being later in the year than usual. 

"Roubaix is a week further out, and my coach and the team thought it would be a good idea," Pedersen explained. "They have a big master plan, I just follow that, and hopefully that's a good thing to do for the main goals of Flanders and Roubaix."

The French monument is a race the Dane has spoken of targeting in the past, and it is no different for 2022, with it being one of his central goals of the season. The next edition will be the fifth time he has raced it, and Pedersen said that he is learning from his previous attempts at the Hell of the North.

"Every time I do it I'm getting further and further in the race," he said. "I'm gaining more experience. The way to save energy in the right ways at the beginning and so on. Every time I do the race, if I crash or not, I'm gaining new experiences and learning new things. Hopefully that will help this time."

His teammate Jasper Stuyven claimed Trek-Segafredo's biggest win of the season of Milan-San Remo in 2021, and Pedersen believes that the pair can dovetail to produce more big results in coming years.

With another duo, there might be the chance of a clash between the two champions, especially as they both aim to succeed in similar races. The former world champion does not believe this is the case with him and his Belgian teammate, however.

"Me and Jasper, we are really good friends and we have always been. We clicked and we were good friends from the beginning," he said.

"The main thing for us is that we should be 100% honest with each other. If I have a really good day and he can see it, 100% he would leave his own chances out and help me, and the opposite way round of course. 

"We are good with each other because of our friendship, we are honest with each other, and we trust each other when the other one is saying 'I am really good today, I can do something nice'. That's really beneficial when you have two big egos on a team who want the same thing."

The 2022 Tour de France begins in Copenhagen, and stage two will pass 150m from where Pedersen lives, so he said it would be "crazy" to not focus a bit on the opening day time trial prologue.

"I'm not a favourite at all for the prologue, but I know I can do a good one," he explains. "Hopefully I can surprise and do a really good prologue on the first day in Copenhagen. I want to be in the mix of being close to the winner, and then maybe on the Roubaix stage I can claim the yellow jersey, and maybe a stage win as well. That would be a dream scenario for the rest of the season."

It will be the first time the Tour has visited Denmark, and Pedersen thinks it will be "huge", due to the numbers of Danish professionals in the peloton, and also the popularity of the sport in the country.

He said: "It's nice to be in front of your home crowd, and hopefully we will see a lot of people on the road. Cycling is really big right now, not just with professional riders, but with commuters and tourists, it's getting bigger. It's going to be huge for us."

Stage two sees the peloton cross the 16km-long Great Belt bridge from Zealand to Funen, which has created speculation about the affect of crosswinds on the peloton. Pedersen played down these hopes, however.

"200 days a year if not more we have the wind from the west. We are going straight west over the bridge," he said.

"It looks nice on paper, and everyone will be hoping for the wind from the north and the south, then it would be a big casino on the bridge. If it's from west as normal we will have full headwind for 20km."

On a separate topic which is engaging the world of professional cycling at the moment, the Trek-Segafredo rider said that he did not care about people using ketones. 

Romain Bardet and Arnaud Dèmare have been among the riders who have called for a ban on the chemical, but Pedersen said that it was "fair enough" if people used it. The Dane did say that he did not take them because he did not like the taste, however.

"I really don't care if people are using ketones or not, it's their decision. I don't see it as a problem, it is a natural product in your body. If people want to use it, fair enough. I have no clue how it works, I just know it tastes like shit and I know that's enough for me not to use it. It's legal, and it's not up to me to make it illegal"

Ellen van Dijk says she is still feeling the effects her crashes at the first women's Paris-Roubaix, confirming "I still cannot train the normal amount of hours or intensity that I would like."

She added that the effects of the concussion had affected her off-season and were "not over yet."

The European road race champion and world time trial champion, Van Dijk, had an incredibly good 2021 but finished with a tough ride at the 'Hell of the North' where she crashed four times, sustaining a concussion and finishing in 32nd place, 8-32 behind Trek-Segafredo team-mate Lizzie Deignan. 

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Van Dijk is currently at Trek-Segafredo's training camp despite still feeling the effects.

"February will be my first race so it's really nice that I have the time," Van Dijk said in a press conference at the team's training camp."

"If you could time a concussion I think I would time it right now because... there's not so much stress and I really have the time to recover from it."

Concussion can bring with it very serious side effects, and recovery requires rest. Van Dijk said: "I still cannot train the normal amount of hours or intensity that I would like to so I still have to adjust and I have to rest a lot more... I think it's going quite well and then all sudden I have to complete off day again and I cannot train or something. I'm still juggling with it, but it's going better and better.

"It's just something that's not over yet. It's affecting training with everything, all of life.

"I had a nice offseason but I couldn't really do so many social things because when you have noise and light and everything around it's... it's not so nice. 

"That was just a shame but at the same time, you know, there's enough nice things to look back on so that much easier."

The 34-year-old added that her race programme is very similar to the season just gone with the Classics being her first major goal where she will play a joint leadership role alongside the likes of Elisa Longo Borghini and Lizzie Deignan.

After that she will be hoping to look at the first edition of the reincarnated women's Tour de France which she said had "a bit for everyone" but she "only really missed the time trialing."

After that the Dutch powerhouse aims to defend her European road title and world time trial title as well as potentially going for the European TT and worlds road race as well.

Trek-Segafredo has released the 2022 season kit for both the men's and women's teams. 

Both kits have the same basic design but with the men sporting the mostly white jersey and black shorts with a red stripe, whereas with the women, it is the same only with a sky blue stripe, very much like one of the Team Sky jerseys of last decade.

The team also released a new pink training kit as they wave goodbye to their old fluo yellow look.

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This is the first time the two teams are sharing a design with the team saying: "For the first time ever, Trek-Segafredo’s male and female riders will share a look. Not exactly the same kit, but we’ll be rocking complementary colours for the 2022 season, all hand-made in Italy by our long-time partner Santini."

Modelling the men's kit is former world champion Mads Pedersen, Milan-San Remo winner Jasper Stuyven and former yellow jersey wearer Giulio Ciccone.

For the men they have finally moved away from what was a rather dull looking kit to something that is far fresher, where the old kit tried to be simplistic but came out dull, this jersey, in particular, looks classy.

The women's kit has changed a fair bit over the last three years as it has gone from darker blues to lighter blue and now white with sky blue. 

The kits are modelled by Paris-Roubaix winner Lizzie Deignan, Italian national champion Elisa Longo-Borghini and American rider Taylor Wiles.

The 2021 women's kit used a bold pattern, so this 2022 design represents a big change. 

Rating 2021 kits, we only gave Trek-Segafrado 2/5, citing the lack of change vs previous years as a reason for the low score. Perhaps the team took this to heart, and is seeking a higher score this year.  

The jerseys are made out of discarded recycled fibres by Santini and are not made with polluting chemicals.

With all the kit being delivered in compostable bags to reduce plastic waste with kit for all weathers.

The team add: "Whilst we may not be reinventing the wheel, we think we’ve created two elegant yet striking kits which are unmistakably Trek. Our classic design is reminiscent of previous iterations of our racing kits, now with a fresh update for the future. 

"The men’s and women’s kits retain their trademark red and light blue colours, respectively, which accent the jersey, bib shorts and socks. Bright Pirelli logos on the arms and back of the shorts completes the look."

A mainstay in the elite women's peloton for almost a decade, Tayler Wiles has called on race organisers to bring high-level events back to the United States to arrest the struggling decline in road race participation among young athletes.

In the past five years, gravel racing has boomed in the States as road racing has lost its place as the pre-eminent discipline in the country.

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The Tour of California, Philadelphia Cycling Classic, and Tour of the Gila are just three races that have fallen off the calendar, and there is a paucity of young female road riders making their way in the sport. 

Female American riders are the strongest in the burgeoning global gravel scene, but by and large they come to the discipline from a road background. 

While the continued success of criteriums, aided enormously by the Legion cycling team, is a source of hope, Trek-Segafredo’s Wiles told Cycling Weekly of the pain she feels when assessing the state of road cycling in her home country.

“Unfortunately, road cycling in the US has taken a bit of a dive,” the 32-year-old said. “It had started to happen before Covid that there was less and less racing, but now there’s almost nothing.

“The criterium scene is great, and the gravel scene is making waves and will get ever more exciting, but we really need to see road racing make a comeback. 

“We need stage races, one-day races, like we used to have. I think it would be really helpful if the WorldTour brought back a stage race into the States.

“We could have amateur races running off the back of it, races for category one, two, three and four riders alongside it. 

“It has to build from either the top or the bottom, but it has to start somewhere. Sponsorship is often the limiting factor, and it’s really difficult to get roads closed in the US, but something needs to be done.”

Wiles - who won the 2017 Tour of the Gila and finished second on GC at the following year's Tour of California - listed Chloé Dygert, the former world time trial champion, and Megan Jastrab, the 2019 junior road race world champion, as two riders who point towards a successful American future at the elite end of women’s cycling.

But she added: “I wish I could think of more. I wish there was more young girls coming up. The amount of new and young female road riders has dwindled. It’s hit a brick wall.

“The girls who are crushing it in gravel are of an older generation, they’re in their 20s, have full-time jobs, and most came from the road. 

“Going into the junior categories, I can barely think of any names and that makes me so sad. This country is massive and I think USA Cycling hasn’t supported the development of riders like it has in the past.”

Wiles contrasted the picture with that of what she witness in Europe. “Over there women’s cycling is blossoming,” she added. “There is so much momentum behind it.

“I wish I could help with the situation here but I spend most of my time in Europe. When I am home, I notice that gravel is the way, but it’s a different kind of sport. It’s not the same as road racing.”

Charlie Quarterman has confirmed that he will not be riding with Trek-Segafredo in 2022 after yet another season wrecked by injury.

The British time trial specialist has raced 16 times this season despite missing three months due to a serious concussion that he suffered during his first race of the season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Adding to the fact he had missed a large chunk of racing, the looming issue of his contract running out with Trek-Segafredo created further stress for the rider from Oxford.

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In an Instagram post, Quarterman said: "A bit late to the game, but that’s 2021 season done, also my time with Trek-Segafredo done. It’s been a rough year, starting in really good form but with a nasty concussion in the first race and not getting back into racing until May, I was on the back foot. 

"I started to find the rhythm after this but since the middle of the season I knew I was out of a contract at the end of the year, so fighting the stress whilst trying to perform at this level when opportunities came was tiring work. It was really full-on from July until October in that sense both physically and mentally so I really needed that rest in the end."

Quarterman has no news as to his plans for next year yet but remains hopeful. 

"No news to share yet, however. In the meantime I can only thank the people that are close to me off the bike for helping me to not explode (completely), I couldn’t have continued turning my legs in circles like that without you, so thank you."

Quarterman joined Trek-Segafredo in August of 2019 as a trainee rider, earning himself a two-year contract with the American team after some impressive rides as a support rider as well as in the under 23 rankings.

His best individual result while with the team came late this season with seventh place in the national time trial championships in Lincolnshire. He was mainly a support rider for the big names at Trek-Segafredo, but that wasn't enough for him to earn a new deal with the team.

Quarterman is now searching for a new team. He isn't the only Brit to drop out of the WorldTour, Harry Tanfield has dropped down to Continental level with a one-year deal at Ribble-Weldtite, where he originally signed at the start of 2021 before joining Qhubeka-NextHash.

Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini took the win at the end of an enthralling edition of GP Plouay on Monday. The Trek-Segafredo rider had been hugely active throughout the race, making the wining move 12km out on the course’s steepest slopes.

With a reduced peloton struggling to bring her back she managed to stay clear, winning by a handful of seconds from Gladys Verhulst (Arkéa) in second with the in-form Kristen Faulkner (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) third at the head of a group of around 20.

The final 40km presented a fabulously entertaining spectacle, though the final lap was especially so. With 12km remaining, Longo Borghini bridged with two other women to a solo Tatiana Guderzo (Alé-BTC Ljubljana) who had attacked at the start of the final 13.6km circuit.

After a similar move on the previous lap, Longo Borghini just continued the move dropping the others and building a gap that never exceeded 40 seconds. A series of other riders set off in pursuit, but none were able to bridge and the 29 year-old won alone.

Not only is the victory a second consecutive one for Trek-Segafredo after Lizzie Deignan won last year, it is sweet revenge for the Italian who lost out on the 2020 European title on the same course to Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar).

The race was also notable to Verhulst’s result, a career best for the fast improving 24 year-old French woman, and of course the continued progression of American Faulkner, who took a first WorldTour win in Norway two weeks ago. 

How it happened

In its 20th edition, the GP Plouay may be tough to travel to but it is a coveted race among the peloton, with some big names having taken the honours in Brittany. Of those there have been three British women, Nicole Cooke, Emma Pooley and Lizzie Deignan who was in France to win her fourth edition, and extend her record as the woman with the most victories.

The route has been changed in recent years, with the signature final ascent at Ty Marec removed last year after the race became predictable, though still exciting. It has been replaced by the Pont Neuf climb, which tops out two kilometres from the line, much closer than its predecessor adding a different dynamic.

Another change is that the race is now run entirely on one 13.68km circuit, 11 laps making for a lumpy, relentless and challenging 150.48km.

Despite that the bunch stayed together until close the end of the fifth lap, when the pace suddenly lifted and the bunch exploded, a group of six women emerging at the top of the Pont Neuf climb.

Winner in 2019, world champion Anna van der Breggen was in that group which was before two more women escaped, Alena Amialiusik (Canyon-SRAM) and Jade Wiel (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) getting a lead.

By the time they crossed the line next time around, with 68km remaining the pair led by 1-20 on a peloton apparently happy to let them go. Van der Breggen later came to the front on one of the circuit’s three climbs, stretching rather than breaking the group, apparently to no purpose other than to warm up. 

With the rainbow jersey back in the bunch, Wiel and Amialiusik extended their lead to more than three minutes as they closed in on the final 50km. 

However, just as Amialiusik dropped Wiel another group were off the front of the bunch, including the British duo of Anna Shackley (SDWorx) and Abi Smith (Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank), which made some inroads on the leaders, but such a large group was allowed too much space and they were caught.

Amialiusik forged on alone while behind the peloton had been whittled down, Trek-Segafredo particularly active in the peloton, sending Ruth Winder to the front after she had been part of the large escape.

One reason for the American squad’s enthusiasm was that Van der Breggen was part of a small group off the back, though the Dutchwoman soon chased back on and the group swelled to around 40 women with 32km to go.

With two laps remaining Amialiusik was beginning to come back, Trek-Segafredo joined by DSM to bring the gap to one into minute, before Elisa Longo Borghini Trek-Segafredo) made huge move on the circuit’s first climb, instantly getting a gap.

The Italian champion was soon joined by her Spanish counterpart, Mavi Garcia (Alé-BTC Ljubljana) and the pair caught Amialiusik, though DSM and SDWorx were doing the work in the bunch to bring what was now three leaders back.

An attack on the penultimate ascent of Pont Neuf saw DSM’s German, Liane Lippert bridge to the leaders, though they were soon joined by others, forming a group of 12 with one lap to go.

One of those though was not happy with the status quo, former world champion Tatiana Guderzo Alé-BTC Ljubljana attacking, with Longo Borghini, Erica Magnaldi (Ceratizit-WNT) hot on her heels.

But the race refused to settle and Longo Borghini attacking again, leaving the three chasers looking to each other as the race finally entered its closing 10km. The three chasers caught, more tried their luck, and while Floortje Mackaij (DSM) coming closest none could reach the rampaging Italian. 

Result

Grand Prix Lorient Agglomeration Trophée Ceratizit 2021: Plouay to Plouay (150.48km)

1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 4-06-02
2. Gladys Verhulst (Fra) Arkea at 12 sec
3. Kristen Faulkner (USA) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
4. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) Liv Racing
5. Evita Muzic (Fra) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
6. Eugenia Bujak (Slo) Alé-BTC Ljubljana 
7. Lizzie Deignan (Gbr) SDWorx
8. Coryn Rivera (USA) DSM
9. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) SDWorx
10. Anna Henderson (Gbr) Jumbo-Visma all at same time 

Team manager of the American-registered team Trek-Segafredo, Luca Guercilena, has announced that he will step down from his role after being diagnosed with cancer. 

The Italian, 48, revealed in a statement on the Trek-Segafredo website that he will be taking a break from the sport to focus on recovering from the illness. He revealed that is was Lymphoma, a cancer that targets the Lymph glands in the body.

In the statement, Guercilena said: "After so many years travelling around the world, following the races alongside my team, it’s time for me to take a break. A few days ago I started to fight against a strong enemy, a lymphoma, which will require all my efforts and the warmth of my family, lifelong friends and Trek-Segafredo team-mates.

"It will take time, but I’m relieved that the team is in very good hands thanks to an experienced group of people that will lead until I am back."

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Guercilena began his cycling career twenty years ago at the Italian/Belgian team of Mapei - Quick-Step, before moving over to the then called Leopard-Trek team in 2011. Guercilena is a rare breed of team manager as he did not have a career in racing himself. 

Since then, the team has performed brilliantly with Monument wins at Il Lombardia by Bauke Mollema, Milan-San Remo with Jasper Stuyvan and now-retired Fabian Cancellara at Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders, as well as various wins from former world champion Mads Pedersen.

Some of cycling's biggest names have paid tribute to Guercilena on Twitter since Tre-Segafredo posted the statement. Those included Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), WorldTour teams as well as lower ranked squads, former UCI president Brian Cookson, former pro Stuart O'Grady, Deceuninck - Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere, Toms Skujiņš, the rest of the Trek-Segafredo team and many more besides.

Sagan said: "Forza Luca! I am sending you my best wishes for an easy and speedy recovery."

O'Grady added: "Luca, You’ve shown strength and support to so many people for many, many years. I’m sure that same strength will help you fight this also. Stay strong. From the O’Grady family and everyone at the Tour Down Under team."

Latvian national champion and Trek rider Skujiņš said: "Luca always encouraged us to keep fighting no matter what. Please send some love his way now!"

Chloe Hosking has shared all the emotions she felt after making her post-Covid-19 comeback at the Tour of Norway.

The Australian Trek-Segafredo rider hadn’t raced since March after she contracted coronavirus, interrupting her training and taking her out of action for five months. 

Hosking, 30, had joined Trek at the start of the season to add to the team’s sprint roster, but after a promising start to the year, her spring was derailed by the diagnosis.  

But in the final stage of the Tour of Norway, Hosking took a huge sprint victory to secure her first win for Trek-Segafredo and put a tough period behind her.

Speaking after the victory in Halden, a tearful Hosking said: “It was more mentally tough. Australia is so far away and it feels even further when we can't really get in [due to coronavirus restrictions] and my family can't come here. So I felt alone, really alone, for a lot of the time. I was never physically super sick, but I was being told that I had to take it easy. 

“I'm just really proud of myself. And I'm so thankful for the team, 

“To get a win in a WorldTour to a stage race, it was all worth it.” 

Hosking, winner of 38 races, has always been a consistent sprinter and looked to only improve with the support of a strong squad like Trek.

After a top-20 finish in the Australian National Championships to start her 2021 season, Hosking was out of contention in  Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, only to come back with a promising third-place in Le Samyn des Dames in early March.

After mixed results over her next five races, Hosking was then diagnosed with Covid-19.

The Tour of Norway marked her first race back after the illness, but she never finished in the top 50 on the opening three stages.

Then on the final sprint opportunity, Hosking found herself in a strong position to fight for the victory. 

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She said: “I had Lucinda Brand there with me and she's definitely one of the best bike handlers in the peloton and for a super technical circuit like this, that's who you need in front of you, but she was on the front early so I knew I had to surf wheels. 

"I sensed people kept coming and I just kept upping my pace, and then coming into the final s-bend I was like 'you know what, screw it I'm just gonna go' and just take up all the road and then no-one can come past me.”  

Former US road champion Ruth Winder has taken the overall lead of the re-branded Giro Donne after her Trek-Segafredo team won the opening stage team time trial in Cuneo on Friday. 

The American squad won the opening stage time trial of the Giro Rosa last year and repeated the feat despite having issues with uneven pacing. Only when Lizzie Deignan signalled to her rest of the team was the issue solved.

They were in charge of the race throughout, clocking the fastest time at the intermediate time check. SDWorx were just behind them at that check, and it stayed that way, the Dutch team finishing the race just over eight seconds in arrears.

In third place, 39 seconds down, Alé-BTC Ljubljana were the surprise package, benefitting form the addition of Swiss powerhouse Marlen Reusser, who joined after finishing second at the world time trial championship last year. 

BikeExchange and FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope are the biggest losers, Amanda Spratt’s Australian team losing 1-32. The French outfit is led by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig who was fourth last year on the back of a similar performance in the team time trial, and the Dane would have been hoping for a better time this year.

Though the gaps are bigger, the top two is a repeat of last year’s result setting up a battle in the mountains which is set to begin on stage two.

Saturday’s second stage remains in the north west, the peloton taking on 2,000m of climbing over the 100km course, finishing at the ski resort of Prato Nevoso, 1607m above sea level. The final 18km ascend 1,133m at an average of 6 per cent, with a maximum of 13 per cent, ensuring the general classification will begin to take shape early in the race.

How it happened

Under new organisers, though with many of the same staff running actual the racing, the longest stage race on the women’s calendar has been rebranded to its original name, the Giro d’Italia Donne.

As it has done since 2017 the race began with a team time trial, this time in Italian north-west, in the foothills of the Alps, between the Piemontese towns of Fossano and Cuneo.

The mainly straight route dragged uphill for most of its 26.7km, with a few roundabouts and a coupe of steeper digs coming towards the finish in the centre of Cuneo, which as hosted stages of the men’s Giro and even the Tour de France, as well the Giro Donne in 2008.

The first of the 24 teams down the ramp was Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria, including Noemi Eremita, at 18 years 307 days, the youngest woman in the race. The Italian squad clocked 36-29, a time which some other more established teams were unable to match. 

However, when BePink clocked 35-51 they set off a series of fastest times which culminated with Ceratizit-WNT setting a time of 34-59. The German squad are a strong outfit, with former world time trial champion Lisa Brennauer among their number, but it was Alé-BTC Ljubljana who set the standard, clocking 34-20.

Winner of last year’s opening time trial, Trek-Segafredo suffered when Lizzie Deignan suffered a mechanical, the team losing one of its real engines. However, even without her they took 39 seconds out of the Italian squad, stopping the clock in 33.41, with only Movistar and SDWorx left on the road.

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Movistar were without their star turn Annemiek van Vleuten, the Dutch woman missing the race to concentrate on Olympic preparations, and were unable to challenge.

Giro d’Italia Donne, stage one: Fossano - Cuneo (26.7km, team time trial)

1. Trek-Segafredo (USA) 33-40
2. SDWorx (Ned) at 08 sec
3. Alé-BTC Ljubljana at 40 sec
4. Canyon-SRAM (Ger) at 45 sec
5. Movistar (Esp) at 55 sec
6. Jumbo-Visma (Ned) at 1-15
7. Ceratizit-WNT (Ger) at 1-18
8. Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank at 1-19
9. DSM at 1-23
10. BikeExchange at 1-32

General classification after stage one 

1. Ruth Winder (USA) Trek-Segafredo in 33-40
2. Ellen van Dijk (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
4. Lizzie Deignan (Gbr) Trek-Segafredo all at same time 
5. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) SDWorx at 8 sec
6. Demi Vollering (Ned) SDWorx
7. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SDWorx
8. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx
9. Elena Cecchini (Ita) SDworx all at same time 
10. Mavi Garcia (Esp) Alé-BTC Ljubljana at 40 sec

Koen de Kort has suffered serious hand injuries in an off-road vehicle crash, which resulted in the Dutchman having three fingers amputated on his right hand.

Trek-Segafredo rider De Kort was airlifted to hospital after the incident, which happened near the Pyrenees area of Andorra, where De Kort has been living for a number of years. 

After undergoing immediate three-hour surgery in hospital, doctors were forced to amputate the third, fourth and fifth fingers from De Kort’s right hand. 

Trek-Segafredo doctor Manuel Rodriguez Alonso said: “Unfortunately, Koen has lost the third, fourth, and fifth finger of his right hand. The amputation has been total removal.

“Dr. Jorge Serrano, who operated on him and to whom we must thank for his work, told me that from the first findings the functionality of the hand will be maintained thanks to the thumb and index finger. The latter also suffered a considerable damage but, thanks to the efforts of the doctors, was saved from amputation.

“Because of considerable dirt around the wounds, the risk of infection has not been ruled out, but the most appropriate antibiotic therapy is being administered. Obviously, Koen will remain in the hospital for the next few days.”

De Kort, 38, who joined the pro peloton in 2002, was involved in a crash while driving an off-road vehicle on Thursday afternoon (June 24). 

The experience road captain was rushed by helicopter to Parc Tauli hospital in Barcelona, Spain. 

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After doctors assessed the severity of the situation, De Kort underwent emergency surgery. 

Dr Rodriguez Alonso has spoken to De Kort both before and after surgery, reporting that the rider is in good condition physically and mentally. 

Trek-Segafredo riders appeared to be putting a new time trial bike through its paces at the Critérium du Dauphiné on Wednesday, with the bike of choice carrying a very different silhouette to the Speed Concept used in the Giro d'Italia time trial only days prior.

The Trek Speed Concept time trial rigs adopted by Trek-Segafredo riders in the solo event of the Italian stage race, on Sunday, May 30, featured familiar lines: a dramatically curved downtube, mirroring the shape of the rear wheel, and dropped but still sloping seatstays. 

The bike of choice for the final stage of the Giro also had rim brakes, with no disc option in the existing Speed Concept line up. 

However, days later in France, pictures of Julien Bernard and Jasper Stuyven show a very different bike.

Not only does the time trial bike used in France have disc brakes, it also has seatstays that travel horizontally away from the down tube before falling away in a much more dramatically angular shape.

The front fork still displays the words 'Speed Concept', implying that this might be a re-imagining of the existing chassis as opposed to a brand new creation.

With the new bike on display, Trek-Segafredo joins a host of WorldTour teams racing disc brake time trial bikes, including  Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck-Quick-Step on the Specialized Shiv, Jumbo Visma on the Cervélo P5 and Movistar on the Canyon Speedmax. 

Plenty of teams continue to stick to rim brake models, however. The rim brake testers include Team Ineos who still stick with the traditional stoppers on their Pinarello Dogma road bikes, too. But with several high profile 2021 wheel launches being disc brake only - such as several of Zipp's latest incarnations and the new Campagnolo Bora Ultra wheelset - the direction of travel does beg the question how long the technology will remain an option. 

The 16.5 kilometre time trial from Firminy to Roche-La-Molière at the 73rd edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné represents a return of the time trial discipline to the race, after an omission last year - perhaps as a dress rehearsal for the high number of solo miles featuring in this year's Tour de France route.

Giulio Ciccone has abandoned the Giro d'Italia after crashing in the last 30km of stage 17 along with multiple other riders.

Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) was flying high in the overall standings in sixth place but was caught in the crash, which also forced Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) out of the race due to his injuries.

Italian climber Ciccone did actually sign on for stage 18 on Thursday morning (May 27) but then underwent another assessment by the team's doctor who decided it was too much of a risk to let him race.

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In a tweet the team said: "Unfortunately Giulio Ciccone won’t start stage 18. The rider had a hard night with a fever. He initially signed his presence at the podium but, after a further evaluation by team doctor, considering his heavily weakened state, the team decided to stop him to safeguard his health."

Ciccone wasn't the only Trek rider to go down in that crash though as Vincenzo Nibali and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier also suffered nasty injuries but did start the stage.

Both riders suffered multiple contusions and abrasions with Nibali having an x-ray to check for fractures, which they did not find.

Ciccone was putting in an amazing Giro d'Italia. He came into the stage looking for stage wins alongside Bauke Mollema with Nibali aiming for the GC even with a fracture to his wrist.

It then became clear that Ciccone was in very strong form, being able to follow the attacks of the likes of Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), coming a close second on stage nine to Campo Felice.

He did make it back to the main bunch of GC riders before the final climb of Sega di Ala on stage 17 but lost touch pretty quickly along with Russian rider, Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) before losing over six minutes to Bernal and seven minutes to Yates.

Nick Schultz (BikeExchange) was sat in 18th place and was the main domestique for Simon Yates, was also involved in the crash with team-mate Mikel Nieve. Schultz did not start stage 18 due to his injuries. He suffered a fracture of the 5th metacarpal on his left hand.

George Bennett tried to go for victory on stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia but a tactical battle with Italian rider Gianluca Brambilla saw the New Zealander eventually finish third.

Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) came to the race as the leader of his team, but poor performances in the cold and wet weather in the first week saw him slip out of contention.

The New Zealand national champion is now on the quest of hunting for stages with the big mountains looming, but is still trying to get used to the tactics of winning from the breakaways having normally ridden amongst the peloton.

>>> Dan Martin says 'cycling is not worth the risk' after losing six minutes to Egan Bernal on gravel of Giro d'Italia 2021

Speaking after the stage, Bennett said: “Stage hunting and breakaways, it's not normally what I'm doing. I'm sort of normally just riding from the peloton and maybe it takes a while to get the feel of that a little bit and I think as we hit into the big mountains it's more about legs than say, playing the game or tactics and cat and mouse and all that sort of stuff, so I mean hopefully there's a bit more for me.” 

Bennett managed fourth originally on stage 12 behind eventual winner Andrea Vendrame (Ag2r-Citroën), with Chris Hamilton (DSM) and Brambilla taking the final podium spots. But Brambilla was relegated to fourth for a deviation in his sprint, moving Bennett up to third.

Brambilla let the wheel of Hamilton and Vendrame go in the closing kilometres to try and force Bennett through to do some work in the break, which Bennett didn't want to do as he was the rider with the slowest sprint. Hamilton saw this and used it to his advantage attacking with Vendrame with the two holding on to the finish.

Bennett then went to chase with Brambilla sitting on his wheel all the way until the sprint where the Italian kicked to the line, but he moved dramatically causing the race jury to move him down to fourth on the day.

“I can't close everything and I'm not gonna win the sprint, so I have to gamble and I really can't understand [what Brambilla did]," Bennet said.

"If I was a fast guy, I would’ve ridden that differently. You just cover everything and try and go for the sprint, but if you're 58 kilos and struggling to break 1000 Watts then what's the point in taking it to a sprint.

“It was the same on the climb, you know, unfortunately we had quite a big headwind and you can go as many times as you'd like but if everybody's looking at your wheel there's not a lot you can do."

The breakaway let go after tough previous stage

After the brutal gravel stage on day 11 of the 2021 Giro d’Italia, the prospect of a 212km climbing stage would not be welcome for many of the riders.

Luckily for spectators, there were still plenty of racers up for the fight early in the stage, with a decent battle to form a breakaway unfolding on the road to Bagno di Romagna. 

There were a few shake ups in the breakaway group, but eventually 14 riders established the day’s break.

When that group, including George Bennett, Gianluca Brambilla, and Andrea Vendrame (Ag2r-Citroën), finally went clear the peloton was happy to let them fight for the stage, as the general classification contenders were happy to keep the pace low in an attempt to recover from the effort of previous day.

Into the final, the stage came down to a fascinating four-rider dual between Bennett, Brambilla, Chris Hamilton (Team DSM), and Andrea Vendrame.

But after Bennett and Brambillia let their tempers get the best of them, Vendrame only had to outsprint Hamilton to the biggest win of his career.  

The 26-year-old Italian added the victory to wins in Tro-Bro Leon in 2019 and a stage of Pays de la Loire, but he will be ecstatic to take the stage after finishing second on stage 19 of the 2019 Giro, only being beaten by Esteban Chaves. 

Ineos Grenadiers keep a firm grasp on the race 

While Sir Dave Brailsford has said Ineos Grenadiers are racing under a new attacking philosophy, stage 12 of the race was a familiar sight for cycling fans - Ineos Grenadiers leading the peloton with a pace just high enough to deter any attacks. 

Following their dominant display on the gravel, with the team splitting the race on the first unpaved sector and Egan Bernal eventually extending his advantage with his own attacks, the British WorldTour squad make their iron grip on the race very clear on stage 12.

With Filippo Ganna leading the charge, Ineos were happy to control the pace from start to finish with no rivals really keen to risk another hard day of racing. 

But it wasn’t entirely plain sailing for the pre-race favourites, as Gianni Moscon suffered an entirely avoidable crash inside the final few kilometres.

The Italian made the mistake of trying to chase down Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) on a descent, but quickly fell victim to ‘The Shark’s’ superior downhill skills.

Moscon lost his front wheel on a sweeping left-hand turn and went down, avoiding any injury but suffering damage to his pride.

He was able to jump back on the bike and finish the stage, but it’s the kind of mistake Egan Bernal could do without from one of his late-mountain domestiques. 

Attritional Giro takes its toll as plenty of riders drop out 

The toll of the Giro d’Italia very quickly became apparent on stage 12, as a string of notable riders began to retire from the race early in the day.  

Early in the day, British time trial specialist Alex Dowsett pulled out of the race, with his Israel Start-Up Nation team saying he had been suffering from stomach problems.  

The bad news continued for ISN as the stage continued, as Alessandro De Marchi, wearer of the maglia rosa earlier in the race, was involved in a serious crash and was seen lying prone at the side of the road, receiving medical treatment.

De Marchi was taken away by ambulance and news later emerged that he had suffered multiple injuries in the fall, including a broken right collarbone, six broken ribs, and two broken vertebrae. 

But fortunately the Italian did not suffer a head injury and was conscious, but was due to be kept in hospital overnight. 

The retirements continued, as Marc Soler (Movistar) was seen dangling off the back of the bunch early in the stage, talking to race doctors apparently about a problem with his back after a crash at the start of the day. 

Soler eventually quit the race, along with stage winner Gino Mäder (Bahrain-Victorious), who had been suffering after a crash the previous day.  

Finally, Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) also left the Giro, bringing the tally of stage 12 abandons up five. 

Minor GC action as Trek-Segafredo go on the attack

While the strong pace set by Ineos for much of the day deterred many of the GC from risking an attack, the new power duo of Vincenzo Nibali and Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) defied the odds to try their own sneak attack. 

The pair attacked 10km from the finish, with Ciccone going first and Nibali following shortly after.

They weren’t able to establish much of a gap, but they still kept Ineos on their toes with Gianni Moscon forced to sprint across to finally shut down the gap. 

But the Trek riders weren’t yet done for the day, as Nibali launched a signature attack on the downhill section before the line and easily gapped the peloton, with Moscon falling as he tried to follow. 

While Nibali could have sat up and rode in with the peloton, he instead opted to push hard on the flats and hold off the chasing bunch gaining back seven seconds on the rest.

Nibali is still nowhere near the maglia rosa, now sitting 13th overall at 4-04 down, but this could be a sign of which team are most willing to take the fight to Ineos over the next nine stages. 

No friendship formed between Brambilla and Bennett  

Compared to the gravel of stage 11, day 12 of the Giro was a relatively quiet affair, but fortunately fans had a slightly different type of drama to follow on the climbs to Bagno di Romagna.

As the breakaway group was whittled down to the few strongest riders, it became clear that there were some bad feeling between two of the escapees - George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) and Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo).

After a few subtle exchanges between the pair earlier in the day, tempers boiled over into the decisive moments. 

In the final few kilometres, Chris Hamilton and Andrea Vendrama had made it clear and were powering their way to the finish, as Brambilla got out of the saddle to chase, but he immediately switched off the power, expecting Bennett to chase.

But as Bennett explained after the chase, he’s not know for his sprint so wasn’t keen on chasing down a move to benefit Brambilla.

Then at the finish, things got worse as Brambilla frantically sprinted to third place at the line, but swerved across the road and cut up Bennett.

After the finish, the race jury decided Brambilla had strayed from his sprinting line and relegated him to last place in his group, which put Bennett third and Brambilla fourth on the stage. 

While the reason for the animosity between the pair remains unknown, it was a fascinating sub-plot to the day’s breakaway action. 

Jasper Stuyven says he knew he had to go “all or nothing” to beat an elite group in the final of Milan San-Remo 2021.

The Trek-Segafredo rider triumphed over all the pre-race favourites and some unexpected sprinters with his ambitious solo attack in the final 2km of ‘La Primavera’.

Stuyven, 28, said he realised he needed to try a long range attack as a strong group reached the top of the Poggio together, including Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Caleb Ewan.

Speaking after the victory, the biggest of his career, the Belgian said: "The final was going well, I was there on the Poggio but of course there was a lot of fast guys, so i knew that i had to try all or nothing, which I did.

“If I went to the line I might have finished fifth to 10th place, but I preferred to go all in and end up with empty hands, or go all in and take the biggest victory of my career.”

Heading into the race, all eyes were on Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), as the favourites to take victory on the famous Via Roma.

But despite a stinging attack from Alaphilippe and Van Aert on the final climb of the day, the Poggio, a sizeable group held together on the descent, including bunch sprinter Ewan (Lotto-Soudal).

As the lead group hit the foot of the descent, Stuyven launched his move and was allowed to break free of his rivals, as only Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM) was able to bridge across.

After some half-hearted attacks from those behind, Stuyven was able to hold on to take the win with a minimal margin over Caleb Ewan, who led in the rest of the group.

On beating the favourites, Stuyven said: “There were three guys who are really strong, everyone knows, I think everyone talked about it. That didn’t mean we weren’t going to race for the win."

He added: “I felt really good all day. The final was going well.

“I think the boys put me in the perfect position on the important parts of the parcours and I was feeing good, there was a good gap.

“The legs were empty at the end but if you win by one minute or one centimetre it’s enough.”

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Milan-San Remo is Stuyven’s first Monument victory and he adds the result to wins in the 2020 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the 2016 Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and a stage of the 2015 Vuelta a España.

A sports director at Astana-Premier Tech has said that he wants Vincenzo Nibali to return to his team for the last season of his career.

Giuseppe Martinelli has made it very clear that he wants Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) to come back to his team for the last season of his career, five years after he left the squad to join Bahrain-Merida in 2017.

The 36-year-old Sicilian has previously said he wanted to retire at the end of the 2021 season, after the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but rumours suggest he may continue into 2022.

His contract with Trek-Segafredo comes to an end at the close of the 2021 season.

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Speaking in Gazzetta dello Sport, Martinelli said: "If I get the chance to sign him, I will not fail to do so,

"I would therefore also like him to end his career with the team. I still love him. In the four years that he was at Astana, we've never had a disagreement. He came when he was already a champion, but we still had common ground.

"He will not come to win the Giro d'Italia, but to end his career with pleasure."

Nibali had his most successful seasons when he was at Astana-Premier Tech where he won the Giro d'Italia twice in 2013 and 2016. He also took his only Tour de France title in 2014 as well as several other top level wins including Tirreno-Adriatico and Il Lombardia.

Back in 2018, Nibali told Cycling Weekly that he had been considered by then Team Sky, now Ineos Grenadiers, but nothing materialised.

"I’m happy that in the past Team Sky have considered me.

“In the past we haven’t found the deal, but for sure Team Sky is one of the best teams in the word, they have won a lot of Tours de France and big tours – Giro d’Italia and Vuelta.

"We can open talks with all teams seriously and for sure Sky is one of the teams. We’ll take the decision about my future next year." He then went onto join Trek-Segafredo.

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This rumour came up yet again last year as reports suggested he will be joining Ineos for 2022 in his last season, to bring some experience and guidance for the young leaders with an offer via Italian bike brand Pinarello. Nibali's agent, Alex Carera, was quick to deny this.

"We haven’t had any talks with Ineos. Vincenzo has a contract with Trek-Segafredo for 2021 and he’s very happy there," Carera told Cyclingnews.

"Vincenzo has still to decide on his future but we always said we’d meet up with the Trek-Segafredo team management in the new year to talk about that. We’d only consider other options and other offers if we didn’t reach an agreement with them."

Bauke Mollema soloed to a stunning victory in Italian one-day race Trofeo Laigueglia.

The Trek-Segafredo Dutchman launched a devastating attack 15km from the line, holding off an elite chasing group including Egan Bernal to secure the win.

Despite a valiant effort from the five-rider chasing group, Mollema took the win 39 seconds ahead of Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in second, with Deceuninck - Quick-Step’s Mauri Vansevenant rounding out the podium.

How it happened

The 2021 edition of the 1.Pro-ranked Trofeo Laigueglia was raced over 202km along Italy’s Mediterranean coast.

A one-day race for the climbers, this year’s edition featured six categorised climbs along the route, including four ascents of the Colla Micheri and the Capo Mele during laps of a finishing circuit from around 160km into the day.

Racing started with an 11-rider breakaway, which featured Britain’s John Archibald (Eolo-Kometa) and Nicolas Edet (Cofidis).

While the break pulled out a four-minute advantage early in the stage, the peloton began to wound in the escapees over the tough climbs in the middle sections of the race.

The race then exploded inside the final 70km as riders entered the four finishing circuits, as Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) attacked.

After more attacks from the likes of Guilio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) and Bernal, the remains of the breakaway were swept up and an elite group formed at the front of the race inside 20km, including Mollema, Bernal, Landa and Vansevenant.

With 15km left to race, Mollema launched his attack and immediately pulled out a gap, extending his advantage over his final ascents of the Colla Micheri and Capo Mele.

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Mollema carried his attack all the way to the line, securing a huge early-season victory.

Results

Trofeo Laigueglia 2021:  Laigueglia to Laigueglia (202km)

1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, in 4-57-05

2. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, at 39s

3. Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

4. Clément Champoussin (Fra) Ag2r Citroën

5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

6. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, all at same time

7. James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 57s

8. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Ag2r Citroën, at 1-01

9. Biniam Ghirmay (Eri) Delko

10. Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, all at same time