CW Live: Filippo Ganna chides Ineos Grenadiers cookery; Bradley Wiggins's NSPCC campaign; Van den Broek-Blaak - "It's a girl!"; Jay Vine's surprise Aussie ITT win; new Q36.5 kit; Peter Sagan comeback?; Allan Peiper back to UAE-Team Emirates; National CX

"Overcooked pasta and omelettes with ketchup": Filippo Ganna chats about life at Ineos Grenadiers

"Overcooked pasta and omelettes with ketchup" were the charges jovially levelled at Ineos Grenadiers by the team's time trial supremo Filippo Ganna.

The Hour record holder entertained an audience of 500 people at a sit-down chat at the Bicimania cycle shop in Lissone in Northern Italy, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Ganna did concede however that he felt very much at home at Ineos Grenadiers, with whom he is contracted until 2027, and he found it difficult to find much to criticise. "I feel great here. If they wanted to extend the contract it would be difficult to say no," he said.

The 26-year-old entertained listeners with anecdotes and advice, including some sage wisdom for the kids. "Study, otherwise I'll knock your ears. And learn English, you will need it for sure. I dropped out of school, it was probably a mistake.”

As for why he didn't take up canoeing like his father, Ganna gamely quipped: "Because I only like water for washing." 

Sir Bradley Wiggins fronts new NSPCC 'Listen Up, Speak Up' campaign

Sir Bradley Wiggins is fronting a new NSPCC campaign to help people spot the signs of child abuse. The campaign is called 'Listen Up, Speak Up', and aims to equip adults with the skills necessary to help keep children safe.

Wiggins himself spoke publicly for the first time last year about being groomed by a cycling coach when he was 13. He said he struggled to cope and that if someone had spotted what was going on he might have been able to get help earlier.

The campaign includes a free 10-minute digital training course plus emails from experts on the action people can take.

Wiggins said it was a privilege to be able to support the campaign, adding: “It is every child’s right to live a life free of abuse and if more people know the signs to spot and how to speak up, this will mean more vulnerable children can get the help and support they need and deserve.”

"It's a girl!" confirms Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, as she throws combined baby shower and gender reveal party

SDWorx Classics star Chantal van den Broek-Blaak threw a combined baby shower and gender reveal party, confirming that she was expecting a girl in May.

The post on Instagram featured a picture of van den Broek-Blaak and SD Worx staff and teammates – including Lorena Wiebes and Anna Van Der Breggen – in celebratory mood with balloons and party poppers in full effect.

"Baby shower, gender reveal party, all in ones…" van den Broek-Blaak wrote. "Thank you #itsagirl"

Van den Broek-Blaak has been in the news over more controversial matters last month, having allegedly tested positive for a diuretic in 2008 and the test having been lost.

She had originally considered retiring from racing in order to start a family, but developments in cycling, including new maternity rules brought in in 2020, requiring WorldTour teams to pay riders 100 per cent of their salary for the first three months of maternity, and at least 50 per cent for the following five months, had encouraged her to continue, she told Velonews.

Jay Vine dishes out surprise victory at Australian time trial champs

Jay Vine delivered a major upset to win today's Australian men's time trial championship, outgunning pre-race favourites and former winners Luke Durbridge and Luke Plapp.

Held on the 37.5km Federation University Mount Helen campus course, the circuit featured a technical start and several short sharp hills. Vine went round in 46.38, with Durbridge (Team Jayco-Alula) 2.72sec behind. Durbridge's teammate Kelland O'Brien was third at 25sec and Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) fourth, a further second behind.

UAE-Team Emirates rider Vine was not a fancied rider, with 2020 winner Durbridge and Plapp, who won in 2021 and is also the newly crowned road race champ, at the top of many prediction lists.

Vine said afterwards: “I’m super happy with this win. Time trialling is always something I thought I could improve on, but I just hadn’t been able to go fast in a good position on the bike since turning professional.

"We’ve worked a lot with the team to get me in the right position, and it’s definitely working for me so far with room for improvement too, so it’s pretty exciting," he added. "To win the title here with the great support of my wife, friends and family is just an amazing way to start the season."

The women's race was won by defending champion Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez), who dished out a 38-second beating of Georgie Howe (Team Jayco-Alula) on the 28.6km course, with Brodie Chapman (Trek-Segafredo) third at 1.05.

Doug Ryder's new Q36.5 ProTeam has unveiled its kit for the year. It's decidedly understated for a lower-ranked squad with Italian roots, with a smudge of black fading into light grey, with some smaller smudges of yellow to lift the mood a little.

Ryder, who has previously been at the helm of Dimension Data and Qhubeka, presides over a very multi-national squad at Q36.5 that includes Britain's Mark Donovan, Kiwi Jack Bauer and Italy's Gianluca Brambilla. Team ambassador and technical consultant is no less than Vincenzo Nibali.

Is this Peter Sagan's comeback year? He thinks it could be

Could we see the return of Peter Sagan this year? The 32-year-old says that a late start and then lingering covid has to take much of the blame for his lack of form in 2021, when he was only able to secure two wins for his Total Energies team – he won a stage at the Tour de Suisse, which was followed closely by victory in the Slovakian national road championship.

"I didn't have a good base, that was the problem," he told Dutch outlet In De Leiderstrui. "Last year I started my preparation later and after a new problem, covid, I was beaten back. Even if I tested negative, the coronavirus remained in my body. As a result, I had difficulties during competitions and training, I always had a strange kind of pain in my body. As a result, I had to stop again for two weeks.'

He is happy at the French squad, he said, adding: "I want to pay them back in 2023. Winning for the team, as much as possible: that is the goal for 2023."

Asked if it's hard being Peter Sagan, he said "you get used it", and confirmed he has no plans for retirement just yet. "Sometimes I think about my pension, but at the moment it's not an issue."

Allan Peiper, the UAE-Team Emirates DS who guided Tadej Pogacar to two Tour de France victories, has returned to the team in a new part-time role as race analyst.

In late 2021 Peiper stepped down from his DS role to focus on his health, after being diagnosed with cancer, but he was told by team boss Mauro Gianetti that there would always be a place for him at the team.

His new role will see the 62-year-old Aussie focus mainly on the technical aspects of racing and race preparation, the team says.

"I love this sport and the team so to be back involved is really good," said Peiper, who was a Giro d'Italia stage winner during his career and was seventh in the 1989 Tour of Flanders. "It’s going to be a less intensive role for sure, I’m not going to be in the car like before but I’ll be able to focus on some specific elements and offer feedback to the sporting department which can hopefully be beneficial on the road.”

Catch the action from this weekend's National Cyclo-Cross Championship races on GCN+, Eurosport Player and YouTube

British Cycling will be streaming all the action from this Sunday's Cyclo-Cross National Championship races at Milnthorpe, Cumbria, it has announced.

Sunday's races include the men's and women's junior events as well as the two senior races, all taking place at the Westmorland County Showground. The events will be showing on GCN+, Eurosport Player and British Cycling's own YouTube channel.

First-time elite challenger Zoe Backstedt, Anna Kay, Cameron Mason and reigning men's champion Thomas Mein are all expected to be in action, so it should be well worth tuning in to.