There's plenty of race action to look out for today, including Josh Tarling making his debut for Ineos Grenadiers at the Etoile des Bessèges, and Tom Gloag starting his first full season with Jumbo-Visma at the Volta a la Communitat Valenciana. Meanwhile, a Continent away, the Saudi Tour gets a bit lumpy and could bring the puncheurs out to play.
Still just 18, Tarling and co take on a 162km stage in Bessèges. It's based on Bellegarde in the Rhône-Alpes region and features a 700-metre ramp to the finish-line. Could be interesting.
The Saudi Tour, now on stage three, has a practically identical finish following a lumpy parcours, but Valenciana takes it to a whole new level, chucking in the sizeable climbs of the col de Rates and Puerto de Bernia. The stage finishes in the popular training camp destination of Altea, and those climbs will be familiar with anyone who has cycled in the Costa Blanca too.
You can catch both the Saudi Tour and Valenciana on GCN+ and Eurosport.co.uk, at 11.30-13.30 and 15.00-16.30 respectively.
Become a Red Bull Junior Brother and win a Bora-Hansgrohe contract
Red Bull has teamed up with Bora-Hansgrohe to launch a new initiative to find new pro road talent. The programme, launching today, will culminate in two riders being awarded a contract with the Bora-Hansgrohe U19 men's team Auto Eder, and also a Red Bull Athlete contract.
We're used to seeing talent scouting programmes on virtual platforms, and you can indeed enter this one on Zwift. However, if outdoor riding is more your bag you can also use Strava to enter.
You'll need to be under 19 and born between 2006-7. The programme runs from 1 Feb to 31 May. To find out more go to Red Bull's Junior Brothers page.
Ganna working on adding a Roubaix cobble to his rainbow jersey collection
Filippo Ganna is in great shape and has his sights set on the Classics, he has warned his rivals.
"I've been asked whether I would swap a one of my world pursuit titles for Roubaix," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But I like rainbow jerseys a lot. It would be better to add it – I'm working on it."
The Italian Ineos Grenadiers rider was second overall in last month's Vuelta a San Juan, putting in a fine performance on the 2,623m Alto del Colorado to finish second on the fifth stage too.
He didn't expect to start so well, he said.
He said he was "a bit pissed off" to miss out on the GC by 30 seconds, adding: "And this time there was no time trial. Maybe I'll ask for a long one next time..."
Hour record holder Ganna's next race is the Volta Algarve (15-19 Feb), before a spell training in the hills in preparation for the Classics.
Want to wear a rainbow jersey? That's fine with Annemiek Van Vleuten
If you want to wear a rainbow jersey without actually having won it, that is absolutely fine with Annemiek Van Vleuten, as this post on her instagram page appears to demonstrate.
The Movistar world champ spent time training in Colombia recently, and went on a five-day riding trip with Altos Cycling. Her companions were all apparently keen to pay tribute to her Wollongong victory by donning the rainbow bands. Van Vleuten, who is set to retire this season, didn't seem to mind a jot, happily posing alongside them in her own, hard won jersey.
The debate will no doubt continue to rage, with some protesting at even trade kit being worn by anyone but a contracted rider, and others taking the laissez-faire approach – such as those in this picture.
Wærenskjold pips Milan at Saudi Tour
Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X) came round yesterday's Saudi Tour stage winner Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) in the closing meters of today's stage to take the win.
The Italian who was impervious yesterday launched his sprint from a very reduced group early with around 200m left to ride but he couldn't distance everyone enough.
The Norwegian came round him as he tired in the final meters.
Milan appears to have done enough, however, to take the overall lead of the race.
Tomorrow's stage will be the queen stage to Harrat Uwayrid, which will likely see the GC decided.
Speeding driver sentenced to nine years in prison after killing two best friends
A motorist has been sentenced to nine years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving, after he ploughed into two boys in a Hull bus lane in 2020, killing them both, reports Hull Live.
Jack Hart, 32, driving a high-powered BMW, was travelling at around 57mph in a 30mph zone and undertaking vehicles when he hit Steven Duffield, 10, and Mason Deakin, 11.
Hull Crown Court heard that the boys were sharing a bike, with one sat on the handlebars, and riding against the traffic flow. It was also told that Hart destroyed dashcam footage and lied to the police. As well as the prison sentence, he banned from driving for 13 years and will have to take an extended test before being allowed to drive again.
He had six previous penalty charges for using the same bus lane, and initially denied the charges, only changing his plea to guilty the day before the trial.
Season three of From The Ground Up takes aim at Leadville Trail 100
Former WorldTour pro Alexey Vermeulen and fellow pro rider Ryan Petry kick off season three of their From The Ground Up project today.
The pair will be taking a trio of entry-level riders and equipping them with the everything they need to challenge themselves in the famous Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike event and hopefully become lifelong cyclists. What's more, the candidates will be filmed along the way.
Vermeulen rode for LottoNL-Jumbo from 2016-17, taking part in races including Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia. These days he is a pro mountain biker with a passion for inspiring others, as is Petry.
"Our overarching objective is to help shorten the learning curve in cycling while
helping guide riders who are new to the sport. With the help of our partners, each selected individual will receive all of the resources they need to take on this challenge," the pair say.
The application process opens today: if this could be you, head over to fromthegroundup.bike and check the project out.
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