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Lappartient's is a virtue? Pro Cycling 2018

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    #76
    Originally posted by longeared View Post
    Still haven't seen anything that confirms Team WIGGINS are continuing next season. Interestingly Pidcock (who they claimed to have signed) was at the Sky camp in Majorca this week.
    WIGGINS are announcing their team today.

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      #77
      Ah, good. They seem to be doing it one rider at a time on Twitter. Just announced three riders who are 17/18 years old so perhaps they are looking at the very young riders rather than those closing in on the pro Tour. Or maybe it'll be a bit of both.

      LottoNL-Jumbo have now sacked Lobato and given a two-month internal suspension to Tolhoek and Eenkhoorn.

      The team takes responsibility for the health of the riders, and experiments that endanger their health are not accepted. In the context of the talent development policy that Team LottoNL-Jumbo advocates, the team has reached out to Tolhoek and Eenkhoorn to provide them a continuing opportunity to develop into exemplary professional cyclists. In the case of Juan José Lobato, it was decided to end the sporting cooperation in the interest of both the rider and the team. Lobato has had an emotionally eventful year and will have to concentrate on his recovery.

      Given that this franchise lost their title sponsor of 18 years (Rabobank) over doping concerns and nearly went belly up, this tough line is unsurprising. Team Sky, take note.

      What else? Oh yeah, bold for this one: Dumoulin to defend the Giro d'Italia.

      And Geraint Thomas has spoken - he says he trusts and backs Froome, but he is also standing ready to lead the team.

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        #78
        The cynic in me wonders if Team WIGGINS are signing 17/18 year olds because they will probably be cheap and less likely to complain if they get a thin racing programme.

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          #79
          You could be onto something there. The fourth rider is also 18, finished his A Levels in the summer.

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            #80
            I wonder if Dumoulin decided to do the Giro because of Froome’s travails.

            The early betting was very much on him going to France.

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              #81
              Pidcock confirms he is joining WIGGINS.

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                #82
                That'll be a fair chunk of the budget, then! Good to have it confirmed at last.

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                  #83
                  I suspect he's not taking up as big a slice of the budget as might be expected. They've announced Pidcock is being "shared" with Telenet Fidea Lions, which is his cyclocross team. That presumably means he'll have some time off after the cross worlds and won't start a road season until around late April. Then he'll be back to Telenet after the road worlds in September if not before. Pidcock is doing cross again next winter then going over to the road permanently. Expect he'll be at Sky in 2019, assuming they're still going.

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                    #84
                    French magistrates reportedly investigating "mechanical doping"

                    According to French satirical magazine Le Canard Enchaîné, two highly respected magistrates have opened an investigation into alleged mechanical doping in cycling.

                    The weekly magazine claims that financial magistrates Claire Thépaut and Serge Tournaire were appointed last summer after a preliminary investigation to look at a possible plot "put together at the highest level" that has "benefited big-name riders, allowing them to take advantage of the latest technological advances in the field of electric motors".

                    The investigation is also reported to be looking at "links between international teams, private companies and cycling’s highest authorities". It suggests that “the 'extraterrestrial' performances on some climbs have lead to doubts: have they gone beyond the ‘biological doping’ that has been used in the peloton for more than a century.”
                    Impossible to tell if there is anything there, but Le Canard has excellent sources on this kind of thing.

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                      #85
                      Cornwall gets its own elite cycling team in the shape of Saint Piran. According to the blurb on their website, they are aiming for Pro Conti status within five years.

                      https://saintpiranprocycling.com/about-1/

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                        #86
                        Castelli, Colnago and Campagnolo. They definitely win a lot of OTF style points! So they are going straight into the UK road racing series - the Spring Cup and the Grand Prix Series (which still isn't called the Summer Cup, even though it clearly should be) - as well as the circuit series. I guess in the first season they'll want to put in a good showing in those, even if direct qualification for the ToB is surely unlikely. Getting a place in the Rutland - Melton and Beaumont Trophy has to be on the agenda though.
                        Last edited by Kevin S; 21-12-2017, 11:27.

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                          #87
                          Given the number of tourism board-backed teams over the years, I'm surprised that Welcome to Yorkshire and Gary Verity have never announced such a project.

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                            #88
                            British Cycling have added a junior women's road series to the events calendar, which is a very good move. But the website is a bit behind us here, currently with no details of the men's elite road competitions, or the road national championships. The CX national championships, incidentally, are in Sunderland on 13-14 January.

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                              #89
                              Originally posted by Me Old Flower View Post
                              Given the number of tourism board-backed teams over the years, I'm surprised that Welcome to Yorkshire and Gary Verity have never announced such a project.
                              Believe it has been considered but not taken forward on the grounds that race hosting gave a much better return on investment.

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                                #90
                                Originally posted by Kevin S View Post
                                British Cycling have added a junior women's road series to the events calendar, which is a very good move. But the website is a bit behind us here, currently with no details of the men's elite road competitions, or the road national championships. The CX national championships, incidentally, are in Sunderland on 13-14 January.
                                Probably in Hetton-le-Hole, where there’s a long-established track over the slagheaps (and a huge, all age-ranges club Hetton Hawks)

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                                  #91
                                  It's called 'Hetton Lyons Country Park' on British Cycling's website - I presume that's the same thing?

                                  Some very strong results for the Brits in a recent CX World Cup meeting. Actual wins. I wonder if Pidcock will be racing in the elite men's race in Sunderland? He's only just stepped up to U23 so perhaps it's still a bit too soon.

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                                    #92
                                    Yes, that'll be it.

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                                      #93
                                      January 1st so riders can be photographed in their new team kits. Fabio Aru's Italian national champions jersey makes me feel nostalgic for Nibali at Astana.

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                                        #94
                                        Vergogna

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                                          #95
                                          Agreed, though I've seen worse.

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                                            #96
                                            "It's only a provisional version. The tifosi can calm down, the colours of the Italian flag will be clear," Aru told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "The 'true' jersey will be presented further ahead, at an official event. It's elegant and beautiful, I guarantee you that."
                                            Hmmm, and the article says ' "The basic principles won’t change, but the definitive version of the tricolour will be wider, more visible, and will run the length of the body. It will also appear on the cuffs and on the socks. We've based ourselves off the one Nibali used at Astana, respecting the guidelines of the federation," said UAE-Team Emirates manager Giuseppe Saronni'

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                                              #97
                                              Presumably not the one that made him look like the Iranian Champion sans crest

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                                                #98
                                                Vitus Pro Cycling appear to be replacing Team Raleigh this year at UCI Conti level.

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                                                  #99
                                                  Blimey. Vitus were the bike supplier to the dormant Sean Kelly team so it's good to see they are still keen on Pro cycling. Hope that Raleigh will at least continue to mix it in the Spring and GP series - or are they completely gone?

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                                                    Did we do LottoNL-Jumbo? Not that it's very different from last year's though.

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