A 2024 thread to discuss all things cycling related such as upcoming tours, world championships, debates and news anything to with the world of cycling.

Rohan Dennis in a spot of bother .

 

Very tragic story .

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/67852900

That sounds awful, completely missed that. Must be really traumatic for him and his children.

Great Britain won gold medals in the women's team sprint and men's team pursuit on the opening day of action at the UCI Track Nations Cup in Adelaide.

 

World silver medallists Lauren Bell, Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane clocked 46.023 seconds to beat China.

 

Joshua Tarling, Rhys Britton, Will Tidball and Charlie Tanfield won their team pursuit final against Australia.

 

World champions Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Josie Knight and Anna Morris took women's team pursuit silver.

Laura Kenny has announced her retirement from cycling. A fantastic career to look back on for her!

Belgian cyclist Wout van Aert suffered a broken collarbone and several broken ribs in a heavy crash at the Dwars door Vlaanderen one-day race.

 

The 29-year-old will now miss upcoming classics the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race.

 

Team Visma-Lease a Bike added it is "unclear" how long he will be out for.

 

Van Aert fell in a high-speed crash 67 kilometres from the finish of the race in Belgium, which was won by Visma team-mate Matteo Jorgenson.

That's not good - he's always a key part of the Grand Tour teams so it would be a real shame if he's not able to recover for then. All the best to him.

World champion Lotte Kopecky won her first women's Paris-Roubaix as Great Britain's Pfeiffer Georgi claimed a podium place in a sprint finish.

 

Georgi, 23, led out a six-strong group in the Roubaix Velodrome before being overtaken in the finishing straight.

 

Italy's Elisa Balsamo was second but Georgi just edged out the Netherlands' three-time world champion Marianne Vos on the line to finish third.

 

Britain's Tom Pidcock is a late entry into the men's race on Sunday

Another crazy accident in the Basque country tour, poor Vindegaard, wonder if he can even be at the Tour de France

Ah that's awful - really not good to see last year's winner potentially not even being able to start (a collapsed lung doesn't sounds good at all, really hope it's not career or life-threatening). I've seen Roglic and Evenepoel have crashed badly recently as well, I wonder if any of the main contenders are even going to make it to the Tour?

Geraint Thomas says he is "in a great place" as he prepares to lead a strong Ineos Grenadiers team at May's Giro d'Italia.

 

Former Tour de France winner Thomas, 37, is targeting both Grand Tours in 2024, having been runner-up in Italy 12 months ago.

 

Ineos also include top 10 Giro finishers Thymen Arensman and Tobias Foss in their squad for this year's race which starts in Turin on Saturday, 4 May.

 

"We have a strong line-up and there is a good bond with this group," said Thomas.

 

"The core is the same as last year’s Giro team, with some great additions for this year.

 

"We have spent a lot of time together at training camp - we know what we need to do and are all feeling super-motivated to get the job done and deliver."

Next year's RideLondon Classique has been cancelled after cycling's world governing body moved its place on the women's World Tour calendar to a date when London cannot host it.

 

Next year's race was scheduled to take place from 23-25 May, but was pushed back a week to 30 May to 1 June.

 

Race organisers say they had "no consultation or prior warning" from governing body the UCI and had no option but to cancel the event.

 

Hugh Brasher, event director of RideLondon and CEO of organisers London Marathon Events (LME), said it was a "sad day for professional women’s cycling".

 

He said LME was "surprised" to be told by the UCI in March that the race had been moved despite previously being informed that there would be no changes to the calendar until 2026.

A little late to report but the Dauphiné (generally used as a preparation race for the Tour de France) was won by Roglic, with Evenepoel finishing fourth - so Roglic definitely a contender. Pogacar and Vingegaard were notably absent though so still need to see how he fares against them.

Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer has died after suffering a serious head injury at the Road and Para-cycling World Championships in Switzerland.

 

The 18-year-old crashed during the junior road race on Thursday and was taken to hospital by emergency helicopter.

 

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) said in a statement following the "tragic" news: “With the passing of Muriel Furrer, the international cycling community loses a rider with a bright future ahead of her.

 

"The UCI and the Organising Committee of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships offer their sincere condolences to Muriel Furrer's family, friends and her Federation Swiss Cycling.

Oh gosh, I've just been catching up on the World Championship highlights but hadn't got to the women's junior road race yet, that's awful :(

 

Some pretty spectacular stuff in the races I have watched though, Pogacar's win was something to behold and great to see us get a silver in the men's junior road race (although the Danish guy crashing was very unfortunate).

Mark Cavendish's final professional race is set to be the two-day Tour de France Criterium in Singapore on 9-10 November.

 

The 39-year-old 'Manx Missile' has not competed since he broke the Tour de France stage wins record with his 35th victory in July.

 

Cavendish confirmed he would not do another Tour de France after receiving his knighthood at Windsor Castle earlier this month, but added he was committed to completing his 2024 race schedule.

The Tour de France will be shown free to air in the UK for the final time next year after Warner Bros Discovery and Eurosport secured exclusive rights to broadcast the world’s most watched annual sporting event.

 

The Tour was first shown by Channel 4 in the 1980s before moving to ITV in 2001. The broadcaster has delivered comprehensive coverage in recent years helmed by presenter Gary Imlach alongside popular commentators Ned Boulting and David Millar, as the sport’s profile grew with the success of Team Sky, now known as Ineos Grenadiers.

 

On Friday, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) announced that it had secured a new long-term deal with Tour de France organisers ASO to exclusively show the race from 2026 to 2030. There was no detail on whether highlights are included in the agreement.

This is not ok.

Certainly isn't mate, ITV have done a fantastic job with their Tour de France coverage, ITV4 the ideal channel. Doesn't seem right.

In case you missed it:

 

Britain's Mark Cavendish, the most successful sprinter in cycling history, ended his career with victory in the Tour de France Criterium in Singapore.

 

The 39-year-old from the Isle of Man, who said on Saturday that this would be his final race before retirement, triumphed in a sprint finish to end a 19-year career.

 

Cavendish, riding for Astana-Qazaqstan, wore race number 35 to mark his record for stage wins in the Tour de France.

 

He signed autographs and took selfies with fans before the race and received a 'wheel of honour' - other riders held their bikes up on one wheel and spun the other - on the start line of the race, made up of 25 laps of a 2.3km course.

 

"I'm quite emotional," said Cavendish, who was close to tears after the race. "I realised in the last five laps it was the last 15km of my career.

 

"I was nervous about crashing or something if I fight [for the lead]. I really wanted that so bad. I've always loved this sport."