A March without Milan-San Remo, Hammer Series suspended: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
It hasn’t been the best week for the world of cycling, or generally, but at least we’ve made it to the weekend.
Hopefully you’ve got enjoyable plans ahead, even with so many cycling-related events postponed—Milan-San Remo and Tirreno-Adriatico were added to that list on Friday.
With that in mind, you can expect plenty of pros to stay busy while indoors. That’s what Mitchelton-Scott has in mind, at least. Having decided to withdraw from racing for the next few weeks, the team announced plans to host several events on Zwift, giving fans the opportunity to ride alongside the likes of Annemiek van Vleuten and Simon Yates.
It may not be Strade Bianche, but hats off to anyone coming up with ideas to hold us over until, hopefully, the many postponed events of the month are rescheduled.
Until next week, readers.
What’s News
| Milan-San Remo and Tirreno-Adriatico postponed
One day after calling off Strade Bianche, RCS has announced the postponement of Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico, and the Tour of Sicily following a decree by the Italian government that seriously limits public events amid coronavirus concerns.
While any potential new date remains unclear for now, RCS says it will try to reschedule the races.
| Trofeo Binda rescheduled
The Trofeo Alfredo Binda has been postponed, but actually already has a new date pending UCI approval.
Originally planned for March 22, the long-standing women’s race is instead expecting to be held on June 2.
| Movistar withdraws from racing until at least March 22
The Movistar team has joined the likes of Ineos and Mitchelton-Scott in announcing a withdrawal from racing.
The Spanish WorldTour squad will “halt racing activities for its women’s and men’s programs through Sunday 22nd March,” a decision that will keep the team out of Paris-Nice and other events.
| Jumbo-Visma out of Paris-Nice
Like several other teams that are skipping races in the face of growing coronavirus concerns, Jumbo-Visma has announced that it has withdrawn from Paris-Nice.
After the cancellation of several Italian races that were initially on the team’s calendar, Paris-Nice is for now the only other race that Jumbo-Visma has announced its intention to skip.
| Nibali changes plans
With Tirreno-Adriatico cancelled, Vincenzo Nibali will start Paris-Nice instead as he looks to build towards this year’s Giro d’Italia, which for now remains on the calendar.
“Given the situation in Italy, the change of calendar was practically mandatory,” Nibali said in a press release from his Trek-Segafredo squad. “I’m very sorry I can’t race in my country, and I hope that the situation will soon get better, regardless of the races.”
| Hammer Series suspended
Velon has announced that the Hammer Series has been suspended in a statement that pins the decision on alleged efforts by the UCI to derail the series.
According to Velon, the UCI “prevented Hammer Stavanger from adding a women’s race with full parity of prize money, broadcast and race format to the men’s race (while approving and moving other women’s races to overlap on the same weekend),” which Velon claims scuttled the development of the Hammer Series.
| Mitchelton-Scott launches series of Zwift events
Having withdrawn from the pro races on its men’s and women’s calendars for the next few weeks, Mitchelton-Scott has announced the “BikeExchange – Where the World Rides Series,” which will see notables like Annemiek van Vleuten and Simon Yates riding on Zwift and interacting with fans.
In the absence of Strade Bianche, a “gravel” ride will take place this weekend on Zwift, with future events that will include opportunities to race with and against Mitchelton-Scott riders. You can find more details here.
| Tinkov indictment unsealed
The indictment against former Tinkoff-Saxo team owner Oleg Tinkov, wanted in the US for tax evasion, has been unsealed.
Prosecutors are accusing Tinkov of underreporting his assets to the Internal Revenue Service before he renounced his US citizenship.
In case you missed it
| What you want from women’s cycling coverage
Thousands of people responded to our survey in February that asked readers for input on what they wanted from women’s cycling coverage. Here are a few of the things we learned from the responses.
| Shoddy vs. The Virus: Is that it for the 2020 season?
Dave Everett’s newest video entry talks quarantines and race postponements, but also takes a closer look at two pro bikes.
| Annemiek’s rainbow debut: “I’ve trained enough now, so let’s race!”
The second video in Mitchelton-Scott’s ‘Annemiek van Vleuten – WHAT IT TAKES’ series offers an in-depth look at the Dutchwoman’s impressive victory at last year’s Worlds in Yorkshire and her rainbow jersey debut at this year’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
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