Amador released, Greipel injured, EF wins Colombia TTT: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers!
Have you ever found yourself thinking that Ineos could use just a little more firepower in the Grand Tours? If so, you’ll be pleased to know that two-time Giro d’Italia top 10 finisher Andrey Amador has been released from his contract by the Movistar team after months of uncertainty.
The decision frees Amador up to make an expected move to Ineos, which would give that squad yet another strong rider for the three-week races.
In other news, André Greipel has unfortunately dislocated his shoulder in a training crash, which will force the fast-finishing German to miss the upcoming spring Classics.
Although he may best be known for his sprinting prowess, Greipel’s love of racing on cobblestones is well-documented, and he will surely be disappointed to miss out on the chance in the coming months. Hopefully a speedy recovery is in store.
Until next time, readers.
What’s News
| Movistar releases Amador
Movistar has announced that has reached an agreement to release Andrey Amador from his contract. The Costa Rican is widely expected to join Ineos after having his Movistar deal terminated.
Amador has ridden with Movistar since it was Caisse d’Epargne back in 2009 and delivered some strong Grand Tour performances while with the team, winning a Giro d’Italia stage and twice finishing in to the top 10 there. He had been embroiled in a contract dispute with the squad for months, however, after agreeing to join Ineos despite initially planning to stick with Movistar. Now, he is free to make the jump to the British WorldTour squad.
| Greipel to miss three months after dislocating shoulder
Israel Start-up Nation says that André Greipel dislocated his shoulder in a training crash in Germany.
The 37-year-old German is expected to be sidelined for three months, meaning that he will miss the upcoming spring Classics, where he had been planning to play a featured role for his new Israel Start-up Nation squad.
| UCI approves changes to regulations on participation of transgender athletes in competition
The UCI has agreed upon new regulations on the eligibility of transgender athletes to compete in UCI events. The regulations, approved at a meeting of the UCI Management Committee in January, will come into effect on March 1 of this year.
In line with what was initially announced by the UCI last November, the regulations will now stipulate that male-to-female athletes competing in women’s events must register testosterone levels below 5 nmol/L, instead of 10 nmol/L.
A statement on the UCI’s website contains a more detailed description of the eligibility regulations.
| EF wins Tour Colombia TTT opener
The EF squad took a convincing victory in the team time trial opener of the Tour Colombia on Tuesday, putting 26-year-old Jonathan Caicedo into the first race leader’s jersey.
EF set a mark of 18:01 on the 16.7-kilometer course in Tunja, besting Deceuninck-Quick-Step by 45 seconds, with Ineos in third a further one second back.
| Hamilton expects to return to racing soon
Chris Hamilton, who suffered a ruptured testicle in a training crash six weeks ago, says he expects to get back to racing soon.
“I’ve been properly training for about a month now, and will be racing again in about a week and a half!” he wrote on Instagram.
| Saleh wins Langkawi stage 5
Mohd Saleh won stage 5 of the Tour de Langkawi, topping Max Walscheid and Matteo Pelucchi in a sprint in Ipoh.
Danilo Celano retained his race lead on the day with three stages to go in the race.
| UAE Tour adds second Jebel Hafeet finish
UAE Tour organizers have announced a handful of changes to the initially planned route for this year’s edition of the race, including the addition of a second finish on Jebel Hafeet.
Stages 3 and 5 will now both finish on the imposing climb.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of EF en route to victory in the Tour Colombia TTT comes from Cor Vos.
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