Another San Juan crash, Movistar’s 2020 plans: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers!
The Vuelta a San Juan continues to deliver the whacky moments, for better or worse, with a dog in the road causing a crash on Monday.
Fortunately, there did not seem to be any serious injuries after the incident, and those who were able to return their focus to the racing had the chance to see speedster Fernando Gaviria pick up his first win of the season.
Elsewhere in the racing world, Movistar’s trio of Alejandro Valverde, Enric Mas, and Marc Soler are all eyeing the Tour this year. It’s nice to know that even with a newly retooled roster, Movistar is staying the course as a standard bearer for the three-pronged approach.
Until next time, readers.
What’s News
| Movistar’s 2020 plans
Alejandro Valverde, Enric Mas, and Marc Soler have unveiled their calendars for 2020, with all three riders planning to start the Tour de France this summer.
Valverde, the most accomplished Tour rider of the three, is also known to be laser-focused on the Olympics this year, which makes it less clear what role he is expected to play at the Tour. On the other hand, neither Mas nor Soler have yet finished inside the top 10 at the Tour in their careers. In other words: Movistar may be sending a trio of GC types to the Tour this year, but this is certainly a different look from the tridents of yore.
| Dog causes crash in San Juan, Gaviria wins stage 2
A day after several riders were brought down in a collision with a fan at the Vuelta a San Juan, a dog in the road caused a few riders from the breakaway to hit the deck on stage 2. Fortunately, neither humans nor canine appeared to have been hurt.
Who let the dog out? ????????
En hund var impliceret i et styrt under gårsdagens etape i Vuelta a San Juan, men den er heldigvis i god behold ???? pic.twitter.com/Qtsg4TLQO9
— Eurosport (@Eurosportdk) January 28, 2020
Later on in the day, the breakaway was reeled in to set up a bunch kick. Fernando Gaviria powered to his first win of the year ahead of Nicolás Naranjo and Marco Benfatto, moving into the race lead.
| Stomach issues sideline Alaphilippe
Julian Alaphilippe has pulled out of the Vuelta a San Juan due to stomach problems, his Deceunick-Quick-Step team said.
The Frenchman, who won two stages last year, was among the favorites for the overall win, but Remco Evenepoel remains an option for the squad.
| Knox eyes Giro and Vuelta
Speaking of Deceuninck-Quick-Step riders, British up-and-comer James Knox is again planning to race the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España this year, Cyclingnews reports.
The 24-year-old Briton rode to 11th overall at last year’s Vuelta, and remains one of only a handful of Grand Tour GC specialists on the squad after the departure of Enric Mas for Movistar.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of Fernando Gaviria winning stage 2 of the Vuelta a San Juan comes from Cor Vos © 2020.
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