Contador, Strava virtual segments, CPA salary talks: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
With another week in the rearview mirror, we head into the weekend with news from both the outdoor and virtual cycling worlds.
Generously keeping us entertained amid a time without any events outside right now, Alberto Contador has shared some tales from the 2009 Tour de France in a lengthy video interview. Considering all the tension at his Astana team that year as Contador vied with Lance Armstrong for leadership, Contador has some interesting stories to tell.
On the virtual side, Strava has announced some sizable changes to the way segments are displayed on virtual activities. The long and short of it: Far fewer segments will now be shown in an activity, with less popular segments being shifted to private.
Meanwhile, Ineos fans may be interested to hear that the team is hosting an event on Zwift on Sunday. Zwifters can join in on group rides, and then Ineos riders will go head-to-head with each other in a race.
Here’s to the weekend. Stay safe, readers.
What’s news
| CPA accepts some salary reductions, rejects mass cuts
The CPA, which represents professional cyclists, said on Friday that it will accept cuts to salaries amid the coronavirus pandemic on a case by case basis. The organization has been in talks with the UCI and AIGCP, which represents teams.
Several teams have already made salary reductions. In a statement, the CPA said that it only finds cuts acceptable where teams can prove that budgets have been impacted by the lack of racing.
| Contador shares stories from 2009 Tour
In an interview with Valentí Sanjuan, Alberto Contador has shed light on the intra-team drama at Astana during the 2009 Tour de France, in which both Contador and Lance Armstrong vied for leadership. As Contador told Sanjuan, “The 2009 Tour started with controversy between Armstrong and me over who was the leader. There was tremendous tension.”
Things only got more tense from there on out, with Contador detailing one instance where he had to acquire his own time trial wheels and another that involved a tense exchange on the team bus, among other compelling stories.
| Strava will show fewer segments in virtual workouts
Strava has announced that it will show fewer segments on virtual workouts moving forward in an attempt “to remove clutter and noise so athletes can experience the segments that matter the most.”
The move sees less popular segments made private, with any newly created segments also set to private, so that activities on a platform like Zwift will now show fewer segments on the whole.
| Ineos stars set for e-race on Sunday
Ineos will host a virtual event on Sunday that will see the team’s biggest stars go head-to-head on Zwift.
First, fans will have a chance to ride with the team in a trio of group rides, and then the likes of Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal, and Rohan Dennis will battle as part of six-rider teams starting at 5:00 pm BST.
We're thrilled to announce that all 30 @TeamINEOS riders will do battle in Sunday's @GoZwift eRace.
In a Team vs Team format – which of these lineups will produce the winner? ???? pic.twitter.com/L51TGGSR44
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) April 10, 2020
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of Geraint Thomas on the Galibier at the 2019 Tour de France comes from Kristof Ramon.
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