Dennis tops teammates on Zwift: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
Since we did not get to see Paris-Roubaix live this Sunday, we hope you were able to experience some of the joy of the pavé anyway, perhaps by watching a classic edition of the race or maybe even by riding on some real or virtual cobblestones.
Speaking of virtual cycling, Rohan Dennis has put his power on display from the comfort of his own home by besting his Ineos teammates in an e-race hosted by the squad. Considering the field – Egan Bernal, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, and the rest of Ineos’s impressive roster made the virtual start – he’ll have to be happy to be one of the few pros still finding ways to earn bragging rights over his peers on the bike right now.
Here’s hoping you’re still finding ways, virtual or otherwise, to do the same over your cycling buddies even in times like these.
Until next time, readers.
What’s news
| Dennis tops teammates on Zwift
Rohan Dennis triumphed over his Ineos teammates on Sunday in an e-race hosted by the squad that saw all 30 Ineos riders split into six teams to contest a 58-kilometer Zwift course.
The reigning world time trial champ powered away from his teammates-turned-competitors in the last 10 kilometers on the Alpe du Zwift to take the win and the bragging rights ahead of Eddie Dunbar and Michal Kwiatkowski.
Editor’s Note: While musing about the alliterative opportunities that a Geraint Thomas e-race victory (instead of a Dennis win) might have offered, your humble author absent-mindedly wrote “Thomas tops teammates” in the DND email subject line and then missed the glaring mistake when hitting send. Apologies, readers!
| De Vlaeminck: Van der Poel could win all five Monuments
In an interview with Sporza published on what would have been Paris-Roubaix weekend, four-time winner Roger De Vlaeminck has heaped praise on Mathieu van der Poel, saying that the Dutchman will “definitely win Paris-Roubaix three or four times and maybe five times.”
“The opposition is also less great now for van der Poel,” De Vlaeminck said. “Only Wout van Aert. He will also win about three times in Roubaix. Those boys are now 25 so I hope I can still experience the fifth cobblestone of van der Poel. Besides, I think van der Poel is also the only rider who can win all five Monuments, just like me.”
| Report: Riis almost linked up with Bahrain-Merida
According to Danish outlet Feltet.dk, Bjarne Riis’s Virtu Group nearly formed a collaboration with the Bahrain-Merida team back in 2016. Feltet.dk reports that opposition from eventual signee Vincenzo Nibali stood in the way of proposed partnership between Virtu and the nascent team.
“Nibali and his entourage did not want Riis in, as they were afraid of losing influence,” said Bjarne Jensen, according to Feltet.dk. Some time later, Virtu ultimately invested in the NTT team instead, taking part ownership of the squad at the start of this year.
| Armstrong suggests riders ‘take the power back’
With pro riders from numerous teams across the peloton facing salary cuts and uncertain futures for their teams amid widespread cancellations, Lance Armstrong weighed in on Instagram, urging them to “unify.”
“To all you cyclists sitting at home not sure if you’re going to get your paycheck next month, not sure if your team is going to survive this, now is the opportunity for you to re-set the scales, to get a seat at the table, to take the power back,” he said. “If you don’t take this opportunity right now, you may never have another chance to do it. Talk to each other, talk to the peloton as a whole, and unify.”
| Socially Speaking
Julian Alaphilippe celebrated Easter with plenty of his trademark panache. In a bunny suit.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of the lead group at Paris-Roubaix in 2019 comes from the Grubers.
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