Dennis triumphs digitally: Daily News Digest
(Want the Daily News Digest delivered directly to your inbox? Here’s the sign-up.)
Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
What is certainly one of the biggest virtual races yet is underway.
The Digital Swiss 5, a collaboration between Velon and the Tour de Suisse taking place on the Rouvy platform and featuring quite a few big names, kicked off with its opening day of racing on Wednesday.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a competition where power is paramount, Rohan Dennis took a decisive victory on the day.
We’re going to go out on a limb here and assume it won’t be the last time the world time trial champ wins a virtual race.
Until next time, readers.
What’s news
| Dennis triumphs in Digital Swiss 5 opener
The Digital Swiss 5 got underway on Wednesday with a (virtually) mountainous stage 1, and it was Rohan Dennis who proved strongest on the day, perhaps unsurprisingly considering his world-beating power and the nature of the Rouvy platform, which does not feature drafting and thus rewards the big engines even more.
Dennis pulled away from his rivals early and held on to take a commanding victory with an advantage of 1:10 over runner-up Nicolas Roche, with James Whelan a further 18 seconds back in third.
| A September Giro Rosa?
Although the UCI recently announced various details of rescheduling plans for the men’s calendar, the governing body has provided little information about the future of the 2020 women’s calendar up this point. The women’s division of the CPA, however, says that it is discussing the schedule with the UCI.
According to RAI, a September Giro Rosa – which would run concurrently with the several stages of the Tour de France – is currently being considered as part of those talks.
| Denk: ‘We as a team are ready to race until Christmas’
Bora-Hansgrohe manager Ralph Denk says his team is prepared to go late this season if circumstances call for it, even if that means extending the calendar into December.
“If we ride the Tour in September, the World Championships and the Giro could take place in October,” Denk told the Frankfurter Allgemeine. “The Vuelta could also be driven into December as the season climax. We as a team are ready to race until Christmas. If we get the five monuments like Paris-Roubaix squeezed in, we would have saved almost everything in cycling.”
| Moving Pictures
Amid some recent chatter about the Nairo Quintana-Chris Froome rivalry, YouTuber Bas Tietema has delivered with another brilliant video.
Meanwhile, in lieu of the actual Paris-Roubaix, we were extremely impressed by this video from the family of VeloClub member Craig Simons.
In case you missed it
| New from Industry Nine: Lower-priced road hubs and wider gravel wheels
Industry Nine has expanded its lower-cost range of hubs to road wheels, as well as updating its workhorse Ultralite aluminum gravel rim.
| Elite debuts new Jet biodegradable water bottles just in time for Earth Day
As James Huang reports, Elite has unveiled a new biodegradable water bottle called the Jet.
| Silca’s new Super Secret chain lube is like hot-melt wax in a bottle
Silca’s new drip lube was over a year in the making and was developed with a bit of help from the IndyCar world.
| Viathon G.1 GRX 600 gravel bike review: Carbon at alloy pricing
As Dave Rome writes, Viathon’s G.1 GRX 600 gravel bike is a well-rounded carbon ride at a reasonable price.
| From the Top Podcast: Building Canyon Bicycles
In the latest episode of From the Top, Wade Wallace catches up with Roman Arnold, founder of Canyon Bicycles.
Farewell, Pat Malach
Closing out the Daily News Digest on a more somber note, CyclingTips is mourning the loss of a member of our small cycling media community this week. Pat Malach, who spent the better part of the last decade with Cyclingnews, has passed away. He will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him.
Our thoughts are with our friends at Cyclingnews and with everyone else in the cycling world, which won’t be the same without him.
Today’s featured image of Julian Alaphilippe and Jakob Fuglsang at La Flèche Wallonne, which was initially scheduled to run on Wednesday, comes from Kristof Ramon.
The post Dennis triumphs digitally: Daily News Digest appeared first on CyclingTips.