Froome has things to think about, full calendar unveiled: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
Will UCI-sanctioned racing resume as soon as July 2? That’s what the calendar says, at least.
Two weeks after unveiling the reshuffled WorldTour calendars, the UCI released its full revised schedule for the 2020 road reason on Tuesday. If everything goes according to plan (we’ll have to wait and see on that, obviously), racing will return in early July at the Sibiu Cycling Tour in Romania.
In other news, Tuesday brought a few more Chris Froome-related headlines. Cyclingnews reports that Bahrain-McLaren’s Rod Ellingworth has spoken to Froome lately but that Bahrain remains committed to Mikel Landa at least for 2020, while Froome himself, speaking to media ahead of this weekend’s Challenge of Stars virtual event, said he some things to think about regarding his future.
As usual, we’ll keep an eye on that story.
Until next time, readers.
Dane Cash
News Editor
What’s news
| UCI unveils full revised calendar
The UCI published its full revised calendar for the 2020 road season on Tuesday, offering the broad picture of what pro road racing will (hopefully) look like this season beyond the WorldTour calendars unveiled two weeks ago.
Among the highlights: UCI-sanctioned racing is set to resume – should everything go according to plan – on July 2 in Romania at the Sibiu Cycling Tour. That may not be the biggest race on your radar, but it’s not nothing. A young prospect named Egan Bernal took the win in 2017, and his now-teammate at Ineos Iván Sosa won the following year.
| Froome has some things to think about
The latest in Chris Froome potential transfer news features reports checking in with Bahrain-McLaren as well as some quotes from the four-time Tour de France winner himself.
Cyclingnews reports that Bahrain-McLaren team principal Rod Ellingworth has indeed spoken to Froome lately, but that the team is committed to Mikel Landa for 2020 at the very least. Meanwhile, Froome spoke to media ahead of the upcoming Challenge of Stars virtual race and mentioned that he has several things to “take into consideration.”
“There are many aspects really but I’m in the middle of that process now and I’ll be going through those steps in the weeks and months that lie ahead and hopefully I’ll have a bit more clarity on what the future holds once those discussions have been had and we know where we stand,” he said.
| Virtual Tour of the Gila will feature some big teams from North America and abroad
Organizers of the virtual Tour of the Gila have unveiled the lineup of teams set to contest the event, which will run from May 22 to May 24 on Zwift.
Among the 25 men’s teams are domestic racing notables like Elevate-Webiplex, L39ION of LA, and Wildlife Generation, as well as top Zwift outfits like Saris-The Pro’s Closet and Vitus. Marquee squads among the 11 women’s teams are Tibco-SVB, Twenty20 Pro Cycling, and a US national squad.
The race will kick off with a team time trial opener, proceed with a circuit race on stage 2, and conclude with a mountainous finale on stage 3.
| Crusher in the Tushar cancelled for 2020
The Crusher in the Tushar will not be held in 2020, organizers announced on Tuesday, putting off the 10th anniversary celebration of the event until 2021.
“In looking at balancing the safety of our riders, volunteers, and the community in concert with guidelines, directives, and what’s known and unknown, it became painfully clear that providing an experience that is up to snuff with our standards and yours just wasn’t going to happen in 2020,” wrote race founder Burke Swindlehurst in a letter published on the event’s Facebook page.
Registrants will be able to defer their entries to 2021, request a refund minus processing fees, or donate the entry fee to the Life Time Foundation or NICA.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of Leroy Popowski and Drew Miller at the Crusher in the Tushar in 2017 comes from Christopher See.
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