Intra-team competition, Bernal’s Grand Tour dreams: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
Sometimes, intra-team competition can be fun. Other times it can be … well, less than fun. Just look at the headlines from the pro cycling world this past weekend.
On the one hand, there’s Rohan Dennis, winning yet another Ineos virtual race with an exciting solo attack that saw him take the win just ahead of Ben Swift. All in good fun.
Then, at least according to Fabio Jakobsen, there’s the (former) rivalry between Deceuninck-Quick-Step sprint trains. In a recent podcast interview, Jakobsen explained that things weren’t always entirely friendly between the Elia Viviani-Fabio Sabatini sprint train and the Fernando Gaviria-Iljo Keissie sprint train, with Jakobsen divulging that one rider even urinated in another’s laundry bag at one point.
Jakobsen has since taken to Twitter to say that some things were “taken out of context,” although we’re not entirely sure what the context should have been.
Interesting stuff to say the least. Read on for more …
Dane Cash
News Editor
What’s news
| Jakobsen talks intra-team competition between former Deceuninck sprint trains
Deceuninck-Quick-Step speedster Fabio Jakobsen shed some light on the intriguing world of intra-team competition in a recent interview with Podcast De Polder, sharing tales of a time at the Deceuninck team when sprinters Elia Viviani and Fernando Gaviria both rode for the squad, which led to rivalry between Viviani and Fabio Sabatini and Gaviria and Iljo Keisse.
“Sabatini and Keisse did bully each other then,” Jakobsen said. “Once a shrimp in the laundry bag of the other, one who peed in the other’s laundry bag.”
Before long, Jakobsen took to social media to address his previous comments, apologizing and noting, “You may have seen a story circulating based upon a recent interview that I gave. During the interview I told what I thought were some humorous stories about what can happen inside of a competitive cycling team, but my words have been taken out of context and used in a way that … I did not mean.”
| Bernal’s Grand Tour dreams
Reigning Tour de France champ Egan Bernal is hoping to win all three Grand Tours some day, he has told La Stampa. He has been widely reported to be eyeing a Giro d’Italia debut in 2021, and according to his recent interview with La Stampa, a Vuelta start is on his mind as well.
“It is a race that is very close to my heart,” Bernal said of the Giro. “If I participate, it is to win. Then I want to do the same in the Vuelta a España. I think it would be great to win all three of them and be a part of the history of the sport.”
| López has been working on his TT
Speaking of Colombian Grand Tour talents, Miguel Ángel López said in a recent press conference that he has been working to become a more complete rider over the past few months.
“I have started to focus more on the time trial,” said López, whose climbing legs have long been his strong suit, but who has made strides against the clock in recent time trial appearances. “I’ve been training much more on the TT bike, taking it more seriously.”
| Dennis tops teammates again
Rohan Dennis has once again proven to be a virtual force to be reckoned with competing against his Ineos teammates, winning the team’s recent eRace Classic event on Zwift.
Racing on the Yorkshire Worlds course, Dennis soloed to a close victory with Ben Swift taking runner-up honors three seconds later and Dylan van Baarle in third.
| Legion of Los Angeles launches fundraiser
The Legion of Los Angeles team has launched a fundraising effort to grow the team and its reach as well as boosting the broader cycling community.
“We are showing that representation matters from the top of the podium and giving our hearts and souls to bring hope and acceptance to the outdoor world,” reads a message posted on the donation page. “The time is now!”
The squad is seeking $50,000 and has raised over $46,000 already in a matter of days. You can find out more here.
| Fuji’s North American distributor suspends sale of police bikes
Amid widespread protests against racism and police brutality in the United States following the death of George Floyd, Fuji’s North American distributor BikeCo has announced that it is suspending the sale of bikes to police.
“In the last week, we have seen our bicycles used in violent tactics that we did not intend or design them to be used for,” BikeCo said in a statement.
In case you missed it
| How did the Dutch get so good?
Dutch pros rule the women’s peloton and it’s been that way for some time. José Been explores why that might be.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of Fabio Jakobsen winning stage 1 of the Volta ao Algarve comes from Cor Vos.
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