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Katusha merger talks, UAE sports drink woes: Daily News Digest

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Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:

Katusha merger talks heat up, Michal Kwiatkowski is hoping ‘to find a joy from riding’ his bike again, UAE’s sports drink woes. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.

Story of the Day: Katusha-Alpecin reportedly set to merge with Arkéa-Samsic

Katusha-Alpecin owner Igor Makarov has been looking into merger opportunities with other teams for weeks now as current sponsors Alpecin and Canyon are set to direct their funds elsewhere in 2020. According to Wielerflits, Katusha has found a partner for a merger: Arkéa-Samsic.

The French Pro Continental squad has been interested in a WorldTour upgrade for some time, and joining forces with Katusha would make that aspiration a reality. For Katusha, merging with Arkéa-Samsic would have huge perks as well, including the expected acquisition of Nairo Quintana.

Katusha-Alpecin in team time trial mode on stage 2 of the Tour de France. Photo: Peter de Voecht/PN/Cor Vos © 2019

Arkéa-Samsic counts Warren Barguil and André Greipel among its riders at the moment, but the team’s 2020 plans were also expected to include the arrival of Quintana, who is reportedly set to transfer as his Movistar contract ends this year. An Arkéa merger with Katusha would keep Quintana at the WorldTour level, and it would give the new team a big GC name and star climber to replace Ilnur Zakarin, whose contract ends this year.

Sprinter Nacer Bouhanni is also reported to have a deal in place with Arkéa-Samsic; his arrival would fill a void in the fast finishes left by the departure of Marcel Kittel.

According to Wielerflits, the newly combined team will ride on BMC bikes.

Socially Speaking

Like any proud coach, Paolo Slongo shared his rider’s power numbers from a big performance to social media this week. That’s great news for data-oriented cycling fans because Slongo coaches none other than Bahrain-Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali.

If you were wondering what kind of power Nibali was putting out on his way to the stage 20 victory at the Tour de France, wonder no more. He cranked out an average of 339 watts during the stage, sporting a normalized power of 353 watts.

Race Radio

Kwiatkowski hoping ‘to find a joy from riding’ his bike again

Michal Kwiatkowski will not defend his overall title at the Tour of Poland, his home WorldTour race. The Ineos rider has announced on Instagram that he is pulling out of a planned start in the event following a challenging Tour de France.

“I’m not a guy who likes to change his plans but unfortunately this is one of those moments,” he wrote.

View this post on Instagram

I'm not a guy who likes to change his plans but unfortunately this is one of those moments. As much as I love Tour de Pologne and cherish memories from last year, I will not participate in this year's edition. I know now, straight after finishing Tour de France, that recovery, is what my body was suggesting me probably since very long time. So far it wasn't the season I was dreaming of and this is a good time for reflection and thinking about my preparation, combining heavy racing in 2018 and trying to step up from that in particular. Hopefully soon I will be able to find a joy from riding my bike and I'm sure that from there on I will win again some big races. Have a great Tour de Pologne everyone! It’s a very difficult decision to miss that amazing feeling of racing in front of Polish fans. I will be watching and hoping my teammates put on a great show. @tourdepologne @teamineos ???? PAP/EPA

A post shared by Micha? Kwiatkowski (@kwiato) on

Kwiatkowski has scored numerous big victories in one-day and one-week events in recent years while also playing a key support role for Ineos in the Tour de France, but 2019 has not gone as hoped. Although he did finish on the podium at both Paris-Nice and Milano-Sanremo, he has yet to win a race this year and did not seem to be at his best during the Tour.

“So far it wasn’t the season I was dreaming of and this is a good time for reflection and thinking about my preparation, combining heavy racing in 2018 and trying to step up from that in particular,” he wrote. “Hopefully soon I will be able to find a joy from riding my bike and I’m sure that from there on I will win again some big races.”

UAE’s sports drink woes

According to former world champ Thor Hushovd, who now covers cycling for Norwegian network TV2, the lackluster Tour de France performance of UAE-Team Emirates could have been due to the team trying out a new sports drink at the race.

TV2 reports that the aforementioned beverage “causes the body to absorb too much fluid,” and the untested change in hydration left riders feeling off. UAE-Team Emirates did not win a stage or place anyone inside the GC top 10 at this year’s race, with sprinter Alexander Kristoff only finishing in the top five of a stage one time across the three weeks.

UAE has denied having any sports drink-related issues.

“We have had no problem with our energy drink. We will do an internal evaluation and investigate why Kristoff did not perform as we had hoped,” said team spokesperson Andrea Agostini, according to TV2.

Womens Tour of Scotland teams up with Voxwomen

The inaugural Women’s Tour of Scotland is partnering with Voxwomen to present “digital highlights, insightful clips, features and a full-length TV broadcast.”

The UCI 2.1-rated event has drawn some big names and will feature plenty of great Scottish scenery across three days of racing.

Check out the race website for more on the debut edition of the event, which gets underway next Friday, August 9.

In case you missed it …

The weekly spin: What we can expect from the 2020 Tour de France

Feature Image: Nairo Quintana on the Col du Galibier. Photo: ©kramon

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