Pedersen gets a win, Simmons’s statement, Gilbert’s status: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers,
Thursday was yet another busy day of news in the cycling world, which continues to go from WorldTour race to WorldTour race, with both a Grand Tour and a Monument on the docket for the upcoming weekend.
Today’s Daily News Digest includes an update from the BinckBank Tour, news of Philippe Gilbert’s status, a statement from Quinn Simmons, mountain bike racing, and EF’s new kit.
Read on for more, and until next time, readers.
Dane Cash
News Editor
What’s News
| Pedersen wins stage 3 of the BinckBank Tour
Mads Pedersen has taken over the lead at the BinckBank Tour after powering to victory on Thursday’s stage 3.
On what was only the second day of actual racing at the BinckBank Tour after stage 2 was cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions in the Netherlands, things came down to a bunch kick in Aalter. Pedersen topped stage 1 winner Jasper Philipsen and Pascal Ackermann in the sprint and now leads the race.
Pedersen said after the stage that the GC is his overall goal, with a time trial looming on stage 4 and a trip up the Muur van Geraardsbergen clo
| Gilbert will miss Flanders and Roubaix
Philippe Gilbert expects to miss both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix due to lingering pain from a knee injury he suffered at this year’s Tour de France. Gilbert crashed on stage 1 of the Tour and broke his knee cap, and although he returned to racing at the Tour de Luxembourg, he has since felt an increase in pain.
As such, he is pulling out of the remaining Cobbled Classics.
“My first priority is to heal completely,” Gilbert said. “I still have a lot of goals in cycling, for next season certainly, but very maybe for this season as well. Hopefully a Tour of Spain participation is still playable, but that’s not yet relevant. What matters now is a full recovery.”
| Simmons: ‘I would like to apologize to everyone who found this offensive’
One day after Quinn Simmons made what his Trek-Segafredo team called “statements online that we feel are divisive, incendiary, and detrimental to the team,” the squad has released a second statement addressing his suspension, and the 19-year-old American has addressed the matter publicly for the first time.
On Wednesday, Simmons expressed his support for Donald Trump in a tweet that also featured a dark-skinned hand-waving emoji. His team announced later in the afternoon that he had been suspended until further notice. On Thursday, Trek-Segafredo said in a follow-up press release that “was not suspended because of his political views. He was suspended for engaging in conversation on Twitter in a way that we felt was conduct unbefitting a Trek athlete.”
The press release included the first public statements from Simmons himself on the matter.
“To those who found the color of the emoji racist, I can promise that I did not mean for it to be interpreted that way,” Simmons said. “I would like to apologize to everyone who found this offensive as I strongly stand against racism in any form.”
| Lecomte and Andreassen take Nove Mesto World Cup wins
The MTB World Cup calendar resumed in Nove Mesto, where two youngsters stormed to victory in the cross-country race.
On the women’s side it was French national champ Loana Lecomte powering to victory on a rainy day in Slovenia. Anne Terpstra finished second, 31 seconds back, with Pauline Ferrand-Prevot rounding out the podium, 37 seconds down.
Simon Andreassen took the men’s race after a close battle with Maxime Marotte, who finished seven seconds behind. Milan Vader took third on the day.
| EF unveils new Giro kit
EF has rolled out its new kit for the upcoming Giro d’Italia, where the team will sport a radically different look from its mostly pink traditional kit.
The new kit is a collaboration with legendary skate brand Palace, and it will certainly stand out in the Giro peloton.
In case you missed it
| Giro d’Italia Fantasy Competition
A big race in Italy is looming, which means your chance to have some fantasy racing fun is around the corner as well …
| Your guide to the 2020 Giro d’Italia contenders, sprinters and more
Matt de Neef has your preview ahead of the Giro d’Italia.
| Niner’s new RLT e9 RDO e-bike further blurs the line between gravel and MTB
As James Huang writes, Niner’s new RLT e9 RDO e-bike is a versatile machine.
| New UCI tech rules leaked: Is bike design about to get a shake-up?
Dave Rome has the story on an apparently upcoming amendment to the UCI’s technical regulations.
| Want to work with CT? We’re hiring an Account Executive in Europe
CyclingTips is hiring!
Today’s featured image of Mads Pedersen winning stage 3 of the BinckBank Tour comes from Cor Vos.
The post Pedersen gets a win, Simmons’s statement, Gilbert’s status: Daily News Digest appeared first on CyclingTips.