Pogacar’s program, La Course announces team selection: Daily News Digest
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Hello CyclingTips readers,
How do you think Tadej Pogacar might fare on the cobbles of De Ronde van Vlaanderen? We should find out later this year.
Sporza has published what it reports to be the 2020 race programs of several riders, with Pogacar among them, and at least according to Sporza the Slovenian rising star is planning to take on the Tour of Flanders for the first time this season.
Meanwhile, Wout van Aert will reportedly return to racing at Strade Bianche, where he has finished on the podium in each of the last two years.
In other news, La Course by Le Tour de France has unveiled its team selection for the 2020 edition of the race. In addition to the eight WorldTour teams securing bids, 15 Continental teams (including Boels-Dolmans, of course) have also been invited to the race that is set for August 29.
Read on for more …
Dane Cash
News Editor
What’s news
| Pogacar’s program
According to Sporza, Tadej Pogacar is planning to make is Tour of Flanders debut later this season.
Sporza has published what it reports is Pogacar’s program for 2020, with a planned return to racing at Strade Bianche followed by Milan-San Remo and then either the Critérium du Dauphiné or Il Lombardia in the run-up to the Tour de France. Following the Tour, Pogacar is reportedly planning to race Worlds, all three Ardennes Classics, and then the Tour of Flanders.
| Van Aert’s program
Speaking of Sporza, the Belgian outlet also published what it reports is the program of Wout van Aert (along with several other reported 2020 race programs as well). The 25-year-old Belgian is set to get his season underway again at Strade Bianche, a race that has seen him finish on the podium in back to back years.
According to Sporza, van Aert will then race Milano-Torino, Milan-San Remo, the Critérium du Dauphiné, possibly the time trial at Belgian nationals, the Tour de France, Gent-Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix.
| La Course announces invites
La Course by Le Tour de France, now scheduled for August 29, announced its team selection for 2020 on Wednesday.
The eight women’s WorldTour squads, including the CCC-Liv team of defending champ Marianne Vos, will be joined by 15 women’s Continental outfits, headlined by the likes of Boels-Dolmans. Other invitees include Rally, Hitec Products-Birk Sport, Lotto-Soudal, Paule Ka (formerly Bigla-Katusha), and Tibco-SVB, to name just a few.
| Italian cycling federation investigates riders who might have raced during coronavirus lockdown
The Italian cycling federation said this week that it is investigating the possible participation of federation members in competitions held illegally during Italy’s national lockdown.
Restrictions are beginning to ease, but Italy has been under lockdown since March, and the federation received reports of cyclists racing during that period despite restrictions. According to a statement, it opened an investigation into the matter on June 30.
| Specialized will now sell gear via Backcountry.com
Specialized will begin selling tires, apparel, helmets, shoes, and wheels via online retailer Backcountry.com and its cycling-specific site CompetitiveCyclist.com, marking a departure from the company’s longtime resistance to selling gear online away from its own website.
Neither frames nor complete bikes will be sold via Backcountry at least for now.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of Tadej Pogacar pipping Sergio Higuita on stage 6 of the 2019 Tour of California comes from Cor Vos.
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