Quintana and Carapaz transfers confirmed, Soler apologizes: Daily News Digest
Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:
Nairo Quintana will join Arkéa-Samsic in 2020, Ineos announces the signing of Giro champ Richard Carapaz, Jumbo-Visma frustrated after the Vuelta’s chaotic ninth stage. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.
Story of the Day: Quintana signs with Arkéa-Samsic
Nairo Quintana is headed to Arkéa-Samsic next season on a three-year deal.
The French Pro Continental outfit announced the long-rumored transfer, as well as the signings of Quintana’s brother Dayer, his current Movistar teammate Winner Anacona, and Ineos’s Diego Rosa, on Monday.
“On paper, our 28-man team will have nothing to fear against the best teams of the World Tour,” said team manager Emmanuel Hubert in the team’s press release. “Our goal is to win a grand tour within three seasons.”
Nairo Quintana climbs to second on stage 9 at the Vuelta a España. Photo: ©kramon
Quintana, the current race leader at the Vuelta a España, has won overall titles at the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta as well as stages at all three Grand Tours since arriving at the WorldTour level with Movistar in 2012. The 29-year-old Colombian has also finished as Tour de France runner-up on two occasions in his career, although in recent years he has not been in serious contention at the French Grand Tour.
Movistar has generally opted to feature Quintana as part of a multi-pronged GC attack at the three-week races, to mixed results.
Recent Tour GC results aside, Quintana will be by far the most accomplished Grand Tour racer in his new squad, although Hubert noted that he is looking forward to having both Quintana and two-time Tour top 10 finisher Warren Barguil for the Grand Tours of the future.
In the team’s announcement, Quintana reaffirmed his commitment to contending for the yellow jersey that so many expected him to win when he burst on to the scene with a runner-up ride at the 2013 Tour at just 23 years old.
“My ambitions are the same,” Quintana said. “Personally, the goal is to fight for victory on the Tour de France. It’s a turning point in my career, a positive one, I’m sure. I’m going to adapt, learn some French, but the most important is that I’m going to continue doing what I love.”
Beauty of Cycling
The Vuelta a España has been a good one so far, and as you might expect, nine great stages have produced some great photos too.
Tosh Van der Sande made it clear how he felt about the mountains of stage 7. Photo: ©kramon
You can check out the gallery of faces from the Vuelta’s “first week” here.
Race Radio
Ineos signs reigning Giro d’Italia champion Richard Carapaz
Nairo Quintana is not the only GC star officially leaving Movistar at the end of the year. A few hours after Quintana’s long-rumored transfer was confirmed, Ineos confirmed another long-rumored signing. Reigning Giro d’Italia champion Richard Carapaz will join the British WorldTour outfit next season on a three-year deal.
“I feel this is a great opportunity for me to continue my development and growth as a rider, working with a team that continues to go from strength-to-strength, year after year,” said Ecuador’s first Grand Tour winner in Ineos’s announcement.
“I already know a lot of the riders on the team and I am really looking forward to working everyone at Team Ineos from next season.”
Richard Carapaz with his Giro d’Italia trophy. Photo: ©kramon
Carapaz flashed his potential during a 2018 campaign that saw him take a stage victory and fourth overall the Giro d’Italia, but has followed it up with an even bigger season than most expected, winning two more stages and the pink jersey this May. His victory marked a long-awaited success for Movistar’s trademark multiple-leader approach, with the team also sending Mikel Landa and Andrey Amador as featured riders to the race.
At Ineos, Carapaz will join another crowded field of GC stars, with Tour de France current or former champions Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, and Egan Bernal all already on the roster. At 26, however, he will be on the younger side of the spectrum for the squad, representing a significant investment in keeping the team competitive even as Froome and Thomas ride into the later years of their careers.
Jumbo-Visma frustrated after chaos on Vuelta’s stage 9
The third-place finish of Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) on stage 9 of the Vuelta a España was impressive in its own right, but even more so considering he overcame a crash in the finale. The 29-year-old Slovenian went down while riding on the gravel sector that preceded the day’s final climb, apparently while trying to avoid a race moto in the road.
Y así fue la caída de Roglic. Entró en el camino de barro junto con @alejanvalverde@NairoQuinCo y de repente se le fue la rueda. Día complicado ayer en Andorra. ¿Quién dijo que esto fuera fácil? #roglic #ciclismo #lavuelta #vueltaciclistaespaña #camaraman #motocamara #LaVuelta19 pic.twitter.com/6Yynua9QhE
— Pack del Toro (@Packdeltoro) September 2, 2019
“It was very chaotic at one point. Not only because of the gravel, but also because of the bad weather conditions,” said sports director Addy Engels. “Primoz crashed on the gravel due to a stationary motorbike. That is not okay and should not happen.”
Jumbo-Visma manager Richard Plugge vented his frustration on Twitter, making it clear that that he was not a fan of the gravel section either.
Dear @UCI_cycling, @AigcpOfficial asked this many times; could you prevent dangerous situations like gravel sections in road races!?! It is 2019. There are paved roads nowadays. Ride the future, not the past. @lavuelta https://t.co/f94gO1XRLK
— Richard Plugge (@RichardPlugge) September 1, 2019
Soler apologizes for behavior after Movistar asked him to wait for Quintana
Movistar’s Marc Soler made no attempt to hide his feelings after being asked to wait for teammate Nairo Quintana while he was off the front on stage 9 of the Vuelta a España, shaking his head and waving his arms in frustration while on-camera out on the road on Sunday.
He has since apologized for the display.
“We’ve spoken about it. Above all, I want to apologize to Movistar, to Nairo, and to the whole team,” Soler said. “It won’t happen again. It was the heat of the moment. We came here to win the race with Nairo or Alejandro.
“When you think about it with a cool head, and you see all we’ve been doing and working towards since the first day, to try and claim victory with one of those two, then you regret it, that’s clear.”
Late night for much of the Vuelta peloton
Numerous members of the Vuelta a España peloton endured a very late night after Sunday’s stage 9 after a crash on the transfer route out of Andorra caused delays, Cycling Weekly reports.
For many, the journey took until after midnight, and some riders apparently did not arrive to their hotels until 5am. On the bright side, Monday was a rest day for the Vuelta peloton – but for many, it was probably not nearly restful as they would have liked.
Atleast the transfer wasn’t too bad after today’s stage. Made it to Pau by 1am ????
— SamBewley (@SamBewley) September 1, 2019
Coming up at the Vuelta
After Monday’s rest day, racing resumes at the Vuelta a España on Tuesday with an individual time trial.
Stage 10 dips into France for a 36.2-kilometer ride from Jurançon to Pau that is sure to have major implications in the battle for the red jersey, with Roglic expected to make big gains on his GC rivals against the clock.
Feature Image: Primoz Roglic leading Alejandro Valverde and Marc Soler on stage 9 of the Vuelta a España. Photo: ©kramon
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