Racing suspension extended, Hinault auctioning off jersey: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
On the one hand, April 1 has brought the tough news that cycling fans will not have any major races to watch for quite some time yet, as the UCI’s sport-wide suspension of racing will continue until at least June 1.
While the UCI’s initial suspension announcement just over two weeks ago set a time frame that did not include many races that had not already been called off, Wednesday’s decision will preclude a handful of notable events from happening as initially planned. Chief among them is the Critérium du Dauphiné, which has been postponed.
On other hand, April 1 has also brought a handful of wonderful – and totally believable – headlines that will hopefully bring a smile to your face. Have you heard about Zwift’s new ‘Crash’ feature or Quick-Step’s new indoor-training-specific floor offering?
Until next time, readers.
What’s news
| UCI extends suspension of racing until June 1
In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the UCI has extended its sport-wide suspension of races until June 1 just over two weeks after initially suspending racing until April 3. Although the initial timeframe did not cover many events that weren’t already postponed or cancelled, Wednesday’s increased suspension period does, with the Critérium du Dauphiné the most notable event affected.
The UCI has also announced the creation of a working group that will focus on addressing the challenges facing riders and teams right now. With countless pros on lockdown and with no races or the revenue they help generate for teams, some squads have already found themselves in dire straights, laying off staff or cutting pay.
| Dauphiné postponed
Following the UCI’s announcement that racing will be suspended until June 1, the ASO has announced the postponement of the Critérium du Dauphiné, which was initially scheduled to start on May 31.
The ASO is working with the UCI and other stakeholders to find a new date later in the year.
| Hinault auctioning off a yellow jersey for charity
Bernard Hinault is auctioning off one of the yellow jerseys he earned en route to victory at the Tour de France in 1982, the year he won both the Tour and the Giro d’Italia, for charity. The five-time Tour winner is raising funds to acquire masks for a local hospital in Brittany.
With a few days still to go in the auction, the bidding on eBay is already up over 7,500 euros as of Wednesday.
| Drunk driver crashes into bike shop
The Ride Cycles in the Melbourne suburbs is closed until further notice after a drunk driver drove a car into the store. At the very least, the shop has maintained its sense of humor, noting that the driver was “meant to be in isolation and tried to make our store a drive through.”
In a similar vein, some on Twitter have pointed out that the shop was not wearing hi-vis clothing or a helmet.
| Socially Speaking
The influx of pros spending time on Zwift right now may see an uptick in riders being flagged for superhuman power, as Thomas De Gendt has discovered.
@GoZwift i got thrown out of a race because of my superhuman power. Can you fix the stats for me? pic.twitter.com/JqSQFvx6oC
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) March 31, 2020
Meanwhile, Shannon Malseed is staying busy musically amid her time away from racing.
In case you missed it
| 2020 Marin Gestalt X10 gravel bike review
Caley Fretz reviewed the Marin Gestalt X10 after spending some time on it at the CyclingTips Gravel Bike Field Test.
| Zwift announces new ‘Crash’ feature
The April 1 update from Zwift includes a definitely real feature that will allow riders to cause a huge crash in a race finale.
| Floor to the fore
As Iain Treloar writes, April 1 has also seen the release of indoor-training-specific flooring by Belgian brand Quick-Step.
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