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Roglic eyes Tour, no Worlds for Bernal or Nibali: Daily News Digest

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

Primoz Roglic eyes yellow after winning the Vuelta a España, Egan Bernal won’t be racing Worlds after all, Ineos extends Dylan van Baarle. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.

Story of the Day: Bernal, Nibali, and Kwiatkowski skipping Worlds

Egan Bernal (Ineos) won’t be racing at Worlds after all. Hours after naming Bernal to the national selection for the upcoming Road World Championships in Yorkshire, the Colombian Federation said he was giving up his spot on the team.

Having already said earlier this month that he would not go to Worlds if he didn’t feel his form was up to the task at this point in the season, Bernal “decided to decline selection,” according to the Colombian Federation. Movistar’s Carlos Betancur will replace the Tour de France winner in the line-up.

Bernal is not alone in declining a roster spot; another Tour de France winner and a former world road champ have made the same decision.

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) has reportedly opted out of consideration for the Italian squad, unsure of his form at the end of a busy season.

Vincenzo Nibali on stage 20 of the Tour de France. Photo: ©kramon

“The Italian Azzurra jersey is sacred for me. You have to show respect.” Nibali told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m not on top form and so it’s not right that I take someone else’s place.”

Michael Kwiatkowski (Ineos) won’t be in attendance for the Polish national team either, despite a profile that might suit his skill set. The 2014 world champ announced after the Tour de France that he would be taking a break from competition, and he said this week that he would not be returning to contest worlds.

Socially Speaking

Simon Pellaud of the IAM-Excelsior Continental squad experienced a cyclist’s nightmare at the Tour du Doubs this week.

Fortunately, he implied on Instagram that he didn’t suffer any major harm from the incident, although we can’t say the same of his bike.

Elsewhere on social media, good stuff from Adam Blythe, who noticed that Rihanna’s latest fashion advances have distinct cycling vibes.

And then there was this solid post from Jumbo-Visma on Instagram. Even if you’re tired of hearing about Primoz Roglic’s transition from ski jumper to cyclist, it’s still impressive.

Race Radio

Roglic eyes yellow

Speaking of Primoz Roglic, the new Vuelta a España champion says he is now eyeing the Tour de France.

“It is my objective. I’d like to go to the Tour to win it,” Roglic said when asked in an interview with Marca whether he would target the yellow jersey.

Despite his recent Grand Tour win, Roglic’s situation may be a bit complicated considering his Jumbo-Visma squad has signed Tom Dumoulin for the 2020 season. The Dutchman is also a Grand Tour winner, and he has finished second overall at the Tour de France. Juggling the aspirations of Roglic, Dumoulin, and this year’s third place finisher Steven Kruijswijk will be critical for the Jumbo squad to find success with all that talent moving forward.

For his part, Roglic feels confident in his ability to contend.

“I think I am capable of doing it after winning the Vuelta and having made the podium in the Giro,” Roglic said. “In a few days we will talk about our road map for the coming year, but I would like to be in France.”

Germany build worlds squad around fast finishers, Martin back on the bike preparing for TT

The German men’s team at Worlds will have finishing speed to spare. Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe), John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo), and Nikias Arndt (Sunweb) will give the German national selection options for Yorkshire depending on how selective the lumpy road race ultimately ends up being.

Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) and Simon Geschke (CCC) could be wild cards for an aggressive race, while Marcus Burghardt (Bora-Hansgrohe), Jonas Koch (CCC), and Jasha Sütterlin (Movistar) round out the roster.

Politt will also race the individual time trial alongside four-time world champ Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma). The 34-year-old abandoned the Vuelta a España after a bad crash on stage 19, but he is back on the bike and eyeing Worlds, even if he’s still not quite ready to take off the bandages.

Ineos extends van Baarle

Dylan van Baarle has signed a contract extension with Ineos. The versatile 27-year-old Dutchman, who has racked up a handful of strong results in one-week races (like this year’s Herald Sun Tour) and the Classics while also being a strong Grand Tour domestique, will stick with the squad for the next three seasons.

“I’m super happy to sign a new contract with the team. I became a better bike rider here and I want to see the progress continue,” van Baarle said.

“I hope I can be on the podium in a big Classic. I also want to be really important in the Grand Tours, helping for even longer than I did this year.”

Beauty of Cycling

This year’s Vuelta a España was a fitting third act for a Grand Tour season that was consistently exciting, the last few days of racing featured plenty of storylines and compelling moments to close things out in style.

Kristof Ramon, the Grubers, and Cor Vos captured some great images of the action, and you can check them out in our gallery of the Vuelta’s final few stages.

In case you missed it …

Eurobike 2019 gallery, part eight: Abus, Urban Arrow, TRP, Yuba, and more

Feature Image: The GC group on stage 16 of the Vuelta a España. Photo: ©kramon

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