Roglic wins again, no Lombardia for Alaphilippe: Daily News Digest
Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:
Primoz Roglic wins Tre Valli Varesine, Mikel Nieve renews with Mitchelton-Scott, Julian Alaphilippe decides to skip Milano-Torino and Il Lombardia. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.
Story of the Day: Roglic wins Tre Valli Varesine
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) is on a roll in Italy this fall. Three days after he won the Giro dell’Emilia, the 29-year-old Slovenian stormed to victory in Tuesday’s Tre Valli Varesine.
Roglic attacked out of a small lead group in the final kilometer and held on to take the UCI 1.HC-rated win ahead of Giovanni Visconti (Neri Sottoli) and Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo).
????????@rogla of ????????@JumboVismaRoad wins ????????#TreValliVaresine (????PMG Sport) pic.twitter.com/eZwnWxy96O
— World Cycling Stats (@wcsbike) October 8, 2019
The 99th edition of Tre Valli Varesine, one of several Italian one-day races drawing an impressive field of contenders in the run-up to Il Lombardia, featured no shortage of interesting moments. The 197.8-kilometer journey from Saronno to the final crossing of the finish line in Varese saw aggressive racing and a bit of confusion in the finale.
After the early break was caught, a new move with some big names formed inside the last 40 kilometers. Astana’s Luis León Sánchez soloed clear of that selection with just over 20 kilometers to go, and his advantage grew considerably with around 13 kilometers to go when the chasing group was led the wrong way through a roundabout by a race moto.
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) October 8, 2019
A quick turnaround and a renewed high tempo among the pursuers overcame the foible, however. The chasers had Sánchez in their sights for the final kilometer, when Gianni Moscon (Ineos) jumped out of the group and sailed past the Spaniard.
Roglic, however, put in a huge surge of his own out of the group, powering to a significant gap. Days after taking his first ever one-day victory as a pro, he held on to take the second pro one-day win of his career with a healthy margin over the chasers.
Moving Pictures
You don’t really need to understand French to get the gist of this fascinating clip. Covering cycling in the 1960s looks like it was an interesting – and not particularly safe – gig.
Le travail des journalistes à moto a bien changé…
(Tour 1962) pic.twitter.com/5gsJDyJggT
— David Guénel (@davidguenel) October 7, 2019
From the road to the mountain bike world, Kate Courtney has shared some video from the MTB course that will host Olympians in Tokyo next summer. Her visit had its proverbial ups and downs, but she seems to have come out of it feeling good about what’s ahead.
Race Radio
Mitchelton-Scott extends Nieve
Mikel Nieve will stick with Mitchelton-Scott for the next two years.
The 35-year-old Spaniard joined the team last year after four seasons with Sky. He counts an impressive six Grand Tour overall top 10s on his career palmares along with multiple stage wins in the three-week races and the king of the mountains title at the 2016 Giro d’Italia. His track record makes him a solid lieutenant for the likes of Adam and Simon Yates who can also score results of his own.
Mikel Nieve at the Tour de France. Photo: ©kramon
“Mikel has been very reliable these two years he has been with us and we would obviously love to continue that relationship for as long as he wants to keep racing,” said Mitchelton-Scott sports director Matt White.
Van Asbroeck wins Binche-Chimay-Binche
Tom Van Asbroeck (Israel Cycling Academy) nabbed his first victory since 2016 at Tuesday’s Binche-Chimay-Binche.
Tom van Asbroeck wins Binche-Chimay-Binche. Photo: Tim van Wichelen/Cor Vos © 2019
The 29-year-old Belgian proved fastest in a sprint battle at the end of the 198.6-kilometer race that started and finished in the Walloon town of Binche. Oliver Naesen (Ag2r La Mondiale) took runner-up honors with Jos van Emden (Jumbo-Visma) rounding out the final podium.
Alaphilippe calls it a season
Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) will not be at the start line for Il Lombardia. The 27-year-old Frenchman, who scored runner-up honors at the Italian Monument in 2017, has decided to end his season a bit earlier than expected. As such, he is pulling out of planned starts at Milano-Torino and Il Lombardia.
Julian Alaphilippe at the Tour de France. Photo: Gruber Images
“I’ve worked really hard to try and be at my peak for a third time this year, having raced hard at the Classics and Le Tour, but I knew at the Worlds that my form is short of where I would like it to be,” he said in a press release from the team.
“I really wanted to be with the guys in Italy and give my all for the team, but as I can’t do that, it makes sense that I start my post-season recovery now, in order to be in the best possible shape for the start of next year.”
Chapman headed to FDJ
Brodie Chapman will join FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope after two years with Tibco-SVB.
The 28-year-old Australian has enjoyed an impressive run over the past two seasons. She won last year’s Herald Sun Tour and this year’s Tour of the Gila, among other strong results, quickly emerging as a contender on both steep gradients and rough terrain.
Brodie Chapman at Gent-Wevelgem. Photo: Tim van Wichelen/Cor Vos © 2019
“I look forward to what [the team] can bring out in my racing, and how I can play an important role in the team,” Chapman said.
“I can’t wait to go to new races, join accomplished and upcoming riders, and learn French!”
Click here for more on the story from Matt de Neef …
Dumoulin eyes Tour and Olympics in 2020
As he puts a frustrating 2019 season behind him, Tom Dumoulin has his sights set on the 2020 Tour de France and the Toyko Olympics.
The 28-year-old Dutchman, who has signed on to join Jumbo-Visma after spending the entirety of his pro career in the Sunweb organization, told NOS that his recovery from the knee injury that derailed his 2019 campaign is “going according to expectations.” Even so, working his way back to his best in time to be a top contender for races next summer won’t be easy – but he is optimistic.
“It is not the most ideal scenario, but I am convinced that I can combine the Tour and the Olympic Games,” he said.
Beyond that, he says he still has plenty of time to rack up more big results in the coming years.
“That period of rest did make me think,” he said. “I now know what I want to achieve in my career. I want to be the best version of myself on the bike for another five, six, or maybe seven years, and that feeling is now stronger than ever.”
In case you missed it …
New Roval Terra gravel and all-road wheelsets are super wide, wicked light
Feature Image: Primoz Roglic wins Tre Valli Varesine. Photo: Luca Bettini/RB/Cor Vos © 2019
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