Sprint stars deliver: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
We’ll kick off this DND with a chapeau to sprint stars Dylan Groenewegen and Jolien D’hoore, who are putting their engines to work delivering groceries to people who might not be able to go out and get them on their own right now. Not a bad way to spend some time out of the house lending a hand.
Meanwhile, Tom Dumoulin has an idea for rearranging the cycling season that won’t just apply to 2020. The Dutchman is wondering if it might make sense to simply push every season one month later in a move that could see less racing in February snow, with November perhaps a bit more mild in at least parts of Europe.
It is an interesting idea indeed, and now seems as good a time as any to consider the possibilities of making calendar changes.
Until next time, readers.
What’s news
| Groenewegen and D’hoore deliver groceries
In a similar vein to Davide Martinelli, who has been delivering medicines and food to elderly residents of his town in Italy, four-time Tour de France stage winner Dylan Groenewegen has been putting his world-class speed to work delivering groceries to people in the Netherlands amid the national lockdown there.
The Dutch sprinter posted photos from his new gig on Twitter on Wednesday, writing, “No racing for a while, but time to help. In the coming period I will deliver groceries by bicycle to the elderly and care providers who are currently unable to do this themselves.”
Even geen koers, maar wel tijd om te helpen. De komende tijd bezorg ik op de fiets boodschappen bij ouderen en zorgverleners die dat nu even niet zelf kunnen ???????? Heb je als zorgverlener of oudere hulp nodig of wil je zelf helpen? ?? https://t.co/gZ1YMOH7J3#StaySafeTogether pic.twitter.com/4ruo0dlKFG
— Dylan Groenewegen (@GroenewegenD) April 8, 2020
Fellow fast finisher Jolien D’hoore has similar plans for the weekend ahead, writing on Twitter, “Also in these corona times I want to contribute. That is why I would like to do some work as a bicycle courier. So if there are elderly or needy people who need small groceries, send me a message before Saturday and I will deliver them on Sunday!”
| Carapaz “heartbroken” by Ecuador coronavirus situation
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Giro d’Italia champion Richard Carapaz said he was “heartbroken by what is happening” in Ecuador, whose largest city, Guayaquil, is facing a serious crisis amid a surge of coronavirus cases there.
“We have all seen the terrible images, it really hurts. Guayaquil is the worst affected area. I live seven hundred kilometers away, but it is really an economic and tourist center,” said Carapaz, who noted he was trying to come up with ways to help the many affected people in his home country. “As a country we were not ready for the coronavirus, but we are not alone. Nobody was ready for this crisis.”
| Dumoulin suggests pushing road season one month later every year
As the cycling world mulls its options to continue racing later into the year with lockdowns preventing numerous events from running as planned, Tom Dumoulin is wondering whether it might be a good idea to simply move the road cycling season back by a month as a general rule every year.
“Now that you are talking about it, I think that every season should move a month a later,” Dumoulin said, according to Sporza. “In mid-November, the weather here in Belgium and the Netherlands is often still fantastic, while in mid-February we sometimes still have snow or something.
“If we now extend this season to November, we will start a month later in 2021 and we will continue that period in the future. That seems fantastic to me.”
| Viviani not a fan of training indoors
Indoor riding has plenty of fans, but Elia Viviani is apparently not among them. The Italian sprinter told Leggo that he was finding it hard to train while stuck inside.
“I don’t understand how anyone can maintain such a thing,” he said. “It’s already hard after less than a month. It’s crazy.”
| Eurobike organizers have Plan B in place in case rescheduling proves necessary
While organizers of Eurobike say they are currently still planning to run the trade show as initially scheduled from September 2 to 5, they have announced an alternative time in mind in the event that rescheduling is required.
Organizers will decide by mid-May whether to postpone until the end of November.
| Acquaroli giving away U23 MTB Worlds-winning bike for fundraiser
Vittoria and former mountain bike pro Dario Acquaroli have launched a fundraiser for the mobile intensive care units in Bergamo, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Donors to the UNITI per Bergamo campaign will have a chance to win the bike Acquaroli rode en route to the under-23 title at the 1996 mountain bike world championships. You can learn more here.
| Lost and Found cancelled for 2020
The Lost and Found gravel race is cancelled for 2020.
Organizers of the race in the Lost Sierra region of California will not be refunding entry fees. Registrations will, however, be considered charitable donations based on the status of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship as a non-profit organization, and registrants will receive federal tax ID numbers for filing purposes.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of the final sprint at Scheldeprijs, whose 2020 edition was initially scheduled to run on Wednesday, comes from Cor Vos.
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