Uttrup Ludwig renews, Prudhomme talks Tour preparations: Daily News Digest
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Hello CyclingTips readers,
The week is underway with a few contract extensions and an update from Tour de France preparations from race director Christian Prudhomme.
On the contracts front, FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope and Deceuninck-Quick-Step both took steps to keep Danish talents in their lineups for the road ahead on Monday. FDJ has extended with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig for a further two seasons, while Mikkel Honoré will ride on with Deceuninck for one more year.
As for the Tour, according to Cyclism’Actu, Prudhomme has said that the French government has requested that the ASO be prepared to implement certain safety measures depending on the status of the pandemic come August. The ASO already has some of those protocols in place, and has had them since ramping up security measures in 2016 after terrorist attacks in France. Whether workers will be required to wear masks and what other approaches the ASO will rely on other measures to combat the spread of coronavirus will be determined in the coming weeks.
Read on for more …
Dane Cash
News Editor
What’s news
| Uttrup Ludwig renews for two more years
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig will ride on with FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope for a further two seasons, rider and team announced on Monday.
“I cannot wait to put the hammer down in races with my French family,” Uttrup Ludwig said. “I strongly believe that with continued hard work we will achieve great things together.”
The 24-year-old joined FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope from Bigla for 2020. Due to the racing hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, she has yet to start a UCI race this year, but the team has high hopes for her when racing does resume, with team manager Stephen Delcourt saying that “she has all the qualities to win a classic race in Flanders or the Ardennes, but also in stage races.”
| Honoré extends for another season
Mikkel Honoré has signed an extension to stick with Deceuninck-Quick-Step through 2021, the team announced on Monday.
The 23-year-old turned pro with the team in 2019 after a stint as a stagiaire. His extension is the latest in a string of renewals at Deceuninck-Quick-Step, which has recently announced extensions with Yves Lampaert, Dries Devenyns, and Iljo Keisse.
| Prudhomme talks Tour preparations
Christian Prudhomme addressed the preparations that Tour de France organizers are making amid the coronavirus pandemic in a recent meeting with government officials.
As Cyclism’Actu reports, Prudhomme explained that the Tour will be relying on several measures – roadblocks and an increased police presence, for instance – that have already been in place since 2016 in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in France.
“It will be the first time that we’ve used this system during a pandemic, but it existed after the attacks and has existed every year of the Tour since 2016,” Prudhomme said, according to Cyclism’Actu. “This year, it’s only different because of COVID-19. Similarly, since 2013, it has been the case that the public has been banned at a certain place on mountain passes. So the measures already exist, but we do not know everything because if the Tour took place today, we would all wear a mask in the ASO areas. Will that be the case in two months? We will know more in early August.”
| Van der Poel will return at the Sibiu Cycling Tour
Mathieu van der Poel will make his return to road racing later this month at the Sibiu Cycling Tour, AD reports.
While it may not be the best-known event on the cycling calendar, the UCI 2.1-rated stage race in Romania will see a handful of notables in action after months away from competition. WorldTour outfits Bora-Hansgrohe and Israel Start-Up Nation will both be in attendance as well. So too will Meridiana Kamen—the team of Davide Rebellin. As Wielerflits points out, the 48-year-old Rebellin will be lining up against van der Poel 22 years after last lining up against his father Adrie van der Poel.
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