Daily News Digest -

Van Baarle and Van Vleuten take victories at Dwars door Vlaanderen: Daily News

Hello again, CyclingTips readers,

Crossing over the midway point of the week, the Classics riders were back in action at Dwars door Vlaanderen.

Read on for the latest from the world of cycling.

Dane Cash
News Editor

What’s news?

Van Baarle solos to victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen

Dylan van Baarle soloed to victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, getting clear with around 50 km to go and holding on to take his first WorldTour one-day victory. Christophe Laporte and Tim Merlier rounded out the podium on the day.

The 184.1 km race from Roeselare to Waregem saw a high pace through the early goings with no major breakaway move until about halfway through the race. The chasing peloton then split on the Taaienberg inside the last 60 km while the prior escapees were caught, and then Van Baarle joined Ethan Hayter, Stan Dewulf, Bram Welten, Nils Politt, Tim Wellens, and Alexander Kristoff pushing clear on the run-in to the Berg Ten Houte.

Moments later, however, Van Baarle powered away on his own and quickly built his advantage. His gap had climbed over 30 seconds within a few kilometers, while behind, there were attacks and regroupings among those chasing. Van Baarle continued to maintain a decent gap over the ensuing climbs as big names tried to bridge and then were brought back. With 20 km to go, Van Baarle was out front with a 30-second gap to a group of chasers that included Greg Van Avermaet and a few other big names, with a bigger pack a further 25 seconds back.

Van Baarle’s advantage hardly wavered from there on out, while the pack ultimately reeled in the group in between. Van Baarle held on to take a comfortable win at the line with Laporte besting Merlier in the sprint 26 seconds later.

Top 10

1 VAN BAARLE Dylan (Ineos Grenadiers) 3:58:59
2 LAPORTE Christophe (Cofidis) 0:26
3 MERLIER Tim (Alpecin-Fenix)
4 LAMPAERT Yves (Deceuninck-QuickStep)
5 VAN DER SANDE Tosh (Lotto Soudal)
6 KRISTOFF Alexander (UAE-Team Emirates)
7 VAN AVERMAET Greg (AG2R Citroën)
8 TURGIS Anthony (Total Direct Energie)
9 SÉNÉCHAL Florian (Deceuninck-QuickStep)
10 STUYVEN Jasper (Trek-Segafredo)

Van Vleuten gets her first win with Movistar at Dwars door Vlaanderen

Annemiek van Vleueten took her first win of 2021 and her first with Movistar on Wednesday at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Kasia Niewiadoma finished second on the day with Alexis Ryan rounding out the podium.

The UCI 1.1-rated race set out from Waregem in balmy conditions, and things stayed relatively calm over the first half of the race before attacks flew on the Kruisberg with some 60 km to go. Splits and regroupings whittled the peloton down, and then Van Vleuten attacked on the Knotenberg with 36 km to go. Only Niewiadoma could follow, and the duo pressed on together to build a sizable gap.

There were several attempts to bridge out of a strong group of chasers, but there was no catching the lead pair, who rolled into Waregem to battle for the win between themselves. In the final sprint, Van Vleuten kicked with 300 meters to go and held on to nab the victory. Niewiadoma settled for second, and Ryan won the sprint for third 19 seconds later.

Top 10

1 VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek (Movistar) 3:04:04
2 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna (Canyon-SRAM)
3 RYAN Alexis (Canyon-SRAM) 0:19
4 GUAZZINI Vittoria (Valcar-Travel & Service)
5 JACKSON Alison (Liv)
6 BROWN Grace (BikeExchange)
7 MACKAIJ Floortje (DSM)
8 BUJAK Eugenia (Alé BTC Ljubljana)
9 VAN DIJK Ellen (Trek-Segafredo)
10 BORGLI Stine (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope)

Italian police conduct 25 searches in connection with Vini Zabù

On the heels of the Tuesday’s news that Vini Zabù rider Matteo De Bonis tested positive for EPO in February, the Corriere della Sera reports that Italian police conducted 25 searches in connection with the Italian ProTeam yesterday. Vini Zabù has since released a statement on the incident, saying that De Bonis has met with team management and is “taking all the responsibility for this affair.”

The Corriere della Sera reports that De Bonis, the team’s general manager Angelo Citracca, and sport director Luca Scinto are under investigation. An unnamed person investigated by Italian police has reportedly already been part of investigations of three prosecutors before.

According to a team statement, De Bonis “has released a declaration providing all the details including contacts and the mode of use of the incriminated products.”

In case you missed it …

  • CyclingTips tech writer Ronan Mc Laughlin recently set a new Everesting world record, and we had cameras there to document the achievement.
  • The first episode of The Bunnyhop, a new monthly cycling show, takes a fresh look at the women’s pro peloton.
  • José Been caught up with Ellen van Dijk, who is dreaming of a Paris-Roubaix victory.
  • Dave Rome shares his thoughts on the Oakley Sutro and Sutro Lite.

The post Van Baarle and Van Vleuten take victories at Dwars door Vlaanderen: Daily News appeared first on CyclingTips.


Tags