Van der Poel and Alvarado win at Koksijde: Daily News Digest
Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:
Mathieu van der Poel and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado win at Koksijde, Elie Gesbert hit by a car while training, Sven Nys’s Telenet Baloise Lions squad to drop Telenet from name at the end of the year. Those stories and more in todays Daily News Digest.
Story of the Day: Van der Poel and Alvarado triumph in the sand at Koksijde
Mathieu van der Poel and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Corendon-Circus) kept their strong seasons rolling in Belgium on Sunday, taking the victories at the Koksijde round of the World Cup.
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado wins the Koksijde World Cup. Photo: Nico Vereecken/PN/Cor Vos 2019
Alvarado battled with Lucinda Brand (Telenet Baloise Lions) and Yara Kastelijn (777) throughout the sandy race, and then finally pulled away on the last sand dune of the day. She crossed the line six seconds ahead of Brand to nab her first ever World Cup victory at just 21 years old.
This is massive. Its unbelievable,” she said, according to Cyclingnews. “This is a great race. Getting my first-ever World Cup victory as an U23-rider in the elite category is really fantastic.”
Van der Poel was caught up in a crash just moments into the men’s race, only to then explode back up through the field to take the lead before the end of the first lap. He didn’t look back from there, taking a dominant third straight Koksijde victory 25 seconds ahead of Laurens Sweeck. Toon Aerts rounded out the podium in third.
“Today was a really good race,” he said, according to Cyclingnews. “It was close match to my best races from last year. Ive enjoyed the full hour and I hope the crowd here and the spectators at home did the same.”
Socially Speaking
This video might have been better titled “most viral” moments of the 2019, but it’s still a pretty good seven minutes of video content from InCycle.
Race Radio
Dowsett and Hollenstein sign with Israel Cycling Academy
The Israel Cycling Academy continued its trend of unveiling signings from Katusha-Alpecin in twos, announcing that Alex Dowsett and Reto Hollenstein will come aboard next year. Dowsett, the British national time trial champion, has spent the past two years with Katusha, while veteran domestique Hollenstein has been with Katusha for three.
“I am absolutely sure that both riders will strengthen the team in many ways. Alex is great in ITT’s and TTT’s, but also in supporting the team, for example, in bringing key riders into position,” said Israel Cycling Academy team manager Kjell Carlstrom.
Alex Dowsett at the Tour de France. Photo: kramon
“Also, Reto has been a solid helper in both classics as in stage races before.”
Gesbert hit by car while training
Just days after Trek-Segafredo’s Letizia Paternoster was hit by a carin Italy, Arka-Samsic’s Elie Gesbert was hit by a car while training in France, fortunately avoiding any fractures.
According to his team, Gesbert was riding through a roundabout when a driver failed to yield. Gesbert was taken to a nearby hospital and diagnosed with a bruised hand.
The driver reportedly did not stop.
Sven Nys’s Telenet Baloise Lions will drop Telenet from the name in 2020
After a decade of partnership, Belgian telecom company Telenet will no longer be a title sponsor of the Telenet Baloise Lions team owned by Sven Nys starting next year.
In a press release, Nys said the team was looking to “introduce an innovative formula” for sponsorship in 2020.
“Among other things, we want to take a different approach to the media rights of the team and the riders and to take a different approach to our activities with team partners,” he said. “An exclusive partnership with a telecom and media company such as Telenet therefore no longer fits into our strategy.”
Vila reportedly headed to Movistar
Patxi Vila, who was a key member of the performance staff at Bora-Hansgrohe until his departure was announced this week, is headed to Movistar next year, according to El Diario Vasco.
The 44-year-old Basque coach rode with the Spanish WorldTour outfit then known as the iBanesto.com team for two seasons during his pro career.
Feature Image: Mathieu van der Poel at Koksijde. Photo: Nico Vereecken/PN/Cor Vos 2019
The post Van der Poel and Alvarado win at Koksijde: Daily News Digest appeared first on CyclingTips.