Virtual racing, Movistar on Netflix, MTB Worlds postponed: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
As we head into the weekend, another big event has been postponed—but cycling fans may be happy to hear that plenty of pros will at least be engaged in a bit of virtual racing come April.
On the one hand, MTB Worlds in Albstadt, Germany, will no longer be taking place in late June as planned. Organizers have not ruled out cancellation, but are currently trying to find an alternative date to hold the event.
There will be some virtual road racing action, however, coming up. Velon and the Tour de Suisse have announced a series of virtual races for late April. Taking place at the time of the season that would have seen the pros racing the Ardennes Classics, “The Digital Swiss 5” will feature three-rider teams battling on the Rouvy platform on virtual sections of what would have been the route of this year’s Tour de Suisse.
Sure, we’d love to be watching Liège-Bastogne-Liège at the end of April, but we won’t deny being at least a little bit interested in seeing at least a form of pro racing next month.
Stay safe, readers.
What’s news
| Albstadt MTB Worlds postponed
Organizers have announced that the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Albstadt, Germany, have been postponed. Initially planned to run from June 25 to June 28, the cross country, cross country relay, and e-bike Worlds events will instead be held at an as-of-yet undetermined later date, assuming the racing goes ahead at all.
“Conceivable alternatives are relocation in autumn 2020 or implementation in 2021,” organizers said in a statement. “A complete cancellation of this sporting highlight is not excluded, but should be avoided.”
| Velon and Tour de Suisse announce race series on Rouvy
Velon and the Tour de Suisse will hold a virtual racing series called “The Digital Swiss 5” on the Rouvy platform at the end of April. The many pro teams that would have been at the Tour de Suisse have all received invites to attend.
The series will feature three-rider squads riding virtual parts of the Tour de Suisse route across five consecutive days. As Michael Matthews put it, “It gives us something to be motivated to do and be excited for when everything else is so uncertain at the moment. I personally am really looking forward to watching and maybe even racing myself.”
| Kruijswijk looking for motivation
One rider less enthused about the prospect of riding indoors is Steven Kruijswijk, who spoke about the challenges of staying motivated while on the trainer in an interview with Dutch newspaper AD.
“I have never been a fan of indoor training. Cycling for me really starts outside, on the road. Cycling is an emergency solution indoors,” said Kruijswijk, who also expressed his doubts about the prospect of a Tour de France without spectators, which the ASO is currently considering as a possible way to run this year’s race. As last year’s third-place overall finisher put it, “without an audience you are still talking about a traveling circus of more than 1000 people. And that is still a lot of people together.”
| Movistar documentary series now on Netflix
If you’re among the many people around the world on lockdown and looking for something to watch this weekend, you may be interested to know that a six-part documentary chronicling the 2019 season of the Movistar team was released on Netflix on Friday.
Considering the team won one Grand Tour last year and gave the cycling world plenty of drama to write about during another, we’re hoping the series shares some interesting stories from behind the scenes at the Spanish WorldTour squad.
| Socially Speaking
We’re big fans of the creativity here from the young riders of Boulder Junior Cycling.
In case you missed it
| Freewheeling Podcast: An update from Italy with Elisa Longo Borghini
Abby catches up with Elisa Longo Borghini, currently on lockdown in Italy, in the latest episode of Freewheeling.
| What impact are lockdowns having on the indoor training market?
Iain Treloar explores the ways in which mass lockdowns have affected the indoor training world.
| CT Rewind: Staying in with Shoddy
If you’re stuck inside right now, you might as well be stuck inside watching Dave Everett’s latest video.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of Bob Jungels on the attack at the E3 BinckBank Classic – whose 2020 edition was initially scheduled for Friday – comes from Kristof Ramon.
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