Woods wins Milano-Torino: Daily News Digest
Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:
Mike Woods wins Milano-Torino ahead of Alejandro Valverde and Adam Yates, Baltimore, Maryland, will host a UCI Pro Series one-day race in 2020, Lawson Craddock extends with EF Education First. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.
Story of the Day: Mike Woods wins Milano-Torino
Mike Woods (EF Education First) secured the first pro one-day victory of his career on Wednesday ahead of some big names at Milano-Torino.
In an impressive show of form three days ahead of Il Lombardia, the 32-year-old Canadian topped Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) after 179 kilometers of racing from Magenta to Torino.
Woods, who finished as runner-up at Milano-Torino back in 2016, lit up the finale of this year’s edition of the race. Four kilometers from the line, at the start of the Superga finishing climb, he put in an attack that drew Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott), Gorka Izagirre (Astana), and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) clear. Before long, however, only Gaudu was left with Woods at the front.
With two kilometers to go, Valverde, Yates, and Egan Bernal (Ineos) bridged to make it a lead quintet, but Woods was not finished attacking. Some 500 meters from the line, he put in a big surge at the front and dropped the rest of the group. Valverde managed to keep Woods within his sights, but Woods held off the Spaniard to take the victory.
“Any time you can beat Valverde is a special time,” Woods said. “I was fortunate to have a very strong team today. I maybe attacked a bit too much but I wanted to be offensive and I’m glad it worked out.”
Moving Pictures
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Race Radio
Fans of bike racing on the U.S. East Coast will have something big to look forward to in September of 2020. Baltimore, Maryland, will host a one-day race at the UCI Pro Series level next year, one week before the WorldTour events in Quebec and Montreal.
“We are excited to host the Maryland Cycling Classic in 2020 and showcase all that our great state has to offer to the international cycling community,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan in a statement.
The Maryland Cycling Classic will be held on September 6 as an event on the “Pro Series,” which will replace the UCI’s current designation of 1.HC and 2.HC races. That will make it the highest-category one-day race in the United States in its inaugural edition. Cyclingnews reports that organizers expect at least 10 WorldTour teams to participate next year.
According to the press release from race organizers, the race will finish at a “to-be-determined location in downtown Baltimore,” and will feature “community and lifestyle events” throughout the weekend.
Craddock renews with EF Education First
Lawson Craddock has signed a two-year deal to remain at EF Education First through 2021.
Lawson Craddock at the Vuelta a España. Photo: Gruber Images
The 27-year-old American joined the team in 2016 after turning pro with Giant-Shimano (now Sunweb) at just 22 years old in 2014. His time at EF has seen him transition into splitting time supporting teammates with hunting his own results.
“I thought he could grow into a top ten three week Grand Tour rider, not necessarily a contender but a guy that could finish in the top 10. I was training him for that, and I don’t think that was the right decision for him, formula for him,” said team CEO Jonathan Vaughters in EF’s announcement of the news. “Now he’s more focused on getting into breakaways, his time trial, helping his teammates. He’s where he should be in the sport now.”
Perhaps the most memorable performance of Craddock’s career was his ride at the 2018 Tour de France. After crashing in the first stage of the Tour and suffering a broken shoulder blade, Craddock stayed in the race and managed to finish while raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Alkek Velodrome in his native Houston, Texas. This year, he enjoyed a strong second half of the season with top 10s at the Tour of Utah and the individual time trial at Yorkshire Worlds.
Corendon-Circus and Dimension Data reportedly interested in André Greipel
After Arkéa-Samsic terminated his contract, André Greipel is free to look for new teams in 2020. Het Nieuwsblad reports that Belgian Pro Continental outfit Corendon-Circus – home to Mathieu van der Poel – and South African WorldTour squad Dimension Data have shown interest in signing the sprinter.
André Greipel at Paris-Nice. Photo: ©kramon
As Het Nieuwsblad points out, German bike brand Canyon and German shampoo company Alpecin plan to come on board as sponsors of the Corendon-Circus team next year, which could boost the team’s interest in the 37-year-old German.
In addition to Corendon-Circus and Dimension Data, one unnamed team has also reportedly shown interest in Greipel.
Kristijan Koren and Borut Bozic receive two-year bans
Kristijan Koren and Borut Bozic have both received two-year bans for anti-doping rule violations uncovered by Operation Aderlass.
Koren, 32, has ridden with Bahrain-Merida since 2018, while Bozic, 39, transitioned into a sports director role with the team after retiring from racing at the end of last season. Both were notified of anti-doping rule violations in May “based on information received from the law enforcement authorities of Austria.” Operation Aderlass, which has implicated numerous athletes in a doping ring run by Dr. Mark Schmidt, uncovered evidence of the “use of prohibited prohibited methods/substances” by both riders.
Koren’s ban is due to violations in 2011 and 2012, during which time he rode with the Liquigas-Cannondale team. Bozic was sanctioned in connection with violations in 2012, when he raced for Astana.
Tech News
VeloToze adds Neoprene shoe cover to range
VeloToze, the company best known for its colorful and waterproof latex shoe covers, has announced a neoprene model. Based on the same stretchy and waterproofed neoprene used for the company’s gloves, the new shoe covers claim to be wind proof and waterproof for use in temperatures down to -5 C. Further waterproofing is provided with the Waterproof Cuff, effectively a latex band that goes around the calf at the top of the shoe cover.
The design does without zippers, and instead fastens with velcro straps underneath the shoe. Durability seems to be a key design area, and those straps are reinforced, while the toe is made of kevlar. The shoes covers are available in black (US$48) and include a black waterproof cuff. Red and yellow waterproof cuffs are available separately for US$9 a pair.
Hope set to make MicroSpline-compatible freehubs
Hope has joined a growing list of manufacturers licensed to make freehubs compatible with MicroSpline technology.
According to the company’s Instagram, Pro 4 hubs with the tech update will be available starting January 1.
In case you missed it …
Feature Image: Michael Woods wins Milano-Torino. Photo: Luca Bettini/RB/Cor Vos © 2019
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