Degenkolb healthy, ASO partners with Tour of Turkey, 20 teams for Tour of Hainan
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Carlos Betancur (Movistar) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Thumbs up from Carlos Betancur from hospital(Image credit: Carlos Betancur)
Tony Martin and John Degenkolb on stage 21 of the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Turkish flag shades Tour of Turkey race leader Kristijan Durasek in 2015(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Benjamin Giraud on the stage 5 podium.(Image credit: Tour of Hainan)
The Movistar Team announced the contract extensions of Colombian Carlos Betancur and Winner Anacona for two more seasons. The team has confirmed 24 of its riders for next year after adding Mikel Landa, Jaime Rosón, Eduardo Sepúlveda, Rafa Valls and neo-pro Jaime Castrillo.
Betancur, 27, showed his class at the Tour de France, finishing 18th overall while supporting Nairo Quintana, but suffered a season-ending ankle fracture during the Vuelta a España.
Tipped as a future Grand Tour contender after his Paris-Nice victory in 2014, Betancur had a falling out with his then-AG2R La Mondiale team in 2015, ending his season after the Giro d'Italia. His first season with Movistar was sub-par, but his strong performance in the Tour de Frace helped him recover his confidence.
"When I came to Movistar, it was to a team of winners, and I'm in cycling because I want to get back to winning. I want to return to winning, to winning a Paris-Nice, to be among the favourites for a Grand Tour and to enjoying the Ardennes. If I've done it, I think I have to get back to it because it's within me to do it," Betancur told Cyclingnews before the Vuelta.
Anacona is a training partner and domestique for Quintana and has been with the team since 2015. He supported Quintana in three Grand Tours, including this year's Giro d'Italia where he was second behind Tom Dumoulin.
Degenkolb aiming for 2018 after health scare
The Trek-Segafredo team announced on Monday that John Degenkolb is back to full health. The German was hospitalised with breathing issues in September after abandoning the Tour of Denmark.
"John's condition was not improving enough after his DNF in de Tour of Denmark, so we decided he had to go to the hospital for additional tests for his respiratory issues. Fortunately, John quickly started to feel better and could leave the hospital after a few days," head team doctor Nino Daniele said. "He will start training again in two weeks, but of course we will follow-up on him during the coming months."
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The 2015 Paris-Roubaix winner had a strong start to the season with a win in the Dubai Tour, but missed the winning moves in the Classics. His best finish in the Tour de France was second in the sprint in Bergerac. He dropped out of the Vuelta a Espana with bronchitis, and after being hospitalised, he decided to end his season.
"After I came out of the hospital, there was no time enough to get back into shape to still race this season, so we decided that I would take my break a bit earlier this year," Degenkolb said. "In two weeks, I will start training again and I am really looking forward to that. 2017 didn't exactly go like I wanted and expected, so I am ready for 2018. Bring it on!"
ASO partners with Tour of Turkey organisers
The Tour de France owners ASO announced they have partnered with the Turkish cycling federation to distribute television coverage of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey.
The WorldTour race will begin on Tuesday in Alanya, but with only 13 teams on the start line, and just four WorldTour teams, it faces an uncertain future in keeping the ranking since UCI rules require races to maintain 10 WorldTour teams to maintain status on the WorldTour calendar
The ASO has worked with the race since 2011, increasing distribution of the race coverage from 75 to 190 territories, with 31 broadcasters showing the race this year.
Cyclingnews will have full coverage from the Tour of Turkey.
20 teams set to contest the Tour of Hainan
Set to take place from 28 October to 5 November after the newly created Tour of Guangxi (19-24 October) which is the WorldTour final, the 12th edition of the Tour of Hainan on China's Paradisiacal Island will host 20 teams, including five from the Pro Continental ranks: Bardiani CSF, Delko Marseille Provence KTM, Soul Brasil, Novo Nordisk, Wilier Triestina (Pro Continental), Hainan Jilun, Beijing XDS-Innova, Hengxiang, Keyi-Look, Mitchelton-Scott, RTS-Monton, Ukyo, Kolss, Attaque Gusto, Monkey Town, H&R Block, Isowhey Sports Swisswellness, Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis, Vorarlberg (Continental), Swiss Cycling (national team).
Seven of the past eight editions have been won by WorldTour riders: Francisco Ventoso, Valentin Iglinskiy, Dmitriy Gruzdev, Julien Antomarchi, Moreno Hofland, Sacha Modolo and Alexey Lutsenko. Jakub Mareczko of Wilier Triestina is expected to fire up the sprint stages while the queen stage will be the seventh one with the traditional finish in the charming city of Wuzhishan.
