2017 NRS concludes with Tour of Tasmania, Bike Aid eye overall 2017 Tour of Rwanda victory
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Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador unveil the kit of their new Polartec-Kometa squad(Image credit: Polartec-Kometa)
Lorenzo Negri, Ivan Basso, Gary Smith and Alberto and Fran Contador presenting Polartec-Kometa's kit(Image credit: Polartec-Kometa)
Nikodemus Holler (Stradalli - Bike Aid)(Image credit: INPHO)
A recently retired Alberto Contador and former teammate Ivan Basso presented their new Polartec-Kometa Continental team project at the Rouleur Classic in London on Friday.
Riding under the Alberto Contador Foundation banner with Basso as manager and Alberto's older brother Fran Contador as director, the outfit will serve as a develpment squad for Trek-Segafredo.
The younger Contador and Basso unveiled the team's kit on Friday. White and blue with black accents, the jersey sports both title sponsors on the chest and sleeves, with Trek and Segafredo earning a bit of real estate as well.
"We are very motivated with this project, which is another step forward for the Contador Foundation," said Contador, who recently returned from taking a final racing bow at the Shanghai Criterium. "It's a very young team, but we have a lot of confidence in the quality of our riders and the only thing we ask them to do is to work hard to become great professionals."
The team will begin preparing for 2018 in a matter of days, with a first team meeting next week.
"With this first training camp we started the work for next season," Basso said. "We are a new team and we have a lot of work to do, but we are trying to offer our riders the best means to achieve their goals and that is why we try to collaborate with the best, such as the Mapei Sport Center."
2017 NRS concludes with Tour of Tasmania
The 2017 men's National Road Series (NRS) concludes next week with the Tour of Tasmania. Regarded as the premier NRS stage race on the calendar, the Tour of Tasmania is the eighth and final event of the 2017 series.
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"We are very excited to have Spirit of Tasmania return as naming rights sponsor of this iconic event in 2017," race director John Trevorrow said. “It is an excellent fit to be able to align this event with such an iconic brand for Tasmania, and it is fantastic to be able to encourage more people to travel on the Spirit of Tasmania to visit this beautiful state."
Ben Dyball en route to victory on the final stage of the 2016 Tour of Tasmania (Con Chronis / Cycling Australia)
The race starts with the familiar and challenging 670-metre prologue in Launceston November 6 and concludes with the Devonport criterium November 10. The dates have been adjusted for 2017 to fit with the Stan Sjieka Cycling Classic on November 12. Despite the change, NRS team leaders Isowhey Sports Swiss Wellness are not fielding a team at the race with its overall win all but secured.
The team, currently racing the Tour of Hainan, has accumulated 1760 points with NSWIS Cycling Team a distant second on 859 points.
Isowhey Sports Swiss Wellness also has the top individual rider in Michael Freiberg who is all but assured of winning the individual title.
The 2016 Tour of Tasmania was won by Ben Dyball who won't defend his title. The Australian is currently racing the Tour of Hainan as a stagiaire with Delko Marseille Provence KTM.
Bike Aid eye overall 2017 Tour of Rwanda victory
German Continental team Bike Aid have announced their intentions to win the Tour of Rwanda overall title this month.
“Tour du Rwanda is one of the most important races for us in Africa and we come this year with highest ambitions to challenge for the General Classification," team coordinator Timo Schäfer told The New Times.
Recent Tour of Cameroon winner Nikodemus Holler will lead the team goals with Timothy Rugg, who won two stages of the 2016 edition of the race, missing the UCI 2.2 race. Included in the five-rider roster is Dutchman Adne van Engelen, 18-year-old Kenyan Salim Kipkemboi and his compatriots Suleiman Kangangi and Geoffrey Langat.
"Tour du Rwanda means a lot to us and is a very special race in our schedule. In 2014, we won the Individual ranking of the UCI Africa tour with Mekseb Debesay [now Team Dimension Data] and also in 2015 we won 2 stages," said Schäfer, before providing an update on the team preparing for the race.
"The riders are currently preparing differently. The Kenyans are training at our common development and training base in Iten, Kenya, while the European riders currently are shaping up in Spain."
The ninth edition of the Tour of Rwanda starts with a prologue in Kigali on November 12 and concludes in the capital November 19.
Bike Aid for the 2017 Tour of Rwanda: German Nikodemus Holler, Adne van Engelen, Salim Kipkemboi, Suleiman Kangangi, Geffory Kiprotich Langat
