Bauhaus leads Sunweb in Brussels, Canadian team for home WorldTour races, Vuelta podcast
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Mikel Landa (Team Sky)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb) on the Criterium du Dauphine podium(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Direct Energie's Antoine Duchesne and Adrien Petit celebrate the win(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Pablo Lechuga, Andalusian rider of the Euskadi team(Image credit: El Pedal de Frodo/www.elpedaldefrodo.com)
Chris Froome wins stage 9 of the Vuelta a España.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Mikel Landa is set to take over the Basque development squad Fundacion Euskadi, according to a report in Spanish publication AS. Landa will take control of the squad, which is currently run by Miguel Madariaga, in the short to medium term. Current sports director, and former teammate of Landa’s at Euskaltel-Euskadi, Jorge Azanza, will take up a lead role within the team.
Madariaga has been involved with the Fundacion Euskadi team since its inception and had preparing to leave the team, but they were struggling to find a replacement.
Landa rode for the Fundacion Euskadi team in 2008 and 2009 before switching to the Orbea Continental squad at the end of the 2009 season. He stepped up to the professional ranks in 2011 with the Euskaltel-Euskadi team, which received some funding from the Fundacion Euskadi.
The team is not Landa’s first side project, after he funded the set-up of cycling website Zikloland.com at the end of last year with journalist and representative Jesús Ezkurdia. Landa will ride with Movistar next season after signing a two-year contract with the Spanish squad.
Sunweb backing Bauhaus for Brussels Cycling Classic success
German Phil Bauhaus will lead Team Sunweb into the Brussels Cycling Classic on his debut at the 1.HC Belgian sprinters' race. The 23-year-old enjoyed a breakout stage win at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June and will be backed by an experienced squad for the September 2 race.
In Max Walscheid and Zico Waeytens, Sunweb also have other fast finishing options but, as coach Aike Visbeek explained, the tactics are built around Bauhaus.
"Our goal here is to sprint with Phil and we have a strong team around him to support this goal," Visbeek said. "The race has a history of bunch sprints, but every now and then a breakaway makes it to the line so we have to remain focused on both of these scenarios. It will be important to keep our eyes open at the groups that do go away, especially during the hilly section in the middle of the race that can often be really tricky. We have to be attentive and stay focused on both potential race scenarios in order to be successful."
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With Sindre Skjøstad Lunke, Mike Teunissen, and Dutch champion Ramon Sinkeldam, Sunweb has options for the breakaways and strong riders to close down moves. Lead out man Bert De Backer and stagiaire Max Kanter complete the squad. Kanter, 19, was also a stagiaire with the team last year and currently rides for the Sunweb Development Team.
National Canadian team named for GP Québec and Montréal
The eighth edition of both races takes place first in Quebec on September 8 and then two days later in Montreal.
Canadian Continental team Silber Pro Cycling is the best-represented team with the trio of Alec Cowan, Pier-Andre Cote and Marc-Antoine Soucy earning selection. National champion Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally Cycling), 2016 national champion Bruno Langlois (Garneau-Québecor) and Aevolo's Jack Burke round out the team.
"We're thrilled to be back again this year," said Kevin Field, Road Head Coach at Cycling Canada. "Marcel [Leblanc], Serge [Arsenault], Sebastien [Arsenault] and the whole team at GPCQM are awesome to work with. We have a strong team, and we think Antoine, Ryan and Matteo can be strong riders for the finishes - especially in Quebec. We are again bringing our U23s to gain critical experience before the World Championships. Like past years, we'll look to animate the race and be aggressive in breakaways in both Quebec and Montreal. Racing at home at this level of race is extremely motivating for our athletes, they can't wait for the opportunity."
Since 2010 when Robert Gesink enjoyed victory, no rider has defended or won a second title in Montreal. At Quebec, by contrast, Simon Gerrans is the only rider to have won the race twice. Along with Gesink and Peter Sagan, the trio are the only riders to have won both the GP Quebec and Montreal.
Canadian National Team for GP Québec and GP Montréal: Ryan Anderson (Direct Energie), Jack Burke (Aevolo), Alec Cowan (Silber Pro Cycling), Pier-Andre Cote (Silber Pro Cycling), Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally Cycling), Antoine Duchesne (Direct Energie), Bruno Langlois (Garneau-Québecor) and Marc-Antoine Soucy (Silber Pro Cycling).
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