World Cup track heads to Canada, McNally and Antonini confirmed with Wanty-Groupe Gobert
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Nairo Quintana rides with Movistar on the rest day(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Mark McNally (Wanty - Groupe Gobert)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Simone Antonini (Wanty - Groupe Gobert)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Kristina Vogel of Germany celebrates after winning the Women's Sprint(Image credit: Michael Aisner)
Adam Jamieson, Aidan Caves, Jay Lamoureux and Bayley Simpson of Canada compete in the Men's Team Pursuit Final
Six Movistar riders and staff met for a training camp at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca from November 16-19. The main focus of the four-day event was high-quality training, health and wellness.
It coincided with the team’s first-ever cyclosportif-style camp whereby some 30 guests had an opportunity to ride one of three routes with the riders. They also had a chance to talk to the team and taste wines from local Bodegas Cornelio. Guests also had stretching and heat-cold contrast sessions, and mechanics and bike cleaning classes.
Those members of the team on hand to support the cyclosportif camp were Victor de la Parte, Marc Soler and local Mavi Garcia, along with director Pablo Lastras, coach Manuel Mateo and mechanic Tomás Amezaga (head of mechanics).
McNally, 28, is regarded as an aggressive rider suitable for breakaways, noted for being in escapes at the Tour of Flanders and Ghent-Wevelgem, and he finished on the podium in Ronde van Drenthe and Eneco Tour during the past two years. He will start his third season with the team.
Antonini, 26, will start his fourth season with the team and is touted as one of the team’s strongest workers.
"Antonini and McNally are two riders who are always willing to do their job. Working in the chase or going in the breakaway can not be underestimated. As a result, their results are sometimes less, but their teammates can thus benefit from their work," Hilaire Van der Schueren said in a team press release.
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The team has hired 21 riders for next season. Five riders left the team including Kenny Dehaes, Robin Stenuit and Guillaume Levarlet, who signed contracts elsewhere. Frederik Veuchelen and Danilo Napolitano have retired from professional cycling.
Newcomers include Odd Christian Eiking (FDJ), Boris Vallée (Fortuneo-Oscaro), Timothy Dupont (Crelan-Willems) and Bart De Clercq (Lotto-Soudal).
The remaining riders are Simone Antonini, 26 (Italy), Frederik Backaert, 27, Jérôme Baugnies, 30, Thomas Degand, 31 , Tom Devriendt, 26, Fabien Doubey, 24 (France), Wesley Kreder, 27 (Netherlands), Guillaume Martin, 24 (France), Mark McNally, 28 (Great Britain), Xandro Meurisse, 25, Marco Minnaard, 28 (Netherlands), Yoann Offredo, 31 (France), Andrea Pasqualon, 29 (Italy), Dion Smith, 24 (New-Zealand), Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, 26, Pieter Vanspeybrouck, 30 and Kevin Van Melsen, 30.
World-class track cyclists head to Canada
World-class track racers are set to make appearances at the inaugural visit of the Tissot UCI Track World Cup to the Mattamy Cycling Centre in Milton, Ontario, during the first weekend of December. The event marks the third round of the UCI Track World Cup.
More than 30 nations and additional UCI teams have registered squads with approximately 225 riders listed. Canada is bringing its A team, including Rio Olympians Hugo Barrette, Allison Beveridge, Jasmin Duehring and Kirsti Lay. International track nations, including Great Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands will also have top-ranked athletes on their squads. Among those in attendance will be Germany's Kristina Vogel, the reigning Olympic champion in the women's sprint and world champion in the Keirin. Vogel is undefeated in World Cup competition this season for all sprint events - Team Sprint, Sprint and Keirin.
"It's a real privilege for us to play host to our international competitors," commented Kris Westwood, High Performance Director at Cycling Canada, "and we're looking forward to seeing how our athletes stack up against the best in the world while enjoying home-field advantage - we definitely hope to make multiple trips to the podium. World Cups can be unpredictable because teams often use them to experiment with new tactics and unfamiliar combinations of riders, so you never know what to expect. One thing's for sure: it's going to be a great show and Canada will be in the thick of the action."
Hailstone named Cycling Canada's new men's endurance coach
Ahead of the third round of the UCI Track World Cup in Canada, Cycling Canada has announced Jono Hailstone as the new head coach for the men's endurance team. He will work directly out of the Mattamy National Cycling Centre beginning in January.
Hailstone will work closely with Luc Arseneau, men’s track endurance NextGen coach, and sports science and medicine support staff to optimize the performances of the men’s track endurance pool of riders in the hunt for a medal in the men's team pursuit event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, according to a press release. He comes to Cycling Canada’s high performance track program after several years as a track endurance coach for Cycling New Zealand and para-cycling coach for the New Zealand Paralympic Committee.
"I’m really looking forward to coming on board with Cycling Canada. I’m excited at the opportunity to work with a group of talented young athletes, and help them develop on the road to Tokyo 2020,” Hailstone said. "Canada is a rapidly developing nation on the international track cycling scene, and I'm looking forward to contributing to that momentum going forward. I would like to thank Cycling New Zealand for their support, and for the opportunities they have provided me over the last 12 months, and wish them well in the future."
