Movistar has named its seven-man team for the Tour Down Under, with Rubén Fernández, 5th a year ago, and Juanjo Lobato, stage winner in Stirling, leading the line for the Spanish outfit.
Australian Rory Sutherland kicks off his second season at Movistar as part of the selection for his home WorldTour race, while the line-up also includes fast man José Joaquin Rojas, as well as Jesús Herrada, Jasha Sütterlin and new arrival Nelson Oliveira.
The Tour Down Under takes place from January 19-21, and Movistar’s seven-man selection will also line out at the People’s Choice Classic, the curtain-raising criterium, on January 17.
Movistar team for Tour Down Under: Rory Sutherland (Aus), Jasha Sütterlin (Ger), José Joaquín Rojas (Spa), Juanjo Lobato (Spa), Jesús Herrada (Spa), Rubén Fernández (Spa) and Nelson Oliveira (Por).
Nocentini signs for Sporting-Taviria
Rinaldo Nocentini will continue his career in 2016 in the colours of Portuguese Continental outfit Sporting-Taviria, marking the veteran Italian’s 18th campaign in the professional ranks.
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The 38-year-old spent the past nine seasons with Ag2r-La Mondiale but his contract was not renewed at the end of the 2015 campaign. The highlight of Nocentini’s lengthy tenure at the French squad was the eight days he spent in the yellow jersey at the 2009 Tour de France.
For the revamped Sporting-Taviria, which is linked to Sporting Clube de Portugal, one of Portugal’s most storied football clubs, the principal target of the season will be the Tour of Portugal. Nocentini will be joined at his new team by David De La Fuente, formerly of Saunier Duval and Caja Rural.
Finishes in Gandia and Bilbao to feature on Vuelta a España route
The steady drip of details of the route of the 2016 Vuelta a España continues ahead of the official presentation in Santiago de Compostela on January 9.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that stage 18 of the Vuelta will be a rolling 200-kilometre leg from Requena to Gandia. Backed by the tourism board of the Valencia region, the route is designed to showcase the wine country of Utiel-Requena as well as the coastal area around Gandia. “The tourism department will have to seize this opportunity to attract tourists to the beach,” said Diana Morant, mayor of Gandia.
Meanwhile, Basque newspaper El Correo has reported that the Vuelta will revisit Bilbao in 2016, five years on from the hugely successful finish in the city in 2011, when Igor Anton marked the Vuelta’s return to the Basque Country after a 33-year hiatus with a local victory.
The Bilbao finish is likely to come on stage 12, the day after the anticipated summit finish at Peña Cabarga. The 2016 Vuelta gets underway in Galicia on August 20 and finish in Madrid on September 11.
British premiere of Paris-Roubaix documentary "Rêves d’Enfer"
The British premiere and first English translation of the documentary “Rêves d’Enfer” (Dreams of Hell) will be held at Look Mum No Hands in London on Monday, January 4.
The film by Nicolas Loth, Laurent Galinon and Pierre Carrey follows Tao Geoghegan Hart, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Dylan Kowalski and Jérémy Defaye as they prepare for the under-23 Paris-Roubaix. Their diverse stories and approaches to the race speak to the irresistible attraction of the Hell of the North.
Monday’s event is organised is supported by Cassette Media and gets underway at 49 Old Street at 7pm. The screening is followed by a Q&A session with Tao Geoghegan Hart, and entry is free. Tickets are available here.
