The start of next year's Giro d'Italia could be held in Nijmegan, the Netherlands, according to a report on the Italian Tuttobici website. If true, it would be the third time since 2002 that the race has visited the country.
Tuttobici report that, during the IV Napoli Bike Festival, businessman and Dutch cycling ambassador Jos Sluijsmans, announced that the race would begin in Nijmegan next year. The Netherlands hosted the Giro's grande partenza in Groningen in 2002 and Amsterdam in 2010. The last foreign start for the Giro was Northern Ireland in 2014 with this year's race starting in San Lorenzo al Mare.
Ewan victorious at Tour de Korea
Caleb Ewan sprinted to victory on stage 2 of the Tour de Korea on Sunday and took the jersey for best young rider in the process.
After successes at the Herald Sun Tour, the Tour de Langkawi, and the Vuelta a la Rioja, it takes the Australian's win tally to six in what is becoming an impressive neo-pro season.
A crash meant he was unable to contest the sprint on stage 1 but things went more smoothly the second time around. Drapac, with Wouter Wippert in the leader's jersey, did the majority of the work to bring the four-man break back, leaving Orica-GreenEdge to set their man up for the sprint.
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"It was a really good day for us," said 20-year-old Ewan. "I wasn't feeling great to start with today, because of the crash yesterday. For the first hour, the pace was high so it was really fast to start with. Once I had warmed up, I started feeling good though.
"With Drapac having the jersey, they were chasing for most of the day, and when they started running out of guys towards the end, that’s when we put a few guys on the front, especially towards the end when the hills started. We had guys controlling it, because there were so many attacks in the final 20km. Then it all came back for the bunch sprint, and that's when I went for it."
Giant-Alpecin announce Tour de Suisse team
Giant-Alpecin announced on Monday their team for the upcoming Tour de Suisse held from June 13-21. Tom Dumoulin, who was fifth overall last year, will aim for strong time trials in the prologue and stage 9, and his teammate Warren Barguil will lead the team in their GC hopes. The team's sprinter, John Degenkolb, will target the bunch kicks.
"We have strong support for Barguil on the climbs, as well as on the flats in the lead-out for Degenkolb. Dumoulin will enjoy the space to aim for stage success in a possible break, the prologue and the long closing time trial," said team coach Rudi Kemna.
The team also includes Nikias Arndt, Johannes Fröhlinger, Carter Jones, Koen de Kort and Georg Preidler.
Kemna said in a press release that Barguil, Degenkolb, Dumoulin and de Kort spent three weeks at the team's altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada.
"They are very well prepared for the upcoming period of racing. We are going to Switzerland with two aims: one is the general classification for Barguil and the other is the sprints for Degenkolb."
Voigt launches 'The Jensie Gran Fondo' in California
Jens Voigt has launched his own mass-start group ride in Marin County, California, called The Jensie Gran Fondo. The inaugural event will take place on October 10 at Stafford Lakes Bike Park. The event will offer three routes: 64, 112 and 160km.
"Marin County was chosen because it ticks all the boxes, it's big, it's beautiful and it has all the facilities we need to make a day at my Gran Fondo a really fun day out," Voigt said in a press release.
Voigt has built his popularity among cycling fans across the US, and particularly California, during his lengthy racing career. He is aiming to interact with participants of his grand fondo during the ride and share his past racing experiences.
"We're going to try to make the ride with me as interactive as possible. I want to ride and talk to as many people as I can on the day, and going by how many of you guys turn up at these events - that could be a lot of people. I also want to try to bring and share some of the best experiences I've had from my pro racing career right around the world to this event – I can't share the details yet, but all I know is that it's going to be great fun.”
