Synergy Baku finalises roster, Prudential extends with RideLondon
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William Bonnet (FDJ)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra of The Netherlands celebrates winning the 30km Points race round of the 1878 Cup during day one of the London Six Day Race(Image credit: Getty Images)
The start of the women's Prudential RideLondon (Image credit: Prudential RideLondon)
Synergy Baku Cycling Project 2015 team presentation(Image credit: Synergy Baku Cycling Project)
FDJ’s William Bonnet is hoping to return to racing in time to compete at next year’s Tour de France. Bonnet was involved in a serious accident during stage 3 of this year’s Tour de France, which left him wearing a neck brace after fracturing his second vertebra. He’s not been able to race since but was offered a contract extension to ensure his place in the team for 2016.
“I would like to return to competition, but since the final stage of the Tour de France starts in Chantilly, close to home, it would be nice to be there,” Bonnet said on the team’s website. “We must act step by step. I do not know how I will go back into the peloton, I cannot guess what will be my place and if I will have any apprehensions when we have to brake hard. Today, I really want to say that there will be no problem but in reality I do not know.”
Bonnet confirmed, however, that he would not be helping his teammate Arnaud Démare at the Classics, as the risk of crash is too high. He will also have to miss the team’s training camp at the end of November but is expected to return to training at the beginning of December.
Hoogland and Terpstra to Rotterdam Six-Day
Niki Tersptra will team up with Jeffry Hoogland for the Rotterdam Six-Day event, which takes place at the start of January, according to Dutch paper de Telegraaf.
Terpstra has won in Rotterdam for the past three years with his teammate Iljo Keisse and he recently finished third at the inaugural Six Day London with Yoeri Havik. 22-year-old Hoogland is a track specialist and won three gold medals at the European Championships last month.
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Synergy Baku finalises 2016 roster
The Synergy Baku team finalised its roster for the coming season, naming a 14-rider squad that includes eight Azeri riders and a total of seven U23 riders.
The team is looking to help develop its young riders, six of which are from Azerbaidjan, The two newest riders are both only 18, Kanan Gahramanli and Tarlan Mammadov. Gahramanli is the reigning national junior road race and junior time trial champion. Samir Jabrayilov, 21, has been with the team for three seasons. He and new recruit Josip Rumac will compete in both elite and U23 races.
“We will look after the new young riders in the best possible way so that they can gain experience and skills and mature, like Samir has over the past three years,” said Sport Director Jeremy Hunt.
Sport Director Andrej Hauptman will work mainly with the younger riders. “Our goal is to ride as many National Cup races with our U23 riders as we can. That way we will be in touch with the best in the world. Another goal is also to improve our results in European and World Championships.”
Synergy Baku Cycling Project for 2016: Elgun Alizada, Elchin Asadov, Enver Asanov, Maksym Averin, Kanan Gahramanli, Ismail Iliasov, Samir Jabrayilov, Matija Kvasina, Tarlan Mammadov, Matej Mugerli, Kirill Pozdnyakov, Josip Rumac, Alex Surutkovych, and Ioannis Tamouridis
Prudential extends with RideLondon
Prudential extended its sponsorship of RideLondon for another three years, through the 2018 event.
The race, which debuted in 2013 after the Olympic Games, and uses some of the same road race course, has grown into a major international event that also includes a popular cycling festival that attracts tens of thousands of enthusiasts.
In 2016 the race will be a part of the inaugural Women's WorldTour, and the organisers are planning other significant developments for the event.
London Mayor Boris Johnson MP, said: "Prudential RideLondon has, without doubt, become the greatest mass-participation cycling event in the world. Whether it's the elite athletes racing through the streets or families enjoying a leisurely ride past London's landmarks, the celebration of cycling has become a hugely popular fixture in our sporting calendar. I'm sure this extended sponsorship deal will prove to be a huge boost, both for the event itself and the charities it supports."
The fourth Prudential RideLondon will take place July 30-31, 2016.
