Bardiani - CSF team training(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Bardiani - CSF team training(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander ride to defend their titles at Cape Epic(Image credit: Michal Cervený)
Cavendish heads to San Luis in fine spirits
Mark Cavendish (Etixx – Quick-Step ) is excited to return to the Tour de San Luis later this month as he kick starts his 2015 campaign. The British rider has taken part in the race for the last two seasons, winning the first stage of the 2013 race in a bunch sprint.
“I have very good memories of the race, I have been there the last two years and I think that it is one of the best ways to get ready for the season,” he said in a press release.
Cavendish will be joined by world champion Michał Kwiatkowski in Argentina. The race begins January 19 with a stage from San Luis to Villa Mercedes and concludes on January 25.
Team Bardiani CSF release 2015 jersey
Italian Pro Continental squad Bardiani CSF have released images of the jersey they will race in during 2015. The team have registered 16 riders for the season, including Enrico Bataglin, Nicola Boem, Sonny Colbrelli, Stefano Pirazzi and Edoardo Zardini.
The team won three stages in last year’s Giro d’Italia. To view the new jersey, click here for our gallery.
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Patrick Lefevere has begun the season by setting out goals for his Etixx – Quick-Step team in 2015. The squad won over 60 races in 2015 – as well the Best Team award in the Cyclingnews reader poll, but Lefevere believes that with luck they could be just as strong as or even stronger than their 2014 showing.
“Last year we had bad luck with Tom, who couldn't be 100 percent at the Classics, and Cavendish who crashed out of Le Tour. But our riders overcame adversity with a good team spirit, and they kept winning races,” the Belgian wrote on the team’s website.
“We really hope in 2015, with a little more luck, that we can reach other prestigious goals and continue to be among the best in the World, just as we have been in the last years.”
“The most important thing, as always, is to ride and perform at the top and have no regrets at the end of the year. I am sure everyone will work hard and be committed to the team.”
Rather surprisingly there was no mention of retaining the Best Team Award in 2015. However the team did issue this popular video message to Cyclingnews readers at the end of last season.
Absa Cape Epic produce video to commemorate Burry Stander
The Absa Cape Epic race has produced a touching video montage to commemorate the late Burry Stander. The South African rider was killed in a road accident two years ago today.
Stander, who finished fifth in the London Olympic Games, was 25 when he died after being hit by a taxi while training on the KwaZulu Natal South Coast.
He was crowned under-23 cross country world champion in 2009 and had begun to feature regularly at the front of the field in the prestigious UCI World Cup series. Stander won the Cape Epic race on two occasions.
