American Chris Horner's choices of teams for the 2015 season are increasingly limited: after Lampre-Merida failed to renew his contract, and CCC Polkowice said they would not sign him, American teams Jelly Belly and Jamis-Hagens Berman today confirmed to Cyclingnews that they are not signing Horner.
The 2013 Vuelta a España winner faced the same struggle after the RadioShack team did not renew him following his Grand Tour victory. He signed with Lampre in January, but had an abbreviated season first due to tendinitis in his knee and then a crash in April which landed him in the hospital.
He bounced back to complete the Tour de France in 17th place, and finished second in Tour of Utah, but was excluded from the Vuelta a España after a bout with bronchitis drove him to treat his ailment with a UCI-legal dose of cortisone which put his blood cortisol levels below the values deemed appropriate by the MPCC.
Topsport Vlaanderen complete for 2015
The Belgian Pro Continental team Topsport Vlaanderen has completed its 2015 roster and riders have met in Gent, Belgium to get started on preparing for the next season.
The team added six riders: Amaury Capiot, Floris De Tier, Oliver Naesen, Jef Van Meirhaeghe, Bert Van Lerberghe and Jens Wallays
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Returning riders include Victor Campenaerts, Kenny De Ketele, Moreno De Pauw, Tim Declercq, Sander Helven, Pieter Jacobs, Eliot Lietaer, Jonas Rickaert, Jarl Salomein, Thomas Sprengers, Stijn Steels, Edward Theuns, Preben Van Hecke, Gijs Van Hoecke, Arthur Vanoverberghe, Pieter Vanspeybrouck, Otto Vergaerde and Jelle Wallays.
MTN-Qhubeka hires two directeurs sportif
Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung announced that it has hired Alex Sans Vega and Jean-Pierre Heynderickx as directeurs sportifs for 2015.
Sans Vega has worked with Team CSC, Cervelo Test Team and NetApp Endura in the past, and has directed teams at numerous Grand Tours, which will be important as the African squad aims to compete in the Tour de France.
"Joining the team is a way to return to work with a group of people that I know very well from the past and we have the same clear goals," Sans Vega said. "The new team manager Brian Smith from Endura Racing Team, Jens Zemke from Cervelo Test Team and even some of the riders like Theo Bos, Serge Pauwels (Cervelo Test Team), Matthew Goss (CSC) and even Boasson Hagen from the Norwegian National Team I have worked with all before."
Heynderickx comes to the team from Lotto-Belisol where he served as a directeur sportif.
No Van der Poel in European championships
Two young riders, Mathieu Van der Poel and Wout Van Aert, have claimed victories in the elite ranks this season, but they have not gone head-to-head in a race since the opening round of the U23 UCI World Cup in Valkenburg last month, when Van Aert was second and Van der Poel came sixth.
According to Sport.be, Van der Poel has dropped out of this weekend's European Championships in Lorsch, Germany, because of the Superprestige in Ruddervoorde the next day, leaving Van Aert as a favourite along with Michael Vanthourenhout.
Both riders are racing the U23 World Cup races, but have chosen to compete in the elite ranks for the other races on the calendar. Van Aert stunned by beating Sven Nys in the Koppenbergcross this weekend, while Van der Poel won the opening round of the Superprestige in Gieten and sits third, one point off Lars van der Haar and Nys, in the series rankings.
Fans may have to wait until November 30 for the Bpost Bank Trofee in Hamme-Zogge to see how the two stack up against each other in the elite races.
USA Cycling names finalists for 2017-2018 cyclo-cross nationals
USA Cycling announced Wednesday the four finalists to host the 2017-18 Cyclo-cross National Championships: Bend, Oregon, which hosted the 2010 and 2011 championships, Hartford, Connecticut, Louisville, Kentucky, which hosted the 2013 UCI World Championships, and Reno, Nevada.
Two cities will be chosen from the list to host the 2017 or 2018 championship. The selection will be announced at the 2015 national championships in Austin, Texas.
