The issue of race vehicles and their impact upon rider safety came to the boil at this year's Vuelta a Espana, with a string of unfortunate incidents and crashes. One of the most high-profile saw Peter Sagan upended by a neutral service vehicle towards the end of stage 8.
The Slovak was forced to abandon the race after it was concluded he could not continue safely with his injuries, which included wounds and burns of first and second degree and a contusion on his left forearm with an intra-muscular haematoma.
Television cameras failed to capture the collision, only picking up Sagan's infuriated reaction in the initial aftermath. However, more footage has emerged today through Velon, who attach cameras to the front and rear of certain riders' bikes. This video doesn't allow us to see the moment the impact was made but we do see, from a rear-facing camera, the riders pass by Sagan who has just gone down and is lying on his back on the tarmac, tangled up in some roadside tape.
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Gesink considering racing 2016 Giro d'Italia
Robert Gesink is considering returning to the Giro d'Italia for the first time in three years next season with the first three stages of the Italian Grand Tour to take place in the Netherlands. The LottoNL-Jumbo rider has ridden the Giro just once in his career, sitting 12th overall when he abandoned ahead of stage 20 of the 2013 race as illness forced him from the race. In his column for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, he expressed his desire to return to the race.
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Gesink has finished sixth in a Grand Tour on four occasions, seventh on one occasion and has also twice withdrawn from three week races while sitting inside the top ten overall. The 29-year-old has overcome several personal and health issues over the last 18 months with a return to form that saw him finish fifth at the Tour of California, ninth at the Tour de Suisse and sixth at the Tour as well as eighth place at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.
In his column, Gesink also writes that the 2016 Rio Olympic Games are also a goal for next season. "The course in Brazil is pretty tough and good for climbers. Therefore, I see this as a unique opportunity," he wrote.
Australia names 2016 Oceania Track Championships squad
Double Olympic gold medallist Anna Meares has been named in the Australian team for the 2016 Oceania Track Championships that take palace in Invercargill, New Zealand, next month. 32-year-old Meares is aiming for another gold medal at her fourth Olympics in Rio next year and the Oceanias will be her first return to competitive racing since May.
"I am feeling good and excited to be back racing," said Meares who won an 11th World Championships title in February. "It's been a long pre season, I have worked hard and I am happy with where I am at in relation to my plan and goals for Rio next year. My goals for Oceania are very simple - race hard and have fun.
"Oceania's are an important event and Australia will be sending a very strong team both in men and women and sprint and endurance and as always it's a pleasure to be a part of the national team and national CA HPU (Cycling Australia High Performance Unit) program."
Meares will be joined in the sprint events by Kaarle McCulloch and Stephanie Morton and believes the trio can challenge New Zealand for the gold medals on offer. The men's sprint team is composed of Shane Perkins, Matt Glaetzer, Peter Lewis, Jacob Schmid, Nathan Hart, and Mitch Bullen.
Macey Stewart, Lauren Perry and Georgia Baker, and world cup team pursuit winner Elissa Wundersitz make up the women's endurance squad while the men's team contains Rohan Wight, James Robinson, Alex Morgan, Scott Sunderland, Sam Welsford, Jackson Law, Alex Porter and Nicholas Yallouris.
Tour of Britain 2016 dates announced
The dates for the 2016 edition of the Aviva Tour of Britain have been confirmed, with the race set to take place from Sunday 4 to Sunday 11 September.
It will be the 13th edition of the modern incarnation of what is the UK's biggest professional cycle race, which has retained its 2.HC status and its place on the UCI Europe Tour. At this stage there is no information about the route to be covered across the eight stages but more details will be unveiled over the coming months ahead of the official launch of the event in early spring 2016.
This year's Tour of Britain was won by Edvald Boasson Hagen of MTN-Qhubeka.
