Sky and Giant-Alpecin teams for Revolution Champions League, Cunego wants more in 2017
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The Ponferrada castle(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Elia Viviani (Team LIDL)(Image credit: Tim de Waele)
Zico Waeytens in his shades(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Damiano Cunego at 2016 Japan Cup team presentation(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Spanish media reported Monday that the commission investigating the 2014 Ponferrada Road World Championships has calculated the event's cost at more than 11 million euros — a number that could potentially rise higher as investigations continue.
Miguel Ángel Fernández, president of the commission, noted in a press conference that "unpaid invoices are still showing up."
Although the racing itself went smoothly, concerns of excessive costs motivated demands for a review of the budget.
According to the commission, the former chief engineer of the municipal government claimed he had received orders to alter the names of various public undertakings related to Worlds preparations so as to obscure their connection with the event, instead giving the projects the appearance of being improvements to public sanitation or the water supply system.
The commission will continue its inquiries through December before handing over conclusions to a judge for review.
The Castle in Ponferrada was a popular spectator location during the 2014 world championships (Bettini Photo)
Team Sky and Giant-Alpecin announce Revolution Champions League #2 teams
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The Revolution Champions League gets underway in Manchester this coming weekend after the opening round in Paris was cancelled, with seven WorldTour teams sending two-man squads to the velodrome. Team Sky and Giant-Alpecin are two of the WorldTour teams riding the Manchester event with Elia Viviani and Pete Kennaugh representing the British team.
Viviani, the Olympic omnium gold medallist, finished on the Gent Six Day podium with Iljo Keisse and makes an immediate return to the track with trade teammate Kennaugh. For the third round of the Revolution Champions League in London, the Team Sky squad will feature Ian Stannard and a second rider to be unveiled.
For Giant-Alpecin, Ramon Sinkeldam and Zico Waeytens are its two riders for the Manchester event.
Damiano Cunego wants more in 2017
The 2016 season was Damiano Cunego's 15th in the professional ranks and second with Nippo - Vini Fantini. The 2004 Giro d'Italia winner only had a handful of top-ten results in 2016 with his season highlight coming at the Corsa Rosa where he spent several stages in the KOM jersey and finished second in the classification. For 2017 though, Cunego is hoping to do better and add to his tally of 31 professional victories.
Having started his 2016 season in Australia at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and Herald Sun Tour, Cunego won't be making the trip down under next year as he outlined his early-season goals in an interview with Italian newspaper L'Arena.
"In December we will be at the first training camp in Sicily or near Pescara, while the debut will be the first Italian races in February. Some will begin earlier, in Argentina or Australia which I regard as too much but that is how the world is, " Cunego said of the team's start to the new year. "There is a multitude of races and you have to be good at managing yourself and make the best choices. I will definitely do the Coppi and Bartali and the Giro del Trentino. We expect to get invitations to some races in Belgium."
Cunego, who signed a two-year extension with the team and will then join the technical staff, is keen on racing the 100th edition of the Giro but explained that until a wild card invitation is announced by RCS, he won't be talking about the race.
"It is useless to talk about it until there is an invitation to participate from RCS," he said. "It is obvious that I hope to be in the 100th edition."
