Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) has had to take matters into his own hands to make a busy end to this season a little more manageable.
Sagan is due to ride the first professional road race at the European Championships on Sunday, September 18. However, he is also down to ride the Eneco Tour for the first time in his career, which starts a day later on Monday, September 19.
While some have dismissed it as impossible to do both, the reigning world champion has not been deterred and he’ll hotfoot it between the two events on a private jet.
"He will be flown immediately after the European Championship with a private jet to the Netherlands and then travel to the start," Rob Discart from Eneco Tour organiser Golazo said according to Het Nieuwsblad.
Under-23 Giro d'Italia to return in 2017
Gazzetta dello Sport has reported that the under-23 version of the Giro d'Italia will return in 2017 after a four-year absence.
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The race will consist of eight stages, starting in Imola in central Italy with other stages in the more southern Marche and Abruzzo regions. A precise date has still to be confirmed and approved by the UCI but the race is likely to be held in mid-June. It could also become part of the UCI Nation's Cup series that also includes many of the most important under 23 spring Classics and the Tour de l'Avenir.
Gazzetta dello sport claims that Italian national coach Davide Cassani has been working on the Giro Baby project in recent months as he tries to develop all the Italian national squads.
The so-called Giro Baby was created in 1970, with Francesco Moser, Marco Pantani and Gilberto Simoni all former winners.The race was not held in 2007 and 2008 for financial reasons but was relaunched with the name of Giro Bio as the organisers tried to fight doping in the Italian peloton with extra tests and blood screening during the race.
The Giro Bio was last held in 2012, when the USA's Joe Dombrowski – now a professional with Cannondale-Drapac, beat Italy's Fabio Aru – who won the 2015 Vuelta a Espana and lead the Astana team at this year's Tour de France.
Teunissen signs with Giant-Alpecin
Team Giant-Alpecin announced the signing of Dutch rider Mike Teunissen to their roster for 2017 and 2018. Teunissen is particularly strong in one-day classics, prologues and sprints.
2014 was a successful year for the Dutchman, as he won the U23 editions of both Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Tours. Last year, he won the Tour de l'Ain prologue and finished second in the bunch sprint at the Prudential RideLondon. This season he took two fourth places in bunch sprints, at the Tour of Oman and Tour of California.
"I'm very happy with my transfer to Team Giant-Alpecin," Teunissen said. "The opportunity came at the right moment in my career, and I seized it. I'm attracted by the team's focus on helping riders improve, and by the professional support and opportunities they offer as a result. The team had a strong lineup already and has added some impressive talent, so we'll have a good squad and I'm looking forward to some great seasons."
Coach Marc Reef added: "Mike has performed well already at a young age, often in a support role working for his team leaders. He feels most at home in the Flemish races in the spring, and he'll also be able to go for an overall result in some of the shorter, less difficult stage races, as he is a strong prologue rider. He has the potential to achieve good results in the classics in the future, and with us he will have the opportunity to take the next step in his development. He will also have an important role in the lead-out for our German sprinters, Nikias [Arndt], Phil [Bauhaus] and Max [Walscheid]."
ASO announces Paris-Tours teams
ASO announced Thursday the 23 teams that will participate in Paris-Tours on October 9. The 110th edition of the race will see 12 WorldTour, eight Professional Continental and three Continental teams including Armee De Terre, HP-BTP Auber 93 and Roubaix Metropole on the start line.
World Teams: AG2R La Mondiale (France) Astana Pro Team (Kazakhstan) BMC Racing Team (Usa) Team Dimension Data (Republic Of South Africa) Etixx - Quick Step (Belgium) FDJ (France) IAM Cycling (Switzerland) Lotto Soudal (Belgium) Orica-BikeExchange (Australia) Team Giant – Alpecin (Germany) Team Lotto Nl – Jumbo (Netherlands) Team Sky (Great-Britain)
