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26 sept. 2015

2015 World Championships – Road Race Stats

Richmond RR

Historical stats

– Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen, Eddy Merckx and Oscar Freire are the riders with the most victories, three

– Rik Van Steenbergen holds the record for the largest time span between the first and the last win: 8 years

– Belgium leads in the nations standings, with 26 victories

– Karel Kaers is the youngest ever winner (20 years in 1934), while Joop Zoetemelk is the oldest one (38 years in 1985)

– Copenhagen has hosted the event five times, a record for the World Championships

– Italy is the country which held the most editions, 12

– Up until this point, 15 countries have had at least one world champion: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, U.S.A.

– Only six countries from outside of Europe have hosted the event: Australia, Canada, Colombia, Japan, U.S.A. and Venezuela

– Cadel Evans is the sole rider from the southern emisphere to take the victory (2009)

– Five cyclists have successfully defended their title: Georges Ronsse, Rik Van Steenbergen, Rik van Looy, Gianni Bugno and Paolo Bettini

– Alejandro Valverde has the most medals, six: two silver and four bronze ones

– In 1931, there wasn’t a road race, but a 172 km-long individual time trial won by Italy’s Learco Guerra

– Biggest ever winning margin was recorded at the 1928 edition, in Budapest, when Georges Ronsse came home 19:43 ahead of Herbert Nebe

– Longest edition (297,5 kilometers) took place in Copenhagen, in 1937, and was won by Eloi Meulenberg; Denmark’s capital played host also to the shortest one, in 1931 (172 kilometers)

– On 12 occasions, the world title was won by a rider of the host nation

– No U23 world champion has ever managed to take the title in the elite race

2015 stats

– The World Championships are hosted by the US for the second time in history, 29 years after Moreno Argentin’s triumph

– The course is 261,4 kilometers-long and has an elevation gain of more than 1600 meters

– Each of the 16 laps includes three climbs: Libby Hill (215 meters, 8% average, 9% maximum), 23rd Street (185 meters, 12% average, 13% maximum) and Governor Street (295 meters, 7% average, 8% maximum)

– 190 riders representing 44 countries will be at the start line in Richmond

– Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert, Rui Costa and Michal Kwiatkowski are the former winners of the rainbow jersey who will line-up for the race

– Etixx-Quick Step is the trade team with the most riders in the event: 13

– Tiesj Benoot (21 years) is the youngest cyclist in the race, while Gonzalo Garrido (42 years) is the oldest one

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25 sept. 2015

Tiesj Benoot, guest of the week at Cafe Roubaix

A first year neo-pro and a U23 Lotto-Belisol alumni, Tiesj Benoot rode to an impressive fifth place at the 99th running of the Tour of Flanders, a performance no one would have anticipated before the start. Not only he became the youngest cyclist in the past 42 years to finish in the top 10 of De Ronde, but he impressed with his cunning and aggressive approach in the closing kilometers of the Monument, after the Taaianberg, making all the Belgian media dub him as the country’s next superstar in the Classics.

An economics student at the University of Ghent, the 21-year-old rider of Lotto-Soudal didn’t sleep on his laurels and continued to land some strong results in the following months, when he came second in the Tour of Belgium, ninth at the National Championships, eight in the Eneco Tour, and, more recently, fifth in the Grand Prix de Montreal, his last race before going to the United States. Here, Tiesj Benoot made his debut at the World Championships, racing with Lotto-Soudal in the team time trial, but his most important appointment will come this Sunday, when he’ll line-up for the 259,2 km-long road race.

Belgium has a very strong team for this year’s Worlds – arguably, the strongest in the race – and Tiesj hopes to help his colleagues land the victory in Richmond and thus take the country’s first rainbow jersey in three years. Just a couple of days before the event, Tiesj Benoot – which was one of the season’s revelation – sat down and talked for Cafe Roubaix about his 2015 results, the Worlds and the plans he has for 2016.

– Tiesj, what were your expectations going into this season?

My primary goals were to try to do a good job for the team in the bigger races and get some experience there. Besides that, I was aiming for some results in the smaller .1 races.

– Your breakthrough result came at the Tour of Flanders. What meant for you to finish fifth?

The Tour of Flanders was the race I dreamed about as a child and it still is my favourite Classic, so finishing fifth as a neo-pro was really something unbelievable for me. If someone would have told me in the winter that I’ll get selected for Flanders, it would have already considered it a big achievement.

– Did you feel that the result brought not only a bigger interest from the media and fans, but also extra pressure, as now people are talking more and more about you as a future Classics star?

Maybe the pressure is a bit bigger, but at this moment I think I can handle it and in the same time remain calm under the pressure. Also, it’s very important that the team gives me the chance to grow and develop without any stress.

– One week after Flanders, you line-up for Paris-Roubaix. How did you find the race?

I liked it as well, but I had two punctures on bad moments and that was it, the race was over for me from that point.

– Looking behind, how would you rate your Spring Campaign?

Overall, it was a really big step forward. I feel I have improved a lot. My engine got bigger and I am performing better on shorter efforts.

– Considering your strong string of results on various types of races and terrain, did this season help you make a clearer picture on what races you can target in the future?

After this year, I think I can maybe try to do also the Ardennes Classics in the following seasons and see how I perform there, but truth being told, at this moment I still don’t know which races suit me best.

– Speaking of the future – even tough it’s still early – what are your plans and goals for 2016? Are you thinking about making your Grand Tour debut?

My big goal for next year will be to confirm the results I had in 2015. Going into a Grand Tour is something I will talk about with my trainer and my team in the winter.

– Until then, you’ll race the World Championships in just a couple of days. What do you think of the course?

In my opinion, it’s a nice and demanding parcours, but the weather will have a decisive role. If there’s bad weather I think we won’t have a bunch sprint, but if there’s nice weather on Sunday, then there will be a big chance for a bunch sprint.

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24 sept. 2015

2016 World Tour Calendar

19.01-24.01 – Tour Down Under

06.03-13.03 – Paris-Nice

09.03-15.03 – Tirreno-Adriatico

19.03 – Milan-Sanremo

21.03-27.03 – Volta a Catalunya

25.03 – E3 Harelbeke

27.03 – Gent-Wevelgem

03.04 – Ronde van Vlaanderen

04.04-9.04 – Vuelta al Pais Vasco

10.04 – Paris-Roubaix

17.04 – Amstel Gold Race

20.04 – Flèche Wallonne

24.04 – Liège-Bastogne-Liège

26.04.-01.05 – Tour de Romandie

06.05-29.05 – Giro d’Italia

05.06-12.06 – Critérium du Dauphiné

11.06-19.06 – Tour de Suisse

02.07-24.07 – Tour de France

12.07-18.07 – Tour de Pologne

30.07 – Clasica San Sebastian

20.08-11.09 – Vuelta a España

21.09 – Cyclassics Hamburg

28.08 – Bretagne Classic – Ouest-France

09.09 – Grand Prix de Quebec

11.09 – Grand Prix de Montreal

19.09-25.09 – Eneco Tour

01.10 – Il Lombardia

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22 sept. 2015

2015 World Championships – ITT Stats

Richmond ITT

Historical stats

– Fabian Cancellara holds the record for the most wins, four

– The same Fabian Cancellara has the most medals: besides the four gold ones, he also got three bronze medals

– Germany leads the nations standings, with six victories

– Youngest ever champion is Michael Rogers, who was 23 at the time he first won the title (2003)

– Bradley Wiggins is the oldest ever champion: 34 years in 2014

– Most editions of the event took part in Italy, who got to host the ITT World Championships five times

– Only four countries from outside of Europe got to host the race: Australia, Canada, Colombia and the United States

– Eight nations won gold at least once: Australia, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine

– Only non-European riders to land the victory are Santiago Botero (Colombia) and Michael Rogers (Australia)

– Fabian Cancellara, Tony Martin and Michael Rogers are the cyclists who have successfully defended their title

– Fabian Cancellara and Alex Zülle are the only riders who have won the gold medal on home turf

– Largest ever winning margin was recorded in 2009 – 1:27 between Fabian Cancellara and Gustav Larsson

– Smallest ever gap was in 2003, when Michael Rogers and Uwe Peschel were separated by half a second

– Shortest race took place in Lisbon, 14 years ago: 38,7 kilometers

– Longest edition was in Florence, in 2013: 57,9 kilometers

2015 stats

– The course is 53 kilometers-long and has a total altitude gain of 245 meters

– 41 countries will have at least one cyclists in Richmond

– Of these riders, six have scored a World Tour win in a time trial this season: Marcin Bialoblocki, Rohan Dennis, Tom Dumoulin, Vasil Kiryienka, Adriano Malori and Tony Martin

– Australia has the most cyclists in the race – three – as a result of Michael Hepburn’s victory at the Oceania Championships

– Astana is the team which has the most riders at this edition, six

– Tony Martin is the only former winner of the rainbow jersey to be at the start

– If the German comes first, then he’ll equal Fabian Cancellara’s record of four victories

– Stefan Küng (21 years) is the youngest cyclist in the race, while Gustav Larsson (35 years) is the oldest one

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21 sept. 2015

Rider of the week

Expelled from the Vuelta a España after being towed by Astana’s technical car on stage two and having to stay outside of races by the UCI rules which prohibit riders eliminated from a stage race from competing in any other event until that race is over, Vincenzo Nibali was under huge pressure since then, with criticism coming from all over the place. On top of that, the Italian was overshadowed by Fabio Aru’s triumph in the last Grand Tour of the season, which made many say that the young Sardinian is now going to be Astana’s main rider for the stage races, as he’s six years younger than the “Shark of Messina” and still has room to improve.

Ironically, his countryman’s victory has helped Nibali escape the media pressure in the past weeks and get outside the spotlight, as he began his preparation towards the World Championships in Richmond. Eager to prove he still has something to say in the season’s finale, the 30-year-old trained hard in Sicily and this helped him line-up in an incredible form for the series of one-day races which usually takes place in the second half of September, where he eventually bounced back from his Vuelta disappointment.

Second in Coppa Agostoni, first in Coppa Bernocchi, third in Memorial Marco Pantani and fifth in Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato were the results Nibali scored in the span of just five days, each time the three-time Grand Tour winner attacking from far, digging deep and putting on an impressive display which not only has helped him get the confidence he was missing, but also recommends him now as the prime pick for the 109th edition of the Giro di Lombardia.

However, before going to the “Race of the Falling Leaves”, Vincenzo Nibali will race the World Championships; it’s true that the Richmond course isn’t as selective as he would have liked, but Italy – which comes at the start with a very strong team – can make the race hard, in order to prepare an attack of his leader, preferably before the last lap. If this happens and Nibali has the form showed thus far, there’s a fair chance the gold medal will go to the “Squadra Azzurra” for the first time in seven years.

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16 sept. 2015

World Tour standings after the Grand Prix de Montreal

Individual

1 – Alejandro Valverde – 615 points

2 – Joaquim Rodriguez – 474 points

3 – Nairo Quintana – 457 points

4 – Alexander Kristoff – 453 points

5 – Fabio Aru – 448 points

6 – Chris Froome – 430 points

7 – Alberto Contador – 407 points

8 – Rui Costa – 324 points

9 – Greg Van Avermaet – 324 points

10 – Richie Porte – 314 points

Teams

1 – Katusha – 1526 points

2 – Movistar – 1419 – points

3 – Sky – 1254 points

4 – Etixx-QuickStep – 988 points

5 – Tinkoff-Saxo – 925 points

6 – Astana – 916 points

7 – BMC – 810 points

8 – Lotto-Soudal – 702 points

9 – Orica-GreenEdge – 695 points

10 – Giant-Alpecin – 653 points

Nations

1 – Spain – 1833 points

2 – Colombia – 1069 points

3 – Great Britain – 1041 points

4 – Italy – 1006 points

5 – Belgium – 906 points

6 – Netherlands – 848 points

7 – France – 781 points

8 – Australia – 777 points

9 – Germany – 587 points

10 – Norway – 453 points

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15 sept. 2015
2 Comments

Best Grand Tour of the 2015 season

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14 sept. 2015

2015 Vuelta a España – Third week stats

– Fabio Aru is the sixth Italian to win the race, following Angelo Conterno, Felice Gimondi, Giovanni Battaglin, Mauro Giovannetti and Vincenzo Nibali

– He is the youngest champion (25 years and 72 days) since Melchor Mauri (25 years and 41 days), in 1991

– Aru – the first cyclist from Sardinia to be victorious in a Grand Tour – will get 112 000 € for winning the race

– This is Italy’s 84th triumph in a Grand Tour, way ahead of France’s 51

– For Giuseppe Martinelli, Fabio Aru’s sports director, the Vuelta is his 8th Grand Tour victory

– Five riders got to don the red jersey: Peter Velits, Esteban Chaves, Tom Dumoulin, Fabio Aru and Joaquim Rodriguez

– Rafal Majka became the first Polish cyclist to finish on the podium of the race

– Tom Dumoulin is the seventh rider to take the leader’s jersey three times at a single edition of the Vuelta a España

– Ruben Plaza became the 12th Spanish cyclist to win a Tour de France and a Vuelta a España stage in the same season

– His victory in Cercedilla came after a 117 km-long solo breakaway

– Louis Meintjes is the first African rider to finish in the top 10 of a Grand Tour

– For the first time since the 2000 Tour de France, Netherlands has won four stages in a Grand Tour

– The individual time trial in Burgos was the 155th in the history of the race

– Adam Hansen is now the rider with the most completed Grand Tours in a row: 13

– AG2R’s Alexis Gougeard claimed his maiden Grand Tour win, in Avila

– Alejandro Valverde finished seventh, his worst general classification in the nine editions he has completed

– John Degenkolb became the active rider with the most stage wins in the Vuelta, 10

– A total of 12 teams have scored a victory in the three-week race: AG2R, Astana, BMC, Giant-Alpecin, Katusha, Lampre-Merida, LottoNL-Jumbo, Movistar, Orica-GreenEdge, Sky, Tinkoff-Saxo and Trek Factory Racing

– Giant-Alpecin, Orica-GreenEdge and Trek Factory Racing are the teams who leave Madrid with the most stage victories: three

– Tom Dumoulin was named the most aggressive rider of the race

– Nine cyclists have abandoned during the final week of the Vuelta

– Eight of the 19 road stages were won from a breakaway

– Caja Rural is the squad with the most combativity awards, six

– Average speed of the race during these three weeks was of 40,19 km/h

– No Pro Continental team got to land a stage victory

– The end of the Vuelta a España marked Europcar’s 1152nd day in a row without a Grand Tour win

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14 sept. 2015

Rider of the week

Italy has a new darling: Fabio Aru, the winner of the 70th Vuelta a España. Coming at the start of the race as one of Astana’s three leaders, alongside Mikel Landa and fellow countryman Vincenzo Nibali, Fabio Aru emerged in just a couple of days as the team’s sole captain, once Nibali was expelled from the race and Landa lost important time before the race hit the big mountains. As a result, the expectations surrounding the young Sardinian grew, in his country, but also in his team, considering he was Astana’s best bet at winning a Grand Tour this season, after the Kazakh outfit missed on both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.

In the second week of the race, Aru took the leader’s jersey, but despite this, he wasn’t regarded as the main favourite at the overall victory, due to the fact that Tom Dumoulin was looking more and more impressive in the mountains, going at his own pace and limiting the losses, a tactic which made many find similarities between his style and the one of Miguel Indurain, the five-time Tour de France winner. On top of that, once the Vuelta left behind its last mountain top finish, Aru had 1:50 on his Dutch rival, a gap most considered too small before the 39 km-long individual time trial in Burgos.

There, people were expecting Dumoulin to smash his rivals and put minutes into them, and the scenario went according to plan with just an exception: Aru – who worked hard in the wind tunnel last winter – made the time trial of his life and at the end of it he was sitting just three seconds adrift of his Dutch rival. A couple of days later, in Avila, the Giant-Alpecin rider doubled his advantage and the Italian’s chances of turning the tables in his favour were looking slimmer and slimmer. But Aru didn’t gave up and decided to play all his cards on the penultimate stage, which had four hard climbs on the menu.

Supported by a very strong and motivated squad on the road, the 25-year-old played it smart since the beginning of the day, sending two teammates in the breakaway and then putting the hammer down on the third ascent, a move which turned out to be decisive, as Tom Dumoulin was dropped before the top of the Puerto de la Morcuera and without any teammate to help him, he ended up losing almost four minutes in Cercedilla.

By winning the Vuelta and becoming one of the youngest rider in the past decade to have a Grand Tour triumph under his belt, Fabio Aru made the Italians dreaming of a bright future in stage races once Vincenzo Nibali will be past his prime. After finishing second in the Giro d’Italia and winning the last Grand Tour of the season, a new challenge looms on the horizon for Fabio Aru: the Tour de France, where he’s very likely to make his debut next season – his fourth as a professional – when the pressure put on his shoulders will be bigger than anything he faced so far.

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12 sept. 2015
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Edward Theuns: “I have big expectations for next year”

2015 saw many cyclists impress with their ride and results, and one of those who qualify for the “revelation of the season” title is Topsport Vlaanderen’s Edward Theuns. The 24-year-old from Ghent won the Ronde van Drenthe and a stage of the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque, placed in eigth occasions (including Dwars door Vlaanderen and Scheldeprijs) and finished 21 times in the top 10 of one-day and stage races, each time showing his big engine, stamina, sprint and versatility, qualities which recommend him for a bright future especially in the Classics, races he dreams of winning in the future.

The results he scored have carried Edward Theuns to the top of the Europe Tour standings this season – where he enjoys a comfortable lead – and sparked interest from many World Tour teams. Eventually, the Belgian decided to accept Trek Factory Racing’s offer, where he is going to race alongside Fabian Cancellara, a three-time winner of both Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. There, Edward will be an important addition to the team’s Classics roster, where he’ll try to prove what he’s worth, and also make a name for himself by landing a big result.

With just a few weeks left until the end of the season, Edward is focused on finishing the year on a high and has every chance of doing this judging by his recent form, which recently saw him finish 8th in the Grand Prix de Fourmies. But before embarking in his last races with Topsport Vlaanderen, the talented Belgian rider took some time to talk for Cafe Roubaix about his solid year and the goals he has for 2016, when he’ll race for Trek and

– Edward, how would you rate your 2015 season?

I think this is my best season so far. I expected last year to make a step to become stronger, but I didn’t expect this step to be so big. My results and style of racing gave me confidence that I can win nice races in the future.

– What improvements do you feel you’ve made?

I’ve become stronger in general, and this was obvious in the Classics, which suit me, because I’m explosive on the small Flemish hills. My sprint is something I really discovered, I knew I was fast, but not that I could get such good results in massive sprints. Now that I know what my strong points and strong races are, I can make a selection where I want to be good. Discovering myself in different types of races is coming to an end. I know I’m not a climber, so I’m not going to try and follow other riders on long climbs. Thatss something I would’ve tried in the past.

– Which of the results you got was the most important for you and why?

My second place in Dwars Door Vlaanderen is the most important for me. I had hoped to win a race like that in my career, but I thought that moment would be much further in the future, when I’ll be older and stronger. Now it seems that I can already win this kind of races this year. I didn’t expect this.

– At the other end, is there a race which has left you disappointed?

The Monuments I did this year were a little bit disappointing, I finished both of them (ed. – Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix), which is a good evolution compared to last year. But there were some expectations from the team and other people after my good results in previous Flemish races. I think I’m not strong enough yet to be in the front at the end of those races, but maybe next year I can get further than this year. I’m convinced that it is a matter of time.

– In what other races will you go until the end of the season?

I don’t know my program for the last part of season yet. But there are still some nice races, such as Paris-Tours. The other races are in Belgium, and I hope to do as good as possible in the last month of this season.

– Looking behind on the two years spent with Topsport Vlaanderen, how was that period?

I had a really good time with the team. The atmosphere is unique, because we’re all young Flemish guys. The team gave me the chances at the right moment and supported me, and I’m very thankful of that. I learned how to race and make better decisions in the important moments. In the past I’ve spent too much energy in stupid actions on wrong moments.

– You recently signed with Trek Factory Racing. What stood behind this decision?

There were some different teams who contacted me, so I took time to make the decision, because I think it’s a very important moment in my career. Trek Factory Racing is a team with some strong riders, they have Fabian Cancellara for the Classics, and I hope I can learn some tricks for the future. Furthermore, I think Trek is a team where I can get some chances gor myself to get some results in the Spring Classics, they have a good structure in the team and I think the bikes are top level.

– What means for you to join a World Tour team? How important do you think this step will be for your development?

I was hoping to make this step at the end of this season, so I’m very happy that I achieved that goal. I think this step will make me even stronger, because I can ride big races the whole season and maybe also do a Grand Tour. I’m really looking forward to it.

– What do you hope from your first season with the team?

I hope that we can win a big Classic with the team. I want to do my best to help my teammates to win, but I also hope I can go for my own chances to win races. Riding a Grand Tour is also something I hope to do next year.

– Besides the Classics, you showed good skills also for short stage races. In the future, are you thinking about targeting also these races?

I don’t know yet. First I want to try to do as good as possible in the Classics, because I really love them. I think to win stage races, I have to work more on my time trial. But the Classics and sprints are my priority at the moment.

– What are your biggest goals for the years to come?

Winning a Classic is one of my dreams, and Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are my favourites. Winning a stage in the Tour de France is also something I dream about, because it is the biggest race in the world, with the best riders participating there.

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