Fabio Aru – 15/0
Damiano Cunego – 16/0
Alberto Contador – 19/1
Beñat Intxausti – 25/0
Domenico Pozzovivo – 25/2
Rigoberto Uran – 25/1
Jurgen Van Den Broeck – 25/0
Ilnur Zakarin – 26/1
Ryder Hesjedal – 29/0
Richie Porte – 33/9
Alejandro Valverde came out of the Ardennes as the king of these races, after finishing second in Amstel Gold Race and winning both Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. By doing this, he entered the history books as only the second ever cyclist – after Ferdi Kübler – to make this memorable double. In both races, the Spaniard was very powerful and had a flawless tactic, two things which helped him control the other contenders and eventually outsprint them. Although he remains a controversial figure because of his dodgy past, one can’t overlook the fact that the 35-year-old remains one of the best riders in the peloton, one who has every chance – considering that he looks to be living a second youth – to win other Ardennes Classics in the following seasons and equal or even break some more records.
Julian Alaphilippe stunned the big stars of the peloton by coming second in Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, showing not only that he has the skills, but also the mindset to be a protagonist here in the years to come. A pro since 2014, he has had a low key start of the season, but then hit top form just in time for the Ardennes week, where he proved that Brian Holm wasn’t wrong when he said that the Frenchman can be Etixx-Quick Step’s revelation in 2015. What’s even more important is that Alaphilippe – a 22-years-old who notched France’s first podium Monument since 1998 – has a killer instinct and considerable room for improvement, which can make him the finest Ardennes specialist of his generation. As expected, Patrick Lefevere came quickly with a two-year extension, which will keep Julian Alaphilippe with the Belgian team until the end of the 2017 season.
The Frenchman wasn’t the only young rider to impress in the Ardennes. Amstel Gold Race showed once again that Michael Matthews – who finished third – is not just a punchy sprinter, but a rider with a huge potential, which even now remains unknown and can be developed in the years to come. In the same Dutch Classic, Michael Valgren was 22nd and proved that he can be back here one day as a big favorite to take the win. A couple of days later, in Flèche Wallonne, Alexis Vuillermoz (6th) and Dylan Teuns (13th) came at the forefront, with the latter confirming that he can follow in the footsteps of his more famous countryman, Philippe Gilbert. Finally, “La Doyenne” brought Louis Meintjes to the spotlight, the talented South African mixing it up with the main protagonists all day long, before taking a well-deserved 11th place.
Joaquim Rodriguez came at the start of the Ardennes Classics as one of the big contenders, especially after scoring an impressive overall win in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, in the first half of April. But Katusha’s Spaniard was off-pace and after finishing just outside the podium in Flèche Wallonne, he was determined to change his luck in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, a race he dreams of winning for some years now. Unfortunately for “Purito” Rodriguez, he didn’t perform well at all and lacked the power he needed to get away from his rivals, settling in the end with a third place. Most likely, giving that he’ll soon turn 36, this was Rodriguez’s last opportunity to add “La Doyenne” to his palmares.
There’s a long list of disappointments after this campaign, and it includes some big names, one of which was Philippe Gilbert, although the former world champion – who put on a fierce attack on the Cauberg, which unfortunately for him didn’t shake off all his opponents – has an excuse: the crash in which he was involved in Flèche Wallonne, that made his ride in Liège–Bastogne–Liège a real painful one. The Italians had big hopes from Vincenzo Nibali, but the Tour de France champion failed to impress and was unable to follow the favorites as the race neared its conclusion. Finally, Bauke Mollema had hoped for a solid week in the Ardennes, but couldn’t find his rhythm in any of the races and was left empty-handed, so his best result was a top 20, far from his expectations.
Individual
1 – Alejandro Valverde – 338 points
2 – Richie Porte – 303 points
3 – Alexander Kristoff – 237 points
4 – John Degenkolb – 232 points
5 – Joaquim Rodriguez – 230 points
6 – Rui Costa – 196 points
7 – Michal Kwiatkowski – 195 points
8 – Nairo Quintana – 189 points
9 – Geraint Thomas – 184 points
10 – Rigoberto Uran – 183 points
Teams
1 – Etixx-Quick Step – 835 points
2 – Katusha – 828 points
3 – Sky – 723 points
4 – Movistar – 684 points
5 – BMC – 411 points
6 – Orica-GreenEdge – 378 points
7 – Tinkoff-Saxo – 357 points
8 – Lampre-Merida – 319 points
9 – Giant-Alpecin – 302 points
10 – Astana – 241 points
Nations
1 – Spain – 807 points
2 – Australia – 639 points
3 – Colombia – 547 points
4 – France – 452 points
5 – Netherlands – 435 points
6 – Italy – 379 points
7 – Belgium – 376 points
8 – Great Britain – 376 points
9 – Germany – 248 points
10 – Norway – 237 points
From Tatarstan to Romandie. It’s not the name of the James Bond latest installment, but a title that bodes well with Ilnur Zakarin’s career. A talented rider who showed glimpses of his potential since he was a 17-year-old who won the European ITT Championships in Sofia – where he defeated Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski – Zakarin has had a hard time two seasons later, when he was banned after testing positive for the anabolic steroid methandienone. After serving his time, the rider born in Naberezhnye Chelny (the second largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan) signed with Itera-Katusha and began his road back to the pro ranks.
In 2012, Zakarin clocked four wins, the most impressive of these coming in Girobio’s stage five, which finished in Gaiole in Chianti. Eventually, after a solid display, he was 9th in the GC, a result which brought him a contract with RusVelo, Russia’s second-tier team. During his two-year spell with RusVelo, Ilnur Zakarin continued to improve and his progress landed him two important successes: the ITT national title (2013) and the overall victory at the Tour d’Azerbaidjan (2014).
These results caught up Katusha’s attention, which decided it’s about time for Zakarin to make his World Tour debut, a couple of years later after riding for the team as a stagiaire. The season has started with a strong result for the 25-year-old, who came 10th in the Tour de San Luis, which was followed just a couple of months later by a 9th place in the difficult Vuelta al Pais Vasco. That was the moment when people began to take notice of Zakarin and follow him more closely.
Inspite of that, and the fact that he said his biggest goal of the year was the Tour de Romandie, nobody was rating him as one of the favorites for the Swiss race, where the pundits where expecting a showdown between Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali, the Tour de France favorites. But stage by stage, Zakarin began to feel better and better, and eventually started to make amends once the decisive stages loomed at the horizon. So, after finishing second in the queen-stage to Champex-Lac, he put on a monster display in the individual time trial that concluded the Tour de Romandie. There, despite of a bike change due to a mechanical, the Russian rider managed to hang on to the yellow jersey and won the event ahead of his teammate, Simon Spilak.
Now, after becoming just the second Russian cyclist to emerge victorious in the Tour de Romandie (first was Pavel Tonkov, in 1997), Ilnur Zakarin is prepared to make his debut in a Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia. There, he’s not going to start as one of the main contenders, but what’s sure is that people will keep a close eye on him after his recent success, so he’ll need to show that the Tour de Romandie win wasn’t just a one-hit wonder.
AG2R: Julien Berard, Carlos Betancur, Axel Domont, Hubert Dupont, Patrick Gretsch, Hugo Houle, Matteo Montaguti, Rinaldo Nocentini, Domenico Pozzovivo.
Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec: Davide Appollonio, Marco Bandiera, Tiziano Dall’Antonia, Oscar Gatto, Marco Frapporti, Franco Pellizotti, Simone Stortoni, Serghei Tvetcov, Gianfranco Zilioli.
Astana: Fabio Aru, Dario Cataldo, Tanel Kangert, Mikel Landa, Davide Malacarne, Luis Leon Sanchez, Diego Rosa, Paolo Tiralongo, Andrey Zeits.
Bardiani: Enrico Barbin, Enrico Battaglin, Francesco Manuel Bongiorno, Nicola Boem, Luca Chirico, Sonny Colbrelli, Stefano Pirazzi, Nicola Ruffoni, Eduardo Zardini.
BMC: Darwin Atapuma, Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, Damiano Caruso, Silvan Dillier, Philippe Gilbert, Stefan Küng, Amaël Moinard, Rick Zabel.
Cannondale-Garmin: Janier Acevedo, Nathan Brown, André Cardoso, Tom Danielson, Davide Formolo, Ryder Hesjedal, Alan Marangoni, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Davide Villella.
CCC Sprandi Polkowice: Maciej Paterski, Sylwester Szmyd, Grega Bole, Lukasz Owsian, Marek Rutkiewicz, Branislau Samoilau, Bartlomiej Matysiak, Nikolay Mihaylov, Jaroslaw Marycz.
Etixx-Quick Step: Tom Boonen, Maxime Bouet, David de la Cruz, Iljo Keisse, Gianni Meersman, Fabio Sabatini, Pieter Serry, Rigoberto Uran, Petr Vakoč.
FDJ: Arnaud Courteille, Kenny Elissonde, Alexandre Geniez, Murilo Fischer, Francis Mourey, Cedric Pineau, Kevin Reza, Anthony Roux, Jussi Veikkanen.
Giant-Alpecin: Nikias Arndt, Bert De Backer, Caleb Fairly, Simon Geschke, Chad Haga, Cheng Ji, Luka Mezgec, Tobias Ludvigsson, Tom Stamsnijder.
IAM: Sylvain Chavanel, Clement Chevrier, Stef Clement, Heinrich Haussler, Roger Kluge, Matteo Pelucchi, Jerome Pineau, Sebastian Reichenbach, Aleksejs Saramotins.
Katusha: Maxim Belkov, Sergei Chernetckii, Pavel Kochetkov, Sergey Lagutin, Luca Paolini, Alexander Porsev, Yuri Trofimov, Anton Vorobyev, Ilnur Zakarin.
Lampre-Merida: Roberto Ferrari, Tsgabu Grmay, Sacha Modolo, Manuele Mori, Przemyslaw Niemiec, Jan Polanc, Maximiliano Richeze, Diego Ulissi, Gang Xu.
LottoNL-Jumbo: George Bennett, Rick Flens, Moreno Hofland, Martijn Keizer, Steven Kruijswijk, Bert-Jan Lindeman, Maarten Tjallingii, Nick Van Der Lijke, Robert Wagner.
Lotto-Soudal: Sander Armee, Lars Ytting Bak, Stig Broeckx, André Greipel, Adam Hansen, Greg Henderson, Maxime Monfort, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Louis Vervaeke.
Movistar: Andrey Amador, Igor Anton, Ruben Fernandez, Jesus Herrada, Beñat Intxausti, Ion Izagirre, Juan Jose Lobato, Dayer Quintana, Giovanni Visconti.
Nippo-Vini Fantini: Giacomo Berlato, Alessandro Bisolti, Daniele Colli, Damiano Cunego, Pierpaolo De Negri, Eduard Grosu, Manabu Ishibashi Alessandro Malaguti, Riccardo Stacchiotti.
Orica-GreenEdge: Sam Bewley, Esteban Chaves, Simon Clarke, Luke Durbridge, Simon Gerrans, Michael Hepburn, Brett Lancaster, Michael Matthews, Pieter Weening.
Sky: Bernhard Eisel, Sebastian Henao, Vasil Kiryienka, Leopold König, Mikel Nieve, Richie Porte, Salvatore Puccio, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Elia Viviani.
Southeast: Manuel Belletti, Matteo Busato, Ramon Carretero, Elia Favilli, Mauro Finetto, Francesco Gavazzi, Yonathan Monsalve, Alessandro Petacchi, Eugert Zhupa.
Tinkoff-Saxo: Ivan Basso, Manuele Boaro, Alberto Contador, Roman Kreuziger, Christopher Juul-Jensen, Sergio Paulinho, Michael Rogers, Ivan Rovny, Matteo Tosatto.
Trek Factory Racing: Eugenio Alafaci, Fumiyuki Beppu, Marco Coledan, Fabio Felline, Giacomo Nizzolo, Fabio Silvestre, Boy van Poppel, Kristof Vandewalle, Calvin Watson.
Michal Kwiatkowski este una dintre ţintele lui Sky pentru perioada de transferuri, echipa britanică fiind pregătită să îi ofere un contract de două milioane de euro pe sezon. Informaţia a fost făcută publică de Giuseppe Acquadro, impresarul campionului mondial, a cărui înţelegere cu Etixx-Quick Step expiră la finalul stagiunii. Polonezul în vârstă de 24 de ani a bifat două victorii în actualul sezon, una dintre acestea venind în Amstel Gold Race, iar cota sa e piaţă e mare tocmai datorită versatilităţii pe care o posedă. În afară de Kwiatkowski, alţi cinci rutieri importanţi ai lui Etixx-Quick Step se vor afla la final de contract în iarnă: Julian Alaphilippe, Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, Zdenek Stybar şi Rigoberto Uran.
Pentru prima dată în ultimii 16 ani, niciun ciclist britanic nu va participa în Turul Italiei, numele de top – Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas sau fraţii Yates – hotărând să se axeze pe Turul Franţei. Totuşi, absenţa rutierilor din Regatul Unit este surprinzătoare, în condiţiile în care nici măcar Sky nu va veni cu un britanic la startul cursei ce va debuta pe 9 mai. Într-un clasament al victoriilor de etapă din Il Giro, cicliştii din UK ocupă locul şapte, cu 28 de etape câştigate. Primul succes a fost adus de Vin Denson, la Campobasso, în 1966.
Conform cotidianului L’Equipe, Alberto Contador nu va lua o pauză totală între Turul Italiei şi Turul Franţei, urmând să concureze în Route du Sud, cursă ce se va desfăşura între 18 şi 21 iunie. Cele patru etape etape îi vor duce pe ciclişti la Auch, Saint-Gaudens, Bagnères-de-Luchon şi Gaillac, iar pentru Contador va fi o repetiţie utilă, ce se va încheia cu aproximativ două săptămâni înainte de Le Tour. Dacă se va impune, rutierul lui Tinkoff-Saxo va deveni doar al doilea spaniol câştigător al cursei din Hexagon, după Oscar Sevilla, în 2007.
Marseille-13-KTM – una dintre cele mai cunoscute grupări Continentale din Hexagon – şi-a fixat două obiective importante pentru 2017: să ajungă în al doilea eşalon valoric şi să primească o invitaţie pentru Turul Franţei. Momentan, nu au apărut mai multe informaţii, însă se pare că unul dintre cei care vor să se implice la echipă este Richard Virenque, de şapte ori câştigător al tricoului alb cu buline roşii în Marea Buclă. Printre cicliştii cuoscuţi care au concurat pentru actuala Marseille-13-KTM (La Pomme Marseille, în trecut) înainte de a deveni profesionişti, se numără Philip Deignan, Nicholas Roche, Fabio Duarte, Daniel Martin sau Ramunas Navardauskas.
Turul Italiei se apropie, cursa urmând să se bucure de o amplă acoperire pe Cafe Roubaix. Astfel, în următoarele săptămâni, veţi putea citi interviuri cu protagonişti ai Il Giro, o prezentare a favoriţilor, date statistice despre ediţiile anterioare şi cea din acest an, dar şi o avancronică a fiecărei etape. Pe lângă acestea, în luna mai, pe blog, vor mai fi publicate o avancronică a Turului Californiei şi interviuri cu câţiva tineri rutieri foarte talentaţi.
When he wants, Alejandro Valverde can be one of the most exciting cyclists in the world. Problem is he doesn’t choose that path too often, opting instead to have a defensive approach in the key moments, which lead to to many missed opportunities throughout the years in one day-races, including the World Championships. On the other hand, the same tactic has helped the Spaniard establish himself as one of the best Classics riders of his generation, with some impressive results in his CV, especially in the Ardennes.
Actually, Valverde’s love affair with those Classics has started exactly a decade ago, when he had the opportunity to ride all three races and his best result was a 13th place in Amstel Gold Race. Once he got the taste of it, the one they call “El Bala” came back every single year and it didn’t take much to pull his first win, in the 2006 Flèche Wallonne, which was followed just a couple of days afterwards by Liège–Bastogne–Liège, a double that has helped him join the elite group of riders – Ferdi Kübler, Stan Ockers, Eddy Merckx, Moreno Argentin, Davide Rebellin, Philippe Gilbert – who won both races in the same season.
In 2015, he came at the start of the Ardennes week as one of the favorites, but people didn’t rate Alejandro Valverde as one of the main favorites, not even when he finished second in Amstel Gold Race. Things changed after Flèche Wallonne, where he controlled everyone on the steep gradients of the Mur de Huy, before unleashing a powerful sprint, which allowed him nab his third win there and equal the record held by such cyclists as Eddy Merckx and Moreno Argentin, real legends of the Ardennes.
After that success, it became clear that Valverde will be the man to beat in Sunday’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège, so people were expecting an aggressive ride from his rivals in order to put the 35-year-old Spaniard under pressure, with the hope that he’ll eventually crack. As this didn’t happen, it wasn’t difficult for the Movistar cyclist to manage the race, especially in the last kilometers, cover the attacks and eventually claim his third victory in “La Doyenne”, which helped him achieve the prestigious Flèche Wallonne – Liège–Bastogne–Liège double for the second time in his career, a performance only Kubler has accomplished in the past.
I wrote about Dan McLay in the past, so if you want to know more about his first years in cycling and the results he scored, just check this piece. A neo-pro this season, the young rider of Bretagne-Séché has quickly found his place in the peloton, winning a stage in the Tropicale Amissa Bongo and riding some of the biggest World Tour events of the calendar, including some Classics, which he dreams of winning in the future. Having already 27 racing days under his belt, the 23-year-old Brit is now preparing for the 51st edition of the Tour of Turkey, which starts this Sunday and will give plenty of opportunities to the sprinters.
Just a couple of days before heading there – after a two-week break following the conclusion of the Spring Classics – Dan McLay sat down and talked for Cafe Roubaix about his start to the season and the goals he has for the next months.
– Dan, after a couple of seasons in the U23 Lotto-Belisol team, you choose Bretagne-Séché to turn pro. What stood behind this decision?
Well, to be honest, there weren’t a lot of teams fighting over me so it wasn’t as if I could sit back and deliberate, as I didn’t receive any solid offers on the table. However, Bretagne-Séché provided a great opportunity to have chances to race for myself even in my first year as a pro, a great race programme and a relaxed environment.
– Do you feel you’ve blend in at Bretagne-Séché?
I think I need to learn French. Otherwise, everyone is very friendly and supportive though and it’s a good atmosphere in the team.
– Your first win came maybe sooner then expected, in just your second race with the team, the Tropicale Amissa Bongo.
Indeed. I was trying to lead out in stage three and eventually I finished first, but otherwise I think in that race I knew I should be fast enough to win at least a stage. It was an interesting experience for sure and overall it was fine. It was a lot like other races; aside from one or two little bits of disorganisation and a lack of wi-fi, there wasn’t so much different really.
– Although a neo-pro, you got to do some big one-day races. Was this the plan from the beginning of the season, or was it something that came along?
Yes, it was the plan. I wasn’t scheduled to ride Paris-Nice at first, but everything else was in the plan.
– Two weeks ago, you raced Paris-Roubaix. How was this first encounter with the “Hell of the North”?
I had some bad luck, having to change both wheels on the section prior to the Arenberg Forest, which really left me out of the race before it even started. I did feel good beforehand, but it’s so early it’s hard to tell. I punctured a couple of times after as well and then had to call it a day.
– You have a particular affinity to the Northern Classics. Why is that?
I think they are the biggest races someone of my type of rider can win. I grew in love with them from very early on.
– Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders? Which would you like to win in the future?
I don’t know, I think that Paris-Roubaix maybe suits me better, but I don’t know which I would prefer to win. For me you have to throw Milan-Sanremo in the mix as well, as it is such a beautiful finish with the balance being so fine as to who can win.
– With what thoughts are you going to the Tour of Turkey?
I feel good, I don’t know my role yet, but if I am sprinting I want to win or if I am leading out I want to do that perfectly each time.
– Is a Tour de France start on the table?
It’s not been talked about much, but I think it’s unlikely at the moment. I hope I can maybe change that with a good performance in the Tour of Turkey. But there’s still a long way to go until July. Right now I’m focused on Turkey, then the Tour de Picardie and World Ports Classic.
– And do you have any more personal goals for the rest of the season?
I want to win a race of a good standard with some big sprinters there.
Cafe Roubaix 