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British teen Cat Ferguson indicators with Movistar for 2024 and past
While Movistar have bid adieu to their flagship rider, Annemiek van Vleuten, in the previous couple of weeks, consideration has quicked turned to the way forward for the Spanish staff. A big a part of this future seems to be the British 17-year-old Cat Ferguson, who was introduced as their newest signing on Tuesday morning.
Learn extra: Annemiek van Vleuten: I can leave the sport proud
Ferguson, hailing from North Yorkshire, will be a part of the staff as a trainee (stagiaire) as of 1 August, 2024, earlier than making the step as much as WorldTour fold from the start of the 2025 season.
Contracted with Movistar via to December 2027, Ferguson will proceed to journey for her present staff Shibden Hope Tech Apex Team, however will instantly turn out to be part of Movistar’s coaching camps and luxuriate in assist from their efficiency sources.
“It’s a dream come true to quickly flip professional with the Movistar Group,” Ferguson mentioned of the transfer. “From our first assembly it felt like such a welcoming and household surroundings, with an ideal deal with creating my attributes at WorldTour stage.
“I stay up for studying from the very best and most skilled riders on the earth, and couldn’t consider a greater staff to assist me make the step as much as elite biking. First, I need to shut out my junior CX and street seasons, hopefully attaining some large wins.”
The Englishwoman’s newest spectacular end result was a silver medal on the World Championships Junior Highway Race, coming simply weeks after turning into the nationwide time trial champion.
Ferguson started her 2023 marketing campaign with a sixth-place end within the World Cyclo-Cross Championships, earlier than transitioning onto the street and taking victories at Trofeo Binda Juniors, the Tour of Flanders Juniors and stage victories in Bizkaikoloreak Juniors and the Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie, amongst others.
Tim Declercq and Stan Van Tricht go away Soudal Fast-Step for pastures new
Het Laatste Nieuws reports that each Tim Declercq and Stan Van Tricht might be leaving Soudal Fast-Step on the finish of the 2023 season, with Declercq signing for Lidl-Trek and Van Tricht heading to Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Declercq’s departure has been rumoured for numerous months, however will nonetheless function a shock given his status because the peloton’s most beneficial engine. The Belgian is so typically seen on the entrance of the bunch, particularly in the course of the spring Classics, dragging the peloton alongside for almost all of the afternoon earlier than probably the most ferocious racing kicks off within the finale.
At 34 years of age, Declercq maybe fancied one remaining large transfer earlier than his profession winds down, with contracts reportedly on provide from each Lidl-Trek and AG2R Citroën. As have many to this point in the course of the switch window, Declercq opted to hitch the Lidl-Trek facet whose latest monetary funding from the grocery store has allowed them to flex their muscular tissues available in the market.
For Van Tricht, in the meantime, his future lies at Alpecin-Deceuninck, the place he’ll hope to construct on the promising outcomes he has achieved on the GP Jef Scherens and Dwars door het Hageland up to now in 2023 – taking second place in each.
The Belgian is on the reverse finish of his profession to Declercq, however at 23 years of age he’ll quickly be approaching the time to kick on and choose up his first race victories. A transfer to Alpecin-Deceuninck ought to provide him the occasional probability to race for his personal fortunes, reasonably than these of his teammates.
Primož Roglič will proceed street season in Italy
Given their race schedules because the begin of the Tour de France in July, Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard might be forgiven for driving off into the sundown and starting their low season on the conclusion of the Vuelta a España on Sunday. For Primož Roglič, nonetheless, the Slovenian nonetheless has his eyes on extra success.
RTV SLO are reporting that the third-placed finisher from the Vuelta will subsequent pin on a race quantity on the Giro dell’Emilia on the finish of the month, earlier than presumably rounding out his 2023 schedule alongside many others at Il Lombardia in early October.
Since turning into a Grand Tour winner on the Vuelta a España in 2019, Roglič has loved a few fruitful appearances on the yr’s remaining Monument, and given his form on the Vuelta this time round, should turn out to be an computerized favorite to win Il Lombardia.
Simply weeks after successful the 2019 Vuelta, he got here house seventh on the Race of the Falling Leaves, while he went even higher in 2021 and completed simply off the rostrum in fourth.
Ought to he journey Il Lombardia once more in just a few weeks’ time, Roglič will come up towards his compatriot and foe, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Group Emirates), together with a number of different contenders together with Richard Carapaz (EF Schooling-EasyPost), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Fast-Step) and Enric Mas (Movistar).
Jumbo-Visma dominate the prize pot from the Vuelta a España
Taking the 1-2-3 on GC via Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič, together with 5 stage victories and greater than half of the race spent within the chief’s pink jersey, it’s secure to say Jumbo-Visma loved the very best Vuelta a España of any staff in latest occasions.
For the raft of achievements the pioneering staff clocked up within the yr’s remaining Grand Tour, they had been handsomely rewarded by the race organisers, Unipublic and the ASO. Throughout the 21 days of racing, Jumbo-Visma took house a whopping €364,985 in prize cash – which is, remarkably, greater than the 4 different most profitable groups mixed.
With €1,116,835 distributed in complete from the prize pot, Soudal Fast-Step pocketed many of the ‘scraps’ left by the Dutch superteam, coming away with €98,965, largely because of Remco Evenepoel’s efforts which noticed him win three phases and the KoM jersey.
Notable luggage had been additionally secured by UAE Group Emirates (€95,530), Bahrain Victorious (€80,245) and Bora-Hansgrohe (€64,680).
Astana-Qazaqstan, Jayco AlUla, AG2R Citroën and Arkéa Samsic, in the meantime, had been all overshadowed by the success of ProTeams TotalEnergies, Lotto Dstny and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. These 4 WorldTeams every introduced house lower than €10,000 in prize cash.
Learn extra: Jumbo-Visma awarded top prize money as Remco Evenepoel saves Soudal Quick-Step’s Vuelta a España
Strava confirms the record-setting KOM conquests of Sepp Kuss
By Patrick Fletcher
Sepp Kuss was coronated because the champion of the 2023 Vuelta a España on Sunday night, however he additionally climbed one other type of crown – 808 of them to be exact.
Over the course of his victorious three-week lap of Spain, the US rider racked up an enviable array of ‘King of the Mountain’ data on Strava, turning into the largest KOM-bagger of the professional peloton in 2023.
In line with Strava, Kuss has claimed a whopping 808 KOMs this yr, which is “greater than another professional athlete in 2023”. It might be that an newbie rider with a penchant for KOM-hunting has extra within the bag.
It’s value mentioning that not all professional riders add their rides to Strava, and two very notable exceptions are Kuss’ Jumbo-Visma teammates Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič, winners of the yr’s Tour de France and Giro d’Italia respectively, and each on the rostrum with Kuss on the Vuelta.
Nonetheless, Kuss’ record-breaking 2023 KOM-bagging is kind of the achievement, given the likes of Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel commonly log their racing on Strava.
Learn extra: 808 Strava KOMs: A record-breaking season for Sepp Kuss
Steve Cummings emphasises Ineos Grenadiers’ resilience within the wake of a disappointing Vuelta a España
By Dan Benson
It’s honest to say that Ineos Grenadiers fell wanting their Vuelta a España ambitions, with a solitary stage win and some placings the sum of their three weeks of Grand Tour racing. Nevertheless, sports activities director Steve Cummings believes that the staff’s mentality and spirit bodes nicely for the long run as they give the impression of being to maneuver ahead and enhance in 2024.
“I feel that it’s honest to say that we’ve had our justifiable share of unhealthy luck,” Cummings instructed GCN on the Vuelta a España.
“Then we’ve additionally been second just a few occasions and received a stage. It’s not been our greatest Grand Tour however there are nonetheless positives to take from it. Kim Heiduk is creating, a brand new rider doing a Grand Tour, and Filippo within the time trial. Egan Bernal is slowly progressing ahead, which is sweet for everybody to see and I feel efficiency apart, the spirit and struggle that the riders have proven is a giant optimistic going ahead.”
The staff’s recruitment has additionally been extensively mentioned with a raft of stage racing expertise allowed to go away within the type of Pavel Sivakov, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Dani Martínez all shifting to rival groups in 2024.
Cummings will not be occasion to the staff’s switch dealings however he said the staff’s administration had been deserving of each time and persistence as they give the impression of being to the long run.
“I’m probably not concerned with the recruitment so I can’t actually remark however what I’d say is that I belief the administration,” he added. “For those who take a look at the monitor document and what this staff has achieved, I’d belief the administration.”
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At this time’s different headlines
From an octopus’ backyard within the shade, it’s time to bid adieu. Till the subsequent time.
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