U23 races and talents

[Squire]

It kind of feels like a weak startlist. No Bagioli, Pronskiy, Arensman, Battistella, Hayter, Donovan (what's up with him this year btw?).

In addition to those you mentioned, Felix Gall could do well, as could the Spaniard Cuadrado, who's had some solid results in Spanish pro races this year.

Maybe Bjerg can live up to his name.

 

[capuldemetal]

nice to see jefferson cepeda(cjr) wining vuelta navara.another great ecuadorian prospect in the making.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Arensman appears to have been injured in the winter, somebody on the forum told me. Worked for teammates in the early races and was supposed to be working towards Isard, last week. He wasn't bad at Ronde de l' Isard, but he wasn't exactly good either (not good enough for a top 10 at least). He rode Paris Roubaix yesterday and finished outside the top 20 at nearly 8 minutes from winner Pidcock. So he doesn't really seem to be in top shape either way. I'm also still wondering what to expect from Arensman. The past two seasons he only had one good GC/mountain result, and that was l'Avenir. But last year he did finish on the podium of Paris Roubaix and past winter he actually had a few good showings in CX as well.

 

[JoeD1997]

Re:

Arensman appears to have been injured in the winter, somebody on the forum told me. Worked for teammates in the early races and was supposed to be working towards Isard, last week. He wasn't bad at Ronde de l' Isard, but he wasn't exactly good either (not good enough for a top 10 at least). He rode Paris Roubaix yesterday and finished outside the top 20 at nearly 8 minutes from winner Pidcock. So he doesn't really seem to be in top shape either way. I'm also still wondering what to expect from Arensman. The past two seasons he only had one good GC/mountain result, and that was l'Avenir. But last year he did finish on the podium of Paris Roubaix and past winter he actually had a few good showings in CX as well.

Here's a little analysis of the race from the man himself, seems some bad luck hit him early and it cost him his legs: https://www.instagram.com/p/ByP2kIni47g/

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Re: Re:

Is there a specific reason you mention him? I personally don't know him, and he is one of the oldest there, so he's literally competing with kids 1-3 years younger (born the same day as Sosa btw). But i don't know his history.

For me as a loyal follower of Portuguese cycling, it's just interesting to see a rider from Portugal performing so well on the cobbles. The gaps amongst the top ten are kind of huge. Has to be the heat?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

Here's a little analysis of the race from the man himself, seems some bad luck hit him early and it cost him his legs: https://www.instagram.com/p/ByP2kIni47g/

Thanks. Looks like he's on track for the Baby Giro.

Paris-Roubaix didn’t go as planned.. had some good legs, good form but the luck wasn’t there. That’s Roubaix!
Behind a little crash before the first sectors and a group rode away, had to chase it down. When we closed it, an another group went away. This kept going, going and going.. frustrating when you feel strong and are able to close the gaps. Still finished at a nice 26th place but of course I wanted more. Positive thing: shape is definitely good and on track for the biggest goal of the season: Giro U23! Off to Greece now for some quality training with @segracing #segracing

PS: DAMN Arensman is tall! 1m90!

-------------

For me as a loyal follower of Portuguese cycling, it's just interesting to see a rider from Portugal performing so well on the cobbles. The gaps amongst the top ten are kind of huge. Has to be the heat?

I didn't see the race, but Pidcock is a CX prodigy and a former worldchampion ITT. So, it's not surprising he would finish solo with some gaps behind him.

 

[jmdirt]

Thomas Pidcock just won U23 Paris-Roubaix after riding away with 20 kilometers to go.

He's also U23 CX World Champ so he probably prefers a bumpy road (he also won the Jr. P-R a few years back right?).

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Thomas Pidcock just won U23 Paris-Roubaix after riding away with 20 kilometers to go.

He's also U23 CX World Champ so he probably prefers a bumpy road (he also won the Jr. P-R a few years back right?).

Yep. And like i said, he's also a former junior WC ITT, so PR should be right up his alley. (But on the other hand, he's tiny and light, so i'm not sure how it'll go in the pro peloton, when Paris Roubaix is 100km longer).

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Course de la Paix Official Race Brochure / Guide:
http://www.zavodmiruu23.cz/zavody/zavod-miru-u23/brozura-zavodu/

Course de la Paix live stream (you need to register AT YOUR OWN RISK... i have no idea how sketchy this is):
https://www.juna.zasuvka.com/live/12196

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

All the livestreams i can find, lead to the same website which asks to register with creditcard data... so i'm not inclined to do that.

Here is the official ticker: http://www.zavodmiruu23.cz/zavody/zavod-miru-u23/live-timing/

EDIT: Prologue top 20, within 7 seconds of each other.

1 EEKHOFF Nils 00:02:11.94
2 VERNON Ethan 00:02:14.21
3 DALLA VALLE Nicolas 00:02:14.40
4 BOGUSŁAWSKI Marceli 00:02:15.26
5 BJERG Mikkel 00:02:15.53
6 BISSEGGER Stefan 00:02:15.54
7 LEKNESSUND Andreas 00:02:15.64
8 HOOLE Daan 00:02:16.31
9 GAMPER Patrick 00:02:16.41
10 ALMEIDA Joao 00:02:16.51
11 BOSTOCK Matthew 00:02:17.08
12 JORGENSEN Mathias Norsgaard 00:02:17.33
13 NIELSEN Stokbro Andreas 00:02:17.65
14 CHAMPOUSSIN Clément 00:02:18.16
15 FROLDEVAUX Robin 00:02:18.25
16 KRON Andreas Lorentz 00:02:18.36
17 FOSS Tobias 00:02:18.57
18 CALVERT Charley 00:02:18.83
19 FINKST Tilen 00:02:18.85
19 VAN WILDER Ilan 00:02:18.85

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

First stage of Course de la Paix U23, the break won, with little over a minute on the peloton.

01 Stefan Bissegger 1998 Switzerland 03:10:13
02 Marijn Van Den Berg 1999 Netherlands + 00
03 Francisco Campos 1997 Portugal + 00
04 Martin Bugge Urianstad 1999 Norway + 00
05 Patrick Gamper 1997 Austria + 00
06 Jakub Otruba 1998 Czech Republic + 04
07 Nils Eekhoff 1998 Netherlands + 01:08
08 Jakob Gessner 2000 Germany + 01:08
09 Florian Gamper 1999 Austria + 01:08
10 Nicolas Dalla Valle 1997 Italy + 01:08

 

[WKA311]

Bissegger is having quite a nice season so far.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Van Wilder is really smashing it this season. Last year he was Belgium's second best wherever he went (2nd ITT Belgium, 2nd ITT European Championships, 2nd Lunigiana... behind Evenepoel), this year, as a first year Espoir, he's really rivaling the big guys!

He won the Queen Stage of the Course de la Paix today! Only turned 19 two weeks ago.

01 Ilan Van Wilder 2000 Belgium 00
02 Clément Champoussin 1998 France + 00
03 Mauri Vansevenant 1999 Belgium + 00
04 Andreas Leknessund 1999 Norway + 00

 

[RedheadDane]

And the guy in third is the son of the guy famous for finishing last in the Tour three times in a row.

BTW, why do you get an* axe if you lead the Nation's Cup?









*Looks like each rider present when the lead is taken gets one.

 

[JoeD1997]

Re:

Bissegger is having quite a nice season so far.

Rather surprisingly, First Cycling reports Bissegger has finished just 15 seconds back on Van Wilder, which means he should still have around 45 seconds lead overall. Very good ride for a guy who can TT, but I thought would be far too heavy to hold the lead after this stage.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

Bissegger is having quite a nice season so far.

Rather surprisingly, First Cycling reports Bissegger has finished just 15 seconds back on Van Wilder, which means he should still have around 45 seconds lead overall. Very good ride for a guy who can TT, but I thought would be far too heavy to hold the lead after this stage.

I think the favorites also didn't expect it, or the peloton would probably not have given the break so much leeway yesterday.

Vacek underwhelming, but what happened to Almeida?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Interviews and recap prologue and first stage Course de la Paix:
https://www.facebook.com/ZavodMiruU23/videos/376515539645046

Interviews and recap stage 2 Course de la Paix:
https://www.facebook.com/ZavodMiruU23/videos/350638845638352

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

10 km from the finish, Leknessund has attacked and has a small gap.
EDIT: he holds it, wins the stage and GC.

Last stage result

01 Andreas Leknessund 1999 Norway 04:14:21
02 Clément Champoussin 1998 France + 01:23
03 Stefan Bissegger 1998 Switzerland + 01:31
04 Ilan Van Wilder 2000 Belgium + 01:31
05 Sylvain Moniquet 1998 Belgium + 01:31
06 Unai Cuadrado Ruiz de Gauna 1997 Spain + 01:31
07 Mauri Vansevenant 1999 Belgium + 01:31
08 Francesco Romano 1997 Italy + 01:31
09 Andreas Kron 1998 Denmark + 01:31
10 Alessandro Monaco 1998 Italy + 01:31
11 Felix Gall 1998 Austria + 01:38
12 Johannes Adamietz 1998 Germany + 01:39
13 Karel Vacek 2000 Czech Republic + 01:44
14 Nicolas Prodhomme 1997 France + 01:44
15 Jorge Magalhaes 1997 Portugal + 01:49
16 Kristijan Hocevar 1999 Slovenia + 01:49
17 Jaka Primozic 1998 Slovenia + 01:49
18 Torjus Sleen 1997 Norway + 01:51
19 Lars Van Den Berg 1998 Netherlands + 01:51
20 Jakub Otruba 1998 Czech Republic + 02:06

Decent result by Vacek in the final stage.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

So, final standings in GC Course de la Paix U23:

01 3 Andreas Leknessund 1999 Norway Norway 11:37:44
02 1 Stefan Bissegger 1998 Switzerland Switzerland 26
03 - Clément Champoussin 1998 France France 01:23
04 2 Ilan Van Wilder 2000 Belgium Belgium 01:34
05 - Mauri Vansevenant 1999 Belgium Belgium 01:49
06 1 Sylvain Moniquet 1998 Belgium Belgium 02:00
07 3 Unai Cuadrado Ruiz de Gauna 1997 Spain Spain 02:13
08 1 Alessandro Monaco 1998 Italy Italy 02:14
09 1 Nicolas Prodhomme 1997 France France 02:19
10 4 Lars Van Den Berg 1998 Netherlands Netherlands 02:19

Champoussin made a move right before the end, to snatch away the final podium spot ahead of Van Wilder, who is the only first year Espoir in the top 20.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Confirmation that Ilan Van Wilder, is riding Aosta and L'Avenir. He'll ride some smaller local races to prep.

He's really stepped up in his first year U23, after riding in the shadows of Evenepoel last year. He's been one of the more consistent U23 GC riders this season. Curious to see if he can crack the top 10 in those races.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta Mont Blanc

Almost time for the

56° Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta Mont Blanc
July 16th - 21st

Starts with a flat 2.7km prologue, followed by 5 hard mountain stages.

Startlist is still empty but the following teams have confirmed:

1. Beltrami TSA-Hoppla-Petroli Firenze
2. Biesse Carrera Gavardo
3. Dimension Data for Qhubeka
4. Team Colpack
5. IAM-Excelsior
6. Groupama-FDJ
7. Kometa Cycling Team
8. Radteam Herrmann
9. SEG Racing Academy
10. Team Wiggins-Le Col
11. ASD Fortbebraccio Da Montone
12. Arane Cucine Vejus
13. Casillo Maserati
14. Team Cinelli
15. Velo Racing Palazzago
16. AVC Aix-en-Provence
17. EFC-L&R-Vulsteke
18. Equipo Lizarte
19. GM Recycling Team
20. Holdsworth Zappi
21. Lotto-Soudal U23
22. Mimosa Sprint Mandelieu
23. UC Monaco
24. VC Pays de Loudéac
25. Danemark
26. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
27. Haute-Savoie Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

 

[hayneplane]

Nice route. That would make an interesting short stage race for the pro peloton.

 

[fauniera]

Awesome route. One of the best races out there.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Great route as always. Stage 2 should also have Sterrato on the short flat section that ends after around 120km.
Vejus will probably bring Rubio, in that chase he'll be the man to beat.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

In the meanwhile, Mauri Vansevenant, who got some nice results with top 5 spots in Course de la Paix (U23) and Orlen Nations Championship last month, cruised to victory in the 3rd stage of the Tour du Piémont Pyrénéen, over the Soulor and Aubisque, with nearly 5 minutes on Jérémy Bellicaud who finished second. Though, i don't think this was a "top tier field" competing in the race.