The 2023 street season picks up in earnest this week with the conclusion of the UAE Tour on Sunday, the place World Champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) will face off in opposition to podium rivals Luke Plapp (Ineos) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) on the summit finale at Jebel Hafeet on Sunday, February 26.
One other stage race, the second version of Gran Camiño in Spain, provides the final classification males a possibility to get their climbing legs in working order within the 2.1-ranked four-day race from February 23-26.
In Europe, the Belgian classics’ Opening Weekend begins with the boys’s and ladies’s WorldTour one-day races Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, February 25. There are additionally three UCI Professional Sequence races for males: Sunday’s Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the Faun-Ardèche Basic on Saturday and Faun Drôme Basic on Sunday.
Whereas the boys’s peloton heads west for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the ladies transfer east to Aarschot for the 1.1-ranked Omloop van het Hageland.
The racing is not restricted to the weekend, both, with the boys’s and ladies’s 1.1-ranked Le Samyn on Tuesday.
Lastly, if you happen to thought the cyclo-cross season was over, suppose once more. The ultimate race of the 12 months, the Sluitingsprijs-Oostmalle, takes place on Sunday.
Learn on for extra details about all of the racing and Cyclingnews’ protection.
Weekly wrap
Weekly Wrap
Earlier than leaping straight in, here is a round-up of the weekend’s largest outcomes.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Workforce Emirates) got here out of his low season on scalding sizzling kind, successful final Monday’s 1.1-ranked Jaén Paraiso Inside with a long-range solo assault. He then gained three of the 5 levels and the general Vuelta a Andalucia – Ruta del Sol by an enormous margin over Mikel Landa and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious).
There was thrilling racing on the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, gained by AG Insurance coverage-Soudal-Quickstep’s Justine Ghekiere, who broke away and held sufficient time to grab the general win.
Over in Portugal, Ineos claimed the general within the 2.Professional Volta ao Algarve. Colombian Dani Martinez and teammate Filippo Ganna ending one-two, whereas Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quickstep) took his first main stage race podium in third.
The race additionally noticed Alexander Kristoff take Uno-X’s first win on stage 1, using an aero helmet to assist him dash to victory and a thrilling stage gained by Magnus Cort (EF Schooling-Easypost). Tom Pidcock displayed robust kind with a win atop the Alto do Malhão.
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-Samsic) took his first professional win on the opening stage of the Tour des Alpes Maritimes du Var and held on so as to add the general win to his palmares.
The UAE Tour kicked off on Monday with crosswind insanity. Remco Evenepoel claimed is within the race lead, however with Inexperienced Mountain two days away, nothing is assured.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Each the boys’s and ladies’s peloton head to Gent, Belgium for the primary of the Spring Classics. Neither defending champion Wout van Aert nor second-placed Sonny Colbrelli can be current however third-placed Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R-Citroën) leads his workforce within the race.
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny), nearly unstoppable within the sprints to date this 12 months, will make his debut and insists there isn’t any stress. However he would be the most watched rider if solely to see if his promise in lower-level races can translate to the WorldTour.
Tom Pidcock (Ineos) will even be closely marked together with Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-Quickstep), Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), the on-form Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) and Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe), 2020 winner Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) or, who is aware of? perhaps even Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) who can be utilizing a monstrous gear ratio for his inevitable assaults.
The ladies’s race sees Van Vleuten heading in to defend her title after a strong spherical of labor in Valencia. Usually her fundamental competitors would come from riders like Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), Balsamo, or Marta Bastianelli (UAE Workforce ADQ), however new riders are making their names this season.
Search for younger riders Zoe Backstedt (EF-TIBCO-SVB), Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM) or Cadel Evans Street Race winner Loes Adegeest (FDJ-Suez) for doable surprises.
O Gran Camiño
After Ruta del Sol and Algarve, the GC riders get one other warm-up race with the low-pressure 2.1 stage race in Galicia, the Gran Camiño. The four-day occasion has two summit finishes, the primary on stage 2 to the two Monte Trega – close to the uncommon archaeological website of an historical Celtic settlement.
Stage 3’s end on the Alto do Castelo is even increased and is preceded by two class 1 climbs and one class 2 within the second half of the stage.
There are solely 4 WorldTour groups within the race however one main participant: 2022 Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, who makes his season debut with Jumbo-Visma within the race. His fundamental competitors ought to come from Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), who was seventh in Tour of Oman. However look out for the packed Movistar Workforce and Vingegaard’s teammate Steven Kruijswijk, additionally making his season debut.
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
Within the absence of winter cyclones or late solo assaults that someway succeed, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is sort of at all times a day for the sprinters. Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-Quickstep) strains up as defending champion seeking to flip round current disappointments in Algarve and, apart from a win on stage 2, Vuelta a San Juan.
If it’s a dash, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) can be his fundamental competitors, together with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ), and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) – perhaps even Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Pascal Ackermann (UAE) or Niccolo Bonifazio (Intemarché-Circus-Wanty).
Sagan, Van Avermaet, and Jumbo-Visma with Dylan van Baarle, Tiesj Benoot and Christophe Laporte, Trek-Segafredo with Stuyven, Bora with Nils Politt and Ineos with Vuelta Murcia winner Ben Turner might all be enthusiastic about getting a gaggle away.
Faun-Ardèche Basic and Faun Drome Basic
The hillier classics within the south of France have attracted a who’s who of climbers: Sergio Higuita and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën), Romain Bardet (Workforce DSM), Esteban Chaves (EF Schooling-EasyPost) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies).
Additionally within the combine are high one-day riders like former world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quickstep), Simon Clarke and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), and the hot-on-form Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty).
Omloop van het Hageland
Like Ok-B-Ok, the Omloop van het Hageland is an opportunity for the sprinters to shine, and defending champion Bastianelli can be again for one more crack on the victory. She’ll need to face the sprinters of the second, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx). One other rival may very well be Emma Norsgaard (Movistar), final 12 months’s runner-up. The race is only a 1.1, so there’s solely a handful of WorldTeams current.
Le Samyn
After a weekend of high-pressure racing, Le Samyn supplies an opportunity for redemption for riders who may need missed out on the earlier weekend. Latest winners embody Matteo Trentin, Tim Merlier, Emma Norsgaard and Lotte Kopecky. There are two quick, sharp climbs on the circuit, the Côte de la Roquette and Côte des Nonettes, and 20 stretches of pavé (15 for girls) to put on riders down.
The uphill dash favours the stronger sprinters. Riders to observe embody Jakobsen and teammate Casper Pedersen, Søren Kragh (Alpecin-Deceuninck), perhaps Campenaerts and his large gears, and even Nick Zukowsky of the brand new Q36.5 workforce or Colin Joyce (Human Powered Well being).
Few of the large groups have signed on to race, so look ahead to Adegeest, Bastianelli, Alice Barnes (Human Powered Well being) and maybe Maggie Coles-Lyster (Zaaf) to be on the pointy finish of the race.
The week at a look
| Date | Race | Race | Header Cell – Column 3 | Race |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, February 23 | Row 0 – Cell 1 | UAE Tour stage 4 | Row 0 – Cell 3 | Gran Camiño stage 1 |
| Friday, February 24 | Row 1 – Cell 1 | UAE Tour stage 5 | Row 1 – Cell 3 | Gran Camiño stage 2 |
| Saturday, February 25 | Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (UWT &WWT) | UAE Tour stage 6 | Faun Ardèche Basic | Gran Camiño stage 3 |
| Sunday, February 26 | Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne | UAE Tour stage 7 | Faun Drôme Basic | Gran Camiño stage 4 |
| Tuesday, February 28 | Le Samyn | Le Samyn des Dames | Row 4 – Cell 3 | Row 4 – Cell 4 |
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