Category: Cycling

Cycling

Simon Yates (BikeExchange–Jayco) showed his Giro d’Italia credentials with a fantastic Time Trial win in Budapest, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) retains the pink jersey, as Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) came third. Stream the Giro d’Italia live and on-demand on discovery+.

00:06:12, 20 hours ago

Cycling

Simon Yates (BikeExchange–Jayco) showed his Giro d’Italia credentials with a fantastic Time Trial win in Budapest, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) retains the pink jersey, as Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) came third. Stream the Giro d’Italia live and on-demand on discovery+.

00:06:12, a day ago

Cycling

Simon Yates (BikeExchange–Jayco) showed his Giro d’Italia credentials with a fantastic Time Trial win in Budapest, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) retains the pink jersey, as Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) came third. Stream the Giro d’Italia live and on-demand on discovery+.

00:06:12, 21 hours ago

Sir Bradley Wiggins believes Simon Yates’ stunning Stage 2 Individual Time Trial victory makes him the ‘clear favourite’ to win this year’s Giro d’Italia.

The BikeExchange–Jayco rider posted a time of 11’50” – five seconds quicker than that of Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) who was in the lead at the time.

Despite Mathieu van der Poel’s effort after going out last, the Alpecin-Fenix man was three seconds shy of Yates’ time, although remains maglia rosa after his Stage 1 win 24 hours earlier.

However, Wiggins believes Yates will ultimately seize the jersey from Van der Poel as the race goes on and claim his second Grand Tour win after winning the Vuelta a Espana in 2018.

“It wasn’t enough to take the pink jersey but what I think is most interesting is this is clearly an indicator now that Simon Yates is here to win this Giro d’Italia in three weeks’ time,” Wiggins said afterwards.

“It was so close at the foot of the climb, and he executed that ride, nine kilometres.

“Remember, Simon isn’t a time trial specialist but to execute a performance like that over a course like this shows he is now the clear favourite to win this Giro d’Italia.”

Yates came close to winning the Giro back in 2018 however, despite leading the General Classification for much of the race, the Brit fell short in the final stages, eventually surrendering the maglia rosa to Chris Froome.

Speaking on The Breakaway, Robbie McEwen suggested that Yates should have learned lessons form that disappointment and is better placed to claim victory this time around.

“It’s a bit too early to call him an overwhelming favourite. Let’s go back a couple of years,” he said.

“The talk will now start, especially from the rivals, the doubters, the supporters of other riders, like, ‘here we go again, he’s doing it again, he’s too good too soon’, only he knows.

“But whatever the case, he’s done a fantastic ride, he can enjoy the victory and the time trial today, and I think he will have learned a lot of lessons from how he tackled the Giro before, and then came up a bit too short at the end.

“He can afford to not be as aggressive as he was that other time at the Giro.”

Driving seat

Adam Blythe agreed with McEwen’s view and added that Yates, as well as his team BikeExchange will be far more strategic in their approach to the race to remain in contention.

Blythe said: “I think they’ll just be saying: ‘Look, we’re in a great position. Let’s be happy where we are and just not take risks. Don’t take any silly chances and just know they’ve got the time to gain on us. We don’t have to keep trying to gain time. We can be comfortable where we are. Let the race come to us a little bit. And when it does, that’s then we can react to it.’

“But for now for these first 10 days with Etna, and day seven into Potenza maybe, that’s when they really have to pay attention but apart from that, they’re in the driving seat.”

Daniel Lloyd also suggested the make-up of the team is also to Yates’ benefit:

Lloyd said: “They are one of the teams that has one clear leader, no sprinter, no sub leader to concentrate on. It is all about Simon Yates.

“Seven riders around him all with a clear goal of helping him each and every day. That can make a big difference over the course of this race.”

– – –

Sir Bradley Wiggins believes Simon Yates’ stunning Stage 2 Individual Time Trial victory makes him the ‘clear favourite’ to win this year’s Giro d’Italia.

The BikeExchange–Jayco rider posted a time of 11’50” – five seconds quicker than that of Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) who was in the lead at the time.

Despite Mathieu van der Poel’s effort after going out last, the Alpecin-Fenix man was three seconds shy of Yates’ time, although remains maglia rosa after his Stage 1 win 24 hours earlier.

However, Wiggins believes Yates will ultimately seize the jersey from Van der Poel as the race goes on and claim his second Grand Tour win after winning the Vuelta a Espana in 2018.

“It wasn’t enough to take the pink jersey but what I think is most interesting is this is clearly an indicator now that Simon Yates is here to win this Giro d’Italia in three weeks’ time,” Wiggins said afterwards.

“It was so close at the foot of the climb, and he executed that ride, nine kilometres.

“Remember, Simon isn’t a time trial specialist but to execute a performance like that over a course like this shows he is now the clear favourite to win this Giro d’Italia.”

Yates came close to winning the Giro back in 2018 however, despite leading the General Classification for much of the race, the Brit fell short in the final stages, eventually surrendering the maglia rosa to Chris Froome.

Speaking on The Breakaway, Robbie McEwen suggested that Yates should have learned lessons form that disappointment and is better placed to claim victory this time around.

“It’s a bit too early to call him an overwhelming favourite. Let’s go back a couple of years,” he said.

“The talk will now start, especially from the rivals, the doubters, the supporters of other riders, like, ‘here we go again, he’s doing it again, he’s too good too soon’, only he knows.

“But whatever the case, he’s done a fantastic ride, he can enjoy the victory and the time trial today, and I think he will have learned a lot of lessons from how he tackled the Giro before, and then came up a bit too short at the end.

“He can afford to not be as aggressive as he was that other time at the Giro.”

Driving seat

Adam Blythe agreed with McEwen’s view and added that Yates, as well as his team BikeExchange will be far more strategic in their approach to the race to remain in contention.

Blythe said: “I think they’ll just be saying: ‘Look, we’re in a great position. Let’s be happy where we are and just not take risks. Don’t take any silly chances and just know they’ve got the time to gain on us. We don’t have to keep trying to gain time. We can be comfortable where we are. Let the race come to us a little bit. And when it does, that’s then we can react to it.’

“But for now for these first 10 days with Etna, and day seven into Potenza maybe, that’s when they really have to pay attention but apart from that, they’re in the driving seat.”

Daniel Lloyd also suggested the make-up of the team is also to Yates’ benefit:

Lloyd said: “They are one of the teams that has one clear leader, no sprinter, no sub leader to concentrate on. It is all about Simon Yates.

“Seven riders around him all with a clear goal of helping him each and every day. That can make a big difference over the course of this race.”

– – –

Team BikeExchange Jayco’s Simon Yates produced the time trial of his career to win stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia, and put himself in a strong position in the general classification going into stage 3. Mathieu van der Poel narrowly missed out on the stage win, coming in second to retain the maglia rosa.

Ahead of the stage, all the talk had been over whether or not the Dutch rider for Alpecin-Fenix could achieve back-to-back stage wins, or whether his compatriot, Tom Dumoulin, would be able to best him. The two were side-by-side in the final standings, but nobody could have predicted the incredible form of the British rider, who followed up on his strong time trial at Paris-Nice earlier in the Spring to prove that it was no fluke.

It was a good day for British riders, as the early pace on the short, technical course was set by former hour record-holder Alex Dowsett of Israel Premier-Tech. Just the fifth rider to roll off the start ramp, Dowsett remained in the hot seat and saw over forty riders come and go without troubling his time. The 9.2km course, which featured a category four climb to finish, was the second stage of the 2022 edition of the Giro to take place in Hungary, in the city’s capital of Budapest.

It was a Jumbo Visma rider, former Dutch national champion Jos van Emden, who finally toppled Dowsett, but he didn’t remain on top for long, as his team mate Edoardo Affini bested his time just a few minutes later.

As a time trial specialist, Italian rider Affini was one of the favourites going into the stage, but the same could not be said for the rider who eventually ousted him from the hot seat, Bora-Hansgrohe’s Lennard Kämna. The German, who wore the red number of most combative rider following his long-range attack in the final of stage 1, shaved three seconds off of Affini’s time to take control of the stage.

With the overall favourites for the race stacked at the back end of the stage, the fireworks did not really begin until late on in the day. Italian time trial champion Matteo Sobrero set the stage for a good day out for Team BikeExchange Jayco when he took the lead. He did not remain on top for long, however, as Dutch champion and Olympic silver medallist Tom Dumoulin set out his stall, becoming the first rider to break through the 12-minute barrier, with a time of 11.55.

Sadly for Dumoulin, his stint in the hot seat had barely begun before he was moved along by Yates, who not only set the fastest time overall, but the fastest time on the flat section of the race, belying his status as a climbing specialist and putting pressure on his GC rivals in the process.

The final rider off the ramp was the maglia rosa, Alpecin Fenix’s Mathieu van der Poel, and although he gave it everything, he could only set the second fastest time of the day at 11.53, three seconds shy of the time of the man from Bury in Lancashire. Despite this, he maintained his status as leader of the general classification, with 11 seconds over Yates in second, and 16 over Tom Dumoulin in third.

It was a strong day out for Team Jumbo Visma, who boast a range of time trial specialists among their ranks, and they were consistent with five of their riders in the top 25. Team BikeExchange Jayco scored two top five places, and in a really impressive ride, 20-year-old Brit Ben Tulett, the second-youngest rider in the race, came in 5th position, just 13 seconds down on Yates, to become the leading rider in the overall standings for the Ineos Grenadiers.

Tomorrow’s flat stage is the last of the three in Hungary before the race travels to Italy, and with a bunch sprint finish on the cards, it’s highly likely that van der Poel will carry the leader’s jersey back to the race’s homeland on Tuesday, as the Giro heads to Sicily and an ascent of Mount Etna.

– – –

Team BikeExchange Jayco’s Simon Yates produced the time trial of his career to win stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia, and put himself in a strong position in the general classification going into stage 3. Mathieu van der Poel narrowly missed out on the stage win, coming in second to retain the maglia rosa.

Ahead of the stage, all the talk had been over whether or not the Dutch rider for Alpecin-Fenix could achieve back-to-back stage wins, or whether his compatriot, Tom Dumoulin, would be able to best him. The two were side-by-side in the final standings, but nobody could have predicted the incredible form of the British rider, who followed up on his strong time trial at Paris-Nice earlier in the Spring to prove that it was no fluke.

It was a good day for British riders, as the early pace on the short, technical course was set by former hour record-holder Alex Dowsett of Israel Premier-Tech. Just the fifth rider to roll off the start ramp, Dowsett remained in the hot seat and saw over forty riders come and go without troubling his time. The 9.2km course, which featured a category four climb to finish, was the second stage of the 2022 edition of the Giro to take place in Hungary, in the city’s capital of Budapest.

It was a Jumbo Visma rider, former Dutch national champion Jos van Emden, who finally toppled Dowsett, but he didn’t remain on top for long, as his team mate Edoardo Affini bested his time just a few minutes later.

As a time trial specialist, Italian rider Affini was one of the favourites going into the stage, but the same could not be said for the rider who eventually ousted him from the hot seat, Bora-Hansgrohe’s Lennard Kämna. The German, who wore the red number of most combative rider following his long-range attack in the final of stage 1, shaved three seconds off of Affini’s time to take control of the stage.

With the overall favourites for the race stacked at the back end of the stage, the fireworks did not really begin until late on in the day. Italian time trial champion Matteo Sobrero set the stage for a good day out for Team BikeExchange Jayco when he took the lead. He did not remain on top for long, however, as Dutch champion and Olympic silver medallist Tom Dumoulin set out his stall, becoming the first rider to break through the 12-minute barrier, with a time of 11.55.

Sadly for Dumoulin, his stint in the hot seat had barely begun before he was moved along by Yates, who not only set the fastest time overall, but the fastest time on the flat section of the race, belying his status as a climbing specialist and putting pressure on his GC rivals in the process.

The final rider off the ramp was the maglia rosa, Alpecin Fenix’s Mathieu van der Poel, and although he gave it everything, he could only set the second fastest time of the day at 11.53, three seconds shy of the time of the man from Bury in Lancashire. Despite this, he maintained his status as leader of the general classification, with 11 seconds over Yates in second, and 16 over Tom Dumoulin in third.

It was a strong day out for Team Jumbo Visma, who boast a range of time trial specialists among their ranks, and they were consistent with five of their riders in the top 25. Team BikeExchange Jayco scored two top five places, and in a really impressive ride, 20-year-old Brit Ben Tulett, the second-youngest rider in the race, came in 5th position, just 13 seconds down on Yates, to become the leading rider in the overall standings for the Ineos Grenadiers.

Tomorrow’s flat stage is the last of the three in Hungary before the race travels to Italy, and with a bunch sprint finish on the cards, it’s highly likely that van der Poel will carry the leader’s jersey back to the race’s homeland on Tuesday, as the Giro heads to Sicily and an ascent of Mount Etna.

– – –

Hungarian fans were out in force to show support for their riders at the Giro d’Italia.

With the first three stages of this year’s race taking place in the country, supporters lined the streets of Budapest where the Stage 2 Time Trial was being held.

Barnabas Peak of Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert was the first of the local riders to go off and was greeted with a rapturous roar from the crowd.

“They’re ten deep at certain stretches” remarked Rob Hatch on commentary. “Wonderful to see.”

“The national flag is being waved everywhere. What a moment for this man – whatever the result”.

Peak posted a time for 12:29 which ultimately wasn’t enough to trouble the leaders but was delighted with the reception from the fans.

“It was impossible not to give my all with this crowd. It’s crazy,” he said afterwards.

“I could hear them the whole time and it gave me a lot of strength. I’m really happy, I did not expect anything like this, it means a lot.”

Fellow Hungarian rider Erik Fetter received a similar reaction when he went off later in the afternoon.

The Eolo–Kometa rider finished on 12:28 but fans still cheered him over the finish line with great enthusiasm.

The third and final Hungarian rider Attila Valter was also greeted with a huge ovation as he went off.

– – –

Hungarian fans were out in force to show support for their riders at the Giro d’Italia.

With the first three stages of this year’s race taking place in the country, supporters lined the streets of Budapest where the Stage 2 Time Trial was being held.

Barnabas Peak of Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert was the first of the local riders to go off and was greeted with a rapturous roar from the crowd.

“They’re ten deep at certain stretches” remarked Rob Hatch on commentary. “Wonderful to see.”

“The national flag is being waved everywhere. What a moment for this man – whatever the result”.

Peak posted a time for 12:29 which ultimately wasn’t enough to trouble the leaders but was delighted with the reception from the fans.

“It was impossible not to give my all with this crowd. It’s crazy,” he said afterwards.

“I could hear them the whole time and it gave me a lot of strength. I’m really happy, I did not expect anything like this, it means a lot.”

Fellow Hungarian rider Erik Fetter received a similar reaction when he went off later in the afternoon.

The Eolo–Kometa rider finished on 12:28 but fans still cheered him over the finish line with great enthusiasm.

The third and final Hungarian rider Attila Valter was also greeted with a huge ovation as he went off.

– – –