Road
“It was a massive step up from racing at home” – Damien Shaw looks forward to 2017
By David Healy TBCF spoke with the 2015 Irish national champion Damian Shaw (32) this week at the An Post Chain Reaction Cycles training camp in a cold and snowy Calpe, Spain. We asked Damian about his first season with the team and he confirmed that it had been "a massive step up from racing at home in Ireland". "I wasn't...
Nairo Quintana to target both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in 2017
Nairo Quintana will line up at the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia this year before tackling the Tour de France in July, his Movistar team have confirmed today. The Colombian has raced the Giro d'Italia just once in his career, when he took a convincing victory in 2014. Quintana finished nearly three minutes ahead of his nearest challenger, compatriot...
Katusha take to the turbo trainers as bad weather continues to hit Europe
The destination of choice for many years for professional cyclists has been the Costa Blanca in Spain. Amongst the teams there this year are WorldTour teams Astana, Dimension Data for Qhubeka, Katusha and Team Sunweb and other Pro Continental and Continental teams including Topsport Vlaanderen, Direct Energie, CCC Polsat and An Post Chain Reaction. Unfortunately for the teams currently there,...
Behind the scenes at the An Post – Chain Reaction training camp in Calpe (VIDEO)
The Irish UCI Continental team An Post - Chain Reaction have been taking part in a training camp in Calpe, Spain over the past number of days in preparation for the upcoming season and have produced the video below which shows some of what has been happening at the camp. Directeur Sportif Kurt Bogaerts explains that their previous training camp...
2017 An Post Chain Reaction team launched in Calpe
The line-up for the 2017 An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly racing team was officially announced today, with a 15-man squad named, including four Irish riders: Damien Shaw, Matthew Teggart, Conor Hennebry and Sean McKenna. Shaw and McKenna both debuted with the Belgium based team last year and have extended their contracts for another season. Hennebry and Teggart join on...
Sam Bennett sprints to third as Caleb Ewan takes opening stage at Tour Down Under
After the relatively cool evening temperatures of Sunday’s People’s Choice Classic, stage 1 of the Tour Down Under took place in the full heat of the Australian summer, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. These extreme weather conditions prompted race organisers to shorten the day’s racing by one lap of the final circuit. After a punishing day in the...
Mario Aerts expects aggressive performances from Lotto-Soudal riders at Tour Down Under
The Santos Tour Down Under starts tomorrow with a 145-kilometre stage from Unley to Lyndoch and the Directeur Sportif of the Lotto-Soudal team - Mario Aerts - has said that he feels that his team will be in aggressive form during the six day race. Aerts predicted that tomorrow's opening stage should end in a bunch sprint with the first...
Peter Sagan leads out Sam Bennett for 2nd place at People’s Choice Classic (VIDEO)
The Bora-hansgrohe team got their season off to a flying start in Adelaide today with Sam Bennett taking second and the UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, in third in the People's Choice Classic criterium. The People’s Choice Classic is the precursor to the Tour Down Under – a criterium in the streets of Adelaide circling one of the city’s beautiful...
Vuelta a España organisers pay tribute to Kris Boeckmans (VIDEO)
The organisers of the Vuelta a España paid tribute to Belgian rider Kris Boeckmans at the presentation of the 2017 route on Thursday. The Lotto-Soudal rider crashed on the eighth stage of the 2015 Vuelta and was subsequently placed in an induced coma. He required eight hours of facial surgery on a broken nose and jawbone, as well as treatment...
Dion Smith signs for Wanty-Groupe Gobert
Team Wanty-Gobert Group have announced its 22nd and last rider for the 2017 season. Following the recent announcement that Lieuwe Westra was retiring from the sport, the Belgian team made a move to sign 23-year-old Dion Smith from New Zealand. Third in the national championship of New Zealand in early January, the former One Pro Cycling rider, now residing...
“It’s a climber’s course, no doubts about that” – Alejandro Valverde on the 2017 Vuelta
Following the official presentation of the 72th Vuelta a España's route in Madrid's Municipal Conference Hall on Thursday evening, Alejandro Valverde and Movistar General Manager Eusebio Unzué have given their opinions on the race which starts on 19 August in Nîmes, France, and finishes in Madrid on 10 September. The Spanish rider couldn't attend the event after a training accident...
Trek-Segafredo unveil their 2017 race kit
Trek-Segafredo have presented their new race kit for the 2017 season. The new kit, marked by a significant colour change from white to red, was simultaneously presented at a Trek Bikes shop in Adelaide and at the team’s training camp in Mallorca today. The official launch of the 2017 race kit also marks the start of a new three-year...
James Shaw set to make WorldTour debut at Santos Tour Down Under
British rider James Shaw is set to start his first season as a pro having spent the past two seasons as part of the U23 Lotto-Soudal team. Last season, Shaw was given an opportunity to race as a stagiaire with the Lotto-Soudal WorldTour team and on the back of that, he was offered a contract with the Belgian outfit. Next...
Behind the scenes at the Axeon Hagens Berman training camp (VIDEO)
U.S Continental team Axeon Hagens Berman have produced a short film going behind the scenes of their pre-season training camp which is currently taking place in Calabasas, California. General Manager Axel Merckx has been leading daily training rides and team meetings as his program convenes for a ninth consecutive season. Also on the agenda for the 10-day camp are photo...
Rafael Valls aiming for top ten at Tour Down Under after difficult 2016 season
Lotto-Soudal's Rafael Valls is hoping to bounce back from an injury plagued 2016 season at the Tour Down Under (17 – 22 January) next week, a race where he finished eighth overall last season. After that solid start to the season, the Spanish rider had a lot of bad luck later in the year and injuries forced him to put...
Dan Martin named as one of five riders on Quick Step Floors Tour de France team
The start of the Tour de France may be nearly six months away but that hasn't prevented Quick Step Floors team manager Patrick Lefevere from naming five riders who should be lining up at the start of the three-week race for the Belgian team. Lefevere announced that barring any setbacks, Irish rider Dan Martin will start for the team along...