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Pro Log: Liège-Bastogne-Liège, British Paralympian Sam Ruddock found after going missing, Uno-X’s 7-Eleven kit, Rapha Super-League
Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. Here’s a rundown of the latest results before we get started:
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège Hommes, Sun 27th April: 1st Tadej Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 6hr 00min 09sec; 2nd Giulio Ciccone, Lidl-Trek, +1min 03sec; 3rd Ben Healy, EF Education-EasyPost, +1min 03sec.
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, Sun 27th April: 1st Kim Le Court, AG Insurance-Soudal, 4h 15min 42sec; 2nd Puck Pieterse, Fenix-Deceuninck, +0sec; 3rd Demi Vollering, FDJ-Suez, +0sec.
- Tour of Türkiye, Stage 1, Sun 27th April: 1st Simon Dehairs, Alpecin-Deceuninck, 2h 51min 04sec; 2nd Matteo Malucelli, XDS Astana Team, +0sec; 3rd Jules Hesters, Team Flanders-Baloise, +0sec.
- Vuelta a Asturias, Overall, Sun 27th April: 1st Marc Soler, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 15h 10min 23sec; 2nd Txomin Juaristi, Euskaltel-Euskadi, +3min 37sec; 3rd Alexis Guérin, Anicolor-Tien 21 Cycling Team, +4min 15sec.
- Vuelta a Asturias, Stage 4, Sun 27th April: 1st Marc Soler, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 3h 14min 39sec; 2nd Mattéo Vercher, Team TotalEnergies, +3sec; 3rd Alexis Guérin, Anicolor-Tien 21 Cycling Team, +16sec.
Tadej Pogačar and Kim Le Court win Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Tadej Pogačar claimed his third Liège-Bastogne-Liège title at the weekend after attacking on La Redoute. It was an expected move, but no one was able to follow the world champion as he drifted away from the peloton with ease at 40km to go.
Behind, Giulio Ciccone and Ben Healy formed a chasing group resigned but committed to the podium and they were able to get to the finish line just a few seconds ahead of a big chasing group. For Ciccone, this is his second podium in a Classic after his third place at Il Lombardia last year; as for Healy, it’s his third following second places at Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race in 2023.
The women’s race was much more open and a four-woman group would contest the win in a sprint to the line after the peloton splintered on La Redoute. Demi Vollering, Puck Pieterse, EF’s Cédrine Kerbaol and AG Insurance-Soudal’s Kim Le Court arrived at the finish together and began the fight in the last 200m.
Mauritius national champion Le Court kicked things off and held on for her first victory in the Classics, becoming the first African rider to win a Monument. Behind, Pieterse placed second to cap off a brilliant Classics season and Vollering finished third.
Earlier on in the race there was another case of public interference when a man dressed in UAE team kit, came onto the course to ride behind race leaders Pauliena Rooijakkers and Antonia Niedermaier.
Sam Ruddock found after going missing
British Paralympian Sam Ruddock has been found alive and safe after being reported missing in Las Vegas. The 35-year-old from Warwickshire was not been heard from since 16th April after travelling to the United States to see WrestleMania. Ruddock has cerebral palsy and represented Great Britain in the shotput at the 2012 Paralympics. He switched to track cycling in 2018 under the C1 classification and won World Championship titles in the 1km time-trial
Uno-X show off special Team 7-Eleven kit
Uno-X Mobility revealed a special red and green kit at Liège-Bastogne-Liège to celebrate Team 7-Eleven’s history in cycling and as a tribute to Eddy Merckx for his 80th birthday. Merckx was part of the original 7-Eleven team in the 80s and won Liège-Bastogne-Liège a record five times.
Uno-X and 7-Eleven have a partnership in Norway and Denmark, with over 100 Uno-X service stations having 7-Eleven stores.
They even released a retro song and video – take a look.
Rapha announces new British Super-League
In a much-needed boost for the domestic scene, Rapha has revealed a new points competition dubbed the Super-League. Men and women will compete in 16 existing races across May to August including the Lincoln Grand Prix, Tour of the Reservoir and Curlew Cup & Beaumont Trophy, with points awarded in each to add up for an overall season total.
Rapha say the points system is ‘weighted according to the importance and style of the race. The more prestigious the race, the more points.’
Speaking of the domestic side of things, the men’s Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic took place this weekend. Over undulating terrain that leads it to being dubbed our own Belgian classic, the winner also receives a pork pie. Yummy. This year, Ben Granger (MG.K vis Costruzioni Ambiente) joined the list of winners that includes Tom Pidcock, Connor Dunne and Luke Lamperti after soloing to victory for his first UCI win.
See you next week.
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