Pro Log: Five-stage Vuelta a Andalucía reduced to 5km time-trial, Tobias Halland Johannessen celebrates too early at Classic Var, Chris Hoy reveals diagnosis and 100 days to RideLondon

Cyclist
Pro Log: Five-stage Vuelta a Andalucía reduced to 5km time-trial, Tobias Halland Johannessen celebrates too early at Classic Var, Chris Hoy reveals diagnosis and 100 days to RideLondon

Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. Racing is coming thick and fast, albeit not at the Vuelta a Andalucía. More on that shortly.

Marlen Reusser (SD Worx-Protime) topped the general classification standings at the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana ahead of Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx-Protime). Lidl-Trek’s Elisa Balsamo bookended the race with sprint wins. The Setmana Ciclista Valenciana also saw the return of Chantal van den Broek-Blaak for SD Worx-Protime after her maternity leave.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) made it two successive years of overall victory at the Volta ao Algarve as Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) won on the final day. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) impressed upon his return to racing and debut for his new team, coming 12th overall and 7th on two stages having recovered from breaking his hip at last year’s Giro d’Italia. Meanwhile Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) snatched victory at the Classic Var ahead of Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility).

Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) won Stage 1 of the ongoing men’s UAE Tour into Liwa. A large crash occurred in the final 200m, taking over half of the field out of contention and leading to Astana Qazaqstan’s Harold Tejada and Michele Gazzoli finishing on the same bike. Goals. It was a UAE 1-2-3 on the second day, Brandon McNulty leading home Jay Vine and Mikkel Bjerg in the individual time-trial.

Vuelta a Andalucía reduced to one stage

Initially scheduled to be a five-stage race in Andalucía, southern Spain, the first two stages of the Vuelta a Andalucía were cancelled as a result of farmer protests in the region, which meant that police attention needed for the race was diverted,. The final two days of planned racing were also cancelled.

Just the individual time-trial remained, which was only 4.9km and covered a circuit around Alcaudete. It was won by Maxim van Gils (Lotto-Dstny) on his season debut, ahead of UAE Team Emirates’ Juan Ayuso and Antonio Tiberi of Bahrain Victorious.

Tobias Halland Johannessen celebrates too early

The sight no one really wants to see. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) thought he’d won Classic Var… until Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) swooped past him in the final metres to snatch victory from under his nose. Johannessen thought the finish line was under the overhead gantry arch, but the white line marking the end of the race was just beyond it. The race ain’t over until it’s over.

There have been plenty of riders throughout history who have shared the same unfortunate fate, including that infamous 2020 Liège-Bastogne-Liège in which Primož Roglič snatched victory from a celebrating Julian Alaphilippe (who also got relegated so he wasn’t even second). So at least Johannessen is in good company.

Chris Hoy forced to reveal cancer diagnosis

Cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy revealed he has been diagnosed with cancer. He wrote in a post on Instagram, ‘I have a bit of news. Last year I was diagnosed with cancer, which came as a huge shock, having had no symptoms up to that point. I’m currently receiving treatment including chemotherapy, which thankfully is going really well…

‘For the sake of my young family, I had hoped to keep this information private but regrettably our hand has been forced. Whilst I’m thankful for any support, I’d like to deal with this privately.’

Everyone at Cyclist wishes him the best recovery possible.

Under 100 days until the 2024 Ford RideLondon Classique

There’s less than 100 days to go until the Ford RideLondon Classique, which will be a three-day race for the third year running.

Speaking about the future of women’s cycling in the UK, former British champion Hayley Simmonds said, ‘Knowing one of the biggest races on the UCI calendar was happening in the UK and being televised is real inspiration to females who might want to explore cycling as a sport and perhaps find a local club.’

Connie Hayes (Doltcini O’Shea) added, ‘In general, the sport is not in a good place. People say “the UK has six UCI Women’s Continental teams” but, in reality, we don’t. None of the teams are particularly stable or have the budget that equivalent men’s teams do. It is a complete mess to put it bluntly. We need to safeguard the races that we have got and support them to grow.’

Eleven UCI Women’s WorldTour teams and nine UCI Continental teams will compete in the 2024 Ford RideLondon Classique, including the dominating force of SD Worx-Protime, plus Lidl-Trek, Canyon-SRAM and UAE Team ADQ. Four teams from the UK will also feature: Lifeplus-Wahoo, DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK, Doltcini-O’Shea and Torelli. 

See you next week.

The post Pro Log: Five-stage Vuelta a Andalucía reduced to 5km time-trial, Tobias Halland Johannessen celebrates too early at Classic Var, Chris Hoy reveals diagnosis and 100 days to RideLondon appeared first on Cyclist.