Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cyclingnews/news/~3/9hQW0NkYrOo/uci-hopes-to-secure-information-on-cyclists-involved-in-blood-doping-investigation
The UCI has issued a statement concerning the police investigation into a blood doping network in Germany and Austria, saying it has asked the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) to "request the co-operation of the Austrian authorities and WADA to ensure all information directly or indirectly concerning cycling is handed over without delay".
The UCI will also ask the CADF to offer any assistance that could help the investigation.
The UCI said it was not implicated in the investigation and suggested it "was not aimed at cycling", adding that it does not have any first-hand information concerning confessions made by cyclists.
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Five Nordic skiers were arrested last week during what Austrian police called 'Operation Aderlass' – Operation Bloodletting – with one caught while undergoing an autologous blood transfusion in his room the day before competing in an Nordic skiing race at the World Championships in Seefeld, Austria.
Over the weekend it was widely reported that former Aqua Blue Sport rider Stefan Denifl confessed to blood doping after being questioned as part of the investigation in Austria. On Monday it emerged that fellow Austrian Georg Preidler reportedly confessed to having his blood extracted for a possible transfusion.
Preidler quit the Groupama-FDJ team on Sunday, with the French WorldTour team revealing he had admitted to having his blood drawn on two occasions late in 2018.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/03/road/jungels-time-trials-to-solo-victory-in-kuurne-brussels-kuurne_483864
Deceuninck-Quick-Step take second win on opening weekend of the spring classics.
Read the full article at Jungels time trials to solo victory in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on VeloNews.com.
Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cyclingnews/news/~3/a5mTJHvLZJ4/denifl-confesses-to-blood-doping-in-police-interview
Stefan Denifl has confessed to blood doping in a police interview, according to reports published in the Austrian media on Sunday morning.
Denifl was questioned by police on Friday as part of the investigation into German sports doctor Mark Schmidt that saw five athletes arrested at the Nordic Ski World Championships in Seefeld, Austria last week.
Citing sources in the prosecutor’s office in Innsbruck, Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung and state broadcaster ORF report that Denifl confessed to using banned practices. The 31-year-old was subsequently released from custody. ORF reports that Denifl is likely to be charged with sporting fraud, which carries a prison sentence of up to three years in Austria.
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A stage winner on the 2017 Vuelta a España with Aqua Blue Sport, Denifl signed with CCC in October of last year following the demise of the Irish team. On Christmas Eve, however, CCC announced that Denifl’s contract had been terminated by mutual agreement “for personal reasons.”
Denifl rode for Cervélo TestTeam in 2010, and later raced for Leopard Trek, Vacansoleil and IAM Cycling. He had previously competed for Austrian Pro Continental outfits Voralberg and Elk-Haus Simplon. The Tyrol native scored the biggest successes of his career in 2017, when he won the Tour of Austria and then soloed to stage victory on the Vuelta at Los Machucos.
Following the dramatic arrest of five cross-country skiers at the World Championships last week, Dieter Csefan of the Austrian Federal Police Office said that the case would “certainly” spread to other sports.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cyclingnews/news/~3/iM3z98jJSoc/doull-left-speechless-after-second-in-kuurne-brussel-kuurne
Owain Doull (Team Sky) secured his best-ever result on the road with second place behind Bob Jungels in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. The British rider was aggressive throughout the one-day race and eventually broke away with three riders inside the final few kilometres. Although Jungles was already too far up the road and took a solo win, Doull launched a sprint from 350 metres out and held off Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders winner Niki Terpstra for second place.
"It's been a good day," Doull told Cyclingnews. "I'm speechless. You always want to step up and be in the active end of these races. You believe you can do it but until you do, you just don't know. I'm a bit in shock to be honest. It's the biggest result of my road career so far, without a doubt."
Doull came into the Opening Weekend with decent form after taking a stage win the Herald Sun Tour and eighth in the individual time trial at the Tour de la Provence. With Luke Rowe out through illness and Dylan van Baarle picking up an injury in Omloop, the 25-year-old was bumped up the pecking order at Team Sky for Kuurne after a strong showing in Omloop. He took the opportunity with both hands, first forging clear in a determined seven-man break on the Oude Kwaremont with teammate Ian Stannard, and then making his late attack inside the final three kilometres.
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"I'm just taking it all in to be honest. I felt good all day and I was in that front split over the Kwaremont. All day I had good legs and then I could see that they were running out of legs in the group behind, so with about 3km to go I jumped. Terpstra, Jen Keukeleire and Yves Lampaert came with me. We were working, obviously Lampaert was foxing around but then we came into the last corner and just knew that I had to go because we were getting caught by the bunch. I went with about 350 and managed to hold on," Doull said.
"I could see Jungels ahead but by that stage I knew that we weren't bringing him back. It was a case of racing for what was there."
Doull's result represents a significant leap for the former Olympic track champoin. He was 11th in Omloop last year – and failed to finish Kuurne – but more often than not he is required to work for other riders. Although Team Sky have Rowe, Gianni Moscon and several other riders to welcome back to the Classics squad in the coming weeks, the Welshman has done his chances of another leadership role no harm at all.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/03/road/omloop-het-nieuwsblad-stybar-wins-with-perfectly-timed-late-attack_483850
Stybar attacks from select lead group to go solo over the line, punishing Van Avermaet's earlier aggression
Read the full article at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad: Stybar wins with perfectly-timed late attack on VeloNews.com.
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/03/news/sagan-no-omloop-no-strade-all-in-for-spring-monuments_483813
To handle the demands of racing to win from Sanremo through Liège, Peter Sagan opts for a special high-altitude prep that skips classic openers.
Read the full article at Sagan: no Omloop, no Strade, all-in for spring monuments on VeloNews.com.
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/03/road/rosskopf-takes-pride-from-near-miss-atop-jebel-jais_483821
American Joey Rosskopf happy to animate the UAE Tour's queen stage, regardless of whether he was caught in the waning kilometers.
Read the full article at Rosskopf takes pride from near miss atop Jebel Jais on VeloNews.com.
Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cyclingnews/news/~3/0klCwtqVZ1M/team-sky-could-unveil-new-main-sponsor-ahead-of-giro-says-sports-director
Matteo Tosatto has told the Spanish press that Team Sky will apparently have an agreement in place with a new main sponsor ahead of May's Giro d'Italia, and that who it is could also be announced then.
Talking to marca.com, the Italian – who's been a sports director at Sky since 2017, having retired as a pro rider with Saxo Bank the previous year – said that he thought that an announcement might have been made ahead of the Tour de France, but that it could now come sooner.
Speaking at the UAE Tour, Tosatto told Marca that Team Sky's management team has worked hard to allay any fears the riders may have had about their futures.
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"Before the Giro, we should have an agreement [with a new sponsor] that will ensure the safety of the team," he said. "It was only going to be finalised ahead of the Tour, but we are likely to announce it before the Corsa Rosa.
"It will be European, from home – de casa," Tosatto added, suggesting – and subsequently confirming – that the possible scenario of Colombian backing was not going to happen, but perhaps suggesting that the new backer could be Italian – i.e. from his home country of Italy.
In early February, it was thought that a consortium of Colombian sponsors, led by state-controlled oil and gas company Ecopetrol, could be in the running to back the WorldTour team in place of Sky, with the current main sponsor stepping away at the end of the 2019 season.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/03/road/classics-begin-anew-with-clean-slate_483825
As the spring classics begin in earnest, all eyes are on Deceuninck-Quick-Step to see if it can again dominate on the cobbles.
Read the full article at Classics begin anew with clean slate on VeloNews.com.
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/03/race-report/uae-tour-stage-6-roglic-wins-atop-jebel-jais_483815
Slovenian star Primoz Roglic extends his overall lead at the UAE Tour, winning the stage 6 summit finish ahead of Tom Dumoulin.
Read the full article at UAE Tour stage 6: Roglic wins atop Jebel Jais on VeloNews.com.
Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cyclingnews/news/~3/LmxYtxdFZdY/van-garderen-looking-for-fresh-outlook-and-new-motivation-at-ef-education-first
They say that a change is as good as a rest and that's what Tejay van Garderen is hoping for as he begins his tenure with EF Education First. Van Garderen signed with the team, run by Jonathan Vaughters, after leaving BMC Racing in their shake-up over the winter.
"I think at any point in anyone’s career, I think that a change is good just to get fresh outlooks and new motivation and I'm hoping to pretty much do what I know I can do and that's scoring some good results,” van Garderen told Cyclingnews.
Van Garderen spent seven years with the BMC Racing set-up, coming on as one of their rising stars in 2012. He soon made an impact when he beat his team leader Cadel Evans at that year's Tour de France, finishing fifth place overall and winning the white jersey. Another fifth place would follow two years later, but despite some solid performances, van Garderen has since struggled to meet those early expectations.
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After a couple of years of disappointment, van Garderen played a support role for Richie Porte at last season's Tour de France – prior to Porte's abandon on stage 9.
Obviously, being in one organisation for so long you're going to have high points and low points, good and bad, but in the end, I look back there and that's where the bulk of my palmares have come and all the best moments of my career have come so I can only look back on it with good memories," said van Garderen.
Van Garderen is currently racing at the UAE Tour, where he is currently sitting in 18th place at 1:56 behind the race leader Primoz Roglic with one mountain stage to come. The 30-year-old is using the Middle East Race as an opportunity to build up towards some of his bigger goals in the spring.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/02/race-report/uae-tour-ewan-masters-steep-stage-4-finish_483759
The Australian picks up his first WorldTour victory of the season on Hatta Dam.
Read the full article at UAE Tour: Ewan masters steep stage 4 finish on VeloNews.com.
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/02/news/valverde-dreams-of-flanders-in-rainbow-jersey-season_483769
World champ Alejandro Valverde plans to race his first Tour of Flanders, and he intends to do much more than simply show off the rainbow jersey.
Read the full article at Valverde dreams of Flanders in rainbow jersey season on VeloNews.com.
Source https://www.velonews.com/2019/02/road/giro-tour-or-vuelta-what-race-do-the-riders-prefer_483764
Each grand tour is distinct, and pro riders see this up close every season. Here's their perspective on the Giro vs. the Tour vs. the Vuelta.
Read the full article at Giro, Tour, or Vuelta: What race do the riders prefer? on VeloNews.com.
