©ASO – Pauline Ballet

Saudi Tour: First for the Belgian Van Gils

Aged 22, Belgian Maxim Van Gils, from the Lotto-Soudal team, won the Saudi Tour at the end of the fifth stage on Saturday. He overtook the Colombian Buitrago in the general classification. Van Gils had laid the foundation for his victory on Friday by winning the queen stage: “It’s so special. This is my first professional victory,” said the Antwerp resident, 7th in the Tour de Wallonie in 2021 for his first year as a professional.

Dutchman Groenewegen was full of confidence in Saudi Arabia where he won two stages.

The results: 1.  Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Soudal), 2. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), 3. Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates)

Stages won by: Cadel Ewan (LTS), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange-Jayco), Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Soudal), Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange-Jayco).

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Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana: The Russian Vlasov well in control

Russian Aleksandr Vlasov won the 73rd edition of the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana on Sunday.

By overhauling Evenepoel to take the leader’s jersey during Friday’s queen stage after a tour de force performance, Vlasov has arrived in the best way possible for the Bora-Hansgrohe team: “I am very happy to win the overall victory, we have had five perfect days,” the Vyborg native commented. “I’m happy with my form and I think we have a good base to build on for the next goals.”

By winning two stages, the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen also confirmed his good condition at the start of the season.

The results: 1. Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), 2. Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl), 3. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers).

Stages won by: Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep- Alpha Vinyl), Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl), Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Matteo Moschetti (Trek-Segafredo), Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl).     

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Volta Ciclista a la Comunitat Valenciana féminas: Italian double in Valencia

At 36, the 2007 road world champion Marta Bastianelli won the women’s race in Valencia on Sunday. She had already tasted victory in this race in 2020. This time, she took the measure of her compatriot Ilaria Sanguineti in the final sprint. Barbara Guarischi took third place before being relegated due to the jury deeming her sprint as irregular. In the end, the Austrian Kathrin Schweinberger completed the podium.

The results: 1. Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ), 2. Ilaria Sanguineti (Valcar Travel & Service), 3. Kathrin Schweinberger (Ceratizit -WNT).

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Races to come: 

Tour de Provence 8-13/02 www.tourdelaprovence.fr

Tour of Oman 10-15/02 www.tour-of-oman.com

Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia Costa Calida (Esp) 12/02 www.vueltamucia.es

Clasica de Almeria (Esp) 13/02 www.clasicadealmeria.net

16 new organizers join AIOCC in 2022

Following our General Assembly in November 19, new organizers join us : 

• ZLM Tour
• Tour of the Alps
• Setmana Ciclista Valenciana
• Lotto Belgium Tour
• Ladies Tour of Norway
• Giro di Sardegna
• Adriatica Ionica Race
• Cholet Pays de la Loire 
• La Classic Grand Besançon Doubs
• Le Tour du Jura 
• Paris-Roubaix Women
• Tour de France Women 
• Vuelta ciclista andalucia “ruta del sol” elite women
• Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana
• Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana femenina
• Tour de Romandie Women

AIOCC Trophy : Awarded to Eddy MERCKX

Already the winner of the AIOCC Trophy in 1980 at the end of his sporting career, Eddy Merckx received the award this year to recognize the positive influence he has had over cycling through the years.
 
Awarded since 1960, the Trophy rewards an influential cycling figure each year. Over the editions, the recipients include Eugène Christophe (winner 1965), winner of Milan San-Remo 1910, Jacques Anquetil (winner in 1974), five-time winner of the Tour de France, and Jacques Goddet.

Members of the new Board of Directors (from left to right): Yannick TALABARDON ; Mauro VEGNI ; Wim VAN HERREWEGHE ; Sonia MARTINEZ BARRIO ; Kiko GARCIA (General Director) ; Christian PRUDHOMME ; Ruben PERIS ; Ed BUCHETTE ; Luc GHEYSENS ; Renzo OLDANI ; Javier GUILLEN
© YP Médias

The AIOCC held its General Assembly this Friday, November 19 in Paris. 85 member races were represented in person this morning and 8 members followed the discussions by video conference. A new Board of Directors was elected which appointed Christian Prudhomme to chair it for the next four years.

After the last two years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the many difficulties encountered by the organizers, the participants were able to discuss the subjects introduced by the AIOCC.

• Safety is a recurring theme which is faced head on by all the organizers.
• The AIOCC is delighted with the development of women’s cycling; the momentum is gaining with 25 UCI Women’s WorldTour events in 2022. The economic balance will be decisive for the future.
• The organizers undertake to continue their efforts to respect the environment, which is a necessity. Competitive cycling should be seen as a driving force behind the desire to engage in cycling for as many people as possible.

Christian Prudhomme: “Our unity is important”

“I am proud of the confidence placed in me once again by the members of AIOCC, which is the voice of the organizers. Our unity is important as is the unity of the cycling world, which has enabled most of races to run in 2020 and 2021. Everyone worked together.

We will continue with strength and conviction to do the work that we have carried out for several years to better explain the job of the organizers, which is varied and not limited to the sporting aspect.

I strongly believe in the cycling pyramid. You need a wide base. We have the will with the new Board of Directors to do more for the races of the other members to support them, encourage them, and answer their questions.”

The new Board of Directors :

President: Christian PRUDHOMME (FRA) – Tour de France

Deputy Vice-President: Ruben PERIS (ESP) – Vuelta Catalunya

Vice-President: Wim VAN HERREWEGHE (BEL) – Tour of Flanders

Secretary General: Luc GHEYSENS (BEL) – Gent-Welvelgem

Assistant Secretary: Sonia MARTINEZ BARRIO (ESP) – Tour de Burgos Femmes

Treasurer: Ed BUCHETTE (LUX) – Tour du Luxembourg

Deputy Treasurer: Yannick TALABARDON (FRA) – Flèche Wallonne Femmes

Members: Thierry GOUVENOU (FRA) – Paris Roubaix; Mauro VEGNI (ITA) – Giro d’Italia; Javier GUILLEN (ESP) – Vuelta a Espana; Renzo OLDANI (ITA) – Tre Valli Varese; Sébastien ARSENAULT (CAN) – Grands Prix Cyclistes Quebec et Montreal

©Chrono des Nations

Chrono des Nations: Küng finishes well

Double European champion in the individual time trial, the Swiss Stefan Küng concluded the season perfectly by winning the Chrono des Nations. The Groupama FDJ rider completed the 44.5 kilometers around Les Herbiers at a speed of 51.561 km / hour. Another great performance was given by the experienced Dane, Martin Toft Madsen (36) who finished 36 seconds behind the Swiss rider. The French event secured a top-notch podium with third place for Alessandro De Marchi, who also wore the pink jersey in the Giro d’Italia this year.

In the women’s event, Marlen Reusser of Switzerland, the silver medalist in the ITT at the World Championships, edged out Olympic road race champion, Austria’s Anna Kiesenhofer by 52 seconds. In nearly the same time as Kiesenhofer, Germany’s Mieke Kröger completed the podium.

The results men: 1. Stefan Küng (Groupama FDJ) ; 2. Martin Toft Madsen (BHS – PL Beton Bornholm); 3. Alessandro De Marchi (Israël Start-Up Nation)

The results women: 1. Marlen Reusser (Alé BTC Ljubljana) ; 2. Anna Kiesenhofer ; 3. Mieke Kröger (Team Coop – Hitec Products)

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Grand Prix du Morbihan: Marit a revelation

Two years after Benoît Cosnefroy’s victory, the Grand Prix du Morbihan has had a makeover. The Cadoudal climb, which generally caused a big selection among the riders, is no longer on the program. Instead the peloton moved a few kilometers away to Grand-Champ, a town which notably hosted the French Championships last year. And this new version of the Grand Prix du Morbihan smiled on the young Belgian Arne Marit (Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise) who finished ahead of two renowned sprinters, Bryan Coquard and Elia Viviani.

The results: 1. Arne Marit (Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise) ; 2. Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels p/b KTM) ; 3. Elia Viviani (Cofidis, Solutions Crédits)