Publications
Partners
The two biggest cycling stories of this year revolve around Team Sky, one of the most successful outfits of the past 10 years.
First off, Team Sky will cease to exist as Team Sky by the end of the year. Late last year, Sky, their sponsor for the past decade, announced it was ending its deal with the UK outfit.
Sky’s sponsorship has been a bone of contention for many cycling fans as its more-than-generous budget has meant that it could buy the best and brightest cyclists out there.
The money allowed it to dominate cycling’s biggest race – the Tour de France – with six wins in seven years.
However, it was reported recently that Team Sky might have been handed a lifeline as parent company Comcast (the US communications giant that bought out the Sky television network) could part-sponsor the team beyond this year.
Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Comcast might offer 70% of the team’s budget until 2021 while a new sponsor is found.
The Gazzetta story was published the same time as VeloNews reported that UCI Pro Continental team Israel Cycling Academy confirmed they are in talks to merge with WorldTour teams, potentially including Team Sky.
Comcast has reportedly offered Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford enough cash to fund 70% of the budget for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, giving him the opportunity to find the remainder from another sponsor.
According to VeloNews, Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, the owner of the Israel Cycling Academy, is seeking a merger to ensure his team a spot in the Tour de France by 2020.
The second part of the Team Sky story is Chris Froome and his quest to join that elite club of five-time Tour de France winners: Jacques Anquetil; Eddy Merckx; Bernard Hinault; and Miguel Induráin.
Last season, Froome won the three biggest race titles – the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. Although no cyclist has won all three grand tours in the same calendar year, Merckx, Hinault and Froome have won all three in succession.
Following his three grand tour wins, Froome also managed to place third in last year’s Tour de France behind team-mate Geraint Thomas.
On top of that, he dealt with an inquiry and loads of innuendo about his adverse analytical finding for asthma medicine. Froome was cleared of any wrongdoing and has made it very clear that he intends to target this year’s Tour de France for his fifth win.
And the route for this year’s race plays into his hands beautifully. With five summit finishes, the race appears to suit Froome, and he said he was looking forward to preparing for it.
“It’s a very different parcours [route]. It’s very heavily weighted towards climbing and the mountains, especially those over 2 000m, will be a big factor,” said the four-time champion.
His only real threats are fellow Sky rider Thomas, Sunweb’s Tom Dumoulin, Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde from Movistar, and, if he can stay upright on his bike, Richie Porte from Trek-Segafredo. For the past two years, Porte has crashed out of the Tour de France early in the race.
Froome was training in South Africa this week in preparation for his first race of the season – the Tour of Colombia – when he will ride in support of Sky’s most exciting young rider Egan Bernal.
Riders to watch this year
. Dimension Data’s Nic Dlamini rode his first year at WorldTour level last year and picked up the King of the Mountains jersey at the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Britain. He became the first black rider to wear a leader’s jersey at a WorldTour race.
. Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) found opportunities to shine last year and more victories are on the horizon. As a 24-year-old, he won stages in the four week-long WorldTour races, the Tour de Romandie, Critérium du Dauphiné, Tour de Pologne and Tour of Guangxi. He proved himself in the classics, finishing second to Fabio Jakobsen at the Scheldeprijs one-day race. He is expected to get a chance to race the Giro d’Italia as the team’s sprinter.
It will be his first grand tour and a fine opportunity to earn a maiden stage win.
. Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick Step) had a breakout season last year, finishing second overall at the Vuelta a España and notching the first two pro wins of his promising career (a stage at the Vuelta and the Tour of the Basque Country). This year, he’s poised for even better results, with a Tour de France debut on the calendar.
. Egan Bernal was only 21 when he signed for Team Sky after two successful years with Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec and overall victory at the 2017 Tour de l’Avenir while riding for Colombia’s national team. He made his debut in Team Sky colours at the Tour Down Under, where he finished sixth overall. He won the Colombian national time-trial title and the inaugural edition of the Colombia Oro y Paz stage race.
Since then, Bernal has finished second at the Tour de Romandie, won the Tour of California and he made his grand tour debut at the Tour de France – where he took 16th overall, as well as supporting team leaders Thomas and Froome. Last year, Sky signed him to an unprecedented five-year contract, marking him as part of the next great generation of cyclists. He will be team leader at this year’s Giro d’Italia for Sky.
Tour Down Under
This year’s Tour Down Under will once again kick off the WorldTour season. The racing will begin with the People’s Choice Classic today and the peloton will move straight into the stage race held from January 15 to 20 in and around Adelaide.
The climb of Willunga Hill will feature as the climax of the race as the Australian UCI WorldTour event eschews its final “Champs-Elysées-like” processional stage in favour of a “queen stage” that should keep things exciting right to the end.
Last year’s winner, South African Daryl Impey (Mitchelton Scott), returns to defend his crown this year. He will be joined by Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe), Porte (Trek-Segafredo) and Rohan Dennis (Bahrain-Merida)
