Michael Rogers named as CEO of Riis project - News Shorts

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Michael Rogers, who recently retired from professional cycling due to a heart ailment, has been named as the Chief Executive Officer of Bjarne Riis' project to build a new cycling team, the Riis Seier Project.

"When Michael announced his retirement from professional cycling, I immediately discussed with the board about his potential leadership of the project," Riis said in a press release.

"I know Michael very well from his many years in cycling. He is in every way a dedicated person with an extremely professional approach to things. And Michael has a proven record of leadership in the professional cycling world. Together with his energy and aspirations to learn the business world, we firmly believe he can lead the project into an interesting future."

Riis and former Saxo Bank CEO Lars Seier Christensen announced plans to create the new team earlier this year.

"I'm excited and grateful to be given the opportunity to lead this project. In comparison to my athletic career of the last two decades, a new set of challenges will present themselves in my new role as CEO," Rogers said.

"It is of course humbling, but I feel confident that my leadership roles at several of the world's prominent cycling teams have provided me with some valuable experience to make the switch from being a sportsman to take on this new role. I'm delighted about collaborating with Lars Seier and Bjarne Riis to create a sustainable business based on some very appealing cycling related experiences and products."

Vos, Van der Breggen confirmed for Olympic Games

The defending Olympic champion Marianne Vos will get a chance at a second medal after being named to the Dutch team for the 2016 Olympic Games with Anna van der Breggen, Ellen van Dijk and Annemiek van Vleuten for the road race. Van Dijk and Van der Breggen will race the time trial, according to Telegraaf.nl.

Vos took a break from the sport in 2015 after suffering a hamstring and back injury, but returned earlier this year. Though she hasn't re-established herself as the dominant force of former years, a top 10 in La Flèche Wallonne was good enough for selection.

On the men's side, coach Johan Lammerts has confirmed the selection of Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Wout Poels, with Tom Dumoulin and Bauke Mollema. The final spot will be filled with one of three LottoNl-Jumbo riders: Robert Gesink, Steven Kruijswijk or Wilco Kelderman. Dumoulin will race the time trial with either Kelderman or Poels.

Philippe Gilbert resumes in Tour of Luxembourg

After breaking his finger in an altercation with two motorists ahead of the Amstel Gold Race, Belgian Philippe Gilbert is back on track and ready to resume racing at the Tour of Luxembourg.

Gilbert raced in the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, but had to skip the rest of the Classics season and the Giro d'Italia because of the injury.

"I have been seeing the physiotherapist a couple of times a week so the muscular pain is reducing more and more, and I can ride in my natural position. I've been improving week to week and am looking forward to racing again at the Tour of Luxembourg," Gilbert said in a team statement.

Dimension Data testing live tracking during Tour of California

Dimension Data is testing a new technology for tracking live rider data at the Amgen Tour of California this week, with its WorldTour riders carrying monitors that feed heart rate, speed, power, cadence, and position in the peloton to the company's 'cloud'. Although the full data cannot be accessed yet by fans, the company is using Twitter to give some snapshots of the data they've gathered.

Last year Dimension Data and Amaury Sport Organization (ASO.), which owns the Tour de France, announced that they had signed a five-year Official Technology Partner agreement that would see the two organizations work closely together to revolutionize the viewing experience of billions of cycling fans across the globe. Although ASO do not own Tour of California, they partner with the race for live video coverage.

"Team Dimension Data, which became the first African team to join the UCI WorldTour, is the key vehicle through which we introduce and test the technology that will transform the sport of cycling – and indeed other sports. It made sense to kick off our next phase of innovation in both cycling and sport while in California," Adam Foster, Dimension Data's Sports Practice Executive said.

New to the project is weather, including live wind speed and direction, and gradient data. Follow @DiDataSport for race and data updates from the Amgen Tour of California.