Quick-Step's Schachmann calls end to 2017 season - News shorts

Quick-Step Floors neo-pro Maximilian Schachmann has called an end to his 2017 season following surgery to repair injuries he suffered to his right heel in a crash during stage 5 of the Tour of Poland.

"Of course, it is a big disappointment," Schachmann said. "I was getting in good shape, and although I was not at 100 percent in Poland, I felt I was getting better and better. Despite this not being an ideal situation, I don't want to let this injury drag me down. I can't change the outcome, so I just have to look forward. I am really motivated to come back, and I hope to return recovered and ready to kick off my 2018 preparation together with the team in December."

The first CT scan taken in Poland indicated multiple fractures in his right calcaneus, a diagnosis that was later confirmed by a specialist in Hamburg, where doctors performed surgery on Friday after swelling receded. The team says the surgery was a success, but Schachmann will need to along recovery before he will have full use of the foot.

The team said that if all goes well with the recovery, Schachmann should be ready to go for the team's 2018 pre-season training camp in December.

Nikias Arndt leads Team Sunweb at Cyclassics Hamburg

German Nikias Arndt will lead his Sunweb team on home soil at the Cyclassics Hamburg on Sunday, August 20.. The WorldTour race will be the 25-year-old's first since the RideLondon after a successful Tour de France debut with his Sunweb.

2017 will be just the second time Arndt has lined out for the race after placing 39th on his debut in 2015. He will be backed by a strong sprint team that also features fellow fastmen Max Walscheid and Phil Bauhaus.

"This is an important WorldTour race in Germany and we take a strong team to target a top result there," said sports director Luke Roberts. "We bring a solid contingent of German riders with Nikias as our sprinter for the day. He is just coming off a strong Tour de France hoping to add another one-day victory to his palmares. We can expect the race to come down to a decimated bunch sprint and we have a well-rounded team to help us reach our goals for the day."

The team was second with John Degenkolb last year and will be confident of matching its podium result.

Arndt won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in January and has been a key lead out rider for Michael Matthews across the season.

Team Sunweb for Cyclassics Hamburg: Nikias Arndt (Ger), Phil Bauhaus (Ger), Roy Curvers (Ned), Bert De Backer (Bel), Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned), Albert Timmer (Ned), Zico Waeytens (Bel) and Max Walscheid (Ger). 

Cofidis name Vuelta a Espana squad

French Pro-Continental team Cofidis has named its squad for the 2017 Vuelta a Espana. Spaniards Dani Navarro and Luis Ángel Maté are the only riders from Cofidis' Tour de France squad to line out at the Spanish Grand Tour.

Sprinter Nacer Bouhanni skips the Vuelta for the second year tunning with the team backing in stage hunters. Belgian Jonas Van Genechten won a stage in 2016 with IAM Cycling and provides the team with an option for the limited sprint opportunities.

Navarro and Maté are the two most experienced grand tour riders in the squad with Navarro a stage winner in 2014 in the same year he was tenth overall.

There is French representation in the squad from 30-year-old's Guillaume Bonnafond and Stephane Rossetto, along with Grand Tour debutant Anthony Perez, and two Turgis brothers, Anthony and Jimmy. Both Turgis' make their Grand Tour debuts at the race. The squad is completed by Belgian Kenneth Vanbilsen.

Cofidis for the 2017 Vuelta a Espana: Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra), Luis Ángel Maté (Spa), Daniel Navarro (Spa), Anthony Perez (Fra), Stephane Rossetto (Fra), Anthony Turgis (Fra), Jimmy Turgis (Fra), Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) and Jonas Van Genechten (Bel). 

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