Tour of Tasmania route announced, Neylan wins Trophée d'Or Féminin, Tour de L'Avenir rider profiles, Eurobike latest
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Tsgabu Grmay (Lampre-Merida) leads the break(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
2014 Tour of Tasmania overall winner Patrick Bevin (health.com.au-search2retain)(Image credit: JXPPhotography)
Rachel Neylan was hot on her tail(Image credit: Mark Gunter)
Soren Kragh Andersen (Denmark)(Image credit: Pierre Carrey)
Laurens de Plus with his Belgian teammates(Image credit: Pierre Carrey)
We rode a Specialized S-Works Tarmac equipped with a 52/36, 11-28t Red eTap setup (Warren Rossiter / Immediate Media)(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Ethiopian champion Tsgabu Grmay was eager to get out in front on stage 5 of the Vuelta a Espana and remind the peloton Lampre-Merida are in the race. The Italian team lost Rafa Valls on the eve of the Spanish grand tour due to injury while captain Przemyslaw Niemiec crashed out of the race on stage 2 leaving the team to reconsider its goals at the third grand tour of the season.
Grmay, who made his grand tour debut at the Giro d'Italia in May, was one of three escapees in the breakaway for the day that lost momentum and cohesion inside the final 20km as the sprinters' teams started to get organised.
"I was one of the cyclists of the team who had received the task to try to join the breakaways," Grmay explained. "In the early kilometers of the stage there was a series of attacks and I tried to escape from the peloton. I had good legs and I could obtain an interesting advantage, then I was joined by two other riders and the gap of the bunch increased."
Better suited to the high mountains then the hot flat road of Andalusia, Grmay explained the weather and strong headwind made it a hard day in the saddle but one which has given him confidence he can make a mark on the race in the remaining two weeks.
"I'm happy I succeeded in achieving the goal of joining the breakaway, but I want to try again on the mountains stages, where I'll have more chance to battle for a top result," he added.
With 74 race days already in his legs to make it his longest season by eight days already, Grmay will need to balance his ambitions for a high stage finish alongside fatigue having started his season back in January at the Tour Down Under where he finished 11th overall.
2015 Tour of Tasmania parcours unveiled
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The most prestigious National Road Series (NRS) stage race on the Australian calendar, the Tour of Tasmania, has received a shake up this year with the introduction of two new stages and a prologue to get the six-day race underway. Previous winners of the race include Cadel Evans, Richie Porte, Nathan Haas, Cameron Meyer and most recently Jack Haig and Patrick Bevin who are both moving to WorldTour level in 2016 with Orica-GreenEdge and Cannondale-Garmin respectively from the Avanti Racing Team.
"This course is world class. It is one of the best you will find anywhere in the world. In my experience, they don't come any better than this," race director John Trevorrow said of the 109km stage 2 from Ulverstone to Penguin. "It's a real challenge for the riders, there's not a single section of straight road out there which makes it conducive to attacking racing."
The race, which is held from October 6-11, sees Baskerville Raceway and Symmons Plains Raceway added to the route this season with the towns hosting the opening and closing stages. There is no visit to Mt Wellington for 2015 with stage 4 from Launceston to Grindelwald set to decide the general classification according to Trevorrow.
"There is no rest for the faint hearted on the stage four Launceston to Grindelwald road race, with a final decisive climb just outside of Launceston set to shape the Tour’s standings ahead of the final criterium stage," he said.
2015 Tour of Tasmania October 6-11 -Prologue: Baskerville Raceway, Baskerville Road, Old Beach -Stage 1: Strathgordon to New Norfolk Road Race -Stage 2: Ulverstone to Penguin Road Race -Stage 3: East Devonport to George Town Road Race -Stage 4: Launceston to Grindelwald Road Race -Stage 5: Symmons Plains Criterium Sunday
Neylan seals Trophée d'Or Féminin victory
Rachel Neylan has won the first stage race of her professional career at the 2.2 French Trophée d'Or Féminin 12 seconds ahead of Edwige Pitel and compatriot Carlee Taylor (Lotto Soudal Ladies). Riding for the Australian national team, Neylan started the race on the front foot with third place in the Saint-Amand-Montrond prologue but it was stage 3 victory in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire that elevated the 33-year-old into the overall race lead which she held for the remaining two stages.
Having started her season with second place at the Australian national championships, Neylan won the inaugural women's edition of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race which helped instigate a move to Orica-AIS. The Australian national team also enjoyed stage winning success on stage 2 via national criterium champion Kimberley Wells winning stage 2 and Loren Rowney winning the fifth and final stage of the race. To cap off the race, there was also victory in the final team classification for Australia
Tour de L'Avenir rider profiles
The Tour de L'Avenir is regarded as an U23 Tour de France of sorts with five winners going into to claim the yellow jersey at the French grand tour. The 2015 edition of the race is already four stages long with several young riders living up to the hype and others making a name for themselves.
Each day of the race, Cyclingnews is running a feature article on one of the riders you may or may not know of.
Laurens De Plus is a 20-year-old Belgian with a three year contract with Etixx-Quick Step from 2016. You can read more about the climber by clicking here.
Having beaten Mark Cavendish on two occasions at the Tour de San Luis, you may already be aware of Fernando Gaviria who also has a contract with Etixx-Quick Step. You can read more about the Colombian sprinter and his aspirations by clicking here
American Colin Joyce suffered a horrific crash at the Volta ao Alentejo last year but recovered from his injuries and is held in high regard for talents on a bike. You can read more about the former U23 national time trial champion by clicking here.
Dane Søren Kragh Andersen was just 12 seconds away from an upset overall victory at the 2.1 Tour des Fjords in late-May to announce himself as a rider to watch in 2015. The 21-year-old has shown he deserves the hype with two stage wins at the Tour de L'Avenir so far. Click here to read more about Kragh Andersen who has signed a WorldTour contract for next year but is yet to reveal with which team.
