Italian Rinaldo Nocentini will make his debut with the Portuguese Continental squad Sporting Club Portugal/Tavira at the Volta ao Algarve this week.
The 38-year-old reached the pinnacle of his career in 2009 with AG2R-La Mondiale when he made the winning breakaway on stage 7 of the Tour de France and took the maillot jaune from Fabian Cancellara. Nocentini held the race lead for eight stages before conceding it to Alberto Contador. He remained with AG2R La Mondiale until last season, when his contract was not renewed.
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The Taviria team is linked to Sporting Clube de Portugal, one of Portugal’s most storied football clubs. Also new to the team is Spaniard David De La Fuente, formerly of Saunier Duval and Caja Rural, who will join Nocentini in Algarve.
Roche replaces Intxausti in Vuelta a Andalucia-Ruta Ciclista del Sol
Team Sky will be without the services of Beñat Intxausti at this week's Ruta del Sol. The Spaniard is still recovering from illness and will be replaced by Nicolas Roche.
Intxausti started off his season strongly, with a third place overall in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, taking second to teammate Wout Poels on the summit finish at Xorret del Catí. Poels, Roche, world time trial champion Vasil Kiryienka, Mikel Nieve, Ben Swift, Christian Knees, and Gianni Mosconi will make up Team Sky's squad in the race.
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Boivin kicks off 2016 with win in Israel
Canadian Guillaume Boivin started his season with a commanding victory at the Beit Guvrin road race in Israel on Saturday. Racing with the Cycling Academy team this year, Boivin put in a 30km solo attack to take the win, according to the team.
Former UCI Anti-Doping Commission member Kamaev dead at 52
Nikita Kamaev, a former member of the UCI's Anti-Doping Commission, died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 52 on Sunday. Kamaev, also the former executive director of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, had stepped down from his post after the independent WADA commission uncovered a massive doping scandal in Russian athletics.
According to the Tass news agency, former RUSADA general director Ramil Khabriev said Kamaev experienced chest pains after skiing. "I've been told that he was out cross-country skiing, came home and felt pain in the area of the heart," Khabriev said. "I'd never heard him complain of anything to do with his heart. Perhaps his wife knew about some sort of problem."
Kamaev was appointed to the UCI commission after the election of Brian Cookson as president in 2013.
