Vuelta a Espana could visit France in 2019 - News shorts

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The 2019 Vuelta a España could visit France for an individual time trial in Pau, potentially during the final week of the race, according to a report on Ciclo21.

The website reports that Josy Poueyto, deputy of the Pyrenees Atlantiques region, told the Sud Ouest newspaper the he obtained a commitment on the part of Vuelta director Javier Guillén that the 2019 Vuelta will include an individual time trial with the start and finish in Pau. Located in the foothills of the Pyrenees, the small city sits just over an hour from the Spanish border by car.

If the race holds to tradition, that time trial would take place in the final week.

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FedUni signs on as title sponsor for Australian road championships

Federation University Australia (FedUni) has signed on as title sponsor for Cycling Australia's Road National Championships in Ballarat from 2018-2020, the governing body announced this week.

"I’m delighted to be announcing such a terrific partnership," said Steve Bracks, Cycling Australia chairman and a FedUni alumnus. "The Cycling Australia Road National Championships is one of the premier events on the cycling calendar, and it takes place right on the doorstep of FedUni's Mt Helen Campus at Ballarat.

"It makes sense for us to work together, not just for the university's proximity to the famous Mt Buninyong circuit, but also because of FedUni's renowned Sports Science program and excellent sports training facilities, which provide all sorts of opportunities during the event."

Federation University Australia Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Bartlett said that the University was excited to be partnering with Cycling Australia to deliver one of the most anticipated road races on the cycling calendar.

"This partnership provides a unique opportunity for our students to observe all aspects of the cycling event and to explore possible career outcomes of their qualifications," Bartlett said.

Race organisers hope to see the race weekend develop further as a true festival of cycling for all, with club and family events, local community festivals and more. The 2018 Championships will also welcome two new categories, with Australia's best female and male U19 and para-cyclists set to join the U23 and elite in the battle for the green and gold jersey in January.

Federation University Australia is regional Victoria's largest university and one of the nation's leading regional universities.

Canada announces team for UCI Track Wold Cup opener

Cycling Canada today announced the six riders who will compete in the opening round of the UCI 2017-18 Track World Cup in Pruszkow, Poland. Six women will wear the maple leaf jerseys in Poland, while two riders, Jasmine Duering and Allison Beveridge, will get an early start on the racing in the mass start events at the Six Day London, which takes place on the 2012 Olympic velodrome at the Lee Valley Velopark. Duehring and Beveridge will compete in the Scratch Race, Elimination, Tempo, Points Race and Madison.

"Our focus for the upcoming international events is to give some of our women track endurance riders opportunities to gain experience in international competition," said Jacques Landry, chief technical officer and head coach at Cycling Canada.

"We will also be attempting to pick up as many points as possible in some individual events, where our international ranking has dipped slightly. In both the Six Day London events and the Poland World Cup, we will have a mixed bag of seasoned international performing riders like Jasmin and Allison, as well as some riders newly graduated into the Olympic Performance Pool, such as Kinley Gibson and Ariane Bonhomme."

Following the six-day, Beveridge will join Annie Foreman-Mackey, Ariane Bonhomme, Kinley Gibson and Maggie Coles-Lyster in Poland for World Cup racing November 4-5.

Coles-Lyster will be the alternate to the other four riders for the Team Pursuit, as well as competing in the Points Race. Beveridge will compete in the Scratch Race and the Madison with Gibson, while Foreman-Mackey will race in the Individual Pursuit.

"As we have one more season before the Olympic qualification period starts, we want to be able to fire on all cylinders come October 2018, so it is important to continue giving development opportunities this season to riders that we feel are up for it," Landry said.

Froome, Uran and Contador head to China for Tour de France Criterium

Chris Froome (Team Sky), Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac), Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) and a number of other big-name riders are on their way to Shanghai, China for the first edition of the Tour de France Skoda China Criterium.

The majority of cycling's long-running post-Tour criteriums take place in the weeks following the French Grand Tour in Europe, but the ASO has drawn plenty of starpower in recent years to its Saitama criterium, and has added another event in Asia this year. Before making the trek to Japan, many of the sport's top names will first head to Shanghai this time around for the Tour of France Skoda China Criterium on October 29.

Froome and Urán will headline the Shanghai event alongside Contador – who will make his last racing appearances as a pro cyclist in China and Japan before finally retiring for good – BMC's Greg Van Avermaet, Quick-Step's Marcel Kittel, Sky's Michal Kwiatkowski and Sunweb's Warren Barguil.

Riders will enjoy a day of 'cultural discoveries' in Shanghai that will include lessons in Tai Chi and traditional Chinese dance.

The following week, they will be joined at the Saitama Criterium by the likes of Dimension Data's Mark Cavendish, making his debut in the fifth edition of the race after he takes on the London Six Day track event.

Cyclingnews will be on hand to cover the action with interviews, photo galleries and more.