Giro d'Italia director Mauro Vegni has stated that the dispute between RCS Sport and the Israeli government over references to West Jerusalem on the Grand Tour's official maps and route information was a misunderstanding.

"Nothing major really happened with Israel, there was a lot of smoke and no real fire," Vegni said in a video interview posted on the GazzettaTV.

But on Wednesday, Israeli ministers threatened to withdraw support for the 2018 Giro d'Italia's Grande Partenza, where the first three days are set to take place in Israel, after maps released during the full route presentation in Milan listed the stage 1 time trial location as West Jerusalem.

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Israel seized East Jerusalem from Jordan following the Six-Day War in 1967 and later annexed the area. Although the move was considered illegal by the United Nations and not recognized by the international community, Israel sees Jerusalem, east and west, as its undivided capital.

Israel's sports minister Miri Regev and tourism minister Yariy Levin sent a statement to AFP claiming that RCS Sport's use of the term West Jerusalem was "a breach of the agreements with the Israeli government" and reiterated that Jerusalem was "Israel's capital [where] there is no east or west."

Regev and Levin added that "If the wording does not change, the Israeli government will not be a partner in the event."

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Nathan Earle says that 2018 will be the biggest season of his professional career so far as he looks to get it back on track. After dropping down to Continental level, Earle will return to Pro Continental racing next year, with Israel Cycling Academy representing the way back.

The past 12 months have been tough for the Tasmanian, but making it out the other side is a huge morale boost. "It's unbelievable. It just shows that hard work and persistence pays off most of the time," Earle told Cyclingnews at a team bonding camp last month.

"There are no free pass-outs in this sport so it's all the hard work that gets you to where you are, and it's the same with all the guys on the team. I think it's super motivating to come into this team - being able to turn my career around and being able to get back to this level of racing is so exciting. Next year is going to be the biggest year ever."

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This time last year Earle's career was in the balance after the Drapac Pro Continental squad joined forces with the Cannondale WorldTour team. Only a select few from Drapac secured contracts with the Slipstream set-up and Earle was not among them. Unfortunately, the news came late and he had to step down a level to ensure he had a contract. Despite the circumstances, he does not feel any animosity.

"It's easy to get angry at everyone and the circumstances, but it's like my mother told me many years ago, 'don't ever become a victim of your circumstances'," he said. "There are many great athletes out there that don't have a job for next year and it's just one of the unfortunate sides of the sport that there aren't enough jobs to go around.

"Luckily, I was signed by Team Ukyo. It was a smaller team and I didn't want to go to a small team but you're only as good as the job someone will give you. I was very grateful to them for signing me late and they provided me with a great year."

Finding the passion

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Chris Froome is shaking things up in 2018 with an audacious attempt at the Giro d'Italia - Tour de France double, and that also means a shake-up to his race calendar. The four-time Tour de France champion is set to ride Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of the Alps in the build-up to the Giro, gaining experience on Italian roads. 

Froome has kicked off his last two seasons in Australia in January but, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, he will opt for a debut in Europe in February next year. Froome last did so in 2015 when he raced the Vuelta a Andalucía, as he did in 2011. That or the Volta ao Algarve would seem to be the main options.

Froome would then race Tirreno-Adriatico in early March, a key stepping stone to the Giro. He has only raced the Italian week-long race once before, in 2013, when he won at the Prati di Tivo summit finish and finished second overall behind Vincenzo Nibali. 

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In April he faces a choice between the Tour of the Alps and the Tour of Croatia, though Cyclingnews understands he will more than likely line up at the former, with Team Sky traditionally using the four-stage race, formerly known as the Giro del Trentino, as build-up for their Giro d'Italia leader. The British team has won the past three editions of the race, through Geraint Thomas, Mikel Landa, and Richie Porte, respectively, and before that Bradley Wiggins finished fifth ahead of his ill-dated tilt at the Giro. 

The trip would also allow Froome and colleagues to stay on and recon some of the key stages of the 2018 Giro d'Italia, including the crucial stage 16 time trial from Trento to Revereto, and the key mountain passes of the final week, which should be open after the winter. 

Froome's 2018 build-up to the Giro, then, is set to include a stage race in February, March, and April, ahead of the Giro in May, as he looks to strike the balance between finding form for the Giro but leaving himself fresh enough to move on to the Tour de France. Those months are also likely to include a foray or two to Mount Teide on Tenerife, where Team Sky habitually go for altitude training. 

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

The Gazprom-RusVelo team has cut its roster for the 2018 season, placing an emphasis on youth as it moves from 23 riders down to 18. 

The Russian Pro Continental team has made five signings this winter, all young Russians. Nikolay Cherkasov, Evgeny Kobernyak and Stepan Kurianov have come up from the team's development set-up, while Alexander Vlasov has been signed from the Italian U23 team, Viris Maserati, and Sergey Shilov from Lokosphinx. 

That means 10 riders are on their way out, including Pavel Brutt, Alexey Tsatevich, and Anton Vorobyev, who all used to ride for the Katusha WorldTour team. Also leaving are Artem Ovechkin, Ivan Savitsky, Andrei Solomennikov, Kirill Sveshnikov, Sergey Nikolaev, Artur Ershov, and Aydar Zakarin (brother of) left Gazprom-Rusvelo last March.

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"We announce the new team roster for 2018, which was reinforced with young talented athletes," said Renat Khamidulin, the general manager of Gazprom-RusVelo. "This is a new generation of riders, which has been grown in our system. Soon they will grow into strong and stable professionals, claiming victories for Gazprom-RusVelo and the Russian national team.

"Alexey Markov and Olivano Locatelli are our key Sport Directors. They are experienced professionals, who will be responsible for the training process and preparation of the newcomers. Moreover, in close cooperation with the Russian Cycling Federation we continue to work with the development team. Only by finding and developing young talents, we can think about the long-term success."

While the Shilov signed was announced a few months ago, Vlasov, who won the Piccolo Giro dell'Emilia this year, is the latest recruit to be announed. 

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

US Continental team Elevate-KHS continues to build its 2018 roster, adding Australian Scott Law from Cylance, Jordan Cheyne from Jelly Belly-Maxxis and US amateur time trial champion George Simpson from Gateway Harley Davidson. The team previously announced renewing with Canadian James Piccoli and Mexican sprinter Jose Alfredo Rodriguez.

Law, 26, spent last season with US Continental team Cylance after having ridden for the Australian Avanti team the past two years. Law's top-end speed played into the Cylance lead-out train as well as his own victories.

"To see Scott win the biggest criterium in the US, Tulsa Tough, and then head to Canada to finish on the podium of the 100 mile White Spot-Delta UCI road race, shows just how much depth and commitment he has," said Elevate-KHS director Heath Blackgrove. "We believe with our program we can help him progress and challenge the idea that Scott only shines in criteriums and shorter distance races."

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Law said he's excited by the opportunity to compete in longer races with his new team.

"I've always been very handy in criteriums, and I really want to prove to myself and everyone that I'm not just a criterium rider," he said. "I really want to help the team and target specific sprint stages in the big UCI events like the Tour of Utah, Colorado and Alberta. Seeing the Elevate-KHS team this year perform so well and really enjoy themselves both on and off the bike is something that I truly love and want to be a part of. You should feel like a family, and this team definitely has that feeling about it."

Cheyne, a 26-year-old from Canada, has ridden with Jelly Belly the past two seasons, riding in support of Lachlan Morton in 2016 and Serghei Tvetcov this year. He finished seventh on the difficult Mont Megantic stage at the Tour de Beauce, where he finished third overall. 

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

There can't be many professional cyclists looking forward to saying goodbye to 2017 more than Bryan Coquard. The Frenchman endured a bitter split from the Direct Energie team, in which he was prevented from riding the Tour de France, but this week he was able to start looking ahead to 2018 as he linked up with his new Vital Concept team for the first time – an experience he likened to 'the first day back at school'.

"Now I think you will see Bryan Coquard with a smile on his face again," he said in a Q&A with the Ouest France newspaper during the first winter training camp of the new French Pro Conti team, founded by Jerome Pineau.

Coquard signed for the team in August, but he announced his desire to leave Direct Energie in May, and that was what caused his relationship with team manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau to deteriorate. Bernaudeau threatened to leave Coquard out of the squad for the Tour de France, setting a string of ultimatums, and in the end he did so – a decision that baffled many observers. Coquard's mother accused the team of 'destroying him psychologically'. 

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Coquard made racing appearances in July, August, and September, but his heart had already left the team.

"It has been long and complicated. It wasn't something trivial. I worked at it and tried to understand what happened, what had happened to me psychologically. I hid it from myself, saying it wasn't affecting me, that it was only cycling… but in spite of that, it very much affected me, wounded me. I had the impression that I'd given a lot, and that it was an injustice," Coquard said in the Ouest France interview.

"I needed to turn the page after going through some difficult moments. But in hindsight, it made me grow up and mature a little quicker still. Now I'm turning towards 2018, towards this new challenge, and I had a big smile when [teammate] Julien Morice came round on Wednesday to head to the camp. It was like the first day back at school."

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Despite his 46 years of age, Davide Rebellin has at least one more season in his legs, and has signed a contract for 2018 with Natura4Ever-Sovac, a Continental-level Belgian team. 

After four seasons with CCC Sprandi Polkowice, the Italian moved down to Continental level this year, racing with the Kuwait-Cartucho.es team. He continued to win races, raising his arms on three occasions, the latest being on the penultimate stage of the Tour of Iran last month.

He is moving on again this winter, and on Sunday he met Geoffrey Coupé, the former pro who set up the Natura4Ever team this year, to put pen to paper.

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Coupé has brought on Algerian automobile company Sovac as a sponsor for 2018 and has signed Youcef Reguigui from Dimension Data, as well as bringing four young Algerians from a team Sovac has sponsored this season. 

"One of the dreams of our manager Geoffrey Coupé came true this morning," read a statement from the team. "Davide Rebellin will be an important part of our team, both in terms of his sporting qualities and in terms of the experience he can bring to our young riders."

Before joining CCC in 2013, Rebellin has also raced with Gerolsteiner, Liquigas and Francaise des Jeux in a career that now spans 25 years. Among his victories are all three Ardennes Classics, which he won in 2004, in addition to two more wins at Fleche Wallonne in 2007 and 2009. He has won a stage of the Giro d'Italia and claimed overall wins at Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Magnus Cort Nielsen has suffered a setback in his transition to the Astana team, breaking his collarbone in a training ride crash. 

The Danish rider came down heavily on Saturday, suffering abrasions to his forehead and face as well as the broken bone. 

Cort also broke his collarbone in a crash at this year's Tour de Yorkshire, though it has not yet been revealed if it's the same one. 

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The 24-year-old has signed for Astana from Orica-Scott on a two-year deal, though he will now be unable to take part in the team's first winter training camp in a week's time. 

"Unfortunately, Astana 2018 newcomer Magnus Cort Nielsen crashed during a training and broke his collarbone," read an update from the team. "We wish to him a very fast recovery. Get well soon, Magnus, we are waiting for you!"

A fast finisher, Cort won two stages of the 2016 Vuelta a España, including the final leg in Madrid, and also rode regularly in the service of Caleb Ewan at Orica-Scott. The 24-year-old was also part of Orica-Scott's Classics squad in each of his three years at the team, and he will look to progress further on the cobbles at Astana.

— Astana Pro Team (@AstanaTeam) December 3, 2017

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Nacer Bouhanni has announced that his Tour de Yorkshire crash in late-April was worse than first reported. The Cofidis sprinter crashed out of the race on stage three, a day after his stage win, with his team announcing he suffered concussion. As a result, Bouhanni was forced to miss the Tour of California and only made his return to racing at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June.

"When I crashed badly at the Yorkshire Tour late last April, what no one else knew, other than the 20 days of mandatory rest because of my head trauma, is that the optic nerve in my eyes was pretty damaged," Bouhanni told French website Cyclism Actu. "That is to say, I just saw badly. I couldn't see 100%. And sometimes, when fatigued, I happened to see double. Basically, I almost lost my sight."

After his break from racing, Bouhanni's best result at the Dauphiné came on stage two when he finished third in the bunch sprint. At the French nationals, he was then second to rival Arnaud Demare in preparation for the Tour de France. A multiple stage winner at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, the Tour de France has proven to be a difficult race so far for the 27-year-old. Illness and crashes have blighted his Tours thus far, while a fight at the French nationals last year ruled him out of the race.

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Despite the problems with his sight, Bouhanni recorded seven top-ten results as finished the Tour for the first time in his career, adding that his issues were arguably no worse than those suffered by other sprinters in the peloton.

"During the Tour de France I didn't see at 100 percent. I had a visual impairment as many cyclists have, you know," he said of the Tour, which was still not without incident. "Sometimes indeed when I was tired I saw double but fortunately it rarely happened to me in that race.

"I was not a public danger on the bike and during sprints because I didn't see at 100%. I have always been vigilant and focused on the different races that I participated in this season after my accident."

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

This article originally appeared on BikeRadar

BikeRadar was recently invited out to Madrid to test a few new components from Rotor, these included the company's lightest ever crankset as well as its innovative Rvolver hubs.

We were also able to revisit Rotor's hydraulically actuated groupset, the UNO — a long-awaited rarity that still holds the crown for the lightest disc-specific group.

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Rotor Aldhu 3D+ chainset

The Aldhu 3D+ chainset uses no external bolts, making for an exceptionally clean look

Named to commemorate Rotor sponsored athlete Carlos Sastre's first victory at Alpe d'Huez during the 2008 Tour de France, the Aldhu 3D+ crankset uses direct-mount chainrings in a modular design that brings more adjustability and customisation than any Rotor crank before it. Rotor claims that it's also the lightest crank to date from the company and — just like the rest — it's 100 percent made in Madrid.

Rotor Rvolver hubs

UNO groupset ride impressions

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

The national Slovenian road race champion in June, 'cross national champion in July, Luka Mezgec has completed a hat-trick of titles in 2017 by taking out the 'cross title

The versatile Orica-Scott rider also won a stage of the Tour of Slovenia and wore the race leader's jersey for a day in a memorable quartet of home victories for 2017.

Signed to Orica-Scott to bolster its lead-out train from 2016, the 29-year-old enjoyed his most successful season since 2014 on the road, also claiming the Veenendaal Veenendaal Classic. While the road remains Mezgec's primary focus, he explained that once he claimed the mountain bike national title, he set his off-season sights on the 'hat-trick'.

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"It was really special to take the MTB title again this year and then I knew I had to have a go at the cyclo-cross title also," Mezgec said. "There aren't really any Slovenian specialists in cyclo-cross which made it a unique opportunity for me to win three national titles in one year."

Mezgec added that upon winning his first road title, after two silver medals, his thoughts turned to another mountain bike title having started his cycling career racing off-road and enjoyed success before his full-time switch.

"When I won the road title, I thought it was once in a life time chance to win both events (road and mountain bike championships) in the same year," Mezgec said. "I had a break before the mountain bike event so it wasn’t actually ideal preparation but I was quite confident I could do a good result so I decided to race it. I always ride MTB in the off-season and I have raced a lot before.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott) has been voted best female road rider in 2017 by the readers of Cyclingnews. Van Vleuten won by a clear margin of more than 800 votes over her compatriot Anna van der Breggen, with Coryn Rivera taking third. European champion Marianne Vos and Tour de Yorkshire winner Lizzie Deignan rounded out the top five.

Van Vleuten enjoyed her biggest season to date and ended the year at the top of the UCI's World Rankings. The Dutchwoman looked to be in the best form of her life at last year's Olympic Games in Rio before she crashed. Despite fracturing her spine, she was winning again in a month and that form carried through into the 2017 season.

Van Vleuten took her first victory of the season at the Cadel Evans Road Race. Her spring was consistent and brought a spell in the WorldTour leader's jersey but did not reap a victory. Van Vleuten's winning ways came back in mid-May with wins at Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria and Emakumeen Bira. A national time trial would follow as well as two stages of the Giro Rosa and an emphatic victory at La Course. In October, she won the Boels Rentals Ladies Tour before closing her season at the World Championships, winning the world title in the time trial and finishing fourth in the road race.

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Van der Breggen's success ensured a Dutch dominance throughout the 2017 season. The 27-year-old switched to Boels Dolmans over the winter and spent the early months of the season mountain biking across Europe. Her road season did not get off to the best start with illness having an impact. By April, she was heading in the right direction and took second overall at the Healthy Ageing Tour before heading onto a historic Ardennes Triple.

It was the first time that the women's peloton would be able to tackle all three Ardennes races and Van der Breggen dominated the week by winning all three ahead of her teammate Lizzie Deignan. Overall victories at the Tour of California and the Giro Rosa would follow over the coming months to give her an unassailable lead in the Women's WorldTour rankings. She would then pocket silver medals in the team and individual time trial at the World Championships.

For Rivera, the 2017 season was a breakthrough for her after moving from American to European racing with Team Sunweb. Largely considered a sprinter, she proved many people wrong with huge performances in the hillier races on the calendar. Early victories at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and the Ronde van Vlaanderen were a high-point of the season, as well as a surprise gold medal in the team time trial at the World Championships.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Tom Dumoulin and Anna van der Breggen have been shortlisted Dutch sportsman and sportswoman of the year. Both were voted for by a professional panel from NOS with Dumoulin going up against Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen and speed skater Sven Kramer. Competition for Van der Breggen comes in the form of track and field star Dafne Schippers and sailor Marit Bouwmeester.

World time trial and road race champions Annemiek van Vleuten and Chantal Blaak made the original shortlist in the women's competition, while Dylan Groenewegen and Bauke Mollema had been in the original 11-man shortlist.

Dumoulin has had a supreme season that saw him take his first Grand Tour title at the Giro d'Italia when he beat Nairo Quintana by 31 seconds in a dramatic time trial finale. His summer was sparse of racing as he geared up towards the World Championships, but brought in a national time trial title. The Clasica San Sebastian marked his return to racing in the latter part of the season. He finished fourth at the one-day race before going on to seal his second general classification win of the year at the BinckBank Tour.

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The World Championships then brought more success with a surprise win in the team time trial with Sunweb and an emphatic individual time trial title, making him the first Dutchman to do so in the elite category. Dumoulin has kept his cards close to his chest as to his plans for next season, waiting until his team's training camp to make the final decision.

As ever, the Dutch were a dominant force in the women's peloton throughout the entire season. Van Vleuten and Blaak ensured a clean sweep for the nation at the Worlds while Van der Breggen took the Women's WorldTour title in a commanding fashion. Her historic run at the first-ever Ardennes Week played a big role in the victory.

Her season hadn't got off to the best of starts but she was at the peak of her powers come the end of April and she won Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege back-to-back. She headed to the US a few weeks later and took yet another big win at the Tour of California. It was not an easy task and she had to rely on bonus seconds to hold off a serious contest from UnitedHealthcare's Katie Hall. The summer of success continued with a second overall title at the Giro Rosa in July. She had hoped to take at least one gold medal away from the World Championships but still managed two silvers between the team time trial and the individual event.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Axeon Hagens Berman today announced the UCI has accepted the US development team's application for Pro Continental status next year.

The U23 team, which will compete as Hagens Berman Axeon in 2018, started in 2009 as Trek-Livestrong before Bontrager picked up title sponsorship in 2012 and 2013. The team rode under the Bissell banner in 2014 and then signed Neon Adventures in 2015, changing the name to Axeon. Hagens Berman came on board in 2016 and will take over title sponsorship next year.

"For us, it's another major step in the growth of the program and it wouldn't be possible without the support of Steve Berman and his firm, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, that stepped up so we can be Pro Conti," said team director Axel Merckx.

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Since its inception in 2009, Merckx's development program has graduated more than 20 riders to the WorldTour, including the most recent signings of Neilsen Powless to LottoNl-Jumbo, Logan Owen to EF Education First, Chris Lawless to Team Sky and Jhonatan Narvaez to Quick-Step Floors.

Hagens Berman has had a longtime relationship with cycling, sponsoring amateur teams in the Pacific Northwest before jumping to the pro ranks with Jamis from 2013 through 2015. Next year’s team will mark the first time Hagens Berman has taken up the title role with a pro team.

"The team's transformation as it grows is thrilling," said Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of the national plaintiffs law firm sponsoring the team, "and we're proud to partner with a team as dedicated to excellence as we are."

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Chris Froome has been chosen by Cyclingnews readers as the Best Male Road Rider of 2017 in our annual end-of-season poll. The Team Sky rider, who pulled off the Tour de France – Vuelta a España double, won with 32 per cent of the vote.

Last year's winner Peter Sagan, who became world champion for a third time, ran Froome close with 29 per cent of the vote, while Giro d’Italia champion Tom Dumoulin was the next best placed on 15 per cent.

Froome, uncharacteristically, did relatively little outside the Grand Tours this year, but readers were no doubt convinced by the historic nature of his achievements. Bernard Hinault was the last rider to win the Tour and Vuelta in the same year, but Froome is the first to do it since the Vuelta moved to late summer.

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The Vuelta title represented the culmination of a six-year itch. Froome had finished on the podium three times, the first being his breakthrough as a Grand Tour contender in 2011, but never had the killer touch he displayed with such consistency at the Tour. There were a couple of minor wobbles in Spain this year, but Froome, shepherded by the strongest squad Sky have ever taken to the Vuelta, was a convincing winner.

At the Tour, it was business as usual, Froome having grown into the yellow jersey over the years. It was, on paper, the closest Tour in decades, but it never felt like there was much suspense in the air. Froome joined an elite club of four-time winners of the Tour and closed in on the four all-time greats out in front with five.

Froome’s season ended with a silver medal in the time trial at the World Championships. Dumoulin was the man who came storming up behind him on Mount Floyen to take gold – symbolic, perhaps, of Grand Tour battles ahead.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Wiggle High5 announced Monday signing road development rider Italian Rachele Barbieri for the 2018 season. At 20 years old, Barbieri is the reigning scratch race world champion, and will continue her development as a top sprinter on the women's UCI road circuit next season. She joins the team after spending two seasons with the American outfit Cylance.

"I'm really, really excited for the season that is coming!" Barbieri said. "I am really proud that I will be part of a big team, one of most important women's cycling teams in the world. I'm sure that it will be a big opportunity for me to learn a lot of new things from these champions - World, Olympic and more!"

Barbieri won her world title at her first-ever World Championships in the senior level in Japan in April. In November, she made a winning appearance in her rainbow jersey at the World Cup in Manchester where she, again, took the gold medal in the Scratch Race.

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Although she is a strong sprinter, Wiggle High5 will aim to develop her road skills in a lead-out role during her first year on the team.

"Wiggle High5 is always looking for young athletes with potential to develop, so we're delighted to have signed the young track world champion," said team owner Rochelle Gilmore. "Rachele has been dominating scratch races on the track for a while now which normally means that with a season or two on the road, with a balanced race program, she has the potential to win road race at the highest level in the future."

Relatively new to road racing, she placed fourth in the European Road Race Championships and second in a stage of the Santos Women's Tour, behind new teammate and women's cycling's dominant sprinter Kirsten Wild, who she will surely learn from during the 2018 season on the road.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) says that he feels like a first-year professional as he heads into the 2018 season. Given the year that he has had, it's easy to understand.

"I feel like I've just signed my first pro contract, I'm that keen to get started," the Spaniard tells Cyclingnews.

Izagirre's Tour de France – and season – went up in smoke on the same corner of the opening time trial as the one that put paid to Alejandro Valverde's year, but with far less publicity than the Movistar rider. The bulk of the TV reports replayed Valverde's spectacular skid across the Dusseldorf tarmac and crash into the barriers time and again. However, Izagirre's crash, where he fractured a number of vertebrae in his lower back, ended up being almost eclipsed.

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The damage to Izagirre's career was arguably greater. Valverde, having swept all before him in the spring, was at the Tour to act as 'Plan B' for Nairo Quintana. But Izagirre was making his Grand Tour debut for Bahrain-Merida after an impressively consistent series of near-misses. He finished seventh in Paris-Nice, third in Pais Vasco, fifth in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, fifth in Romandie, second on the toughest stage of the Tour de Suisse and third in the Spanish Road Nationals.

What was missing was a win of some kind, and Izagirre went into the Tour feeling that his form and status as a protected rider within the Bahrain-Merida line-up would work in his favour. Instead, he ended up in a hospital in Dusseldorf, his season over.

Fast forward nearly five months and Izagirre is back on track – finally. He will aim at hitting the ground early and running in 2018, starting in the Tour Down Under with a dense program of racing up to and including – subject to final discussions with the team next week at their training camp and the pinning down of Vincenzo Nibali's program – the Tour de France.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

This article originally appeared on BikeRadar

The 2018 Specialized Tarmac SL6 is an all-new bike, and while the top-of-the-range S-Works is the one you're probably fantasising about, the (slightly) more affordable Pro is the one you're likely to buy.

Sitting at the very top of the non-S-Works range, Specialized pitches the Tarmac Pro to riders "obsessed with phenomenal performance but [with] a racer's budget."

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Specialized Tarmac Pro specs

• Weight: 7.2kg (54cm)
• Frame: Specialized Tarmac SL6 FACT 10r carbon
• Fork: Specialized FACT carbon
• Wheels: Roval CL 50 carbon clincher
• Tyres: S-Works Turbo 700×26mm
• Crankset: S-Works carbon w/alloy spider, 52/36
• Bottom bracket: Praxis 6806 bearings
• Shifters: Shimano Ultegra R8150 Di2
• Front derailleur: Shimano Ultegra R8150 Di2
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Ultegra R8150 Di2
• Cassette: Shimano Ultegra R8000 11-30t
• Chain: Shimano Ultegra
• Brakes: Shimano Ultegra R8010 direct mount
• Handlebars: Specialized Expert Shallow Drop alloy, 123×75mm
• Bar tape: Specialized S-Wrap w/Sticky gel
• Stem: Specialized Pro SL alloy 100mm
• Saddle: Toupe Expert Gel 143mm
• Seatpost: S-Works FACT Carbon Tarmac, 20mm offset

The frame — a glittering prize

It's hard to do the paintjob justice with a photo

There is universal agreement in the BikeRadar office that the Tarmac Pro is one handsome machine.

The build — aero and electronics

Tarmac Pro vs. S-Works Tarmac

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

The parcours of the 36th Vuelta Ciclista a la Provincia de San Juan has been unveiled by race organisers. The stage three 14.4km time trial in San Juan and stage five finish to Alto Colorado, a day after the mid-race rest day, are expected to shape the general classification. The Argentinian race will take place 21-28 January, starting and finishing in the western city of San Juan.

The likes of Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) have already been named as return starters for the race with seven WorldTour teams, five Professional Continental teams, seven Continental teams and seven national teams to take to the start line on 21 January. Trek-Segafredo, the team of 2017 champion Bauke Mollema, is also named on the start list. Multiple Tour de France stage winner Rafa Majka (Bora-hansgrohe) is also expected to ride, adding his name to the list of GC contenders.

On paper, the two opening stages are titled towards the aspirations of the sprinters. With time bonus of 10, 6, 4 seconds, there is also the possibility of the general classification coming into play before the stage three time trial. Stage four from San Jose Jachal to Valle Fértil/Villa San Martín is again suited to a bunch finish, the inclusion of two category one climbs though will test the sprinters, with the rest day to follow.

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The race resumes with stage five starting in San Martín, taking the peloton to the Alto Colorado finish at 2565 metres in elevation. The stage is the sole mountain finish in 2018 with the race to conclude with two more stages for the sprinters. Although bonifications are on offer all but stage three, the climb to Alto Colorado is likely to decide the 2018 winner of the Vuelta a San Juan.

From Argentina. several teams and riders from the Vuelta a San Juan are expected to head north for the inaugural 2.1 Colombia Oro y Paz which takes place 6-11 February.

Vuelta Ciclista a la Provincia de San Juan 2018

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Wiggle-High5 has announced its six-rider squad for the 2018 Women's Tour Down Under including Australian trio Amy Cure, Annette Edmondson and Macey Stewart.

Elevated to 2.1 status for the first time in its history, the first women's UCI race of the 2018 calendar takes place in Adelaide, South Australia 11-14 January.

While the team has enjoyed stage win success in previous years, including with Edmondson in 2016, a bid at the general classification will wait another year as team manager Rochelle Gilmore explained of the squad selection.

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"We feel the pressure and so deeply would love to take a victory at what feels like a home race," Gilmore said. "The team owner and head director are also both Aussie so, of course, we'd love to take a win in Adelaide! [But] We will be racing the 2018 event with very clear and specific sprint priorities."

"Our team will be made up of very strong lead-out and sprint riders so, we will specifically target the flat stages and sprint opportunities – sacrificing the team's potential to target the overall classification in 2018."

The Australian trio, all vying for positions in Australia's track team for the Commonwealth Games in April, will be joined by new signings Rachele Barbieri and Eri Yonamine, and Audrey Cordon-Ragot. It will also be Stewart's first race for Wiggle-High5.

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