Dylan Groenewegen is a man for all seasons. He began 2018 on a winning note with stage victory at the Dubai Tour and nine months on, he claimed his 14th victory of the season by landing the opening bunch sprint of the Tour of Guangxi in Beihai.

Some sprinters amass their victories in clumps, taking advantage of purple patches of form to flesh out their running totals. The LottoNL-Jumbo rider, on the other hand, seems a model of consistency, and he has been steadily inscribing new lines to his palmarès all season long.

April was the only month in his season to pass by without a victory and that, it should be noted, was a month that saw him race just twice – at Paris-Roubaix and at Scheldeprijs, where he was among the riders disqualified for passing through a level crossing.

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Already a stage winner at the inaugural Tour of Guangxi last year, Groenewegen arrived in China mindful that the final WorldTour race of the year afforded four or perhaps even five opportunities for the sprinters. He duly snapped up victory at the first attempt, beating Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb) and Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Floors) after launching his effort with 200 metres to go in Beihai, a port city on the South China Sea.

“It was really hectic,” Groenewegen explained afterwards. “It was a fast final. On the climb, there were some attacks, but we took control and we were able to make the sprint – maybe a little bit too early – but I have really strong guys. They put me in a good position and I could sprint freely. We’re really happy with that and we’ve got confidence for the next days.

“It’s a good race for sprinters because you have flat stages and a lot of possible sprints. It’s been a really good season, beginning with the win in Dubai. Now we’re at the end of the season and there are more days coming and we’ll try it again in the next few days.”

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

AG2R La Mondiale will switch from Factor Bikes framesets to Eddy Merckx Bikes framesets for the 2019 season, according to a report on Belgian website Grinta.

The partnership between AG2R La Mondiale and Factor Bikes has lasted two seasons, as per the original contract, but was not extended, leaving the French team joining the current WorldTour bike sponsor shuffle. Over the last decade, AG2R La Mondiale have also ridden Focus, Kuota and BH bikes.

At the beginning of October, Team Sunweb confirmed they will ride aboard Cervélo bikes for 2019. It is also confirmed Dimension Data will ride BMC bikes -after riding Cervélo this season - and CCC Team (formerly BMC Racing Team) will ride Giant bikes.

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Eddy Merckx Bikes previously sponsored Quick-Step Floors in the 2010 and 2011 seasons, before Specialized bought the Belgian company out of the contract a year early to take over the supply for the squad ahead of the 2012 season.

The company also currently provides bikes to Belgian Pro Continental squad Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise, and rebranded in June earlier this year.

Eddy Merckx Bikes comes under the umbrella group of Belgian Cycling Factory, which also owns Ridley, HJC (helmets), Forza (saddles) and BCF Cycling Wear.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

UAE Team Emirates have made two new young signings for the 2019 season, snapping up Portuguese twins Ivo and Rui Oliveira.

The pair have combined to have had a string of notable results on the track but have also been developing on the road, spending the past two seasons at the Hagens Berman Axeon team, a renowned developer of talent.

"Strength, consistent pacing and speed are among the skills that make up the brothers' cycling portfolios, along with a technical base forged by track events as well," read a statement from the team on Tuesday.

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On the track, Ivo Oliveira claimed the silver medal in the individual pursuit at this year's World Championships, and has done the same at the European Championships in the past two seasons. Rui Oliveira has bronze and silver medals in the elimination race from the past two editions of the European Championships. On the road, the pair shared out the U23 Portuguese national championship titles, with Ivo triumphing in the road race and Rui in the time trial.

Joxean Fernández Matxin, who previously worked as a talent scout at Quick-Step Floors, has worked as team manager at UAE since the start of the year. The Oliveira twins are the team's fifth U23 signings of this transfer window, following Alessandro Covi, Tadej Pogacar, and Christian Munoz.

Astana hand Wilsly pro contract

Lodewyck joins Quick-Step as DS

Gazprom sign four neo-pros

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Thomas De Gendt and Tim Wellens are almost halfway through their 1000km journey home from Il Lombardia. The ride, which the Lotto Soudal riders have dubbed #TheFinalBreakaway has taken them through northern Italy, and Switzerland thus far with day three due to bring them through France.

Having stopped off in Saint-Louis, just beyond the border with Switzerland, the two Belgian riders will continue northwards on a 191km route through the Vosges and over Le Grand Ballon. The climb has featured seven times in the Tour de France, first in 1969 and then most recently in 2014.

The ride home from Il Lombardia follows in the footsteps of Aqua Blue Sport riders Conor Dunne and Larry Warbasse, who did their own #NoGoTour after their team pulled out of the Tour of Britain. Bora-Hansgrohe’s Daniel Oss has also done similar adventure rides in Italy as an alternative way of keeping fit but enjoying the ride. 

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The whole trip will take Wellens and De Gendt six days and they are travelling as normal cyclo-tourists and carrying all their equipment and supplies on their bikes. There has been no need for grabbing musettes from the side of the road or hurriedly scoffing down a gel at a pertinent moment.

After riding Il Lombardia on Sunday, where Wellens finished fifth, the duo set off on Monday morning. Day three is the longest so far having ridden 186 kilometres from Como on the opening day, and 150km the following day. The length of the journey chosen is to allow De Gendt and Wellens to take their own time and avoid going above 200km on a single day. From Thursday, the routes will be 156km, 120km with the final ride home the longest at 200km.

Both Wellens and De Gendt have been dutifully capturing their ride with photos and videos, capturing the beauty of the mountains in autumn and their lunches and dinners along the way.

— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) October 12, 2018

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

On the face of it, six days in early August changed a great many things for Sepp Kuss, though the foundations for his sparkling run of victories at the Tour of Utah had already been laid during the unforgiving opening six months of his time at LottoNL-Jumbo.

The 24-year-old stepped up from Rally Cycling in 2018 and was given sustained exposure to some top-level racing in the first half of the season, lining out at the Tour of the Basque Country, Tour of the Alps and Critérium du Dauphiné.

Results, understandably, were thin on the ground, but the opportunity to gauge himself against some of the climbing grandees of the peloton proved a useful one.

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"It was a huge learning experience and I just kept at it. For a neo-pro, you know you're not likely to get results at those kinds of races so for me there was no pressure - it was just learning and trying to have fun in those races and soak in all the experience," Kuss told Cyclingnews at the Tour of Guagnxi.

"Then, halfway through the season, I found my legs, and once you have that it makes it easier to get results in those kinds of races."

After a block of rest in late June and July, Kuss returned to action in what appeared to be the form of his life, claiming three stage wins and overall victory at the Tour of Utah. The sheer effervescence of his climbing was striking, and the former mountain biker immediately found himself being hailed as the next great hope of American bike racing. The tag is one he neither solicits nor rejects; it simply comes with the territory.

Fatigue

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Vincenzo Nibali will be questioned by French police on November 10 about the incident with roadside spectators at the Tour de France that left him with a fractured vertebra, with the Italian confirming to Cyclingnews that both he and the Bahrain-Merida team intend to continue their legal action for possible damages.

Nibali's chances of winning the Tour de France ended on stage 12 on the slopes of L’Alpe d’Huez when a spectator's camera strap seemingly caught his handlebars, causing him to crash on his back.

Nibali got up to finish the stage but was later diagnosed with a fractured vertebra. He underwent vertebroplasty surgery to stabilise the fracture and ease the pain, but despite riding the Vuelta a España, he was unable to return to his best in time for the UCI Road World Championships and could only fight for second place behind Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) at Saturday’s Il Lombardia.

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Nibali is due to head to Zanzibar later this week after attending Bahrain-Merida’s first off-season get together in Como on Monday. On his return he will travel to the Tour de France Saitama Criterium in Japan and then, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, will meet with French police from Grenoble, who are investigating the incident on the slopes of L’Alpe d’Huez. Tour de France organiser ASO could ultimately be held responsible for the damage caused by the incident, but they could argue that it was caused by the reckless behaviour of the roadside fans.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, several Italian spectators who were present near the incident have given evidence. Police are also likely to study social media video content that captured the moment of the incident.

Nibali confirmed to Cyclingnews that both he and the Bahrain-Merida team are fighting for compensation, even if the case could be drawn out and costly. Nibali’s trusted lawyer Fausto Malucchi has already filed a formal complaint with French police, sparking the investigation.

Planning for 2019 with Bahrain-Merida

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.

Peter Sagan and eyewear specialists 100% have launched the Glendale sunglasses, a professional level pair of sunglasses but with a vintage look inspired by Americana.

A large, French-manufactured lens is paired with a minimalist frame from Italy, combining for a wide and unobstructed field of vision.

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The sunglasses are available in a range of frame colours and lens options, with each pair of sunglasses also provided with a clear lens option alongside an alternative fit nosepiece.

The rubber nosepiece and temple tips can bend to offer a secure fit on a range of face shapes.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Joe Dombroswki has re-signed with EF Education First-Drapac for 2019, giving the 27-year-old American a sixth year with the US-registered WorldTour team run by Jonathan Vaughters.

Dombrowski finished fifth overall at the 2018 Colorado Classic and sixth overall at the 2018 Tour of Utah, a race he won in 2015.

"It's not a secret that the last couple of seasons have not been what I wanted results-wise," Dombrowski said. "I'm focused on doing what I need to do to get back to the the level that I know I'm capable of in races."

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Despite Dombrowski's disappointing results since moving to EF-Drapac from Team Sky, where he spent his two neo-pro seasons, Vaughters said he's confident Dombrowski is still capable of success in the pro peloton.

"It's great to have Joe back," Vaughers said. "He knows our team and has been a great presence here over the years. Joe had a spectacular 2016 season, where he was in multiple breaks at that year’s Giro and finished third in the hardest mountain stage. The last couple years have been a bit of a struggle for him, but in the end, talent doesn't just go away. We want to give that talent an opportunity to rebuild."

Dombrowki had been linked to Team Sunweb, saying that was one of teams he spoke to, but that he was always keen to stay with EF Education First-Drapac.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Rachel McKinnon became the first transgender woman to win a world title at the 2018 UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships at the VELO Sports Center in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday. Representing Canada, McKinnon beat Carolien Van Herrikhuyzen (Netherlands) in the gold-medal round of the women’s 35-44 sprint.

"First transgender woman world champion…ever," McKinnon posted on Twitter following the event.

McKinnon, who competes in both road and track cycling, was born biological male and identifies as being a transgender woman. She is a professor and PhD in philosophy at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, teaching on the subjects of philosophy and ethics, and with a focus on gender studies.

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The UCI Masters Track World Championships was held from October 6- 13 with events open to men and women riders 35 years of age and older. There included three sprint events: match sprints, 500-750-1000m time trial, team sprint. There were four endurance events: pursuit, scratch race points race.

McKinnon set a new World Record during the women’s 34-39 Sprint Qualifying Flying 200m, with a time of 0:00:11.92, which was broken during the subsequent heats. During the women’s 35-44 sprint gold-medal final against Van Herrikhuyzen, McKinnon won the first two rounds to take the world title. Jennifer Wagner (USA), won the final for bronze against fourth-placed Linsey Hamilton (USA).

Policies concerning transgender women in sports have changed drastically over the years. As of 2015, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) currently rules that transgender women competing in women's events must test below a specified level of testosterone (10 nanomoles per litre) for more than one year before they are permitted to compete. The UCI abides by the sae policy.

— Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) opened the final race of the 2018 WorldTour with a sprint victory on Tuesday, taking out the stage 1 win at the Tour of Guangxi in China ahead of Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb) and Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Floors).

The 107.4km stage in Beihai was animated in the early going by a six-rider move that included Silvain Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale), Andrey Grivko (Astana), Jay Thomson (Dimension Data), Marco Haller (Katusha-Alpecin), Pavel Sivakov (Team Sky) and Yusif Mirza (UAE Team Emirates).

The leaders built an ultimate gap of only 1:30 on the wide fast roads as LottoNL-Jumbo and Goupama-FDJ controlled the race for their sprinters, Groenewegen and Arnaud Demare.

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The peloton pulled the initial breakaway back before the day's final climb, where Peter Kennaugh (Bora-Hansgrohe) and and Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) went on the attack. The duo opened a small gap, but the determined peloton brought them back into the fold with 5km remaining. From there it was a classic sprint stage, with LottoNL-Jumbo and Groupama-FDJ leading out the high-speed bunch gallop.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Cameron Vandenbroucke has signed a contract to join the Lotto Soudal Ladies development team that will begin her cycling career in January 2019. It is the same programme that saw her late father Frank Vandenbroucke launch his cycling career back in 1994.

"People say that I look like my father when I'm on the bike," Cameron said in a report on Sporza. "Our positions are similar, which is nice to hear, because I'm still very proud of my father."

Vandenbroucke, 19, will be one of three riders joining the development programme alongside Emke De Keyser and Julie Roelandts next year. She raced in her first bike race in August this year, and won. She has a history in sports as a junior middle-distance runner, but a fractured foot forced her to switch sports.

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"We won't throw Cameron in front of the lions," Lotto Soudal director Dany Schoonbaert said in a report on Stanaard.be. "During the first months of the season she won't participate in big races. She'll only ride [small races]. She still has a lot to learn.

"We provide a framework in which they can further learn the tricks of the cycling profession. She'll also be accompanied by her own trainer. Depending on the progress she makes, we'll eventually select her for the UCI races. But there's no rush."

Vandenbroucke will be joining the Belgian team Lotto Soudal Ladies, which has an elite women's programme that will include 13 riders. The team announced their elite women’s roster on Monday, which includes Belgian champion Annelies Dom and track specialist Lotte Kopecky, along with Alana Castrique, Demi de Jong, Chantal Hoffmann, Puck Moonen, Julie Van De Velde, Kelly Van den Steen and Fenna Vanhoutte. New to the team are Danique Braam, Thi That Nguyen, Marie Dessart and Dani Christmas.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Pinarello have launched a triathlon-specific Bolide TR+ time trial bike, featuring disc brakes, updated carbon fibre and integrated storage for fluids and food, which double up to improve aerodynamic performance.

Used for the first time at the Kona Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii last weekend, former professional cyclist Cameron Wurf broke the record for the cycling section of the course by nearly three minutes, covering the 180 kilometres in 4:09:06.

Pinarello say they have produced the Bolide TR+ with Torayca T1100G UD Dream Carbon, enabling the company to equip the frameset with disc brakes while maintaining a similar weight to the existing rim brake version of the bike.

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The Italian bike company, who provide bikes for Team Sky, claim that wind tunnel tests show the new bike is also quicker than the existing model. Geometry has also been updated on the new bike to improve handling and comfort.

Like the new Specialized S-Works Shiv, which was released in the lead-up to last week's Ironman, the Pinarello Bolide TR+ features integrated storage on the down tube and on the top tube of the frameset for hydration and food, respectively.

The storage solutions also double-up as aerodynamic-improving fairings on the bike, which are permitted in triathlon events.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Sylvain Chavanel wasn't the only French breakaway specialist who retired after the Chrono des Nations on Sunday. Groupama-FDJ's Jérémy Roy also hung up his cleats after the French time trial in Les Herbiers – although he was supposed to have retired the previous weekend after Paris-Tours.

In an interview with L'Equipe on Tuesday, Roy explained how his season was extended beyond Paris-Tours in order to help cover injuries on the team, although just a few weeks before he was due to retire, even Paris-Tours – Roy's 'home race' – wasn't on his programme.

"Three weeks ago, the Groupama-FDJ sports directors met up to work out the end-of-season race programme," Roy told L'Equipe. "A lot of riders were motivated and on form, and the team staff had already started thinking about the 2019 season.

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"It mean that I was left a little sidelined. I wasn't going to be doing Paris-Tours, near where I live, and I wasn't going to be doing Il Lombardia with Thibaut," explained Roy.

Roy's great friend, Thibaut Pinot, is also the teammate that Roy raced most with during his career, the French newspaper points out: 392 race days together since Pinot joined Roy's FDJ team in 2010.

"That's more race days than I've done with Benoît Vaugrenard, who I've been on the team with for 16 years," said Roy.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Belgian Pro Continental team Wanty-Groupe Gobert have finished first in the UCI Europe Tour for the third year in a row.

The season-long competition for the tier of teams below the top-tier UCI WorldTour was won convincingly by the Belgian outfit from runner-up Cofidis and Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec in third place.

With no promotion or relegation system between 'leagues' in cycling, the team will remain at Pro Continental level in 2019.

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However, the recently announced UCI reforms have revealed that the second-tier continental competitions will be replaced in 2020 by a new, international UCI ProSeries, disputed between ProTeams – the new name for Pro Continental squads.

The top two finishers in that competition will automatically qualify for the following year's Grand Tours – the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.

That means that the Grand Tour organisers will have a reduced number of so-called 'wildcard' invitations to hand out, which often go to teams of the same nationality as the Grand Tour, and so the new system will reward ability that much more.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Edward Theuns will leave Team Sunweb at the end of 2018 after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with the German-registered squad. The Belgian has only been with the team for one year but cited differing approaches as the reason for the decision to leave.

Theuns was brought into Sunweb for the spring Classics and as a support rider for Michael Matthews. He took sixth at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where Matthews broke his shoulder in a crash, but struggled throughout many of the subsequent races. He ended his season quietly with a number of top 10 placings at the Tour of Turkey, and without a win all year.

"It has been a tough year for me, both physically and mentally with some crashes and bad luck," Theuns said in a press release issued by the team. "I tried to adapt to the team’s way of working, but it didn't really work out for me. We differ in vision so we decided that it would be best to end the contract. I now look forward to a new chapter in my career."

The 27-year-old Theuns has been a professional since 2014, starting his pro career with the Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise squad, before moving to Trek-Segafredo for the 2016 season. He enjoyed some good results there - with top 10 placings at Paris-Roubaix, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, as well as stage wins at the Tour of Turkey and BinckBank Tour - despite suffering a serious back injury at the 2016 Tour de France. 

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He moved to Sunweb on a two-year deal starting on 2018 but that has now come to an early end. Sunweb coach Rudi Kemna explained that the team had lengthy talks with Theuns but said that letting him out of his contract was the best thing to do.

"Following extensive talks we realised that our visions differ too much and lack the common, strong foundation that is required to continue working together," said Kamna.

"Giving Edward the opportunity and freedom to continue his career elsewhere is the only right decision, for both the team and Edward himself. We end the contract on mutual terms and we want to thank Edward for his commitment and efforts, wishing him all the best in his future career."

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Steven de Jongh has returned home from hospital following his crash and brief disappearance in Girona on Monday.

The Dutchman, who works as a directuer sportif at Trek-Segafredo, was reported missing by his wife, Renee Meijers, on Monday after failing to return home from a morning bike ride. He was found by helicopter search several hours later in a roadside ravine, and was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with concussion but no more severe injuries.

"Steven was discharged from the hospital this afternoon," Trek-Segafredo said in a statement on Tuesday. "He will further rest and recover from his injuries at home. He's still very much affected by what happened and is overwhelmed by all your kind messages and support and says 'thank you' to all of you."

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Meijers, who had reported De Jongh's disappearance to the police on Monday and then issued a number of pleas via social media, was relieved to have her husband back.

"I have got him. Safe on the couch next to me," she wrote on Twitter. "He still does not realise what happened and is in a lot of pain."

Speaking to Dutch newspaper, De Telegraaf, she added: "Steven has been incredibly lucky and we also know that he is still there. He has trouble keeping his eyes open and a lot of headaches. If that continues, they will do further research. Now he has to keep calm especially. "

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Pascal Ackermann smiled at the question as he picked at a foil container of rice outside the anti-doping control truck in Qinzhou. The German champion was still digesting his victory minutes earlier on stage 2 of the Tour of Guangxi, but at this time of the year, thoughts tend to turn quickly to next season.

The 24-year-old has claimed nine wins in 2018, including six at WorldTour level, singling himself out as one of the coming men of world sprinting. His Bora-Hansgrohe team, however, also features two men who might be said to have already arrived: three-time world champion Peter Sagan and triple Giro d’Italia stage winner Sam Bennett.

Even on a top-flight team riding a full quota of WorldTour races, three sprinters can be a crowd, though Bennett, Sagan and Ackermann have dovetailed well this year. But will there still be enough room on Bora-Hansgrohe for all three fast men in 2019, particularly when the season just gone by has seen Ackermann and Bennett hit top speed?

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"Up to now, yes," Ackermann laughed. "I think we have a lot of strong sprinters. We always work well together, and we split all the races between us. We have to see what happens in the next years."

It looks certain that Ackermann will make his Grand Tour debut in 2019, though it remains to be seen where he will take his bow. This year, Bora-Hansgrohe sent Sagan to the Tour de France and Sam Bennett to the Giro d'Italia, but lined out at the Vuelta a España without a recognised sprinter.

"For sure there is one Grand Tour in the programme next year but I don’t know which one yet," said Ackermann.

As well as carrying three different sprinters, Bora-Hansgrohe have assembled the bones of three lead-out trains, albeit with some interchangeable carriages. The one fixture in Ackermann’s entourage is his fellow countryman Rudiger Selig, who has accompanied him on this late-season haul to China.

"We always have like three guys for a sprint," Ackermann said. "Rudi Selig is my last lead-out man and the guys before always switch. We have the German group and I think we work really well together. And even with the guys who are here at this race, it’s like we work every week together."

Ackermann lost sight of Selig on Wednesday’s rain-soaked finale in Qinzhou, a city of four million people on Beibu Gulf, but the wide finishing straight on Jinhaiwan Street offered opportunity to move up. The German held his nerve and powered past Fabio Jakobsen (Quick Step Floors) and overall leader Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) to take the win.

"It was really hectic. I lost my lead-out man and then I came from the back, but I was lucky because I had so much speed and then I was in the front," said Ackermann. "We have three more opportunities here this week, so we are still looking forward with some more goals."

Regardless of the final tally of victories, this will go down as a breakout season for Ackermann, who turned professional in 2017 after taking silver at the under-23 Worlds in Doha the previous October. Ackermann’s maiden season at WorldTour level went by without a victory, though there were some sure signs of his quality, including fifth place at Scheldeprijs.

After placing second in the same race this season, Ackermann’s year caught fire when he landed a stage win at the Tour de Romandie in April. A victory at Critérium du Dauphiné followed, but the pivotal moment, perhaps, was the German national championships in Einhausen, where he scorched to the jersey ahead of a sprint field that included John Degenkolb, Max Walscheid, André Greipel and Marcel Kittel.

"When I got the national jersey I grew up and I became much stronger in the head, so that was the key moment in this season," Ackermann said.

"I don’t think we did that much different this year, but I had a lot more opportunities. Now I have my own lead-out train, too, and I think that works really well. We look forward to next year."

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

At this late point on the calendar, a professional rider may find himself in another part of the world and he may ask himself, well, how did I get here? The question might have been pondered by many in the Tour of Guangxi peloton on Wednesday, as the heavens opened across the Beibu Gulf and thick sheets of rain reduced visibility to a minimum.

Richie Porte was in China to ride his final race in the colours of BMC Racing Team before switching to Trek-Segafredo in 2019, but there comes a point, perhaps, when professional obligations are overwritten by pragmatism.

The illness that ruled Porte out of the World Championships effectively ended his 2018 season as a sporting endeavour, while a crash before the pavé of the stage to Roubaix had already seen his Tour de France challenge come to a premature halt in July.

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During stage 2 of the Tour of Guangxi, Porte reached a point where it must have felt his season had gone on long enough and he abandoned the race.

"After the disappointment of not being able to ride the Worlds I’ve kind of shut it down and China was a late addition to the programme," Porte had told Cyclingnews before the start of stage 2 in Beihai. "Looking back on my three years at BMC, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s a fantastic team. So to finish up in China, it’s the end of the chapter, I suppose."

Porte’s three-year spell at BMC Racing has seen him buttress his standing as a one-week stage race rider, but the period has also been punctuated by a spate of ill fortune in July at the Tour de France. A crash on stage 9 has forced him to abandon each of the past two editions, while his fifth place finish in 2016 was tinged with regret, given that time lost in a stage 2 puncture handicapped his podium challenge from the outset.

Window of opportunity

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Team Sunweb have confirmed the signings of veteran rider Jan Bakelants and up-and-coming rider Asbjorn Kragh Andersen for the 2019 season. The news comes hot on the heels of the announcement that Belgian sprinter Edward Theuns has cut his contract short.

Bakelants moves to Sunweb after four seasons with the French AG2R La Mondiale squad. Having turned professional with Topsport Vlaanderen in 2008, Bakelants stepped up to WorldTour level with Omega Pharma-Lotto two years later. He spent two seasons with them before moving to RadioShack for two years and then returning to the Belgian outfit for one more year.

The 32-year-old had a late start to his 2018 season after suffering a serious crash at Il Lombardia last year. The incident left him with two broken vertebrae and several broken ribs, and he later said that he had to readjust his position on the bike after discovering he had lost a centimetre in height.

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"I’m really happy to be joining Team Sunweb. From the conversations we’ve had since early 2018, it has become clear that Team Sunweb is a genuine team who use science to maximise the potential of its riders," said Bakelants. "It will be a new challenge that I will grasp with both hands, after a difficult 2018 season following my Lombardy crash at the end of last year. I’m really looking forward to becoming a part of the team, it feels like a new start to me."

With a number of important riders, such as Laurens ten Dam and Simon Geschke, leaving the squad, Bakelants injects some much-needed experience into the squad, particularly to support Tom Dumoulin in the Grand Tours.

"Jan brings a wealth of experience to the team with his diverse capabilities," said team coach Marc Reef. "We believe that he will strengthen our program with a steady high level throughout the season and he will be able to share his experience with our younger guys. His team spirit is a characteristic that is extremely valued by us. With his qualities as a rider, he will provide important support in the hilly Classics and Grand Tours, and play a captain role in races."

Another Kragh Andersen

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

Adam Hansen has extended his contract with Lotto Soudal, according to Het Nieuwsblad. The Belgian newspaper reports that the penning of the new deal was the final act of outgoing manager Paul De Geyter, who left the team earlier this month after less than a year in the role.

With Hansen, who is currently racing at the Tour of Guangxi in China, Lotto Soudal have completed their roster for 2019 with 28 riders. The Australian also provides an element of stability in a team that has seen a lot of changes over the season.

After three seasons with HTC-Colombia, Hansen joined the team – then known as Omega Pharma-Lotto – for the 2011 season. Since then, he has become a key part of the train in front of the team’s main sprinter Andre Greipel.

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Next season, Hansen will find himself in a very different sprint train, with Greipel, Marcel Sieberg and Lars Bak all leaving, along with Jens Debusschere, Moreno Hofland and 22-year-old Briton James Shaw. The Australian will now be working for his compatriot Caleb Ewan with the help of another new signing in Adam Blythe.

As well as his role in the lead-out train, Hansen became known for his record-breaking run in the Grand Tours. Beginning with the Vuelta a España in 2011, Hansen rode and completed 20 consecutive Grand Tours. He has ridden 27 Grand Tours during his career and only abandoned three.

Hansen’s run almost came to an end at last year’s Vuelta but a late call-up saw it continue. However, he chose to call it quits after this year’s Giro d’Italia and try his hand at a few other races.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com