Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling Team returns to the pro cycling scene with a trio of new signings to join a strong core of returning riders, and a busy race schedule covering the domestic calendar as well as a number of stage races in Asia.
Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) beat Yves Lampaert (Deceuninck-QuickStep) in a two-up sprint to win Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, becoming the tenth rider in history to win both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Søren Kragh Andersen (Sunweb) held on for third after being dropped in the final couple of kilometers, and Matteo Trentin (CCC Team) finished fourth after a long, solo chase just a handful of seconds behind the leaders.
The Ruta del Sol began with a lumpy stage culminating in the Category 1 ascent of the Puerto de las Palomas. Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Merida) jumped away from the peloton on the climb, and only last year’s Ruta del Sol winner, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), could follow the Spaniard.
EF Pro Cycling dominated the opening day’s Team Time Trial at the Tour Colombia 2.1, beating Deceuninck-Quickstep by 45 seconds over the 16.7 km course. Team Ineos came third, just a second behind Deceuninck-Quickstep. Pro Continental outfit Rally Cycling had an incredible day out, beating the rest of the WorldTour squads and finishing fourth overall, 59 seconds down on EF Pro Cycling.
Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma) took Stage 1 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana with a thrilling sprint victory against Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quickstep). The Dutchman came from behind and passed Jakobsen with only a few meters left to take both the stage and leader’s jersey with it.
Christine Majerus won the women’s Elite race in Zonnebeke after an exciting battle with Denis Betsema. Because of the tight schedule and CX World Championships approaching, many of the top Elite riders – Ceylin Carmen del Alvarado, Annemarie Worst, and Lucinda Brand, to name a few – opted to skip Saturday’s UCI C2 race.
Ceylin Carmen del Alvarado claimed the 2020 Elite women’s World title after a thrilling battle with longtime rival, Annemarie Worst, in Dubendorf, Switzerland. From the first lap, the Dutchwomen were on the front foot, with Alvarado, Worst, Lucinda Brand, and Yara Kastelijn separating themselves from the rest of the field. Kastelijn was soon distanced, and Brand yo-yoed in and out of the front group all race.
Dutch women have dominated cyclocross the entire 2019/2020 cyclocross season. In fact, over the past few years, Belgian rider Sanne Cant (more on her in a minute) has been the only rider consistently challenging the Dutch for the top step of the podium.
Eli Iserbyt won a thrilling men’s Elite race in Nommay, France ahead of his Belgian compatriots, Toon Aerts and Laurens Sweeck. In the absence of Mathieu van der Poel – who usually puts on a one-man show – Iserbyt and Aerts put on a two-man show after riding clear of the field on just the second lap of the race.
Few big-name riders showed up to Waaslandcross in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. But among those big names were the World Champions, Sanne Cant and Mathieu Van Der Poel, who both won their respective categories on Saturday.
