August is a very busy month for the World Tour with the Tour of Poland, the BinckBank Tour and the Vuelta and that’s just the racing. Teams are changing shape with plenty of rider transfers being announced already.
Quickstep
Ronde Van Vlaanderen Preview
It’s Quick Step versus the peloton this Sunday as the home team take on all comers, including Peter Sagan, Greg Van Avermaet and Sep Vanmarcke. It’s live on TV from start to finish and in front of an estimated million of roadside fans, an event of national importance to the Belgians.
Team Victory Rankings
With a brief pause in the racing today, here’s the first look at team standings in 2018 and as ever a chance to look at the squads and stories around them.
2017 Team Victory Rankings
With the season finished it’s time to look back at the wins and also take a deeper look at the stats. Which teams had the most podium places but the fewest wins? Which teams are the most reliant on one rider?
Team Victory Rankings
Time for another look at the victory rankings with the Giro completed. The Italian race got a lot of limelight and there were many more chances during the month to take more wins. Here’s a look at the stats and some of the back stories too.
Team Victory Rankings
Patrick Lefevere described his Tour de France as one of highs and lows with wins and woes alike, typified by Zdeněk Štybar’s stage win in Le Havre. As he was raising his arms in celebration Tony Martin was floored on the tarmac with a broken collarbone. Lefevere said it was better than flatlining around France. The story of Etixx-Quickstep’s season is one of consistency with wins on all terrains and they top the table so far this season with 39 wins.
2012 UCI Pro Teams
Professional cycling teams are ranked into three tiers. The top level is UCI Pro Team and the 18 teams here have automatic and obligatory access to the big races on the UCI’s World Tour calendar. In addition, there is a range of rules governing these teams that aim to ensure sporting and financial stability.
You’ll find the top-18 teams below, their sponsors explained plus riders and staff listed.
The wealthiest men in cycling
I wrote about the wealthiest men in cycling back in March 2010, but fortunes can come and go, and now there are new names to add to the list and some names to delete.
If you thought the likes of Alberto Contador, Mark Cavendish or Philippe Gilbert were the best paid in cycling, time to think again. It is the people behind the scenes who fund some of the pro teams that are the wealthiest. Read on and you will find the missing link between Damiano Cunego and Jennifer Lopez.
Cavendish, Specialized, Omega-Quickstep and the vacuum
You’re probably more interested in racing than rumours but where Mark Cavendish will ride next year is still up in the year and even if speculation isn’t your thing, there are some interesting ideas behind this.
I had thought Cavendish was going to Team Sky, only that US bike manufacturer Specialized were coming with him. But this sponsorship plan looks increasingly unlikely. First Pinarello have a firm three year deal with Team Sky meaning the British team are contracted to ride the Italian frames in 2012. And I believe the same is true of helmet supplier Kask, another frustration for Specialized.
Can Quick-Step and Omega afford to let Gilbert go?
That’s the current team standings. Note Omega Pharma-Lotto are sitting in third place whilst Quick Step languish in 17th place. A lot of this is down to Philippe Gilbert. As of Sunday he held 568 points, meaning that if you subtract his 568 points from Omega-Lotto then the Belgian squad would be in… 17th place.