What to expect of December on CyclingUpToDate - Van Aert and Van der Poel return to cyclocross; Pidcock and Van Gils transfers; Pogacar and Vingegaard's calendars and more!
CyclingTuesday, 03 December 2024 at 21:30
The month of December has started and although we're still in the depths of winter, there is a lot to anticipate on CyclingUpToDate this month. We run through some of the hot topics that are to be tackled in the coming weeks.
Cyclocross
This month in cyclocross we have got a lot of action, with the famous Christmas block to be tackled by the discipline's stars. We've got the Cabras World Cup in Italy to tackle this weekend, and from the next onwards it's only spectacular courses that deliver every year. We've got Herentals and Namur on the weekend of the 14th and 15th; Hulst and Zonhoven World Cups on the weekend of the 21st and 22nd; The Zilvermeercross; Gavere World Cup; the Azencross, the Besançon World Cup and still Superprestige Diegem all until the 30th of December. We will have full coverage of all these races.
Also to expect soon is the reveal of the dates in which the biggest stars of the discipline are to return. Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel are all likely to announce their racing schedules in the coming weeks, alongside most other riders who focus on the road throughout the year. Van Aert's schedule is virtually decided, whilst van der Poel's is quite open and Niels Albert even suggested that this could be an only three-race stint. The likes of Tom Pidcock and Marianne Vos are big wildcards, and we anticipate the announcements.
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More transfers to come?
Although it is late in the year, by no means as the transfer talk slowed down. After breaking his contract with Lotto Dstny in very surprising fashion, Maxim van Gils is now a free agent and fully available to join other teams. There are three contenders: Astana Qazaqstan Team; Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and INEOS Grenadiers.
The British team could potentially have the budget to do this if Tom Pidcock does move out of the team, which is again a scenario that's being put on the table quite strongly with both Ciro Scognamiglio and Daniel Benson reporting that there is an increase in activity from INEOS and Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team's sides.
Another interesting story to follow is that of Canadian amateur rider Jack Burke who is currently in Europe on a small Tour through the Alps where he has been setting Strava KOM times up famous climbs such as the Passo del Mortirollo, Passo dello Stelvio and the Alpe d'Huez. He has said in words to Wielerflits that he has had four World Tour teams contact him, and he could be a late signing for a top team with interesting potential.
Training Camps
CyclingUpToDate will be on the ground in Eastern Spain for the training camp period where several teams will be located around the Benidorm/Dénia axis. Look forward to exclusive interviews with riders from UAE Team Emirates, Bahrain - Victorious; and potentially more teams that are currently in the works!
Calendar decisions
In these training camps we also have big news to anticipate. This will be the case with most Grand Tours riders, plans will be made and schedules outlined. We can be certain that riders such as Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic will be questioned regarding their plans for the 2025 season - but this will also include many more riders!
At the training camps we usually have the first concrete insight into what these key figures of the sport will be aiming for in this coming season. Pogacar's calendar is largely assumed to include the UAE Tour, Milano-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, Tour de France and Vuelta a España as the main goals besides the World Championships; but doubts reside on whether Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic will exclusively focus on the Tour de France or if they could potentially race the Giro d'Italia as well. Remco Evenepoel is also a big wildcard, specially after today's crash.
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Remco Evenepoel
This Tuesday Evenepoel, the double Olympic Champion and reigning world time-trial champion was involved in a training crash. The Belgian hit the opening door of a van and suffered a fractured shoulder blade, rib and hand. There are no indications on the time that it may take for him to resume training, this also raises other issues.
Evenepoel was expected to announce his goals for the 2025 season during the upcoming training camp in Spain. He should still be present, but it's unlikely that he will be on the bike. He may delay decisions on racing Grand Tours. We will then learn throughout December the full extent and consequences of his injuries.
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- Where I live, a man tragically killed a promising young rider by dooring him, and a top rider was killed when a man hit him with his vehicle. Both tragedies, neither of them blamed on the people's sex. But insurers here do widely advertise good deals for women based on their better safety stats.Hill3304-12-2024
- According to researchers at the University of Michigan, women drivers were found to be involved in 68.1% of all crashes. Interestingly, the researchers also found that men were driving 60% of the time overall, while women were only driving 40% of the time. In other words, despite women driving less often, they were more frequently the ones causing accidents.UltimateOpportunist04-12-2024
- To me, it’s a sign of why he has persisted. For all the critique that he gets, he was THE dominant GT rider for years, one of less than an handful to have all the major GT jerseys at the same time (and the only in the modern era). People remember him and honor him even in the fake criterium world. If I were him, I’d also have a hard time stepping back from that, especially when that stupid injury was so very very unfortunate. Short version: If people come to cheer him on, and cycling is a business, should he not be there?RidesHills04-12-2024
- Evenepoel has never raced spring classics, always opting for GC races. This interrupts his planning, I am sure, but it’s not like we were going to see him in Roubaix, San Remo, or Flanders. By the time of the Ardennes, he should be better, I hope. Someday, maybe we’ll actually see him and Pogacar compete at LBL, right? (These injuries, c’mon, season after season they define the actual racing, it’s annoying!)RidesHills04-12-2024
- When someone is being paid millions, there might be value in retaining a person for maybe 100k, someone whose sole job is on the road safety. Insurance policy, you might call it. Not that this job exists, but as prices increase, it might be worth it, don’t you think?RidesHills04-12-2024
- The one good part of this (hopefully) is that it happened before the serious training began, where he has time to recover. But to recover from injury is different from building up a body for the larger races later in the season. Two seasons ago, Pogacar’s wrist interrupted his life. Last season, Vingagaard and Evenepoel both suffered from that awful crash. Let’s hope he heals on time for his body to do what his mind wants him to do. (What irony that this happens on the day of an article about him maturing, obviously planned before news of the accident came out.)RidesHills04-12-2024
- A friend of mine was the first woman to fly the F-117 stealth fighter: her flight buddies called it the first unmanned mission of a stealth fighter. That was a funny line. You merely sound like a sexist jerk of a sort that was tiresome in the 80s and is ridiculous today.RidesHills04-12-2024
- He's Back! Look out Pogacar. :P
santiagobenites04-12-2024 - what statistics? you lier, incel and women hater, you live in a parallel world plenty of hate, maybe your place in the world is Afghanistan, you will be comfortable there, parallel world. Defaming, mistreating and despising girls and women.
maria2024202404-12-2024 - He would have to go to another team. Lefevere is like Sauron.Sweep04-12-2024