(Photo Credit: Getty Sport)
3 September
Caleb Ewan won stage five of the Benelux Tour, the 192km Riemst-Bilzen. In a tricky finale, with walls and hundreds of corners, it was Sonny Colbrelli who launched the sprint long, but Ewan’s comeback on an uphill finish line was relentless. Third place went to Dutchman Danny Van Poppel. The former leader Bissegger had a technical problem but surrendered. Swiss rider Stefan Küng of Groupama FDJ now leads the general classification.
The Italian cycling federation (FCI) has announced the names of the riders who will take part in the next European road championships, which will be held in Trento (Italy) from 8 to 12 September. Although the Squadra Azzurra will not be fielding the reigning European champion, Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka NextHash), they will still look very good with Sonny Colbrelli at the helm. The Bahrain-Victorious rider, who has had a brilliant summer, could well be the trump card of the team built by Davide Cassani. Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) is another essential asset for the Italian team. Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates), Gianni Moscon (INEOS Grenadiers), Andrea Bagioli (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Mattia Catteneo (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) and Giovanni Aleotti (BORA-hansgrohe) will complete the Italian squad.
2 September
Tim Merlier bests Mads Pedersen in bunch sprint on stage four of the Benelux Tour 2021. Kasper Asgreen reduced his deficit to Stefan Bissegger in the overall. By Jonny Long @cyclingweekly
The Swiss Cycling Federation has unveiled its selections for the next two major events in the coming weeks: the European Championships in Trento (8-12 September) and the World Championship in Flanders (19-26 September). Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo) and Marc Hirschi (UAE-Team Emirates) are the main names in the Swiss Cycling selection. The two first mentioned will double the two competitions with great chances to perform in the time trials.
Thibaut Pinot, Romain Bardet and Guillaume Martin will all feature in the French team for the European Championships road race in Trento on September 12. The eight-man French team selected by the French national coach Thomas Voeckler also includes Warren Barguil, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Valentin Madouas, Pierre-Luc Périchon and Benoît Cosnefroy. World champion Alaphilippe will not be present as he will be in action with his Deceuninck-QuickStep squad at the Tour of Britain.
Wout van Aert, Julian Alaphilippe, Michael Woods to fine-tune form for worlds at Tour of Britain. A series of long hilly stages in the UK make for perfect preparation two weeks ahead of Flanders world championships. By Jim Cotton @velonews
1 September
Mikel Landa abandons Vuelta a España. The Basque climber climbed off midway through Wednesday’s mountain stage after a last-gasp attack earlier in the race.“Today I tried to get the feeling with an attack to go in the break, but I still was not feeling good. I now need to focus on the following goals and get back to my best,” Landa said via his team’s social media last night.
USA Cycling names team for 2021 UCI Road World Championships: Lawson Craddock (EF Education – Nippo), Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), Neilson Powless (EF Education – Nippo), Joey Rosskopf (Rally Cycling), Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team).
Taco Van der Hoorn pulled off another successful breakaway and took the win in the third stage of the Benelux Tour, the 168.3km Essen-Hoogerheide. Full results @procyclingstats
31 August
Cavendish, Alaphilippe, Van Aert, Woods, Porte and Dennis confirmed for Tour of Britain. September stage race offers best-timed build-up to World Championships. By Stephen Farrand @cyclingnews
Stefan Bissegger dominated the time trial, the second stage of the Benelux Tour. The young Swiss rider of EF Education Nippo covered the 11,1 km of the Lelystad route in 12’08” at the average speed of 54,890 km/h. Second place for Edoardo Affini, 15 seconds behind, and third for Stefan Kung, who finished 20 seconds behind. For Bissegger there is also the leadership jersey. Results @procyclingstats
30 August
Tim Merlier powers to victory on Benelux Tour 2021 stage one. The Belgian sprinted to the line first from a reduced leading group. @ cyclingweekly. Evenepoel fumes at Vermeersch after broken wheel costs him at Benelux Tour. @cyclingnews
Nasty crash today, during the first stage of Benelux Tour, for Jakob Fuglsang: the Danish rider of Astana PremierTech, transported to hospital for checks, underwent X-rays that showed a double fracture of the scapula and the rib. His season is inevitably over.
In an interview to Bicisport, Dario David Cioni, sporting director of the Ineos-Grenadier team and trainer of Filippo Ganna, has revealed that next summer Ganna will attack the Hour Record after the Giro or the Tour (depending on which race Ganna does). The velodrome is still to be decided: Montichiari, London or Manchester could all be suitable velodromes for the attempt.
29 August
Bretagne Classic: Benoit Cosnefroy edges Julian Alaphilippe to claim win. Article @ BBC and results @ procyclingstats
Deutschland Tour. The last stage is for Kristoff. Race to Politt. Results @ procyclingstats
28 August