Tag: Team Sky

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Team Sky Sign Philip Deignan

Philip Deignan

Philip DeignanTeam Sky has announced the signing of Irish rider Philip Deignan for the 2014 season. The 29-year-old from County Donegal joins the team after a successful second season with the UnitedHealthcare squad which has seen him win the Tour of the Gila, finish runner-up at the Tour de Beauce, and claim top-10 finishes at both the Tours of Utah, California and the USA Pro Challenge. Deignan turned professional with AG2R Prevoyance in 2005 and won the Tour de Doubs in his maiden season before making his Grand Tour debut at the 2007 Vuelta a Espana.  After joining Cervelo TestTeam in 2009, Deignan helped the squad to four stage victories at the Giro d’Italia before sealing his first Grand Tour stage win at the Vuelta, riding to ninth place overall in the process.

 

On the prospect of becoming the first Irish Team Sky rider, Philip Deignan said:  ‘I’m really excited to get the opportunity to race for the biggest team in the world and to be able to ride for some of the best riders in the world.  It’s going to be a big challenge but I’m really looking forward to it… It’s a fantastic team where nothing is left to chance with the coaching and the diet – which will really suit the type of rider that I am.  Team Sky will offer me the kind of environment I need to be in to help me perform to the best of my ability.’

 

Commenting on the signing Team Sky Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford said:  “Everyone at Team Sky is very excited to have Philip join us from the start of next season. We’re well aware of what he is capable of on a bike.  He’s a climber of real quality and he will certainly strengthen our squad even further in stage race competition. He brings experience to the team and we believe he belongs at this level.  It’s great to finally have an Irish rider on our roster and I’m certain that under our coaches and performance staff there is a lot more to come from Philip.’

 

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Team Sky Announce Tour of Britain Squad

Team Sky Announce Tour of Britain Squad

Team Sky Announce Tour of Britain SquadTeam Sky have announced their squad for the Tour of Britain, which begins on Sunday September 15 in Peebles, Scotland. Sir Bradley Wiggins will lead the six-man squad as one of three British riders, along with Josh Edmondson and Ian Stannard, in the team’s home tour.  Austrian Bernhard Eisel, Australian Mathew Hayman and David Lopez of Spain complete the line-up.

 

Speaking about the Tour of Britain Wiggins said:  ‘I’m really looking forward to the Tour of Britain; it’s a race I’m fond of and it’s nice to see it growing in stature each year. The crowds and the roads make it special and it’s always very humbling to see the fantastic support that we get from the public… I’m coming into the race feeling really good.  It finishes in close proximity to the world time trial championships, which is my main late-season goal.

 

Fellow Brit rider Ian Stannard added:  ‘The Tour of Britain has become a massive event in the cycling calendar and I’m really excited to be racing at home… There’s a real enthusiasm for cycling at the moment – especially following Brad and Froomey’s Tour wins and the Olympics – so I’m really looking forward to competing again on British roads. We race all over the world but it’s always nice to compete in front of your home fans.  With such a high-level race in the UK naturally I want to be there.’

 

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Team Sky Announce Vuelta a España Squad

Team Sky Announce Vuelta a España SquadTeam Sky has announced its squad who will be taking part in the final Grand Tour of the year – the Vuelta a España which runs from August 24 to September 15. The team is drawn from seven different nations with 25-year-old Colombian, Sergio Henao, set to lead the team after an impressive season, which has already delivered 17 top-10 finishes.

 

Confirming the final selection for the Vuelta a España team, Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford said: ‘It’s a testament to the strength and depth in this team that we can line up in all three Grand Tours this year with such strong squads… We’ve watched Sergio develop since he joined the team and this is a great opportunity for him to demonstrate what he is capable of on a big stage like the Vuelta. We have selected a squad for all eventualities out on the road and we’re excited to get started and to try to build on our success this season.’

 

The full Team Sky line-up for the 2013 Vuelta a España will be: Sergio Henao (Colombia), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway ), Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus), Christian Knees (Germany), Luke Rowe (GB), Rigoberto Uran (Columbia), Xabier Zandio (Spain), Dario Cataldo and Salvatore Puccio (both Italy).

 

Commenting on his team leadership Henao said, ‘The Vuelta is a huge race for me and an important and prestigious event. It is an honour to be picked as the team leader and it’s a responsibility that I want to try and fulfil. I respect what the team has asked of me and I want to try and make the most out of the opportunity. The Vuelta is always a hard race and it’s getting tougher every year. There are a lot of great riders targeting the race this season and the racing is going to be at a really high level.’

 

This year’s Vuelta a España, which covers a total of 3,319.1km, starts with a team time trial from Vilanova de Arousa to Sanxenxo on Saturday August 24 and concludes, as is tradition, in Madrid three weeks later.

 

For further details on the Vuelta a España see lavuelta.com

 

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Edvald Boasson Hagen out of TdF

Edvald Boasson Hagen out of TdF

Edvald Boasson Hagen out of TdFTeam Sky have announced that Edvald Boasson Hagen has been forced to abandon the Tour de France due to injury after yesterday’s crash which happened as the peloton prepared for the bunch sprint. Despite remounting and finishing the stage (218km Fougères to Tours) Boasson Hagen was visibly in pain and medical checks revealed a fractured scapula (shoulder blade). Boasson Hagen’s withdrawal reduces Team Sky to just seven riders with Vasil Kiryienka having missed the time cut on Stage 9. Team Sky’s doctor, Alan Farrell, confirmed the news, saying: ‘After the crash Edvald was taken to a local medical centre for x-rays which revealed he had a fracture of his right scapula… Fortunately this doesn’t require surgery but Edvald will return home to Norway for further investigation and treatment and we look forward to seeing him racing again sometime over the summer.”’

 

Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford added: ‘It’s a real shame for Edvald and a setback for the team that he’s been forced to abandon the race… It’s never nice to lose a rider of Edvald’s ability, but ultimately we’re still confident that with the riders we’ve got left we can pull together and see the race through. The plan doesn’t change and we will do everything we can to support Chris (Froome).’

 

Froome, who retained the leader’s yellow jersey at the end of yesterday’s stage, tweeted: ‘Tough day today loosing Eddie BH from our lineup with a fractured shoulder. Such a great guy, we’re going to miss him on & off the bike!’

 

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Sky Rethink Tour de France Tactics

Sky Rethink Tour de France Tactics

Sky Rethink Tour de France TacticsYesterday’s Tour de France rest day was about more than relaxing and working on tans for Team Sky. Despite Chris Froome retaining yellow after Sunday’s tough Stage 11 he was largely left on his own to defend the position after teammate Peter Kennaugh crashed, Richie Porte finished some 18minutes off time and Vasili Kiryienka ended up outside of the time limit. Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford admits that tactical changes are now needed, commenting, ‘There are some valuable lessons to be learned that we will take into the rest of the race… You learn more from adversity than success and we have learned a lot.’

 

Sunday’s 168.5km leg from Saint-Girons to Bagnères-de-Bigorre included four category 1 climbs with Froome – who remains a race favourite – tweeting afterwards, ‘That was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had on a bike. Bring on the rest day tomorrow! #TDF’. The Tour de France continues today with a flat course through ‘the heartland of cycling’, Brittany, with a 197km run from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo.

 

For details of the six British riders competing in the Tour de France click here and for information on the origins of the Tour de France see the Cyclo feature here.

 

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Top Teams Join Prudential RideLondon

Top Teams Join Prudential RideLondon

Top Teams Join Prudential RideLondon150 of the world’s top cyclists are set to compete in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic, taking place as part of the Prudential RideLondon cycling festival across the weekend of August 3 and 4. The Surrey Classic will be a variation on the London 2012 Olympic Road Cycling Race, following the same route as the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 sportive (which was opened to all via a ballot and charity ride initiative) but feature an extension of 40miles – around Leith Hill – to meet UCI pro race requirements. Eight of the world’s top UCI ProTour teams have confirmed their involvement – Belkin, FDJ, Cannondale, Garmin-Sharp, Orica-GreenEDGE, Vacansoleil DCM and home-favourites Team Sky; they will be joined by UCI Pro Continental teams, including NetApp Endura, and UCI Continental teams including Team UK Youth, Raleigh and Rapha Condor-JLT.

 

The Prudential RideLondon event was developed by the Mayor of London and his agencies and is managed by the London & Surrey Cycling Partnership (LSCP), itself a partnership between The London Marathon Limited (owners and operators of the London Marathon since 1981) and SweetSpot Group Limited, operators of the Tour of Britain. For full details of all events on offer – both for participation and viewing – across the weekend of August 3 and 4 see prudentialridelondon.co.uk

 

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Anatomy of Chris Froome

Contador and Froome Near Miss

Anatomy of Chris FroomeThanks to our friends at RoadCycling UK we’re delighted to bring you their latest beautifully crafted info-graphic, this one on Team Sky’s golden boy Chris Froome. Cyclo’s take on Froome: Snapping at the heels of Wiggins last year and likely only team tactics that held him back. Unencumbered and leading Team Sky for 2013, it’s going to be interesting to see what he can pull out of the bag, especially after such an impressive build to the TdF with wins including the Tour of Oman and the Critérium du Dauphiné. Take a look at all the Brits on tour in our special feature here. RoadCycling UK will be adding more info-graphics throughout the Tour de France.

 

Anatomy of Chris Froome

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Team Sky Announce Tour de France Squad

Team Sky Tour de France 2013 Squad

Team Sky Tour de France 2013 SquadTeam Sky has announced its line-up for the 100th edition of the Tour de France, which starts in Corsica on June 29. The team brings together riders from five different nations with leader Chris Froome one of four British riders in the line-up.

 

Aside Froome, the GB riders comprise Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh, with Australia’s Richie Potre, Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, Spain’s David López and Vasil Kiryienka and Kanstantsin Siutsou, both from Belarus, completing the squad. Eight of the team were together at the Criterium du Dauphine, where Froome came first and Richie Porte second.

 

Confirming the final selection for the Tour de France team, Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford said, ‘Making the final selection of riders has been especially tough this year but we believe that we’ve found the right combination for the Tour de France.  We have a group of nine riders that are all in great form and ready for the challenge ahead… The Tour de France has been the main goal for Chris this season and he goes into the race in great shape. With four stage-race wins this year Chris has not only grown as a rider but also importantly as a leader.’

 

On the selection of the wider squad, Brailsford added, Around him (Froome) are eight quality riders who have each earned their place in the team. They will add the climbing ability and the engines to provide the perfect support for Chris, especially in the crucial mountain stages. We’ve seen what this group are capable of at the Dauphine and all have raced with Chris successfully at some stage this year.

 

Commenting further on the squad Chris Froome said, ‘I’m delighted with the balance in this team and every one of these riders is going to play a pivotal role once the racing begins. Most of us were at the Criterium du Dauphine and I was hugely impressed there with the way the team came together in control of the leader’s jersey. It gave me huge faith and I could not be happier with the selection.’