Schlagwort-Archive: Team Qhubeka Assos

Giro d’Italia – Etappe 15

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Foto by Plomi

Grado – Gorizia (147 km)

1 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team Qhubeka ASSOS 3:25:25
2 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Alpecin – Fenix 0:00:00
3 Nikias Arndt (GER) Team DSM 0:00:07
4 Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis 0:00:07
5 Quinten Hermans (Bel) Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux 0:00:07
6 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team 0:00:07
7 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek – Segafredo 0:00:09
8 Albert Torres Barcelo (Esp) Movistar Team 0:00:44
9 Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:02
10 Maximilian Walscheid (GER) Team Qhubeka ASSOS 0:01:02

Gesamtwertung
1 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 62:13:33
2 Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange 0:01:33
3 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:51
4 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana – Premier Tech 0:01:57
5 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education – Nippo 0:02:11
6 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:03:03
7 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck – Quick-Step 0:03:52
8 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 0:03:54
9 Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM 0:04:31
10 Tobias Svendsen Foss (Nor) Jumbo – Visma 0:05:37

Emanuel Buchmann scheidet nach einem schweren Massensturz auf der 15. Etappe des Giro d’Italia aus

Kurz nach dem Start der 145 km langen hügeligen Strecke in Grado am Golf von Venedig ereignete sich ein Massensturz, in dem auch Emanuel Buchmann verwickelt war. Der Ravensburger, der vor dem Start auf dem 6. Platz in der Gesamtwertung lag, konnte das Rennen leider nicht mehr fortsetzten und wurde zu weiteren Untersuchungen ins Krankenhaus gebracht. Das Rennen wurde danach vorübergehend neutralisiert. Wie schon so oft auf den bisherigen Etappen konnte die Ausreißergruppe auch diesmal den Sieg unter sich ausmachen. Am Ende gelang es V. Campenaerts seine Fluchtbegleiter kurz vor dem Ziel abzuschütteln und als Erster über die Ziellinie in Gorizia an der slowenischen Grenze zu rollen. Die BORA – hansgrohe Fahrer überquerten die Ziellinie mehr als 17 Minuten hinter dem Etappensieger, während Peter Sagan das Maglia Ciclamino weiter beibehält.

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„Nach dem Sturz wurde Emu direkt ins Krankenhaus gebracht. Durch einem CT Scan konnten Knochenbrüche ausgeschlossen werden. Emu hat eine leichte Gehirnerschütterung sowie mehrere Prellungen im Gesicht und an der Hüfte davongetragen. Zudem hat er eine Wunde im Mund an der Innenseite der unteren Lippe.“ – Christopher Edler, Teamarzt

„Eines der schwierigsten Erfahrungen, die ein Team während eines Etappenrennens erleben kann, ist uns heute passiert. Emanuel Buchmann, unser Kapitän, der Ambitionen aufs Podest hatte, musste das Rennen nach einem Sturz aufgeben. Wir haben ihn auf den letzten 15 Tagen sehr gut beschützt, aber heute ist er in diesem großen Sturz zu Boden gegangen und er hatte aufgrund seiner Verletzungen letztendlich keine Chance weiterzufahren. Das ist natürlich sehr bitter für uns. Jetzt müssen wir uns für die letzte Woche taktisch umstellen und Schadensbegrenzung betreiben.“ – Jens Zemke, Sportlicher Leiter

Ubuntu inspires Victor Campenaerts to sensational Giro d’Italia stage 15 victory

Gorizia, 23 May 2021 – Victor Campenaerts raced to an incredible 3rd stage win at this year’s Giro d’Italia for Team Qhubeka ASSOS, at today’s stage 15 ending in Gorizia. This victory followed his teammates, Mauro Schmid and Giacomo Nizzolo, triumphs on stages 11 and 13 respectively.
Team Qhubeka ASSOS, already having it’s best ever Giro d’Italia, started the 147km stage 15 with clear intentions to continue building on that success. From the gun, Campenaerts and teammate Max Walscheid were the first two riders to attack. After getting an initial gap, the race was then neutralized due to a mass crash in the peloton, which included Mauro Schmid. The young Swiss star was able to continue and finish but he suffered from multiple abrasions to his right side.
Fortunately, most of the riders that went down, were without serious injury, and able to continue. When racing got underway for a second time, it was again Campenaerts and Walscheid who were first to attack. This time a third Qhubeka ASSOS rider also got involved though, as Lukasz Wisniowski infiltrated the front group too.
15 riders forced themselves clear from the peloton and quickly built a race winning lead. With three riders up the road, Qhubeka ASSOS were in a favourable position despite being closely marked.
Coming toward the race finale, Walscheid, Wisniowski and Campenaerts began attacking and counter-attacking the break as the group did contain a strong mix of climbers and sprinters, who were possiblyon paper at leasr favoured for victory ahead of the Qhubeka ASSOS trio. However, it was the team work that proved the greatest asset on the day as the Belgian UCI world hour record holder managed to escape with two others in tow, Albert Torres (Movistar) and Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix), with 23km to go.

Campenaerts and Riesebeek were able to dislodge Torres on the final climb, as the rain came pouring down, adding further drama over the closing kilometers. From the top of the climb, the duo held onto a 15 second gap over their nearest chasers, and despite attacking each other a couple of times each, they went on to decide the stage in a two-up sprint.
Campenaerts had that extra kick in the legs to take a brilliant win, his first ever Grand Tour stage victory of his career.
Victor Campenaerts
I’ve been chasing a WorldTour, and specifically a Grand Tour, stage win for so long; having been four times second, twice third, once fifth, and I’ve always targeted victories in time trials. I’ve come so close but I decided to change how I race and focus more aggressively on racing on the road bike, and focusing a little less focus on the TT.
I am at my first Grand Tour with another objective and we’ve already had two victories with the team here. I can’t say that I helped Mauro that much in the break for his win but I helped Nizzolo for his victory and now I helped myself to a big victory – what a day! I had big, big help from the whole team especially Max and Wizzy, who were also in the break with me.
For two years we’ve speaking about Ubuntu in the team – I am because we are – which is about riding as a team. We cannot go alone, we’re stronger as a team together, and the spirit we have in the Giro is building up to an even greater spirit. Our mission as a team is to change lives with bicycles and the Qhubeka Charity, these successes mean that we play our part in changing the world.
I also hope that these victories is great exposure for the team, to keep the team alive for the future. It hasn’t been easy to keep it alive and we needed this, so I am just so happy.

Giro d’Italia – Etappe 13

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Photo by HERBERT MOOS
Photo by HERBERT MOOS

Ravenna – Verona (198 km)

1 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka ASSOS 4:42:19
2 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Jumbo – Visma 0:00:00
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) BORA – hansgrohe 0:00:00
4 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:00:00
5 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:00
6 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal 0:00:00
7 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux 0:00:00
8 Max Kanter (GER) Team DSM 0:00:00
9 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis 0:00:00
10 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jumbo – Visma 0:00:00
11 Alexander Krieger (GER) Alpecin – Fenix 0:00:00
12 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team 0:00:00
13 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Eolo – Kometa Cycling Team 0:00:00
14 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:00:00
15 Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè 0:00:00
16 Filippo Tagliani (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec 0:00:00
17 Maximilian Walscheid (GER) Team Qhubeka ASSOS 0:00:00
18 Roger Kluge (GER) Lotto Soudal 0:00:00
19 Nico Denz (GER) Team DSM 0:00:00
20 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team Qhubeka ASSOS 0:00:00

Gesamtwertung
1 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 53:11:42
2 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana – Premier Tech 0:00:45
3 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:12
4 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education – Nippo 0:01:17
5 Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange 0:01:22
6 Emanuel Buchmann (GER) BORA – hansgrohe 0:01:50
7 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck – Quick-Step 0:02:22
8 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:02:24
9 Tobias Svendsen Foss (Nor) Jumbo – Visma 0:02:49
10 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 0:03:15
11 Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM 0:03:29
12 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama – FDJ 0:03:51
13 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:04:04
14 Gianni Moscon (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers 0:04:25
15 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux 0:05:43

Peter Sagan behält durch Rang drei das Maglia Ciclamino nach Sprintfinale auf der 13. Etappe des Giro d’Italia

Heute war die letzte große Gelegenheit für die Sprinter ehe es in die hohen Berge ging. Auf der 197 km langen Strecke von Ravenna nach Verona gab es keinen einzigen Anstieg und mit einer unkomplizierten Anfahrt zum Ziel war die Etappe ideal für einen Massensprint. Für Peter Sagan, ging es heute um wertvolle Punkte im Kampf um das Punktetrikot, allerdings lag ihm die komplett flache Strecke weniger. Einem Trio gelang es sich früh vom Feld zu lösen, doch die Sprinterteams waren nicht gewillt den drei Fahrern den Tagessieg zu überlassen, und so war es nur eine Frage der Zeit bis sie letztendlich gestellt waren. Ein Spätangriff von E. Affini, 500m vor dem Ziel, sorgte für einen hektischen Sprint. Es gelang Peter Sagan die Attacke auf der Zielgeraden zu folgen und am Ende den dritten Platz hinter G. Nizzolo und E. Affini zu holen. Der Slowake behält damit das Maglia Ciclamino und hat jetzt einen Vorsprung von neun Punkten in der Punktewertung.
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„Es war eine lange Etappe, die mit einem sehr schnellen Sprint zu Ende ging und nicht der beste Parcours für mich war. Am Ende habe ich den dritten Platz belegt. Glückwunsch an Nizzolo zu seinem ersten Giro-Etappensieg. Ich habe einen kleinen Vorsprung in der Punktewertung, trage immer noch das Sprinttrikot und werde mein Bestes geben, um es bis Mailand zu verteidigen.“ – Peter Sagan

„Es war eine lange Etappe, total flach, mit etwas Wind. Unser Fokus lag auf Peters Sprinttrikot und wir mussten abwarten, ob es zu einem schnellen Massensprint kommen würde. Die Jungs haben auf den letzten Kilometern und dann im Sprint gut zusammengearbeitet. Sie sind einen sehr starken Lead-Out für Peter gefahren und er war in einer guten Position für den Endspurt. Er folgte den Jumbo-Visma Fahrern, das war leider nicht die beste Entscheidung, und so lancierte er seinen Sprint etwas zu spät. Trotzdem hat er einen starken dritten Platz geholt, und das Wichtigste ist, dass er in der Punktewertung immer noch führt.“ – Jan Valach, Sportlicher Leiter

Giacomo Nizzolo sprints to maiden Grand Tour stage win

Giacomo Nizzolo sprinted to an incredible first-ever grand tour stage victory, on stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia. The Team Qhubeka ASSOS sprinter broke his duck of 19 grand tour stage podiums without a win, by taking the top step in Verona today.
Starting in Ravenna, the stage covered a mostly flat 198km route to finish with a mass sprint in Verona. The Italian and European champion, Nizzolo, already having placed 2nd twice at this year’s Giro d’Italia, was determined to not be denied once again.
Team Qhubeka ASSOS took the reins in the peloton over the final 10km, keeping Nizzolo up front and out of trouble through the tricky final kilometers. A committed team effort ensured Nizzolo had the opportunity to sprint for the win today.
As Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) got a slight jump on the peloton in the home straight, Nizzolo had to come from some way back over the final 400m, launching his sprint early. With superior speed, Nizzolo was able to slingshot passed his compatriot in the final 50m to take a stunning stage win.
Following Mauro Schmid’s incredible stage triumph on stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia, this is the 2nd stage victory for Team Qhubeka ASSOS at this year’s race. With other top 10 stage placing’s from Max Walscheid and Victor Campenearts, and Nizzolo wearing the Maglia Ciclamino in the opening week, this is undoubtedly the most successful Giro d’Italia for Team Qhubeka ASSOS.

Foto by Plomi

Giacomo Nizzolo
Watching the sprint takes me back to the moment and it is such an emotional feeling. The only thing I wanted to do today was to be able to sprint, without being blocked, and just show to myself what power I had in my legs and that’s what I did.
I am super happy and just want to enjoy this moment. The first person I called was my mother, it was special, and to my dad who couldn’t be here today as he had surgery a few days ago, this was for him.
I felt so much confidence from the team today, they were always around me, not only today but throughout the week. So, I am really happy to give them this victory as it is not only mine but for the whole team, for the purpose we race for, bicycles change lives. After Mauro’s victory two days ago, you can be sure there will be another big „Ubuntu“ celebration tonight.

Giro d’Italia – Etappe 11

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Perugia – Montalcino (162 km) Etliche Abschnitte auf Strade Bianche

1 Mauro Schmid (SUI) Team Qhubeka ASSOS 4:01:55
2 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:01
3 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:26
4 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin – Fenix 0:00:41
5 Simon Guglielmi (Fra) Groupama – FDJ 0:00:41
6 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè 0:00:44
7 Roger Kluge (GER) Lotto Soudal 0:01:23
8 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo – Kometa Cycling Team 0:01:37
9 Taco Van Der Hoorn (Ned) Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux 0:01:43
10 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team 0:01:59
11 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 0:03:09
12 Emanuel Buchmann (GER) BORA – hansgrohe 0:03:12
13 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana – Premier Tech 0:03:32
14 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:03:35
15 Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange 0:03:35

Gesamtwertung
1 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 42:35:21
2 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana – Premier Tech 0:00:45
3 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:12
4 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education – Nippo 0:01:17
5 Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange 0:01:22
6 Emanuel Buchmann (GER) BORA – hansgrohe 0:01:50
7 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck – Quick-Step 0:02:22
8 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:02:24
9 Tobias Svendsen Foss (Nor) Jumbo – Visma 0:02:49
10 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 0:03:15
11 Marc Soler Gimènez (Esp) Movistar Team 0:03:19
12 Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM 0:03:29
13 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama – FDJ 0:03:51
14 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:04:11
15 Gianni Moscon (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers 0:04:25

Mit einer beeindruckenden Performance auf der 11. Etappe des Giro d’Italia rückt Emanuel Buchmann in der Gesamtwertung auf Rang 6 vor


Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer

Die zweite Rennwoche startete mit einer spektakulären 163 km langen hügeligen Etappe. Nach flacher Startphase in Perugia, ging es auf dem Weg nach Montalcino auf teils kräftezehrenden Schotterpisten durch die südliche Toskana. Nach dem letzten Schotter-Sektor, rund 10 km vorm Ziel, ging es weiter hoch zum Passo del Lume Spento, ehe das Ziel erreicht wurde. Für Emanuel Buchmann war es wichtig, sturzfrei und, besonders auf den Schotterpisten, ohne Defekt, ins Ziel zu kommen um Zeit gegenüber den GC-Favoriten zu gewinnen. Das Team aus Raubling rückte bei den Positionskämpfen vor dem ersten Schotter-Sektor nach vorne und wenig später löste sich eine Gruppe um Peter Sagan vom Feld ab und setzte der 12 Mann starken Ausreißergruppe nach. Der Slowake musste sich allerdings nach dem zweiten Schotterabschnitt zurückfallen lassen, während es Emanuel Buchmann gelang in der Gruppe der GC- Favoriten zu fahren. Im Schlussanstieg attackierte der Ravensburger aus der Verfolgergruppe heraus und konnte einen Vorsprung gegenüber der reduzierten Favoritengruppe herausarbeiten. Am Gipfel schloss E. Bernal noch zu Emanuel auf und beim Sieg von M. Schmid aus der Ausreißergruppe, erkämpfte der Ravensburger den 12. Platz und rückte damit vom 15. auf den 6. Rang in der Gesamtwertung auf.

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„Ich hatte mich heute von Anfang an ganz gut gefühlt und das Team hat mich im ersten Sektor sehr gut positioniert. Es war ein sehr hartes Rennen. Auf den Schotterabschnitten sind wir Vollgas gefahren und ich bin immer vorne gewesen. Am letzten Berg hatte ich mir die anderen Fahrer angeschaut und gedacht, ich probiere es einfach einmal. Am Ende ist noch Egan zu mir gestoßen und wir sind zusammen ins Ziel gefahren. Ich glaube, das war ein richtig gutes Rennen und so können wir hoffentlich weitermachen.“ – Emanuel Buchmann

„Wir wussten, dass es eine ungewöhnliche Etappe sein wird, sehr nervös, und wir waren auf alle Eventualitäten vorbereitet. Es war wichtig, potenzielle Probleme, wie zum Beispiel mechanische Probleme, vorauszusehen und darauf bereit zu sein. Ich denke, die Teams waren mehr darauf konzentriert, Risiken zu reduzieren und keine Zeit zu verlieren, als tatsächlich auf den Sieg zu fahren. Wir haben uns auf Emanuel Buchmann und seine GC-Position konzentriert, und das gesamte Team hat für ihn gearbeitet. Die Jungs haben ihn im ersten Schottersektor sehr gut unterstützt und Peter war auch mit ihm im zweiten Sektor. Er blieb in der reduzierten Favoritengruppe und von da an war es einfacher für ihn. Er hatte gute Beine und ergriff die Initiative, um im Schlussanstieg zu attackieren. Er distanzierte fast alle GC-Fahrer und wurde nur von Bernal eingeholt. Im Großen und Ganzen war es ein guter Tag für uns.“ – Jan Valach, Sportlicher Leiter

Mauro Schmid stormed to victory on stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia, claiming the first professional win of his career and Team Qhubeka ASSOS first win at this year’s Giro d’Italia.
The young Swiss rider (21), who was drafted into our Giro team two weeks before the Grande Partenza, got into the early break of the day with fellow teammate Bert-Jan Lindeman, along with 10 other riders.
It was to be a very special stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia as the 162km route through the Tuscan countryside included 4 gravel sectors, totaling more than 35km inside the final 70km of the stage.
Both Lindeman and Schmid were part of our team that raced the Strade Bianche earlier this year, and were able to draw on their experience of having trained and raced on the white roads already this year. Lindeman had in fact also stayed on after Strade Bianche this year to recon this Giro stage, information which proved invaluable for him and Schmid in the break.
Lindeman did a fine job to drive the break along with his younger teammate, as the gap to peloton maxed out at 14-minutes. It soon became clear that the stage victor would come from the breakaway.
The gravel sectors whittled the front group down as expected, but Schmid certainly looked like one of the more comfortable riders on the slippery sandy surfaces. Schmid excited the final gravel sector with just 2 other riders on his wheel and 9km remaining in the race.

A final cat 3 climb into Montalcino left Schmid to battle it out with Alessandro Covi (UAE-Emirates) for the stage win. With a strong track pedigree behind him, Schmid took the sprint on from the front and Covi was unable to match his turn of speed over the final 200m.
I can’t believe it, it’s my first international win and I would never have expected it to be at a grand tour. I was not even expecting to do a Grand Tour this year, but the team believed in me and I got the chance to do the Giro. It’s an amazing race and it means a lot to me.
I started with mountain bike racing when I was younger, and cyclocross and now I also do track. I will go to the Olympics this year. The technical skills from cycle cross and the power from the track have helped me to develop as a rider.
We ride for a bigger cause; we ride for bicycles to change lives. We ride for a charity, but everything in our team is high performance. We have a great team spirit. For me, bicycles mean freedom, it means happiness. And that’s why we ride, that’s the reason.

Mauro Schmid: This Race Can Change Your Life

Montalcino, 20 May 2021 – Mauro Schmid only find out two weeks prior to the announcement of the Team Qhubeka ASSOS squad for the 2021 Giro d’Italia that he was one of the eight riders selected. The 21-year-old, in his first year as a professional, in fact a year ago was uncertain that he’d be able to find a team to take the step up into the professional ranks.
In Montalcino, at the finish of stage 11, the man from Zurich announced himself to the world with a stunning display to win the “Strade Bianche” stage of the 104th Giro d’Italia.
He looked a rider born for the big stage, although just the day prior to his victory, on the first rest of the opportunity of the race, he shed some light on how his debut race had been going.
“The Giro has definitely not been easy,” he said at the team hotel in Perugia. “It’s hard to get a feeling for it and I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. I’ve had a few difficult moments in these first 10 stages so far but now I’m starting to feel better and I hope that I will have two big weeks now.”
On to stage 11 then where he made his move early in the day’s breakaway of 11 riders which included teammate Bert-Jan Lindeman, who drove the pace to ensure the gap to the General Classification riders was big enough for the breakaway to go to the line.
In a stunning finish, Schmid eventually beat Alessandro Covi in the uphill sprint for the line in Montalcino. Behind him in the Tuscan dust, the race’s general classification riders were doing battle while Schmid collapsed, shell-shocked at what he’d just done.

In an instant, his life changed forever as he became a Grand Tour stage-winner in his first-ever Grand Tour.
“Honestly, I was thinking about winning from the start because this is what motivates me. I had concerns – a lot of them during the race – I was thinking about what Giacomo and Victor told me: “second or third place? nobody thinks about that, it’s only the win that counts” and this was my mentality today and in the end I was lucky that the plan was good,” he said on arriving at the team hotel following the podium ceremony and media duties.
“I honestly couldn’t feel anything, I was exhausted but also emotionally I couldn’t believe that I won when I crossed the line. This time last year I was hoping to get a contract but my chances were not very good and I signed quite late in the season. Then at the beginning of the season I wasn’t thinking about doing a Grand Tour or a big race and now I just won a stage at the Giro – it is amazing.
„We have a great spirit in this team. Everybody works incredibly hard for each other but we ride for a greater cause in the belief that bicycles change lives. This means a lot to me, I could feel the energy in the team during this Giro – through the bad times and the good times – and this purpose definitely played a huge role in helping me win the stage today.“

Giro d’Italia – Etappe 8

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Foggia – Guardia Sanframondi (170 km)

1 Victor Lafay (Fra) Cofidis 4:06:47
2 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo – Kometa Cycling Team 0:00:36
3 Nikias Arndt (GER) Team DSM 0:00:37
4 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team 0:00:41
5 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè 0:00:44
6 Kobe Goossens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:58
7 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team Qhubeka ASSOS 0:01:00
8 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:01:54
9 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:04
10 João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck – Quick-Step 0:04:48
11 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana – Premier Tech 0:04:48
12 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:04:48
13 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck – Quick-Step 0:04:48
14 Gianni Moscon (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers 0:04:48
15 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:04:48

Gesamtwertung
1 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama – FDJ 31:10:53
2 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck – Quick-Step 0:00:11
3 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 0:00:16
4 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana – Premier Tech 0:00:24
5 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education – Nippo 0:00:38
6 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:39
7 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek – Segafredo 0:00:41
8 Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:00:47
9 Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange 0:00:49
10 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Alpecin – Fenix 0:00:50
11 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:55
12 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) INEOS Grenadiers 0:01:06
13 Marc Soler Gimènez (Esp) Movistar Team 0:01:14
14 Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM 0:01:14
15 Emanuel Buchmann (GER) BORA – hansgrohe 0:01:40

Emanuel Buchmann beendet die 8. Etappe des Giro d’Italia mit der Favoritengruppe, während Ausreißer den Sieg holen

Eine 173 km lange Etappe und rund 3,000 Höhenmeter waren heute auf der südlichsten Etappe des Giros zu bewältigen. Nach dem Start in Foggia führte die Strecke über hügeliges Terrain bis 50 km vor dem Ziel der 20 km lange Anstieg nach Bocca della Selvaes und kurz vor dem Ziel der Schlussanstieg nach Guardia Sanframondi warteten. Auf der heutigen Strecke hatte eine Ausreißergruppe gute Chancen auf den Sieg und nach mehreren erfolglosen Versuchen gelang es letztlich einer neunköpfigen Gruppe sich vom Feld zu lösen. Das Peloton ließ die Flüchtlinge ziehen und die Gruppe konnte zwischenzeitlich einen Vorsprung von mehr als 7 Minuten herausfahren. Am Ende konnte die Spitze nicht mehr gestellt werden und V. Lafay rollte als Erster der Ausreißergruppe über die Ziellinie. Emanuel Buchmann war bester BORA – hansgrohe Fahrer, der das Ziel mit der Gruppe von GC-Favoriten erreichte, und jetzt den 15. Platz in der Gesamtwertung belegt.

Reaktionen im Ziel

„Es war von Anfang an eine hektische Etappe mit viel Seitenwind aber wir waren immer vorne mit dabei und nachdem sich die Ausreißergruppe gebildet hatte, war es ein ziemlich kontrolliertes Rennen. Ich hatte gute Unterstützung, meine Teamkollege brachten mich vor dem letzten Anstieg in eine sehr gute Position und ich kam mit der Gruppe von Favoriten ins Ziel. Ich bin auch zufrieden damit, wie ich mich heute fühlte, bei dem guten Wetter ging alles doch viel besser. Jetzt müssen wir sehen, was in den nächsten Tagen passiert.“ – Emanuel Buchmann

„Heute haben wir uns auf Emu konzentriert. Wir wussten auch, dass es auf dieser Etappe eine gute Chance gab, dass die Spitzengruppe durchkommen würde, und so haben wir versucht, mit mehreren Fahrern in die Ausreißergruppe zu gehen. Leider hat das heute nicht geklappt. Aber am Ende konnte Emu mit den Besten des Gesamtklassements das Ziel erreichen und hat keine Zeit verloren.“ – Jens Zemke, Sportlicher Leiter

Campenaerts 7th after impressive breakaway effort on stage 8 of Giro d’Italia

Guardia Sanframondi, 15 May 2021 – A brave, fighting performance from Victor Campenaerts saw the Belgian take a strong seventh position on the uphill finish to Guardia Sanframondi on stage 8 of the Giro d’Italia.
The stage was won by Victor Lafay (Cofidis) ahead of Francesco Gavazzi (Eolo-Kometa) while Attila Valter (FDJ) retained the race lead overall.
On a day where the fight to get into the breakaway was particularly brutal, and saw numerous attempts by our own riders to make it, a group of eight riders eventually made their escape after approximately 55km. Campenaerts, as he’d promised prior to the start, refused to miss out and time-trialed his way to bridging the gap in the main move of the day.
After joining the leaders, the gap to the peloton rapidly stretched and looked likely that he the stage-winner would come from the breakaway. Campenaerts duly played his part and then safely navigated the long descent ahead of the climb to the finish before launching an attack of his own with about 7km to go.
Campenaerts was joined by Giovanni Carboni in the late surge for glory but the efforts of the day took their toll on the final climb and Campenaerts then gamely hung on for an excellent seventh place overall.

Victor Campenaerts
[On bridging the gap] It was terrible, really really terrible. I tried a few times to get in before we had a small climb and then I suffered a lot to get over the climb and then the breakaway went for free in the downhill.
I was not so happy to see that so I thought to let’s try and get there but they didn’t wait for me and the peloton was also chasing at that point with Bora. So that was my time trial of the day, early on in the stage when nobody was watching television!
I knew it would be very, very hard to win the stage with an uphill finish because I am not really a climber but I managed to get into a successful break and I also tried to do some sort of a final to try and escape before we hit the climb, I put a lot of effort into that for only 10 seconds.

Hendrik Redant – Sports Director
It was very strong performance from Victor today and he spent a huge amount of energy just to get into the break, as there were already eight guys in the front. It was really hard to close the gap at that point as there was already a lot of speed there and he really had to go fast.
He was riding to win today. We were planning on making an attack with about 20km to go as we knew the last climb was not going to be easy against Lafay and Gavazzi but we rode to win, he tried and got away a few times but at the end that last climb killed him off.
It was a great effort from Victor, sad we couldn’t win it and compliments to the winner and his team. A performance like this for the team is good for the morale of the team.

Pozzovivo forced to withdraw from Giro d’Italia following stage 6 crash

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Team Qhubeka ASSOS’ general classification leader Domenico Pozzovivo has sadly been forced to withdraw from the 104th Giro d’Italia following crashing twice on stage six from Grotte di Frasassi to Ascoli Piceno.

The 38-year-old crashed twice in the opening kilometres of the race, in extremely wet conditions, but gamely fought his way to the finish line as Ascoli Piceno.
Upon finishing he was immediately attended to by our team doctor and had an x-ray examination of the affected arm and ribs, which showed no sign of fracture. After an intensive night of treatment, a further assessment was conducted on Friday morning where it was deemed that it would not be possible to safely continue.

2021 saw Pozzovivo start the Corsa Rosa for the 15th time, with his ambitions high following his 11th place overall finish in 2020, and he started in blistering fashion with a superb opening stage time trial in Turin.
In 2019 Pozzovivo sustained major injuries in a crash with a car that at the time looked likely to end his career, before regaining full fitness and joining the team in January 2020.

Domenico Pozzovivo
I’m very sad to leave the Giro because my shape was very good and the team was doing a great Giro. It’s very hard to give up but my left arm, elbow, is in a condition that I can’t stay on a bike in any way so I had to take this decision.
Yesterday I went above the limit to finish the stage and to have some more hours to see the consequences of the crash. During the stage I was in big trouble to stay on the bike so I expected a miracle during the night but it hasn’t happened.
It will be very difficult in the next few days watching the other riders doing the climbs, the other mountain stages, but I think that I will be busy trying to recover very quickly and this is already a big motivation to come back earlier.

Gabriele Missaglia – Sports Director
This is obviously not good news for the team and I’m so disappointed for Domenico following the two crashes inside the first 10km. But at the same time we know that this is a part of our job and so in the next stages our strategy will change and we must continue in this Giro on other goals: day-by-day.
When Domenico left the team this morning I told him to stay calm, we did the absolute maximum as a team to keep him in the race. Our medical team worked through the night to give him the best chance to start this morning but finally it was impossible, and so we wish him a swift recovery. We all know he is a fighter, and the epitomises the spirit in this team.

Giro d’Italia – Etappe 5

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Modena – Cattolica – 177 Km

Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer

1 EWAN Caleb AUS LOTTO SOUDAL 04:07:01 42,99
2 NIZZOLO Giacomo ITA TEAM QHUBEKA ASSOS 00:00
3 VIVIANI Elia ITA COFIDIS 00:00
4 SAGAN Peter SVK BORA – HANSGROHE 00:00
5 GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando COL UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:00
6 MOSCHETTI Matteo ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:00
7 PASQUALON Andrea ITA INTERMARCHÉ – WANTY – GOBERT MATÉR. 00:00
8 GROENEWEGEN Dylan NED JUMBO-VISMA 00:00
9 BELLETTI Manuel ITA EOLO-KOMETA CYCLING TEAM 00:00
10 CIMOLAI Davide ITA ISRAEL START-UP NATION 00:00

1 DE MARCHI Alessandro ITA ISRAEL START-UP NATION 17:57:45
2 VERVAEKE Louis BEL ALPECIN-FENIX 00:42
3 OLIVEIRA Nelson POR MOVISTAR TEAM 00:48
4 VALTER Attila HUN GROUPAMA – FDJ 01:00
5 EDET Nicolas FRA COFIDIS 01:15
6 VLASOV Aleksandr RUS ASTANA – PREMIER TECH 01:24
7 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL DECEUNINCK – QUICK-STEP 01:28
8 BETTIOL Alberto ITA EF EDUCATION – NIPPO 01:37
9 CARTHY Hugh John GBR EF EDUCATION – NIPPO 01:38
10 BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley COL INEOS GRENADIERS 01:39

Peter Sagan Vierter nach hektischem Finale auf der 5. Etappe des Giro d’Italia

Auf der heutigen 171 km langen flachen Etappe von Modena nach Cattollica, die das Peloton bis an die adriatische Riviera führte, waren wieder die Sprinter an der Reihe und die Entscheidung fiel somit auch in einem Massensprint. Nach der gestrigen Regenschlacht waren die Wetterverhältnisse heute viel angenehmer und das Peloton ging das Rennen etwas entspannter an. Zwei Fahrer begaben sich gleich nach dem Startschuss in die Flucht, aber das Feld ließ sie nicht lange gewähren und holte das Duo nach 70 km wieder ein. Beim ersten Zwischensprint in Imola konnte Peter Sagan drei Punkte im Kampf um das Sprinttrikot sammeln. Danach blieb das Renngeschehen für längere Zeit unverändert während mehrere Teams, unter ihnen BORA – hansgrohe, gemeinsam das Tempo machten. 20 km später versuchten zwei Ausreißer ihr Glück in der Flucht, wurden aber auf den letzten Kilometern wieder gestellt. Nach einem starken Lead-Out von Daniel Oss lag Peter in dritter Position auf der Zielgeraden, lancierte von dieser Stelle seinen Sprint, und überquerte die Ziellinie beim Sieg von C. Ewan als Vierter.
Reaktionen im Ziel

„Wie erwartet, war es ein Tag für die reinen Sprinter, mit ziemlich technischen und kniffligen letzten Kilometern. Das Team hat wieder einen hervorragenden Job gemacht, Felix und Daniel waren auf dem letzten Kilometer sehr stark. Ich war in einer guten Position und hatte ein starkes Tempo, als ich mich für meinen Sprint bereit machte. Aber der Fahrer vor mir nahm raus, so dass ich auf den letzten Metern nicht mehr die optimale Geschwindigkeit hatte.“ – Peter Sagan

„Heute war eine Etappe wie aus dem Lehrbuch für Sprinter. Es war also klar, dass alle Teams mit endschnellen Männern einen Massensprint herbeiführen wollten. In der Mitte der Etappe gab es sehr starken Seitenwind, aber das hatte keinen großen Einfluss auf das Rennen, so dass am Ende alles für ein schnelles Finish im letzten und kniffligen Teil des Parcours an der Küste bereit war. Unser Fokus lag auf Peter, also das Team war da, um ihn zu unterstützen, aber auch um sicherzustellen, dass Emanuel sicher blieb und Stürze oder Zeitverluste vermieden werden. Peter war auf dem letzten Kilometer in einer ausgezeichneten Position, und Felix und Daniel haben einen tollen Job gemacht ihn zu positionieren. Er war in dritter Position, als er seinen Sprint starten wollte, aber verlor danach etwas an Geschwindigkeit und kam am Ende als Vierter ins Ziel.“ – Jan Valach, Sportlicher Leiter

Nizzolo takes the Giro d’Italia maglia ciclamino after nailbiting second on stage 5

Cattolica, 12 May 2021 – Team Qhubeka ASSOS sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo took yet another second place Giro d’Italia stage finish after being pipped on the line by Caleb Ewan on the stage five in Cattolica.
The European and Italian champion also placed second on stage two of the race, and so today’s result sees him take the lead in the points classification and so he will don the maglia ciclamino on Thursday in stage six.
After a fairly quiet opening 150km of the race day the very technical final 7km, as predicted, required excellent teamwork in order to position Nizzolo in the final kilometre. The Italian saw his opportunity and surged clear on the left-hand side, only to be beaten just on the line by the man from Lotto-Soudal.
That result was the 11th career second-place stage finish for Nizzolo on a stage at the race, where he also won the points classification in 2015 and 2016.
The rest of the team also safely navigated themselves home with Domenico Pozzovivo finishing the day in 18th position overall on the general classification.

Giacomo Nizzolo
Today the final was quite technical and I think I did a good sprint but yet again came up again against somebody just stronger than me on the day, hopefully the victory will come the next time.
As a team we did great today, we had a good plan, and we tried to make it happen. In the finale I asked the guys just to stay around me as I knew that in the corners I could take care of myself and everybody did exactly what I asked. I’m really proud of them and with this attitude we can really look forward to the next sprint. This sort of result speaks to the teamwork in our camp and the great spirit we have in wanting to fight for one another.
I want to thank all of the fans of the team for their support. I really hope to give them a stage victory the next time.

Hendrik Redant – Sports Director
The boys have had a great spirit and working really hard. It was weird to see that after 150km of straight line racing we had a very hectic final from the town of Rimini but they did everything was said this morning in the meeting: being in front, taking the roundabouts the way that we wanted them to do….they really did a great job.
At 4.5km to go there was a really tricky point where it was very dangerous but there everybody was still in a good position. And then Nizzolo took a really good decision in taking the wheel of Tim Merlier who was still very fast and strong and then he had a problem. In the end Caleb was really fast and beats us on the line, and it’s a well deserved victory for him, no regrets about that. We were close and hopefully next time we can take the next step.
The riders took a huge confidence boost from today. When I spoke to them afterwards I thanked them for following the instructions and their commitment to our team, this gives a big boost to us all. Seeing Giacomo there means all of that hard work is not for nothing and he gets the points jersey, so they can be proud.
We now look forward to the opportunities still to come!
Team Qhubeka ASSOS