Nathan Haas will leave a Katusha-Alpecin team mired in uncertainty and ride for Cofidis next year, signing a two-year contract with the WorldTour-hopeful French team. Haas joined Katusha in 2018 after spending two seasons with Dimension Data and three with what’s now EF Education First, but has struggled for results. His only victory came on stage 2 of the 2018 Tour of Oman, and he has been unable to build on his fourth place finish at the 2017 Amstel Gold Race. The team are yet to assure […]

Victor de la Parte (CCC Team) suffered multiple fractures as a result of the mass crash that saw him and three other riders abandon the Vuelta a España on stage 6. The Spaniard, who was placed 13th overall at the time, was immediately taken to hospital for X-rays. His team confirmed he had suffered a fractured left scapula and rib. "Victor was involved in a crash which took down a big group of riders," said team doctor Daniele Zaccaria. "He was riding in the middle of the bunch when it […]

The confusion surrounding Movistar's leadership hierarchy in the Vuelta a España appears to have been laid to rest after Nairo Quintana told Spanish media that teammate Alejandro Valverde is heading the squad's bid to win the race for a second time in four years. Both Quintana and Valverde have triumphed in the Vuelta in the past, the Colombian in 2016, two years after taking the Giro d'Italia, and Valverde back in 2009. Initially it appeared that Quintana would be Movistar's main GC […]

New Zealand’s George Bennett has described as "real nasty" the stage 6 Vuelta a España  pile-up that saw four riders, including former race leader Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb), abandon the race. The Jumbo-Visma rider was one of three from his team who went down, including Tony Martin and American Neilson Powless – both of whom had already crashed in the stage 1 team time trial. That crash on Saturday saw Steven Kruijswijk finally abandon on stage 4 with an injured knee, whilst after the […]

When it comes to betting on the UCI Road World Championships Road Race in September, one rider who already has worn the rainbow jersey, Belgium's Phillipe Gilbert (Deceunink-QuickStep), is surely an option that the bookies will have high on their list of possible winners. But in this year's Vuelta a España, so far, Gilbert has been flying a little bit under the radar. Deceuninck-Quick Step came within a whisker of victory in the opening team time trial – and only lost through no fault of […]

The Vuelta a España’s lead changed hands for a third time in six days on Wednesday as Bahrain-Merida’s Dylan Teuns claimed his first-ever Grand Tour overall leader’s jersey at the end of a long breakaway. Teuns was easily pipped to the line on stage 6 by Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) in a two-man duel at Ares de Maestrat’s grinding uphill finish. But having left the only other GC dangerman, David de La Cruz (Team Ineos), behind with four kilometres to go, the 27-year-old Belgian was still […]

EF Education First suffered a knock-out blow to their Vuelta a España hopes after the squad were involved in a major crash halfway through stage 6. Team leader Rigoberto Urán was one of the worst affected, with both the Colombian and one of the team’s best climbers, Hugh Carthy, forced out of the race. Others who suffered badly in the crash were former race leader Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb), and Victor de la Parte (CCC Team), both of whom abandoned. ADVERTISEMENT "A Jumbo-Visma rider […]

David de la Cruz got Team Ineos back on the front foot after a terrible start to the Vuelta a España  on Thursday, but he fell short of taking the victory or overall lead on stage 6, his struggles on the final climb hardly inspiring him with confidence despite his rise up the general classification. The Spaniard started the day 23rd overall, 4:35 down on leader Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) but the best-placed of Team Ineos, whose leaders Wout Poels and Tao Geoghegan Hart lost more than 10 […]

For the second day in a row, the peloton opted not to chase down the break of the day and the stage victory went to one of the four Pro Continental teams in the race, as Cofidis’s Jesús Herrada claimed his first Grand Tour success, compensating for his elder brother José’s defeat to Burgos-BH duo Madrazo and Bol 24 hours earlier. However, on this occasion the bunch’s decision not to commit also resulted in the red jersey changing hands, Bahrain’s Dylan Teuns moving into the lead as a […]

Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First) and Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) have abandoned the Vuelta a España after being involved in a massive crash with less than 90km left on stage 6. The extent of their injuries is unknown. Urán, who was his team's principal hope for the GC, came into stage 6 placed sixth overall, 59 seconds behind race leader Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).  The Colombian finished seventh in this year's Tour de France and in the 2018 Vuelta a España. He has previously had to […]