UCI Headquarters, Aigle, Switzerland 1st October 2013
*** BREAKING NEWS ***
UCI: WorldTour to go back 18 teams
Cycling's Governing Body today announced that the WorldTour will return for to 18 teams for the 2014 season.
After Katusha's rejection, appeal and admittance to the WorldTour last season, the number of team in Cycling's Top Tier has been 19, but the UCI have decided to bring that number back to 18 for the new 2014 season and beyond.
The decision means that 3 teams are going to be relegated to the ProContinental level at the end of the seaosn, with only two being promoted. The ProContinental level will consist of the 19 best Continental and ProContinental, minus the 2 promoted teams, plus the 3 relegated WorldTour teams.
With one month of racing left, Vacansoleil-DCM, AG2R-La Mondiale, Euskatel-Euskadi, FDJ.fr and Lampre-Merida are all battling to beat the drop, whilst Team Europcar and Colombia are certainties for Promotion come the end of the month.
Four races left of the season, and October starts with Milano-Torino.
Growing in prestige every year, more and more big riders are coming to the race as part of their end of season preparations.
Villella will lead the team, where he will be supported by Gerdemann, Simon Yates and Southam.
St-Pierre and Ludvigsson will play a free role, whilst Quaade and Fleeman will work as domestiques.
Race Report
A group of 6 attacked, including Ludvigsson, as the flag dropped, and formed the day's break.
Astana and AG2R took the early control of the peleton, as the gap to the lead group stretched out to 8'22.
Approaching the climbing circuit to finish, the gap was down to 2'22, and it was definitely going to be caught on the first ascension of the climb.
As expected, the group was fully back, and the main favourites positioned themselves towards the front.
Rodriguez (KAT) and Henao (SKY) made the first move of the favourites, as another group, containing Villella, formed behind.
On the final climb, Rodriguez kicked again to take win. Henao finished second. Roman Kreuziger (TST) made a late move to take third. Davide rode well, but just faded in the final kilometre and finished 11th.
One of our final races in Italy, and for many riders their final races of the season as well.
After Milano-Torino, we are quite optimistic about our chances at Piemonte. Davide will lead the team, with Gerdemann working as Road Captain. Simon Yates will offer support, along with Ludvigsson.
St-Pierre will ride in a free role, whilst Monier, Howson and Fleeman will be domestiques.
Race Profile
Race Report
A group of 5 attacked from the start of the stage, with St-Pierre making his presence known.
A number of teams took control of the peleton, as the gap grew to 5'43" very quickly.
Approaching the finishing circuit, the break's lead was down to 1'33", and the peleton was coming into view.
Everything was brought back together and the descent off the climb, and on the second ascent, Villella went on the attack.
5km to go, Davide was one of 5 off the front of the group of favourites behind. Frank (BMC) lead on the road, with Nocentini (ALM), Ulissi (LAM) and Kiryienka (SKY) chasing ahead of Villella.
It would be Frank who would take the win, just finishing ahead of Ulissi and Nocentini. Villella crossed the line in 5th, 1'04 down on the Swiss rider.
National Cycling Centre, Manchester, UK 8th October 2013
*** BREAKING NEWS ***
Rapha withdraws its Sponsorship from Rapha-Bianchi team
Rapha bosses today announced today that it will end its sponsorship with Rapha-Bianchi Racing Team at the end of the season, despite signing a 3-year deal at the start of the year.
It has been a turbulent first season for the Anglo-Italian team, both on and off the road, but after successfully second half of the season, it had appeared to all-ok in camp.
Rapha released a statement shortly after the news reached the Cycling Press, citing ambitions within other projects, presumably Sky ProCycling and RaphaCondor-JTL, as the main reason for the withdrawl. Rapha will honour the second year of its contract, financially backing the team during the 2014 season, whilst they begin the search for a new Lead Sponsor.
Team Manager Phil Hoyle was left devestated at the news, and even confirmed that he heard the news from several people before Rapha contacted him.
Our final flat race of the season, and it comes at the prestigious Paris-Tour race. A race with a huge amount of history, and we are delighted to come to be part of it.
Caleb will lead the line in the sprints for the final time this season, with a squad built around him. Lavery is his usual right hand man, as well Simon Yates, Owain Doull, Damien Monier and Rasmus Quaade.
Remy Di Gregorio returns to give his legs a stretch before the final race in Italy, and will ride a free role along with Howson.
Race Profile
Race Report
Remy was part of the 7 man breakaway, as the French riders / teams wanted to give themselves some TV time on home soil.
A number of teams took up controlling the peleton, that including some big sprinting power, with Cavendish (OPQ), Greipel (LTB) and Degenkolb (ARG) all present.
With 10km to go, all but two riders were caught by the peleton. Vachon (BSE) attacked, with Costa (MOV) in chase.
As the sprint approached, the pair were still off the front of the peleton. More amazingly, Degenkolb, Cavendish and Greipel had all taken Caleb's wheel!
Vachon takes the win! The Frenchman holds on, and takes one of the biggest wins of his career. Degenkolb is the quickest of the sprinters, to take second, with Costa stealing 3rd. Ewan struggled in the sprint, finishing 9th.
Our last race of the season, and the last race under the name of Rapha-Bianchi Racing Team. The team want to go out with pride, and show the Rapha bosses what we are made of.
Remy Di Gregorio and Simon Yates will co-lead the team in Italy, with support coming from St-Pierre, Earle and Southam.
Quaade and Doull will work as domestiques, and Howson will ride in a free role.
Race Profile
Race Report
A group of 4, including Howson, attacked after 5km into the race, and despite attempts from other, they formed the day's break
Astana and RadioShack took the control of the peleton, and seemed comfortable to let the escapees build a good lead.
The break were allowed a maximum of 8'44", before the chase back began. With 30km to go, it was all pulled back together, as Cancellara (RLT) attacked.
A group of 23 riders formed behind Cancellara, as the chase to pull him back was on. Howson and Earle worked hard on the front, seeing a good chance for Yates to shine at the finish.
Cancellara was caught in the last 1km, and suddenly Kristoff (KAT) went early in order to steal the glory, as it became very unorganised behind...
Victory to Kristoff! The Norwegian was unstoppable in the end, and comfortably took the win. Iglinskiy (AST) was second, as Cancellara hung on for 3rd. Yates struggled with the finish, and as the peleton came back together, he could only finish 16th.
The final month of Racing, and all was at stake for many teams in the last two WorldTour races of the season.
Il Lombardia
Chris Froome (SKY) finished the season on some good form, as he outsprinted Vincenzo Nibali (AST) to the victory. Alejandro Valverde completed the podium, as new World Champion Dan Martin (GRS) struggled in 11th place.
.
Name
Team
Time
1
Chris Froome
Sky ProCycling
5h55'59
2
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana ProTeam
s.t.
3
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
+ 45
Tour of Beijing
Like with the Tour of Oman earlier in the season, consistency was the key for Peter Sagan (CAN), as he took the Over GC victory in China. Elia Favilli (LAM) finished second, with Diego Ulissi (LAM) in third. Chris Anker Sorensen (TST) took home the KoM jersey, with Sagan comfortably win the Points and Under 25 Classifications.
And so the season has come to a close. It was an eventful season for all involved!
The season opened with Alexandr Kolobnev won the first WorldTour race of the season in Australia, whilst Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali showed their early season form at Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.
Fabian Cancellara gave a warning to his Cobbled rivals by winning Milan-San Remo and E3-Harelbeke comfortably, but was given a reminder of his competition when Tom Boonen won Gent-Wevelgem and walked away with the Ronde van Vlaanderen title! Amongst all the Cobbled action, Ryder Hesjedal showed some form before the Ardennes Races and Giro d'Italia by winning in the Volta a Catalunya.
April began with Alejandro Valverde proving he was the King of the Basque Country, whilst Tom Boonen confirmed that he was the King of the Cobbles with dominating victory in Paris-Roubaix. Philippe Gilbert and Peter Sagan took to battle in the Ardennes Classics, where Igor Anton pulled off a shock to win La Fleche Wallonne.
In the build up to the Giro, Vincenzo Nibali won the Tour de Romandie, but it would be Chris Froome who would became the first British winner of the Maglia Rosa. Froome would carry his form from the Giro into the Criterium du Dauphine, as Valverde finalised his Tour de France preparation by winning the Tour de Suisse.
All eyes were on Le Tour in July, as Alberto Contador was victorious once again in the Grand Boucle, whilst Joaquim Rodriguez (KAT) finished the month strongly by taking the win in San Sebastian.
August brought about victories in Poland for Andrey Amador, Cancellara at the Eneco Tour and a big win for Ramon Sinkeldam at the Vattenfall Cyclassics. However, the big news came from Spain, as Roman Kreuziger won his Grand Tour at the Vuelta a Espana, making history by being the first every Czech rider to win a Grand Tour in the process.
Nacer Bouhanni scored a big win at GP Ouest France-Plouay, before Gilbert signed off his year in the Rainbow Stripes with a win at GP de Quebec. Juan Antonio Flecha would rolled back the years in GP de Montreal to take a win that almost seal Vacansoleil's survival in the WorldTour for next season.
It was the 'Martin' show in the World Championship in Tuscany, as Tony Martin won the ITT and Dan Martin emulated his uncle, Stephen Roche, to win the Men's Road Race Title for Ireland.
The season ended with Chris Froome dominating in Il Lombardia to take the win, and Peter Sagan looking untouchable in Beijing to seal the overall victory in the last WT race of the season.
After a season like that, fans are already counting down to the 2014 Season curtain riser in Australia.
Season Review - Rapha-Bianchi Racing Team
The first season in the Cycling Peleton was not exactly the smoothest for the team, but my god, it was an exciting one! The team took 20 victories (10 stage win // 10 Classification wins) over the course of the season, with a further 31 podium placings (22 stage podiums // 9 Classification podiums).
Without any real big Leader in the Continental standings, Rapha-Bianchi Racing Team ended the season in 3rd Place in the Overall Standings, showing what a fantantic team effort it really was.
Sadly however, without an Wildcard entries to the WorldTour events, we unable to gain promotion to the WorldTour this time.
The team, currently without a Sponsor or a Name for the 2014 season, have grown in both size and stature, and Promotion will be the main target for next season. Entries to all WorldTour races will be applied for, with the hope that we now have a team that can challenge the Big Teams in the peleton.
Season Review - Rapha-Bianchi Ins/Outs
.......
Riders In
Riders Out
Marco Canola
Jonathan Bellis
Eros Capecchi
Dan Fleeman
Esteban Chaves
Trent Lowe
Sonny Colbrelli
Rene Mandri
Marco Frapporti
Tom Southam
Matej Mohoric
Moreno Moser
Nelson Oliveira
Luke Rowe
Tobais Ludvigsson
Season Review - Promotions/Relegations
WorldTour
.......
Promoted
Relegated
Bardiani Valvole-CSF
Euskatel-Euskadi
Team Europcar
Orica-GreenEdge
Vacansoleil-DCM ProCycling
ProContinental
.......
Promoted
Relegated
Bretange Seche
CCC-Polsat
Jamis-Hagen Berman
Champion Systems
La Pomme Marseille
MTN-Qhubeka
Team Gourmetfein
RusVelo
Team Nippo-De Rosa
Team Novo-Nordisk
UnitedHealthCare ProCycling
Velo d'Or Award
As with every season, the Top Cycling Journalists have their chance to vote for the prestigious Velo d'Or award for the Best Rider of the Season.
The 2013 Nominations
Philippe Gilbert, Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Simon Gerrans, Vincenzo Nibali, Tom Boonen, Roman Kreuziger, Fabian Cancellara, Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Qunitana.
The 2013 Velo d'Or Winner
Spoiler
1. Chris Froome // 2. Tom Boonen // 3. Alberto Contador
@mvh: Villella finishing 5th in Piemonte was the highlight of the final month Yeah... Froome winning Lombardia made me like that as well.
@sutty: I am happy with the new bunch of riders
@sutty & mvh: Rapha pulling out has been on the cards since April really... I will explain all about it below
*****
I feel now that the season is over, that I shall explain the reason for the 'sudden withdrawl' of Rapha as a sponsor in my story. From literally day one, when my story about a Mystery British team was announced, I knew I made the wrong choice. It was a lot like so many things I have done in the past, and I don't think the story took off like I wanted it to. Some peoples reactions to 'another British team' showed that.
I wanted to think of a good way of getting rid of Rapha, so I came up with a number of story lines (fighting at races/discipline hearings, failed non-Italian goals, suspicious results from other teams/UCI investigations) but none of them really seemed to fit with where I wanted the story to go. The team was performing above all expectations, and an upset sponsor just didn't work. I did not want to follow a 'doping scandal' storyline, as I see that coming into a lot of stories, and it seemed a bit of cop-out to what I had built the story up to.
In the end, I just got myself to the end of the season, and had them walk away to concentrate on other projects (like they have considered in real life with RaphaCondor last season). Some of the reports towards the end of the season were a little rushed and sloppy and I can only apologise for that. I really hope that this has not taken anything away from people's enjoyment when reading my story.
I had thought of taking a break from this, but after my nomination for SotM I am going to be continue, with a new sponsor (all will be revealed later this week), and I am going to be bring a bit of follower interaction into my story, so watch out for that!
UCI Headquarters, Aigle, Switzerland 
one of my favorite riders to one of the stupidest team 
Milano-Torino 
Joaquím Rodríguez
Sergio Henao
Roman Kreuziger
Fränk Schleck
Maxim Iglinskiy
Jan Bakelants
Vasil Kiryienka
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Cameron Meyer
National Cycling Centre, Manchester, UK 
Paris-Tours 
John Degenkolb
Rui Costa
Tour of Beijing 
Peter Sagan
Chris Anker Sorensen
R. Zoidl (RWS)
BMC Racing Team
Rene Mandri
Matej Mohoric
Tobais Ludvigsson
Vacansoleil-DCM ProCycling
CCC-Polsat
MTN-Qhubeka
RusVelo
Team Nippo-De Rosa
