Belkin (Blanco) 2013 Season in Review

At the end of 2012 the cycling world looked like lost one of its icons following the ASADA reasoned decision. Rabobank stated it would no longer sponsor a team at the top level considered the depth of systematic doping in the sport. It could no longer associate its name with EPO and stepped away from the sport. It did however pledge to fund the team till the end of the contract it had signed. So in 2013 the season begun with Rabobank being rebranded as Blanco in a black, white and blue kit with all the riders knowing that they were chasing victories not for their palmares but to ensure the team would continue. 

At the Tour Down Under Tom Slagter won the overall and team shot to the top of the UCI World Tour rankings. For a team needed to secure a long term sponsor, Blanco were making headlines. In June it was made public the team had secured a new sponsor and would be known as Belkin. Therefore, the season is best reviewed in two halves with the Blanco spring season and the Summer of Belkin.

101st Tour de France Announcement

Overnight ASO announced the route of the 2014 Tour de France. The first three stage in England had been previously released so this was about what the French stages would look like. There were suggestions the race would encounter the cobbles in the north while paying tribute to the centenary of the first world war. In a hyper media world, there lacked any real surprise over the route as speculation was largely correct. So what does the route look like?
There will be 9 flat stages, 5 hill stages, 6 mountain stages with 5 altitude finishes, 1 individual time-trial stage and 2 rest days.

The race covers the eastern side of France in a clockwise ride. The stages in England are said to fancy the sprinters but there will be some rewards for puncheurs with lumpy stages. A stint in the yellow jersey is also going to ensure a nervy first week as riders fight for position on narrow roads marked on either side by rock fences. 

Astana 2013 Season in Review

The Kazak team had a successful 2012 season which was bookended by the Olympic road race victory by Alexander Vinokourov in London. The team underwent a change in personal and approach over the offseason with the acquisition of Vincenzo Nibali symbolising the shift to chasing grand tour victories. In 2008 the team tasted its first grand tour success when Alberto Contador won both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta de España. He added the Tour de France to his palmares the next season but after he left, Astana’s focus had turned to classics and weeklong stage races. 

Nibali’s arrival brought about a level of success the team had not enjoyed since Contador’s stint at the team. Nibali was victorious overall in three races and his pedigree covered over some of the cracks for the team in 2013. Kevin Seeldraeyers was the only other rider to record multiple wins for the season and this was disappointing feature among the highlights of the Giro and Vuelta.

Argos-Shimano 2013 Season in Review

The dual sprinting forces of Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb delivered in spades throughout the 2013 season. Besides notching win after win, Kittel’s ice vanilla haircut and Degenkolb’s moustache ensured the team was in the headlines even when not racing. Wins were common and varied although a lack of success in overall classification results meant the team finished the season with just one rider who had over 100 World Tour points to his name. 

Having stepped up to the World Tour level in 2013, the team proved it was more than worthy to complete across the season. The change from green trims to blue marked the team’s arrival to the top league and the team’s riders made sure that Argos-Shimano was regularly on people’s lips for only good reasons. 

Ag2r-La Mondiale 2013 Season in Review

In 2013 the cycling world rediscovered the joy of Colombians. Nairo Quintana’s superb Tour de France was a highlight for the South Americans but Carlos Betancur’s season was full of highlights. The French team’s new signings added flair and exposure although the tally board still lacked wins. The acquisition of Betancur ensured podium places the team but the season highlight was Christophe Riblon’s stage win at the Tour de France. Once again though, there was an imbalance of performances with only eight riders standing atop the podium. 

Ag2r had somewhat of a season of transition in chasing general classifications after the loss of Nicholas Roche. The Irishman moved over to Saxobank which led to change attack for Ag2r in the grand tours. Betancur had a super start to the season although could not maintain his form into September. Riblon had a super month in July and was the only rider to win a World Tour race. 

Romain Bardet will be burned with the pressure of being another the French hope for future Tour success but he may just be capable of delivering. His breakthrough Tour de France was representative of the team’s season, plenty of promise but no cigar.

The Month Ahead

After a lengthy absence of postings, the month ahead will see a return to regular blogging.
The World Tour team's will be reviewed will season highlights and lowlights. As well as teams, there will be rider and race features to come.

A Grand Five

In May at the Giro a short stage ended in a bunch sprint. Mark Cavendish was the beneficiary as he pulled on his first Paul Smith maglia rosa for a third stint in pink. The Manx man was one of five riders to wear the leaders jersey at the Giro which has set a trend in 2013. Although Ryder Hesjedal as defending champion at the Giro wore the pink jersey on the first stage, this is about jerseys as won on the road.

At the 2012 Giro five riders had the pleasure of making their way to the podium to pull on the pink fleece. At the 2012 Tour there was just one change in the maillot jaune as Fabian Cancellara and Bradley Wiggins racked up the plush lions toys for their kids.

At the Vuelta there were four red jersey wearers with the first jersey wearer of the race, Jonathan Castroviejo the odd one out. He was the only rider to have worn red and not finished on the podium.

2013 Vuelta a España Starlist

MOVISTAR TEAM 1   VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro Spain 2   CAPECCHI Eros Italy 3   ERVITI Imanol Spain 4   GUTIERREZ PALACIOS José Ivan Spain 5   HERRADA LOPEZ José Spain 6   INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Benat Spain 7   LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo Spain 8   MORENO BAZAN Javier Spain 9   SZMYD Sylvester Poland AG2R LA MONDIALE 11   POZZOVIVO Domenico Italy 12   BÉRARD Julien France 13   BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto Colombia 14   CHAINEL Steve France 15   CHEREL Mickaël France 16   GASTAUER Ben Luxembourg 17   MONDORY Lloyd France 18   MONTAGUTI Matteo Italy 19   NOCENTINI Rinaldo Italy TEAM ARGOS - SHIMANO 21   ARNDT Nikias Germany 22   BARGUIL Warren France 23   FROHLINGER Johannes Germany 24   HUPOND Thierry France 25   JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt South Africa 26   PETERSON Thomas United States 27   PREIDLER Georg Austria 28   SINKELDAM Ramon Netherlands 29   STAMSNIJDER Tom Netherlands ASTANA PRO TEAM 31   NIBALI Vincenzo Italy 32   BRAJKOVIC Janez Slovenia 33   FUGLSANG Jakob Denmark 34   GRIVKO Andriy Ukraine 35   IGLINSKIY Maxim Kazahkstan 36   KANGERT Tanel Estonia 37   TIRALONGO Paolo Italy 38   VANOTTI Alessandro Italy 39   ZEITS Andrey Kazahkstan BELKIN PROCYCLING TEAM 41   MOLLEMA Bauke Netherlands 42   BOS Theo Netherlands 43   BROWN Graeme Australia 44   CLEMENT Stef Netherlands 45   GARATE Juan Manuel Spain 46   SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon Spain 47   TANNER David Australia 48   TEN DAM Laurens Netherlands 49   WAGNER Robert Germany BMC RACING TEAM 51   GILBERT Philippe Belgium 52   EIJSSEN Yannick Belgium 53   KOHLER Martin Switzerland 54   LANDER Sebastian Denmark 55   LODEWYCK Klaas Belgium 56   NERZ Dominik Germany 57   PINOTTI Marco Italy 58   SANTAROMITA Ivan Italy 59   WYSS Danilo Switzerland CAJA RURAL - SEGUROS RGA 61   ARROYO DURAN David Spain 62   ARAMENDIA LORENTE Javier Spain 63   CARDOSO Andre Fernando S. Martins Portugal 64   FERRARI Fabricio Uruguay 65   GARCIA FERNANDEZ Marcos Spain 66   LASCA Francesco Italy 67   PIEDRA PEREZ Antonio Spain 68   TXURRUKA ANSOLA Amets Spain 69   VELASCO MURILLO Ivan Spain CANNONDALE 71   BASSO Ivan Italy 72   BOIVIN Guillaume Canada 73   DALL'ANTONIA Tiziano Italy 74   HAEDO Lucas Sebastian Argentina 75   LONGO BORGHINI Paolo Italy 76   PATERSKI Maciej Poland 77   RATTO Daniele Italy 78   SARMIENTO TUNARROSA Cayetano José Colombia 79   WURF Cameron Australia COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS 81   COPPEL Jerome France 82   BAGOT Yohan France 83   BESSY Cyril France 84   EDET Nicolas France 85   MATE MARDONES Luis Angel Spain 86   PETIT Adrien France 87   POULHIES Stéphane France 88   SIJMENS Nico Belgium 89   ZINGLE Romain Belgium EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 91   SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel Spain 92   ANTON HERNANDEZ Igor Spain 93   AZANZA SOTO Jorge Spain 94   LANDA MEANA Mikel Spain 95   MARTINEZ DE ESTEBAN Egoi Spain 96   NIEVE ITURALDE Mikel Spain 97   OROZ UGALDE Juan Jose Spain 98   URTASUN PEREZ Pablo Spain 99   VERDUGO MARCOTEGUI Gorka Spain FDJ.FR 101   PINOT Thibaut France 102   COURTEILLE Arnaud France 103   ELISSONDE Kenny France 104   GENIEZ Alexandre France 105   MANGEL Laurent France 106   PINEAU Cedric France 107   ROUX Anthony France 108   SOUPE Geoffrey France 109   VEIKKANEN Jussi Finland GARMIN - SHARP 111   MARTIN Daniel Ireland 112   FAIRLY Caleb United States 113   FARRAR Tyler United States 114   FERNANDEZ DE LARREA Koldo Spain 115   HOWES Alex United States 116   KREDER Michel Netherlands 117   NUYENS Nick Belgium 118   RASMUSSEN Alex Denmark 119   VAN SUMMEREN Johan Belgium KATUSHA TEAM 121   RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin Spain 122   CARUSO Giampaolo Italy 123   GUSEV Vladimir Russia 124   ISAYCHEV Vladimir Russia 125   KOZONTCHUK DmitrIy Russia 126   LOSADA ALGUACIL Alberto Spain 127   MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel Spain 128   PAOLINI Luca Italy 129   VICIOSO ARCOS Angel Spain LAMPRE - MERIDA 131   SCARPONI Michele Italy 132   ANACONA Winner Anrew Colombia 133   BONO Matteo Italy 134   DODI Luca Italy 135   GRAZIATO Massimo Italy 136   MORI Manuele Italy 137   RICHEZE Ariel Maximiliano Argentina 138   STORTONI Simone Italy 139   ULISSI Diego Italy LOTTO - BELISOL TEAM 141   DE CLERCQ Bart Belgium 142   DE GREEF Francis Belgium 143   HANSEN Adam Australia 144   HENDERSON Gregory New Zealand 145   REYNES MIMO Vicente Spain 146   VAN DE WALLE Jurgen Belgium 147   VAN DER SANDE Tosh Belgium 148   VANENDERT Jelle Belgium 149   VANENDERT Dennis Belgium TEAM NETAPP - ENDURA 151   KONIG Leopold Czech Republic 152   BARTA Jan Czech Republic 153   CAMANO ORTUZAR Iker Spain 154   DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David Spain 155   DEMPSTER Zakkari Australia 156   HUZARSKI Bartosz Poland 157   PIMENTA COSTA MENDES José Joao Portugal 158   SCHORN Daniel Austria 159   VOSS Paul Germany OMEGA PHARMA - QUICKSTEP CYCLING TEAM 161   MARTIN Tony Germany 162   DE WEERT Kevin Belgium 163   FENN Andrew United Kingdom 164   MEERSMAN Gianni Belgium 165   PAUWELS Serge Belgium 166   SERRY Pieter Belgium 167   STYBAR Zdenek Czech Republic 168   VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume Belgium 169   VANDEWALLE Kristof Belgium ORICA GREENEDGE 171   GERRANS Simon Australia 172   BEWLEY Sam New Zealand 173   CLARKE Simon Australia 174   COOKE Baden Australia 175   DOCKER Mitchell Australia 176   HOWARD Leigh Australia 177   MEIER Christian Canada 178   MATTHEWS Michael Australia 179   SULZBERGER Wesley Australia RADIOSHACK LEOPARD 181   CANCELLARA Fabian Switzerland 182   BUSCHE Matthew United States 183   HERMANS Ben Belgium 184   HORNER Christopher United States 185   IRIZAR ARANBURU Markel Spain 186   KISERLOVSKI Robert Croatia 187   POPOVYCH Yaroslav Ukraine 188   RAST Grégory Switzerland 189   ZUBELDIA AGIRRE Haimar Spain SKY PROCYCLING 191   HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Colombia 192   BOASSON HAGEN Edvald Norway 193   CATALDO Dario Italy 194   KIRYIENKA Vasil Belarus 195   KNEES Christian Germany 196   PUCCIO Salvatore Italy 197   ROWE Luke United Kingdom 198   URAN Rigoberto Colombia 199   ZANDIO ECHAIDE Xabier Spain TEAM SAXO - TINKOFF 201   KREUZIGER Roman Czech Republic 202   MAJKA Rafal Poland 203   MORKOV Michael Denmark 204   PETROV Evgeni Russia 205   ROCHE Nicholas Ireland 206   SØRENSEN Chris Anker Denmark 207   SØRENSEN Nicki Denmark 208   TOSATTO Matteo Italy 209   ZAUGG Oliver Switzerland VACANSOLEIL - DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM 211   POELS Wouter Netherlands 212   BOLE Grega Slovenia 213   DE GENDT Thomas Belgium 214   FLECHA GIANNONI Juan Antonio Spain 215   HOOGERLAND Johnny Netherlands 216   MARCZYNSKI Tomasz Poland 217   MARKUS Barry Netherlands 218   VALLS FERRI Rafael Spain 219   WESTRA Lieuwe Netherlands