Good morning and a warm welcome to today's Cycling Weekly live blog, where I, Tom Thewlis will be bringing you all of the essential news in the world of cycling.
I'll also be taking you through stage five of the Giro d'Italia from Atripalda to Salerno.
While on paper stage five appears to be a rare opportunity for the sprinters, the earlier half of the course could end up destroying any possibility of the fast men making it to the line for a mass bunch sprint.
You can check out the stage five route in more detail in our Giro route analysis.
Are you planning on tuning into the Giro today? Find out how you can catch all the action in our how to watch guide.
Key updates (BST)
- 09:35 am - Cyclist killed in Mallorca
- 10:37 am - Team DSM to be relaunched in mid-June
- 11:24 am - UCI Track Champions League to return to London in November
- 11:38 - Giro d'Italia stage four recap
- 12:08 - We're underway with four riders in the days breakaway
- 12:38 - Remco Evenepoel crashes after stray dog runs into the road
Cyclist killed in Mallorca after motorcyclist under influence of drugs collides with group ride head on
A Polish cyclist on holiday in Mallorca has been killed after a motorcyclist, who later tested positive for drugs, lost control of his Harley-Davidson and careered into a group ride.
According to a report from Road CC, the incident happened last Friday at around 3pm local time on the Serra Tramuntana road near Pollença in the north of the island.
As well as one rider being killed in the incident, two other cyclists suffered injuries.
Both the motorcyclist and the worst injured of the three cyclists were immediately rushed to hospital, with one of the cyclists in a critical state and later dying from his injuries.
According to Mallorca Diario, the motorcyclist- a 62-year-old Spaniard- later tested positive for drugs and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of reckless homicide and driving a vehicle under the influence of drugs.
New laws to allow longer lorries on UK roads 'could cost lives' of pedestrians and cyclists
The UK government is to allow longer lorries on UK roads to reduce the number of journeys- despite fears the move will cost lives.
According to a report from Sky News, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that lorry trailers up to 61ft (18.55 metres) long - some 6ft 9inches (20.05 metres) longer than the standard size- will be permitted from 31 May under legislation going before Parliament on Wednesday.
However, it is feared the changes will create greater dangers for pedestrians and cyclists, and the potential for damage to roadside infrastructure.
Vehicles covered by the new laws have a larger tail swing- meaning their rear end covers a greater area when turning- and extended blind spots.
Keir Gallagher, campaigns manager at Cycling UK, told Sky News: "At a time when funding for infrastructure to keep people cycling and walking safer has been cut, it's alarming that longer and more hazardous lorries could now be allowed to share the road with people cycling and walking.
"Before opening the floodgates to longer lorries rolling into our busy town centres and narrow rural lanes, further testing in real-life scenarios should have been done to assess and address the risks."
Team DSM to be relaunched in mid-June as DSM-Firmenich in time for Tour de France
According to the Radio Cycling podcast, DSM- the team of the current Giro d'Italia leader Andreas Leknessund- will be relaunched in mid-June and known as DSM-Firmenich in time for the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia Donne.
Check out Friday's episode for further details.
💥 Exclusive: @TeamDSM will be relaunched in mid-June as DSM-Firmenich, with a rebrand and new kit in time for @LeTour and @giro_donne.@cmbell310 will have all the scoop's details, including what it means to the team's finances, in episode 3 of RadioCycling, released on Friday.May 10, 2023
Peloton set for a day of rain at Giro d'Italia
If Thibaut Pinot's Twitter is anything to go by, then it looks like the riders at the Giro d'Italia are set for a day of wet weather riding at the Italian Grand Tour.
The weather in Italy can often be unpredictable in May, and Pinot shared a photo taken from the front window of his team bus on the way to the start of todays stage in what looked like a heavy downpour.
Reality 🌧 pic.twitter.com/sdih42DsSOMay 10, 2023
The Frenchman's tweet was a jokey response to one from Jumbo-Visma which shows a line of team cars making their way to the start of the stage in what appeared to be glorious sunshine.
Pinot added the caption "reality" in response to the Dutch teams post.
👋👋👋#Giro #GirodItalia https://t.co/hYTeci2A09May 10, 2023
UCI Track Champions League to return to London in November
The UCI Track Champions League is set to return to London in November for round four and the Grand Finale.
The competition has visited the capital for the past two seasons with the Lee Valley VeloPark playing host to the event.
Full ticket details will be announced in due course, but mark your diaries for the 10th and 11th of November.
We'll go back to London in 2023! 🇬🇧The past 2 seasons have proved to be the perfect ending for the #UCITCL in the amazing atmosphere of @LeeValleyVP!📅 10th November 2023 - Round 411th November 2023 - Grand FinaleStay tuned for the ticket sales!@UCI_Track @WBDsports pic.twitter.com/GvfbJzyxoNMay 10, 2023
ICYMI Giro stage four recap
Aurélien Paret-Peintre of AG2R Citroën Team won stage four of the Giro yesterday.
On the mountainous stage to Lago Laceno, the Frenchman was part of the days breakaway with a handful of riders including Andreas Leknessund (DSM) and Toms Skujiņš (Trek-Segafredo).
After Leknessund launched a late attack from the leading group on the final climb, Paret-Peintre managed to bridge across on the false flat towards the finish line.
Eventually the Frenchman simply had too much power, flying past a tiring Leknessund to grab an impressive stage win.
However, Leknessund simply had bigger fish to fry.
DSM's Norwegian star took over the lead in the overall standings, pulling on the pink jersey at the finish. Leknessund took over the Maglia Rosa from Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and also became the first rider from the Arctic circle to pull on pink in Italy.
Leknessund now leads the race with a time of 14-35-44. Evenepoel is 28 seconds back in second place, with Paret-Peintre in third a further two seconds back.
Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) is fifth at 1-12 from Leknessund, with Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) in sixth at 1-26 from the Norwegian.
Great Britain's Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) is a further four seconds behind in ninth at 1-30.
We're underway!
We're underway on stage five and it's absolutely pouring down in southern Italy.
173 riders have started the fifth stage after we've had three more abandons over night.
Along with Rémy Rochas (Cofidis) who has abandoned due to sickness, Valerio Conti (Corratec) and Ramon Sinkledam (Alpecin-Deceuninck) have also left the race.
Conti has a fractured pelvis picked up in a crash earlier in the race and Sinkledam has also gone down with sickness overnight.
We're just waiting for the flag drop from Stefano Allocchio to signal the official start of the stage.
Thibaut Pinot on the move
Several riders have immediately launched an attempt to form a breakaway in the pouring rain, with the weather making conditions incredibly treacherous out on the road.
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ) is one of them.
The Frenchman has just narrowly escaped hitting the deck with two of his breakaway compatriots going down on an early turn.
You can really hear brakes screeching on the television pictures in the torrential rain. Not a day to be out on your bike whatsoever.
Here's some footage of the small crash. Stefano Gandin (Corratec) the first rider to crash is going to be sore in the morning! Ouch!
😬 Hoy la etapa puede complicarse un poco por las condiciones meteorológicas💥 Primeras caídas bajo la lluvia en el @giroditalia pic.twitter.com/n5I4QNSUuPMay 10, 2023
Evenepoel is down!
Terrible images filtering through from Italy!
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) along with a couple of other teammates have just been involved in a crash in the rain. Evenepoel was sat on the ground for a few minutes looking in a bit of discomfort, but has managed to get back to his feet and remount his bike.
It looks like a stray dog ran into the road causing a Quick-Step rider to slip which resulted in a few others riders crashing.
I think the Quick-Step rider was Davide Ballerini.
Not what you need at all!
Evenepoel is being paced back to the bunch with several teammates in front of him.
There's no real panic and he should get back into the bunch fairly easily.... but is he injured?
Thumbs up from the World Champion
Evenepoel and his teammates are nearly back in the main field.
The Belgian has just given a thumbs up to the television cameras, so fingers crossed he's ok!
Louis Vervaeke was instantly by his teammates side when that crash happened earlier. Excellent quick respond from Soudal Quick-Step to the incident.
#Giro 🇮🇹 - 🏁 148 kmRemco Evenepoel seems to be okay after all.#DomestiqueLive pic.twitter.com/PtIiUrRgxiMay 10, 2023
Here's a clip of Evenepoel on the ground earlier.
¡AL SUELO @EvenepoelRemco! 🚨🚨🚴♂️ Le ha costado un buen rato al belga volver a montarse en la bicicleta con aparentes gestos de dolor📺💻📲 Sigue la quinta etapa del @giroditalia en #E1 y en la APP de @Eurosport_ES pic.twitter.com/0C4wA2SasqMay 10, 2023
Evenepoel back safely in the bunch, 132 kilometres to go
After that brief scare earlier, Remco Evenepoel is back in the bunch as the peloton begins to climb.
We've 131 kilometres left to race and the sun looks like its starting to appear. A welcome sign for the peloton.
Thomas Champion (Cofidis), Stefano Gandin (Corratec) and Samuele Zoccarato (Green Project-Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) are all still up the road.
After being involved in the leading group earlier, Thibaut Pinot is now back in the main field.
Who will grab the win in Salerno?
It's highly likely one of the fast men will win in Salerno this afternoon.
Whoever grabs the victory will join a pretty prestigious list of winners in the town in Campania. As well as Stefano Allochio, Fausto Coppi and Alredo Binda have also won in Salerno.
Evenepoel crash
We have our own story on the Evenepoel crash earlier.
Fortunately he looks to be ok.
Meanwhile we have 125 kilometres left to race and that brief hope of sun seems to have disappeared.
Hello! Adam here, taking over the live blog while Tom gets some lunch. It is still wet in south Italy.
121km to go: The breakaway, the three that are left in it, have just over two minutes ahead on the chasing peloton. They seem to have given up hope on staying away, what little hope there was to begin with. It is not as if the bunch are chasing on behind, however, with DSM, UAE Team Emirates, Trek-Segafredo, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arkéa Samsic controlling on the front. It is a slippery day.
119km to go: However, all is not over for the three men - Champion, Zoccarato and Gandin up front. The twists and turns on the final few kilometres could mean they last longer than it looks like at the moment. Still, that appears to be all they can dream of right now. It is as relaxed as it can be in the bunch right now.
118km to go: It is relaxed enough for some riders to stop for - umm - a comfort breaks. For those of you keeping track, Trek are riding for Mads Pedersen; DSM are riding as they have the pink jersey wearer, Andreas Leknessund; Arkéa are riding for David Dekker; Alpecin are riding for Kaden Groves, and UAE are riding for Pascal Ackermann. All of whom are solid options come the end of the day. Oh and Movistar are there for Fernando Gaviria too. No-one is putting the pressure on.
92km to go: What a filthy and sodden descent the riders are enduring right now. The care they are taking is clear to see and they will no doubt be relieved to get back to level ground – or even the next climb – after this. They would have been expecting more weather-wise from southern Italy.
STEFANO GANDIN TAKES INTERMEDIATE SPRINT
107km to go: Breakaway man Gandin took the intermediate sprint, followed by Champion and Zoccorato. Back in the bunch, Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) fought and won the points ahead of Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla).
53 kilometres to go: We're into the final 50 kilometres of the days action and the breakaway to the gap is down to 50 seconds. All of the riders have crested the final climb of the day and now we're heading downhill pretty much all the way to the line.
KOM result
Samuele Zoccarato from the breakaway was the first man over the final climb of the day, the category three Oliveto Citra, with Champion in second and Gandin in third.
As the peloton approached, Pinot burst away from the bunch to grab the final remaining point and extend his lead in the mountains classification.
After today's two climbs, Pinot now leads the competition with 40 points with Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Trek-Segafredo) in second place with 26 points and Aurélien Paret-Peintre (AG2r Citroën) in third with 22.
47 kilometres to go: Correction! Looks like Champion was first at the intermediate sprint point earlier with Gandin in second.
Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) grabbed the remaining point when the peloton arrived with Michael Matthews (Jayco AIULA in second and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in third.
34 kilometres to go: The gap back to the peloton for the break has jumped back out to a minute and a half as we came off the final descent. It has been such a horrible day out for the riders in this weather.
Jayco-AIUla seem full of confidence after Michael Matthews' stage win earlier this week and are working along with Trek-Segafredo and Alpecin-Deceuninck to try and bring the breakaway back.
31 kilometres to go: The peloton seem understandably very unwilling to take any risks as they chase the breakaway as the roads are incredibly slippery.
After being beaten by Matthews earlier this week, you get the feeling that Pedersen at Trek will be determined to grab the victory this afternoon.
25 kilometres to go: Gandin (Corratec) has just won the second intermediate sprint of the day, getting one over Champion (Cofidis) who beat him earlier.
Thanks to the work of Jayco and Trek, the breakaways advantage has been cut right down again to just 38 seconds.
Tour de Hongrie
Moving away from the Giro for a moment, the Tour de Hongrie kicked off today with multiple high profile riders involved including Egan Bernal and Luke Plapp at Ineos Grenadiers.
An update from Ineos shared on Twitter just now confirmed that both Bernal and Plapp were caught up in a large crash heading into the final kilometre. A further update from the team will follow later.
It's a tough finish to the opening day at #TourDeHongrie, with both @Eganbernal and @LucasPlapp caught up in a large crash heading into the final kilometre.We'll have a full update to follow, with Egan now happily across the line. pic.twitter.com/rUNzfR1v33May 10, 2023
19 kilometres to go: Back to the Giro!
As the leaders came out of the intermediate sprint point, Zoccarato launched a big attack which Champion and Gandin were unable to answer.
It does seem all in vain though, as the peloton will almost certainly sweep up the trio of leaders before too long.
14 kilometres to go: Gandin and Champion's exploits are over for the day! The duo are back in the main field.
Zoccarato is still up the road, but his lead will slowly begin to plummet. The Italian has noticeably experienced a few issues with his gearing which won't be helping.
11 kilometres to go: On the long straight road into Salerno the bunch will be able to see Zoccarato now. He's got 40 seconds on them as the riders sail alongside the seafront.
9 kilometres to go: Ineos Grenadiers and Filippo Ganna have moved to the front of the bunch.
The Italian will be attempting to keep Tao Geoghegan Hart and Geraint Thomas out of trouble as the finish approaches. Zoccarato has just 17 seconds now.
Seven kilometres to go: It's all back together! Zoccarato is back amongst the peloton mainly thanks to Ganna absolutely thundering along on the front of the main field.
Alpecin-Deceuninck are looking very well organised towards the front of the bunch as they look to set up Kaden Groves.
Six kilometres to go: There's been another crash! On the very last corner of the entire stage.
It looked like Groves and a couple of Alpecin riders were caught up in it. We've got a few splits in the field as a result of that pile up.
Looks like Leknessund has been caught out in the Maglia Rosa along with Thymen Arensman of Ineos Grenadiers.
Five kilometres to go: Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) and Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) were also involved there. They won't be involved in the sprint finish.
Looks like Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) was also involved too!
Four kilometres to go: Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) managed to avoid that crash. He's in the front group along with Jonathan Milan.
Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Roglic are absolutely motoring trying to get back into the front group.
Scary moment for some of the favourites! What a day!
Two kilometres to go: Matthews is right in there for Jayco as is Pedersen.
We've had another huge crash! Evenepoel is down again!
There'll be no time loss for Evenepoel there, but what a day for him. You have to feel for the Belgian.
Looks like Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) was also caught up there!
One kilometre to go: Jayco are on the front of the bunch looking to lead out Matthews, it's going to go crazy any minute now!
600 metres to go: Here goes DSM looking to set up Alberto Dainese!
Cavendish and Matthews are on their wheel!
Huge crash on the line! Mark Cavendish smashes into the floor! Awful scenes!
Kaden Groves wins the day for Alpecin-Deceuninck but what a hideous looking crash that was for the Manxman!
We'll have further updates as soon as we get them.
Evenepoel still isn't over the line and he looks absolutely furious.
We'll have more on Evenepoel and Cavendish crashing heavily as soon as we get it.
