News Round-up: Giulio Ciccone ruled out of Il Lombardia following crash

Giulio Ciccone's Tre Valli Varesine injuries rule him out of Il Lombardia

In Tuesday's Tre Valli Varesine, Lidl-Trek's Italian star Giulio Ciccone crashed in the latter stages and was taken to the local hospital for checks. Whilst the scans revealed no fractures, the consequences of his injuries have led his team to officially confirm his withdrawal from the startlist for this Saturday's Il Lombardia.

Read more: GCN's full Il Lombardia race preview

The winner of this summer's Tour de France KoM jersey and fifth-place finisher at Il Lombardia in 2020, Ciccone would have been a favourite to challenge for the podium in Bergamo, but the 28-year-old will now have to watch the race from home.

"Despite receiving physiotherapy and osteopathic treatments, Giulio continues to experience discomfort and severe pain in his pelvis, chest, and lower back," revealed Lidl-Trek.

"A brief test on the indoor trainer yesterday showed that he's not yet able to pedal with the necessary intensity. In the coming days, a specialized radiological examination will be conducted to further assess his condition."

Ciccone's preparations for Il Lombardia began well with a 17th place at Trofeo Matteotti followed up by eighth at the Giro dell'Emilia, but things took a turn for the worse with his DNF at Coppa Bernocchi, and sadly his Tre Valli Varesine crash will now see him miss out on the year's final Monument.

His next race is now scheduled to be the Japan Cup on 15 October, but time will tell if his recovery allows his participation.

Ahead of Il Lombardia on Saturday, make sure to check out our dedicated race page, where you will find the route, startlist and full preview. The race is live and ad-free (territory restrictions apply) from 09:00 BST on GCN+.

Shane Archbold to retire at end of the season

Two weeks after riding the Renewi Tour in Belgium, Bora-Hansgrohe's Shane Archbold has confirmed his retirement from professional racing at the end of the season. The Kiwi, affectionately known as the 'flying mullet' for his long, flowing locks, will hang up his wheels after a nine-year professional career that has also seen him ride for Soudal Quick-Step, Aqua Blue Sport and An Post-Chain Reaction.

"I have lived the best times and the worst, with some amazing people," typed Archbold on Instagram. "But in the shortest thanks! Thank you to everyone who was in my corner. One last race in China next week!

"Now what? Well like I have told many people over the years, cycling was always my sport/hobby. But I always said I will work it out when I get there and I have. But more on that later!"

Archbold became a noticeable figure in the WorldTour peloton in 2017 when he made the step up to the sport's elite level with Bora-Hansgrohe, but it was as a valuable helper to his teams' leaders that Archbold shone the brightest.

The 34-year-old's announcement saw him inundated with well wishes from the likes of Mark Cavendish, Yves Lampaert (both former teammates at Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Ryan Mullen (Bora-Hansgrohe).

That is not to say Archbold did not achieve his own moments of glory. His first professional victory came with a stage at the Czech Cycling Tour in 2019 and his career highlight arrived when he won the New Zealand National Championship Road Race in 2020.

Arnaud Démare picks up second win in Arkéa Samsic colours at Paris-Bourges

Four days after taking his first victory since his mid-season transfer to Arkéa Samsic at the Tour de Vendée, France's Arnaud Démare picked up a second win with success at Paris-Bourges. The 32-year-old outsprinted the young sensation Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dsnty) and Tour de France stage winner Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe), who finished second and third, respectively.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Chaos ensues as Arnaud De Lie's tyre explodes and Arnaud Démare's wins Paris-Bourges

Whilst Paris-Bourges was always expected to finish in a bunch sprint, the peloton did not have things entirely their whole way and were challenged by a breakaway that was ever-determined to provide an upset. Six men were ultimately in the day's break: Dries De Bont (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Maximilien Juillard (Van Rysel-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Enekoitz Azparren (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Danny van der Tuuk (Equipo Kern Pharma) and the Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur pairing of Larry Valvasori and Paul Hennequin.

Azparren, De Bont and Juillard were those who gave the peloton a scare, with the trio not being caught until 2.5km from the line. At this point, all eyes turned to a sprint and it was Démare who took advantage of Bora-Hansgrohe's strong lead-out for Meeus.

The Frenchman launched himself around De Lie and Meeus inside the final 100m to pick up the 95th victory of his professional career, whilst De Lie did well to keep his bike upright across the line as his front tyre exploded.

Unfortunately, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty's Arne Marit was not so lucky and crashed coming over the line in sixth place, due to the kerfuffle.

Marc Lamberts follows Primož Roglič to Bora-Hansgrohe

By Dan Benson

Primož Roglič may not be taking any Jumbo-Visma teammates with him to Bora-Hansgrohe but the four-time Grand Tour winner has nabbed long-term coach Marc Lamberts.

Read more: Primož Roglič signs two-year deal with Bora-Hansgrohe

It has been reported in various media outlets that Lamberts will lead Bora-Hansgrohe’s performance programme but GCN understands that the Belgian will join as a coach and work primarily with Roglič and a handful of other Bora riders. That will not include Cian Uijtdebroeks, who, at 20, is seen as a potential future Grand Tour winner.

Lamberts has been with Jumbo-Visma for over a decade and has worked closely with Wout van Aert. On Thursday, the Belgian rider confirmed that Lamberts would be leaving and that their professional relationship had come to an end.

"Marc was my first and only coach, so it will be different in many ways. Personally, I think it's a shame that I have to change," Van Aert told Het Laatste Nieuws.

“But Marc is also in my heart. I want the best for him, and that's why I understand that he wants to take this opportunity to do something new. The news that he is leaving has hit me. We have been through too much together to call this a purely professional relationship."

Read the full story: Wout van Aert forced to change coach as Primož Roglič takes Marc Lamberts to Bora-Hansgrohe

Andrea Bagioli pips March Hirschi to Gran Piemonte glory

By Matilda Price

Home star Andrea Bagioli delivered drama-emboiled Soudal Quick-Step their second win of the week on Thursday, outsprinting a small group to win the Gran Piemonte.

The Italian just edged out Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) in a four-man sprint, with Alex Aranburu (Movistar) taking third ahead of Guillaume Martin (Cofidis).

After an attacking, constantly changing day of racing, it was Hirschi who launched the decisive move, going away with Bagioli with 17km to go. They were then joined by Aranburu and Martin at 13km to go, and managed to defend a slim lead all the way to the finish before sprinting it out for the win.

“‘Expect?’ A bit, yes,” Bagioli said when asked if he expected to win. “Because the shape was really good in the last races, especially in [Coppa] Bernocchi. So today we started with the victory in mind. It was a really fast start with the 90km flat, so it was pretty hard to control the breakaway but we had Dries [Devenyns] in front and on the last climb Cattaneo did a really super job."

Read the full race report: Gran Piemonte: Andrea Bagioli wins four-up sprint in Favria

Today's other headlines

• Chaos and controversy: Inside the quagmire that clogged Unbound Gravel
• Opinion: Astana Qazaqstan's faith in Mark Cavendish will pay off at the Tour de France
• GCN Stat Attack: Is Il Lombardia the worst of cycling’s Monuments?
• Primož Roglič signs two-year deal with Bora-Hansgrohe
• Future of Parlee Cycles secured after takeover

From an octopus’ garden in the shade, it is time to bid adieu. Until the next time.