News Round-up: National Cycling League lays off two-thirds of roster

The NCL has terminated the contracts of 20 out of its 32 riders

19:58, Tuesday 12th September 2023

Pete Trifunovic

Digital Content Creator

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The NCL was cut short this year with the final round cancelled.

Swathes of riders laid off by National Cycling League

Almost two-thirds of the National Cycling League's (NCL) contracted riders have had their contracts terminated early.

According to Escape Collective, at least 20 riders belonging to the two league-owned teams - the Denver Disruptors and the Miami Nights - had their contracts ended on Monday. This leaves just 12 riders still employed by the NCL across the rosters of the two squads.

The inaugural season of the criterium series has now finished, however, riders were signed until the end of 2023 with laid off riders not expected to be paid for the remainder of the calendar year.

The decision was communicated to riders through a mass video call. Riders laid off by the NCL were offered the chance to buy equity in the company, once they had signed non-disclosure agreements and returned any team-issue gear.

It remains unclear what the future holds for not only the remaining riders on its two teams but also the competition itself.

The series started out with a number of high-profile investors, such as co-founder and top NFL agent David Mulugheta alongside NFL players Jalen Ramsey (Los Angeles Rams), Derwin James (Los Angeles Chargers), and Kevin Byard (Tennessee Titans). Add in a $1 million prize fund and there were heads turning across the sport.

However, after a number of high-profile US-based criterium teams declined to take part, the original four-round schedule eventually turned into just three races, with the final round in Washington D.C. removed from this year's series.

Watch: NCL Atlanta highlights

George Bennett joins Israel-Premier Tech from 2024

Israel-Premier Tech have confirmed the signing of experienced climber George Bennett on a two-year deal from 2024.

The 33-year-old will leave UAE Team Emirates after just two seasons in search of more leadership opportunities during the twilight period of his career.

Bennett has not featured at a Grand Tour this season, with his only three-week race at UAE, the 2022 Tour de France, cut short due to Covid-19. Since then, the New Zealander has been battling to rediscover his top level. His best result in 2023 has come at the Vuelta a Burgos - a sixth-place finish whilst working in the service of his team leader Adam Yates who rounded out the podium.

George Bennett will drop down to ProTeam level from 2024.

The Kiwi will hope that his move to Israel-Premier Tech can reignite his form of old, add depth to the team's climbing squad and offer him leadership opportunities of his own.

"I see a lot of opportunities, especially in Grand Tours and in the high mountains and I can’t wait to get started," admitted Bennett in an Israel-Premier Tech statement.

Arlenis Sierra to stay with Movistar until 2026

Cuban climber Arlenis Sierra has signed a new deal with Women's World Tour team Movistar, keeping her with the Spanish squad until at least 2026.

The 30-year-old joined at the start of 2022 and has notched up seven victories for the team so far, including a World Tour win at last year's Tour de Romandie.

Able to challenge across a range of terrains, from the high mountains to the cobbles, Sierra is a valuable asset for Movistar across the calendar.

Commenting on her contract extension, the Cuban said: "It's a somewhat 'challenging' choice, because three years is a long period and, in my case, I don't feel like there's many seasons left in my legs.

Sierra is four-time Pan American champion.

"But the atmosphere in this team is the main reason I've chosen to extend for that long. Above all, I want to be where I feel at ease as a person, and after that, try and find my place as a rider and give it my all."

Movistar now have 14 confirmed riders for the 2024 season, their first without Annemiek van Vleuten following her recent retirement from the sport.

"I will also take with me the satisfaction of having shared teams with Annemiek van Vleuten for the last two years. She's someone you've got to admire, a true example as a sportsperson, someone who has achieved success not many people across all sports can dream of getting," Sierra added.

Encouraging signs for Nathan Van Hooydonck following car accident

Jumbo Visma's Nathan Van Hooydonck was seriously injured following a car accident in Belgium on Tuesday morning.

The Belgian rider reportedly became unwell at the wheel of his car before colliding with a number of other vehicles at an intersection in the town of Kalmthout, to the north of Antwerp, at around 8:30am.

After being resuscitated at the scene, the 27-year-old was taken to hospital in what police officials described as 'life-threatening' condition. It is understood that the rider's pregnant wife was also in the vehicle but did not sustain serious injuries in the crash.

Van Hooydonck has been a valuable domestique in the last two Tour de Frances.

Belgian broadcaster Sporza reported that Van Hooydonck was placed into an artificial coma, as also indicated by Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Grischa Niermann.

After Sporza suggested that those around him were "hopeful", mentioning the threat of brain damage, there appeared to be some more encouraging news by the evening.

Vingegaard wins Vuelta a España stage 16 after lone attack

Jonas Vingegaard won stage 16 of the Vuelta a España in dramatic style, as the Danish rider attacked the race lead of his Jumbo-Visma teammate, Sepp Kuss.

The Tour de France champion darted away from everybody on the steep final climb to Bejes, winning the stage at a canter and taking back an enormous amount of time in the GC.

Jonas Vingegaard clawed back a large chunk of time in the GC battle.

Behind Vingegaard, Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates) and Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious) impressed to finish second and third, respectively. But the nearest GC challenger was Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) in fifth, who led home Enric Mas (Movistar), Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) over the line, conceding 1:01 to the Dane.

As for race leader Kuss, he finished a further four seconds down and now only holds a slender 29-second advantage over Vingegaard, who has moved above Roglič into second place.

“I’m just happy to win today," said Vingegaard, paying tribute to his teammate Nathan van Hooydonck, who suffered a car accident that morning. "We had some terrible news this morning and I wanted to win for my best friend today and luckily now there is good news about it, about his condition so that’s a big relief for me, for the team and I hope he will recover soon.

As for the red jersey and the general classification situation: "I don't know. Now I just want to enjoy this moment and not think about it."

Jumbo-Visma hit back at Jérôme Pineau’s mechanical doping accusations

Jumbo-Visma’s complete domination at the Vuelta a España has been called into question with the team forced to respond to unproven and unsubstantiated accusations of mechanical doping from former professional rider Jérôme Pineau.

The Dutch team currently occupies the top three places overall in the Vuelta with Sepp Kuss leading Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard with a week left to race. The team’s control and success have been celebrated in many mainstream quarters, with commentators and fans debating whether this squad is the best men’s Grand Tour collective cycling has ever seen.

Jumbo-Visma have hit back at Jérôme Pineau’s accusations

However, on Monday Pineau appeared on RMC Sport in France and couldn’t have made his feelings any clearer - pointing to a moment on stage 13 of the Vuelta a España when Sepp Kuss accelerated, slowed and then kicked again on the higher slopes of the Col du Tourmalet. In Pineau’s eyes, there was one reason, and one reason only for Kuss’ acceleration.

“Mechanical. The acceleration from Sepp Kuss on the Tourmalet, 10km/h faster than the group, with Evenepoel absent but with top riders like Ayuso and Uijtdebroeks, no slouches on the bike, and Kuss comes along 10km/h faster. There’s a spectator who steps out, he brakes and gets going again 10km/h faster… on the Tourmalet. How do you explain that? How can someone explain that to me?” Pineau posed.