News Round-up: Women’s WorldTour racing returns at Tour of Scandinavia

The Vuelta a España is still a couple of days away, but men’s and women’s WorldTour stage racing has burst back into action today for the first time since the World Championships with the opening stages of the Renewi Tour and the Tour of Scandinavia. Read on for results from both of those races, as well as the Deutschland Tour, Tour de l’Avenir and the Tour Poitou Charentes. Elsewhere, Lidl-Trek’s signing spree continues with three young female riders, plus updates on Arnaud De Lie and Caleb Ewan’s futures at Lotto-Dstny.

| Lorena Wiebes catches Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig on the line to win Tour of Scandinavia stage 1

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Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) sprinted to victory on stage 1 of the Tour of Scandinavia

The peloton’s most successful sprinter Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) added another win to her tally on stage 1 of the Tour of Scandinavia.

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) took second on the line in Halden, but was not able to beat the finishing speed of Wiebes.

Late attacker and defending champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ) came extremely close to winning the stage, only caught by Wiebes and Balsamo in the final metres to be denied the win and take third instead.

The two finishing laps around Halden, taking in a climb and some cobbled roads, made for some attacking racing with several riders trying to get away before the finish and deny the sprinters, a feat Uttrup Ludwig came painfully close to pulling off.

Norwegian rider Tiril Jørgensen (Coop-Hitec Products) had been away solo for most of the day, riding well on home roads, but was brought back as the race reached Halden.

“It was quite hectic in the final because everyone was on the limit,” Wiebes said at the finish. “Liane [Lippert] was in the front after the climb with Cecilie also, and then a small peloton closed it and Cecilie went again and she held on long. But lucky enough for me it was good timing.

“I’m happy to be back sprinting after the period of sickness, so it was also a question of how the legs will be. But they are good.”

Head over to our race report for more.

| Jasper Philipsen sprints to victory on opening stage of the Renewi Tour

*by Daniel Benson

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Jasper Philipsen stayed calm among the chaos to win stage 1 of the Renewi Tour

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won his 11th race of an already emphatic season on stage 1 of the Renewi Tour.

The Belgian burst from the pack to open his sprint early and had more than enough to hold off his rivals before celebrating on the line.

Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) had a perfect lead-out from his team but he was no match for Philipsen who powered clear with over 150m to go, with Tim Merlier (Soudal QuickStep) taking second and Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) finishing third.

Philipsen takes the first leader’s jersey of the race.

Head over to our race report for more.

| Results round-up: Deutschland Tour, Tour Poitou Charentes and Tour de l’Avenir

As well as the two WorldTour races, there were three other races today as the calendar hots up before the Vuelta.

The Deutschland Tour opened with a prologue, which was won by Ethan Vernon (Soudal Quick-Step) to deny the on-form Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) by just a second.

At the Tour Poitou Charentes, Groupama-FDJ’s Paul Penhoët accelerated away from a 16-rider group to take the victory on the line, holding off Romain Cardis (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93) and Valentin Retailleau (AG2R Citroën) to make it an all-French podium in Bressuire.

With a two-second gap on the line, Penhoët also took over the race lead from stage 1 winner Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X).

The Tour de l’Avenir ended with an uphill sprint to the line, which was won by Switzerland’s Fabio Christen, a second ahead of his closest competitors.

Isaac del Toro, the Mexican tipped for success before the race, took second, whilst Great Britain’s Lukas Nerurkar took third.

Denmark’s Simon Dalby moved into the overall lead after former leader and his teammate Carl-Frederik Bevort lost over 18 minutes on the stage.

| Lidl-Trek sign three junior talents for 2024

Lidl-Trek have today announced the signing of three talented young riders to their women’s team for 2024. Juniors Izzy Sharp, Isabella Holmgren and Ava Holmgren will step up into the WorldTour for their first elite seasons next year, after impressing on the junior circuits this season.

Canadian twins Isabella and Ava Holmgren are talented multi-disciplinary riders, taking medals and titles in cyclo-cross and mountain biking as well as on the road.

Brit Izzy Sharp recently took a silver medal in the junior time trial at the World Championships in Glasgow, as well as winning the junior women’s Gent-Wevelgem earlier this season.

The new trio will continue Trek’s reputation for signing young and talented riders, which over the years has included names like Elynor Bäckstedt, Shirin van Anrooij and Gaia Realini, giving first-year elites the chance to race and train among some of the sport’s biggest names.

Where several teams have followed the trend of setting up women’s development teams, Lidl-Trek - who announced the start of a men’s development squad this week - are opting to focus their development within the Women’s WorldTour team.

“Women’s cycling is growing exponentially, but it doesn’t yet have such a deep calendar or clearly established levels which means it can be more difficult to find enough opportunities to develop under 23 riders on a separate program,” Lidl-Trek’s head of performance Josu Larrazabal said.

“For us, at the current time, we believe it makes more sense to fit a development structure within our WorldTour program, which will allow the younger riders the chance to ride smaller races whilst surrounded by experienced professionals to help guide them.”

| Arnaud De Lie extends with Lotto-Dstny

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Arnaud De Lie has been one of Lotto-Dstny's most successful riders in 2023

Belgian sprinter Arnaud De Lie has extended his contract with Lotto-Dstny, committing his future to the team until at least the end of 2026.

De Lie was already signed with Lotto-Dstny until the end of 2024, but has this week added two more years to his current contract, putting faith in the partnership that has seen the 21-year-old take seven wins already this season.

"Extending at Lotto Dstny was a logical choice for me,” De Lie said. “The team showed a lot of confidence in me from the beginning and it felt very good right away. In addition, the project the management has proposed to me for the coming years is promising. The team goes into every detail and continues to invest in performance, to bring out the best in its riders. All these things made me happy to prolong.”

De Lie is currently in action at the Renewi Tour, where the sprinter-friendly parcours should give him opportunities to add another win to his 2023 tally.

This contract extension also hints at where Lotto-Dstny’s sprint hopes will lie in the seasons to come, which you can read more about in the next story.

| Caleb Ewan ‘has the choice’ if wants to stay at Lotto-Dstny

*by Daniel Benson

According to the Lotto-Dstny team boss, Caleb Ewan still has a decision to make as to whether he returns to the Belgian team after abandoning the Tour de France in July.

Ewan left the Tour mid-way through and was quickly criticised by team boss Stéphane Heulot, who told the Dutch publication WielerFlits: “If he can become happy with another team, we will grant him that.”

There appears to still be a rift between rider and team, with both parties informing GCN that no reconciliation has been reached at this point, and Heulot expressing his belief that Ewan is currently looking for a new team.

Ewan still has a contract with Lotto-Dstny until the end of 2024 and it’s unlikely that the team can end the relationship without the rider’s consent. However, Ewan can leave if he wishes since the team dropped out of the WorldTour at the start of the year - thus making his current contract potentially void.

The reality, though, is that Ewan may struggle to find a team willing or able to match his current salary at Lotto-Dstny. He has struggled for wins this year, taking two victories. That said, he has still racked up eight top-three results, and not all of his near-misses can be blamed on his sprinting.

GCN approached Ewan’s agent for comment. Based in Australia, Jason Bakker confirmed that he and the team management were looking at various options - from staying with the team to a mutual separation.

“There’s no change. I think both parties are open to various options as long as they work mutually,” Bakker told GCN.

“As a result, we’re not taking a panicked approach to any decisions. I honestly believe Caleb and Lotto can reset if that’s what has to occur but if there is a better scenario for the parties then we’ll explore that too."