Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team

Matteo Moschetti

Damien Howson

Alessandro Fedeli

Gianluca Brambilla

Mark Donovan

Fabio Christen

Nickolas Zukowsky

Matteo Badilatti

Walter Calzoni

Kamil Malecki

Nicolò Parisini

Carl Fredrik Hagen

Joey Rosskopf

Tobias Ludvigsson

Marcel Camprubí

Pavel Novak

Filippo Colombo

Filippo Conca

Negasi Haylu Abreha

Szymon Sajnok

Cyrus Monk

Corey Davis

Jack Bauer

Tom Devriendt

Antonio Puppio

Racing

News

Race News

All change: sports director transfer market in full swing

Several changes are taking place at Ineos Grenadiers ahead of the 2024 season

 have already been announced this summer, the sports director transfer market is still in full flow with a number of changes set to take place ahead of the 2024 season.

, one of the most active teams on the rider transfer market, the changes in the team management are relatively small. Maxime Monfort will join from 

 and take a spot within the men’s team locker room. Jeroen Blijlevens will link up with the women’s team for next year.

s the news of Matteo Tosatto’s departure as a sports director has already been reported but 

 understands that another member of the senior performance team is set to leave his post at the end of the season. 

Matteo Tosatto: Leaving Ineos Grenadiers for Tudor was the best decision for me

Meanwhile, performance coach Leigh Bryan is also expected to step back from the team. The British squad is currently going through a restructuring process but has yet to announce any new arrivals for next year, including new riders for their roster. 

 has reached out to the British team for confirmation on a number of changes but has not received a response.

, who pulled off the transfer coup of the season with the signing of 

 on a two-year deal, have already welcomed Heinrich Haussler into their team management as a sports director.

Bora-Hansgrohe confirm arrival of 'inspirational' Primož Roglič

The Australian rider was forced to retire earlier this year due to health reasons and he will be joined by Shane Archbold and Patxi Vila. 

Archbold was on the roster as recently as last week but called time on his racing career, while Vila returns to the German team after a three-year stretch at 

. Jean-Pierre Heynderickx and Jens Zemke will both leave the team at the end of the season with Zemke confirmed to join 

 in the off-season. He was part of the management organisation during their South African phase when the team was known as MTN Qhubeka and Team Dimension Data and he will link up again with team boss Doug Ryder.

At Jumbo-Visma and EF Education-EasyPost no departures are expected but both teams have informed 

 that they could add one spot to their core of sports directors.

There are major changes taking place involving the new women’s EF Education-Cannondale team, with Esra Tromp already having moved over from Jumbo-Visma. The women’s team at Jumbo has also undergone major changes with Maarten van Kooij joining as the team’s performance coach, while Jan Boven and Jos van Emden will be coaches. Carmen Small, who was a coach on the team, has left the squad for pastures new, whilst Lieselot Decroix has also moved to FDJ-SUEZ to be a performance director.

Over at UAE Team Emirates, there will be no alterations to their senior staff, although Jan Polanc and Yousif Mirza will be sports directors of the Gen Z development team in 2024. Cherie Pridham will take control of the women’s UAE Team ADQ.

AG2R Citroën are not expecting any major changes but the French team are expected to finalise and publish their list of staff on November 27.

 also understands that the men's Jayco-AlUla team will welcome experienced sports director Valerio Piva into their ranks. The Italian will leave Intermarché-Circus-Wanty at the end of the current campaign, and it’s not clear who will replace the 65-year-old.

Israel-Premier Tech will take one of their recently retired riders, Sep Vanmarcke as a sports director in 2024, while Dirk Demol has already announced that he will head to Lotto-Dstny, who are aiming to replace Allan Davis and Monfort, and have so far recruited retiring Lidl-Trek pro Tony Gallopin. 

 understands that the Israeli team are also interviewing other candidates for potentially one or two spots.

 that they do not expect any sports director changes for the upcoming season.

 that 80 participants will head to Aigle, Switzerland for the governing body's sports director course and exam session that will take place between October 30 and November 3.

Round-ups

News Round-ups

News Round-up: Arnaud De Lie takes ninth season victory at Circuit Franco-Plus

Arnaud De Lie took his ninth victory of 2023 at the Circuit Franco-Belge

It was a jam-packed day of racing on Thursday, with the 

 all taking place as the season speeds towards October. Outside of racing, we’ve got some insight into 

’s future, a fresh attempt on the Hour Record and news of sponsorship trouble at 

Arnaud De Lie wins the Circuit Franco-Belge

 (Lotto Dstny) took a strong home win in the Circuit Franco-Belge, making it into the lead group at the end of an attritional day and proving strongest in the final uphill sprint to take victory.

Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X) looked strong but couldn’t quite come round De Lie on the difficult finish to reward the work from his team, whilst Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) backed up a successful week at the Tour of Luxembourg to round out the podium in third.

This is De Lie’s ninth win of the season, with the 21-year-old proving himself as one of the best young sprinters in the peloton.

Set on a 190km course on the typically lumpy roads of western Belgium, the Circuit Franco-Belge was almost a day-long whittling down process, with accelerations over each of the 13 climbs of the day slowly drawing out a strong group at the front.

Heading towards the finale, a strong group of 16 riders had carved themselves out in the lead of the race, with several teams having multiple riders in the group and therefore able to keep the pace high and deter any opportunist attacks.

In the absence of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who didn’t start after falling ill overnight, Arnaud De Lie started the day as a big favourite and managed to make it into the final selection.

Despite the best efforts of Uno-X and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty to take control of the race, it was Florian Vermeersch who was able to do the best lead-out for his teammate De Lie into the base of the finishing ramp, from which point it was a drag up to the line between De Lie and Tiller, with the Belgian grinding it out for a victory.

 for the full results from the Circuit Franco-Belge.

Nicolò Parisini sprints to victory on tricky CRO Race stage 3 finish

 (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) navigated a tight and technical finish into Opatija to win stage 3 of the CRO Race from a reduced bunch sprint.

The Italian over powered his competitors in the final metres of the stage, beating best young rider Tobias Andresen (dsm-firmenich) and defending CRO Race champion Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) into second and third.

This is Parisini’s first UCI-level victory, and an impressive one against strong competition in Croatia.

“I can’t believe it,” Parisini said at the finish. “It’s a big emotion for me. I knew that today I could do a good race and a good result, and I made it.”

The third stage from Otočac to Opatija was a lumpy one, taking in four categorised climbs and 1,804m of climbing over 133.5km. A group of five riders had been up the road for most of the day, but never much more than a minute ahead, and they were brought back well in advance of the expected aggressive finish.

The teams tried to line-up for a bunch sprint finish, but the back-to-back ascents of a short by sharp climb in the finish town broke up the race in the final 11km, with a reduced group emerging at the front of the race.

The run-in to the finish was largely downhill with plenty of twists and turns, including a late hairpin bend, which made for a hectic finale, where technical nous was as important as speed, and allowed Parisini to get the better of some bigger names in the front group and take victory.

Primož Roglič on the market, with Ineos Grenadiers and Lidl-Trek interested

Jumbo-Visma’s Primož Roglič is reportedly on the market for 2024, with several teams interested in the Slovenian, who officially has two years left on his contract with the Dutch team surrounded by merger rumours this week.

With the revelations surrounding a likely merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step for 2024, it’s Roglič who seems destined to be heading for the exit door with several teams queuing up for the Slovenian’s services should the merger come off.

Leading that chase are Ineos Grenadiers and Lidl-Trek, with Bahrain Victorious and Movistar team also in the mix, according to several sources and reports from 

According to one leading WorldTour team boss: "I'd say Primož Roglič is on the market but it’s difficult to say what will happen especially with the latest merger news. Clearly Ineos is chasing him hard but my senses say there is also another team or two in the game."

Rumours of Roglič leaving Jumbo-Visma have been circulating for months, with reports of the rider unsettled and looking for a chance to lead a team at the Tour de France in the future. Lidl-Trek were the first team to be linked to the rider before Movistar, Ineos and several other squads entered the fray.

Read the full story, complete with more details, 

Vittoria Bussi to attempt to reclaim Hour Record from Ellen van Dijk

Former UCI Hour Record holder Vittoria Bussi will attempt to set a new record next month and reclaim her title from Lidl-Trek’s Ellen van Dijk.

Bussi previously held the record for three years, with a distance of 48.007km set in 2018, before being beaten by first Joss Lowden in 2021, and then Van Dijk in May 2022, who holds the current record at 49.254km.

At the end of last year, 36-year-old Bussi announced her intention to attempt the record again, and launched a crowdfunding campaign to support that goal. Nine months and €10,000 later, the date is set, with Bussi planning her attempt for October 11 in Velodromo Bicentenario in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

The Mexican velodrome is a popular location for record attempts as Aguascalientes is at altitude - 1,887m above sea level - which has a beneficial impact on air density and aerodynamics.

"I am honoured to announce I will attempt to break the UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot in Aguascalientes, where I already broke it once just over five years ago,” Bussi said. “I went through quite a few emotions when my record was first broken, but thanks to my project Road2record, I now feel ready to try to establish a new world mark.

“Road2record is a mission and a method: to break the UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot and get a step closer to the 50km threshold. I am deeply grateful to all the people who contributed to make this attempt happen and to all the sponsors that have believed in me and supported me in these months of preparation.”

Bolton Equities Black Spoke’s future unclear after sponsor pulls out

The future of ProTeam Bolton Equities Black Spoke has been plunged into doubt with headline sponsor Bolton Equities reducing its sponsorship at the end of this year, the team confirmed today.

Bolton Equities, a New Zealand-based investor group, has supported the team since its inception in 2020, and became title sponsor in 2022, coinciding with Black Spoke’s step up to ProTeam level in 2023. The team is run by former pro Greg Henderson.

However, Bolton Equities will cut back their support in 2024 and become a non-title sponsor, leaving the future of the team in the balance. A statement released on Thursday morning suggested a move back down to Continental level was the team’s plan.

“After four successful years as the title sponsor, Bolton Equities has announced the conclusion of its UCI ProTeam level sponsorship at the end of 2023 and will work towards a UCI Continental level team in 2024,” the statement read.

“Bolton Equities will continue supporting the team as a non-title sponsor. However additional sponsors are needed to proceed with the 2024 season at UCI Continental level.”

A move to Continental level is the team’s goal, however 

reported that with sponsors not yet secured, the future of the existence of the team is not certain, and that riders were only made aware of this on Tuesday.

The team’s current roster includes former Irish national champion Rory Townsend, Jake Scott and British track star Matt Bostock, and they currently have 10 riders under contract for 2024.

Bora-Hansgrohe reveal the two winners of the Red Bull Junior Brothers programme

Elisa Longo Borghini calls time on ‘complicated’ 2023 season

Lotte Kopecky to be celebrated with fan day in Flanders

News Round-up: Flanders Classics take over Amstel Gold Race from 2025

Tadej Pogačar stormed to victory at the 2023 Amstel Gold Race

Flanders Classics to take over organisation of Amstel Gold Race from 2025

, which runs a number of high-profile Spring Classics such as the 

, will add the Amstel Gold Race to its portfolio in 2025.

The move follows its current organiser and race director, Leo van Vliet, announcing his plan to retire in 2026. Van Vliet has been at the helm of the race for nearly 30 years and will remain as race director of the men's for the next three editions before bidding farewell to the sport.

A former pro, with a stage of the 1979 Tour de France and the 1983 Gent-Wevelgem to his name, Van Vliet sees his 30th edition of the biggest race in Dutch cycling as the right time to call it a day. “When I took over the role from Herman Krott, he had organised no fewer than 30 editions of the Amstel Gold Race. I am now approaching that number, 2026 seems to me to be a wonderful time to stop,” he told 

The Dutchman continued: “In all these years, organising a cycling race has become more complicated. Flanders Classics has proven itself as a high-quality organiser. Just as important is that they have the same passion for cycling. These two qualities ensure that I can confidently hand over my beloved 

 to them. But I haven't left yet, we will work together in the coming editions and ensure a smooth transfer.”

Flanders Classics CEO, Tomas Van Den Spiegel, added: “This is a very important step for us. We further expand our international adventure with the Amstel Gold Race. Leo van Vliet has an incredible track record and we are very proud that we can continue to build on his success.”

Earlier this year, Flanders Classics also became a minority shareholder in the company behind the 

Biermans battles to sprint win at Skoda Tour de Luxembourg

 after a long and drawn-out sprint in Mamer.

The Belgian held his nerve until the final 50m before opening up his sprint and passing 

) who took second and third respectively.

“Today was a hard race, with the rain at the beginning and end, the sprint was really hectic,” the 27-year-old admitted at the finish.

Biermans, who scored his first pro win at the Muscat Classic in February, added: “It's my second this year and the second of my career. It's been a good year so far. We knew before the start that this was a sprint for me, the finish was slightly uphill. This is what I like and in the end, I timed it perfectly.”

Despite being pipped to the stage victory, Kragh Andersen did enough to pull on the leader’s jersey by a margin of two seconds to yesterday’s stage winner Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech).

On a day that was always marked down as one for the sprinters, the break did their best to upset the status quo, with multiple incarnations forcing their way up the road in wet conditions.

King of the Mountains leader Mats Wenzels (Leopard TOGT Pro Cycling), Elias Maris (Team Flanders - Baloise), Lennert Teugels (Bingoal WB) and Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny) managed to build up a lead of over five minutes early on before it was rapidly cut down.

After the race came back together, Wenzels stayed out in front and was joined by Luca Van Boven (Bingoal WB) and Bastien Tronchon (AG2R Citroën). Not fancying their chances in a sprint, a number of riders attempted to counter-attack in the final 50km, with Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) one of those trying their luck. Eventually, just Tronchon, Van Boven and Teugels remained. The trio worked well together but could not stop the peloton from reeling them in with 20km remaining.

The bunch was strung out as it raced towards the line Mamer amidst heavy rain with Alpecin-Deceuninck and Soudal Quick-Step setting the pace for their quickmen. Yet the long, uphill finishing straight thwarted any leadout train from dominating, with the fastmen biding their time before launching their sprints.

Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) was the first to show his hand but could only tee up Kragh Andersen. The Dane looked to be the strongest as the line drew near until Biermans leapt out of the wheels at the last possible moment.

Season over for Stefan Küng following European Championships ITT crash

Groupama-FDJ have released an update on the condition of Stefan Küng following his heavy crash during the European Championships elite men's time trial. 

, the French WorldTour team revealed that Küng suffered a minor concussion, a fractured molar bone and a fractured hand.

His team added: "He remains under observation in hospital but will be able to go home today. Unfortunately, his season is over. In view of the circumstances, Stefan would like to make it clear that his general condition is good."

The Swiss rider suffered the crash during the closing stages of his effort in the Dutch city of Emmen. With his head down in an aerodynamic position, the 29-year-old collided with metal barriers on the course.

Küng was thrown from his bike as a result of the crash, with his helmet broken and blood covering his face and torso. Remarkably, the TT specialist remounted his bike and crossed the line to finish 11th - 1:29 down on eventual winner 

Stefan Küng finishes European Championships ITT with a broken helmet after crash

The teams taking to the start line of the final Monument of the season, 

 to battle it out on the roads of Lombardy next month.

Tudor Pro Cycling will feature at the race for the first time, in their premier season amongst the ProTeam ranks.

The route for this season’s ‘race of the falling leaves’ has also been confirmed recently with a return to the 2021 course, culminating in Bergamo.

After rolling out from Como, the race will tackle the Madonna del Ghisallo early on before a handful of other testing climbs. Although the final major climb, the Passo Di Ganda, comes with 40km left to race, the short Colle Aperto climb inside the last 5km does offer enough of a gradient to create gaps too - especially with 230km already in the legs.

France edges Italy in European Championships mixed TTT relay 

The French team powered to victory in the European Championships mixed relay team time trial in Drenthe, earning a first gold medal in the discipline for Juliette Labous, Cédrine Kerbaol, Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Bruno Amirail, Rémi Cavagna and Benjamin Thomas.

The French outfit just edged out the Italians on the line to win by four seconds, whilst Germany rounded out the podium in third.

World champions Switzerland struggled after losing their powerhouse Stefan Küng to 

a nasty crash in the men’s individual time trial

, opening up the door for Worlds silver medallists France to step up to the top spot of the podium, and win the European title for the first time.

“We knew that we had a really good [women’s] team,” France’s Benjamin Thomas said at the finish. “And the objective was to put them in the best condition, and they did really an incredible performance and gained like 25 seconds - in a race like this, it’s very impressive.

“It’s really special. For me it’s like the team pursuit on the track - it’s a really specific effort, you have to be really careful about the position, keep the speed, stay really grouped. We are really happy. It was more or less the same team as at Worlds, I came in [as a change], so it’s incredible.”

European Championships: France win mixed relay TTT ahead of Italy

Ineos Grenadiers overhaul continues as Head of Performance departs

’ transition continues with the cycling team set to lose, or having lost, several key members of staff, including Ben Williams, who until recently had been the Head of Performance and Support.

Williams has taken up a new role at Queen’s Park Rangers Football Club as the director of performance but 

 understands that several more senior members of staff are set to leave at the end of the season, with two experienced sports directors and a coach among the changes. 

The team currently have fewer than 15 riders signed for next season, although a number of athletes including 

 and Carlos Rodríguez are set to stay. However, Dani Martínez, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Pavel Sivakov and Ben Tulett form part of an exodus of stage racing talent. The team are also heavily linked with AJ August, a highly promising 17-year-old from the United States.

However, the departure of Williams also leaves a significant hole in the team’s staff structure, with no senior science practitioner at the top level.

“I’ve accepted a role at Queen’s Park Rangers Football Club as the director of performance. The last couple of weeks I’ve been transitioning out and doing handovers,” Williams told 

Ineos Grenadiers lose Head of Performance to QPR Football Club as major overhaul continues

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Name	Age	UCI Career Wins	UCI Points
Matteo Moschetti	27	17	618
Damien Howson	31	14	447
Alessandro Fedeli	27	7	345
Gianluca Brambilla	36	8	332
Mark Donovan	25	2	318

Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team

Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team

The Team

Top Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Stories

All change: sports director transfer market in full swing

News Round-up: Arnaud De Lie takes ninth season victory at Circuit Franco-Plus

News Round-up: Flanders Classics take over Amstel Gold Race from 2025

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