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Grand Tours
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in format, being three-week races with daily stages. They have a special status in the UCI regulations: more points for the UCI World Tour are distributed in Grand Tours than in other races, and they are the only stage races allowed to last longer than 14 days. All three races have a substantial history, with the Tour de France first held in 1903, Giro d'Italia first held in 1909 and the Vuelta a España first held in 1935. The Giro is generally run in May, the Tour in July, and the Vuelta in late August and September. The Vuelta was originally held in the spring, usually late April, with a few editions held in June in the 1940s. In 1995, however, the race moved to September to avoid direct competition with the Giro d'Italia. The Tour de Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Anquetil
Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the yellow jersey on day one and wear it all through the tour, a tall order with two previous winners in the field—Charly Gaul and Federico Bahamontes—but he did it.Anquetil took the yellow jersey after the second half-stage (time trial) of the first day, Darrigade having won the first half-stage. His victories in stage races such as the Tour were built on an exceptional ability to ride alone against the clock in individual time trial stages, which lent him the name "Monsieur Chrono". He won eight Grand Tours in his career, which was a record when he retired and has only since been surpassed by Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. Early life Anquetil was the son of a builder in Mont-Saint-Aignan, in the hills above Rouen in Normandy, north-we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giro Donne
The is an annual elite women's road bicycle racing stage race. It was rebranded from 2013-2020 as the Giro Rosa, having been branded the Giro Donne until 2012 and again in 2021. It has been considered the most prestigious stage race in women's road cycling. History Previously known as the Giro Donne, the race historically was a nine- or ten-day event taking place in Italy in early July each year, generally competing for attention with the more famous men's . While the rebranded Giro Rosa has kept its position in the racing calendar, it was shortened in 2013 to eight days, before returning to its traditional ten-day length the next year. With the cancellation of the Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin after 2010, the Giro Donne was the only Grand Tour left in women's cycling, and in December 2012 Wieler Review reported that the company Epinike had withdrawn as Giro Donne organiser, making the 2013 edition uncertain. In April 2013, however, organisers announced a shortened and rebra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UCI WorldTeam
A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, e ..., respectively. List of teams 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 The 18 WorldTeams in 2016 were: 2017 The 18 WorldTeams in 2017 were: 2018 The 18 WorldTeams in 2018 are: 2019 The 18 WorldTeams in 2019 are: 2020 The 19 WorldTeams in 2020 are: 2021 The 19 WorldTeams in 2021 are: 2022 History of UCI WorldTeams Dark grey indicates that the team was not operating in the year in question. Light blue indicates that the team was competing at a lower level in the year in q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008 Vuelta A España
The 2008 Vuelta a España was the 63rd edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race began with a team time trial on 30 August in Granada. The Vuelta came to a close twenty-three days later with a flat stage, which brought the peloton into the streets of Madrid. Nineteen teams entered the race, which was won by the Spaniard Alberto Contador of . Second and third respectively were the American Levi Leipheimer of and the Spanish Carlos Sastre of . Alberto Contador first gained the race lead after the race's thirteenth stage, which contained a summit finish on the Alto de El Angliru. Contador took the lead from 's Egoi Martínez, who had held the race lead for four stages. Through the first nine days of racing the race leader's golden jersey had been worn by eight different riders. The day after Contador gained the lead of the race, he attacked again and won the stage, while also expanding his lead over his competitors. Contador lost about thirty secon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Team Columbia
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to information, resources, knowledge and skills and who seek to combine their efforts to achieve a common goal". A group does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Naresh Jain (2009) claims: Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond their limitations. While academic research on teams and teamwork has grown consistently and has shown a sharp increase over the past recent 40 years, the societal diffusion of teams and teamwork actually follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008 Tour De France
The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage. The race was won by Carlos Sastre. Unlike previous years, time bonuses were no longer awarded for intermediate sprints and for high placement on each stage. This altered the way the General Classification was awarded in comparison to previous seasons. Teams Long running disputes between the event organisers, the ASO and the UCI reached a head when the race organisers insisted upon the right to invite, or exclude, whichever teams it chose for the event. Under UCI rules, any ProTour event must be open to all member teams of the UCI's top level. The ASO made it clear that, despite changes in team management and personnel, it intended to exclude from the event as a result of i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astana Team
Astana Qazaqstan Team () is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Samruk-Kazyna, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007. Following a major doping scandal involving Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov, team management was terminated and new management brought in for the 2008 season. The team was then managed by Johan Bruyneel, former team manager of U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel team. Under Bruyneel the ethical nature of the team did not improve, although Astana in this period was very successful. With a lineup including Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador, as well as runner-up Andreas Klöden the results were there, however the team was on the verge of financial collapse in May 2009. A battle for control of the team led to the return of Vinokourov for the 2009 Vuelta a España caused Bruyneel and at least fourteen of its riders to leave at the end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unibet
Unibet provides a platform for sports betting, online casino, bingo and online poker to over 11 million customers in over 100 countries. Unibet is a part of Kindred Group–an online gambling operator which consists of 11 brands along with Maria Casino, Stan James, 32Red, and iGame. Today, Unibet has over 1,500 employees and offices in Malta, London, New York, and Gibraltar among others. Unibet launched its first online website in 1999, launched live betting service in 2003 and introduced mobile site in 2004. Overview The Kindred Group, and by extension Unibet, is headquartered in Malta. This arrangement allows Unibet to be licensed, through Platinum Gaming Limited, by the Government of Gibraltar (under Licence numbers RGL 091 & RGL 092) and regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner for the purposes of serving customers around Europe. In order to legally offer online gambling services to UK based customers Platinum Gaming Limited – and therefore Unibet – also hold a C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series. It was initially the basis of a season long competition for rankings points, created for 2005 to replace the UCI Road World Cup series, which ended at the end of the 2004 season (although the World Cup did not include any stage races). The ProTour was the subject of continuing disputes involving the UCI, cycling teams, and the organizers of the world's most prominent bicycle races (most notably, the Grand Tours), and in 2009 and 2010 the ranking element of the ProTour was superseded by the UCI World Ranking. For 2011, the ProTour and World Ranking were fully merged into the UCI World Tour. ProTour status for teams – relabelled UCI ProTeams – will continue a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Team Time Trials
A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of (usually) the fourth-finishing rider in each team (though the relevant finish position can be otherwise specified in advance by the race organisers). This means that each team will try to get their first four (at least) riders across the finish line in a tight group: it is actually a disadvantage for any rider to finish far in advance of the fourth rider, as by staying back a faster rider can help the fourth rider to get a quicker time. Where a TTT is part of a stage race, it is necessary for each rider to be given a finish time that can be cumulated into the general classification timings. Hence, all riders in the team who finish in the leading bunch are given the time of the fourth rider, and any rider who has been dropped is timed indiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Individual Time Trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials (TTT). ITTs are also referred to as "the race of truth", as winning depends only on each rider's strength and endurance, and not on help provided by teammates and others riding ahead and creating a slipstream. Individual time trial are usually held on flat or rolling terrain, although sometimes they are held up a mountain road (in Italian: ''cronoscalata'' "chrono climbing"). Sometimes the opening stage of a stage race is a very short individual time trial called a prologue (8 km or less for men, 4 km or less for women and juniors). Starting times are at equal intervals, usually one or two minutes apart. The starting sequence is usually based on the finishing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cycling Sprinter
A sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy. Apart from using sprinting as a racing tactic, sprinters can also compete for intermediate sprints (sometimes called ''primes''), often to provide additional excitement in cities along the route of a race. In stage races, intermediate sprints and final stage placings may be combined in a points classification. For example, in the points classification in the Tour de France, the ''maillot vert'' (green jersey) is won by the race's most consistent sprinter. At the Tour de France, the most successful recipient of this honor is Slovak sprinter Peter Sagan, who has won seven Tour de France green jerseys (2012–2016, 2018–2019). The road sprinter Sprinters have a higher ratio of fast-twitch muscle fibers than non-sprinters. Road cycling sprinters someti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
