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The 2020 Tour De France Will Be Won in the ITT, Not the Climbs

The route for the 2020 Tour de France was recently unveiled. The initial takeaways seemed to be that it is a time trial-light affair that will tend to suit the pure climbers, and that its multiple mountain stages will somehow offer bite-sized, endless entertainment for the short-attention-span millennial audience. A closer look suggests that it probably won’t be that simple. The general consensus is that 2020 will be one for the climbers, as the race features a large number of mountain stages with a healthy dose of summit finishes, just one 36-kilometer individual time trial, and only a handful of stages for the sprinters. Also, as in 2019, there will be time bonuses at the finish and on select penultimate climbs. These characteristics seem likely to combine to create a race that will favor riders who can climb with the best, who can handle technical descents, and who can make...

Former Giro Director Michele Acquarone Finally Cleared of All Charges

Word came today from an Italian court in Milan that, after more than six years of false accusations, investigations and legal wrangling, former Giro d’Italia chief Michele Acquarone has been cleared of the fraud and embezzlement charges that were levied against him by his former employer in late 2013. According to reports in the Italian media earlier today, Acquarone and six other former officials of RCS Sport, the parent company of the Giro, including Acquarone’s former colleague Giacomo Catano, have been acquitted of all charges. Acquarone has protested his innocence for years, and has been fighting the slow-moving and bureaucratic Italian justice system to clear his name ever since he was sacked in late 2013. Not only did he lose his job at the Giro, where he widely considered to be a rising star, the allegations made it almost impossible for him to find employment elsewhere....

Whither the Giro?

Seemingly lost in the furor surrounding TUEs, Bradley Wiggins and the upcoming World Championships is the fact that ownership of the Giro d’Italia changed hands earlier this month. Italian businessman Urbano Cairo, a protégé of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and a magazine publisher, gained control of the parent RCS Mediagroup in a deal that just closed a few days ago.  The Financial Times reported that Cairo’s takeover is “seen as an uprooting of the vestiges of Milan’s old establishment …. who prized seats in RCS Mediagroup’s boardroom above all for its political and social influence.”  Mr. Cairo also told the newspaper that he intended to slash costs in the new organization. All of this could be a big deal for professional cycling. One of the assets hidden somewhere down in the RCS Media Group is the Giro d’Italia – the world’s second largest Grand Tour and itself an iconic...

Cycling in the Balance: A Talk with Michele Acquarone

(Note:  Michele Acquarone directed the Giro d’Italia for Italian sports company RCS Sport until he was unceremoniously dismissed December 3, as a result of the on-going financial investigations at RCS.  Acquarone has vigorously and consistently maintained that he had no knowledge of the financial irregularities; he hopes to stay in pro cycling, in some capacity, and have an important impact on its future.  Steve Maxwell caught up with Acquarone in mid-December and talked about new business models for cycling, and the detailed economic and structural recommendations in the Roadmap to Repair Pro Cycling report. Regardless of Acquarone’s future role in pro cycling, there is no doubt that he brings a business-like, energetic and innovative voice to the sport.) Former Giro d’Italia boss Michele Acquarone looks at cycling from a businessman’s perspective.   Unburdened by a long history in...