START LINE-UPS ANNOUNCED FOR PENULTIMATE STAGE OF ZWIFT TOUR FOR ALL
As the inaugural Zwift Tour for All reaches the home straight, the rider start line-ups for the fourth stage of the fast and flat stage at Watopia have been announced.
James Piccoli’s stage three victory yesterday has pushed the Israel Start-Up Nation team into title contention behind NTT Pro Cycling Team and Alpecin-Fenix while Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio’s back-to-back stage victories has lifted CCC Liv up to second in the women’s series. Both riders take a rest from today’s stage.
Teams and the top 25 riders will gain points across the week alongside a daily individual race winner. There will also be intermediate points on each stage and double points for the Top 10 on the Queen Stage (Stage 5).
WHAT THEY SAID
Men's stage 3 winner James Piccoli (Canada) of Israel Start-Up Nation said:
"I saved my featherweight power-up for the last couple of hundred metres. We knew it was going to be steep for the line and I figured I could hang on for the downhill recovery for a little bit and use that long sprint to have a good chance and that’s what I did...It was a bit of a rollercoaster for the team – a win on day one, out of the picture yesterday, and a win today. There’s lots to play for in this Tour for All."
Women's Stage 3 winner Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (South Africa) of CCC Liv said:
"I decided to give it a go from the bottom and see what I could do and I’m really happy to take the win...I feel I have quite a big advantage having spent so much time on Zwift because when I first started out it really was quite hard on the muscles. In the real world, you have a bit more of a recovery, you freewheel on the descents but on Zwift it’s just constant torque all the time, so I think I’m lucky enough to have adjusted to that."
WHAT’S NEXT
Stage 4 - Course: Sand and Sequoias, Watopia. Elevation Gain: 147m (482ft). Total distance: 42.6km (26.5miles)
Climbing legs are given a break with a mostly flat and fast stage ahead today. Riders should enjoy it while it lasts because tomorrow is the Queen Stage!
ZWIFT TOUR FOR ALL STAGE 4 TEAM LINE-UPS (subject to change):
Men’s
Alpecin-Fenix: Tim Merlier (Belgium), Jonas Rickaert (Belgium), Scott Thwaites (Britain), Dries De Bondt (Belgium), Roy Jans (Belgium)
Team Bahrain McLaren: Phil Bauhaus (Germany), Grega Bole (Slovenia), Enrico Battaglin (Italy)
CCC Pro Team: Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Belgium), Francisco Ventoso (Spain), Jakub Mareczko (Italy), Kamil Gradek (Poland), Josef Cerny (Czech Republic)
Cofidis Solutions Credits: Elia Viviani (Italy), Simone Consonni (Italy), Damien Touze (France), Fabio Sabatini (Italy), Jesus Herrada (Spain)
EF Pro Cycling: Mitchell Docker (Australian), Moreno Hofland (Netherlands), Jens Keukeleire (Belgium), Jimmy Whelan (Australia), Jonas Rutch (Germany)
Groupama-FDJ: Benjamin Thomas (France), Alexys Brunel (France), Ramon Sinkeldam (Netherlands), Arnaud Demare (France), Jacopo Guarnieri (Italy)
Israel Start-Up Nation: Andre Greipel (Germany), Yuval Ben Moshe (Israel), Alex Dowsett (Britain), Itamar Einhom (Israel), Guillaume Bovin (Canada)
Mitchelton-Scott: Esteban Chaves (Colombia), Alex Edmonson (Australia), Daryl Impey (South Africa), Nick Schultz (Australia)
NTT Pro Cycling: Ryan Gibbons (South Africa), Rasmus Tiller (Norway), Andreas Stokbro (Denmark), Michael Gogl (Austria), Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (South Africa)
Rally Cycling: Pier-Andre Cote (Canada), Adam de Vos (Canada), Robert Britton (Canada)
WOMEN’S
Boels-Dolmans Pro Cycling: Jolien D’Hoore (Belgium), Amy Pieters (Netherlands), Amalie Dideriksen (Denmark), Lonneke Uneken (Netherlands), Karol Ann Canuel (Canada)
Canyon-SRAM: Alice Barnes (Britain), Jessica Pratt (Australia), Tanja Erath (Germany), Hannah Ludwig (Germany), Christa Riffel (Germany)
CCC Liv: Aurela Nerlo (Poland), Evy Kuijpers (Netherlands), Jeanne Korevaar (Netherlands), Marianne Vos (Netherlands), Martusia Lach (Poland)
Drops Cycling Team: April Tacey (Britain), Maria Martin (Ireland), Marjolein van’t Geloof (Netherlands), Emily Meaking (Britain), Maria Martin (Ireland), Emilie Moberg (Norway)
FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope: Clara Copponi (France), Eugenie Duval (France), Emilia Fahlin (Sweden), Jade Wiel (France)
Rally Cycling: Allison Beveridge (Canada), Heidi Franz (USA), Chloe Hosking (Australia), Megan Jastrab (USA), Emma White (USA)
TWENTY20 Professional Cycling: Chloe Dygert (USA), Simone Boilard (Canada), Georgia Simmerling (Canada), Shayna Powless (USA), Jasmin Duehring (Canada)
Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank: Leah Dixon (Britain), Kristen Faulkner (USA), Erica Clevenger (USA), Nina Kessler (Netherlands), Emily Newsom (USA)
Valcar-Travel & Service: Chiara Consonni (Italy), Ilaria Sanguineti (Italy), Silvia Persico (Italy), Vittoria Guazzini (Italy), Teniel Campbell (Trinidad and Tobago)
BROADCAST DETAILS
3pm CEST (2pm BST) live on Eurosport 1 and live via the GCN app
THE STANDINGS (after four stages)
Men’s
1 NTT Pro Cycling Team – 214
2 Alpecin-Fenix – 167
3 Israel Start-Up Nation – 163
Women’s
1 Team TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank – 249
2 CCC-LIVE - 200
3 Canyon SRAM – 196