VN ticker: Tour of Scandinavia stage towns unveiled, Lotto-Dstny promotes Alec Segaert from devo squad
Here's the headlines making the news on Friday, February 24.
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Tour of Scandinavia 2023 stage towns revealed
Organizers of the Tour of Scandinavia have announced that the race will trek the reverse route for its second edition in 2023, starting in Norway and making its way to Denmark. The race will also feature two summit finishes and an individual time trial.
Last year saw the inaugural edition of the multinational race, which was developed from the Ladies Tour of Norway. The six-day event set out from Copenhagen, Denmark, and finished Norway with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig taking the title.
This season, the race will begin in Mysen, Norway before heading into Sweden for day two and back into Norway for a summit finish on Norefjell — which was the decisive stage of the 2022 race. Stage 4 will also remain in Norway before the long transfer to Denmark.
Herning — which hosted the 2012 Giro d’Italia grande partenza — will be the scene for the race’s first-ever time trial, a 16.4km test. The final stage will be a second summit finish of the week to Haderslev.
“Tour of Scandinavia 2022 was a great success, and the start in Denmark gave the race a new dimension compared to only having stages in Norway. The cooperation across national borders in Scandinavia is central to this project, and we are very happy that this year we can present a concept with the final to stages in Denmark,” race director Anders Eia Linnestad said.
“The combination of stages in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark this year requires a major logistics operation during the transfer between Larvik in Norway and Herning in Denmark. As organizers, we are nevertheless convinced that this year’s combination of stages will be very well received.”
More details of the route will be revealed later this spring.
Lotto-Dstny promotes Alec Segaert from development squad
Young Belgian star Alec Segaert has made an early move up to the pro ranks this season after Lotto-Dstny decided to promote him to its elite squad.
Segaert was due to ride with the Lotto-Dstny’s development team until the end of this season and had ridden with them at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var last week. However, he and the team felt he was ready to step up already.
“At the end of last season, I already felt that I had taken a big step forward and this was confirmed during the team camp in January,” Segaert said. “Every young rider dreams of becoming a pro. I am proud that this dream already becomes a reality. Of course, I still have a lot to learn and therefore I am happy that my personal development comes first at Lotto Dstny. Here, I will be able to combine pro races, U23 races, and my studies as a pro rider.”
Segaert has shown some strong performances already in his young career, winning the U23 Chrono des Nations and Giro di Lombardia. He also finished second to Søren Wærenskjold in the U23 time trial at the world championships in Australia last season.
“Alec Segaert is one of the biggest talents of our development team. That is why last season we already agreed on a contract until 2025,” team sport manager Kurt Van de Wouwer said. “Together with him, we have made an individual plan which we believe suits his development best. We will stick to that plan, even though he will be a professional rider now.
“Alec still has some important goals in the U23 category and he will still be able to pursue those goals as a member of our ProTeam. We have the opportunity to select riders from our ProTeam in races where we participate with our Development Team. By stepping up now, he will be an immediate added value to the ProTeam as well and help build the future of the team.”