Chain Links; Olympics in doubt, Wout gets PAID plus race cancellations, January 23, 2021

There’s a whole lot of “going to play this season by ear” going on in the peloton due to COVID again in 2021

TÊTE DE LA COURSE

Welcome to Chain Links here at The Podium Cafe, a selection of cycling news links from across the internet. I do the work so that you don’t have to.

The Olympics are apparently off, or on, or up in the air, depending upon which source you listen to. Wout got PAID with a capital P, plus race cancellation news, COVID considerations and much more. Let’s get to it.

A note about this Chain Links: The descriptions of the links that are in italics are from non-English language sites, and I’ve pulled the metadata over to give you an idea of what the “gist” of the story is about. I set my browser to auto-translate, your milage may vary.

WHAT’S ON THE VIDEO SCREENS AT THE PODIUM CAFE?

GRUPPO COMPATTO

‘We have something to put right’ Jumbo-Visma puts everything on Tour victory with trio of Dumoulin, Roglic and Kruijswijk - Telegraaf.nl - Cycling team Jumbo-Visma again plans to start with three leaders in the Tour de France. They are the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, Tom Dumoulin and Steven Kruijswijk. The team explained the program on Friday by distributing a number of video interviews. Due to the situation surrounding the coronavirus, Jumbo-Visma decided against a team presentation.

Alejandro Valverde (40) hints that this is his last year in the peloton - Telegraaf.nl - Alejandro ‘the unbeatable’ Valverde (40) hints at last cycling year

Mathieu van der Poel runs into Tour winner Tadej Pogacar in Tour of Emirates - Telegraaf.nl - Mathieu van der Poel will compete in the Tour of the United Arab Emirates next month against, among others, Tadej Pogacar and Chris Froome. The Slovenian winner of the last Tour de France and the Briton who has already won the Tour de France four times have also registered for the opening race of the WorldTour.

The end of an era... no more yellow neutral service cars at Tour de France - Telegraaf.nl - It’s out with Mavic yellow cars and in with Shimano blue ones

Qhubeka-Assos: an African proverb launches Aru and companions - La Gazzetta dello Sport - The Sardinian and Nizzolo team will have the words’ Ubuntu “on the shirts,” I am because we are “

Tour of the Alps 2021 big names: Tao, Nibali, Ganna and Pinot are expected - La Gazzetta dello Sport - After the forced renunciation of 2020, the race returns in style: from 19 to 23 April, five stages with 12 World Tour teams at the start

Roglic, no issues with Jumbo-Visma: he is in isolation due to a contact with Covid - La Gazzetta dello Sport - The two-time winner of the Vuelta remained in the Montecarlo house. The season debut should be at Paris-Nice

New setback for cycling in 2021: the Vuelta a Andalucía postponed - AS.com - The Andalusian round, which was to be held from February 17 to 21, has announced that it is changing its dates due to the current situation. It could be rescheduled to run from May 24 to 28.

Carrera in Spain confirms Egan’s presence - Eltiempo.com - The Colombian cyclist continues to train in Colombia and it is not known when he will travel.

Amaury Capiot is new at Arkéa-Samsic: “Nairo Quintana? Not seen yet” - Sporza - Amaury Capiot (27) is sniffing French air this year. The son of ex-rider Johan Capiot is under contract with Arkéa-Samsic, the team of Nairo Quintana and Warren Barguil, among others. “I can develop further here.”

European opening price now on Sunday remains intact: “But nobody knows for sure” - Sporza - While the preparation races die one by one, the Classica Comunitat Valenciana will (for the time being) still take place on Sunday. “It is not a race of the very highest level, but due to the shrinking range of races, a lot of professional teams are participating”, says Benjamin Declercq, who himself will be at the start with the French formation Arkéa-Samsic.

No Giro or Tour for Dylan Groenewegen, return to Hungary - Sporza - Dylan Groenewegen (27) will be suspended until May 7 after the crash with Fabio Jakobsen in the Tour of Poland. The Dutchman could in theory have made his comeback in the Giro, but Jumbo-Visma avoids the spotlight and opts for a route through Hungary and Norway.

This is Wout van Aert’s program: no Omloop - Kuurne - Sporza - Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) will again go on a treasure hunt in the classics this year. Last year he triumphed in the Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo. This year he tries to add the Ronde and Roubaix to his honors list. Discover the Van Aert program in the classics here.

HORS CATÉGORIE

Tokyo Olympics 2021: IOC officials still plan for Summer Games as reports of possible cancellation emerge - CBSSports.com - There are conflicting reports on whether the games will go on as planned

Wout Van Aert’s 2021 ambitions match new Jumbo-Visma salary - Cyclingnews - Belgian eyes Classics, Tour de France, Olympics and World Championships

Organisers cancel Tour de Normandie amid COVID-19 surge - Cyclingnews - Organizing committee concerned over health risks for staff and teams

Ineos, Groupama-FDJ and BikeExchange among 12 WorldTour teams at Tour of the Alps - Cyclingnews - Nibali, Pinot, Adam Yates and perhaps Geoghegan Hart will target five-day stage race before the Giro d’Italia