DEGENKOLB WINS TOUR DE PICARDIE!
Argos-Shimano rider John Degenkolb dominated the three-day Tour de Picardie stage race in France over the weekend, winning two stages and taking the overall victory on his Felt F1 team bike. The 23-year-old German sprinter is on a hot streak, having also won two stages at the Four Days of Dunkirk the week before.
Degenkolb opened up the May 11-13 Tour of Picardie with a win in the 166.5km stage from Clermont to Braine. He credited his Argos-Shimano teammates for controlling the race, chasing down a breakaway group, and setting him up for the sprint finale.
Degenkolb did well to finish at the front on the hilly Stage 2, and then sealed the deal with another sprint win in Stage 3 from Maignelay to Montigny.
“Unbelievable,” Degenkolb told Cyclingnews.com after the win. “What a great group of riders we have: Ronan van Zandbeek, Roy Curvers, Albert Timmer, Tom Veelers, Bert de Backer, Ji Cheng and Dominic Klemme. We were so good, I’m very proud.”

TWO PODIUMS FOR FELT AT WORLD CUP #3
The Felt ötztal X-Bionic team had a successful outing at Round 3 of the World Cup Cross-Country Series in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, scoring podium finishes in the Men’s Eliminator Sprint race and the Women’s XC race.
Australian Paul van der Ploeg got things off to a strong start, posting the fastest qualifying time among pro men in the Eliminator event. He advanced to the finals and finished second behind Swiss rider Sepp Freiburghaus. It was the second podium appearance in as many races for “The Thunder from Down Under.”
A huge crowd turned out for the XC events, and Slovenian rider Blaza Klemencic rose to the occasion for the Felt ötztal X-Bionic team, finishing fifth to score her second World Cup podium of the season.
The technical course at Nove Mesto produced lots of shuffling among the top-10 riders during the race, and Klemencic did well to hold her ground in the top-five. She put in an aggressive final lap on her Felt Six hardtail to score the podium, a repeat of her performance at Round 2 in Houffalize, Belgium. Klemencic is now ninth overall in the World Cup.