The Australian team Mitchelton-Scott were crowned Hammer Series 2018 champions after a closely-fought battle over the Climbs, Sprints and Chases in Stavanger, Limburg and Hong Kong. The Hammer Series sees teams compete together, not as individual riders, making the Hammer format unique in elite professional cycling.

Last year Team Jumbo-Visma finished fourth in the final classification. “The format suits us”, sports director Nico Verhoeven says. “Too bad we missed the podium by just one spot, but that hands us a goal to do better. It’s always fun to fight for three days with the best teams.”

There’s great rivalry amongst the teams but it’s only in the Hammer Series that they get to go head-to-head on the road and prove it. It’s the best team that wins and the riders love racing it. This year, 14 of the world’s best teams are committed to another series of strength-sapping races, watched by thousands of people on the streets and millions online. You need guys who can win on the climbs, time trialists to bring it home and riders who do pretty well in the sprints too.

Hammer Series events take place over three days with the Climb, Sprint and Chase on separate days. For last year’s final in Hong Kong a “super Sunday” Sprint and Chase were held back-to-back on the same day to crown the overall series winner. Hammer Stavanger will be raced on 24-26 May, Hammer Limburg on 7-9 June and Hammer Hong Kong on 12-13 October.

A new feature of the Hammer Series 2019 is the naming of a captain in each team. The captains’ names will be revealed later, but Team Jumbo-Visma already can confirm one interesting name who will participate in at least one of the Hammer Series: Dylan Groenewegen.