It has been a season to forget for Steve Cummings. Or maybe not. The British rider has had a frustrating and winless campaign, but is determined now to use it as a force for change. `Itīs good you know, sometimes you need a season like that,` he told Cyclingnews at the Vuelta a Espaņa, where he had his Grand Tour fill after missing out on selection for the Tour de France. `You rip everything youīve been doing apart and itīs an opportunity to change some things and go forward. I think itīs just given me a chance to explore everything really, lots of new ideas. Thatīs how I see it, anyway.`ADVERTISEMENT Cummings had enjoyed a highly successful spell since joining Dimension Data in 2015, and seemed liberated and rejuvenated, even in his late 30īs. He won a stage of the Tour de France in his first year and then added another in a 2016 season that also included wins at Tirreno-Adriatico, Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Criterium du Dauphine, and the overall title at the Tour of Britain. In 2017 he claimed the road race and time trial double at the British national championships and then a stage of the Giro della Toscana later in the year. This year, however, he has no wins and has failed to finish half the races he has started. His programme was altered by the team, and the situation was only compounded by the long injury list at the team. For someone who describes himself as `goal-drivenī, having to fill gaps at late notice was far from ideal. On top of the Tour de France snub, Cummings was informed last week that he hadnīt been selected for the British team for the upcoming World Championships. He has clashed with British Cycling over selection in the past but this time, though disappointed, he could see it coming.
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