1. Realise the new World Tour calendar is seriously mental
Abu Dhabi in February? We’ve only just left there! And what’s the Tour of Turkey doing between Amstel and Liege?
2. Refuse to call ‘Giant-Alpecin’, ‘Sunweb’
Tom Dumoulin will always ride for Giant-Alpecin, okay?
3. Watch every minute of Tour Down Under coverage, setting an unrealistic standard
Wake up a 6 a.m. and watch Willunga Hill live or absorb it all after work? Both?
4. Convince ourselves Chris Froome won’t win a fourth Tour de France (and be wrong)
Contador looked superb in Catalunya… and I haven’t seen Froome in a while…
5. Try to spot a luminous, yellow Tinkoff kit
You don’t know what you’ll miss until it’s gone. Why’s there so much black now?
6. Completely give up following team Quick-Step’s name changes
I was still saying Omega Pharma – Quick-Step until early 2016. Now this? Quick-Step Floors?
7. Unsuccessfully predict the winners of all five Monuments
Matthews, Sagan, Sagan, Alaphilippe, Ulissi… right?
8. Wonder how and when you missed that one transfer
Seriously, when did Tom Van Asbroeck go to Cannondale?
9. Secretly enjoy the Bahrain-Merida kit
We tend not to like the new, rich teams but it never lasts… and that kit is rather nice.
10. Quickly look back at last year’s results to remember who won a race
Tirreno-Adriatico? That would be Greg van Avermaet