At the end of 2015 I wrote about the struggles of being a Vincenzo Nibali fan. I had watched him become a star, watched him throw a bottle at Chris Froome, watched him catch a ride from his team car to earn disqualification from the Vuelta, and then watched as he claimed an angry Lombardia
Author: MikeFranchetti
Towards the end of the Dubai Tour – as I made yet another “Where’s Wally?” joke – I began to wonder precisely how much I liked Marcel Kittel. I’m a big Mark Cavendish fan and the fan club rules say I’m not allowed to like Kittel. Riding for Giant, Kittel arrived on the frontline and
There are a whopping 37 events on the World Tour calendar and I’ve decided to rank them all because that’s how much I enjoy making lists. There’s plenty to laugh at in some recent additions to the World Tour and plenty of great races at lower levels. Nevertheless, these remain the strongest group of races
There are three races each year which are a little grander than all the rest. The Giro, Tour and Vuelta are responsible for many of our favourite moments and the great stages have been documented countless times. Nevertheless, it’s unrealistic to expect every stage to capture the imagination and even the most ardent fans won’t
A few years ago I decided I was going to have a crack at the full cycling calendar. This isn’t to say I wasn’t already a pro cycling super-fan, but it meant making a transition away from UCI flagship events and towards Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah. Unfortauntely, Dubai suffers from being very dull in terms of
Much like the probably harmless flu-like symptoms you woke up with on Saturday, it’s never a great idea to Google a cyclist that you’ve never heard of. If you’re lucky, you’ll end up with a handful of race reports that probably need translating to your native language. However, if you’re careless, you’ll find yourself staring
As Just Pro Cycling enters its fourth year, there are certain things I can’t bring myself to write about anymore. The cycling season throws up a few predictable outcomes every year: Alejandro Valverde will reign over the Mur de Huy, Peter Sagan will pile up stage wins and the Vuelta will have a ridiculous amount
Rinaldo Nocentini has had a curious cycling career. He rode the Giro d’Italia in both 2015 and the year 2000; that means he’s finished the race alongside Marco Pantani and later Fabio Aru.