Less than 90 seconds behind Esteban Chaves at Il Lombardia last weekend was a certain 22 year-old named Pierre Latour. He rolled over the line in tenth but was given the same time as Alejandro Valverde in sixth. Latour, like teammates Jan Bakelants, Domenico Pozzovivo and Alexis Vuillermoz, was behind Tour de France runner-up Romain
Category: Opinion
Swiss cycling has a lot to be proud about. At nine stages long they have the longest home tour outside of the Grand siblings, another successful World Tour race in the Tour of Romandie, a handful of Grand Tour successes including back-to-back Tour de France wins from Ferdinand Kubler and Hugo Koblet, a famous podium sweep in the
Twelve months ago Lotto NL-Jumbo’s Dylan Groenewegen was scarcely a blip on pro cycling’s radar. His Rompoot team would frequently miss out on the highest level events and the Dutchman was left to try his hand in races such as Etoile de Besseges, Bayern Rundfahrt and the World Ports Classic.
What a difference a day can make in the Giro d’Italia, let alone seven. This time last week we were singing the praises of Tom Dumoulin but a handful of climbs, saddle sores and two race leaders later, the Dutchman has left the race. Then there was Mikel Landa who, in the turn of a
We’re six stages down and this year’s Giro d’Italia has begun to tease the sort of racing we’ll be seeing over the next two weeks. The weekend has the potential to shake up the general classification with Saturday’s time-trial the first stage likely to have a major impact on the top ten.
Prior to Sunday’s race, Liège-Bastogne-Liège looked to be suffering from a case of the ‘Valverdes’. Symptoms include races controlled by a string of navy jerseys, little-to-no meaningful attacks and a measured final sprint propelling Alejandro Valverde away from his less-explosive rivals. The ‘Valverdes’ have well and truly struck down the Monument’s close relative La Flèche
With climbing at the forefront of both races, the Volta Catalunya and Vuelta Pais Vasco always attract a crop of Grand Tour GC contenders. This year didn’t disappoint with everybody who’s anybody – and not named Nibali – stretching their legs in Spain. Whilst the likes of Paris-Nice may always be bigger races, Spain’s duo
Shortly after the start of each Milan-San Remo fans will glance at the race profile and remember there’s well over 250km of Italian tarmac for the riders to cover. Save for the gentle Passo Del Truchino, the opening two thirds are traditionally flat and this makes the race differ from the other four, more challenging,