all words by Mike Franchetti
Barring a wild and unforeseen shift in the atmosphere, Omloop Her Nieuwsblad is going to be beautifully miserable. Mud and rain are common for European races in February, but this year the temperature will be a few notches cooler than the norm. Cobbled sections in icy wind and diagonal rain sounds like hell to the
Andalucia, the Algarve, the Alps, Dubai… and next up Belgium. Here are some more questions, which (hopefully) cover what we’ve all been thinking this week. Why is sprinting so exciting right now? In the last two seasons, pro cycling’s young sprinters scrambled for big victories and collectively delivered a knockout blow to the aging generation.
When Ramunas Navardauskas took bronze in Richmond he became the first rider from Lithuania to medal at the cycling World Championships. He wore a shocked smile on the podium, suppressed slightly by a curiosity for how he had achieved the result. It was, by all accounts, a medal to celebrate. The same cannot be said
This picture is from 1934 and the well-versed will recognise the hunched figure as Rene Vietto. It’s not his face that reveals his identity, but the picture in its entirety. Vietto is the “the wall guy”. A darling of French cycling and an early influence on the code of the domestique. Vietto was responsible for
Spanish racing has roared into life (hey Tadej Pogacar!) but it’s rumours from Denmark that dominated the week. Meanwhile, a first pro win in Australia… Why have Jakob Fuglsang and Alexey Lutsenko been in the news? At the start of the week, a cycling anti-doping foundation (CADF) report detailing an alleged link between two Astana
As predicted in my last post, Richie Porte justified favouritism at a slightly curious Tour Down Under (okay, that’s not quite what I predicted). Here are more questions from the world of pro cycling. Why did Richie Porte lose his streak of Willunga Hill victories? Objectively speaking, this Tour Down Under was one of Porte’s
The new pro cycling season has pumped its tyres, oiled its chain, and headed for the road. Here are four things we’ve all been asking this week. Or maybe just me. Why is Richie Porte favourite for the Town Down Under? The obvious answer is an equation which looks a little like: Willunga Hill +
The 2020 pro cycling season could be filled with real change. The backdrop of the sport shifted noticeably in 2019 with plenty of riders making the jump from the junior ranks, and the merry-go-round of team leaders clunking into gear during contract season. We got three debut Grand Tour winners in 2019; a feat which
