all words by Mike Franchetti
Following the sudden rise of Tadej Pogacar and Egan Bernal, it feels like Astana’s Miguel Angel Lopez was “the next big thing” for all of five minutes. The buzz around Lopez did, in fact, last well over eighteen months; roughly starting mid-way through his breakout Vuelta Espana in 2017 and following him round during a
There can be no doubt about it… Harrogate now stands alongside the likes of Flanders, San Sebastian and Provence as one of cycling’s elite locations. This is clearly an exaggeration but hosting the 2019 Road Race loop – Britain’s fourth championships and first since 1982 – will only add to the lustre of both Harrogate
Vuelta O’Clock. It’s always difficult to know exactly what to expect in Spain, but this year we don’t even have Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali or Simon Yates to throw our money at. The Giro Champion – Richard Carapaz – is also absent after an eleventh hour crash and subsequent withdrawal. Moreover, we’ve all been wrestling
Bad contracts, loss of confidence, terrible luck, or just a mid-career crisis. There’s plenty of reasons why talented riders’ careers stall. Here’s seven riders who used to have the cycling world excited, but now struggle for space on any website. Ruben Fernandez It might be a little harsh to accuse former Vuelta race leader Ruben
They say a picture speaks a thousand words. I say 500 is a more accurate figure. Shortly after this photo was captured, the flag-holding, arm-pumping, Marianne Vos admitted that she had forgotten what it felt like to be the world champion. The Dutch superstar had previously snatched a road world title in 2006 at the age
Julian Alaphilippe was never supposed to be the saviour of French stage racing. He is destined to wear Rainbow stripes, dominate the Mur, and stack up an enviable Monument record, perhaps even completing an unprecedented full set. It was last year that we realised just how good he was at riding uphill fast and outfoxing
Last Thursday, Alaphilippe was found guilty of doping after failing a test which showed traces of the drug “winning La Fleche and a Pau time trial in the same year”. He requested a b-sample, but unfortunately this showed an illegally high level of the facial hair growth aid “hanging with the big boys on the
Even the hardiest of ‘Gardenites’ will accept that Tejay van Garderen will never win a Grand Tour. In fact – in the most cynical of company – suggesting van Garderen could ride to even a stealthy top five will be met with hilarity. He cracks far too often and can’t string together enough good days.
Just Pro Cycling 