all words by Mike Franchetti
Since launching Just Pro Cycling I’ve got very good at being wrong. I dismissed Philippe Gilbert’s return to cobbles and argued that Nairo Quintana would finally conquer the Tour. This post is an apology disguised as a list. I was wrong about Mathieu van der Poel who looks to be the new superman of road
Brabantse Pijl is a solid little race, holding its own at arguably the busiest time of the season. What’s more, it’s the perfect transition from cobbles to climbing. It calls the Ardennes riders to wake up from their slumber, whilst tempting the cobble-worn peloton for one more race. The balance has tilted in favour of
I spent most of Tuesday night messaging people to tell them why I thought Julian Alaphilippe was going to upset the status quo and defeat Alejandro Valverde on the Mur de Huy. A lot of my points were based on blind faith and I attempted to swat away Valverde’s obvious threat by repeating line like
De Brabantse Pijl is cool race. It’s a date to look out for on the calendar and an event I’d one day like to watch live. Starting in Leuven, Brabant, the race is another under the Flanders umbrella. However, it doesn’t feel much like its cobbled siblings – taking place a full 10 days after
Why do I still love the Ardennes? I know Paris-Roubaix is the best classic, I know Flanders is the second best and I’m quickly beginning to think Strade Bianche is the third. Nevertheless, I always look forward to the Ardennes week. Perhaps it’s due to the Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday structure we’ve seen organisers adopt in recent years.
Following John Degenkolb’s magnificent win at Paris-Roubaix the World Tour bid farewell to the cobbles and will soon return to Belgium for the next Monument. Liège-Bastogne-Liège takes place this Sunday but is preceded on Wednesday by the other Ardennes classic; La Fleche Wallonne. The two races, once held on consecutive days, offer hillier routes than the
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