all words by Mike Franchetti
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
I don’t need to tell you about Paris-Roubaix’s history, brutality or several nicknames. And this is neither the time nor the place to explore the ‘Flanders vs. Roubaix’ argument (Roubaix wins). Instead, here’s my picks for a very open 2019 edition, featuring a favourite offering very little value and a possible changing of the guard.
The Clásica Sab Sebastian takes place tomorrow. The Basque race is a spikey affair that doesn’t really fit in with any other race on the cycling calendar. It takes place in Gipuzkoa at the very top of Spain and can be quite beautiful if the weather holds. It’s a quirky but popular one day race
All sprinters have bad days. Whether they get dropped, get blocked, puncture or crash, every sprinter will be able to recall days where they just weren’t able to contest a sprint. But when you’re as good as Marcel Kittel – and he really is good – should you be worried about the number of days
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.
…which leads me to today’s daily prediction: Philippe Gilbert will not win the 2017 Tour of Flanders. — Just Pro Cycling (@justprocycling) January 12, 2017 Well, I got it wrong. There was nothing in Philippe Gilbert’s post-2015 BMC form to suggest he would take to any race – regardless of the surface beneath his wheels
Strade Bianche is back and this time it’s on the World Tour. Here are five reasons why it deserves to be acknowledged as one of the best races on the calendar. 1. The white gravel roads, obviously. When the Colle Delle Finestre popped up in the 2005 Giro d’Italia we were given a taste of
If it wasn’t obvious enough from my Just Pro Cycling Twitter feed – I find the Dubai Tour a pretty enjoyable race. As a result, this is the third straight year I’ve posted about it. Considering I’ve never dedicated a post to great races such as Etoile de Bessèges, Vuelta a Burgos or the Baloise
Just Pro Cycling 