all words by Mike Franchetti
Here we go! I haven’t felt Giro fever this much since May 2019. The calendar was chopped up beyond recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic and – possibly due to the comparatively short turnaround – last year’s race just didn’t hit me. Egan Bernal was a brilliant winner. Damiano Caruso and Giacomo Nizzolo were hugely popular
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
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
One mountain was all it took to divide the GC favourites. Miguel Angel Lopez and Mikel Landa wriggled free on the Montoso; and held off the chasers by 28 seconds at the finish in Pinerolo. The popular Cesare Benedetti took a brilliant stage win as a mixture of unfamiliar names fought for stage honours. I’m
Simon Yates is absolutely flying. He’s clearly ahead in the GC, and clearly the best climber at this year’s Giro. Whilst he’s dancing a perfect ten, his closest rivals are trudging round the dancefloor at an ugly tempo. Unfortunately for Yates, there’s a time trial to come before three monster mountain stages bring the race
Move over Vincenzo Nibali there’s a new threat to Chris Froome. Miguel Angel ‘Superman’ Lopez is also challenging ‘The Shark’ to the most popular nickname in pro cycling. His performances this past week have certainly showcased his superstar potential and you’ll see plenty of superman references floating around Twitter. The origin of his nickname is
If the Grand Tours were a series of films, the Vuelta Espana would be the third instalment with plenty of action, plenty of plot twists and plenty of your favourite characters. There wouldn’t be time for a long build or slowly unravelling story and we might even see a major shock in the opening scene.
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
Just Pro Cycling 