all words by Mike Franchetti
They say a picture speaks a thousand words. I say 750(!) is a more accurate figure. 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 grin on the podium. It proved that medals of the non-gold variety can sometimes be
Okay, so what happens if it’s not Peter Sagan, Greg Van Avermaet or Michael Matthews? What happens if Michal Kwiatkowski goes missing or Julian Alaphilippe cracks? The World Championships attracts anybody with even a whisper of one-day form as well as a whole host of Grand Tour stage winners. We’ve seen aggression in the U23
We’ve never seen a hat-trick of World Championship victories at either the men’s or women’s elite road race. Two-timer Gianni Bugno didn’t ride in 1993, whilst his compatriot Paulo Bettini was unable to complete a hat-trick in 2008 (the jersey did, at least, stay with Italy). On the women’s side of the sport we’ve seen
Just as one year ago, I’ve teamed up with InsideThePeloton to preview a selection of World Championship contenders. And – just as one year ago – I’ve made Italy my first pick. Stick to tradition, right?
Peter Sagan is the world’s best bike rider. The stripes on his jersey will tell you so, as would thousands of his fans. However, though he crowned 2015 with that stunning win in Richmond, last season was not without struggle; too many nearly moments, too many obstacles and too much bad luck. By contrast, 2016
France will be taking both Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Demare to the World Championships. On the one hand, this gives the country a serious chance to snatch the rainbow jersey. On the other, it could be a recipe for disaster. The two have never got on and will be reunited for the first time since
After completing a hatrick of victories with an Alessandro Ballan/Damiano Cunego 1-2 in 2008, Italy have failed to produce another World Champion. Worse still, with a generation of talented classics riders pedalling into the sunset, they’ve taken just three top tens in the subsequent seven road races. To put that into perspective, from 1968 to
As part of a series with InsideThePeloton, I’ll be previewing my favourite selections for next Saturday’s World Championship Road Race in Doha. Caught between the race favourites (Cavendish, Sagan, and Greipel) and the longer shots (Groenewegen, Nizzolo, Demare) sits Colombian Fernando Gaviria priced at 12/1 with most bookmakers.
Just Pro Cycling 