Another day for the sprinters but the roads get hillier than the profile above suggests before the finish in the Magny-Cours motor racing circuit.
Month: March 2014
Paris-Nice, a History of Innovation
With Paris-Nice on, time to look back at the race’s history. Over the years it has welcomed exotic teams, transported riders by air and invented new race rules. Through the race’s history we can trace the evolution of the sport we know today.
Paris-Nice Stage 2 Preview
Stage 2 is another for the sprinters but if you tune in for the last five minutes you risk missing the action. Sunday’s opening stage saw a dramatic finish with Nacer Bouhanni winning but one minute later a group of riders rolled in. Their chances took a real knock and it shows the tension and collateral damage. Today promises more of the same.
Paris-Nice Stage 1 Preview
If anyone’s in a hurry to get to Nice this is a slow start because Stage 1 starts and finishes in the same place. It might be the longest version of the eight day race ever but the race will make up ground elsewhere. The opening stage should be for the sprinters but watch for others trying to poach bonus seconds or get an early march on their rivals.
Here’s the first of daily previews with route info and more from the weather to TV listings.
Roads to Ride: Strade Bianche
As part of a series to explore the famous roads of cycling, here is one of the sections of the Strade Bianche or “white roads” in Italy’s central Tuscany region. The idea is to discover the road and its place in the world, whether as part of cycling’s history or to look at the route on a day without racing and it is open to all.
The white roads are unsealed roads that can be found in many parts of Italy but local geology in this region provides a greyish rock which, when ground, produces a white dust. These roads are old but have been seized in modern times for cycling, whether the retro L’Eroica ride or the Strade Bianche race.
Paris-Nice Contenders and Pretenders
A bicycle race is an exercise in hierarchy. We start with riders on equal time and by the end they are arranged in order. Tests like summit finishes and time trials help impose a reasonable order and over the years we’ve got used to seeing teams controlling events in stage races and relying on set piece moments to define the race, a “train” imposing itself of the race.
Only this year’s Paris-Nice has none of these cues, the route is a blank canvas where riders will have to take risks to win.
The Strade Bianche’s Classic Recipe
Many famous bike races are over one hundred years old. Liège-Bastogne-Liège was first run in 1892. These events have developed legends and histories that go a long way to make the sport what it is today. But the Strade Bianche race this weekend can trace its history back to 2007 yet it feels like a classic.
With new races springing up around the world what can the instant success of this race tell us? Or is it dangerous to wallow in nostalgia?
Wednesday Shorts
The track cycling world championships have finished and François Pervis is the hero of the games with an unprecedented triple sweep of the sprint, kilo and keirin races. All that plus the world record for the kilometre last December too. But loyal readers might remember the other French winner Thomas Boudat who won the omnium race and has been tipped on here before.
Roads to Ride: Genting Highlands
If there was ever a bike race with the wrong name it’s the Tour de Langkawi. Langkawi is an archipelago off the coast of Malaysia and the bike race normally visits its largest island for one stage before touring the Malaysian mainland for the next 10 days. Think of a Tour of Corsica that spends most of its timing riding around mainland France.
The race is usually decided by finish to the Genting Highlands, a name that’s famous with cyclists as a summit finish, but for everyone else its an Asian mix of Disneyland, Alpe d’Huez and tropical humidity.
2014 Critérium du Dauphiné Route
ASO have announced the route for the Critérium du Dauphiné in June. The race is a concentrated version of the Tour de France and this year’s edition is no exception. If the upcoming Paris-Nice has an experimental route, this is a more traditional course that will offer selective racing ahead of the Tour de France.