Month: March 2016

2016 Dauphine Route

The route for the 2016 Critérium du Dauphiné has been presented today, a ray of summer sunshine amid the clouds, mud and crosswinds that dominate the sport right now. The Dauphiné is a race that’s often seen in the shadow of the Tour de France because it borrow some of the same roads and also because it’s a dress rehearsal for July but this is always a good race in its own right, think Chris Froome’s final stage overhaul of Tejay van Garderen in last year or Andrew Talansky’s tactical masterpiece the year before. Here’s a closer look at this year’s route and more.

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Team Victory Rankings

Phrases like “start of the spring classics” might resonate now but we’re already one quarter of the way through the season now with 145 days of racing done so far. Here’s a look at the stats and some of the stories behind them like whether FDJ’s surprise success this season is going to cost them financially or some musings on whether the Pro Conti ranks have any must-have teams to award a wildcard.

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The Moment The Race Was Won: Gent-Wevelgem

Peter Sagan attacks up the Kemmelberg. He went on to win the sprint but his attack was the definitive moment as only a two other riders could follow him up, over and down the landmark climb. This was the moment the race was won.

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Gent-Wevelgem Preview

This Sunday’s race can’t be as good as last year’s wild wind edition. Normally this race is the most sprinter-friendly of the cobbled classics and it’s World Tour race too, so we get action and a deep field. Cobbles and climbs feature but so does a long, obstacle free run to the finish line to suit the sprinters. This time the wind will blow but more moderately, it’s there to be exploited by those teams who fear a sprint finish.

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The Moment The Race Was Won: E3 Harelbeke

Michał Kwiatkowski jumps with 250m to go. Peter Sagan tries to sprint but is quickly distanced by the Pole, his long term rival, who condemns him to yet another second place. This was the moment the race was won.

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GP E3 Harelbeke Preview

Taaienberg

It may not be the Ronde van Vlaanderen or Paris-Roubaix but in recent years this race has made up for its lack of history and dull name with some exciting racing and it’s become one of the finest cobbled classics of the year, it’s 50km less than next week’s Ronde which allows more riders to be in the mix.

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Kwaremont Beer Review

What do non-cyclists think of when they think about Belgium? A small country with two languages? The football resurgence? Plastic Bertrand? Chocolates? The EU institutions? Right now the country is in the news for the wrong reasons thanks to some murderous losers, hopefully an aberration.

As the Dwars Door Vlaanderen race shows, the show goes on. Indeed for the cyclist Belgium rhymes with the one day classics and cobbled climbs where the bleak landscapes are the field for sporting contests. No other country in the world celebrates cycling as much, it is a genuine national sport here. Another area where Belgium is world class is brewing, whether thanks to AB InBev – the giant company with its HQ in Leuven that claims to brew a quarter of the world’s beer – or all myriad of microbreweries and monasteries that produce such a variety of beer. One newcomer to the market is Kwaremont, a brand that’s directly exploiting cycling’s heritage and demographics.

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The Cipressa Conspiracy Theories

Arnaud Demare Sanremo

Did Arnaud Démare cheat his way to Sanremo? Even asking the question is explosive as it’s a rhetorical device, a loaded question. The Milan-Sanremo winner has seen his win tarnished by allegations first aired in La Gazzetta Dello Sport from two riders that he was driven up the climb of the Cipressa in order to get back to the peloton after his crash. So far there’s no proof but the story is interesting for the way it shows us how internet polemics and conspiracy theories work.

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The Moment The Race Was Won : Milan-Sanremo

In a race that’s always uncertain this was a vintage finish with attacks over the Poggio, moves on the descent and more attacks on the way into Sanremo. Even the sprint finish was uncertain after Fernando Gaviria crashed and Nacer Bouhanni’s chain jumped with 150m to go. It left the way open for Arnaud Démare to deliver his long sprint and the first French win in Sanremo since 1995.

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Milan-Sanremo Preview

The first Monument of the year, this Saturday’s Milan-Sanremo is all about the tense finish, the paradox of the longest race of the year that’s often decided in the final metres and one of the rare one day races where grand tour contenders and sprinters can each stake their claim. Who will keep their nerve?

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