This weekend is always a great one for cycling fans. Why? Well because we get to see almost every top rider in the sport competing.
In the south of Spain we’ll see Wiggins, Armstrong, Menchov and the fast-improving František Raboň going head to head in the Vuelta a Murcia’s TT stage.
Over in Italy it’s the wonderful Monte Paschi Eroica race, with many of the best classics riders taking on the strade bianche of Tuscany before a finish in the legendary palio of Siena, famous for its madcap annual horserace. For my previous thoughts on why this is already a magic race, despite being new on the calendar, click here.
We’ll see Contador lining up for Paris-Nice, he’s unlikely to get hypoglycaemic in Sunday’s prologue, the race going on for a full week.
Don’t forget the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, the 3 days of West Flanders. The least enticing of all the races but good preparation for the classics.
Plus there’s the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia, where José Rujano has just won the mountain stage to the Genting Highlands, taking the lead in the overall too.
Altogether it’s a busy weekend for the sport, with grand tour contenders and classics specialists in action. It might only be early March but the season is fully underway.