UCI Survey

UCI logo

The UCI has an online survey to sound out opinions on the sport. The UCI is often a remote governing body to outsiders. In fact its staff are often helpful but as an entity it’s rarely accountable to fans and followers. Here is the chance to have a say.

Give it a try for yourself online at uci.ch and follow the link on their page to start the survey. It takes 10-20 minutes.

But the survey is a strange creation with some odd questions that might tempt you to click quickly but sometimes the answers are complicated. Some questions are leading and you can sense the result they want to achieve. It’s worth noting this as new investors look to cycling, or if you’re a sceptic, the barbarians are at the gate. Here’s a look at the questions, where they lead and more.

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The Waste of a Race

Paris Nice Green Zone

Time for some trash talk. There are many efforts to clean up cycling these days but here’s a more obvious example: stop riders littering the countryside they ride through.

Trials have been done in several races and now the UCI is getting on board for Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.

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Paris-Nice Overview

Paris Nice 2013

Paris-Nice leaves the French capital for the Mediterranean coast and its sunshine. Along the way there’s a variety of terrain including the high mountains. A mini Tour de France in March. A fine race it its own right, the daily battles also give us a clue to the form of riders ahead of the classics.

Here’s an overview for the whole race. There’s a concise preview of every stage with my take on the day plus plenty of other information on the prizes, jerseys, TV schedules and more.

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The History of the Three Kilometre Rule

Three kilometre rule

There’s a rule where if a rider falls or suffers a mechanical in the last three kilometres of a stage then they do not lose time on the overall classification. It’s worth explaining in its own right as it’s invoked many times a year and will come up in a stage race soon.

With Paris-Nice starting this weekend we could see the rule cited which would be appropriate it was this race that invented the rule, first because of a crash to a star rider and then formalised some years later thanks to Eddy Merckx.

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Team Victory Rankings

It’s early in the season but as you’ll see below, not as early as you might think. Here is the state of play so far with the win count for the 18 World Tour teams.

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Roads to Ride – Croce D’Aune

Croce d'Aune

As the ninth part of a series to explore the famous roads of cycling, here is the Croce d’Aune on the edge of the Italian Alps. 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 Croce d’Aune isn’t the highest road nor the hardest. But it has been a place of disaster and invention and it is in a scenic ride in its own right. If last week’s piece on France’s Col de la République was partly a celebration of the derailleur, the Croce d’Aune is the birthplace of the quick release lever and more. In fact a wheel change on this climb arguably led to the invention and perfection of modern cycle componentry as we know it today.

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The Moment The Race Was Won: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Paolini Vandenbergh Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2013

Luca Paolini and Stijn Vandenbergh slip away from a lead group of 10 riders after the Paddestraat section of cobbles. The pair took 10 seconds, 15 seconds and quickly the gap couldn’t be bridged by an attack, only a concerted chase would work. This was the moment the race was won.

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Omloop Het Nieuwsblad + Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Preview

Hellingen

The spring classics start this weekend with the double-header of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday followed by Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday. No more Arabian nights in five star hotels or photos ops with a cute kangaroo, now it’s time for some cobbles, narrow roads and wintry weather. There’s no gentle introduction here. Time for the hardmen to fight.

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UCI Points System To Change

UCI minimum wage

UCI points are not the greatest talking point. But points are the currency of pro cycling and influence the sport, from the racing to the promotion and relegation of teams.

Changes are coming to the system that will affect riders, teams and the racing alike. It looks like good news for some but worrying for others like Euskaltel or Vacansoleil-DCM. Let’s see what’s planned and how this might change things.

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Here Come The Spring Classics

Quickstep classics boonen verkenning

You can almost smell the beer and frieten now. This weekend sees the start of the cobbled classics. I’ll do a preview for the weekend’s double bill of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne but ahead of these it’s worth noting and celebrating the start of the spring classics season.

Yesterday Tom Boonen was photographed wheeling a suitcase across a car park. So what? Well that’s the point, a man with a suitcase is newsworthy because he’s a pro cyclist and the classics are starting. And when Boonen rode the course with his team mates this training session was itself a media event with photographers out to record the moment.

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