What are the clichés of a Flemish race? Cobbles and crosswinds come to mind but amongst the others are big crowds, Luc, Rodania and riders exploiting every space possible including the cycle path and kerb.
Only now this last part will be outlawed in 2014. A new UCI rule is coming and any kerb-hopping, path-picking, lane-switching riders will be disqualified.
Johnny Hoogerland and Ellen van Dijk win the Amstel Curacao race. It’s a fun end of season event although the new Saitama criterium seems to have eclipsed it for zany photo opportunities
I bet you’ve never heard of the Colle del Nivolet. The Giro has not visited and soon after the pass the tarmac ends, a road to nowhere. So what’s this place got going for it? If the photo above by Flickr’s Muneaki isn’t enough it’s in the top-10 of Europe’s highest paved roads.
Amid the famous climbs of the Tour de France and Giro in this series, here is the opposite: a road without celebrity status but which is one of Europe’s best, almost road you must ride.