There’s no other race like Paris-Roubaix. The severe cobbles, the velodrome finish, the bleak landscape and the soil. It seems old-fashioned but here is an event that’s made for TV and it thrives because of its exceptional character.
Month: April 2014
Wednesday Shorts
Marcel Kittel wins the Scheldeprijs. Three is the magic number today because he wins the race for the third year in a row and because it’s the team’s third win today with Jonas Ahlstrand winning Stage 2 of the Circuit de la Sarthe and Kirsten Wild taking the win in the Energiewacht Tour.
Book Review: The Monuments
The Monuments – The Grit and The Glory of Cycling’s Greatest One-Day Races by Peter Cossins
With calendar changes promoting and relegating different events from year to year there are five one day races that sit above all of the others. These “Monuments” have stood the test of time and built a considerable capital of prestige, history and legend and this book is their tale.
Tramadol
One of the unwelcome side effects of following pro cycling is a passing acquaintance with medicine. In recent years it’s been haematology first with the haematocrit count then EPO and DIY blood doping. Now a quick look at analgesia thanks to Tramadol, a powerful painkiller that’s being used and abused in the peloton. It seems a ban is only a matter of time.
The Paris-Roubaix Rain Dance
The Atacama desert. The Sahara. These are some of the driest spots on the planet. How about Roubaix in the north of France? It hasn’t rained there since 2002.
Vuelta al Pais Vasco Preview
No daily previews but a quick look at this special race in the Basque Country. A big field, a tough course and one of the hotbeds of cycling in Europe make this one of the best spring stage races. It’s live on TV too.
The Moment The Race Was Won: The Tour of Flanders
400 metres, 300… 250… 200 metres to go. Suddenly the four riders launched the sprint and Fabian Cancellara accelerated, took the lead and kept it to celebrate as he crossed the line. This was the moment the race was won.
The finishing straight was a nail-biter but anyone who watched the race live would have felt the tension for much longer, the quartet’s late sprint for the line was only the final act in a race of tension, drama and surprise.
Roads to Ride: The Koppenberg
Never has a climb been so big in myth and so small in reality. The Koppenberg has a vertical gain of just 62 metres, the height of a large tree but its legend runs so tall. It’s a relative newcomer to the sport and there are riders in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders born before this climb was ever used in a race.
Tour of Flanders Preview
The greatest one day race in the world takes place this Sunday. Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen look to make history with Peter Sagan wanting to join them as a winner of De Ronde. But it’s far more than a triangular contest. There’s a revised route that’s harder than and giant crowds help make this race one of the highlights of the year.
Here’s the preview for De Ronde with the route, contenders, pretenders, weather, TV and more.
Team Victory Rankings
We’re one quarter of the way through the cycling season already. 25% of the season’s racing days have been ridden. As we go into the peak classics season Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Giant-Shimano lead.
But as you’ll see below the win rate has almost no correlation to a team’s World Tour ranking, winning often doesn’t mean a team tops the rankings. Plus there’s the Pro Conti chart below.