Marcel Kittel and Fernando Gaviria both finished the season on 14 wins and arguably Kittel had the better season with five stage wins in the Tour de France, perhaps he should given his age and status. Both he and his team mate won over a fifth of the races they started but the most efficient rider of the year was Alejandro Valverde who won 30% of the races he competed in.
With the season finished it’s time to look back at the wins and also take a deeper look at the stats. Which teams had the most podium places but the fewest wins? Which teams are the most reliant on one rider?
New for the 2018 Tour de France, the Plateau des Glières will feature during Stage 10. The gravel road at the top is novel and the climb to get there is tough too. Here is a closer look…
The Tour de France was unveiled this week while La Course, the women’s race, was mentioned in passing. Where will it go? We know the start and finish and it’s back in the Alps but if the date was announced the proper route wasn’t. Here’s a guess at the most likely route.
The 2018 Tour de France route has been presented and it’s full of novelty from gravel roads to unclimbed passes as well as a new time bonus system. Here’s a closer look at the roads ahead…
The MPCC group has called on WADA to ban Tramadol and to impose stricter regulations of corticosteroids in an open letter. The idea is noble but the method of an open letter seems fruitless. What if cycling’s stakeholders could be “nudged” into adopting these measures? This week saw Richard Thaler win the Nobel Memorial prize for economics for his ideas on prompting behavioural changes and maybe there are lessons that can be applied to the pro peloton.
Here’s the 2018 pro cycling calendar for your organiser, phone or computer diary. All of the major UCI men’s and women’s pro races around the world are included and below there’s a quick explainer on how to subscribe, the meaning of the UCI labels and more.
The 2018 calendar is much like the 2017 version but there are a few changes and differences and there will be a closer look at the significance of this sometime soon. In the meantime, fill your diaries…
A reminder to readers that you can get some gear and support this blog at the same time. There are t-shirts, jerseys and socks.
Across northern Italy it’s been vendemmia time, the grape harvest. This time Vincenzo Nibali picked, pressed and bottled Thibaut Pinot to win the tour of Lombardy, reeling in the Frenchman on the climb to Civiglio and dropping him on the descent to ride solo into Como. It was Nibali’s second win in the race and if many expected the result it was thrilling to watch.
Just as the last remaining sunflowers await harvest there’s one more classic at stake. A classic with a small “c”, Paris-Tours has a long history and some big winners but doesn’t enjoy the same status today sitting outside of the UCI’s World Tour. Nevermind the UCI’s label this race consistently offers a lively finale, a tense battle between between the breakaway and the sprinters.