The summit finish of the Tour de Romandie this Saturday, the climb to the ski village of Torgon isn’t a celebrity summit finish, it’s just a quiet climb and the chance to take look at the UCI, cycling’s governing body.
Alps
Highlights of 2018: Part IV
In the fourth of five picks, here’s La Course which provided action, attacks and a twist in the final.
Roads to Ride: Colle San Carlo
A challenging climb that’s part scenic detour, part gymnasium. Off the radar for years, it’s on the route of the 2019 Giro and a rival to the likes of the Mortirolo and Mont du Chat thanks to its relentless gradient and length.
Tour de France Stage 10 Preview
The Tour heads into the mountains with the first of three consecutive Alpine stages. There’s no gentle start, this is a hard stage with some steep climbs throughout.
Tour de France Polka Dot Jersey Contenders
This one’s hard to predict because of the points scale and a lottery touch, getting in the right breakaway can count for so much. Here’s a look at the competition for 2018 with the contenders and what’s new with the points scale.
The Zoncolan
The Zoncolan is a special climb. There are many hard ascents around the world but even some of the most famous ones have been mastered by team tactics. The Zoncolan is so steep and intense that it foils big teams and makes for very simple stage finish with each rider battling themselves and gravity. It’s also helped popularise lower gearing in the pro peloton and the wider consumer market which is a good thing.
Route Mapping The Cols
See the map above, is the white road running north-south familiar? Well done if you named the Col du Galibier in the French Alps, better still if you mention the Télégraphe and Lautaret passes too. Only many common mapping services don’t label these mountain passes so if you’re looking online these famous places they can be hard to find.
The Roads to Ride series here get used by some as help to pick a destination but once you’ve picked one road, what about all the other nearby ones? A quick departure from pro cycling to some tips for mapping your rides in the Alps and beyond.
10 Roads to Ride
This blog’s road to rides section is enduringly popular and consequently there’s stream of email enquiries from readers wanting to know which ones are best, often people are planning a trip to the mountains or even a first visit to Europe and want to visit the roads featured. It’s always difficult to rank them, but for the fun of it here is a suggested top-10, some famous and some that ought to be.
Roads to Ride: The Col du Pré
On of the novelties of the 2018 Tour de France route is the use of back road climbs, smaller roads that have long been skirted by the race. The Col du Pré is one of these, a side road to reach the majestic Cormet de Roselend but worth the detour because it’s a gem of climb.
Roads to Ride: Plateau des Glières
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…