The cobbled classics start this weekend with Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a 200km introduction to Flanders with all the classic ingredients from bad weather to great fans. Some races are held to promote tourism but this is so grim the images must put people off visiting Belgium but the rough conditions make the race all the better.
All roads lead to Belgium. No other country embraces cycling in the same way, the fervour is extensive and comprehensive. There are billboard ads in the streets and at bus stops to promote races – including that one for the E3. The local press are full of reports for this weekend’s double of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and last night’s TV had reports on the route recon by teams. Gossip magazines put cyclists on the front page. There was even a live stream for the great Claude Criquelion’s funeral yesterday. The pedal revolution is televised.
It’s easy to see the Ronde as one of the sport’s best races but it doesn’t automatically deliver the best racing. This year’s edition had solid action through the final hour and suspense right until the end.
Autumn’s here and with it, the last televised race of the year. Labelled “the sprinters’ classic”, Paris-Tours might have a flat route but most of the winners in recent years have come from breakaways thanks to attacks launched late in the race.
Last year’s race was an exception of sorts with a bunch sprint but the top three riders had been on the attack in the last 20km, infiltrating a move instead of waiting for a sprint only to get caught and still find the energy to surge in final moments. It offered a thrilling finish. Can this Sunday’s race deliver?
Once a prestigious race, Paris-Tours has slipped in status still provides a thrill worth watching. More so because it’s the last classic until the 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. That’s 140 days away.
Il Lombardia is one of the world’s longest bike races but the new course, much like the old course, concentrates the action on the final climb just minutes before the finish. The race sped through the citadel of Bergamo Alta where a select group of nine formed but it wasn’t until the final 500 metres that Dan Martin put in a late attack, quickly distancing his rivals.
Katusha’s Giampolo Caruso is the the last attacker of the day. He led into the final bend but a trio of Simon Gerrans, Alejandro Valverde and Michał Kwiatkowski storm past to sweep the podium. This was the moment the race was won.
It marked a thrilling finish but it was a moment that might have had rattled millions of television viewers out of their siesta after they’d fallen asleep during Sunday afternoon’s coverage.
The hilliest of the one day classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is comparable to an Alpine stage of the Tour or Giro in terms of vertical gain, although it needs 260km to achieve this. Glance at the race profile for Sunday and you’ll see the 10 climbs on the route. These are the côtes répertoriées, or “catalogued climbs”.
Only the race has many climbs that aren’t catalogued. Here’s one that is crucial as it is climbed with less than 20km to go.
The ultimate one day race? This certainly one of the toughest athletic contests of the year where form and fitness trump brute force and a touch of luck. The 100th edition includes a nod to the past with some classic climbs back on the route.
But there’s plenty to look forward to. Philippe Gilbert and Alejandro Valverde are the prime picks to win but there’s a big field that includes grand tour winners and classics specialists alike. Here’s a preview with the route, climbs, contenders, TV info, weather and more.
199km but this is a race dominated by the final climb of the Mur de Huy. Even if it’s actually climbed three times it’s still the third time that usually determines the winner. But it takes plenty to get to the final climb and more to arrive at the foot of the “wall” in the perfect place. This mid-week classic is always a drama and a great pointer for Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège showdown.
The Amstel Gold Race is a race of repetition. Repeat enough small climbs and you get a total vertical gain close to an Alpine stage of the Tour de France. The Cauberg is climbed repeatedly. And today Philippe Gilbert repeated exactly the same move that won him the world championship road race in 2012. On the last time up the Cauberg he attacked hard on the inside of the bend, the steepest part of the climb and immediately distanced everyone else and over the top he had a tailwind to help speed him to the finish line.