The first mountain stage of the Tour de France, today’s stage offers a lively finish with some sharp climbs saved for late including the first summit finish of the Tour. The first of the Vosges trilogy over the long weekend in France, today is a mountain hors d’oeuvre but promises an exiting finish.
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Tour de France Stage 4 Preview
Another day for the sprinters. Is a Marcel Kittel win inevitable?
The Strangest Race of the Year
The UCI is set to bring in new rules restricting the size of a team in a race to eight riders. Grand Tours could keep an exemption for nine riders but it means teams of no more than nine in a race. Everything is different this weekend with the strangest races on the pro calendar, the national championships and in France FDJ will field a team of 26 riders.
Friday Shorts
Hopefully you’ve seen the on-bike footage above from the Tour de Suisse. You might note each time we seem to see footage it’s from Giant-Shimano. Some teams are supportive of the use but others are outside the loop. A reminder that the IMG inCycle videos are there to showcase the member teams of “Project Avignon” meaning Astana, Ag2r, Katusha, FDJ and Europcar are not part of this. So while we might want more footage and for it to be on TV, we don’t have a unified front. So while the footage is progress it also speaks to the dysfunctions and divisions in the sport.
The Steeper The Climb, The Easier It Is
Monte Zoncolan awaits the riders in the Giro. Climbs like the Stelvio, Galibier and others have rich history but Monte Zoncolan’s as new as you get. Although it had been climbed before from Sutrio it was only in 2007 that the road from Ovaro was used with its infamous gradients.
But what makes a climb tough? The steeper the slope the more the contest is reduced to a rider’s power to weight ratio, stripping out tactics, roadcraft and everything else that makes road racing such a subtle contest.
Giro Stage 20 Preview
The final stage of the Giro given tomorrow promises a procession followed by a city criterium. What a way to finish with the infamous Monte Zoncolan too.
Thursday Shorts
Is Philippe Gilbert back? He won the Brabantse Pijl yesterday by beating Michael Matthews in the sprint but only minutes before he was making a big solo effort off the front of the bunch. It’s only his second win since the world championship title in 2012 and his first win in a BMC jersey in his home country. We’ll know more about his form and confidence this Sunday with the Amstel.
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.
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.
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.