Having blogged about riders’ names, where Boonen means beans and Cipollini is Italian for small onions, here’s another name: Campagnolo. What does campagnolo mean? It’s an Italian term that translates as someone from the campi or fields or more precisely… a country bumpkin. I’m not sure that’s the sort of image you had in mind? … Read more
Don’t touch Milan-San Remo!As I wrote last week, Milan-San Remo is the longest race on the calendar but it all comes down to the final 20km. Reading the post-race comments it seems many people lament this. For many the race just isn’t exciting enough. But I don’t see why the race needs more climbs and … Read more
It doesn’t get more dangerous than an unlit tunnel. If you haven’t ridden in an unlit tunnel before, let me explain what it’s like. You suddenly go from daylight to dark and can’t see the riders around you, nor the road in front. The first time it happened, the tunnel had a bend in it … Read more
This weekend is always a great one for cycling fans. Why? Well because we get to see almost every top rider in the sport competing. In the south of Spain we’ll see Wiggins, Armstrong, Menchov and the fast-improving František Raboň going head to head in the Vuelta a Murcia’s TT stage. Over in Italy it’s … Read more
Our sport has its classic races. Some are more than 100 years old – Liège-Bastogne-Liège was first run in 1892 – and they’ve developed legends and histories that go a long way to make the sport what it is today. Sometimes a new race comes along and the organisers struggle to make it work. They … Read more
The details of the Italian road race championships have been made public. Here’s some info on the circuit for the pros. The route is dominated by the the Ca’ del Poggio climb which whilst 1.3km long has an average gradient of 15 per cent. A wall that has to be climbed many times. The press … Read more
Watch out for this guy, Jean Christophe Peraud. A strong MTB rider – silver in the Olympics behind the invincible Julien Absalon – he’s the reigning French TT champion, having upstaged the likes of Chavanel and Moreau last summer. He won that title with a very aero position but his MTB background allows him to … Read more