Back in January ten riders were picked out of interest to see how they’d fare. They were not picked as a forecast for the rankings, more that some could go onto great things and others have different challenges. As ever it’s always good to revisit things so here’s a look how they fared…
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Wednesday Shorts
There’s a big UCI gathering in Montreux, Switzerland at the moment and the seminars are reviewing the state of pro cycling, yesterday was for women’s cycling, today it’s the men’s side. There’s little news so far, official or leaked but one item is the extension of the video commissaire to all World Tour races according to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad who’ve spoken to Philippe Marien, a UCI commissaire who officiates at a lot of big races. Friday update:: it’ll be extended, but not to all races.
Paris-Tours Preview
The French autumn classic with a new twist this year, a series of gravel roads in between the vineyards. Also don’t miss this Saturday’s Giro dell’Emilia, more of which below too.
Aqua Blues
A year ago Aqua Blue Sport won a stage at the Vuelta, now they’ve pulled out of the Tour of Britain and won’t race again. Teams come and go but rarely do they stop before the season is out.
Tour de France Stage 11 Preview
Hardly a metre of flat, if some riders tried to save energy yesterday then today was a reason. It’s only 108km and packs in four good climbs.
Tour de France Stage 6 Preview
Two climbs at Mûr-de-Bretagne await, a lively stage finish and a test for the GC contenders.
Wednesday Shorts
The Adriatica Ionica stage race starts today, a 2.1 race in Italy. Normally with Halle-Ingooigem yesterday that’s it for pro racing beside the national championships until the Tour de France. Now there’s a new race to supply some more more race days and it takes place in north-eastern Italy with a finish in Trieste on Sunday after a team time trial today and a summit finish on the Passo Giau this Friday.
Thursday Shorts
The Tour de France will use a starting grid to place riders ahead of Stage 17, the ultra short stage of 65km from Bagnères-de-Luchon to Saint-Lary-Soulan. It’s been in the rulebook of the race for some time but seems to have caught attention recently.
Tour of the Alps Website
The Tour of the Alps started today, a tune-up race ahead of the Giro d’Italia and a start list to match. It’s worth it alone for the stunning scenery but has something that many other races do not: a good website. It’s actually remarkable enough to dwell on for a moment.