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Embed from Getty Images Plenty happened in Paris-Roubaix but after the news of the death of Michael Goolaerts last night, writing about Peter Sagan, the tactics of Quick Step or sharing anecdotes about Silvan Dillier all seems a bit flat, mere side stories. Condoleances to his family, friends and colleagues.

Pro Race Calendar Reminder

Loyal readers might be familiar with the calendar but with the season in full swing there are many more readers so if you missed the posts about it during the off-season, here’s a reminder you can get a pro cycling calendar for your organiser, phone or computer diary with all the major UCI men’s and women’s pro races around the world included. Below there’s a quick explainer on how to subscribe, the meaning of the UCI labels and more.

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Pro Conti Explained

Having covered the Pro Continental team sponsors yesterday a reader emailed in to ask what makes a team “Pro Conti”. Good point, the label gets used a lot but what does it really mean? How does a team get this status, which races can take part in and what is a typical budget? All this and more explained below.

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Thursday Shorts

Many are wondering whether Froome will take to the start of the Giro d’Italia. Will there be umbrella girls on the startline too? The race employs women on the start line to hold umbrellas over the leaders of each jersey competition. Formula 1 has just announced it will stop using “grid girls”.

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A Lifetime Ban

A quick note on Lance Armstrong’s lifetime ban which excludes him from competition and also from attending events, including the Tour of Flanders.

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On National Jerseys

Fabio Aru’s Italian champion jersey lasted one day. After finishing 2017 in the Italian flag he was unveiled on the 1 January in a jersey that had the smallest hint of Italian design. This caused some outrage and mockery on social media; and serious enquiries too. The result was that the jersey has been changed. With this in mind why do teams seem to offer such different versions of these jerseys and what, if any, are the rules surrounding their design?

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The Giro’s New Jerusalem

The Giro’s recent route announcement confirmed the race is returning to Rome, a publicity coup for the mayor Virginia Raggi (pictured). It’s often seemed odd having a national tour that doesn’t visit the nation’s capital, more so given Rome cityscape can provide stunning images. But the ensuing story of the route wasn’t about Rome. As well as the route being presented – more of which soon – one snafu was the use of race graphics mentioning “West Jerusalem” as the start location only for the Israeli government to threaten to pull the funding if this wasn’t promptly changed to “Jerusalem”. And lo it was.

This small spat highlights the ongoing sensitivity over the territorial disputes between Israelis and Palestinians. There are plenty of other places to discuss this and the point is that the Giro’s start is so controversial this blanked out thoughts of the racing on the opening days with more focus on the labels and their political sensitivity than the actual roads.

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Tuesday Shorts

A look at a few stories and issues in and around the sport this week, from Bergen to beards.

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Too Much, Too Soon?

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Imagine being World Champion aged 17 or 18? For many it’s a dream, for a few it’s a reality. But is a junior rainbow jersey worth having? It could mean pressure on a rider, a label to live up to for the rest of their career. Also to focus on the road from such an early age means missing out on other things. But increasingly it seems junior success is an indicator of a successful pro career and more than ever riders who thrive in road races are enjoying themselves in other disciplines like cyclo-cross, MTB or the track and this can only benefit them.

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