Chris Froome is set to resume racing at the upcoming Ruta Del Sol race in Spain. So far, so normal as it’s common for stage race specialists to start their season here, Froome himself did so in 2015 (pictured) and you might remember his battle with Alberto Contador. This isn’t a normal situation with Froome’s ongoing anti-doping case following the excessive quantity of salbutamol from last year’s Vuelta. There are lots of questions, here are a few answers…
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”.
You’ve surely watched the Tour de France on TV but have you seen it for real? The Tour belongs to the crowds and readers regularly email in questions about visiting the race. With this in mind here are a few suggestions and tips to help plan ahead.
A quick note on Lance Armstrong’s lifetime ban which excludes him from competition and also from attending events, including the Tour of Flanders.
It’s a hard time to turn pro. The reduction in team sizes for 2018 means recruitment has been under pressure, especially for teams without obvious development programmes but 30 neo-pros have joined the World Tour. Teams are scouring the world for new talent, the likes of Quick Step are no longer automatic homes for the best Flemish talent as the team signs neo-pros from Colombian and Ecuador these days. Here are some names which might be new for you today but hopefully they’re more familiar by the end of the season.
Here are ten riders to follow this year. They’re not picked as ten of the best who are forecast to top the rankings, more that some could go onto great things and others have different challenges.
The World Tour gets underway with the Tour Down Under. After the pre-race criterium and photo ops with local wildlife the race begins on Tuesday and this year’s route features the regular haunts as well as an intriguing finish to Uraidla just over the long climb to Norton Summit.
With the new season about to start do you know your Soudal from your Sky, your Michelton from your Movistar? Here’s an A-Z primer on the World Tour team sponsors for 2018 and what they do.
The route for the 2018 edition of Paris-Nice is out and the race is the first of the major stage races and has been thrilling in recent years. Here’s a quick look at what to expect from the route.
All roads lead to Rome and the route of the 2018 Giro d’Italia was presented late last year with a course going from Israel to the Italian capital. Here are some notes on the course.