Nairo Quintana is the obvious pick. The depth of field is better than ever so whatever Quintana may do the next three weeks look promising given so many other candidates want to win or stand on the podium in Milan. Here’s a look at the contenders for the maglia rosa.
With the Giro around the corner, a quick rattle of the collection tin because all sales of supporter kit really do help. Now the jersey is cheaper than ever as Prendas Ciclismo have knocked £5 off the price and if you’re outside the UK the exchange rate can help more too.
As ever sales revenue is split between the shop and this site and this helps keep the wheels turning here.
As tweeted earlier today the Giro d’Italia rulebook includes a novelty for 2017: the best descender prize. Some on social media thought it was a joke but it’s black and white in the race rulebook. Here’s a quick explainer on the prize and some thoughts on it too.
Update: the competition and prize has been dropped by RCS. The descents will still be timed and the data made public.
The site’s Giro guide is now online at inrng.com/giro. Once the race is on there will be daily stage previews and a variety of other pieces looking at Italian cycling culture and more. If you’re browsing the desktop version look for the “Giro” link at the top of the page. Mobile device users can use … Read more
It’s got explosions, near accidents, sprints, anger, tears and more yet this a documentary film that invites meditation on the state of pro cycling. If you’re the type who acts first and thinks later then you might find yourself on a flight to Colombia very soon with your bike sitting in the hold below.
The Giro d’Italia starts in ten days’ time and just as there’s a season-long calendar of all the major men’s and women’s races to download, here’s the stage by stage Giro ical for your phone or diary ahead of the grande partenza in Sardinia.
The calendar keeps proving surprisingly popular for each grand tour. It lists each stage along with the distance plus a stellar rating to indicate the strategic importance or likely entertainment.
Michele Scarponi, a jester and the accidental winner of the 2011 Giro d’Italia, died on Saturday 22 April aged 37 following a collision with a truck on the outskirts of his home town of Filottrano.
The final spring classic and the oldest, the race began in 1892 and these days marks the transition from one day classics to the hilly stage races thanks to a course that’s as hard as a day in the Alps with plenty of vertical gain from the ten marked climbs and many more that are unlabelled. Alejandro Valverde is the obvious pick for Sunday this time he’s got more challengers in a race that is harder to control.
Enjoy the Flèche Wallonne yesterday? A series of breakaways tried their luck until a small breakaway reached the foot of the Mur where the winner attacked to take an impressive solo win. If this scenario sounds unfamiliar then it’s the story of the Women’s Flèche Wallonne and by all accounts it sounded more exciting than the men’s version, even if both races were essentially repeats with Anna van der Breggen and Alejandro Valverde each winning again and again.
This week is packed with high quality women’s racing thanks to the revived Amstel Gold Race, the established Flèche Wallonne feminine and the newly-created Liège-Bastogne-Liège for women. It’s great to see this growth but the deliberate schedule clash forces the women’s race to compete with the men’s race for media attention and the inevitable outcome is the women’s race barely registers.
Formulaic and predictable? Yes but so are many blockbluster films and even if you can guess the ending it can still be exciting to watch. The Flèche Wallonne has become a known quantity defined by its final climb, the infernally steep Mur de Huy.
Once again Alejandro Valverde is the prime pick and the finish is forecast for 4.35pm CET. But in case you want a fuller preview, here it is…