Riding some of the Tour de France route last summer under the pretext of route recons for this website’s stage previews was a pleasure. Cycling through rural France in the height of summer is always a joy.
Along the way there was a common theme of closed village cafés. Place after place so many had shut for good that there had to be a reason behind this trend and a mental note was made to explore what’s happening.
A reminder that supporter kit is for sale. If you’ve enjoyed reading this year then why not get something for yourself and tip some coin this way at the same time.
Alpe d’Huez, Mont Ventoux, the Muur van Geraardsbergen… the Kogashi Forest. You probably know the first three so here’s a closer look at a mountain road that’s packed with passionate, knowledgeable fans when the Japan Cup comes along.
The UCI has announced a sweeping deal “to transform cycling in China”. In more practical and grounded terms this means a new men’s World Tour race, a women’s race, mass participation events and the creation of a new satellite of the UCI’s World Cycling Centre. There’s lots to cheer and some concern too.
Greg Van Avermaet and Peter Sagan come first and second in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. It sounds so plausible, so probable as both have enjoyed an outstanding year. What a difference a season makes because rewind to February and both were in a losing streak and often made the headlines for the way they lost races rather than won them.
Ultimate Etapes, Ride Europe’s Greatest Cycling Stages by Peter Cossins
Imagine you could ride anywhere in Europe, where would you go? It’s a nice thought experiment, perhaps begin by picking a preferred region and then think of some special roads and extrapolate this into the best part of a day’s ride. That’s the genesis of this book, a collection of 25 rides that are illustrated by lavish photos, route maps and plenty of detail on each of the proposed courses.
Less is more. Yesterday ASO, RCS and Flanders Classics announced in concert that they would shrink the team size for their events down by one. The grand tours go from nine riders per team to eight and the major classics from eight to seven riders. The race owners say it is to improve safety and enhance the sporting spectacle.
There’s a lot to be said for one week stage races. The good ones are concentrated versions of a grand tour with a varied mix of terrain and stage types. The brevity of the contest means every mountain stage counts and there’s rarely time to recover from mistakes. This year’s Paris-Nice was a textbook example and the final stage saved the best for last.
Wanty-Groupe Gobert have announced they’ve signed Lieuwe Westra for 2017. Can this get them a wildcard place in the Tour de France?
The Tour de France is far away but the invitations are issued early in the new season so they’re based on what we know today rather than results gained in the spring. Here’s a look at the contenders hoping for the golden ticket.
With the 2016 season over time to reflect on the racing and pick a handful of highlights. Paris-Roubaix comes first. It can be an easy pick because of extremism and eccentricy, it stands out because it’s so unlike anything else but this year’s race was gripping from start to finish and it was all live on TV too.