What’s the fastest way to become a millionaire? Start as a billionaire goes the joke only plenty won’t be laughing right now as stockmarkets and commodity prices crash. Several high profile team owners have seen their fortunes descend faster than Peter Sagan off the Rochette. In the first of a two-part series looking at the wealthy backers of the sport here are the billionaire and millionaire World Tour team owners and sponsors.
What was it about the team sponsored by a $40 billion company that attracted RCS to give Gazprom-Rusvelo a wildcard for the Giro? You probably can’t name a rider on the Russian team and if you could you’d know they’re not exactly “must have” riders that the Giro needs to send ratings soaring. So the invitation is a surprise. It’s probably down to money but the real concern is collusion between this team and Katusha as both share the same DNA.
The 2016 World Tour begins with the Tour Down Under in Adelaide. This is now a familiar race with habitual finish lines and known climbs but who wins is anyone’s guess given the starting slot on the calendar.
Here’s a preview of the race with stage profiles, the contenders and pretenders for stages and the GC plus TV listings and finish times.
Is massage a waste of time? No but it may only offer tiny performance gains says a meta analysis of sports science literature.
A reminder that supporter jerseys, caps and socks are available from UK shop Prendas Ciclismo. The price is £55 (roughly $80 / €73) plus postage. The jerseys are made by Santini and the Prendas website has all the info with details on sizing and more.
After last week’s Riders to Watch for 2016, here is a selection of neo-pros to introduce. Previous picks have included several second year pros but this year’s intake seems so promising that all the names below are novices. Here’s a look at some promising riders with big results, fat contracts and some musical talents.
An isolated mountain road normally used by hikers and shepherds this climb will be the crucial summit finish for the sixth stage of Paris-Nice. It’s new in a race but a gem for tourists and amateurs out training.
Here’s a selection of ten established riders to watch in the coming season. Some stand on the cusp of a big win, some face challenges on the road and others face new challenges like leadership and cohabitation with new team mates.
Here is the list of who is riding what in 2016. You’ll find all the pro team bikes for the 18 World Tour teams and the 23 Pro Continental teams. As usual it’s a mixed story with many top teams using the mix-and-match approach to parts in order to accommodate more paying sponsors.
Who is the better rider, Peter Sagan or Alejandro Valverde? It’s topic for a café chat but they can and are ranked arithmetically by the UCI and Valverde topped the rankings for 2015. Now cycling’s governing body is launching a new rankings system f0r 2016. Released by stealth with a Christmas Eve press release it’s got little coverage since.
Still, points can be the currency of the pro cyclist’s jobs market and the ranking system often matters to teams and fans alike. With this in mind here’s an explainer along with tables listing all the points to scroll past. There’s also a warning about confusion because if the UCI is launching a new ranking it’s also keeping an old one and they’ll both have similar sounding names.