So much for taking it easy, Alberto Contador even tried a late attack yesterday to pre-empt the sprinters. Today brings the Queen Stage and a vicious summit finish. A Contador-Froome duel awaits but as it’s so early neither are at the top of their form and we should see others push them.
Professional bike racing is just that, a profession. While there many rules on workplace safety for factories and offices, there are few when it comes to racing down a mountain at 100km/h. Now efforts are underway to make racing safer in extreme weather. The UCI’s Road Commission, prompted by the rider union CPA, is exploring this. Cyclingnews.com explains more.
About time or is the peloton turning soft? Maybe it’s not so binary because the interesting part will be seeing how they might write rules and protocols for something so subjective as when tough conditions become dangerous.
A day for the sprinters? There’s a tricky climb with 10% slopes just before the finish. After yesterday’s maxi-crash many riders are left licking their wounds and this could be a more open stage but Movistar and Giant-Alpecin have every reason to try for they stage win they expected yesterday.
The Ruta del Sol starts today with the added interest of Alberto Contador and Chris Froome. Between now and Sunday the race has it all with sprint stages, a time trial and two summit finishes. Plus it’s live on TV. Each day there will be a quick snap preview for the stage ahead. Today you get two because it’s a split stage with a sprint stage in the morning and a time trial later on.
It’s hard to know where to look this week with racing on so many fronts. Almost all the stars of the pro peloton will be visible this week whether in Oman, Andalucia or the Algarve plus more racing in Italy and France too.
There’s a regular refrain that the season only starts with the Het Nieuwsblad, Tirreno-Adriatico or Paris-Nice. Reality, snobbism or just different viewpoints?
He’s been runner-up this season and a couple of readers have been asking if Sagan is in trouble. Surely not, he’s only done one race this season and Qatar wasn’t the big goal: fans of Peter Sagan need not worry.
Forecasts can be foolish but let’s predict Peter Sagan is going to win Stage 2 of the Tour of Oman on Wednesday. The finish suits him perfectly with the difficult climb of Al Jissah just before the fast descent to the finish outside the Al Bustan hotel. He’s won here before.
The Gulf races are for training. It’s all about the spring classics campaign but he won’t have it easy. Alexander Kristoff is looks set to become his nemesis. The two were sprinting in Qatar and there paths are going to cross several times between now and Paris-Roubaix.
The King of the Alps. Europe’s highest mountain pass is more regal still thanks to the views and its length. At 48km this France’s longest paved climb. Used sparingly by the Tour de France, it’s a big high altitude test in two parts, a busy traffic artery, then the calm upper slopes.
Seven Cycles are advertising for February and it’s a custom of this blog to say thanks in public for their support.
The US framebuilder offers a range of custom carbon, titanium and steel frames and to find out more, click on the ad to visit their site and learn more. With Valentines Day coming up soon, what better time to show a sponsor some love?
Diego Ulissi will racing shortly after his ban ends in March. For some this appears to contravene the MPCC’s rules and the group today said it wants to check Ulissi’s situation. This in turn upset the Lampre-Merida team who in press release tennis, smashed back their response.
Amid all this there’s a lesson: any rider in the pro peloton is taking risks with a few puff on a Ventolin inhaler as studies show it can bring about large doses in excess of the WADA threshold.
Oman – Sky think Contador is bluffing – New UCI record rules – Qatar – 70km/h e-bike
La Course by La Vuelta looks set to get the go-ahead reports AS today, all that’s missing is the written permission from the UCI. The race was uncertain because the proposed date, timed to coincide with the Vuelta’s arrival in Madrid, meant a clash with several other women’s races and initially the UCI didn’t want this.