Paris-Tours Preview

Paris Tours

Autumn’s here and with it, the last televised race of the year. Labelled “the sprinters’ classic”, Paris-Tours might have a flat route but most of the winners in recent years have come from breakaways thanks to attacks launched late in the race.

Last year’s race was an exception of sorts with a bunch sprint but the top three riders had been on the attack in the last 20km, infiltrating a move instead of waiting for a sprint only to get caught and still find the energy to surge in final moments. It offered a thrilling finish. Can this Sunday’s race deliver?

Once a prestigious race, Paris-Tours has slipped in status still provides a thrill worth watching. More so because it’s the last classic until the 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. That’s 140 days away.

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Roads to Ride: The Colle delle Finestre

Colle Finestre

The Giro’s route for 2015 was announced earlier this week and one highlight is the Colle delle Finestre, the highest point of the 2015 Giro and unpaved too. What’s it like to ride?

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Friday Shorts

Andy Shleck is alive and well. A lot of the coverage of his retirement has resembled an obituary, with sorrow at his sudden departure, talk of a promising career that stopped too early and people sharing fond memories. Apart from a knee that can’t take the demands of pro cycling – the doctors said if he kept riding he’d need a knee transplant before he’s 40 – he’s in rude health, has a young family and he’s a millionaire too. He’ll be ok.

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Oleg Tinkov’s Indecent Proposal

Oleg Tinkov
Oleg Tinkov’s offer of a million Euros to ride all three grand tours has grabbed a lot of attention. It sounds good but anyone brave enough to take up the challenge could well finish the year out of pocket. It’s madness… but he does have a point.

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2015 Team Q&A

Matteo Pelucchi IAM Cycling
It’s official: 17 Teams are chasing 18 World Tour Places as the likes of IAM Cycling and MTN-Qhubeka prefer, for now, to stay in cycling’s second division knowing they’ll collect plenty of wildcard invitations. No surprises but several reader questions by email and Twitter following today’s announcement. Here’s a Q&A on the teams, timing and more.

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Astana’s Timely Self-Suspension

Maxim Iglinskiy

“Our image is tarnished because of these isolated incidents”
– Dimitri Fonfonov, Astana DS in L’Equipe

Two doping cases are dreadful news for a team but to make matters worse the Astana team now misses the final races of the year. This self-suspension is itself risks being tarnished if the team management has been orchestrating events to ensure they sit out the race of their choice.

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2015 Giro Route

Giro d'Italia

The 2015 Giro d’Italia will take place from May 9 – 31. With fewer summit finishes and time trial stages it offers a varied route with the best saved for last.

Here’s a look at the route, the early contenders and some more thoughts.

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The Moment The Race Was Won: Il Lombardia

Bergamo Alta Lombardia

Il Lombardia is one of the world’s longest bike races but the new course, much like the old course, concentrates the action on the final climb just minutes before the finish. The race sped through the citadel of Bergamo Alta where a select group of nine formed but it wasn’t until the final 500 metres that Dan Martin put in a late attack, quickly distancing his rivals.

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Il Lombardia Preview

Philippe Gilbert 2014 amstel lombardia

The route changes but the race stays the same. Sunday’s Il Lombardia race features a series of climbs with autumnal scenery in one of Europe’s cycling heartlands where some of the best riders will compete with the likes of Alejandro Valverde, Alberto Contador, Philippe Gilbert and Michał Kwiatkowski in action.

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