Tuesday Shorts

De Panne – Criterium International > F1 – How to Pronounce Mezgec – Stannard – Ag2r – Buy your own SRM – New Blood Doping Test

The Three Days of De Panne start today. A final tune-up ahead of Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix, this time last year Alexander Kristoff made a name for himself. It’s also a race infamous for crashes. It’s worth watching for the hectic sprints and to make notes on rider form but if ever a DS wanted to “punish” a rider then making them ride this race would be up there; alternatively it’s a crash course in learning to cope with Belgian racing with shoulder-rubbing, ditch-dodging and more.

Read more

No Photos Please

Wevelgem photographerDamien Vandamme got his Warholian 15 minutes of fame although the publicity is far from positive. Lying prone in the road, the Belgian later told Het Nieuwsblad wanted to capture an image of the bunch in the Gent-Wevelgem race as it rode past a British war cemetery saying “I don’t understand the fuss… …I never thought  I was in danger.”

Vandamme gets marks for effort but put both his own safety that of riders in danger too, all for a photo. You sense a career as a war reporter could be brief. Safely for everyone, he’s not a pro photographer, instead he’s just a local who got too zealous with his art. There’s an obvious lesson here that spectators should keep out the way when a race is approaching at 50km/h but there’s another too: most people taking photographs from the roadside end up with bad images and miss the moment they came to see in the first place.

Read more

Thanks to Holimites

All sponsors get a note of thanks and travel and tour operator Holimites has been here for March. They offer travel and stays in the Dolomites, home of some of Italy’s best mountain passes.

Read more

Gent-Wevelgem Preview

Peter Sagan E3 HarelbekeIt’s on Sunday and it’s in the World Tour so on paper this is a big race although the course probably isn’t as selective as the freshly finished E3 Harelbeke. Cobbles and climbs feature but so does a long section to the finish line making this the most sprinter-friendly of all the major cobbled classics.

Read more

Volta a Catalunya Stage 7 Preview

The final stage and a decisive one too. Yes this features laps of an urban finish in a large city but it’s hilly, twisty and the time bonuses can still decide the race.

Read more

Volta a Catalunya Stage 6 Preview

There were only two nailed on sprint finishes in this race and today is one of them. This hasn’t stopped Giant-Shimano’s Luka Mezgec winning three stages so far and the route today is ideal for him.

But there’s an uninvited guest today: the wind. With Flanders enjoying balmy spring conditions, Catalonia is colder and windier and today’s stage could see crosswinds do some damage.

Read more

Volta a Catalunya Stage 5 Preview


The longest day in the race, this could be a day for a breakaway. As well as the usual preview fare there’s also a quick note below on the GP E3 Harelbeke which is planned to finish 20 minutes after today’s stage.

Read more

Where Are You?

Last week’s “Wash Your Hands” piece about pros and personal hygiene was a surprisingly popular read. It showed an often unreported but essential part of the job of a pro cyclist. With this in mind, time to look at the topic of “Whereabouts” reporting, the daily logging of location by athletes so that anti-doping authorities can visit for a control.

If you asked many riders about the worst part of the job some might complain about the rain, the crash risks or crappy hotels but many would reply in a flash with one word: Whereabouts.

Read more

Volta a Catalunya Stage 4 Preview


After yesterday’s introduction to the mountains today’s stage is the big one with a long, steep climb leading to a high altitude summit finish. It’s not certain to settle the race but will hand-pick the contenders.

Read more

+ More