Monday Shorts

Cassani: Italy’s gain, TV’s loss – Cyclocross as a winter sport – Fixing the CX contract season – Two weeks to the TDU – Is Cognizant the new sponsor for Argos-Shimano?

Davide Cassani has been named as the new Italian national coach. The appointment is always treated as a big deal in Italy and concludes a saga of public commentary via La Gazzetta Dello Sport on the contenders before incumbent Paolo Bettini had even resigned and concluded with the blessing of dapper legend Alfredo Martini, the coach for over 20 years. You almost expected white smoke to waft from the chimney on Martini’s house. Habemus selector.

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Cookson’s 100 Days

It might be round number from the decimal system but over the years various political administrations and managerial careers have been reviewed after just 100 days. In this spirit it was 100 days ago that Brian Cookson rode the train from Florence to Aigle to start work as UCI President. What’s happened and what’s next?

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2014 World Tour Rider Age and Nationality

Jens Voigt

There are 507 riders from 41 nations registered with the 18 UCI World Tour teams for 2014.

The average age of a rider is 28 years and 1 month. The oldest rider is the 42 year-old Jens Voigt (Radioshack) whilst Cannondale’s U-23 World Champion Matej Mohorič is the youngest pro aged 19 and a quarter.

Here’s a look at the 2014 peloton in numbers. There’s a look at rider age, the “oldest team” and also analysis of how many pros come from each country and more.

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2014 Pro Team Bikes

Movistar Canyon bike

Here is the list of who is riding what in 2014. You’ll find all the pro team bikes for the 18 World Tour teams and the 17 Pro Continental teams.

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2014 Calendar

Happy New Year to all readers. Look at the calendar above and you can now see some pro races appearing with the Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon and the Tour de San Luis in Argentina before the World Tour season starts with the Tour Down Under.

Here’s the 2014 calendar for all the major men’s and women’s races and, included below, how to download it to your smartphone or electronic diary.

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14 Predictions for 2014

Who knows what 2014 will bring? There are some signs but it’s often the unexpected events that delight and intrigue. Here are some extrapolations and wild guesses for the year ahead.

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Dan Martin’s Inspirational Win

Many a weekend warrior sees the pro cyclist as a role model but it’s not so often that pro riders draw inspiration from a rival, at least in public. But here’s a quick note to explain how Dan Martin’s win in Liège-Bastogne-Liège seems to have inspire others.

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The Art and Science of Descending

There are many ways to ride faster uphill. The marginal gains industry supplies everything from lightweight helmets and shoes all the way to the frontier of eating disorders as cyclists, mindful of their power/weight ratio become dominated by the denominator of this crucial ratio.

But the search for every watt and gram seems one-sided, the effort to go uphill fast exceeds all thought about what to do once the mountain pass has been scaled and the descent awaits.

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Bike and Coffeeshops

What’s the difference between a bike shop and a coffee shop? About five years’ time.

A growing number of bike shops seem to resemble stylish coffee bars with designed interiors that cater for a lifestyle rather than the rude tasks of transport or competition. This trend isn’t everywhere but visit London, Hong Kong or Sydney and you’ll find places selling cappuccinos alongside cogs and cleats.

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Lowlights of 2013

After the highlights, the lowlights. Sport is meant to have its drama but pro cycling often crosses the line from pantomime villainy to worse. As well as drama there’s

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