Fallen and Forgotten Cyclists

The 2014 Tour de France will commemorate the 1914-1918 war but this time of year sees many in annual remembrance ceremonies, the rituals of wreath laying and the pledge of “never again”.

Last year I looked in brief at the fate of four celebrity riders Lucien Petit-Breton, Octave Lapize, Ludwig Opel and Roland Garros. But what of all the others? Here are a few stories of riders who might not be famous but their names are not forgotten. What stands out is the futility of their deaths, a training ride gone wrong or a river crossing that was too cold.

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Petacchi Loophole Closed

Some sprinters are feared for their switching but Alessandro Petacchi tried a different kind of move this year when he announced his retirement only to switch to OPQS. The UCI shut the door on this and a blocked Petacchi had to wait until August to move teams.

But the attempt showed a loophole in the rules and this has now been closed for good. Not every change to the UCI rulebook is worth a mention but Petacchi’s mid-season switch was a strange story with implications for teams and recruitment so here’s a quick look.

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Podcast Review: Humans Invent

Humans Invent podcast

One of the enjoyments of the Tour de France is the additional coverage given to this race. Instead of a few lines in L’Equipe there are five pages or more every day and the same is true across all of the cycling media. It’s not just the depth of news and analysis, it’s the variety with extras like podcasts. Only the Humans Invent podcast from the Tour de France has kept going after the race and now has a near-settled weekly format.

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Thanks to Cycle Mallorca

Cycle Mallorca

All sponsors of the website get a loud thank-you and here for October and beyond are Cycle Mallorca, a new company that offers cycling holidays on the island of Mallorca.

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Stick to the Road

What are the clichés of a Flemish race? Cobbles and crosswinds come to mind but amongst the others are big crowds, Luc, Rodania and riders exploiting every space possible including the cycle path and kerb.

Only now this last part will be outlawed in 2014. A new UCI rule is coming and any kerb-hopping, path-picking, lane-switching riders will be disqualified.

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Sunday Shorts

amstel curacao 2013

Johnny Hoogerland and Ellen van Dijk win the Amstel Curacao race. It’s a fun end of season event although the new Saitama criterium seems to have eclipsed it for zany photo opportunities

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Roads to Ride: Colle del Nivolet

I bet you’ve never heard of the Colle del Nivolet. The Giro has not visited and soon after the pass the tarmac ends, a road to nowhere. So what’s this place got going for it? If the photo above by Flickr’s Muneaki isn’t enough it’s in the top-10 of Europe’s highest paved roads.

Amid the famous climbs of the Tour de France and Giro in this series, here is the opposite: a road without celebrity status but which is one of Europe’s best, almost road you must ride.

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More Thoughts on the Tour de France Route

With the presentation of the 2014 Tour de France now a week behind us, what to make of the 2014 route? With some perspective we can see more.

The race might stick to the east but it will visit a lot of people and by accident it’s also a tour of Europe’s rust-belt cities from Sheffield to St Etienne. Plus some thoughts on where to visit and the darker side of Tour founder Henri Desgrange.

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The Future of Pro Cycling Revealed

The UCI’s plans for pro cycling in 2015 and 2017 as the plans for reform appear in full thanks to a leaked document on Cicloweb.it

We got a glimpse of this earlier this month with the details buried in a technical bulletin but now a copy of the whole presentation has emerged.

The takeaway is that if the reforms are expected to be completed by 2020, radical change will be coming as soon as 2015. Within the next few years races like the Eneco Tour and Tour de Pologne will get downgraded. Germany’s Bayern Rundfahrt gets promoted. Meanwhile Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, the Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse all shrink. Other races vanish.

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