Labelled “the sprinters’ classic”, this Sunday’s race might have a flat route but most of the winners since in recent years have come from breakaways, usually thanks to attacks launched late in the race.
Once a prestigious race, Paris-Tours has slipped a little in status but the addition of extra climbs in recent years has spiced up the finish to provide a thrill worth watching more so because it’s the last big race in Europe until the 2014 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. That’s 147 days away.
Saxo-Bank boss Lars Seier was next to Bjarne Riis and Alberto Contador to announce his team would be increasing its funding for the team in 2014 which will be Team Saxo Bank althogh he’s welcome to a co-sponsor.
Bjarne Riis seems to have unique survival powers, like some computer game character with infinite lives. Every time he’s faced with trouble he seems to pull through when others would have been banned, suspended, bankrupted, hounded or more. It’s also a good marketing opportunity for Saxo Bank who show they stand by Riis in tough times, the opposite of Oleg Tinkov who’s supposed to be taking his (t)roubles to Cannondale.
With autumn closing in and the days getting shorter many in the northern hemisphere will using an indoor trainer.
With this in mind I thought about reviewing every model on the market.
Remember 2012? Tom Boonen was imperial in the cobbled classics, Bradley Wiggins wore yellow and then went to the Olympic games? It all seems a long time ago but the UCI’s published its 2012 annual report today. Here’s a look at the income and expenditure of cycling’s governing body for the year.
Amidst the adjustments to the BMX calendar and a reminder about new time trial position rules in the UCI’s Sport and Technical bulletin for October was a half a page on the future shape of men’s pro cycling. It’s the first sighting in public of the plans to remodel the calendar and it promises radical change with fewer race days, fewer top teams and fewer races.
Much of the route has been known thanks to official promotion by RCS and leaked details. But today’s presentation is the chance to supply all the details because if we knew the start and finish towns for a stage, now we know which mountain passes will come between them. It’s also the chance to present the race as a whole and present a theme.
They say there are too many repeats on TV these days and Sunday’s Il Lombardia had an air of déjà vu as Joaquim Rodriguez attacked in the same place on the Villa Vergnano climb as last year to win solo. This was the moment the race was won.
But as repeats go this was still worth watching thanks to a cameo role from Thomas Voeckler and the ongoing rivalry between Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde whilst a cast of new names like Dan Martin, Rafał Majka made the race happen.
The 2013 season is coming to an end but not without one of the best races on the calendar. Il Lombardia offers stunning scenery, big name contenders and a selective route to make this a compelling race. And it’s also a revenge match following last Sunday’s World Championships.
Note this race has been moved to Sunday. Here’s a preview with the route, contenders, TV listings and more.
This post isn’t about doping. Instead it’s about procedures and probabilities so if you want something more exciting, wait for the preview of this Sunday’s Il Lombardia race due out soon.
Team Sky’s Jonathan Tiernan-Locke was pulled out from the British team going to the worlds at the last moment and there was talk of an injury with some and fatigue from others. But the weekend saw the story that he was being questioned by the UCI about his biological passport data. What has happened to get these questions and what is next?
Pro cycling’s off season fast approaching arriving but if the racing stops, the planning doesn’t. Whether you’re plotting a victorious classics campaign or a trip to Europe you need to know when the pro races are.
Here’s the 2014 pro cycling calendar with the final races of 2013 added so you can use it straight away. You’ll soon find the races appear. In addition you can subscribe or download an iCal file to import the same calendar into your organiser, phone and computer diary.