Thursday Shorts

If you’re not yet excited about the Tour of Flanders this Sunday, perhaps the video above will do the trick. It’s not new but it’s still worth watching once a year. If you need a prompt to remind you that De Ronde coming up soon, note the first campervans have been spotted parked on the course.

France and Italy both venerate their national tours but often as a social and cultural event, people cheer for the yellow jersey without knowing who is wearing it. No country in the world does cycling like Belgium and the Tour of Flanders is the Flemish equivalent of the Tour de France compressed into one day, even a few hours and all the more potent for it.

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Peter Sagan, The Early Years

Right now there’s a lot of interest in Peter Sagan’s future, whether the short term matter of whether he can win this Sunday’s Tour of Flanders or broad questions asking where are his limits… or if he’ll implode like some celebrity supernova, engulfed by his own success?

But what of the early years? Here’s a short tale from 2006 when aged 15 he took on riders several years older. And beat them.

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Dirk Hofman, Luc, Tornado Tom Frits and Others

Tornado Tom

Yesterday’s piece looked at the politics behind the flag-waving you see in many Belgian races. But it’s not just politicians seeking publicity, businesses also want to get in on at the act.

Look at the image above and you’ll see riders sprinting for the line, maybe you spot Peter Sagan and Tom Boonen. Then you’ll probably find your eyes drifting to the giant pink Tornado Tom Frits banner. Perhaps you’ll then notice the crash happening. Either way the pink banner is more visible than the official sponsors whose signs line the finishing straight.

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Flemish Flags, Polls and Politicians

Gent Wevelgem

No finishing straight in a Belgian race at this time of year is complete without a big yellow flag with a black lion. But whilst the “Lion of Flanders” is part of cycling lore, it’s also loaded with politics and nationalism and these flags can be an attempt to hijack the race, using sport to play politics.

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The Moment The Race Was Won: Gent-Wevelgem

Peter Sagan Gent Wevelgem

Peter Sagan rides away from the lead group with 3.5km to go whilst Greg Van Avermaet, Bernhard Eisel and Borut Božič try to chase. These three riders were Sagan’s greatest rivals in a sprint finish. So instead of outsprinting them, he outrode them. This was the moment the race was won.

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The Spin: Gent-Wevelgem Preview

Once a midweek consolation for the sprinters amidst the classics season, this is a World Tour race on a Sunday and a full-on dress rehearsal for next Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.

Mont Cassel, the Kemmelberg and more difficulties await but the biggest threat comes from the weather with snow likely. This could change the route or even force a cancellation of the race. A confident press release last night said the race “is sure go ahead” but if a race can stop traffic, it can’t control the weather. The start has been moved to Gistel nearer the coast but nobody can be sure until tomorrow morning. Should the race go ahead then the weather will remain a real danger with winds of 50km/h.

With fingers crossed for the race, here is preview with all the usual commentary on the route, TV timings and two forecasts, one for the weather and one for the race.

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Gatto the Cat and Contador the Accountant


Oscar Gatto won the Dwars Door Vlaanderen race this week unleashing several “Gatto pounces” headlines. No doubt he was feline good after purring on the power to claw his way past Thomas Voeckler. Why the cat puns? Gatto is Italian for a cat.

Many riders have names that might sound foreign and even exoticbut in their native language they are nouns and come loaded with meaning. For example contador is Spanish for accountant, probably the last word you think of when the swashbuckling Spaniard is launching his aggressive attacks.

Here’s a look at some of the names in the peloton.

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The Spin: Criterium International Preview

This weekend sees the Criterium International take place on the French island of Corsica. A race in its own right, it’s also an avant première of the Tour de France and its opening stages in Corsica, complete with several big names who face a tricky sprint stage, a long mountain pass and a short time trial.

Here’s a preview of the route, the riders, the TV and more.

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The Future of 2010

Nairo Quintana
L’Avenir is French for “the future” and as the name suggests, the Tour de l’Avenir is meant to be reserved for the stars of tomorrow. With this in mind, time for a quick look back at the 2010 edition because it was dominated by the likes of Taylor Phinney, John Degenkolb, Andrew Talansky and especially Nairo Quintana.

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Win The Volta Leader’s Jersey

The Volta a Catalunya and its clothing sponsor Sumattory are offering readers a chance to win a leader’s jersey from race, signed by the race winner.

Just predict the winner of each day’s stage and you could have a signed race jersey from the World Tour.

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