This is the same team time trial stage that opened the race last year. It’s only 16.9 km but most of the route is alongside the sea and the wind and the rain could easily be a factor. The weather forecast isn’t very promising but let’s hope all teams get the same conditions – wet or not.
With daily previews of Paris-Nice and other features on here, covering Tirreno-Adriatico looked like a step too far but at the same time it’s an unmissable race with a stellar start list, whether the overall contenders or for the sprinters and classics contenders.
So this week I’m teaming up with Mikkel Condé of C-Cycling to supply him with Paris-Nice previews whilst in return this site will be showcasing his Tirren0-Adriatico analysis. His previews are excellent… and often bolder than mine with sharp picks for the wins. So without delay, here’s the first of the daily Tirreno-Adriatico C-Cycling previews, starting with the overall contenders for the race. I’ve added details on TV coverage at the end.
“A real Moser” said La Gazzetta Dello Sport. The day after Moreno Moser won the Strade Bianche, Italy’s sports newspaper went to town on the family connections because Moreno is just the latest of the Moser clan to make a name for himself in the sport.
Above all though the new Moser has, to borrow a phrase from L’Equipe, so much panache he’s selling the surplus. Saturday’s race provided the perfect result for RCS but also for Italian cycling in general. Finally an Italian won and one with charisma and a famous name too.
Stage 2 looks like a copy of Stage 1. A flat route, a circuit finish, narrow roads and the sprint teams wanting a win make this look like a repetition of the previous day, no? Only this isn’t so, the stage finish includes a loop through narrow woodland roads reducing the chance of crosswinds and crucially the final kilometre is uphill.
David Lappartient is the President of the French Cycling Federation and was elected President of the European Cycling Union, the UEC over the weekend. Does it matter? Well he’s talked of delivering an “electric shock” to pro cycling but in reality “Frenchman running European cycling” is probably as conservative as it sounds.
Lappartient’s agenda isn’t too obvious but he’s made two public statements that stand out. To support President McQuaid and to reject the idea of a closed league format of racing, the so-called “World Series Cycling.”
On paper a stage for the sprinters… but just as paper is easily scattered by the wind, so too can the bunch be broken apart by crosswinds in the final. But the weather forecasts vary and the most likely scenario is a bunch sprint and a change in the overall lead.
Here’s the preview of Stage 1 including TV schedules, the weather, a local rapper and more.
A prologue to start the 2013 Paris-Nice. If you watched last year’s race this is very different being short, urban and flat. Note the series of corners and junctions on the map above.
As well as the stage preview here is a look at the overall contenders for the race too.
As the tenth part of a series to explore the famous roads of cycling, here is one of the sections of the Strade Bianche or “white roads” in Italy’s central Tuscany region. The idea is to discover the road and its place in the world, whether as part of cycling’s history or to look at the route on a day without racing and it is open to all.
The white roads are unsealed roads that can be found in many parts of Italy but local geology in this region provides a greyish rock which, when ground, produces a white dust. These roads are old but have been seized in modern times for cycling, whether the retro L’Eroica ride or the Strade Bianche race.
Here is both a look at the roads with a preview and analysis of Saturday’s race added with TV schedules, weather and more.
The UCI has an online survey to sound out opinions on the sport. The UCI is often a remote governing body to outsiders. In fact its staff are often helpful but as an entity it’s rarely accountable to fans and followers. Here is the chance to have a say.
Give it a try for yourself online at uci.ch and follow the link on their page to start the survey. It takes 10-20 minutes.
But the survey is a strange creation with some odd questions that might tempt you to click quickly but sometimes the answers are complicated. Some questions are leading and you can sense the result they want to achieve. It’s worth noting this as new investors look to cycling, or if you’re a sceptic, the barbarians are at the gate. Here’s a look at the questions, where they lead and more.
Time for some trash talk. There are many efforts to clean up cycling these days but here’s a more obvious example: stop riders littering the countryside they ride through.
Trials have been done in several races and now the UCI is getting on board for Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.