Paris-Nice leaves the French capital for the Mediterranean coast and its sunshine. Along the way there’s a variety of terrain including the high mountains. A mini Tour de France in March. A fine race it its own right, the daily battles also give us a clue to the form of riders ahead of the classics.
Here’s an overview for the whole race. There’s a concise preview of every stage with my take on the day plus plenty of other information on the prizes, jerseys, TV schedules and more.
There’s a rule where if a rider falls or suffers a mechanical in the last three kilometres of a stage then they do not lose time on the overall classification. It’s worth explaining in its own right as it’s invoked many times a year and will come up in a stage race soon.
With Paris-Nice starting this weekend we could see the rule cited which would be appropriate it was this race that invented the rule, first because of a crash to a star rider and then formalised some years later thanks to Eddy Merckx.
It’s early in the season but as you’ll see below, not as early as you might think. Here is the state of play so far with the win count for the 18 World Tour teams.
As the ninth part of a series to explore the famous roads of cycling, here is the Croce d’Aune on the edge of the Italian Alps. 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 Croce d’Aune isn’t the highest road nor the hardest. But it has been a place of disaster and invention and it is in a scenic ride in its own right. If last week’s piece on France’s Col de la République was partly a celebration of the derailleur, the Croce d’Aune is the birthplace of the quick release lever and more. In fact a wheel change on this climb arguably led to the invention and perfection of modern cycle componentry as we know it today.
Luca Paolini and Stijn Vandenbergh slip away from a lead group of 10 riders after the Paddestraat section of cobbles. The pair took 10 seconds, 15 seconds and quickly the gap couldn’t be bridged by an attack, only a concerted chase would work. This was the moment the race was won.
The spring classics start this weekend with the double-header of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday followed by Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday. No more Arabian nights in five star hotels or photos ops with a cute kangaroo, now it’s time for some cobbles, narrow roads and wintry weather. There’s no gentle introduction here. Time for the hardmen to fight.
UCI points are not the greatest talking point. But points are the currency of pro cycling and influence the sport, from the racing to the promotion and relegation of teams.
Changes are coming to the system that will affect riders, teams and the racing alike. It looks like good news for some but worrying for others like Euskaltel or Vacansoleil-DCM. Let’s see what’s planned and how this might change things.
You can almost smell the beer and frieten now. This weekend sees the start of the cobbled classics. I’ll do a preview for the weekend’s double bill of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne but ahead of these it’s worth noting and celebrating the start of the spring classics season.
Yesterday Tom Boonen was photographed wheeling a suitcase across a car park. So what? Well that’s the point, a man with a suitcase is newsworthy because he’s a pro cyclist and the classics are starting. And when Boonen rode the course with his team mates this training session was itself a media event with photographers out to record the moment.
Every now and then I get an email from a reader asking whether all the anti-doping hand-wringing is necessary. Why go through so much trouble to hunt down picograms of banned molecules in the Contador “steak” case when the quantities involved don’t alter the racing? Some see a bigger picture where dopers are more than just a step ahead of the testers. Why not just let adults decide what to do? It’s not just a question for curious newcomers. Julian Savulescu is a professor of ethics at the University of Oxford and he says prohibition is only helping organised crime and that doping should be allowed for the good of sport. This is an argument worth exploring. I think the basic premise is so wrong it needs shooting down with a hail of bullet points. Professor Savulescu’s thoughts are interesting and stimulate debate but away from theory, cycling’s own past suggests it can’t work.
I’m delighted to announce that 2r, a new monthly digital magazine about pro cycling is available to download for all Apple iPad users. For free.
It will be available on other platforms in due course.
Why the satisfaction? Well I’ll be making regular contributions and you can now read my first article there. The magazine’s got a range of features and full-screen photos.