Time for a retrospective. Ten riders were picked to watch during the 2023 season, some as rising talents and others because of the role they could play, or even what their career path says about the state of the sport.
On Comparisons With The Past
Pro cycling often reaches for historical comparisons, this blog included. There’s a rich history to exploit and in moments where it can be hard to work out the meaning of a performance or the value of a race, comparing today’s riders and results to the past can supply context. It can also be misleading.
Women’s World Tour Promotion and Relegation
A look at the World Tour rankings for the women’s teams aiming for promotion for 2024… and with one or two questions about their survival too which will be answered in the coming weeks.
Friday Shorts
The One Cycling story is a big one with plans to reform the cycling calendar, bundling up the TV rights of races and making the sport more marketable. It’s a theme we’ve seen before with team managers linking up with private capital to try and reshape the sport… and failing because they were long on financial capital but short on cultural and political capital. There’s so little to go on for now we can only touch on it via this “shorts” blog post.
Tour de France Route Notes
Having looked at the route stage-by-stage here and here some more thoughts and notes on the 2024 Tour de France routes including an explainer on the Col de La Bonette and the Cime de la Bonette.
Tour de France Femmes Route
The 2024 Tour de France Femmes route has been unveiled and it’s got something for everyone and plenty for Demi Vollering. Here’s a closer look at the stages.
Tour de France Route
The route of the 2024 Tour de France has been unveiled. It’s unusual because of the Italian start and the finish in Nice, it’s different because of everything else in between.
Monday Shorts
Happy New Year! The 2024 road cycling season has started with Lukas Pöstlberger (Jayco) winning the Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon. Such is pro cycling that hibernation awaits…
UCI World Tour Points Race
The 2023 season is done and the team rankings have been published. You can see which teams scored big and it’s also the first season of a three-year promotion-relegation contest.
Giro d’Italia Route
The 2024 Giro d’Italia route has been published and here is a stage-by-stage look with all the profiles on one page and also some wider thoughts on the course. It looks easier, will it be better? Can organisers RCS tempt Tadej Pogačar to start?