End of Season Prizes

Tom Boonen won the Flandrien prize for Belgian cyclist of the year, collecting the trophy from the Belgian Prime Minister. The annual award has been split in recent times give domestic prize and an international one, this time scooped by Bradley Wiggins.

If you want to understand how big cycling is in Belgium then note Boonen collected the award from bow-tie toting Elio di Rupo. There are not many awards dinners in the world where the head of government dishes out the prizes. Nor awards where a country’s top politician finds it worthwhile to be seen handing out the prize.

These awards are subjective but for me, often illustrate the best riders of the season better than the arithmetic of a points-based ranking system.

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Donate To Win

Cyclocross book

In an ideal world the mention of dirty cycling should remind us the cyclo-cross season is underway and the Superprestige series starts this weekend. We should conjure up images of fields, dunes, drunken spectators, frites and, above all, mud. But we’re not there yet.

If you want those images here’s a chance to win a copy of Balint Hamvas’s excellent review of the cyclocross season. This is a big photobook printed on high-quality paper that captures the mud, frost and frites. For a chance to win a copy just donate money to the Paul Kimmage fund, which as well as helping a specific legal case, looks set to force the UCI to confront a few uncomfortable truths about the kind of dirt that soap doesn’t shift.

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Thanks to Selle Italia

Selle Italia factory

Enjoying the blog? If you’re visiting these pages for then note Selle Italia is sponsoring this website and without them the coverage would not be the same. So this is chance for an infomercial and to give another message of thanks to them.

Their sponsorship has helped directly, for example if you enjoy the “the moment the race was won” pieces then the action photos are paid for and the Selle Italia revenue helps offset the cost.

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Monday Shorts

Frank Schleck

Today Jakob Fuglsang said the Radioshack-Leopard team merger had been a “disaster”. That’s true but it’s only a fraction of the team’s problems. Star rider Fabian Cancellera wore yellow in the Tour and Tony Gallopin is impressing me, even if Thibaut Pinot outshone him in July. But of course Cancellara’s spring campaign was ruined by a crash, Andy Schleck has had a year to forget. There’s also the case of Johan Bruyneel and team doctor Pedro Celaya being named by USADA. A team sponsor fled mid-season. And the chief executive of Radioshack has just quit too.

And this is before we get to the case of Frank Schleck. He’s had an uncomfortable start to the year with pressure from team management and a lack of results, even if he briefly shone in the Tour de Suisse. But the doping positive from the Tour de France overshadows all of this. It might seem like a long time away but we’re now one week from the verdict. Unless there’s a miracle he’ll be banned for two years.

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2013 Giro d’Italia Route Analysis

Giro d'Italia plan

The route of the 2013 Giro has been unveiled. Like the Tour de France, information about the race leaks out ahead of the presentation but today’s the chance to take the individual stages and stitch them together into a three week story.

The route is classic but non-standard. Classic in that it loops south and mixes climbing with sprints, classic with the usual Alpine finale. But different because it features a giant 55km solo time trial at the end of the week, different because the average stage lengh is shorter.

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The Moment The Race Was Won: Il Lombardia

Joaquim Rodriguez Lombardia

Joaquim Rodriguez has attacked on the Ello climb to Villa Vergano and pulled out a slender lead over Alberto Contador and Rigoberto Uran. Look closely in the photo and you can see the crowd in the background looking at the chasers as they approach the corner. But by now Rodriguez has the advantage. This was the moment the race was won.

The Muro di Sormano. The first Spanish winner of the race. The race moved to September. The new world champion crashing out. For all the novelty and action this year’s edition might also be remembered for the rain that poured almost all day long.

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The Spin: Il Lombardia Preview

la classica delle foglie morte

A duel between Alberto Contador and Philippe Gilbert on some of the most beautiful roads of Europe? The scenery is guaranteed but we could have a wider cast fighting for the win. An exceptionally hard course with difficult conditions forecast means this race is going to test condition, handling skills and the mind.

Here is a preview of the route, the contenders, with TV times and details of a free stream, the weather forecast and more.

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Podcast Review: Cycling Central & Radio Vélo

Australian broadcaster SBS covers most of cycling in Australia with the rights to the Tour de France and plenty more, including the Cycling Central website.

In recent months there’s been a regular podcast offering comment and analysis from their staff. And tagged on to this is a quick mention of a new French radio show, Radio Vélo.

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David Millar Documentary


This is a Spanish TV sports documentary from Canal+. The Informe Robinson show is a slick production with tight editing and sharp photography. Much of the audio is in English so if you’re don’t speak Spanish, be patient.

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From Milan to Turin in 136 Years

Superga

Today sees the return of Milano-Torino, the one day Italian race. The term “classic” gets abused these days, races with no history appropriate the label, for example the World Ports Classic whose inaugural edition took place a few weeks ago. But Milano-Torino was first run in 1876, making it the oldest race on the Italian calendar and one of the oldest races in the world.

Today’s race, tomorrow’s Gran Piemonte and Saturday’s Il Lombardia all have deep roots in the past but they are also a guide to the future.

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