For many in northern Europe winter is long. But there are signs of spring in Belgium today. Mother nature can give us clues with early blooming flowers amd cycling has its own annual rituals. Today’s recon rides by teams on the course of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad are very much part of the spring routine. The spring classics are coming.
Did you know the three cyclists on the 2008 Tour de France podium all used bikes produced in the same factory? Yes, the design and decals might have varied but there was only one manufacturer behind all three riders.
Chapeau to Robert Marchand who at the age of 100 set a world hour record of 24.251km. Lapping the UCI’s velodrome in Aigle Switzerland, the Frenchman had tried an attempt on an indoor trainer before but this time made his way to a track and rode under the scrutiny of officials from the UCI.
The GP Plouay sits on the World Tour calendar of top races. Held every year in August in the town of Plouay in the Brittany region of France, last year’s edition was won by Grega Bole. It is the sort of race the needs an introduction like this because many are not aware of it or its details. The other one day race in France on the World Tour is Paris-Roubaix and that needs no explanation.
The GP Plouay is struggling. Last year’s edition was subsidised by the UCI to help make ends meet. The region is a hotbed of French cycling, packed with holidaymakers at the time and it was Thomas Voeckler’s first official race since the Tour de France. But it didn’t get a great audience and the race often comes down to a bunch sprint. The organisers have been thinking of new ways to liven up the race and they give us a clue as to the future of racing.
Having covered European food and drink, an exception to the rule with a quick look at coffee culture in Oman. The Middle-Eastern country is staging a bike race at the moment and many riders seem to be enjoying the experience whilst fans wow at the scenery.
That said lengthy transfers to the start and finish of some stages are causing fatigue, it feels as if the bunch is being used to beam images of stunning landscapes to us. But if riders are tired or you want a taste of Oman, coffee could answer both problems.
There’s been plenty of coverage of Alberto Contador’s positive test and the ban, much of it in the mainstream media. Much is informative but some of this has run wild and ignored the intricacies of the case or the particulars of the procedure. For example today Le Monde, France’s establishment newspaper, ran an article with several mistakes. So here’s a quick primer on the facts.
Marco Pantani died on this day in 2004. The Italian cyclist was wildly popular during his career and has become the stuff of legend. Visually recognisable, his exploits on the bike combined with posthumous myth ensure Il Pirata, the pirate, is still famous today.
Swashbuckling on the bike but the reality is less glorious. The song in the video above is by French band Les Wampas, a tribute but one that captures the sad demise of a man dying alone in a seaside hotel during the winter.
As well as the decision to rule on Saxo Bank’s future in the top level, last Friday’s UCI press release announced a new race, the Tour of Hangzhou. This five day stage race will take place in October after the Tour of Beijing. Just like the Beijing race this new event is being fast-tracked into UCI’s World Tour calendar and immediately I assumed it had to be run by the UCI’s commercial events promotion arm, Global Cycling Promotions, a fact confirmed by Velonation.
The Tour of Oman starts tomorrow. You might have seen images from Qatar but just because pro cycling continues in the Gulf region, don’t think this race is the same. Instead the Tour of Oman is very different, whether it is the landscapes, the country, the people or the vicious summit finish on Stage 5.
The first summit finish of the season? It depends if you include Willunga in the Tour Down Under but the Tour of the Mediterranean tackles Mont Faron today- snow permitting – and it is an indisputable mountain top finish.