An intriguing stage. The action should be on the flanks of Monte Vulture, an extinct volcano. But who will control the stage? The sprinters’ teams cannot and the GC teams won’t rush either.
Giro d’Italia Stage 2 Preview
A flat stage for the sprinters. They have few opportunities in this race so this is an important stage for them and their teams.
Giro d’Italia Stage 1 Preview
Welcome to the start of three weeks of daily previews. Time trials are a theme of this year’s race as there are three of them and today is a crucial stage, this is not a warm-up antipasto prologue, it’s a hearty main course.
Giro d’Italia Preview
A look at the contenders and pretenders for the 2023 Giro d’Italia. This year’s edition seems to open with two questions. Who will finish first between Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič, and who will finish third?
This the picture today and so often the Giro is an optical illusion that reveals a different form later. We’ll revisit and revise the contenders and their outlook on each of the rest days.
Giro d’Italia Guide
Here’s the Giro d’Italia guide. There’s all the stage profiles on one page, with a preview of their routes well as explainers on the rules for the mountains and points competitions; TV guide, time-cuts and more.
A separate look at the contenders and pretenders for the overall win will be along soon.
As loyal readers will know, a reminder you can read this post here but if you need the reference material anytime in the coming weeks there’s a permanent page with all the same info at inrng.com/giro, which you can reach via the menu at the top of the screen for desktop browsers / dropdown menu on a mobile device.
Tour de Romandie Shorts
Last week’s stage race may not have wowed television viewers but it was rich in information and ideas. A round-up…
Coming of Age
Kazuyasu Tayama is a master craftsman when it comes to making cast iron kettles, often important and cherished utensils in Japan, a land of tea and cold winters. When he started work as an apprentice at the age of 16 in a small workshop, it took decades before he was allowed to pour the molten iron to make a kettle. Metalwork requires practice but Tayama was expected to learn by watching and gradually assimilate the techniques needed.
If you’re wondering what on earth Japanese kettles are doing on a cycling blog, well watching TV a year ago revealed Tayama’s story and it supplied a remarkable example of lengthy apprenticeship. In cycling things weren’t as pronounced but there used to be an informal apprenticeship where riders would turn professional in their early 20s and take years to learn the trade, typically reaching their peak in their late 20s or even early thirties. Only as you read this you can probably hear the sound of an iron kettle smashing through a glass ceiling as today a crop of riders can turn pro out of the junior ranks, win World Tour races as a teenager and several still eligible for the U23 ranks stand on grand tour podiums.
The Moment Liège-Bastogne-Liège Was Won
Remco Evenepoel goes clear on La Redoute, Tom Pidcock gives chase and will manage to get onto his back wheel but he won’t last long. From here on Evenepoel’s biggest rivals were the rain and the cold but he stayed away to take a prestigious second consecutive win in Liège.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège Preview
Pogačar. Need you read more? This blog doesn’t sell clicks so that’s up to you but he’s not invincible and the prospect of the best rider in the world right now versus the world champion this Sunday is enticing.
Also this year’s route has an added “hidden” climb, plus there’s all the usual information like weather and the TV timings below too.
Amstel Gold Race Preview
After two years of bother the organisers promise they’ve upgraded the photofinish equipment so there’ll be no doubting the winner. Perhaps they won’t need all this given Tadej Pogačar is riding? It’s a tough course where he’ll find plenty of rivals.