Italian Cycling

Giro Merckx

With the Giro d’Italia, the Tour of Italy, less than two weeks away, I’m going to be taking a look at a few things linked to Italian cycling over the coming days. This year’s edition has a fearsome route, with more climbing than ever before; the sprinters cannot count on more than five flat stage finishes.

I’ve trying not to be biased as I have some Italian relations but for me, there’s no finer country for cycling than Italy. Belgium has some great races, the weather on a variety of Spanish islands is consistently good and Switzerland is Europe’s best kept secret. France has some superb terrain… but it also has some dull areas so as a whole it’s doesn’t win.

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The Tour of Belgium

Côte de la Redoute
The redoubtable Côte de la Redoute

Sunday’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège marks the end of the spring classics season and the transition to stage racing and soon, the summer. We’ve had races like Paris-Nice or the Tour of the Basque country and the scenic Giro di Trentino is on right now. But eyes have been on the spring classics in Belgium.

For me the races from early March to the end of April are the fourth grand tour. Races criss-cross Belgium and even Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold have their finishes a cobblestone’s throw away from the Belgian border. Of course there is no yellow jersey but the succession of stages means riders who lose out one day can make amends the next and like a grand tour there are some prestigious stages and some where not everyone races full gas.

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Follow the money

La Polizia
Faster than Ferrari?

If it’s been hard to nail riders and their “doctors” for doping because they’ve often been one step ahead of the testers, constantly refining techniques to avoid detection, one area where people might slip up is the money. Shady riders, teams and doctors might be good at cycling or doping but they are probably so pro when it comes to money laundering. In this instance, it’s quite possible that experienced investigators have a substantial edge on those involved.

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Gilbert vs. the rest

Gilbert Huy

I don’t know where to start, but Philippe Gilbert is surely the most impressive rider of the spring. Cancellara was strong but couldn’t deliver a win; Nuyens and Goss were clever. But for raw power uphill, Gilbert is looking invincible. I wasn’t sure if he could win the Flèche Wallonne but he looked fresh as the bunch tackled the penultimate climb, with riders like Alberto Contador grimacing.

There were doubts in the Flemish classics earlier. He took the Montepaschi Strade Bianche but then seemed a little bit off the pace although that’s relative given he was on the attack over the Bosberg. Some were asking if he was going to miss out on his spring classics campaign.

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The Mur de Huy

Fleche poster

For a mid-week race on Wednesday, the Flèche Wallonne is one of many highlights of the year for me.

The finish is cruel, a fast blast down the valley in 53×12 before suddenly turning right and hitting the Mur de Huy, a vicious climb of just 1.3km with an average gradient of 9.8% that maxxes at 20%.

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Winning clean?

Vansummeren wins

I just wanted to make the observation that we’ve seen the likes of Johan Vansummeren, Matthew Goss and Philippe Gilbert winning big so far this year. So what? Well both Vansummeren and Goss belong to squads with a big anti-doping ethic and “Phil” has long been a supporter of clean cycling, ready to denounce those cheating.

With all the talk of doping investigations in Italy, with the ongoing Contador-CAS saga and more, it’s almost gone unnoticed that teams and riders reputed to be the strictest supports of anti-doping measures are winning.

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RIP Pietro Ferrero

I covered the subject of the nut spread known as Nutella a while back. The paste is popular with cyclists but loaded with calories. It’s pretty Euro too and as such it was the first topic in my series of  about “Eurofoods”, the food products you’ll find in Europe which have a link to the … Read more

Some thoughts on Lampre

Lampre rolled steel
This is how Lampre rolls

Lampre have been in the sport for years and years, first when Maurizio Fondriest emerged as the most powerful one day rider of the day back in 1993 and I’ve written before about just how little the kit has changed over the years. But for all the years in the sport, can you tell me what Lampre is, do you own or use any Lampre products or services? Well, they make pre-coated steel, or in plain English the white metal that encases washing machines and refrigerators. It’s also found on other things like air conditioning units, coffee machines and so on.

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Five useful things for following pro cycling

Some readers might be old enough to the days when, living in America or Australia, they waited for the airmail to deliver cycling magazines. Some race results might not arrive for months. These days you can get live images via the internet and instant results via twitter. I like to keep an eye on what’s … Read more

Pro maintenance (don’t try this at home)

Imagine a fancy hotel where you return from a ride or race to hand your bike over to mechanic. You could mention a creaking bottom bracket or you maybe you want a different cassette on the back for tomorrow. It’s done, not only that but the bike gets cleaned and even the bar tape looks new. Well that’s exactly what a pro rider gets. Obviously they have a duty to ride the bike to exhaustion and beyond but they can always count on getting the bike fixed.

Cervelo wash

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