Having tipped ten neo-pros to watch for 2022, time to look back and see how they fared.
Not long ago you’d look for a top-10 here or a best young rider prize there as proof of a promising debut. These days neo-pros are winning races as teenagers, making the podium in a grand tour and finishing in the top-10 on the UCI rankings but they’re still exceptions, but they certainly grab our attention.
What’s in a title? “My Way” wouldn’t be original but it could be deserved. Dan Martin said no to British Cycling and even changed nationality to forge his own path, reinventing himself several times along the way to win two monuments and stages in all three grand tours. He’s had an interesting column over the years with Pro Cycling magazine and recent media appearances, like The Cycling Podcast, are always worth listening. So a whole book is promising…
News isn’t exactly coming thick and fast at the moment but there are some issues to explore. The fate of the B&B team hangs in the balance this week and with it, the team Mark Cavendish will ride for in 2023. Today is one of the deadlines cited by team manager Jérôme Pineau for a sponsor to say yes or no.
Having looked at the WorldTeam victory rankings last week, now to look at pro cycling’s confusingly labelled second tier of teams, the ProTeams*.
Henri Anglade has died aged 89. A champion with a quick turn of phrase, Anglade wore the yellow jersey but never won the Tour de France. Many said he should have won in 1959, except for Anglade who, often too honest for his own good, replied Federico Bahamontes was simply better. The next year Anglade had another good chance only for more rivalries to get in his way.
Having spent the past season staring at a spreadsheet once a week for the weekly promotion-relegation updates, the occasional team victory rankings were overlooked. So about time to catch-up on the teams and how they fared this year when it comes to throwing their hands up in the air, starting with the World Tour teams.
Nairo Quintana’s lost his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding his two tests for Tramadol and the Tour de France disqualification. The transfer market’s been busy of late but his agent’s not finding it easy to place him with a new team.
The Tour de France Femmes route is out and it’s a scenic one that heads for chocolatine country. Expect red bricks, sunflowers, holiday makers and a savage summit finish on the Col du Tourmalet.
The route of the 2023 Tour de France has been announced. Like a gift that’s been wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree, we can see the outline today but it’s only later that everyone gets to play with it. In the meantime let’s give it a shake to try and get a better feel of what lies inside for July.
