They’re all here. The top classics specialist are on their preferred hunting ground for the final cobbled classic of the spring and along comes Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar to try and eat their lunch.
Movistar Sails Into New Waters
Movistar have landed the co-sponsor they’ve been looking for with EPS. Its parent company Quantum Pacific is now on-board – pun intended – as an investor too.
The Moment The Ronde Van Vlaanderen Was Won
This was an edition where one rider dispatched his rivals at will and they were well ahead of the rest. Tadej Pogačar went solo for the win on the last time up the Oude Kwaremont climb but by then he’d already demonstrated he was the strongest in the race, he just had to convert this into a sufficient lead so he could hold off any chase on the long flat road to the finish.
Ronde Van Vlaanderen Preview
Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar clash again and it’s hard to see beyond their duel. Mads Pedersen and Wout van Aert have real hopes too but even they have their work cut out to find a way past the lead two.
Knowing this it means 20 teams face the challenge to get ahead of events so it’ll be fun to watch how it all happens.
Tuesday Shorts
The UCI agreed to the demand of race organisers. About time given there’s less then 40 days until the Giro where Q36.5, Tudor, VF-Bardiani-Faizanè and Polti-Malta will start. Some teams were assuming the news but were still unsure until yesterday lunchtime.
Pogačar To Race Roubaix
“Cyclist enters race” isn’t normally news but Tadej Pogačar’s decision to ride Paris-Roubaix this year is of interest on several levels.
The Moment Milan-Sanremo Was Won
For the first time since 1996 the winning move was launched on the Cipressa. This set up a frantic thirty minutes of action where Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu Van der Poel traded attacks and Filippo Ganna chased them all the way to the line.
Milan-Sanremo Preview
Tadej Pogačar starts a race and for once he’s not the outright favourite. This illustrates the elusive charm of Milan-Sanremo, a race where strongest rider does not necessarily win, it takes craft and luck too.
How To Win Milan-Sanremo?
Tadej Pogačar is getting close to winning Milan-Sanremo but as many riders know and plenty have experienced – just ask Michael Matthews – close is one thing, victory quite another.
UCI World Tour Promotion-Relegation
A closer look at the UCI World Tour promotion and relegation contest for the men.
If you’re in a hurry, or to save you a click, XDS-Astana have jumped up the rankings and halved the gap to Cofidis in their quest to remain in World Tour but Dutch team Picnic-PostNL ought to be as worried as the French team.
Plus while Lotto look set to qualify for the World Tour on points we have to ask if they have the budget next year to sustain this because if not then they’re in a predicament.