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.
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.
“Cyclist enters race” isn’t normally news but Tadej Pogačar’s decision to ride Paris-Roubaix this year is of interest on several levels.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A lively week. Matteo Jorgenson was active from start to finish, winning bonus seconds on the opening Sunday, winning the team time trial mid-week and then dropping everyone on the Col d’Eze a week later. This was an accumulation of winning moments but riding away while in yellow was a definitive display.
The final day in Nice, often a lively stage. The yellow jersey looks wedged on Matteo Jorgenson’s broad shoulders so we’ll see who can win the stage.
The finish is later than usual.
An uphill dash to Auron as bad weather prompts a course change to avoid the climb and especially the descent of the Col St. Martin from La Colmiane.
If you’ve been tuning in during the week, today’s finish is earlier than usual.
