Happy New Year. Technically the 2020 road cycling season starts today and here’s the calendar for the year ahead.
There are several new races and another blog post will look at the new races and the structure of the calendar as a whole but in the meantime you can put all the major pro races into your digital diary.
There’s also quick explainer on how to subscribe to the calendar, the meaning of the UCI labels and more.
The big story right now is one that’s not public. The end of the season is looming and several teams are getting nervous about their points haul with World Tour places in jeopardy, notably Dimension Data
Having looked at the route in a procedural sense on Tuesday, now time to take a step back and look at things in more detail, from aspects of the course to details like the transfers and more.
The route of the 2020 Tour de France is out and it’s mountainous with mountain stages galore and more summit finishes than ever. Here’s a closer look at the stages and tomorrow we’ll look more closely at some of the details, themes and more.
In the late autumnal sunshine on the Civiglio climb Bauke Mollema’s attacked and quickly got a gap as the pre-race picks hesitate, each privately hoping someone else would close him down. On a day when the sports headlines were dominated by Eliud Kipchoge’s paced marathon run, here was Lombardia reminding us that cycling is a relative contest rather than a test of absolute performance.
The long season draws to an end and there’s a final flourish this weekend with Il Lombardia this Saturday and the bonus Paris-Tours on Sunday. There’s an autumnal feel as the leaves begin to turn across Europe and still the chance for several riders to define their seasons. Egan Bernal and Primož Roglič can end their triumphant seasons, a win here could settle who has had the better year. Michael Woods is in form to deliver a big result, Alejandro Valverde has never won this race and there’s plenty of contenders for this lively race.
Over the weekend the UCI announced 20 men’s teams had applied for a spot in the UCI World Tour. With the existing 18 teams and Cofidis as the 19th there’s been a small surprise with Arkéa-Samsic joining the applicants. Here’s a quick look at how the system works and some of the questions and issues around it.
Velon, the group of 11 World Tour teams, has announced it will file a complaint with the European Commission against the UCI. Here’s a closer look at the issues concerned.
A hard day, possibly the hardest of the year, and a race and a result shaped by the weather. In the final moments Mads Pedersen was the strongest.
After plenty of exciting races this week, the final event and one probably better enjoyed from the sofa or a local pub given the harsh weather forecast and almost 300km from neutralised start to the finish. Mathieu van der Poel is the obvious pick but can he concentrate all day long?