Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins: The End

"I have been lucky enough to live a dream and fulfil my childhood aspiration of making a living and a career out of the sport I fell in love with at the age of 12. I've met my idols and ridden with and alongside the best for 20 years. I have worked with the world’s best coaches and managers who I will always be grateful to for their support.

What will stick with me forever is the support and love from the public though thick and thin, all as a result of riding a pushbike for a living. 2012 blew my mind and was a gas. Cycling has given me everything and I couldn't have done it without the support of my wonderful wife Cath and our amazing kids.

2016 is the end of the road for this chapter, onwards and upwards, "feet on the ground, head in the clouds" kids from Kilburn don't win Olympic Golds and Tour de Frances'! They do now."

Victory of the Year 2016: Cancellara - Strade Bianche

In the year of Sagan, Cancellara's Strade Bianche win has been voted "Victory of the Year" 2016 by the readers.
This is one last great trophy for Spartacus who left his print even in the most significant year for his last rival, the phenomenon Peter Sagan.

Congratulations Spartacus, we will enjoy for the first time the sector you have entitled next year, the 4th of March.

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Which has been the greatest victory of the year?

Strade Bianche : Cancellara

Ronde van Vlaanderen : Sagan

Paris - Roubaix : Hayman

La Flèche Wallonne : Valverde

Giro d'Italia : Nibali

Tour de France : Froome

Olimpic Games : Van Avermaet

Vuelta a España : Quintana

Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne : Stuyven

Il Lombardia : Chaves

World Championships : Sagan

Amstel Gold Race : Gasparotto

Brussels Cycling Classic : Boonen

 

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Great Climbs Around The World: Ghisallino

Ghisallino is a nice climb that leads you to one of the most iconic places of the Cyling World.
If you are a cycling fan and lover you can't miss this little trip to the Madonna del Ghisallo Sanctuary.
The climb starts in Asso, Lombardy, Italy and after 9 Km with an average slope of 4% you reach the top of the hill of Ghisallo and you can breathe pure cycling.
On the top of the hill there is a little church where all the bikes and signed jerseys that the cycling champions have donated to the church are collected.
You can start having a look at the bike of Coppi, then the bike of Merckx, the bike of Pantani (just to mention three legends) and so on.
On the top of the hill there is also a cycling museum but the living museum and the iconic place is the little church mentioned above.
The hill is climbed every year during Il Lombardia but It is climbed on the other side, the harder one, the proper Ghisallo, that will be analyzed in a different topic.
Click here for a techinical analysis of the climb and here to join the club on Strava of this blog and compare your performances with the other readers.
Have a nice ride!

The Year of Sagan

Sagan is a champion, this is a fact.
This is the best podium you can dream of if you are the winner of the World Championships. You won the gold medal and you have beaten two legends of the 21st century cycling era.
The question is: how long Sagan supremacy will last?
I've never seen a rider like him so far, I love Tom Boonen, I've loved Cipollini (Pantani is something different, he was not a rider he was a mythological hero) but Sagan is incredible.
In theory he can win on any terrain, he can win in a peloton sprint, he can win with a solo attack, he is unpredictable and unbeatable,
I've waited 3 yeras but I've to say that Sagan could become the best rider of all times and a true immortal icon of this sport.
2017 will be a crucial year for Sagan's saga but so far I can just say: Thank you Peter!

Rider of the Month: August

Bravo Viviani!!!
I would have never expected to see Viviani in this special classification, but what he did this summer at the Olympics games it has been something that will be hard to forget.
I think that the day of his Gold Medal, half of the cycling fans around the world were crying with him.
Thank you Viviani.

Answer The Survey And Find Out Who Will Be The Rider Of The Month

Who is the Rider of the month?

Van Avermaet

Fuglsang

Majka

Cancellara

Dumoulin

Froome

Viviani

Cavendish

Naesen

Hansen

Ewan

 

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Welcome Back!

Welcome back folks!
Hope you enjoyed your holidays riding a bike or watching cycling.
The Olympics races have been really emotional.
Nibali's crash was tremendous and remembered me a similar one he did in the final kilometers of the cycling World Championships in Florence, Italy.
Sagan has tried to write a new page of history but unfortunately luck wasn't on his side.
Cancellara has won a gold medal in the year of the retirement following the example of Vinokourov in London.
Nevertheless the most emotional medal has been the one of Viviani, I think that the entire cycling community cried with him on that track.
Now it is time to vote the rider of the month...

Rider of the Month: July

Congratulations to Sagan who has decided to dominate this special classification too after his 5th green jersey and 3 stage win in the Tourd de France 2016.
He is literally demolishing every competition he is taking part in 2016, what will happen in Rio?
I don't know what will happen but I am sure that the Olympics Cross Country race will be a memorable one.

Answer The Survey And Find Out Who Will Be The Rider Of The Month

Who is the Rider of the Month?

Cavendish

Sagan

Froome

Dumoulin

Wellens

Bardet

Yates

Majka

Boonen

Mollema

 

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Tour de France Ratings

I'm using the rating scale from 0 (very bad) to 10 (excellent).

Froome, Sagan: 10

Cavendish: 9,5

Dumoulin, Bardet, Yates: 8

Van Avermaet, Pantano: 7,5

Zakarin, Valverde, Majka: 7

Matthews, De Gendt, Izagirre, Rodriguez: 6,5

Kittel, Greipel, Porte, Cummings: 6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quintana, Barguil, Kristoff, Alaphilippe: 5

Aru, Nibali, Rolland, Cancellara: 4,5

Coquard, Voeckler: 4

Prudhomme, Security, Motorbikes: 0

SHAME ON THE TOUR DE FRANCE

I've decided to stop commenting the Tour de France because, after what happened today, It is not a race anymore, It's a Joke.
The organizers and Prudhomme failed to provide the safety a similar kind of race requires.
Tour de France desperately needs to be revisited in many aspects, today we had the final dramatic proof.

Considerations After a Week of Tour de France

- Sagan is proving he is the best rider at the moment and one of the best riders of all times.
- Froome's attack on descent proved all his class and gave a great lesson of heart and tactics to his opponents.
- Team Dimension Data is absolutely bossing the Tour with an incredible Mark Cavendish and a great strategy.
- The organizers haven't learnt how to draw the stages of  a Grand Tour yet.
- Nibali, what are you doing? Astana, what is your strategy?
- Quintana, do you remember that last year when you attacked during the last week it was too late?
- The battle seems more close this year but I'am not so sure it will be the same in a week.

Tour de France Prediction...

The same old boring first week of Tour de France is slowly rolling by but it has already given us an interesting prediction.
The first 3 stages were won by World Champions, a former World Champion, Mark Cavendish and the actual World Champion, Peter Sagan.
Today Kittel won the 4th stage, could this mean he will be the next World Champion?
This year the UCI Road World Championships will take place in Doha and the route seems to favor the sprinters. Will the prediction come true???

Le Grand Départ

Finally the Tour de France Grand Départ has been truly grand.
Cavendish's first stage win has been fantastic. He used all his track skills and his experience and was able to set himself back on the throne of the sprinters.
For most of the people he was presented as an ex sprinter, overcome by the new generation of sprinters,  young and powerful.
During the last two years he kept on working without saying a single word of envy or hate and came back today with this incredible result!
The rest of the Tour will be a nice trip around France for Cav, now he has re-gained the respect of the cycling world (never lost at my eyes) and he can just concentrate on enjoying his yellow jersey with the licence to win some more stages.
Congratulations Mark, enjoy your yellow jersey! That was a proper Grand Depart!

Rider of the Month: June

Congratulations Peter, you are (again) the rider of the month!!!
I don't know what to say, Sagan is litterally dominating the special classification of the "Rider of the Month".
Winning this special competition  for the third time he has just established a new record!
Will his next picture be in a green jersey?

Answer The Survey And Find Out Who Will Be The Rider Of The Month

Who is the Rider of the Month?

Contador

Aru

Groenewegen

Froome

Lopez M. A.

Sagan

De Bondt

Quintana

Dehaes

 

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National Championships

The end of June is characterized by the National Championships.
These are the greatest occasion (apart from the rainbow jersey and its curse) to be more recognizable in the peloton for a rider.
The races are very interesting because the teams do not have a fixed number of riders, there could be teams even with just one rider.
This situation makes the races unpredictable and very hard and stressful.
Nevertheless, we have to consider that if you win a National Championship you will be celebrated the entire year. You will be The National Champion, not just a random rider of the peloton. Such a great title can't be gained without a great effort. Good luck riders!
Let's enjoy the National Championships lottery!

The Curse of the Rainbow Jersey

This jersey is the dream of every rider in the world.
It is said that wearing the rainbow jersey it is something that you can't explain, you have just to prove it. The Jersey throws you in a sort of Nirvana, you are, finally, at peace with yourself.
Nevertheless, the rainbow jersey, has a curse you have to deal with.
The sesason with the rainbow jersey, most of the time, it is not the best season of a rider.
World Champions, during their rainbow jersey season, struggle to conquer great results and they generally start winning again the next season, once they have left the cursed jersey to another (unlucky?) rider.
Nevertheless, we have to consider that, among the World Champions, there is a particular kind of riders that we can call legends. They are able to win and excite even during their season in rainbow jersey.
Sagan, at the beginning of the season, seamed suffering from the Jersey's curse but he has been able to defeat it, entering the cycling legend club.

Cycling & Art Pt. 2

What happen when two of the most famous manga artists love cycling?
The result is in this incredible book called: "Viva il Ciclissimo!"
Katsuhiro Otomo and Katsuya Terada (the first is the author of the manga called "akira" and the second is the author of the manga called "Saiyukiden") in 2007 decided to follow the most fascinating Grand Tour in the world, the Giro d'Italia.
They spent three intense weeks travelling with the Giro d'Italia convoy, tasting from the inside the essence of the race.
During the race they drew the impressions the race gave them day by day.
Once back to Japan they published an amazing book called: "Viva il Cilissimo!"  where they gathered all their drawings.
The Giro d'Italia represented in the book was won by Danilo Di Luca and presented the hardest climb in Europe: Monte Zoncolan.
The book is still available on Amazon.
Click here for more drawings taken from the book.

Rider Of The Giro

Congratulations to Steven Kruijswijk who has been elected rider of the Giro d'Italia 2016!!!

A special mention goes to the team Etixx - Quick Step Pro Cycling Team that gave aeverybody a lesson of tactics and showed how to work as a team.

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Who is the Rider of the Giro d'Italia?

Nibali

Dumoulin

Kittel

Greipel

Brambilla

Ulissi

Valverde

Nizzolo

Nieve

Jungels

Chaves

Kruijswijk

 

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Nibali, The Human Champion

In one of the worst Giro ever created by the organizers, the Alps and the riders keep the Giro d'Italia the most exciting Grand Tour of the year.
Nibali, supported by a strong team and a gigantic Scarponi, is the main character of this Giro: the human and humble champion.
He didn't demolished the road: he fought, he struggled, he won, this is what true champions do.
There has been a lot of chatting around Nibali but Vincenzo, with his Sicilian charcater, kept riding  and fighting.
I think that now Nibali can be definitely considered one of  the top Grand Tour riders in the world, if not the best.
I don't know how many Tour de France winners of the latest years would be able to do what Nibali did in this Giro, but that's a matter for a separate talk.
There is just one stain on Vincenzo's epic quest, but it is not his fault: Nibali won't celebrate his victory in Milan, the city of the Giro d'Italia. This is the last shitty surprise coming from the organizers; luckily tomorrow it is the last stage.
Imagine to win a Tour de France and celebrate riding the last stage in a place different than Paris, this is what will happen tomorrow.
Thank you Nibali, the human champion.

Team Vs. Individual Sport

There in as everlasting diatribe: Cyling is an individual or a team sport?
This Giro is proving that you can play it and maybe (we have to wait until sunday) win in both ways.
Etixx - Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team is the most representative example that cycling is a team sport. They came to the Giro without a real champion and with their perfect team tactics were able to: win stages, keep the Maglia Rosa (Pink Jersey) and the red jersey for a few days and maybe (we have to wait until sunday), win the white jersey.
Steven Kruijswijk is proving that you can win a Grand Tour alone, trying to affirm that cycling is an individual sport.
Once again the diatribe can't be settled, it depends on Kruijswijk. If he will win the Giro, this would be a seatback for the supporters of the team sport side.
Nevertheless, if Kruijswijk will loose the Giro, this would be a knockout blow for the theory affirming that cycling is an individual sport.
The last 3 stages of the Giro d'Italia are not just a battle for the final podium, they are a battle between two different conceptions of cycling.

Dolomites Don't Lie

In a drowsy Giro finally Dolomites arrived.
It is fantstic to see how, facing these climbs, there is no space for tactics or tricks.
Dolomites are the mountains of the truth, there is no space for lies. In the last two days, I've heard people talking about the unpredictability of this sport, this is true but we have to clarify a point: Nibali or Valverde didn't have an inexplicable slump. What happened to this Champions it is easy to explain: they have just found riders in a better shape or stronger than them.
This didn't come out until now due to the kind of stages that Giro d'Italia 2016 presented so far.
Giro d'Italia is the toughest Grand Tour for this reason: you can't prepare it in a scientific way, when Dolomites arrives it is just you, your bike, your energies and your soul.
This is not a Grand Tour for robots, it is a race for romantic heroes.
You can't prepare and pretend to control the Giro using data provided by a computer, you have to understand and feel the Dolomites.
In conclusion I want to thank these incredible mountains for keeping the Giro the best Grand Tour in the world despite the economics interests that recently are making Giro a Grand Tour with a slow start.
If the organizers will draw in this way the route of the  future Giros, Giro d'Italia could last just 3 days, the three Dolomite stages.
Giro was the hardest race because it was full of tricky stages for clever riders, I ask the organizers not to let us, in the future, just hope and wait for the Dolomites to come. This will happen anyway, but with a different amount of emotions accumulated during the first two weeks.

Pink Jersey Survey

Brambilla, the Pink Jersey, during the last climb pulled for his teammate Jungels, did he make the correct choice?

Yes, It's important to keep the Pink Jersey inside the team

No, he should have honoured the Pink Jersey until the end

 

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Giro d'Italia or Tour de France?

The 99th Giro d'Italia has been a strange Giro so far.
Giro was famous to present great fights since the first week, with tricky stages and new strong climbs found around the country every year, while waiting for the giants of the Alps.
This edition of the Giro d'Italia looks like a poor Tour de France, with predictable stages during the first week, a time trial as first battle ground for the contenders and in general a slow waiting for the climbs that will arrive later on.
This is not what has made Giro the most exciting, hardest and unpredictable Grand Tour.
Giro has always been a race for emotional and crazy riders, ready to attack without too many tactics. This was made possible, even in modern cycling, by the features of the stages, never dull and resourceful for the attackers.
Putting a time trial after the first week it is tipical of the Tour de Frace, where you wait bored until the last week, hoping for a rider to attack by chance.
The Tour de France, in recent years, changed its structure, understanding that the kind of race they presented was unsustainable for the show and the Tour de France became more similar to the Giro.
Now, my question is: why if the proud and presumptuous French organizers have changed the Tour de Frace, making it more similar to the Giro, in order to make more exciting the first part of the race, Italian organizers are copying the old Tour de France organizers making the Giro a boring race with a slow start?

Global Bike to Work Day

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Giro d'Italia

In order to understsand what Giro d'Italia is, you have to do two things: buy and wear the Pink Jersey and deal with the first rest day.
During the first rest day of the Giro you have to deal with a deep sense of loneliness. In  few days you are already used to your new run of the mill and your day is empty without the daily stage.
This makes you understand, by contrast, what a presence, suddenly, Giro d'Italia becomes in your days once started.
You feel immediately part of the Giro's convoy and in a state of empathy with the riders.
Giro d'Italia is a 3 weeks party and  you are Giro addicted just after the prologue.
On the other side, wearing the Pink Jersey, makes you understand why the riders are struggling and fighting for it.
Put on a Pink jersey and you will feel incredibly satisfied, you will find yourself smiling without a particular reason, this is the power of the Pink Jersey. This is what happens when you buy the jersey, just try to imagine what does it mean if you conquer it on the road.
The last consideration concerns Giro d'Italia as a work of art.
During 3 weeks, you can watch a living painting every day. You see a multicolor peloton moving around the most beautifu and various country in the world.
BUON GIRO!

Danilo Di Luca - Bestie da Vittoria

Generally I don't buy Sport biographies but, I don't know why, since I've heard of this book I knew I wanted it. Of course not because of the doping matter and so on, this is a silly reason to buy this book, also because this is not a book about doping.
I bought the book and I finished it in 5 days.
This book deserves a reading because it is the story of a man who discovers, since he was a kid, to be a strong rider, a champion.
Telling the story of this guy the book represents in an incredibly realistc and brave way the world of pro cycling.
Di Luca prove to be a champion signing his book and his statements. This is what makes the difference between a champion and a thief, a "Cycliste Masqué" (review soon).
The book drives you through the life of a man and the career of a rider.
Once finished the book you will see cycling in a different way but not due to  the doping sotries but because, finished this book, you can say you have tried a pro rider experience.

Rider of the Month: April

Congratulations to Peter Sagant who has been elected Rider of the Month for the second time (new record) in a row (new record).
His fantastic performance at the Tour of Flanders and the way he avoided the fallen Cancellara during the Paris - Roubaix are something will remain in the history of cycling.

Tour de Yorkshire

Tomorrow will start the second edition of the Tour de Yorkshire.
This young race was born after the cycling explosion, following the Tour de France 2014 start in Leeds.
Despite its shortness (the race presents just 3 stages) the Tour de Yorkshire is an interesting race that should be used by sprinters and stage hunters to prepare the Giro.
The race presents three hilly stages that could be characterized by strong wind and wet roads, forcing the riders to take particular attention, This is not a simple race and its unpredictability coupled with the nice landscapes make the race quite interesting, despite its lack of history.
For the future it woud  be nice if the last stage would be divided in two part, taking inspiration from the Driedaagse De Panne.
This race is in development but I think that, in the future, could become one of most interesting race of the European scenario.
This year there won't be as many Pro Tour teams as expected, but it could be a good occasion to discover new promising British riders.
Waiting for better days for this undervalued race, I wish you a nice Tour de Yorkshire!

Answer The Survey And Find Out Who Will Be The Rider Of The Month

Who is the Rider of the Month?

Sagan

Kittel

Contador

Hayman

Vakoc

Gasparotto

Valverde

Landa

Poels

 

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La Flèché Wallonne - Mr. Mur de Huy

We are talking about a true legend. One of the strongest riders of all time.
As I was saying a couple of posts ago, in the Ardennes classics we are in front of a different kind of champions but I think that Valverde is unique.
He has alreay won a grand tours, the Vuelta, and in May he'll try to win the Giro. He has won 3 Liège - Bastonge - Liegè and 4 Flèché Wallonne (3 in a row), what should I say more?
What was impressive today is how he dominated the Mur de Huy, he bossed the opponents, he demolished the wall.
He gave the idea to be in full control of the situation, he made it look incrdibly easy.
There is only one explanation for this, we are in front of a champion, a true talent, born to demolish this race but not just one race.
A curious aspect of the Ardennes Classics is that some of them are race made for particurar riders, see Amstel Gold Rafe for Gasparotto or Raas, but here we are in a different situation.
Valverde is a complete rider, who chose to boss a race in a way that is incredible. Of course he has the record of wins for this race but I think that in this contest It is minor, It sounds almost natural.
Today he seemed a dancer in a classical ballet, he climbed with an elegance tha you couldn't see in his opponents that were struggling to stay hanged on the Mur de Huy and avoid to fall off the wall (Mur means wall).
The only thing I can say, as we are in front of an étoile performing in his favourite theater, is: Bravo Alejandro!

Amstel Gold Race

This has definitely been the most cathartic win of the season.
Gasparotto is a rider who struggled to find a team and went through a difficult period of his life, having problems with his wife and his self confidence.
Wanty Gobert is a professional continental team which dramatically lost a rider a couple of weeks ago during the Gent - Wevelgem 2016.
Gasparotto won for himself, for his teammate and for the only team that believed in him. The inverview after the race has been very touching, confirming that cycling is the most romantic sport in the world.
Most of the riders are romantic heroes, it doesn't matter if they win or not, this is what they are. They are not just running, most of them have personal reasons hidden under their jerseys.
The Amstel Gold Race 2016 was won by one of them and it has been amazing.
Another significant aspect is that, on the podium, two (Gasparotto and Colbrelli) of the three riders ran for a professional team, proving that in cycling there is just one thing that matters: heart.
Gasparotto's race was pure hearth, pushed by his rage and by Antoine. He couldn't loose this race and he didn't.

Ardennes Classics

Today will take place the first of the Ardennes Classics.
After the hard races on the cobbles, the scenery will change and the competitors too. There is only one rider that could win the classics of the Ardennes too, which is Sagan, but he won't be there because he is a human being too (maybe) and he needs some rest after the hard stones campaign.

Some of the riders that will compete in these races are the same that will battle in the Grand Tours. In modern cycling not so many riders can have in their palmarès a Classic and a Grand Tour. These races are almost the only occasion for a Grand Tour rider to reach this dream and this make them even more interesting.
Last year Valverde enriched his palmarès, establishing himself as one of the most complete riders of the peloton.
Will, this year, a Grand Tour rider win one of the Ardennes Classics?

Tom Paris - Roubaix

This should be the full name of this LEGEND.
When Tommeke smells the stones he becomes a superhero.
Yesterday he ran the perfect race. He could be the only rider so brave to decide to attack when there were still 120 km to go, but we are not talking about a general rider, we are talking about The Rider.
The last poet of the stones. He didn't win yesterday, beaten by the Carneade of the day, but what a race by Tommeke.
He demolished the stones, always in front of the bunch of rider that by chance followed him in his crazy attack, giving new impetus to the winning action, started when there were still 120km to go.
The 2016 Paris - Roubaix has been the umpteenth lesson of the king of the stones.
He rode to win, It doesn't matter he didn't, but this is what make you a champion, a legend, a hero.
If you want to know how to ride a Paris - Roubaix, you have just to watch all the Boonen's Paris - Roubaix, not the only ones he won.
Tom, riding on the stones, is pure poetry, you can't find any other rider in the peloton so elegant on the stones. He doesn't need gloves, he is at home, the stones are his natural field.
He should be a protected species.
I don't know if he will retire at the end of the season, the only thing I can say is thank you Tommeke! For yesterday, for every single time you demolished the stones.

Disc Brakes & Road Bikes

                                                     

I want to start saying  that, in a time where the safety of the riders is the biggest problem to deal with, allow the teams and the rideres to use disc brakes during the race is the worst thing you can do.
Crashes, as we can unfortunately see every day, are incredibely frequent in cycling and riders get injured because they can't control or avoid the crash due to the fact that they are really close to each other.
Consider now what will happen if  every single rider in the peloton mounted disc brakes on his bike: the first crash would be a massacre.
Disc brakes are like super hot blades mounted on your wheels.
We have seen so many times riders stuck in a bunch of bikes and I don't want to think about how the riders would come out of the bunch: bleeding to death or full of wounds in the best cases.
After few races the survivors would be full of scars, more than the Iliad mythological warriors.
I don't want to be a Cassandra, but the first time the entire Peloton will mount disc brakes, it will be the last time too.
In conclusion, I completely agree that disc brakes are more efficent and safer in every kind of wheather conditions and I think that a lonely rider should mount them on his bike, but you can't allow  riders to use them in a race!

There is a Rainbow in the Flandrian Sky

The 100th Ronde has been the best race of the season so far.
The World Champion demolished the road and the opponents winning the race with a memorable solo.
Ten years after Tommeke, the rainbow jersey shines again in the sky of Flanders.
Sagan's race strategy has been perfect and brave, risking a breakaway far from the finish line and without the favourite number one, Fabian Cancellara.
Even if he is a stronger sprinter than Cancellara, Hulk decided to honour the rainbow jersey and win like only Champions can do.
We'll see what will happen next Sunday in Roubaix, but what a race was the 100th Ronde Van Vlaanderen!

Rider of the Month: March

The rainbow finally appeared in Wevelgem and in our special classification!

Congratulations Peter Sagan!!!

100e Ronde Van Vlaanderen

On Sunday will take place the 100th edition of  the second Monument of che Classics.
The race doesn't require a presentation,  the climbs the riders will face during the race (Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg, Paterberg,..) are true Flemish icons.
The race history doesn't present a true dominator because the record for victories is shared among six men, with three each. Nevertheless only one rider, Fiorenzo Magni won three consecutive victories.
The last rider who won the race in the rainbow jersey was Tom Boonen, will Sagan repeat the feat looking, after the victory of last Sunday in Wevelgem, for an incredible cobbled classics triple?
In case of success on Sunday, one between Boonen and Cancellara can also become the recordman for victories.
Who will be the Lion of Flanders? Excellent bike handling skills are required.

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Who is the Rider of the Month?

Cancellara

Thomas

Contador

Van Avermaet

Bouhanni

Kwiatkowski

Sagan

Quintana

 

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R.I.P.

Milano - Sanremo Surprises Us Again!

After more than 100 years of history this incredible race is still able to surprise us.
This is the first time in the history of this incredible race that there is not a winner.
According to the race jury, of course, directed by a French, despite the important statements made by Tosatto and Capecchi, there is a winner but it is clear that the real situation is different.
The so called winner,  climbed the Cipressa towed by his team car at the incredible speed of 52.2 Km/h, as everybody can see checking the data provided by Strava.
The jury French president still stays silent but you can't win the Classicissima in this way, there is a sort of ancestral code of the classics saying that you have to deserve your result and everybody can be sure that these events won't be forgotten.
You can't betray a Classic, and this time Milano - Sanremo has been betrayed by the president of the Jury and by the FDJ team manager.
I can't blame the rider, to be honest, he just obeyed his team manager but unfortunately he can't be called winner of the Milano - Sanremo.
In this leap year Milano - Sanremo decided to make us wait two years after the win of John Degenkolb to know the name of a new winner. Could this be a way to pay a tribute to the former winner who couldn't partecipate due to a hit-and-run driver?
We don't know, that's the fact. This race has a soul and is aslways able to surprise us deciding by itself what has to happen.

Milano - Sanremo

This year the Classicissima will be one of the most classic of all time.
Finally, afer years of unsuccessful attempts to change the most fascinating race in the world the organization has decided to bring back the Classicissima to its original format.
The Milano - Sanremo 2016 will arrive again in the legendary via Roma and it will take place on Saturday.
I've always sustained that there is a big difference between conquer a Milano - Saremo and conquer a Milano - Sanremo crossing the finish line in via Roma.
The magic this year is completed by the fact that the race will be on the 19th of March, the day in which is celebrated San Giuseppe in Italy, which was the historical date of the race.
After this little preamble we can face the main questions: will the race finish with a sprint or will a hero be able to escape and to stay ahed to the finish? will a home rider win the race after ten years of abstinence? will be Peter Sagan in his rainbow jersey the first to cross the finish line after 33 years since Giuseppe Saronni won the race in the rainbow jersey? who will be the first to attack on the Poggio?
I've no idea and this is what makes the Classicissima the most amazing race in the world.

Cycling & Art

Cycling is a form of art but could be also the subject of a different form of art, this is what happens with www.theartofcycling.blogspot.com.

Greig Leach is one of the most talented painters of our times. He has exhibited in numerous museums across the United States, such as Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,  1708 Gallery, Jasper Center for the Arts, Imagine in Jacksonville, Chattahoochee Valley Art Museum and so on.

His deep love for cycling made the riders and the race situations the favourite subject of his drawings. His fine hand and his sensibility bring to life this incredible images that make you feel inside the race in the situtation which is repredented in the painting.

His art is incredibely dynamics and emotional, this is made possible due to his deep love for cycling that is positively transferred in his drawings.

For these reasons he is definitely my favourite contemporary "cycling painter".

If you are interested I suggest you to check his website: www.greigleach.com

He as recently published a cycling art book celebrating the last Cycling World Championships entitled: "Art of Cycling: Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships", avaiable at  www.artofcycling.bike.

 Taking it Alone, Greig Leach:

Gravel Roads, The New Must In Cycling Fashion

It all started in Italy during the Giro d'Italia 2005 climbing the terrible Colle delle Finestre, as the last kilometers of the terrible climb were not tarmacked.
The following years the Giro d'Italia repeated the happy initiative.
In 2007 was created Eroica Strade Bianche. The peculiarity of this race are, as we said, gravel road sectors.
In the first stage of the Paris - Nice 2016 we find, again, few sectors of gravel road.
The Italian idea seems to be a good one, but what there is behind this decision?
Maybe in a sport where technology is improving faster than ever there is a need to go back to the origins of this incredible sport. Cycling heroes rode on gravel roads, could be this a way to bring back the human aspect in a sport where, in the last few years, technology is gaining prominence?

Strade Bianche - Preview

The Spring Classics season has officialy started and on Staurday there will be the newest classic with the oldest soul.
Strade Bianche is an incredible road bicycle race in Tuscany, Italy.
The route consists of 176 kilometers over hilly terrain, including nine sectors of gravel roads, totaling 52.8 km of dirt road.
Being so new the race has another peculiarity: if a rider wins the race three times he will have a sector of gravel road entitled.
At the moment the only rider who can reach this goal is Fabian Cancellara with already 2 Wins, however we have to consider that this will be his last attempt and this makes the race even more interesting.
Who will be the first rider to have an entitled sector?
Talking about the technical feature, the dirt road sections include steep climbs and testing descents, with the gravel surface usually smooth but also dotted with stones, potholes and hidden dangers.
Success depends mainly on rider's bike handling skills making the Strade Bianche a race for true champions.

Rider of the Month: February

Congratulations to Edvald Boasson Hagen who has been voted Rider of the Month!!!


 However a special mention is due to Jasper Stuyven for his amazing win in Kurne. Will he be the new Tom Boonen in the Cancellara's jersey? This is another good reason not to miss the next spring classics!

Answer The Survey And Find Out Who Will Be The Rider Of The Month

Who is the Rider of the Month?

Kristoff

Kittel

Boasson Hagen

Nibali

Contador

Valverde

Thomas

 

pollcode.com free polls

Adriano Malori

Big up for Adriano who is running the race of the year!

Miche Syntium Axy

These are the Miche top level wheels with aluminium rim.
Miche Syntium Axy are astonishingly reactive, they are perfect for a mixed stage.
Their weight and their incredible smooth rolling quality grant high level performances also on long climbs.
Another property I've personally appreciated is that, despite their lightness, these wheels are incredibly sturdy.
The driveability is absolutely perfect and the influence of the wind on the wheels is null.
In my opinion these are definitely one of the best pair of aluminium wheels you can find on the market.

Weight: 1580 grams
Rim height: 24 mm
Spokes shape and number: straight pull, flat, double butted, 18 front and 24 rear

Bianchi Sempre Pro

What can I say about this incredible frame?
Realized in monocoque carbon fiber it  is incredibely light and resistant.
Its racing geometry allows the rider to perform at top level; nevertheless the bike remains confortable and safety.
The geometry of the frame allows the rider to draw  his trajectories with incredible precision, giving always the sensation to be in full control of the bicycle even on slippery terrain.
The top tube is slighty flattened and oversized as the down tube, making the frame aesthetically very pleasing.
The weight of the frame is 990 grams.

Hello Folks!

Hello folks!
The aim of this blog is to discuss cycling in general.
I'll talk about bicycles, races and tactics.
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