Only two stages in, and already the ’09 Giro is looking like it’s going to be awesome. Mark Cavendish and Lance Armstrong take aim at Garmin-Slipstream in more ways than one before the 1st stage TTT, while Stage 2 features some classic Giro riding, complete with a crazy finishing circuit and a big sprint at…
Tag: Race Coverage
Evans' and Gilbert's Epic Romandie Descent
From Stage 2 of last week’s Tour of Romandie. Even if you’ve got the watts to jump away from a ProTour-level field on a Category 2 climb, to be a serious contender, you still need the skill, coordination and nerve to come screaming down swtichbacking, off-camber descents while negotiating the occasional pothole or motorbike. And…
How The Race Was Won – Tour of Romandie 2009
Video recap of the 2009 Tour of Romanide. A great win by Roman Kreuziger, making him a popular dark horse pick for a Grand Tour or two later this season. Two stage wins by Oscar Freire, a team time trial, some snow, and just a little argy-bargy. [Right-click for iTunes compatible download] Vimeo and YouTube…
Weekend Wrap-up, Renaming Races, Below the BikeRadar
Ah, a fine weekend of spring racing in Belgium at E3 Prijs and Brabantse Pijl. Impressive wins by Pipo Pozzatto, who was no doubt stinging from my jibe in last week’s How the Race was Won, and Anthony Geslin, who’s probably still in shock that he’s won anything outside the Coupe de France series. Should…
How The Race Was Won – Milan-Sanremo 2009
My incisive video analysis of yesterday’s race. Apologies for the poor audio, USB mic is in the mail. Ask about any muddled parts in the comments and I will clarify. [right click – iTunes compatible download] Also available in a heinous Flash version on popular video-sharing site YouTube, and a marginally better version on Vimeo.
Milan Sanremo 2009 – Another Good Finish, but…
Another good finish, but man—what a stinker for the first 295k! Well, no. I suppose that’s a bit harsh, but you’ve got to admit, there was a definite lack of late-race fireworks. I counted no attacks on the Cipressa and a mere two on the Poggio: a seemingly half-hearted tug from Davide Rebellin that barely…
2008 Paris-Roubaix – Tornado Tom Roars Again
Ah…now that’s what I was waiting for. Tom Boonen comes through with the big win (30 meters clear in a sprint!) just to remind you that he’s still the greatest classics rider of his generation. It’s hard to pick a more elite group to come into the line with, too: the 06′ Roubaix winner and…
Tour of Flanders 2008 – A Study in Intimidation
I’ve always admired Stijn Devolder’s penchant for attacking. He’s been a massively important protagonist for years in one-day races, and despite what John Wilcockson says, he’s been in contention for a classic win at least once before. And while claims that he’s a Tour contender still seem a bit unwarranted, winning the Ronde in the…
2008 Milan-Sanremo
In response to Velonews’ pre-race question “sprint or break”, the answer is “no”. Drawing obvious comparisons to last year’s staggering TdF stage win at Compeigne, Fabian Cancellara once again turned savvy, raw power and a confusing race situation into a glorious breakaway win. While TT riders can be notoriously poor performers in tense, tactical race…
At Long Last: Het Volk & KBK 2008!
Ah, finally, good cause to ignore all the piddly little races that have filled up the cycling calendar so far. Not that I haven’t ignored them up to this point, of course, but now I have an excuse… In 2006, Phillippe Gilbert broke out onto the international cycling scene by taking his first Het Volk….