Author: Alex
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Philippe Gilbert has a colourful time at Amstel Gold
Ardennes Week (which is actually eight days long) is when we segue from one-day racing to stage racing. Amstel Gold, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege involve much of the hurly burly of the cobbled classics – including that peculiar phenomenon where riders actually race to win, rather than conserving energy for the following day. However,…
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Greg Van Avermaet is King of Spring
If you’re accustomed to the cautious watchfulness of the Tour de France, the relentless violence of Paris-Roubaix can be a bit of an eye-opener. In July, commentators can spend three weeks discussing which mountain stage will see an attack from one of the favourites and some years the answer turns out to be ‘none of…
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Paris-Roubaix has cobbles and the plot from Wipeout
Barses of granite or barses of some sort of hi-tech vibration-dampening material with a made-up pseudo-scientific name? Who’s to say how the riders get through Paris-Roubaix without sustaining permanent damage to their perineums (perinea?). There’s also that whole riding-really-quickly-for-bloody-hours aspect to contend with. As races go, Paris-Roubaix is one on its own. Essentially one long…
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Philippe Gilbert passes his Tour of Flanders interview
The short version is that Philippe Gilbert pushed away from everyone on the Oude Kwaremont with 55km to and was never seen again. That really doesn’t do his Tour of Flanders winning ride justice though. The attack – the surging sustained power that saw the gap created – was really just passing the interview. It…
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Greg Van Avermaet cobbles together a decent start to the spring
Welcome to the next exciting instalment of Greg Van Avermaet’s Fighting Talk. After winning E3 Harelbeke on Friday, the Olympic champion was effusive, offering, “I’m happy things are not so bad,” as his verdict on the race. The Belgian followed that up with victory in Gent-Wevelgem too. Having also won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad a few…
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Michal Kwiatkowski again surprised to beat Peter Sagan – even though he does it all the time
Peter Sagan is such a colossal figure in cycling that it’s odd to thing he doesn’t necessarily have more of a claim to greatness than Michal Kwiatkowski. Sagan does wheelies and snarfs Gold Bears like some sort of Haribo-vacuum. Michal Kwiatkowski is a Polish guy with sticky-out ears. But performance-wise, what’s in it? Sagan is…
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Springtime stage races from one place to a different place – a round-up
You may have noticed that my approach to race reports this year has been to deliver them almost pointlessly late. You may think that this temporal delay removes my responsibility to look at the ins and outs of how each race was decided. You’d be right. I’m also lazy. And busy. These ingredients are not…
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Michal Kwiatkowski’s back!
As in ‘returned’. He hasn’t got ankylosing spondylitis or anything. Michal Kwiatkowski hasn’t had a spectacularly successful time at Team Sky thus far. In 2014, at what was then Omega Pharma-Quick Step, he won Strade Bianche and became world champion and finished on the podium in La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege – all big races.…
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What does Peter Sagan eat after a bike race?
Haribo. Haribo Gold Bears, specifically. One fistful, smushed into the mouth via the palms of both hands. Here’s some footage, because I know that you’re yearning for footage. The greatest Haribo advert ever created :: pic.twitter.com/RpWzHZa4uA — Gage+DeSoto (@gagedesoto) February 26, 2017 I wrote more about this earth-shattering pro cycling development for my day job,…
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The Omloop ushers in a brave old world
Rub the sleep from your eyes, wash the surprisingly large amount of winter filth off your bike – Omloop Het Nieuwsblad has taken place and the cycling season is now unequivocally underway. So how have things changed? They haven’t. Olympic road race champion Greg Van Avermaet won the Omloop, just as he did last year.…