Author: Alex
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Tour de Yorkshire looks set to recruit more muscle
Technically, Team Sky’s Lars Petter Nordhaug won the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, but I think we can all agree that the real winner was, on balance, me. Not only did I foresee that the race wouldn’t be anywhere near as sprinter-friendly as some (presumably non-cyclists) seemed to believe, I also correctly predicted the King of…
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Tour de Yorkshire preview – TV coverage, route, stage profiles and riders to watch
The Tour de Yorkshire starts tomorrow (Friday) and UK readers will be pleased to hear that there’s live coverage and highlights on ITV4. This, combined with widespread enthusiasm on the wrong side of the Pennines borne of last year’s Grand Départ, means that the race seems like a big deal. Is it? Run by Amaury…
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Alejandro Valverde is occasionally the bride
Now that I look upon his breathtaking white dress, it suddenly seems inaccurate to call Alejandro Valverde a perennial bridesmaid. If he fulfilled the role once again at Amstel Gold, finishing second, it turned out that this was merely an omen of what was to come. A win in Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday was followed…
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Alejandro Valverde still likes La Fleche Wallonne
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘did Greg Van Avermaet come second, or possibly, in light of his recent major results, third?’ The answer is no. He didn’t race. He might be back for Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday, but I don’t actually know his race itinerary, so I can’t confirm that. This year’s La Fleche…
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Michal Kwiatkowski sups Amstel Gold
I’ve only drunk Amstel Gold once. I was travelling through Greece and stopped at a bar while waiting for a train one afternoon. The owner dissuaded me from buying normal Amstel and made a compelling mime for the superiority of Amstel Gold. I remember agreeing with him at the time, but see that the usually…
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John Degenkolb, gummy and the spring classics’ new era
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘did Greg Van Avermaet come second in Paris-Roubaix?’. No, he didn’t. He came third. John Degenkolb’s moustache won. A fine win it was too. “Degenkolb’s still there,” was perhaps the defining piece of commentary. The man who finished second last year was in the key group without really…
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Geraint Thomas is strong enough for everything except the wind
In my previous ‘what’s next?’ I neglected to mention E3 Harelbeke which took place on Friday. It’s the same class of race as Gent-Wevelgem and makes the list. It was just lazy calendar reading on my part. Sorry about that. E3 Harelbeke The race named after a motorway that has since been renamed and that…
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John Degenkolb claims ownership of a Monument
As the old saying goes, ‘complete-lack-of-timeliness is next to Godliness’. As such, Wednesday night seems a perfect time to report on Sunday’s Milan-San Remo. What happened? I sometimes get dragged into writing a sort of pseudo-race report and I always regret it. Far better to concentrate on the bold headline information: John Degenkolb’s moustache won.…
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Down France and across Italy in under a thousand words
Let’s have a quick round-up of all the major racing since Ian Stannard took the Omloop for the second time (not a euphemism). That basically means Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico as I’ll tick Strade Bianche off in this opening section by matter-of-factly telling you that Zdenek Stybar won. Zdenek’s been promising this sort of thing for…