Category: Classics and day races
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Belgians fail to take second place in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
Kuurne Brussels-Kuurne, first to eighth, by nationality: Belgian Dutch Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian Belgian The number one Belgian was Tom Boonen, who might actually be a strong contender for that title in a broader sense. How it panned out The second cobbled classic was meant to finish with a bunch sprint. All the previews…
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Ian Stannard has the power
What? Are you saying that victory in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad doesn’t justify a He-Man reference? Well, maybe you’re right. Or maybe you’re wrong. British riders in the cobbled classics For all that Britain is suddenly a Grand Tour powerhouse, the nation hasn’t had anything like the same success in one-day classics. This is somewhat surprising…
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The cobbles, climbs and cobbled climbs of Belgium
Crack open an oud bruin, smear some samurai sauce on your frites and brace yourself for Belgium. It’s time for cobbles, short climbs and short cobbled climbs as we build towards the Ronde van Vlaanderen (the Tour of Flanders) on the 6th of April. Okay, that race is still some way off, but the reconnaisance…
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My highlights of the 2013 pro cycling season
The 2014 season starts on Sunday with the Tour Down Under, so here’s a somewhat overdue list of my highlights from 2013. It absolutely isn’t that I saved this as a draft months ago and kind of thought that I’d published it, but hadn’t. In no particular order… Adam Hansen’s Giro stage win I’m a…
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Four British riders for the Spring Classics
I make no apologies for the Brit-centric nature of this website. I have milk in my tea and it’s a .co.uk domain name. You can’t argue with unshakeable truths such as those. Today’s article therefore takes a look at the handful of riders who will be carrying Britain’s fairly slim hopes in the 2014 Spring…
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They’ve changed the route of the Ronde van Vlaanderen
Bringing you all autumnal news of the Spring Classics, whether you’re interested or not. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go into this in any depth. I can’t be bothered. For the last couple of years cobbled classic the Ronde van Vlaanderen, has finished with laps of a circuit. This would be rubbish even it…
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When Fabian Cancellara attacked Tom Boonen in the 2010 Ronde Van Vlaanderen
Earlier in the week, I wrote about Belgian bike racing and how it’s different from what you’ll see in the Tour de France. I thought it might be good to add a few visuals to that, so here’s a video of part of the 2010 Ronde van Vlaanderen. You get a good feel for what…
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Belgium’s major professional bike races
I’ve just been to Belgium. Yes, it was very enjoyable, thank you very much. If you’ve never been, the nation revolves around moules and mayonnaise; beer, bad weather and bike races. At least one of those warrants closer attention on this website. Belgian day races When it comes to professional cycling, there is the Tour…
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Why every Joaquim Rodriguez win should be celebrated
Joaquim Rodriguez has cornered the market on bridesmaidery and for that, you should celebrate his wins. He deserves them more than most. While Purito won a number of races last year, his season was defined by losing the Giro on the final day and being denied the Vuelta through a single moment of dosiness. This…