Category: Classics and day races
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What is Paris-Roubaix like?
It’s Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, but what’s it like? Why is this race different from any other? Here’s Dutchman Theo De Rooy interviewed on the finish line in 1985: “It’s bollocks this race. You’re working like an animal. You don’t have time to piss. You wet your pants. You’re riding in mud like this, you’re slipping—it’s…
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Fabian Cancellara has a little extra wattage at Ronde van Vlaanderen
As expected, the closing stages of Ronde van Vlaanderen did indeed give us the latest chapter in the rivalry between Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan. It was an unambiguous chapter written in very plain English. What happened? The penultimate climb of Ronde van Vlaanderen is the Oude Kwaremont, which is a cobbled climb 2.2km long…
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Geraint Thomas is in form for the Tour of Flanders tomorrow
In pro cycling, there are races almost every day. Sometimes there are several taking place simultaneously. It’s important to remember that most are mere staging posts en route to major targets. The riders race seriously, but a race isn’t always an accurate measure of who’s best, because the competitors may have differing levels of form.…
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Cancellara-Sagan rivalry rolls onto the cobbles
If you hear someone saying that this site doesn’t have narrative themes, feel free to box their ears or perhaps deliver a more contemporary reprimand, such as a happy slap. Does happy slapping still exist? You don’t hear so much about it any more. Maybe the recession is dulling our buoyancy and the pastime has…
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It’s all about cobbles this weekend
If any pro cyclists are wondering what’s next after they froze their nuts off at Milan-San Remo. Great news! You now get to cycle over shitloads of cobbles. You’re not missing those nuts quite so much now, eh? E3 Harelbeke Friday sees a stack of burly Belgians and a few wannabe burly Belgians tackling E3…
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Sagan-Cancellara tiff helps decide Milan-San Remo
I think it’s fair to say that. Here’s why. The history Fabian Cancellara is still pissed off with Peter Sagan after the goofy Slovak sat passively on his wheel before sprinting to victory in stage one of last year’s Tour. I don’t mean Sagan literally sat on Cancellara’s wheel, you understand, because you don’t win…
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Why Peter Sagan is favourite for Milan-San Remo
The first big race of the year, Milan-San Remo, is coming up on Sunday. Peter Sagan is the favourite and it’s a good time to look at why he is such a special cyclist as the nature of this race helps explain why that’s the case. Sagan’s niche Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France…
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Spring Classics and the start of the cycling season
It’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad tomorrow (or today if you’re reading our email, or a couple of days ago if you’ve signed up to our email via your work account). This might seem insignificant and impossible to pronounce, but Omloop Het Nieuwsblad heralds the start of rather more serious racing. We’re in Europe now and things…
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Which bike races actually matter?
There are a billion bike races, but few people know which ones really matter. Everyone knows the Tour de France, but beyond that people are generally a bit lost. There’s a dim awareness of the Giro d’Italia (“It’s like the Tour de France, only in Italy”) and the Vuelta a Espana (“It’s like the Tour…