Category: Classics and day races
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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…
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Ian Stannard and Omloop retention
I will freely admit to being terrible at headlines. Quite often I just write something down off the top of my head and if it sounds slightly weird, I go with it. That is precisely what has happened today. I named Ian Stannard one of my riders to watch in 2015 in large part because…
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Dan Martin remains upright round the final corner
Dan Martin has spent most of this season on the deck. He crashed out of the Giro on the first day, he crashed in the Tour any number of times and most memorably of all, he crashed on the final corner of Liege-Bastogne-Bastogne when he was in a position to win it for the second…