Mark Cavendish kept the wins flowing, roaring over the line with his arms held high for the second consecutive day at the Tour of Turkey, after outpowering his opponents in the closing meters of the race’s longest stage, which travelled from Beysehir to Alanya, over 212.6 kilometers. A four-man group animated the day after the first hour of racing, but Iljo Keisse once again kept their gap in check, working at the front for over 150 kilometers, before Fabio Jakobsen and Stijn Steels took over in the closing part of the stage, just as the peloton was entering the wide…
Author: Henri Giroud
Henri Giroud
Fifty years of pro cycling journalism and television commentary. It gets easier after the first forty years.
The Paris-Roubaix is canceled, so we’re taking the weekend off. We’ve had a couple of invites to ride cobbles with our club friends, but we’ve respectfully declined. Instead, we’ll be at the beach. With beer. See you in the Ardennes! P.S. Have fun seeing which brands forgot to unschedule their cobbles/Roubaix email marketing this weekend!
None of us will ever forget the incident that kept Fabio away from competition for more than eight months, and it will be emotional to see him return to racing at the eight-day Tour of Turkey (11-18 April), where he powered to a beautiful stage victory back in 2019. Before travelling there, he sat down to talk about his recovery, how having the loved ones at his side made him stronger and helped him overcome every hurdle during this period, and the pure joy he feels when he is on the bike with his Deceuninck – Quick-Step teammates.
The Cofidis Group, a consumer credit company familiar to all cycling fans as a team sponsor for decades, has extended its commitment to pro cycling. Its sponsorship of the Cofidis team was in place until the end of 2022, and now that date has been extended all the way to the end of 2025. Five more years! Five more years! It’s not just an extended contract, either, but an improved commitment to French cycling, with an agreement to increase the UCI World Tour team’s budget by €1.5 million per year. Beyond that, the disabled sports team that Cofidis has backed…
Report Women’s Race The first ever edition of Scheldeprijs for the Women’s peloton got underway today in Schoten, with rainy and overcast conditions overhead. The strong winds made for a nervous and fast start, with the peloton splitting early in the race and a group of around 20 riders getting clear. This saw a hard chase by the peloton over the opening hour of racing but with 70 kilometres to go the race was all back together again. More crashes marred the race as the bunch headed towards the closing circuits with 45 kilometres to go, and a solo rider…
Highlights Women’s Race Men’s Race Report Women’s Race The Movistar Team has experienced a truly special moment on Sunday: winning the Tour of Flanders, one of the most prestigious one-day races in the world, never conquered by a Spanish team. Annemiek van Vleuten raised her arms victorious in Oudenaarde, her second success in ‘De Ronde’, to crown a big gamble from the Telefónica-backed squad and offer them a first success – and an incredible one- in the UCI Women’s WorldTour. Protected by Guarischi, Biannic, Erić -part of the initial moves- and Norsgaard from the start of the 154km ‘Vlaanderens Mooiste’,…
The portrait in Alejandro Valverde’s attic continues to age. He’s taken the Movistar team’s second win in a week with a sensational series of attacks near the end of GP Miguel Indurain. The day he stops, he will do so with a level as extraordinary as the legacy he’ll leave. There’s very few doubts about that after Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) showed again at Saturday’s 2021 GP Miguel Indurain, the big Navarra race back after the pandemic hiatus, the legs of his best days. The ‘campeonísimo’ from Murcia reached the finish line at Estella’s Paseo Inmaculada solo, following a display…
Following a 2020 cancellation due to challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alabama Cycling Classic returns to Calhoun County in its traditional weekend format of national bicycle races for amateur and professional athletes on July 3rd and 4th. The City of Anniston will be the showcase for high-velocity, two wheeled bicycles. The Alabama Cycling Classic event begins on Saturday with the Sunny King Criterium, held adjacent to the popular Main Street Anniston’s Noble Street Festival in downtown Anniston. Sunday’s race features the newly created Piedmont Criterium, which will be held in downtown Piedmont, Ala. This marks the 19th year for the…