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.
Author: Henri Giroud
Henri Giroud
Fifty years of pro cycling journalism and television commentary. It gets easier after the first forty years.
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…
Guest article by The Guardian’s minestrone correspondent, Douglas Prenthall First published February 2010 Many of us say we want to go green, but leaving the car at home is as hard as it sounds. Often you’ll be running late and simply won’t have time to not sit in a traffic jam for an hour. Or maybe you’ll want to go to the gym to use the running machines and don’t want to be tired when you get there. Whatever the case, here’s a handy guide so you can be a cycling superexpert who’s no longer scared of hurtling head-first through…
Highlights Men’s Race Report Women’s Race: It was an unforgettable day in the history of the Movistar Team. The Telefónica-backed squad’s first ever win in a cobbled classic in Belgium came from one of the team’s biggest hopes for their new era, where women’s cycling has full participation and a center stage in the sport. It was their leader, Annemiek van Vleuten, who stepped onto the highest step of the podium for the Blues at Dwars door Vlaanderen, held on Wednesday over 122km around Waregem, with its last third dominated by the European champion’s impressive performance. Van Vleuten tore the…