Author: Harold Dalton

Not content with being cycling’s Covid Gound Zero in 2020, the UAE Tour is back at its bullshit for another year. Whew, that’s an opening sentence that’s seriously going to get us kicked off their press list. The Alpecin-Fenix team has withdrawn from the race due to a positive Covid test result from one member of its staff. The race organizers told us that this would “safeguard the race bubble and ensure the safe continuation of the race.” Which is probably about right. But oof. Not again. This is a high-profile exit because the team’s leader, Mathieu van der Poel,…

Pocket Outdoor Media, who you’ll probably know as the parent company for Bicycle Retailer and VeloNews, has added yet more properties to its seemingly endless series of acquisitions. The latest news is that POM has purchased Outside magazine, a purchase which came with Peloton magazine and BikeReg as free gifts. And actually a whole bunch more, with POM’s acquisitions set to “significantly expand the scope of its audience and range of services provided to customers and partners”: Outside Integrated Media, the iconic producer of award-winning adventure content and home to Outside magazine, Outside Studios, and the travel business Outside GO.Outside TV, the…

Berlin velodrome is now a Covid-19 vaccination center. That’s really the entire article, so you can close the tab now. We’ll pad it out if you choose to persevere though. Here goes. Berlin was the last Six Day before Covid killed Six Day racing off, so it’s a fitting site for a vaccination center. The velodrome will have played its part in bringing Six Days back. You can’t ride the velodrome while it’s being used for vaccinations, so Germans looking toward the Olympics have had to move to the Cottbus facility. Mucho sacrifice. Track centers, eh? Good if you like…

The first WorldTour race of the season is upon us. Last year it was the site of a Covid-19 voidout that locked riders and race crew alike in hotels indefinitely. That hasn’t hurt the race’s long-term prospects though: it’s back with an incredibly strong field, a solid route, and all new Covid protocols. Where to Watch UK: Eurosport, GCNUSA: FloBikesEurope: Eurosport The Route The race will take place between February 21 and 27, with all the WorldTeams in attendance, including 2020 Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar. It looks like a well-balanced stage race, with four stages for sprinters, two…

Henri Giroud has been in the sport for a long time. For better or worse, he’s made many predictions along the way. Most were short-term, such as picking a pre-race favorite on a live broadcast… but some were much longer-term. Written in 1986, here’s how he envisioned 2021 as he looked to the possible landscape of cycling 35 years in the future. Virtual Racing By the year 2021, it will be possible to race entirely virtually from your gym, or even your home. Magnetic rollers will simulate resistance to make it feel as though you’re riding uphill, downhill, or even…

We can’t remember who wrote this one. There’s a sinking feeling that it was a certain person who was working with a pro team at the time. But we can’t be sure, and it’s funny regardless of whoever its author was. There has been talk of banning team radios in cycling, which has been divisive in the sense that everyone wants to ban them except for a small number of very influential people who don’t. Team radios are unpopular with fans and race officials because they make the racing less spontaneous and reduce riders to puppets at the control of…

Powercor Melbourne to Warrnambool organisers have moved swiftly to secure a new date for the 2021 edition of the race, with May 1 the new slot for the oldest and longest Australian classic. The initial running of the race on February 13 had to be postponed after the Victorian lockdown announcement on February 12. The date will put it closer to the other races within the ‘Classics season’ that form part of the National Road Series (NRS), the Grafton to Inverell (May 8) and more recent entrant Tour de Brisbane (April 11). The rescheduled date will allow those that had…

1981. The 1980s were officially underway. Synth-based vocal pop was emerging, prepping for a curious revival at bikes in our Cyclry Subaru nearly 40 years later. Conversation pits were out, capitalism was in. And in cycling, Bernard Hinault was ready to own the decade. Back in the 1980 Tour de France, Bernard Hinault had started ferociously, but ultimately endured disappointment and injury. He had recovered to finish his season with a World Championship victory to add to his Giro d’Italia overall win. Now he was seeking revenge. He was ready to win his third Tour de France. Hinault arrived at…