Author: Harold Dalton

Our friends at Movistar are putting a positive spin on their season. And why not? It’s been a solid season for the… for the… for the Telefonica-backed team. Sorry, we’re internalizing their messaging. Enric Mas is looking like he could be the future of Spanish cycling, winning the best young rider and fifth place at both the Tour and Vuelta. Young rider Alejandro Valverde continues to impress on the highest stage. And their women’s team is growing ever more powerful (seriously, thank you so much for that investment). So, we’ll let them have this. Here’s what they said when we…

Well, if ever there was a time to do it, it was November, as the season ended. Oh yeah, and a national COVID-19 lockdown. It’s probably more to do with the latter. New restrictions recently came into force in England, limiting movement, closing gyms and bars, and generally confining people to their homes. Oh, but schools and universities are still open, for some reason. Just to make the entire lockdown futile, probably. British Cycling attempted to appeal the restrictions, but failed. In response, the UK governing body has suspended all cycling activities and events in England. The suspension will last until…

Time to get fat! Here’s what Pat McQuaid, former UCI President, Irish national champion, and two-time winner of the Tour of Ireland, had to say: “The Covid-19 pandemic has played havoc with our lives this past 9 months and nowhere has this been so evident than the world of sport. My sport, cycling, was likewise affected and for a time it looked like the full season would be lost. “However the stakeholders led by UCI collaborating with organisers, teams, cyclists and fans created a protocol to deal with Covid-19 which would allow the major races take place in a shortened…

2020 has done Dirty Kanza like it’s done the rest of us. After early calls to change its name due to insensitivity to the original people of Kansas, it then found itself in a shitstorm due to comments from its founder. It was rescheduled. Then it was canceled. And in the midst of this, calls to rename the event resurfaced. Well, now it’s bouncing back for 2021. There’s a new date, and, rightly, a new name too: Garmin Unbound Gravel. Expect the Garmin part to be fluid, depending on who’s sponsoring the race at a given moment. Good news all…

The Movistar Team announced Monday that Leah Thomas (Cupertino, CA; 1989) has signed a contract for the 2021 season with the squad managed by Sebastián Unzué, which makes her the fourteenth, final name of the Telefónica-backed outfit for the next season. A cyclist only for the last seven years, having previously competed as a gymnast and at long-distance running, the American has steadily developed a big talent on the bike towards world-class performances in the most diverse terrains. A great time trialist -she was 7th at the World Championships and Pan-American champ in 2019, also claiming the victory at the Chrono des…

(Scroll down for key stages) Looping the Loop The 108th Tour de France will feature a groundbreaking route with a double serving of double trouble. Contenders for the overall victory will have to be on high alert from the get-go, lest they choke on the two climbs up the Mûr-de-Bretagne, which will be tackled from a different side in the stage 2 finale. Ten days later, they will have to make another show of strength on the slopes of the Mont Ventoux. The Giant of Provence, which is making its first double appearance in a stage, will be tackled from two different…

Endura Jacket- Pro SL Waterproof Softshell – $229 Winter road riding demands protection from the elements without compromising performance. The Pro SL Softshell delivers through a fully waterproof construction with enough stretch to achieve a fantastic flap free fit on the bike. Roval Alpinist CL wheels – $1600 The brand-new Alpinist CL now brings mountain-taming performance slightly closer to Earth with a carefully selected build designed to let riders take full advantage of the low rim and spoke mass. Built with a complex and precise carbon fiber layup schedule that makes for the lowest possible mass, optimized strength and high durability, all…

We went all out for a Giro special, with an expert in Italian cycling guesting, but technical issues and timezone wrangling worked against us. So you’ll have to enjoy this Wrap in a format other than audio of a drunk man slurring in his basement. Whats a Scousers favorite bike race? It’s barely a month since the Tour de France ended. In a normal year, the peloton would collectively be eating frites and riding rigged criteriums, but 2020 isn’t a normal year. We’re trying to fit an entire season into the space of three months, and that means we’ve seen…