Author Archives: Patrick Santino

2021 Catalunya: Good Vibes All Week in the Centenary Edition

“Another delightful aspect to this year’s very edition—in addition to its centenary—is the fact that the race was completely cancelled last year due to the pandemic, and thus it is O! so refreshing to see a beloved race return. But as always had to be the case, the riders and the racing itself was the source of the lion’s share of the week’s Good Vibes.”

2021 G-W: The Sprinters Show Off Their Classics Chops (Written)

“Ah! Truly, it was just another day in what is becoming a special era of cycling…Yes, another novel round, another day of unexpected sights to report, another proof that the cycling-world is upside down, and O! how I surely speak for all when I say: we are absolutely loving and soaking up every moment of this new un-understandable era. “

2021 E3: The Wolfpack’s Ronde Dress Rehearsal (Written)

“Yes, at this point the musical numbers should be prepared, all the stage blocking done for each scene, the costumes fitted properly, the tickets bought, and of course the script should be fully written and memorized by now. Thus with these elements in mind, the Deceuninck-Quickstep Wolfpack set about crafting a battle plan here that could prove a winning strategy later for Flanders itself. “

Pairings and Feuds, the Next Rounds of Cobbles: E3, Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars, and De Panne (Written)

“Perhaps I could attempt to say all are as different as four siblings with the same set of parents. That might be accurate, but the levels of prestige are different and have been in volatile flux in recent years”

2021 MSR: Yet Another Recipe for a Mouthwatering Sanremo Finale (Written)

“At first, I liken it is to a massive 30-gallon cauldron filled to the brim with water needing to be brought to a boil on a regular kitchen stove that can support the cauldron’s weight. But this analogy is appallingly poor: for when the cauldron is finally brought to a boil, all one shall have is 30 gallons of boiling water. Not good enough, not good enough indeed. If we are to metaphorize the Milan-Sanremo’s slow burn, its finish must be compared to something far more extravagant than plain boiling water.”