“After his second stage win this Tour, I had declared that we were all back on Record Watch. Even more so today, the Cannibal Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour stages is no longer at all safe. So let us have a conversation that was probably taking place a decade ago in 2011, finally now is the appropriate time to rehash it.”
Category Archives: Previews
2021 TDF Stage 5: In A Class Above the Rest
“So how would this Tour fare with the first reintroduction of a proper first week Time Trial for more than a decade?”
Tour de Suisse (Written Musings)
Though Suisse is surely a preparation race for the Tour, it is prestigious in its own right as well…more so than the Dauphine. The Tour de Suisse is the older brother to the Tour de Romandie. It is the most prestigious bike race in all of Switzerland.
2021 Giro d’Italia Preview
“The Giro d’Italia outright triumphs all other races in passionate romance, even Jane Austen would admit her novels have been bested. “
Itzulia, The Tour of the Basque Country (Written Musings)
“Ah! Now we come to a preview I looked O! so forward to doing. Yes, this is the beauty of cycling: no race is the same. Though this one comes when weeklong World Tour stage races are coming thick-and-fast every other week, and the most Classic of Classics—Monuments even—are taking place, still this race has a definitive and beloved character of its own.”
Ronde Van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) Written Musings
“A century ago, the heart of Cyclingdom had poles in Paris and Belgium, but as evidenced by races that no longer live up to their name: Paris has ceded its claims to Cyclingdom—alas! the Parisians became interested in other things. And thus now, the heart of Cyclingdom beats not even in all of Belgium, but mostly this mentioned Northern Half of Flanders.”
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”
Volta a Catalunya Musings (Written)
Though the action is heating up all over Europe, this Volta a Catalunya is yet another not to miss.
Milan-Sanremo Musings (Written)
“Some have called this race a lottery, others a crapshoot. It truly is one of the hardest to win because riding up and over the Poggio there are so many variables—I have not even mentioned if people had mechanical issues. “
Tirreno-Adriatico Musings
“Thus with the overlap explained and the feud exposed, which race proves better preparation for Milan-Sanremo, Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico? The answer is not completely conclusive…But Tirreno has pulled out a few more advantages over Paris-Nice beyond producing about an equal amount of Sanremo winners. “”
Cycling Odysseys 