100e Ronde Van Vlaanderen

On Sunday will take place the 100th edition of  the second Monument of che Classics.
The race doesn't require a presentation,  the climbs the riders will face during the race (Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg, Paterberg,..) are true Flemish icons.
The race history doesn't present a true dominator because the record for victories is shared among six men, with three each. Nevertheless only one rider, Fiorenzo Magni won three consecutive victories.
The last rider who won the race in the rainbow jersey was Tom Boonen, will Sagan repeat the feat looking, after the victory of last Sunday in Wevelgem, for an incredible cobbled classics triple?
In case of success on Sunday, one between Boonen and Cancellara can also become the recordman for victories.
Who will be the Lion of Flanders? Excellent bike handling skills are required.

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Who is the Rider of the Month?

Cancellara

Thomas

Contador

Van Avermaet

Bouhanni

Kwiatkowski

Sagan

Quintana

 

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R.I.P.

Milano - Sanremo Surprises Us Again!

After more than 100 years of history this incredible race is still able to surprise us.
This is the first time in the history of this incredible race that there is not a winner.
According to the race jury, of course, directed by a French, despite the important statements made by Tosatto and Capecchi, there is a winner but it is clear that the real situation is different.
The so called winner,  climbed the Cipressa towed by his team car at the incredible speed of 52.2 Km/h, as everybody can see checking the data provided by Strava.
The jury French president still stays silent but you can't win the Classicissima in this way, there is a sort of ancestral code of the classics saying that you have to deserve your result and everybody can be sure that these events won't be forgotten.
You can't betray a Classic, and this time Milano - Sanremo has been betrayed by the president of the Jury and by the FDJ team manager.
I can't blame the rider, to be honest, he just obeyed his team manager but unfortunately he can't be called winner of the Milano - Sanremo.
In this leap year Milano - Sanremo decided to make us wait two years after the win of John Degenkolb to know the name of a new winner. Could this be a way to pay a tribute to the former winner who couldn't partecipate due to a hit-and-run driver?
We don't know, that's the fact. This race has a soul and is aslways able to surprise us deciding by itself what has to happen.

Milano - Sanremo

This year the Classicissima will be one of the most classic of all time.
Finally, afer years of unsuccessful attempts to change the most fascinating race in the world the organization has decided to bring back the Classicissima to its original format.
The Milano - Sanremo 2016 will arrive again in the legendary via Roma and it will take place on Saturday.
I've always sustained that there is a big difference between conquer a Milano - Saremo and conquer a Milano - Sanremo crossing the finish line in via Roma.
The magic this year is completed by the fact that the race will be on the 19th of March, the day in which is celebrated San Giuseppe in Italy, which was the historical date of the race.
After this little preamble we can face the main questions: will the race finish with a sprint or will a hero be able to escape and to stay ahed to the finish? will a home rider win the race after ten years of abstinence? will be Peter Sagan in his rainbow jersey the first to cross the finish line after 33 years since Giuseppe Saronni won the race in the rainbow jersey? who will be the first to attack on the Poggio?
I've no idea and this is what makes the Classicissima the most amazing race in the world.

Cycling & Art

Cycling is a form of art but could be also the subject of a different form of art, this is what happens with www.theartofcycling.blogspot.com.

Greig Leach is one of the most talented painters of our times. He has exhibited in numerous museums across the United States, such as Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,  1708 Gallery, Jasper Center for the Arts, Imagine in Jacksonville, Chattahoochee Valley Art Museum and so on.

His deep love for cycling made the riders and the race situations the favourite subject of his drawings. His fine hand and his sensibility bring to life this incredible images that make you feel inside the race in the situtation which is repredented in the painting.

His art is incredibely dynamics and emotional, this is made possible due to his deep love for cycling that is positively transferred in his drawings.

For these reasons he is definitely my favourite contemporary "cycling painter".

If you are interested I suggest you to check his website: www.greigleach.com

He as recently published a cycling art book celebrating the last Cycling World Championships entitled: "Art of Cycling: Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships", avaiable at  www.artofcycling.bike.

 Taking it Alone, Greig Leach:

Gravel Roads, The New Must In Cycling Fashion

It all started in Italy during the Giro d'Italia 2005 climbing the terrible Colle delle Finestre, as the last kilometers of the terrible climb were not tarmacked.
The following years the Giro d'Italia repeated the happy initiative.
In 2007 was created Eroica Strade Bianche. The peculiarity of this race are, as we said, gravel road sectors.
In the first stage of the Paris - Nice 2016 we find, again, few sectors of gravel road.
The Italian idea seems to be a good one, but what there is behind this decision?
Maybe in a sport where technology is improving faster than ever there is a need to go back to the origins of this incredible sport. Cycling heroes rode on gravel roads, could be this a way to bring back the human aspect in a sport where, in the last few years, technology is gaining prominence?

Strade Bianche - Preview

The Spring Classics season has officialy started and on Staurday there will be the newest classic with the oldest soul.
Strade Bianche is an incredible road bicycle race in Tuscany, Italy.
The route consists of 176 kilometers over hilly terrain, including nine sectors of gravel roads, totaling 52.8 km of dirt road.
Being so new the race has another peculiarity: if a rider wins the race three times he will have a sector of gravel road entitled.
At the moment the only rider who can reach this goal is Fabian Cancellara with already 2 Wins, however we have to consider that this will be his last attempt and this makes the race even more interesting.
Who will be the first rider to have an entitled sector?
Talking about the technical feature, the dirt road sections include steep climbs and testing descents, with the gravel surface usually smooth but also dotted with stones, potholes and hidden dangers.
Success depends mainly on rider's bike handling skills making the Strade Bianche a race for true champions.