Showing posts with label Vuelta a Espana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vuelta a Espana. Show all posts

Sunday, 4 March 2018

Strade Bianche 2018


The title does not need any addition.
The 2018 edition of this race is already a piece of Cycling History.
First of all, I have to admit that Belgian riders promptly answered to my last post, Proficiat!!
Secondly, I choose this picture because I think that each of this riders deserves a special mention.
Benoot took the first victory of his career. The fact is that winning the 2018 edition of Strade Bianche is worth a career.
Nevertheless, what impressed me has been the way he won the race. He just never stop attacking, choosing a spectacular sector to launch his final attack.
He rode like a champion in a legendary edition of this race.
In one day and with his first victory, he is already part of the cycling history. The hero of the mud.
Bardet proved the world that he is not just one of the many French riders focused just on the Tour de France and pushed by the French cycling environment just to reach this goal.
He proved the world and most of all his nation that he is a  true rider and a tough one.
Van Aert seemed arrived straight outta the good old days of cycling, without radio and without so many team tactics. He attacked all the time during the race and fainted on the finish line. Welcome to road cycling Wout!
Every single rider that finished the race would deserve a special mention but I only write emotional impressions, so, in conclusion, I think that every single rider that finished the 2018 Strade Bianche could add a kind of victory on his personal Palmarès.

Friday, 15 September 2017

Rider of the Vuelta a España 2017


This is not a fairy tale, you did it! You have been elected rider of the Vuelta 2017, the last race of your outstanding career!!
Contador's victory of our special classification has been a sort of plebiscite, he has taken 58% of the votes (the second, Froome, 17%, just to give you an idea) and has been elected rider of the Vuelta 2017.
I can just thank this incredible champion and I think we will miss him so much.
I hope he will continue his work with his team of young talents, teaching them to attack and never give up and maybe, in the future, we will have another Contador. Maybe...

Monday, 11 September 2017

Sunday, 10 September 2017

La Vuelta of the Champions


What a Vuelta!
I am speechless in front of these champions attacking every day in the most spectacular Grand Tour of the last ten years.
Contador attacked every day, looking for a big victory and never giving up. He took a really deserved victory on the hardest climb of Europe.
He has secured his place among the legends of cycling, that will be happy to welcome him in their exclusive club.
Froome has proven to be able to fight and win also in one of the strongest Grand Tour I've ever seen and not just on the boring flat Tour de France.
I really hope that the way Contador rode his last Vuelta will inspire other riders and make them more aggressive. You have to risk to gain the place in the Legends Club and Contador proved it 'til the last day of his brilliant career.
Will Froome be the next? He still needs a Giro! Stay tuned!

Tuesday, 5 September 2017

La Vuelta 2017 Pt. 2

La Vuelta 2017 has been fantastic so far and, with one week to go, the race is still unpredictable.
Froome is struggling to keep his leader jersey as he never did before.
If he will bring the red jersey to Madrid I think this would be maybe his best victory of a Grand Tour.
He has been fighting since the first day, proving that he is able to ride also far away from the flat Tour de France stages.
In case of win, he would complete his first double and he would definitively enter the legends' club.
He would be remembered as one of the most successful Grand Tour riders.
La Vuelta made us discover also a new talented rider named Lopez that is literally bossing everyone when the road climbs.
Will he continue is incredible growth? Has Astana found  a new captain? Will Aru leave Astana? What is the strategy of the team?
We can still discover a lot, a new unpredictable week of Vuelta is starting.
Stay tuned!

Tuesday, 29 August 2017

La Vuelta 2017 Pt. 1


My impression after the first week of Vuelta is that we are seeing an incredible Grand Tour, that is growing year by year.
La Vuelta, in the future, could become the best Grand Tour, if the organizers of the Giro and the Tour will not put aside their arrogance and their presumption.
This is happening in a huge way at the Tour de France, while the Giro is still safe, due to the incredible Italian geography that offers everyday nice ideas for clever riders.
In this scenario, la Vuelta, presenting the best riders and a nice route, is able to give the fans back the emotions they did not prove watching le Tour de France.
Talking about what's happening on the road, nothing seems changed: Quick- Step Floors and Froome are bossing the race, but they have to struggle to maintain their leadership and this makes everything more interesting.
Vamos!

Thursday, 10 August 2017

August Cycling


May not be the green jersey of le Tour de France but it is always a nice jersey to wear in the land of cycling.
Sagan is dominating another race, proving that he is enjoying his good shape.
I don't understand why the team didn't let Sagan defend his European title.
That is a pity but also the proof that this new race has still a long way ahead to become a "classic" of the cycling calendar.
Kwiatkowski took an incredible victory in San Sebastian, enriching the best year of his career.
It is nice to see that the main characters of the month of August are almost the same of the spring classics, just Van Avermaet is taking a longer break.
The upcoming Vuelta is a show not to miss.
It presents a parterre of contenders better than the one at le Tour de France and with roads full of surprises, perfect for clever riders.
It is gonna be great, stay tuned.