Snapshots from the Tour

The bigger the race, the longer it takes me to reflect upon the events that came to pass. The Tour de France is the biggest race of the year, and there are always myriad stories to tell, from the individual moments that capture the imagination, to the big picture, the glorious, technicolour whole. The 2022

About yesterday…

13th July 2022: the 108th Tour de France, Stage 11 It was the race we all deserved. Stage 11 of the Tour de France 2022 will go down in cycling history as the day we celebrated the attacking spirit of this unique generation of talent; a day of pure, undiluted joy at the spectacle of

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The Coming Second of Wout van Aert

Wout van Aert and second place co-exist like strawberries and cream or pizza and pineapple (if you’re MVDP). There’s seemingly no end to the ways in which van Aert can narrowly swerve victory, and it’s become a running joke on cycling social media, with memes dedicated to the phenomenon and a collective eye-roll issued by

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Ripping up the Script: how to (maybe) beat Pogačar at his own game

Tadej Pogačar. What CAN’T he do? With the entire narrative leading up to this year’s Tour de France focusing on the younger Slovenian’s defence of the title he’s won twice in a row, there’s no shying away from reality: UAE Team Emirates’ tufted prince and his apparent invincibility in the face of any and ALL

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’22 Preview: Chapter 4 – The Pack (2): The Opportunists

Our pack may not be top of the list of favourites for every race they are involved in, but they are up there fighting, and have plenty of opportunities to take big wins. The previous chapter looked at those teams who are challenging the top dogs for supremacy. This piece will focus on a set

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’22 Preview: Chapter 2 – Top Dogs (2)

In case you missed it: my last post introduced my new team preview series, in which I take a look at each of the men’s World Tour teams (and a select few Pro teams), their performance in 2021, their comings and goings, and their goals for 2022. Because let’s face it: we all need something

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’22 Preview: Chapter 1 – Top Dogs (1)

The off-season in cycling is a slippery beast. One moment you’re flopping dramatically on the sofa, bemoaning the loss of your beloved sport, and smashing dates into ‘how many days until’ calculators to torture yourself by finding out just how long it is until you can stare at a bunch of men on bikes for

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11 riders who stole our hearts in 2021

For the first in a series of pieces reviewing the 2021 season, I’m considering some of the riders who won hearts and minds this year. Be it from their full gas riding, their sparkling personalities or their memorable victories, there are a few shining stars who have won a place in my affections for the

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There’s something about La Vuelta…

Despite coming in third in a recent poll containing just three options, La Vuelta a Espana has always held a peculiar charm. From over 600 respondents, a loyal minority of 22% picked the Spanish Grand Tour as their favourite, and I’m happy to count myself among them. It’s understandable that it didn’t rate as highly

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The Tour de France 2021: Haiku Recap

Writing reports about Grand Tour stages is tricky; writing short ones is nigh on impossible. Trying to recall the endless brief iterations of breakaways; recounting the dynamics of a group attacking up a long climb; remembering to mention the quirks and random occurrences that make every day different in a three week race; it all