Cycling Weekly

start line 17.10

I’ve been waiting for this issue to come out since May. That’s when I was lucky enough to snare a trip to ride my bike in Portugal (see p28) on the same roads the British team train on. Ever since, I’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen what a great place it is to ride — and it had been totally unknown to me until I saw some images on social media and asked one of the team where they had been. Now you too can see this, along with the Dolomites and Canary Islands where my colleagues jetted off to. What makes a good cycling holiday? Well, there’s the views, the weather, the iconic or hidden climbs that are conquered and of course there’s the company. On previous trips, not on the…

‘underestimated’ mollema wins first monument

Bauke Mollema says that his rivals underestimating him helped him secure his first Monument, after taking Il Lombardia following an 18km solo ride to the finish line. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Pierre Latour (Ag2r-La Mondiale) had launched big attacks to soften the group of favourites before Mollema slipped off the front and quickly opened up an advantage. “I knew I had to go because when the guys were attacking on the Civiglio they were more explosive than me,” Mollema said after his win. “So when they slowed down I knew it was my moment to go and I can always keep going.” The 32-year-old had one final climb to negotiate, the San Fermo della Battaglia, managing to maintain his advantage as the other riders behind failed to get organised in their pursuit of…

uci unveils new proseries calendar

The UCI has released the full calendar for the new ProSeries races, as the governing body redesigns the lower division of professional cycling. From January 1, 2020, men’s professional cycling will operate under a new structure, aimed at “improving the narrative” of the cycling season. The current HC class of races will disappear and will be replaced by a new collection of races called the UCI ProSeries, which is one level below the WorldTour calendar and above the UCI Continental Circuits. Notable inclusions in the ProSeries include the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in February, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in March, the Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain. Included in the changes for 2020, the UCI also plans to introduce a controversial Classics Series of events, and will be changing Pro Continental teams into newly-named…

mountainous 2020 tour route unveiled

Tour de France organiser ASO has unveiled a 2020 route which is heavy on climbs and light on time trials. The race will visit all the mountain ranges in France and among the climbs returning to the race are the Col de Peyresourde, Col de Marie-Blanque, the Grand Colombier (climbed from the very bottom to the summit for the first time) and the Col de la Madeleine. The race will start with a hilly Grand Départ in Nice before venturing across to the Pyrenees then back across central France to the Alps and the Vosges. The GC race will culminate with a 36km time trial, the only stage against the clock in the race, that will finish with the 8km climb of La Planche des Belles Filles. The level of climbing will likely be…

the long road to apeldoorn

My first outing in British kit was at the 2013 European track champs, in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. I was an off-programme rider and had gone to Manchester for the two weeks prior to train and trial for the squad. The championships were my third trial. My two previous forays south had gone well and left me enthusiastic for more improvements in my performance, but ultimately I was still an amateur cyclist. A year and a half prior, in 2012, I had left school with a plan to spend a year working abroad before going to university. Three months in I canned the whole project and came home. See, 2012 was also the year the Glasgow velodrome opened its doors, and waiting inside was the springboard that would send me on to…

racing ahead

Tour of Guangxi (October 17-22) Enric Mas (Deceunick-Quick Step), David de la Cruz (Ineos) and Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) will be among the GC contenders in the six-stage race. Sprint stages will excite Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Chris Lawless (Team Ineos). The women’s single-day race, on October 20, sees Hannah Barnes lead Canyon-SRAM. Telenet Superprestige De Schorre Boom (October 19) In the second-round of the series, Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) appears to be the man to beat at present. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Corendon-Circus) tops the women’s category. Japan Cup (October 20) Bauke Mollema will be looking for one more end-of-season victory to go alongside his Il Lombardia triumph. The Trek-Segafredo man won this race in 2015, but to do so again he will have to fend off riders such as an in-form…