VeloNews November/December 2020

which 2020 velonews award did you disagree with and why?

FD I think that the Tour of Flanders was the race of the year. AH No Remco Evenepoel? Blasphemy! BD International Cyclist of the Year should be Wout van Aert, because he had us impressed, surprised, and entertained all year. BW The turning point of the season is bigger than a bike crash. I hope the social unrest and spotlight on racial justice that illuminated our summer will continue to push cycling forward in a different, more equitable way. GK The biggest setback of the year should be Remco Evenepoel’s crash, due to so many what-ifs every race after his crash. JC Team Sunweb should be the men’s team of the year. Sure, the actual winner may have achieved more, but Sunweb came from under-the-radar to animate the Tour de France and then place two…

honored to mention

Choosing which riders and races to honor in the annual VeloNews Awards always presents a challenge. This year, the task was nearly impossible. For starters, the delay of the WorldTour season due to COVID-19 meant that races were still wrapping up as we put the final touches on this issue. Furthermore, COVID-19 rendered much of the season unrecognizable. The U.S. domestic season, for example, was completely washed away, with all pro road races called off — including the USA Cycling pro championships — and most major gravel races delayed or canceled. What does this mean? For this issue, we honored the riders and races that were given an opportunity to dazzle fans by November 1, 2020. And unfortunately, there were many riders and races that simply never got the chance to…

decades from now, what will you remember most from the 2020 racing season?

JIM COTTON European Correspondent The impact of COVID-19 will undoubtedly dominate the entry in the history books for the 2020 cycling season, just as it will for a discussion of any other matter this year. From the mid-race abandonments of the UAE Tour and Paris-Nice, to the months of uncertainty and riders on indoor trainers through the spring, this year has sure ripped up the script. The images of Tadej Pogačar on the final podium at the Tour de France with a face mask on will likely be the enduring symbol of this crazy COVID-19 season, not just because of the drama of the youngster's incredible victory and that time trial, but also due to the very fact that the Tour managed to go ahead in the shadow of a pandemic in…

rainbow jumper

Belgium’s Danny De Bie bunny hops a wooden barrier just ahead of Dutch legend Adri van der Poel during the 1989 UCI world cyclocross championships in Pontchâteau, France. The bunny hop proved to be De Bie’s secret weapon on the fast and bumpy course, and the maneuver sprung him to victory at the race’s midpoint. De Bie came into the race as a second-tier favorite behind reigning champion Pascal Richard of Switzerland and van der Poel, who was in the early stages of what would become a storied career. Nobody predicted a De Bie victory on that cold day in February, however the course’s design and the early dynamics of the race advanced him to the front. An early crash took Richard out of the front. Then, the course design played into…

cool | want | need

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yoga in the off-season

Why Many athletes do yoga because they love the experience of it. Personally, I don’t love it. But I value the benefit enough that I do yoga regularly. “I think it’s great for stability and neuromuscular changes,” says Jennifer Real, a professional e-sport racer on Saris + The Pro’s Closet and a physician. When Real does yoga year-round. She does 45 minutes each week on her recovery days, and then does 10-15 minutes almost daily. Yoga has a particular value in the off-season when we hang up the bike and look to undue many of the imbalances that built up during the season. “Dysfunctions don’t happen overnight and they will not be reversed overnight either,” says TAG Performance strength and conditioning coach Jess Elliot. Give it at least a month. What A proper yoga session…