Author: cyclingmole

Tortosa / Lo Port 176.6km Another big GC day and the return of Lo Port, which was used as a finish back in 2017. Valverde was the winner that day, in front of Contador and Froome, in what was one of his best climbing performances, in my eyes at least. It’s a proper mountain, one...

Harelbeke > Harelbeke 202.1km After the fun of Milano-Sanremo, we head to Belgium for a race that never disappoints. Just 200km in length, but full of cobbles, hills, cobbled hills, narrow roads, and crosswinds. Not only that, but we get the second round of van der Poel v Van Aert v Pogačar v Pedersen v...

Llívia > Sabadell 188.0km A classic game of cat versus mouse, but who will win? Weather Another cracking day in Catalunya, it better stay like this for another week, as I’m heading there on Monday. The bad news for the break is the headwind for most of the day, it gives the bunch a fighting...

Olost > La Molina 180.2km With just over 4000m of climbing, this is a tough day in the saddle. The race finishes with La Molina, a climb that rarely causes gaps between the best riders, but it all depends on how the climb is ridden. Weather A lovely day. The Climbs This is Coll de...

Brugge > De Panne 211.8km One of those days where you’d much rather be watching on TV rather than being in the race. It’s a race that’s for the sprinters, but it won’t be a big sprint this year. Weather Lots of wind and a bit of rain too. The wind is coming from the...

Mataró > Vallter 165.4km The first of the big GC days. Roglič and Evenepoel finished one and two in today’s sprint finish, what’s the chances of a repeat? Weather Another nice day for the riders and there’s a gentle tailwind on the climb. The Climb Vallter 2000 is a climb most of this bunch know...

Sant Feliu de Guíxols > Sant Feliu de Guíxols 164.6km The opening stage is just about the same as last year, it should be a big sprint, but one that tests everyone to the limit. Weather A sunny start to the week. The Climb This is the final categorised climb of the day. It starts...

It’s the 102nd edition of this beautiful race, and it’s the hardest route I can remember. Instead of the usual two mountaintop finishes, this year we’ve got three, I am a happy boy. The opening stage is basically the same as last year when Michael Matthews beat Sonny Colbrelli in a gruelling uphill sprint. You’ll remember...

Bredene > Koksijde 190.5km The race will follow a normal scenario. An uneventful opening 80km, then the bunch splits on the climbs, then the peloton see if they can catch the front group. Normally, the cat wins the chase, but the weather can always cause havoc in this part of the world.  Weather Could be...

Denain > Denain 194.8km The organisers have changed it up this year, but quite a few of the cobbled sectors remain the same. The last couple of years haven’t been as selective as I would have hoped, but this year could well be different. Weather Lots of wind, and there could be some rain around....