Category: Previews

The fight for the Maglia Ciclamino is always a hard one. We have sprinters here who plan to leave during the second week, we have some who’ll try to say until the end but won’t make it through the mountains, and we have those warriors who’ll manage to haul their arses all the way to...

The fight for the Maglia Azzurra, the blue jersey, should keep us interested deep into the final week. Here’s a breakdown of the point structure: Cima Coppi – Passo Pordoi Stage 20 – 50, 30, 20, 14, 10, 6, 4, 2, 1 points Cat 1 – Stages 4, 7, 9×2, 15×2, 16×3, 17×2, 19, 20×2 – 40, 18, 12,...

Strap yourselves in, the first grand tour of the year is about to begin, it’s Giro time! Stage 1 The race begins with three stages in Hungary, the first of which ends with a climb of 4km at 4.9%. This will make it too hard for almost all of the sprinters, and a certain Mathieu...

Aigle > Villars 15.7km ITT The rarely spotted mountain TT. We start with 6km of flat, then the mountain begins. The climb is 9.8km at 7.9%, it’s a proper alpine test. We were here back in 2018, with Egan Bernal beating Primož Roglič by just 4 seconds. That day the route didn’t contain the 6km...

Aigle > Zinal 180.1km The big GC day, especially if a mountain TT isn’t your thing. We have four cat 1 climbs and 2 cat 2s, overall, it’s 4060m of climbing. The finish might not look that hard, but after a demanding day in the saddle, we’re likely to see big gaps on GC. Three...

Valbroye > Valbroye 165km It’s not hard enough to be a proper GC day, but the finale of the stage is tough enough to see some gaps between the top riders. We’re not talking anything hugely significant, but enough to hurt someone’s GC ambitions. I’m hoping for lots of attacks in the final 20km. Weather...

Echallens > Echallens 168.8km A rare easy day in Romandie. Just one categorised climb, and 2500m of ascension, this is about as easy as it gets in this race. We don’t have many sprinters here, but with QuickStep, Ineos and UAE happy if we get a sprint, that’s what we’re likely to get. Weather Another...

La Grande Béroche > Romont 178.6km The first road stage of the race is a lumpy one, and it has an uphill finish. The finish was used back in 2019 when David Gaudu took the win, you need a punch to cross the line first. Weather A cracking day in Romandie, see, it does happen....

Lausanne 5.2km ITT A nice prologue to get the race started, one where the gaps should be very small. Weather The forecast suggests it will rain in the morning, but clear for the race starting in the afternoon. Route There are a couple of drags, but nothing that will worry a professional cyclist. More important...

The classics are over, it’s time to focus on stage races. The peloton head to Romandie for its usual mix of punchy stages and big mountains. Prologue A technical prologue to kick off the race, especially if the roads are wet. There are quite a few corners to deal with, GC riders will have to...