Spring has Sprung

Welcome welcome, I am back as promised, not leaving you hanging, and I have much to discuss, and only MOST of it is about the immense racing we’ve enjoyed over the past two weeks. In fact, I’m going to skip ‘news’ altogether again this time around in favour of hitting the main points from the racing as there have been A LOT, and in the hope that any major news stories will weave themselves in along the way.

First though – and without further ado – I have an announcement to make. No, I haven’t been signed to SD Worx despite my epic recent performances on Zwift. I am relaunching my website and it’s morphing into something better than I could ever have hoped and I would LOVE for you all to come on this ride with me. Let me explain.

writebikerepeat.com has been a place for me to talk at length about cycling for two years now, just me and my lists and opinions and race reviews, and it’s been growing steadily in popularity, but then actual paid WORK came along which has been lovely, and then I started this newsletter, and the website was neglected somewhat.

I’m about to change all that. I will be relaunching the site in the week beginning 10th April – at a new host (sorry WordPress, but we’re done here) which will hopefully look and feel much more contemporary and be easier to navigate. It will be a magazine-style site and will offer something unique in the cycling media landscape – featuring opinion pieces, race analysis, interviews and fun features, showcasing new writers, and incorporating contributions from a variety of creative types including photographers and illustrators to bring the writing to life with unique and original visuals. It will be innovative, diverse and focus on the community element of cycling fandom.

If you’d like to ensure you’re part of the action from the get-go, you can subscribe as soon as the domain has transferred – which should be on 31st March (although don’t worry if the site looks a bit odd for the next few days while we begin to rebuild). Alternatively to be sure you don’t miss out you can just reply to this and I’ll add you manually, OLD SCHOOL style.

I considered merging the site and the newsletter but I know some people appreciate the choice – so here it is. And that brings me to the newsletter – fear not, it will be continuing – just in a briefer bulletin form, with longer-form opinions and race analysis being posted over at the site – so you’ll have plenty of links to click through if there’s something you really want to read about, but it will be generally a lot shorter than…er… this.

‘Will we have to pay?’ I hear you all scream. No, is the short answer. I’m continuing without a paywall because I fundamentally dislike the idea of writing something and then not having anybody read it because I’m insecure like that. However, it’s going to take up a lot more of my time so I will be offering a membership which will comprise lots of discounts to relevant, excellent brands along with the ability to become part of the community over at the site – something which I hope will become increasingly valuable as we head into uncertain times with regards social media. I do hope you’ll consider joining – it’s going to be a collective project involving many voices, yours too, if you choose to be involved. Oh, and there will be merchandise.

RIGHT. Time to talk racing.

RACING RECAP – It began in Milan

18^th March

What is there left to say about Milan-Sanremo? Almost two weeks on, everything has been said, the race dissected and analysed, the plaudits and criticisms doled out and the extrapolations for the rest of the classics season deduced. It’s almost time to load up the next round of the year’s Monument circuit, with De Ronde Van Vlaanderen taking place on Sunday and it’s fair to say I’m salivating – so much so that I have already forgotten I was meant to be talking about Milan-Sanremo.

It's difficult to over-analyse La Primavera, the longest race of the year, as it essentially came down to a frantic dash for position at the Poggio and the ensuing aggressions that followed, just as it has done for many years previous. Plus, it’s already been done, and everyone’s moved on, so I will summarise my thoughts on the race in bullet point form:

- UAE Team Emirates pulled out the same playbook as they did last year, but executed it less effectively

- The road furniture situation, yet again, left much to be desired, causing crashes on the Tre Capi, taking out Sam Bennett amongst others

- Filippo Ganna is becoming an increasingly versatile bike rider and will be a real contender at Paris-Roubaix

- Wout Van Aert (in general – more on this later) takes too much responsibility for working at the pointy end of races, which could go some way to explaining his inability to stay with MVDP at the key moment – BUT…

- MVDP is using his brain much more effectively, following Wout’s wheel as the initial move from Pogacar was neutralised – because he knows he can rely on Wout – and hanging on the back of the quartet going up the Poggio

- His ability to detonate an attack remains unmatched in the peloton

- He is back to his absolute best and it’s not inconceivable he could win Flanders AND Paris-Roubaix to boot, if he can keep his form

- Race organisers should invest in bigger sofas

Nothing ground-breaking, admittedly, but it never is with Milan-Sanremo. It’s the attrition of a long day in the saddle followed by the tactical nous and sharpness of a 30-minute crit race, smashed together to form a two piece puzzle that invariably proves too tricky for most. Wasn’t it fun though?

One of the most striking takeaways from the race was the array of spectacular imagery that followed, from the hilarious ‘naughty schoolboys’ shot of the three giant bike riders on the tiny couch to the iconic ‘four horsemen’ shot of the charge up the Poggio. Here are a few of my favourites, starting with THAT sofa shot.

The four horsemen of the apocalypse – otherwise known as the world’s best lead-out train, or the world’s most fearsome TTT unit.

This stunning image of MVDP and his grandfather Raymond ‘Poupou’ Poulidor crossing the line, 62 years apart (image credit: @sprintcycling)

And finally this moving image of Corinne Poulidor, the generation in-between, reacting as she watches her son win the race her father won (photo credit: Saretta Cavallini)

MEANWHILE – Cofidis’ Axel Zingle was busy claiming victory at the Classic Loire Atlantique.

On Sunday (19^th March) the women’s Italian classic was Trofeo Alfredo Binda. It’s an unpredictable race that always produces an exciting racing, and this edition was no exception, with plenty of climbing to tire the legs as the riders tackled repeated ascents of the hills of Cittiglio. U23 cyclocross World Champion Shirin van Anrooij of Trek-Segafredo attacked the race with 24km still to and the resulting chase was something to behold, with the likes of FDJ-SUEZ, Movistar and SD Worx trying to make some headway, but the lack of cohesion within the group coupled with the expert disruption of Trek’s Gaia Realini led to Van Anrooij staying away to notch up her debut pro win, with Elisa Balsamo winning the sprint behind to make it a 1-2 for the team.

And making it two for two on the day for debut elite win, Felix Engelhardt (Team Jayco-Alula) won the sprint at the Per Sempre Alfredo.

22^nd March

Brugge-De Panne is not the sprint World Cup, however it could lay claim to such a title, given the amount of talent that lined up in Brugge, and it also probably won’t win any awards for being the best race of the season, but I defy you to find a race that’s had my heart rate so consistently high for such a sustained period.

Ah, Spring in Belgium. Maybe not top of anyone’s list in terms of balmy weather conditions but it’s up there when it comes to concocting the perfect storm of rain and crosswinds for a bike race, and so it proved. It was all-out crazy – a delicious sprint royale, with copious amounts of weather, plenty of mechanicals, and a whole lot of madness. The conditions were horrendous but the competition was fierce, with Alpecin-Deceuninck riding aggressively for an in-form Jasper Philipsen, along with Lotto-DSTNY and UAE Team Emirates. The early echelons didn’t stick, but they would have taken a lot out of the legs, and the bunch regrouped, before Alpecin drilled it again and this time, the big hitters went with them.

Once the final shakedown had occurred, we were left with a front group that boasted most of the world’s best fast men and aside from the odd lead-out man and a couple of spare QuickStep riders, it was every man for himself, setting up a fascinating final. Surely QuickStep, with four riders, would be able to make something of the day for their main man, Fabio Jakobsen? The lead group of 20 riders held for a bit until 16km to go, when Jasper Philipsen pushed on with Yves Lampaert and Olav Kooij for company, and with Arnaud Démare at the head of the group losing the wheel, the gap was established.

It was a confusing time for QuickStep, who with their top sprinter still in the main bunch watched two of the top favourites for the race ride away from them, and while having a satellite rider can be useful, Lampaert had about as much chance of restraining the two young sprint studs as he did of beating them. So it proved to be a sprint between the three, plus Frederik Frison of Lotto-DSTNY who was able to tag onto the group, and in the final sprint Lampaert put in a solid dig but it wasn’t enough to overcome the power of Jasper Philipsen who took an assured victory, with Kooij coming through in second.

The women’s version of the race took place a day later on 23^rd March under similar conditions, at least in terms of the crosswinds, though it was much drier. It too was a thrilling race with a lead group breaking away on one of the flat, exposed crosswind sections with around 60km to go, and then splitting again with 11km to go after a crash brought down Alice Barnes and Julie de Wilde. The final selection included Elisa Balsamo and Lorena Wiebes, so it was something of a surprise then, that with 7km remaining, former British champion, Team DSM’s Pfeiffer Georgi, put in a beautifully timed attack to get a gap which the group were unable to pull back. She rode to her debut elite level victory and it was really richly deserved and had me screaming at the TV in delight.

24^th March

E3 Saxo Classic (this year’s iteration of the name which changes subtly year on year) was a weird one. Mini-Flanders is a great proving ground for the Ronde, which takes place nine days later, and in previous years has seen some fierce attacking and unpredictable outcomes, with many of the protagonists who will contend De Ronde testing their legs in the dress rehearsal. And so it came to pass that arguably the top three favourites for Flanders wasted little time in extracting themselves from the bunch and launching their own race - first in a small group with about 58km remaining and then shedding the rest on the Kwaremont with 39km to go to begin a race of three. Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel rode together to the detriment of the entire rest of the peloton who dropped like a stone in their wake, effectively deciding the podium and giving the rest little reason to continue riding other than for scraps. While Pogacar was able to drop Van Aert on the later climbs, the elastic never snapped, and the three rode to the line together, with Van Aert’s sprint proving decisive in the end. Van Aert was ebullient across the line, yelling ‘ik moet just niks’ (I don’t have to do anything) into the camera as he proved his detractors wrong by beating arguably his two biggest rivals for the precious Monument that has evaded him thus far in his career, De Ronde.

Major props to Movistar’s Matteo Jorgenson who was the best of the rest in 4^th , proving he has many strings to his bow as he performs at both classics and in stage races.

26^th March

Gent-Wevelgem was another grim Belgian day, and while such conditions suggested that perhaps it wouldn’t be a bunch sprint finish the comprehensive fashion with which Jumbo-Visma chopped the race off at the knees was chilling to witness. Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte attacked on the Kemmelberg with 50kms to go and were never seen again, opening out a fap of two minutes to the chasers in the end. Van Aert gifted the victory to Laporte in a display of generosity that confirms him as probably the best teammate (and probably husband) ever, cemented the Frenchman’s undying support at Flanders in the process, and Jumbo-Visma continued their streak of total dominance in the (arguably) less important classics. I reflected on the notion of gifting wins in cycling for rouleur.cc – check out the piece below. 

Later that day the women’s super-team of SD Worx notched up another victory, this time from Marlen Reusser who TT’ed away from the bunch with 40km remaining in the race and solo’ed to victory in comprehensive fashion.

There was double joy for the Republic of Ireland the same day, as EF Education-EasyPost’s Ben Healy won the GP Industria & Artigianato and Bolton Equities Black Spoke rider Rory Townsend La Roue Tourangelle. No, if I’m being honest I haven’t heard of these races either. They’re proper hipsters, them Irish boys.

29^th March

And bringing us bang up to date, Dwars Door Vlaanderen lived up to its billing as the classic that seems to receive least media attention, but always manages to produce an exciting race. It featured Trek-Segafredo employing some innovative tactics, blocking the road up the climbs before tearing off out of them and duly ripping up the bunch in the process, but it wasn’t enough to hold back a group of 8 hungry riders who set off after a very determined breakaway. The group included two from Jumbo-Visma, EF and Groupama-FDJ, along with Quinten Hermans of Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jhonathan Narvaez of INEOS.

They worked well together and with Lotto-DSTNY, Trek and Soudal-QuickStep trying in vain to catch them, they in turn final made the catch of the two remaining members of the day’s early break, Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) and Oier Lazkano (Movistar) who had worked valiantly to stay away for so long and had everyone doubting the outcome of the race. They looked spent, but when Christophe Laporte made his winning move with just over 4km remaining, no-one could have predicted it would be the Spaniard Lazkano who would power through to take second place. Proper gutsy performance and yet again Movistar prove they are capable of making waves with a new generation of talent coming through the ranks.

Volta a Catalunya (20-26 March)

Alongside the classics, the major stage race of the past week took place in southern Spain, and established the rivalry we never knew we needed, as Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel faced off over a week of closely fought stages. I’m not covering this one in great detail, but it’s probably enough of a summary to point out that while Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won both sprint stages, Roglič and Evenepoel took two stages apiece, and the outlier was Giulio Ciccone who managed to pick both their pockets and put himself in with a chance of contending on stage 2. It was a stage victory that stood alone within a week dominated by the Slovenian and the Belgian. The two engaged in a battle that excluded everyone else after that, with Roglič in the leader’s jersey resolutely sticking to Evenepoel’s wheel and frustrating him to the point of remonstration numerous times. In the end, the young Belgian could find no answer and on the final stage around the Montjuic circuit of Barcelona Roglič finally deigned to help him out, thus confirming he was confident in his own ability to hang on for the overall win, which he duly did, gifting his valiant opponent the final stage as a consolation prize on a Sunday that will go down as cycling Christmas with Jumbo-Visma fulfilling the role of Santa Claus.

The other stage race was Coppi e Bartali, where the GC was won by Soudal-QuickStep’s Mauro Schmid, and there was a maiden pro victory for EF’s Sean Quinn, along with a stage for his teammate Ben Healy, two for Remi Cavagna and one for Bingoal’s Alexis Guerin.

For the women, the Tour de Normandie Feminin produced a host of debut wins, with Canyon//SRAM’s Shari Bossuyt taking a stage and Ceratizit-WNT’s Cédrine Kerbaol taking one too, and the overall win. Gladys Verhulst (FDJ-SUEZ) was the other stage winner.

THE LAST WORD

And so, I send this newsletter out into the ether knowing that by the time the next one issues forth, my new website will be up and running and much of this content will be on there, along with many exciting new things besides. This newsletter will continue in bulletin form, with all the longer news unpacked for you at the website, though there will still be plenty for you to read, don’t worry.

If you’d like to support me as I launch headlong into this new and slightly terrifying venture, please consider buying me a coffee, and also joining up to the new site as a member, once the opportunity becomes available. It will be very good. I promise.

Enjoy Flanders!

Cheers,

Katy