Cycling Odysseys

'Tirreno-Adriatico is nicknamed “The Race Between the Two Seas.” Yes, Italy is of course a peninsula surrounded by one continuous body of water called the Mediterranean (literally “In the Middle of Lands”), and to the old Masters of Italy, the mighty Romans, it was called simply Mare Nostrum (literally “Our Sea”) for eventually they owned every land around it. But truly, truly, the Mediterranean is too big. For the Romans hunting enemy or pirate fleets, to say they were seen on the waters of the Mediterranean would mean nothing—more specific divisions must be bestowed on its regional parts.'

"From 1969 to 1975 before the wheels metaphorically fell off and the literal punch-in-the-gut took place, Eddy Merckx was so dominant, his winning percentage was probably better than most MLB Hall of Famers’ batting-averages."

"We all have our favorite races on the calendar, …the Paris-Nice is one of mine. In fact, of all the weeklong stage races sprinkled throughout the calendar: this one is my absolute favorite. It sports one of the best nicknames in cycling “The Race to the Sun,” even if it does not always live up to such a name. And its general itinerary is always the same: perhaps it is tightly bound by its title, or perhaps it knows it has found a winning formula."

"Its key unique challenge is in the race name itself for “strade bianche” translates literally to “white roads.” Yes, the iconic White Roads made of that special white gravel, O! how unique are they. Surely, they are a challenge on the flat, and quite the ordeal when they pitch up to well over 15% gradient in certain places. And unlike the Cobbled Classics, there is no initial stretch of leg-softening early flat kilometers to ease the peloton into racing: here from the flag drop, the riders are positioning and preparing for the first sector of gravel. "

'Well, after two years in a row of nice sunny weather for Opening Weekend, we are all starting to realize a nasty and dirty secret-and-a-half. Omloop Het Nieuwsbald might be one of the most highly anticipated races on the calendar, but nasty and dirty weather is necessary for that one to be a real ferocious heavyweight belter of a race. And surely we are all starting to come around to the reality that though Omloop will always be the more anticipated of the two for it is the “Official Official” start of the road season…maybe Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne is lowkey the better Classic? '

"And for the second year in a row in the last few hundreds of meters, Tadej Pogacar kicked to line to defeat Adam Yates again and make it apparent to me (and hopefully all) that the UAE Tour is officially one of THOSE races…that need a facelift. ... But what to do about the UAE Tour? I should not just complain and criticize without being somewhat constructive, but this is a tough one. Allow me to muse."

"What makes the greatest showmen the greatest showmen is that they write the script for every game, match, event, or race they take part in; this is how they transform themselves into larger than life characters who dazzle the fans in unforgettable ways. On this Opening Weekend in Belgium two of cycling’s superstars dictated how the race would play out…and in a complete power move: neither even factored in winning into their calculations."

"We have had many races already in the Southern Hemisphere, Middle East, and the tolerable parts of the Mediterranean: riders have gotten their seasons started right, some Australians and South Americans and Spaniards have already dazzled the home crowds, and many have gotten back into the swing of racing. Now it is time for the Classics men to come out to play, because on this Opening of Weekends is when the Spring Classics—the first massive objectives of the season—begin."

"...the smaller French Tour des Alpes Martime et du Var which has really grown on me these past two editions. I watched it last year because nothing else was on. I watched this year because….I don’t really know why. Perhaps fear of missing out. Perhaps to fill out this week’s smorgasbord. Perhaps because GCN made it easily available. Perhaps it did not occur to me until now that it is bizarre to watch 15 races over the course of five days. Probably all of the above."

'Then on Sunday we came to a “classic” thorny issue of certain cycling races, a problem that is very particularly pronounced in Spain. Spanish organizers seem to have an obsession saying every race is a “classic.”'