The cobbled Classics are almost at their end with Paris-Roubaix set to close the curtain on the pave for this season. The Hell of the North is one of the most unpredictable races on the calendar, but this week the Cyclingnews team will try to have a go at predicting what will happen.

 The team discuss the wide variety of contenders, while also daring to pick who we think will make the podium and we take a look at some of the tech on show for this weekend’s race.

 We also hear from a few of the contenders themselves after they completed their recons of the course, including Wout van Aert, Philippe Gilbert, Alexander Kristoff and former winner Philippe Gilbert.

 

The Cyclingnews Podcast is brought to you by Sportful, Pinarello and Floyds of Leadville.

 

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Born in the Italian Dolomites, Sportful has been making athletes faster, more efficient and better protected since 1972. Sportful has a rich and successful racing history; optimising performance for athletes who have gone onto win Grand Tours, one-day classics, and the World Championships.

Sportful leads the market with innovative and technical apparel so you can experience those unforgettable moments, your very best days on a bike. For more details visit Sportful.com and follow the ride on Instagram @sportful. 

Paris-Roubaix preview

The Cycling News podcast is a podcast all about the world of professional cycling. Brought to you by the world centre of cycling, the Cycling News Podcast reports from the biggest races, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and interviews the stars of the sport.

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In the latest episode of the Cyclingnews podcast, we focus on Tom Dumoulin’s decision to step away from the sport with immediate effect, and we have some wonderful new theme tunes sent in by you, our incredible listeners.
 


We also hear from Bob Jungels, Allan Peiper, and Simon Yates about their 2021 plans but our main focus surrounds the shock news that Dumoulin has decided to take a break from professional cycling. The news came out on Saturday morning, just 24 hours after the 30-year-old had been announced as a co-leader for the Tour de France. 
 


"I took the decision yesterday. And the team supports me in it, and it feels really good. It is really as if a backpack of a hundred kilos has slipped off my shoulders. I immediately woke up happy," Dumoulin said in a statement released by his team. 
 


"It feels so good that I finally took the decision to take some time for myself. That says enough. I have been feeling for quite a while that it is very difficult for me to know how to find my way as Tom Dumoulin the cyclist - with the pressure that comes with it, with the expectations of different parties.
 


We talk about Dumoulin’s brave choice to take time away from the limelight and why the sport can be demanding in so many other ways other than just the physical.
 


To subscribe to the Cyclingnews Podcast, click here.

Tom Dumoulin’s timeout and training camp interviews

After a long hiatus Philippa York has returned to the Cyclingnews podcast for a special episode recorded in the UK last week.

It’s been an unprecedented year in cycling but one of the aspects we’ve missed most has been our regular podcasts with York, having previously covered the Tour de Romandie, Criterium du Dauphine, Tour de Suisse and Tour of Britain in her company. But with the off-season in full swing, and with social distancing rules followed to the letter of the law, we met up with York for a catch up.

We talked about her first Tour de France as a reporter this year and what it was like returning to the race in such dramatic circumstances due to the nature of the pandemic, while we also analysed the recent moves involving Mark Cavendish and Rod Ellingworth.

The latter has moved back to Team Ineos after just 18 months at Bahrain McLaren and we discuss whether Ellingworth initial move to Bahrain was a success, what lessons were learned, as well as how important a good director can be for a rider when it truly comes to the cut and thrust of racing.

York also shares her thoughts on Cavendish’s return to QuickStep after a difficult period in his career and whether the move represents a win-win situation for both rider and team. York also goes into detail about how riders handle aspects such as slowing legs and possible retirement, and what it’s like to have the carpet pulled from under your feet when it comes to contracts and stopping.

At this point in the year our coverage is typically full of training camps and team presentations but those days are either on pause or held virtually. However, York shares some of her favourite memories of training camps and team presentations with most of her anecdotes involving cake or in one case, a manager’s daughter even jumping out of a cake at a TVM presentation. It’s a must-listen episode brought to you by Sportful and Pinarello.

 

The Cyclingnews Podcast is brought to you by Sportful and Pinarello. To subscribe to the Cyclingnews Podcast, click here.

 

 

Sponsor message

 

Born in the Italian Dolomites, Sportful has been making athletes faster, more efficient and better protected since 1972.

Official apparel supplier to Bora-Hansgrohe. The same Pro Issue apparel, which includes our BodyFit Pro and Fiandre lines, worn by Peter Sagan is available to purchase by all cyclists. 

BodyFit Pro; a form fitting design with a focus on enhanced aerodynamics was created specifically for the rigors of pro bike racing. 

Our versatile Fiandre line uses proprietary technology to keep you dry and comfortable in inclement, variable weather conditions. 

Sportful leads the market with innovative and technical apparel so you can experience those unforgettable moments, your very best days on a bike. 

For more details visit sportful.com Follow the ride on instagram @sportful

Cavendish, camps and cake – Philippa York podcast

In this week’s edition of the Cyclingnews podcast - brought to you by Sportful and Pinarello - we hear from Nicolas Roche about his season and Team Sunweb. The Irishman played a significant part in the team’s success in 2020, which included three Tour de France stage wins, and he talks about his road captain role and plans for next season.

 

We also hand out season review report cards for Sunweb and AG2R La Mondiale, and we ask our listeners to record a new version of the Cyclingnews podcast theme tune.

 

With just 5 wins this year, which was a third of what they won in 2019, AG2R La Mondiale had a tough season.  Their standout riders were Nans Peters at the Tour and then Benoît Cosnefroy, who took three of their wins. At 25, he’s really starting to fulfill the potential he showed when he won the World U23 title in 2017. However, the team as a whole struggled, losing Romain Bardet at the Tour to a crash, and then missing out on a glut of victories in smaller races in France after the majority of them were cancelled. We review their year, Ed Pickering from Procycling awards them a grade, while we also cast our eyes over their 2021 roster.

Over at Sunweb, the German registered team won 16 races, which is their most since 2014 when they had 41 wins. They won three stages in the Tour, Fleche Wallonne, finished second in the Giro d’Italia, and had two of this year’s breakthrough riders in Jai Hindley and Marc Hirschi.

The Cyclingnews Podcast is brought to you by Sportful and Pinarello. To subscribe to the Cyclingnews Podcast, click here.

 

 

Sponsor message

 

Born in the Italian Dolomites, Sportful has been making athletes faster, more efficient and better protected since 1972.

Official apparel supplier to Bora-Hansgrohe. The same Pro Issue apparel, which includes our BodyFit Pro and Fiandre lines, worn by Peter Sagan is available to purchase by all cyclists. 

BodyFit Pro; a form fitting design with a focus on enhanced aerodynamics was created specifically for the rigors of pro bike racing. 

Our versatile Fiandre line uses proprietary technology to keep you dry and comfortable in inclement, variable weather conditions. 

Sportful leads the market with innovative and technical apparel so you can experience those unforgettable moments, your very best days on a bike. 

For more details visit sportful.com Follow the ride on instagram @sportful

Team Sunweb and AG2R La Mondiale report cards

In this week’s episode of the Cyclingnews podcast there’s an exclusive interview with Daniel Martin from Israel Start-Up Nation while we also continue our WorldTour report cards with Ineos Grenadiers and ISN under the spotlight.
 


Ineos won the Giro d’Italia with Tao Geoghegan Hart, bombed at the Tour de France and came second in the Vuelta a Espana. They won 19 races in total and obviously the standout ride was the Giro, where they bounced back from losing Geraint Thomas to win seven stages wins and the maglia rosa.
 


They were well below their typical best at the Tour, were forced into late line-up changes before seeing Egan Bernal falter in the mountains. There was a stage win for Michal Kwiatkowski but in the build up to the Tour they were off the pace in races like the Dauphine and their Classics campaign was quiet, even by their standards. Over at Israel Start-Up Nation the team won two stages in Grand Tours, courtesy of Daniel Martin and Alex Dowsett. They had nine difference winners in fact, and took fourth overall in the Vuelta and while the caliber of their wins wasn’t huge – only two were at WorldTour – the team showed signs of promise and progress.
 


We analyse both teams’ seasons, before Procycling’s Edward Pickering, who used to be a teacher, hands out grades for each team.
 


The Cyclingnews Podcast is brought to you by Sportful and Pinarello. To subscribe to the Cyclingnews Podcast, click here.
 
 


Sponsor message
 


Born in the Italian Dolomites, Sportful has been making athletes faster, more efficient and better protected since 1972.
 


Official apparel supplier to Bora-Hansgrohe. The same Pro Issue apparel, which includes our BodyFit Pro and Fiandre lines, worn by Peter Sagan is available to purchase by all cyclists. 
 


BodyFit Pro; a form fitting design with a focus on enhanced aerodynamics was created specifically for the rigors of pro bike racing. 
 


Our versatile Fiandre line uses proprietary technology to keep you dry and comfortable in inclement, variable weather conditions. 
 


Sportful leads the market with innovative and technical apparel so you can experience those unforgettable moments, your very best days on a bike. 
 


For more details visit sportful.com Follow the ride on instagram @sportful

Ineos Grenadiers and Israel Start-Up Nation report cards

In the latest episode of the Cyclingnews podcast, brought to you by Sportful and Pinarello, we speak to Michael Valgren about his 2020 season, his time at NTT Pro Cycling and his move to EF Pro Cycling ahead of next year’s campaign.
 


The Danish rider spent two years on the African team and never quite managed to replicate the 2018 form that saw him win Amstel Gold Race but he talks about his motivation, why things didn’t work out and how he will fit into EF Pro Cycling’s roster.


As well as hearing from Valgren, we also start our yearly report card analysis of the WorldTour teams and as Valgren features – and because there’s no real method – we start by taking a look at both NTT and EF.
 


NTT actually started the season incredibly well. They came into 2020 with arguably one of the weakest rosters of the WorldTour teams but they won six races by the time Paris-Nice concluded. They dominated a number of online races during lockdown but once racing resumed they struggled. Giacomo Nizzolo won the European Championships and Ben O’Connor took a fine stage in the Giro d’Italia but there was very little for them to celebrate.
 


They ended the year with eight wins but the season was really dominated by sponsorship issues and once more the underperformance of several key riders. Sponsorship issues created uncertainty and tension between the management before Assos stepped in to help the team going forward. We analyze the season for NTT, before Procycling’s editor Edward Picking – a former teacher no less – provides the team with a report card grade.
 


Then we head to EF, and the American team that went from 17 wins in 2019 to 17 wins this year. There was no Monument win this time around but the team were aggressive in every format of racing – they won stages in all three Grand Tours and finished on the podium in the Vuelta a España. They also won the Critérium du Dauphiné with one of the best days of racing we saw all year, and even if you strip out the wins they took outside of the WorldTour – for example, the wins in Colombia – they were impressive. Our presenters look back on the year for the team before Mr Pickering provides his end of season grade.
 


The Cyclingnews Podcast is brought to you by Sportful and Pinarello. 
 


Sponsor message
 


Born in the Italian Dolomites, Sportful has been making athletes faster, more efficient and better protected since 1972.
 


Official apparel supplier to Bora-Hansgrohe. The same Pro Issue apparel, which includes our BodyFit Pro and Fiandre lines, worn by Peter Sagan is available to purchase by all cyclists. 
 


BodyFit Pro; a form fitting design with a focus on enhanced aerodynamics was created specifically for the rigors of pro bike racing. 
 


Our versatile Fiandre line uses proprietary technology to keep you dry and comfortable in inclement, variable weather conditions. 
 


Sportful leads the market with innovative and technical apparel so you can experience those unforgettable moments, your very best days on a bike. 
 


For more details visit sportful.com Follow the ride on instagram @sportful

Paris-Roubaix preview

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