Explore returns for a mini series this month and in this opening episode we cover the pavé and gravel experiencing the old and new of road racing.

The day before the women's Paris-Roubaix, Richard Moore and Lionel Birnie, joined by Simon Gill, sampled some of the sectors. Lionel once rode the full 260-kilometre Paris-Roubaix cyclo-sportive but Richard had never ridden on the cobblestones of north-eastern France and was in for a shock.

Then Richard headed to Veneto in northern Italy for a week of racing and riding put together by former Milan-Sanremo winner and Italian champion Filippo Pozzato. As well as a series of one-day races, there was a Granfondo, which Richard rode, and the first edition of the Serenissima gravel race, which was won by Alexey Lutsenko.

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