Writing about cycling - the stories, the facts, the opinions, the interviews, the silly poems, the movie comparisons. You name it, if it's about bike racing, I'm stringing sentences together about it.
Writing reports about Grand Tour stages is tricky; writing short ones is nigh on impossible. Trying to recall the endless brief iterations of breakaways; recounting the dynamics of a group attacking up a long climb; remembering to mention the quirks and random occurrences that make every day different in a...
The second week of a Grand Tour traditionally sees the turning of the screw; the ramping up of pressure, on whoever holds the yellow jersey, and those who are in close proximity. If the first week is attritional and the final week is a full-blooded attack, the central week is...
In the past, it’s not been uncommon to find the first week of a Grand Tour a somewhat staid affair; cagey GC teams not wanting to show their cards too early; often an emphasis on flat sprint stages as the mountains await deeper into the race. A succession of...
The narrative around MVDP and his participation at the Tour de France has shifted quite dramatically over the past few months. As early as last December he said the Tour was ‘very inconvenient’ and once again in February, before the beginning of the road season, the Alpecin-Fenix rider stated that...
To coin a phrase drawn from American sports, sometimes life throws you a curveball. When you record a frankly top notch Tour de France preview for a podcast and the recorder cuts out after 20 minutes, that’s a prime example. Such a fate befell myself, Inigo Hawkings and Nathan...
The psychological burden of performing at the top level in any sport cannot be underestimated. It’s understandable that it’s sometimes neglected, given the physical strains that the body must endure, but it undeniably takes a master of both the physical and psychological to perform at an elite level...
