No need for too much analysis, Tadej Pogačar attacks early on La Redoute. Richard Carapaz gives chase but can’t stay in contact and the Slovenian solos away for the win. It really was that simple. Is there more to write home about? A massive crash saw the field split just inside the 100km to go point, on the approach to the first of the climbs after Bastogne. A road block of tangled bodies and bikes meant and caught behind simply could not get past including Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and Romain Grégoire. You could blame them for sitting at the back but it wasn’t too much of a rookie m ..read more

Tadej Pogačar is the big favourite to win. What if the weather was harder to forecast? Cold, wet and wintry conditions are due for the run down to Liège with the chance of snow. If so then just last Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne this could change plenty and wardrobe choices and upcoming goals can weigh on the results as much as form. The Route: 254.5km and 4,000m of vertical gain, as much as a mountain stage in a grand tour so if the y-axis doesn’t look severe it does add up by the end. The route isn’t identical to last year because the run to Bastogne is different but once the turn back is ma ..read more

What do you see in the picture above? Three cyclists on a podium? The Flèche Wallonne podium? Right now some team managers see 400, 320 and 260 UCI points as they and their teams aim for promotion to the World Tour or worse, stress about relegation. An update on the promotion and relegation standings as we’re now about halfway through the three year cycle. The relegation contest is raging and if it’s not front page news, well you’re already reading a niche blog about the sport so you’ll probably be thinking of this contest when looking at results in the coming months… Relegation reminder It’s ..read more

Embed from Getty Images Marc Hirschi attacks on the Geulhemmerberg, his third big attack of the day. Tiesj Benoot and Tom Pidcock follow, as does Mauri Vansevenant. Hirschi might have been the strongest on the day and his work helped the move go clear but the fatigue might have cost him and Pidcock would get the better of him. Embed from Getty Images The early breakaway had just four riders. Tosh Van der Sande (Visma-Lease a Bike), Enzo Leijnse (DSM Firmenich-PostNL), Alexander Hajek (Bora-hansgrohe) and Zeb Kyffin (TDT-Unibet). It’s been a theme this spring that the early break doesn’t get ti ..read more

Embed from Getty Images He’s on form, he’s on home soil and he’s a past winner but Mathieu van der Poel won’t have it easy here as the hilly terrain and a long list of challengers should make things harder. The Route: unchanged from last year, 253.6km and all in Limburg, the hilly part of the “low country”. It’s relative as the race rarely gets beyond 200 metres altitude but there are 3,200 metres of vertical gain spread across 33 marked climbs. One difficulty you don’t see from the profile nor map is the mix of narrow roads and tight corners. Those at the front get to chose their line while ..read more

Seeing so many riders on the ground in Dwars Door Vlaanderen and then the Tour of the Basque Country was grim. The fact that so many star names were involved has invariably given these incidents more prominence; more than the huge crash in the Roue Tourangelle a couple of weeks back. Unjust but if it leads to more debate and eventual safety measures than it might benefit all. Safety improvements have been a regular topic, rightly so. Changes are coming but they can’t come soon enough. And they won’t solve everything, far from it. There are more rules and regulations on safety than ever but th ..read more

Embed from Getty Images Mathieu van der Poel goes solo with 60km to go. His moved looked telegraphed but there was nothing his rivals could do, because when they tried Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Gianni Vermeersch made sure they could not. A fast start that saw Dries Van Bondt (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale) draft the lead car like a lead-out in order to get away as soon as the flag dropped. He would be reeled in soon but it set the tone. It took almost an hour for the right move to go. The seven clear were Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-Quickstep), the promising Per Strand Hagenes (Visma-LAB), Marco Haller (Bo ..read more

Is Paris-Roubaix the last of the cobbled classics or a race apart? Surely both, it’s so different from the previous cobbled classics as the pavé are bigger and rougher. If someone came up with the race today it would never happen. Paris-Roubaix’s weather forecast for the weekend is still uncertain. What’s sure is that the region has endured months of winter rain and severe flooding in places so even the light rain expected today can leave the ground soaked for the weekend. Indeed the extent of the damage over winter means worrying about the weather for a bike race feels a bit picky but the co ..read more

All change. Professional cycling has seen rising interest from the Middle-East, especially Saudi Arabia. Now this has gone from tentative handshakes and side sponsorships to a takeover with the news that the Tour of Flanders has been bought by Saudi investors. The race is to be rebranded as the “Flanders Tour presented by Al Lua” and move to the desert. The race will use a six kilometre loop to be tackled 40 times. “The circuit system is ideal as we can have more of the essential VIP tents” says Al Lua events director Sheikh Kadabat Al Abrila. “These tents will be very comfortable with air co ..read more

Embed from Getty Images Mathieu van der Poel attacks on the Koppenberg. Matteo Jorgenson and Mads Pedersen try to chase but they’re quickly distanced, the Dane loses 30 seconds by the top but fared better than the rest of the lead group as they were left walking up the climb. Van der Poel left them standing. Embed from Getty Images A fast start and a break of eight riders from seven teams: Bert Van Lerberghe (Quickstep), David Dekker (Arkéa-B&B), Stanisław Aniołkowski (Cofidis), Damien Touzé (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale), Lionel Taminiaux (Lotto-Dstny), Jelle Vermoote (Bingoal) and Jayco pa ..read more