The Journal

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The Red Line: Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2021

Apr 26, 2021

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There are still 61 days until our attention will be entirely devoted to the Tour de France, but somehow, still, all roads lead to the start in Brittany. Even the one leading from Liège to Bastogne, and then back to Liège once more. Continue reading

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Amstel Gold Race 2021: The Finish Line

Apr 19, 2021

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After the finish line came…confusion. Wout van Aert pumped his fist in celebration, but the celebrating soon stopped. Had he beaten Tom Pidcock? Exacted his revenge for Brabantse Pijl four days earlier, adding another big win to his burgeoning palmarès? He didn’t know. Continue reading

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The Red Line: Ronde van Vlaanderen 2021

Apr 04, 2021

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I don’t agree that there was only one man who saw that coming; namely Kasper Asgreen. I think there may have been more than just him. And I think they were all called Asgreen. Continue reading

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The Red Line: Volta a Catalunya 2021

Mar 29, 2021

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It remains something of a mystery to me that it is Simon Yates, and not Adam, who has won a Grand Tour. It is Simon Yates, and not Adam who has come close to winning the Giro. And that it is Simon Yates, and not Adam who counts Tirreno-Adriatico among his victories, to stand alongside the 7 stage wins at all three Grand Tours that he has racked up. Continue reading

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The Red Line: Gent–Wevelgem 2021

Mar 29, 2021

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The first time I ever saw Wout van Aert in the flesh was just past the finish line of Strade Bianche in August 2020. Earlier that day I’d stumbled across our editor Mr Boulting enjoying a coffee en plein air in a Piazza del Campo cramped by coronavirus restrictions, accompanied by Steve Cummings. A more Road Book image it is difficult to conjure up. Continue reading

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The Red Line: Milan- Sanremo 2021

Mar 20, 2021

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Jasper Stuyven, the 2009 junior world champion, who then won the 2010 junior Paris-Roubaix while wearing the rainbow jersey, has on occasion been disparaged as “the champion without a jersey.” When Quick Step poached Bob Jungels from Trek Factory Racing in 2015, keeping Jasper Stuyven became a priority for the team management. Continue reading

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The soap opera of Tirreno Adriatico 2021

Mar 17, 2021

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The soap opera of Tirreno Adriatico 2021

“I just don’t understand, there isn’t really anything to see until they’re going for the finish line,” my housemate said, after I’d commandeered the television to stick Tirreno-Adriatico on, Paris-Nice warming up on the laptop perched on the coffee table – the sort of decadence cycling fans of decades past couldn’t have imagined. Continue reading

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The Red Line: Tirreno–Adriatico 2021

Mar 16, 2021

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Year in, year out, Tirreno Adriatico pushes the boundaries of what can be demanded of WorldTour riders so early in the season. it is the nearest thing to a Grand Tour compressed into one week of any other race before Milano Sanremo, and this was reflected in the line-up of team leaders for this year’s race. Continue reading

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The Red Line: Paris Nice 2021

Mar 14, 2021

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Damn the wind. Damn Covid. For a week, since I am not actually at the race, but have been commentating remotely from London, I have been riding to work by bike, from Lewisham (in the south east) to Ealing (in the west). Continue reading

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The Red Line: Strade Bianche 2021

Mar 06, 2021

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That Strade Bianche is universally loved goes without saying. The setting, the country, the sheer identity of the race gives it a status which it takes other races a century to achieve.