2011 Tour de France Preview – Belgium

April is the month that traditionally gets Belgian cycling fans the most frenzied, but this year, July has them equally—if not more—excited about the Tour de France. And why not? With a healed, re-signed, and in-form Tom Boonen leading Quick-Step, a 2010 Tour de France top-5 finisher in Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Jurgen Van Den Broeck, and the most dominant one-day rider in the sport in Philippe Gilbert, there’s reason to believe 2011 will be the country’s best Tour de France in decades.

Let’s begin with Boonen. A former green jersey and six-time stage winner, Tommeke hasn’t enjoyed Tour success since his last...Continue Reading

Monday Musette – Dauphiné, Suisse, & Transfers

Here’s this week’s Monday Musette:

1. The Criterium du Dauphiné—the first of two important pre-Tour stage races—wrapped-up yesterday with Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins taking the most impressive road victory of his career. While unspectacular, Wiggo’s win is an important morale booster for the rider and his team as both attempt to shrug-off a rather lackluster showing in last year’s Tour de France.

The win was rather Indurain-esque. The Brit used a powerful time trial to forge his lead, and then defended it methodically in the mountains, following the wheels of his closest rivals all the way to the end. Wiggins looked quite...Continue Reading

Tour de Suisse – Preview

Aside from the grand tours, the Tour de Suisse is probably the most prestigious national tour a rider can add to his resume. At nine days, it’s also one of the longest. And while some recent editions have tended to favor riders of a different sort, this year’s difficult parcours favors a true all-rounder—someone who can time trial and survive high alpine passes. All in all, the race covers over 1200 kilometers, offers three summit finishes, and has two trials to test many of peloton’s best. For some, this is the final stop before an all-out assault on the Tour de...Continue Reading

Tour of Belgium – Mini-Preview

The Tour of Belgium has the potential to be a top-tier race, if only it didn’t have to compete with the Giro d’Italia for attention. While the race’s pancake-flat stages may not be the most exciting,  the middle stages are usually run on parcours familiar to spring classics fans. For example, this year’s Stage 3 will romp around Ieper, climbing the Kemmelberg twice and finishing not far from the second ascent. Perhaps it is a last-chance race for cobbled pretenders who didn’t shine in this year’s races?

Stijn Devolder (with Vacansoleil this year) certainly took advantage of this last year, using it...Continue Reading

The Sticky Bidon – April 12, 2011

Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, April 12, 2011

• Many Teams Interested In Boonen, Agent Says
• 2011 Paris-Roubaix photos: Ben Delaney visits with racers before and after
• Oscar Freire: "The Tour is the most boring race of the year."
• YouTube – Parijs-Roubaix van dichtbij
• De Gendt: "Ga voor zege in Brabantse Pijl" ("Going for victory in Brabantse Pijl")