Canada
2014 Tour of Alberta prologue
This is my first time being between Vancouver and, oh say, Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. So why am I in beautiful Alberta? For the Tour of Alberta of course! The 4 kilometer prologue through Canada Olympic Park, home of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics (remember the Jamaican bobsled team?), featured a massive climb … Continue reading
De Brabantse Pijl
Race organizer from Leuven #1: Hey, let's have the riders sign on in the shadow of our ridiculously beautiful Town Hall! Race organizer from Leuven #2: Great idea! And so it was. It's possible the parking lot wasn't well marked or several of the bus drivers had heard about the beauty of the Town … Continue reading
Tour Down Under team presentation
Now in its 16th year, the Tour Down Under has drawn the world’s top teams to Adelaide, Australia. Nevermind that on the day I arrived Adelaide was literally the hottest city on the planet, the riders have been out all over town for training rides and checking out the city. The first rider I was … Continue reading
Surviving the cycling off season
My beloved peloton looks forward to the end of the year for the same reason I dread it: the off season. While my favorite riders are sleeping in, going on holiday, and allowing their body fat percentage to creep as high as 8%, I'm stuck looking for ways to pass the next 2 months. … Continue reading
World Championships: Jr Women’s & U23 Men’s Road Races
As great as the time trial is, the road race is the heart of cycling since this is what these athletes compete in most often. The Junior Women raced 5 laps, for a total of just under 83 kilometers. About 2 kilometers in, the course featured a slow and steady climb with a couple of … Continue reading
World Championships: rest day
Just because there were no races today doesn't mean there wasn't cycling to watch. With the road races starting tomorrow, today the national teams got to scout out the course on traffic-free roads. The Algerian team stopped to discuss the morning's ride. The 2 minibuses carrying the Canadian team drove right by me … Continue reading
World Championships: Jr Men’s ITT
The first event of the day was the Junior Men’s 22 kilometer ITT and I was pumped! Two of the first 3 riders to start were Uzbek and I try to never miss an opportunity to cheer for my favorite doubly landlocked country. My plan was to see the last couple hundred meters of the … Continue reading
World Championships: Jr Women’s & U23 Men’s ITTs
I had a great time at the Junior Women's individual time trial this morning. Because women's cycling unfortunately doesn't have the same appeal as men's, I was able to watch the race from a couple of different spots and even see some of the pre-race behind the scenes logistical stuff I find so fascinating. … Continue reading
World Championships: TTT
Day 1 of the World Championships! As I explained to at least 15 different people in 2 different languages (apparently the French were better informed than English and Spanish speakers) throughout the day, today was the only day all week when the cyclists would ride for their trade teams as opposed to riding for … Continue reading
TTT test run
I'm back in Florence for the second time this year and both times I've been here, it's been to watch cycling. The UCI World Championships will take place in the city over the coming week, starting tomorrow with the team time trial. Today was the first day the organizers closed the course to cars, … Continue reading