Some of the Protagonists
of the 2012 season.
Been a long while since last post; however it is that time of year again the start of the cycling season proper (I don’t count anything before Paris-Nice as serious, just warm ups). It looks like it is going to be an excellent year. I will be covering most if not all of the UCI World Tour events this year with the obvious exception of the Tour Down Under which has come and gone. In addition I look to cover the Olympic road race, the national championships and other non UCI World Tour events such as the Tour of Britain.
The Grand Tours
First let’s start with La Grande Boucle, the Tour de France;
the queen event of cycling. This promises to be one of the most exciting tours
since 1986; with Alberto Contador out of the picture the race is wide open and
the aggressive course which should lead to exciting racing. I will preview the
race closer to the time; but I have the number of possible winners at 10+
riders! Will certainly be an event to look forward to, especially with the real
chance of a first British podium or even win.
Can he repeat last years win of cyclings biggest event?
The Giro D'Italia this year looks likely to be a 3rd win for Ivan Basso, but with one of the easiest routes for years (not that it is an easy route) and the unpredictable nature of this race, promises to be as good as usual. Indeed on a tangent I am very impressed with the organisers RCS for their efforts to promote the race and to engage with the fans this year. I especially appreciate Michele Acquarone’s blog which is an excellent move that explains to the fans the choices made by the organisers of the route and of the four wild card teams chosen, in addition it provides an interesting insight into organising and running a grand tour.
The winner of the Vuelta this year has basically already
been decided with Contador’s ban ending in August 2012 (backdated to start from
July 2010). I do not think it is a case of whether Contador will win or not but
by how much he will win by. I would estimate somewhere between 5-10 minutes, he
has a point to prove and the motivation to crush all who stand before him. Will
be still worth watching though as will be a sublime expression of cycling
talent.
The Monuments
Can he repeat last years domination ?
Last was the year of the unexpected winner; with the
favourites often too busy marking each other or underperforming, the only
exception being Liege-Bastogne-Liege. I doubt this will be the case this year
due to the number of “superteams” who will be contesting them and there will be
extra vigilance of early breakaways. Alas I doubt we will see a repeat of a
small group contesting the finish of Milan-Sanremo, which is a shame as last
year’s race was awesome. As for winners the races are wide open with year;
possibly with the exception of Liege if Gilbert’s form is anything like it was
last year.
The 2012 Calender
The 2012 Calender
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