by Simon Crisp
This is one of a series of looks at advertising in cycling, mostly informed by looking back through past issues of Procycling magazine. The bicycle saddle inhabits a peculiar dichotomy of worlds - it is both the most important physical, and least important aesthetic, part of a bicycle. It is your primary contact point, yet... Continue Reading →
It's Oscars time, when arthouse cinema gathers together, thinks its popular, then is shocked when the films that win don't do particularly well at the box office. Whilst this years nominees are an eclectic mix of biographies, neo-westerns and god-awful climate change analogies, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as it is officially... Continue Reading →
The peloton at his year's Tour de France should, theoretically, be a stronger, more concentrated bunch of talent than previous years, thanks mainly to the reduction in team size from 9 to 8 riders. Ironically, the point of this was to reduce the strength of certain teams (and officially for "safety"), but the lower number... Continue Reading →
Katusha Alpecin How did they do in 2017? Poor given the calibre of riders they have. Whilst drawing a blank in terms of Grand Tour stage wins is not unusual, Katusha were the only team to manage it in the World Tour in 2017, although Ilnur Zakarin did salvage a podium at the Vuelta after a... Continue Reading →
Mark Cavendish wins so often that it's a news story in itself when he loses, provoking major inquests and minor crises. The Manx Missile has triumphed in at least once race every year since turning professional in 2005 - 13 straight years - during which he has ascended to third in the all-time Grand Tour stage win... Continue Reading →
All statistics accurate as of 28/1/2017 It is fairly well established that a day in the leader’s jersey at one of the three Grand Tours – the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana – can be as valuable for a rider’s career as if they had won a stage of the same... Continue Reading →
Under 27.04? Then good news! You are still below the average age of a grand tour stage winning rider: your hopes of turning pro and becoming a star still have a glimmer of hope. However, whilst your youth may give you some cause for optimism, you’re probably pretty unlikely to take home the record for... Continue Reading →
Got your head around that title? I havent quite, so let's go over what this is about. As in tune with my work-in-progress Grand Tour Stages project, one of its many, many aims is to try and count what bicycles stage winners in Grand Tours used, and thus which has the most wins in history... Continue Reading →
Stage wins, yellow jerseys and top 10s As mentioned before, the Tour began with 198 riders, of which there where three previous winners of the race, as well as five other Grand Tour winners. There were also 36 previous stage winners, who had won 106 stages between them, as well as eleven previous wearers of... Continue Reading →
It's just after the rest day (my internet may have been dead on the actual day...), so here's a few thoughts, illustrated by some graphs as always, about the Tour so far. The Top 10 so far If you've ever been an insomniac and thus felt the need to look at the many, many graphs... Continue Reading →
Sicycle 