Table of contents for October 2018 in Procycling

DEPUTY EDITOR In early 2016, before he retired, Bradley Wiggins said cycling needed more characters like Peter Sagan. Almost three years on, Sagan retains all the qualities that attract people to him like filings to a magnet. If anything, the Paris-Roubaix champion is more popular than ever. It’s hard to know who has benefitted more from his three-year tenure of the elite men’s road race rainbow jersey and his monopoly of the Tour’s points competition. Is it Sagan or the sport in general? He is one of the few riders whose name resonates outside the sport. Either way, it’s been a win-win situation. Sagan is known as a laid-back, live-in-the-moment kind of a guy, but as I hope our interview with him shows, an awful of hard work goes into…

When millionaire businessman Rick Delaney burst onto the cycling scene with Aqua Blue Sport less than two years ago, he had grand plans of how he could revolutionise cycling’s business model. Rather than a reliance on fickle sponsors, his team would eventually be funded by an online cycling shop. It was a bold and brave idea and, possibly, a naïve one, flawed only by the fact no other team had yet found the answer to how to break the chains, and complete reliance, on the unstable ground of sponsors. The team’s first season exceeded all expectations, but its stage win at last year’s Vuelta turned out to be the peak, not the start of something great. Race invites dried up and Delaney became increasingly openly critical of organisers who chose…

I joined Team Sky to be part of some great wins. In this team there will always be someone stronger than me in the climbs and overall, so I know I have to work for someone. It’s really nice to be part of this. It was the same feeling riding for Thibaut Pinot at FDJ. He had something special. I would rather help riders win than be fifth or fourth or third myself. At the moment I’m not thinking about being a leader; I’m focused on being the best helper I can be. If you think about being the best leader it’s hard to be the best helper. You can’t be selfish in this role. Team Sky is the best team on which to be a helper. At FDJ we…

What’s your favourite place to ride? Santa Barbara in California, USA. The hills behind the town are amazing. Beautiful clear sunny days, climbs, and views across the ocean. No wonder the houses are so expensive. What’s the best piece of racing advice you’ve received? There are so much. You have to think that I’ve been professional for 15-plus years. One bit that always sticks in my mind is that, ‘it’s never over’. Racing is a funny thing, so many things change: breakaways go and come back, flat tyres, crashes, you name it, it can all happen. I guess that advice becomes ‘never give up’, because you really never ever know what is going to happen before you reach the finish line. What race would you most like to win during…

I’m writing this at the start of the Vuelta and I’m looking forward to a good three weeks of racing in Spain. We’ve got a really strong team, led by Richie Porte, and lots of terrain on which we can thrive. Because of Richie’s crash in the Tour though, we’re are going to race according to the old saying – day by day. That’s especially so in the first week. For me the golden scenario would be to win a stage. There are some stages that suit my strengths but we’ll just have to wait and see whether I get a chance to give everything on them. I’m pretty happy with my form at the moment, which got me a couple of second places at the Tour of Poland. With…

THE SCOUT Joxean Fernández Matxin Team manager, UAE Emirates Speak with anyone involved in pro cycling about the discovery of young Colombian talent – of young talent in general – and it won’t be long before the name ‘Matxin’ comes up. Full name Joxean Fernández Matxin, the Spaniard turned down a professional contract in his early 20s to go into management, and his career has been marked by a commitment to spotting youngsters and giving them opportunities. He claims to have brought 38 Colombians to Europe, the headline name being Fernando Gaviria. Matxin has worked for Mapei, Saunier-Duval/Geox, and from 2015-2017 he was a scout for Quick-Step, the first dedicated role of its kind in pro cycling. He is now team manager at UAE Emirates but is still very much…

Attracting amateur riders and spectators from all over the world, the Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon is always a magnificent celebration of cycling. And this year, it’s being taken up a gear, as it also hosts Hammer Hong Kong, the finale of the 2018 Hammer Series. In what’s being dubbed ‘Showdown Sunday’, 11 UCI WorldTour teams will be in the city on Sunday 14 October 2018, with one destined to be crowned Hammer Series champions 2018, after already competing in Hammer Stavanger and Limburg earlier this year. Whether you’re a keen cyclist or fan of the sport, don’t miss this incredible opportunity to see some of the world’s best riders battle it out in two back-to-back races. First comes the fast and furious Hammer Sprint and then it’s…

Simon Gerrans, Gregory Rast and Danny Pate all announced their retirement from cycling at the end of this season. Between the trio, they have 52 years of racing as professionals. 10 The number of years Simon Geschke spent at Team Sunweb and its previous incarnations. The German confirmed he was leaving to join the new CCC-BMC setup in 2019. “It’s a huge honour – I can’t quite believe it if I’m honest!”Geraint Thomas after it was announced the Wales National Velodrome in Newport would be named after the Tour winner. DROPS GOES ON A new title sponsor has been found to replace Trek’s sponsorship of the British Drops squad. In July, Trek announced it was setting up its own women’s team. Jos van Emden completed the European Championships time trial wearing his…

BRANDON MCNULTY The American came agonisingly close to winning a stage of the Dubai Tour in February. The Rally Cycling rider finished on the Alsace podium after strong rides on the two summit finishes. GEOFFREY BOUCHARD The first Frenchman to win Tour Alsace since Thibaut Pinot in 2011, the 26-year-old will turn pro with Ag2r La Mondiale in 2019. He won the French amateur road title this summer. MARK DONOVAN A top 10 at Tour Alsace for Mark Donovan followed a stage win at the Ronde l’Isard and fourth overall at the Baby Giro. The Briton will join Team Sky as a stagiaire for the rest of this year.…

Turns out the crash I had in Austria did more damage than I first thought. A second scan showed a small fracture in the fibula head and tears in the tendon below the kneecap. I had been riding but was unable to push properly and train as normal because I had a lot of pain coming from the knee. It felt like I was compensating with my good side. Consequently I lost some condition, and went backwards. I was able to train more the week before San Sebastián but it wasn’t possible to be competitive there, and instead it was more of a training exercise - a stepping stone in the road back to full fitness. A after San Sebastián we went to Burgos, and I felt I was improving…

Peter Sagan is maddening. He’s also cycling’s hottest commodity, its most exciting star, the only ticket in town. Races are desperate for him and fans can’t get enough of him. At the Tour de Suisse in mid-June, there was a perfectly ordinary-looking bloke in his 30s who had a tattoo of Sagan on his calf. This is now the ninth year of Sagan’s career and the alchemy of his multi-layered talent as a racer and his character as a person, continue to make the atoms in cycling’s little universe vibrate in unusual ways. Sagan had a great Tour de France. He was an omnipotent presence. He won three stages and wore the yellow jersey for one day. He finished in the top 10 in every stage apart from in the…

By the end of the 2018 Tour de France, most fans would have been able to identify the lanky, angular features of Egan Bernal as easily as those of his more familiar Team Sky leaders, Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome. Day after day, Bernal was the second last, or often the last of Sky’s climbing domestiques tasked with keeping the team’s co-leaders in play on the main mountain stages. Blasting away for Froome and Thomas for 8km on Alpe d’Huez was arguably the Colombian’s finest hour, but in reality, in both mountain chains, Bernal was instrumental to the Sky machine. Bernal’s main trainer at the British team, Xabier Artetxe, who has been with Bernal at every race this year, is convinced: “Without Egan, we wouldn’t have had two riders on…

1980 Alfonso Florez wins Tour de l’Avenir, the first Colombian to triumph in a European stage race 1983 A Colombian amateur team is invited to race the Tour de France for the first time 1984 Lucho Herrera becomes the first Colombian to win a Tour stage – stage 17 on Alpe d’Huez 1985 Herrera wins two stages and the polka dot jersey; Fabio Parra wins the white jersey 1987 Herrera becomes the first Colombian to win a grand tour, the Vuelta a España 1988 Parra finishes third at the Tour, the country’s first rider to reach the Paris podium 2002 Santiago Botero wins the Time Trial World Championship in Zolder, Belgium 2013 Rigoberto Urán becomes the first Colombian to podium at the Giro d'Italia 2013 Nairo Quintana passes Parra's third…

Greg LeMond won the World Championships road race three times in 11 years: the junior title in 1979, and the professional title in 1983 and 1989. Each marked a turning point in his career: the junior rainbow jersey in Argentina was his first major international title, pointing at what was to come; the rain-soaked rainbow jersey in Chambéry in 1989 was the apogee of cycling’s greatest ever comeback. But the 1983 win in Altenrhein, Switzerland, was the moment LeMond confirmed his status as the coming star of cycling, when he went from talented hopeful to champion. This was a pioneering era, the period when professional cycling ceased to be parochially European and became international at breakneck pace, propelled by the English speakers: LeMond, Phil Anderson, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Robert…

After winning the Tour de France King of the Mountains jersey in last year’s race for Team Sunweb, Warren Barguil returned this year as the talisman for his new team, Fortuneo-Samsic. Just days before this year’s Tour started, the ProContinental squad announced they were switching frameset supplier from Look to the Basque brand, BH. The clean looks of Barguil’s monocoque carbon frameset are complemented with a simple paint design and paired with a minimalist wireless SRAM Red eTap groupset. While Barguil’s team-mates run standard eTap rear derailleurs, Barguil upgrades his drivetrain with CeramicSpeed’s OSPW (over-sized pulley wheel) system, which the Danish company claims increases efficiency. The French wheel brand Corima provide Barguil with their 32mm carbon-rimmed WS wheels, which feature a low spoke count of 18 and 20 for front…

In my mind, the Vuelta a España is unfairly seen as the poor relation of the grand tours, the consolation prize at the end of a long season. Those who tried and failed at the Giro or the Tour often arrive with extra motivation and something to prove, though perhaps with their condition not quite what it was earlier in the season. Ask the riders and the majority will say that they love riding the Vuelta. Yes, the Vuelta is usually really hot and involves a lot of climbing but it has a special atmosphere. It’s generally a more relaxed peloton, the hotels are good and so are the roads. The race has been good to me in the past. It was my first grand tour in 2009, my first…

After some holiday with my family at Lago di Garda, in Italy, I went on to have a training block as preparation for the upcoming races. You wouldn’t believe it, but during the training camp another of my wisdom teeth started acting up and my cheek started to swell. I went to a dentist who disinfected it for me. That definitely helped at first, but then the tooth started causing trouble a little later on. Meanwhile, it was time to rock and roll on Scandinavian roads… well, at least in Sweden and Norway at the Crescent Vårgårda and Tour of Norway. They’re WorldTour events that I always look forward to. They are very well organised with a lot of local commitment. We even had live TV coverage, which we in…

2008 As a multi-talented junior, Sagan divides his time. On the road, he finishes second at the Course de la Paix. He wins the Junior Mountain Bike Worlds and is second in the Junior Cross Worlds 2010 After signing with Cannondale, Sagan is first sighted in a break at the Tour Down Under alongside Lance Armstrong. Wins two stages at Paris-Nice and a Romandie stage. Finishes the year with five wins 2011 Takes 15 wins, including two stages at Suisse, two more and the GC at the Tour of Poland and three at the Vuelta. Emerges as a contender for the flat Worlds course, but slides to 12th. 2012 Three wins on his Tour debut lead into a sizable green jersey victory. He wins 15 races, and for the first…

“I knew Egan was a mountain biker,” Savio tells Patrick Fletcher. “He finished on the podium twice at the Mountain Bike World Championships. I first spoke to Hector Urrego about him, and then the story of how I signed him comes from the 2015 Coppa Agostoni. I was there at the finish, and along came Paolo Alberati, who was Egan’s manager at the time. He offered me an Italian rider, a sprinter – and a good one, because he was a national champion at the time. I said to him: ‘No, look, I already have enough sprinters – I only have space for a climber.’ He said: ‘Well, I have a climber right here.’ I turned around and there he was. I looked at him and saw a muchachito [a…

This isn’t Spain, it’s the Basque Country. After arriving at the start-line far too early to collect accreditation, I got a reminder that in Spain – sorry, the Basque Country – the attitude is even more laid back than usual. The permanence opened 20 minutes before sign-on. Following the Clásica by car is almost as complicated as the area’s politics. The 220km race route criss-crossed the region’s motorways. Two locals agreed I could follow them. They told me they were aiming to see the race nine times. The local Basque teams lining up alongside WorldTour stars received equal if not more admiration from the local crowd. Fans mingled with riders among the team buses. The big teams were operating on a skeleton staff. After rolling around the beautiful Bahía de…

Where and when did you first two first race together? JOE DOMBROWSKI: The Tour of Utah. I heard about him before that, but we raced together in Utah in 2010. Taylor was on Trek Livestrong and I rode the race as a stagiaire. Then I came to the team in 2011 and Taylor was already at BMC. You had very different approaches to your respective careers. Did that give you different expectations about professional life do you think? TAYLOR PHINNEY: Probably. You came from running, right, Joe? JD: No, well, I did run. I started out mountain bike racing. TP: Oh yeah? JD: Yeah. I was a little late to road cycling. TP: I thought you came from running. Were you good at mountain biking? JD: No, not really. I’m…

Let’s face it, the cycling season has only three parts. Before the Tour, the Tour and after the Tour. And that’s where we are now: after the Tour. It’s a strange part of the year. For a lot of riders who had a great spring or a good Tour the season is slowly coming to an end. These riders still race but with less panache and less determination – you can’t keep that intensity all year, anyway. Most contracts are signed by now and most riders know where they are going to ride next year. And who couldn’t understand this? It has been a long season since the Tour Down Under or the Tour San Luis in January. The riders are mentally and physically tired by now. With the Vuelta…