One of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing, Monte Zoncolan is a mountain in the Carnic Alps, located in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. It has been used in the Giro d’Italia six times (2003, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2018) and in the Giro Donne (Giro d’Italia Femminile, rebranded in […]
Category Archives: Races
Peter Sagan wins Paris-Roubaix 2018
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) won Paris-Roubaix 2018: the triple world champion attacked from a group of favorites with 54 km to go, caught the two remnants of the early break (Silvan Dillier of AG2R la Mondiale and Jelle Wallays of Lotto Soudal). Wallays quickly dropped, but Dillier was still going strong, he started sharing the work […]
Montevergine di Mercogliano
Montevergine is located near Avellino, in the comune of Mercogliano, in Campania, central Italy. The mountain is a limestone massif and part of the Apennine chain. Under the peak, at some 1,270 m, is the Sanctuary of MontevergineNotes 1 – where the climb ends.
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy. With a height of currently 3,329 meters / 10,922 ft (this varies with summit eruptions), it is the highest active volcano in Europe outside the Caucasus, and also the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps. To date, the Giro d’Italia […]
Black Jersey is Back
Between 1946 and 1951, the Giro d’Italia had a special jersey, “maglia nera” (English: black jersey), for the last-placed rider. There was a real competition between many riders, to win this highly-coveted jersey. The last-placed rider would rode the final victory lap with the race winner each year around the historic Vigorelli Velodrome in Milan. […]
A Mountain Pass during the 1925 Tour de France
Today’s historic photo of the day: a mountain pass during the 1925 Tour de France. Frenchman Roger Lacolle (Météore) is leading the group (in the left, walking). The rider going the opposite way is a native, not a competitor.
Jean Alavoine atop Col d’Aspin
Today’s historic photo of the day: on Wednesday, July 5, Frenchman Jean Alavoine (Peugeot-Wolber) crosses over the Col d’Aspin during the Tour de France 1922, stage 6. It was a monster 326-kilometer stage from Bayonne to Luchon, which contains three major climbs: Col d’Aubisque, Col d’Aspin, and Col de Peyresourde. Alavoine won the stage in […]
UK’s pothole problem: a danger to cyclists
Many of the cyclists who have ridden on Britain’s roads will know that even at the best of times, it can be a bumpy ride due to potholes. They are caused by changes in temperature and water in cracks of the road surface meaning that potholes are a problem that unfortunately cannot be prevented. They […]
Le Ride – Retracing the 1928 Tour de France
“Le Ride” is a cycling documentary, which follows two cyclists, Phil Keoghan (also the director of the film) and his friend Ben Cornell as they attempt to recreate the original route of the 1928 Tour de France. Averaging 240 km a day for 26 days, Phil and Ben traverse both the unforgiving mountains of the […]
Bola del Mundo
Bola del Mundo, also known as Alto de las Guarramillas is a mountain of the Guadarrama mountain range located in the Community of Madrid in Spain, near the border with the province of Segovia. Its height is 2,257 meters (some sources give it 2.265 meters). It is one of the hardest climbs ever seen in […]