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 2013 as the Giro Rosa), once (1997).
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 with Sagan and they were never seen again.
Officina Battaglin, the brand founded and managed by the 1981 Giro-Vuelta winner Giovanni Battaglin, has launched a disc version of their popular Power+.
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 meters, is the Sanctuary of Montevergine (see notes 1), where the climb ends.
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 has visited the volcano four times, three times to the Rifugio Sapienza and once to Piano Bottaro lower down. The last visit was in 2017, where Jan Polanc, the Slovenian rider of UAE Team Emirates won stage 4, as the last survivor of a four-man breakaway. The fifth visit will be in the 2018 edition.
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 ride the final victory lap with the race winner each year around the historic Vigorelli Velodrome in Milan.
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.
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 14 hours 28 minutes and 44 seconds. The second finisher, Victor Lanaers (Automoto) came 16 minutes 43 seconds behind. The overall winner, Firmin Lambot (Peugeot) came third, at 31:05.
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 put many road users at risk of damage to either their vehicles or themselves. According to research from the AA, 1 in 3 drivers in the UK reports that their car, van, or motorcycle has been damaged by potholes in the last two years with some cases even leading to crashes.
Aston Martin, the British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers, has collaborated with renowned bicycle manufacturer Storck to produce a limited-edition road bike: an exclusive Aston Martin version of Storck’s new Fascenario.3. Only 107 pieces of this special bicycle will be produced, and owning one will cost £15,777!
The special Aston Martin version of Fascenario.3 has amazing features. For instance, it has an iridescent paint job, which means the bike will appear to gradually change its color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. The weight of the medium-size frame is only 770 grams, and according to Storck, the complete build is around 5.9 kilograms.
However, although it’s light, it is far from fragile, with Storck greatly exceeding the expected industry testing standards in order to prove the durability of its frames. According to an earlier road.cc test, “Storck has offered some of the lightest and stiffest bikes they have ever tested, and the new Fascenario.3 Platinum was no exception”.