In 1972, On 25 October, Eddy Merckx set the Hour Record, after a great season: he started the year winning “la primavera”, Milan-San Remo, the first classic of the cycling season. He then won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, one of the five “monuments” (see notes 1), the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France (both general classification and points classification), and another monument, Giro di Lombardia (currently “Il Lombardia“) as well as many other races.
Then he attacked the Hour Record.
An anonymous but very beautiful photo… One of the best cycling-related photos, which contains no bike.
Peter Sagan, the young Slovak rider of Italian team Cannondale, has not been seen since his video apology to podium girl Maja Leye after his behavior on the Tour of Flanders podium. The two were expected to meet at the Brabantse Pijl race today because Maja works for race organizer Flanders Classics. Sagan gave flowers to Maya, so it seems his apology had been accepted.
Specialized Tarmac 2013: Tarmac may be the most successful racing bike in recent years. Only in 2012, Spring Classics Amstel Gold Race and Ronde Van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders), Monumental Spring Classic Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Vuelta a España, and Olympic Men Road Race are won by the cyclists riding Specialized Tarmac.
UCI WorldTour teams Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Astana use Specialized bikes, and most of the races, they use Specialized S-Works Tarmac.
Italian cycling legend, “Lion of Flanders” Fiorenzo Magni dies aged 91 today. Also known as the “third man” in Italy during the era of rivalry between Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, reportedly passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Monza, to the north of Milan.
Born near Prato in 1920, Magni won the Giro d’Italia three times: in 1948, 1951 and 1955. The third of those victories was taken at the age of 34, making him the oldest winner of the race to this day.