The Cycling Disciple

For the puritans among cycling fans, the season officially begins with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The pre-season 'friendly' races are all but done and attention is turned to the spring one-day and stage races. We were expecting bright, warm conditions after the summery spell at the beginning of the week. But the weather has all of a sudden remembered it's supposed to be cold and wet for the Classics season, and has so graciously reduced to an acceptable temperature just in time for the Opening Weekend - not to mention an expected westerly headwind all day.  14 bergs over 200km are in store for the peloton on Saturday - the last two being the famous Muur-Bosberg duo that used to form the finale of the Tour of Flanders - before a new finish in Ninove: a couple of kilometres away from the 2018 finish in Meerbeke. In spite of a stacked roster of former winners and Classics specialists due to take to the start line in Merelbeke, here are four riders who could make their spr

New year, new season, new stages, new rosters. In its 21st year, the Tour Down Under opens the WorldTour calendar for the 12th time, but for the first time will finish with the double ascent of Willunga Hill - scrapping the final stage criterium. Caleb Ewan won the 2019 Down Under Classic criterium on Sunday evening after a crash on the last corner took down many of his rivals Photo credit: cyclingtips.com Also, the uphill sprint into Angaston returns - last seen when Australian champion Simon Gerrans beat Andre Greipel on stage one in 2014 - while the steep Montacute climb will prelude a downhill battle into Campbelltown. There's also a tricky circuit to navigate on stage three; a completely new addition by the race organisers, which is reported to contain 3500 metres of climbing. With those changes in mind, here's a guide to each of the six stages of the 2019 Tour Down Under and a rider with fresh targets to who could thrive on the parcours. Stage One - North Adela