It's still cold, but the sun is shining more and the days are getting longer. Spring has sprung, bringing the spectacle of newbie riders breaking out the summer kit after one day of sunshine and wondering why they turn blue and hypothermic.
Spring also brings the start of cycling's 'classics', a series of one-day races across mainly northern Europe. If you have only ever seen Le Tour on TV then you are in for a treat. The key appeal of the classics for me is that everything rests on a single day. There is no saving of energy, no hiding in the wheels day after day while the super-domestiques do all the work. Miss the all-important break in a race like the Tour of Flanders and it's all over for you.
The classics present a different challenge to stage races like the Tour de France, and the big names from the Grand Tours - Froome, Nibali and co - are not necessarily going to be competitive. Last Sunday on the finishing straight at San Remo the Manx Missile himself (Mark Cavendish) was beaten into a top ten finish by the specialist classics riders who are able to sprint with 300km of racing in their legs. Ben Swift of Team Sky proved his credentials as a man to watch after finishing 3rd in the final sprint between surprise winner Alexander Kristoff.
I love the Classics for their unpredicatability, and I especially love the so called 'Monuments': the legendary five races which all pro riders want to win. Instant immortality beckons for the winners of each. They are:
Milan-San Remo - Italy
Tour of Flanders - Belgium
Paris-Roubaix - France
Liege-Bastogne-Liege - Belgium
Giro di Lombardia - Italy
I also love the riders. The big, powerful one-day road warriors like Cancellera, Boonen, Sagan et al who can sprint a bit, get up short power climbs, and hammer across the cobbles at 30mph. Tough and uncompromising, this is not the place for a pampered Grand Tour general classification rider, with his army of helpers to adhere to his every whim. Sure, the riders have teams, but when the shakedown occurs in the last 20km of a race, the camera operator pans across to the lead group and the usual suspects generally are there, waiting. Across the world millions of cycling fans are rubbing their hands in glee, thinking as one: let battle commence.
Milan-San Remo, the first of the monuments, was held last Sunday. Of course, I watched it on Eurosport. I simply adore this race. I was and still am in awe of Mark Cavendish's epic win here in 2009. How on earth did he manage to get past Haussler in that crazy sprint for the line?
I guess only a rider of Cav's ability and desire to win could possibly pull that off. I used to watch this finish on YouTube over and over, and interestingly it turns out that Cav himself does too... In 'Born to race', the film on Cavendish and his career, he picks out the impossible sprint in 2009 as his favourite victory - and it's mine too.
The Belgium cobbles classics commence today (Friday 28th) with E3 Harelbeke. Cancellera and the boys will be firing on all cylinders for a double-header, as Sunday sees them return to the fray for Gent-Wevelgem. Glory days as blood, sweat, tears and shards of carbon will be left on the cobbles, along with hopes and dreams. Reputations will be made, new heroes will rise.
So, go out on your Sunday morning ride, get home and have a shower. Get some lunch and then settle down for a great day's racing. The classics season is finally here and epic racing is guaranteed!
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