Feature Articles

Sean Kelly’s first Tour de France stage win (VIDEO)

In just his second season as a professional, Kelly was selected to ride the Tour de France for his Flandria-Velda team. He would have to ride in support of his Belgian team-mates Freddy Maertens who was aiming to win the green jersey, and Michel Pollentier who was aiming to win the race overall, in addition to the Portuguese rider,...

Dreams of Hell – Behind the scenes of Paris-Roubaix Espoirs (VIDEO)

Rêve d'enfer (Dreams of Hell) - a flim from La Bordure - follows four young riders as they take on Paris-Roubaix Espoirs in 2015. The four riders featured are British rider are Tao Geoghegan-Hart (Axeon Cycling Team), Belgian Nathan Van Hooydonck (BMC Development), and French riders Dylan Kowalski (VC Rouen 76) and Jérémy Defaye (SCO Dijon) and the film focuses...

The Evil Stones of Arenberg – The 1988 Paris-Roubaix (VIDEO)

By Graham Healy In the 1980s, the US TV channel CBS would show highlights of Paris-Roubaix and the video below is from their coverage of the 1988 race. Paris-Roubaix that year was unusual in that the early break that invariably goes clear managed to stay away until the end. The 12-man break which went away in the first hour of...

When the British Army allowed the first Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to take place

In 2009, the opening race of the Belgian cycling season, Omloop Het Volk, changed its name to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad following the merger of the newspapers Het Volk and Het Nieuwsblad, but the race wasn’t originally called Het Volk. It was first organised in 1945, when it was named Omloop van Vlaanderen (Circuit of Flanders) by journalist Jerome Stevens of...

Camille Fily – The youngest Tour de France rider who was killed on the Kemmelberg

The inaugural Great War Remembrance Race takes place tomorrow in Belgium and the riders will face a 192.7-kilometre starting in Nieuwpoort and finishing in Iepers (Ypres). En route, they will face a number of climbs including the Rodeberg, Monteberg and Kemmelberg, the climb used in Gent-Wevelgem. The peloton will also pass areas of heavy fighting in World War One...

When Fausto Coppi Won on Alpe d’Huez (VIDEO)

Today's stage of the Tour de France will finish on the iconic climb of Alpe d'Huez. It is one of the most used climbs in the race, but it wasn't until 1952 that the Tour first included it. A consortium of businesses who had opened hotels at the ski resort at the summit invited the Tour organisers to visit...

Sean Kelly’s first Tour de France stage win (VIDEO)

Despite winning the green jersey four times, which was a record at the time, Sean Kelly "only" managed to win five stages of the Tour de France during his career. This was in part due to being marked so closely during the race. His first stage win came in the 1978 race. In just his second season as a professional,...

When the Tour de France started in Ireland – Part II

Twenty years ago, the Grand Départ of the Tour de France took place in Ireland and to mark the anniversary, we're looking back at those few days in Ireland. Below is the second of a series of two articles about those three days of racing and also how one of the biggest scandals to ever hit the sport emerged as...

When the Tour de France started in Ireland – Part I (VIDEO)

Twenty years ago, the Grand Départ of the Tour de France took place in Ireland and to mark the anniversary, we're looking back at those few days in Ireland. Below is the first of two articles about those three days of racing and also how one of the biggest scandals to ever hit the sport emerged as the race entourage...

Archive footage of Shay Elliott’s 1960 Giro d’Italia stage win (VIDEO)

By Graham Healy In 1960, Shay Elliott became the first English-speaking cyclist to win a stage of the Giro d'Italia when he took victory on the 18th stage of the race from Trieste to Belluno, and below is some footage from that stage. Going into the stage, Elliott's Fynsec-Helyett team-mate Jacques Anquetil held a comfortable 3 minute lead over Gastone Nencini...

Victor Fastré – The Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner killed in World War One

By Graham Healy In 1909, the Belgian cyclist Victor Fastré took the biggest victory of his career when he won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, despite not being the first rider across the line. He had been second fastest in the eight-man sprint but was awarded the victory when the original winner was disqualified. Fastré was just 18 years and 362 days old when...

Bernard Hinault and his epic win in the 1980 Liège-Bastogne-Liège (VIDEO)

In 1980, Bernard Hinault won what turned out to be an incredible edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. That year, snow fell right from the start, leading commentators to call it ‘Neige-Bastogne-Neige’ (Snow-Bastogne-Snow’) and after one hour of racing, more than half of all starters had already abandoned the race. After 70 kilometres of racing, only sixty survivors were left. Hinault himself even...

“This wasn’t a race. It was a pilgrimage” – The story of the 1919 Paris-Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix is also known as the 'Hell of the North', and even though the sectors of pavé can rightfully be described as hellish, the name actually comes from a description a journalist gave to the battle-scarred terrain that the cyclists race over. At the end of January 1919, Henri Desgrange, the boss of L'Auto, decided to organise Paris-Roubaix again Paris-Roubaix...

Ernest Hemingway and the Tour of the Basque Country

One of the literary giants of the 20th century, Ernest Hemingway, first moved to Europe during World War One and during his stay on the continent, he came to really appreciate bicycle racing, in particular, six-day races in Paris. He even makes a reference to the Tour of the Basque Country in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises....

Wonderful Losers: A Different World – Trailer (VIDEO)

Wonderful Losers: A Different World is a new documentary by Arūnas Matelis about the world of pro cycling, and in particular, the work of the domestiques. According to the producers of the film, it covers "the relationship between those who lead, and those who are ready to sacrifice themselves to help their teammates achieve the victory. "For most of us, those...

Why cycling is much more than a sport in Colombia (VIDEO)

The BBC have produced a radio documentary on the passion for cycling in Colombia. 'The Flying Colombians' tells the background of the Vuelta a Colombia and how the race captured the imagination of the public. Alongside the radio documentary, a short video has also been produced on the topic, which describes the early years of the Vuelta a Colombia. The video...

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