Photos by Daniele Molineris Three riders from the german Bora team sit afront of the group. It is stage three of the race, so from the past days racing, I have some idea on each of their shape. I am counting the seconds before the rider working at the head of his team will explode. Before one of his two teammates will attack. And before the next moments of the race unfold. This is the ‘queen’ stage. However the last 150 or so kilometres were merely the overture. In the next moments the real race will start. The climb is […]

This year has been far from expected. As I lifted the surprisingly heavy and springy trophy, smashing it against the podium roof as I did so, the empty square down below was definitely not how I had ever pictured celebrating winning a big race. In 2010, aged fifteen, I raced in mainland Europe for the first time, in the Flanders region of Belgium. The racing was intense, another level from that of the UK, but the main attraction was the crowds. Even for a ‘nieuwelingen’ (youth) race, there felt like a crazy amount of people out on the road supporting […]