Cafe Roubaix

2018 Tour de France

Stage 1 – Noirmoutier-en-l’Île – Fontenay-le-Comte – 201km (July 7)

Stage 2 – Mouilleron-Saint-Germain – La Roche-sur-Yon – 182.5 km (July 8)

Stage 3 – Cholet – Cholet – 35.5 km  (July 9)

Stage 4 – La Baule – Sarzeau – 195 km  (July 10)

Stage 5 – Lorient – Quimper– 204.5 km (July 11)

Stage 6 – Brest – Mûr de Bretagne – 181km  (July 12)

Stage 7 – Fougères – Chartres – 231 km (July 13)

Stage 8 – Dreux – Amiens – 181 km (July 14)

Stage 9 – Arras – Roubaix – 156.5 km (July 15)

Stage 10 – Annecy – Le Grand-Bornand – 158.5 km (July 17)

Stage 11 – Albertville – La Rosière – 108.5km (July 18)

Stage 12 – Bourg-Saint-Maurice – Alpe d’Huez – 175.5km (July 19)

Stage 13 – Bourg d’Oisans – Valence – 169.5 km (July 20)

Stage 14 – Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – Mende – 188km  (July 21)

Stage 15 – Millau – Carcassonne – 181.5 km (July 22)

Stage 16 – Carcassonne – Bagnères-de-Luchon – 218 km (July 24)

Stage 17 – Bagnères-de-Luchon – Saint-Lary-Soulan – 65 km (July 25)

Stage 18 – Trie-sur-Baïse – Pau – 171 km (July 26)

Stage 19 – Lourdes – Laruns – 200.5 km (July 27)

Stage 20 – Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle – Espelette – 31 km (July 28)

Stage 21 – Houilles – Paris Champs-Élysées – 116 km  (July 29)

2018 Giro d’Italia Roadbook

2018 Giro d’Italia Roadbook

2018 Paris-Roubaix cobblestone sectors

Ronde van Vlaanderen Stats

Historical stats

– First ever rider to take the victory was Paul Deman, back in 1913, when he needed 12 hours, 3 minutes and 10 seconds to complete the 324 km-long course

– Six riders share the record for the most wins (3): Tom Boonen, Achiel Buysse, Fabian Cancellara, Eric Leman, Fiorenzo Magni and Johan Museeuw

– Belgium leads in the nations standings, with no less than 69 victories

– Other countries to have a winner are Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland and United Kingdom

– Five of the 100 editions didn’t have a Belgian rider on the podium: 1951, 1961, 1981, 1997 and 2001

– Briek Schotte and Johan Museeuw share the record for the most podiums: 8

– The legendary Briek Schotte is also the rider with the most starts (20 in a row) and the most finishes (16), but the latter record is shared with Frederic Guesdon

– Youngest ever winner is Rik Van Steenbergen, 19 years and 206 days (1944); oldest one is Andrei Tchmil, 37 years and 71 days (2000)

– 1920 – when Jules Van Hevel notched the win – saw the lowest average speed: 26,105 km/h

– Highest average speed – 43,576 km/h – was recorded in 2001

– The first edition was also the longest one: 324 kilometers

– First ever hill to feature on the course was the Tiegemberg, back in 1919

– Only once throughout history De Ronde had less than 200 kilometers, in 1941 (198 de kilometers), when Achiel Buysse won the race for the second time

– Five reigning world champions racked up a victory in De Ronde: Louison Bobet (1955), Rik Van Looy (1962), Eddy Merckx (1975), Tom Boonen (2006) and Peter Sagan (2016)

– 1919 saw the largest winning margin: 14 minutes between Henri Van Lerberghe and Lucien Buysee

– The only cyclist to take three wins in a row is Fiorenzo Magni (1949-1951)

– Five riders have won the amateur, as well as the pro Ronde van Vlaanderen: Roger Decock, Edward Sels, Eric Vanderaerden, Edwig van Hooydonck and Nick Nuyens

– Last Grand Tour champion to take the victory here was Gianni Bugno, in 1994

– Gent is the only city that has hosted both the start and the finish of the race

– 1944 was the last year in which the Tour of Flanders ended on the velodrome

– In 1984, only Phil Anderson and Jan Raas made it to the top of the Koppenberg without walking, the main reason for the ordeal the riders had to endure being the deteriorating state of the cobbles

– First cyclist to ride over the Muur was Fiorenzo Magni, in 1950

– The last rider to win from a day-long breakaway was Jacky Durand, in 1992

2018 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will be at the start of the 102nd edition

– Of these, Roompot, Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise, Verandas Willems-Crelan and Wanty-Groupe Gobert are winless this season

– 26 nations will have at least one representant in the peloton, with Belgium providing the most riders, 45

– Youngest competitor in the race is Julien Mortier (20 years), while the oldest one is Mathew Hayman (39 years)

– Four former winners will line up at the start: Stijn Devolder, Philippe Gilbert, Alexander Kristoff and Peter Sagan

– Pascal Eenkhorn, Jeremy Lecroq, Julien Mortier, Patrick Muller, Jan-willem Van Schip are the five neo-pros who’ll make their Monument debut at De Ronde

– Of the riders at the start, Stijn Devolder has the most participations: 17, including the one of this year

– The peloton of De Ronde van Vlaanderen have won a combined total of 4 Grand Tours, 19 Monuments, 9 world titles and over 90 Grand Tour stages

Milano-Sanremo Stats

Historical stats

– “La Primavera” was first raced in 1907, when Lucien Petit-Breton took the victory

– The only time the race has not been held was due to war, in 1916, 1944 and 1945

– The inaugural edition had 33 riders at the start, only 14 of them completing the event

– Eddy Merckx holds the record for the most wins, seven, between 1966 and 1976

– The team with the most victories in the race is Bianchi – 17; first came in 1907, last one in 1974

– Italy leads the nations standings with 50 successes over the years, the last of which came in 2006

– Six-time winner of Milano-Sanremo, Costante Girardengo has the most podiums, 11

– Italian cyclists have taken the first three positions 34 times

– Longest winless streak of the home riders was between 1954 and 1970

– Youngest winner is Ugo Agostoni, 20 years and 252 days (1914); oldest one is Andrei Tchmil, 36 years and 57 days (1999)

– Wladimiro Panizza has the most starts in “La Primavera”, 18

– Four riders have won Milano-Sanremo while wearing the rainbow jersey: Alfredo Binda (1931), Eddy Merckx (1972, 1975), Felice Gimondi (1974) and Giuseppe Saronni (1983)

– The only winners from outside of Europe are Australia’s Matthew Goss and Simon Gerrans

– Sean Kelly is the last Grand Tour champion victorious in Milano-Sanremo (1992)

– Throughout history, the maximum distance of the race has never exceeded 298 kilometers

– The last year to witness a winner from a day-long breakaway was 1982, when Marc Gomez was part of a 20-man escape

– Gino Bartali holds the record for the longest time span between the first and last victory: 11 years

– Poggio was introduced on the course in 1960, when Gastone Nencini was the first rider at the top of the climb, while Cipressa featured for the first time in 1982

– Highest average speed was recorded in 1990: 45,806 km/h

– In 1909, the first bike change was allowed by the organisers

– 1954 is the year in which the race was shown live on television for the first time

– Biggest gap between first and second came in 1910, when Eugene Christophe got to the line 61 minutes ahead of Giovanni Cocchi

– Milano-Sanremo is the only Monument which hasn’t been won three years in a row by the same rider

2018 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will be at the start of the 108th edition

– Of these, Gazprom-RusVelo, Israel Cycling Academy, Nippo-Vini Fantini and Novo Nordisk are winless in 2018

– 31 nations will have at least one cyclist in the peloton, with Italy providing the most riders, 46

– Youngest rider in the race is Stepan Kurianov (21 years), while oldest one is Svein Tuft (40 years)

– Five former winners will line-up at the start: Mark Cavendish, Arnaud Démare, Alexander Kristoff, Michal Kwiatkowski and Filippo Pozzato

– Sam Brand, Giovanni Carboni, Nicolay Cherkasov, Damiano Cima, Evgeny Kobernyak, Stepan Kurianov, Jacopo Mosca, Marco Tizza and Aleksandr Vlasov are the nine neo-pros to make their debut in a Monument at “La Primavera”

– Of the riders at the start, Filippo Pozzato has the most participations: 15, including the one of this year

– Same Pozzato is the active rider with the most Monument starts: 48

– 4382 days have passed since the last triumph of the host nation

– The riders in Milano-Sanremo have won a combined total of 14 Monuments, 5 World Titles, 5 Grand Tours and more than 180 Grand Tour stages

Retired World Tour and Pro Continental riders in 2017

2018 World Tour Calendar

16.01-21.01 – Tour Down Under

28.01 – Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

21.02-25.02 – Abu Dhabi Tour

24.02 – Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

03.03 – Strade Bianche

04.03-11.03 – Paris-Nice

07.03-13.03 – Tirreno-Adriatico

17.03 – Milan-Sanremo

19.03-25.03 – Volta a Catalunya

23.03 – E3 Harelbeke

25.03 – Gent-Wevelgem

28.03 – Dwars door Vlaanderen

01.04 – Ronde van Vlaanderen

02.04-07.04 – Vuelta al Pais Vasco

08.04 – Paris-Roubaix

16.04 – Amstel Gold Race

19.04 – Flèche Wallonne

23.04 – Liège-Bastogne-Liège

25.04-30.04 – Tour de Romandie

01.05 – Eschborn-Frankfurt

06.05-28.05 – Giro d’Italia

14.05-21.05 – Tour of California

04.06-11.06 – Critérium du Dauphiné

10.06-18.06 – Tour de Suisse

07.07-29.07 – Tour de France

29.07 – RideLondon Classic

04.08 – Clasica San Sebastian

13.08-19.08 – BinckBank Tour

19.08 – Cyclassics Hamburg

25.08-16.09 – Vuelta a España

26.08 – Bretagne Classic – Ouest-France

07.09 – Grand Prix de Quebec

09.09 – Grand Prix de Montreal

09.10-14.10 – Tour of Turkey

13.10 – Il Lombardia

16.10-21.10 – Tour of Guangxi

Pavel Sivakov: “Going to L’Avenir to fight for victory”

There’s no secret anymore that Pavel Sivakov is one of the strongest and most impressive riders on the U23 scene, but this doesn’t come as a surprise. All you need is a look over his incredible run this season and you understand why: between May 19 and July 16, he rode three stage races and won them all. When you see that those races were the prestigious Ronde de l’Isard, Girobio and Giro della Valle d’Aosta, you understand that this performance is a unique one in the amateur ranks and Pavel has a bright future ahead of him.

Only 20-years-old, Pavel has rose through the ranks in the past two seasons as a member of the BMC Development Team and is now one of the most sought-after youngsters, with several World Tour squads rumoured to have shown an interest in signing him after his remarkable exploits and versatility caught their eye. Despite this, the Russian’s main focus at the moment is on the Tour de l’Avenir, which last year he finished just outside the top 10 overall. If in 2016 he was only discovering the demanding French race, this time around he lines out at the start as one of the main contenders.

More about his goals for L’Avenir, his take on the parcours and the superb season he’s had so far, you can read in this interview which Pavel Sivakov gave for Cafe Roubaix before heading to France.

– Pavel, if anyone would have told you at the beginning of the year you’ll have such a terrific season, what would you have said?

I think I would have just laughed. I knew that I was able to win one of those races, but winning three in row is just something incredible! My ambitions were to take the victory in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and do a good Giro d’Italia. I failed on my first goal, but was able to succeed on achieving the other one. It’s a huge satisfaction to get the victory in a race you were targeting since last winter.

– Ronde de l’Isard, Girobio and Giro della Valle d’Aosta, that’s quite the palmares. Which of these victories makes you the most proud?

Definitely, the U23 Giro, it was an amazing feeling to finish at the top! It was also the hardest one, as the gaps on my rivals were really small and I took the pink jersey pretty early, so that meant extra daily pressure. My teammates worked hard and did a fantastic job from day one, so I just had to win it for them. It’s true that if I wouldn’t have won Ronde de l’Isard, then maybe I wouldn’t have had the same confidence coming to Italy. Same could be said about Giro della Valle d’Aosta; I went there without any pressure and did my race, as I knew I had the level required to do something there.

– Speaking of Girobio, how did you find the race which made its return to the calendar after several years of absence?

In my opinion, it’s one the biggest races of the year and to win it was such an honour. Girobio has a great history, high-caliber riders, a big fight every day and a flawless organization, all these making it one of the best races out there. Coming out on top in the U23 Giro d’Italia is the most important moment of my career and also the best, but I couldn’t have done it without the help of my team, who were amazing.

– Can there be room for regrets after such an incredible run?

No, I don’t have any regrets, all the mistakes I made in the first part of the season served as a good lesson for the rest of the year; it’s going really well at the moment and I’ll work to keep it that way.

– Your primary goal for the second part of the season is the Tour de l’Avenir. I assume you’re going there thinking of the win.

Tour de l’Avenir will be my last big goal of the season, so yes, I’m heading to the race to fight for the overall victory. I’m aware that I will be one of the favorites there and I will do my best to assume this status.

– What’s your opinion on the parcours? Do you feel you’re disadvantaged by the lack of an ITT?

The parcours is really interesting, we start in Bretagne and finish in the Alps by crossing France, so it’s like a mini Tour de France. I think it’s a really nice course, only thing missing is an individual time trial, which would have been perfect to take some time on the pure climbers. I guess the first couple of days will be very nervous and maybe even crucial, because we will ride through a part of France exposed to the wind, where some echelons can be made. The winner will have to be focused and at all times attentive. Of course, we’ll be in for some great battles in the Alps, but there’s a long road until there and anything can happen before the big mountains.

– Who do you expect to be your biggest challengers in France?

It’s hard to say, many riders and teams are capable of winning. This year, one of my biggest rivals is Bjorg Lambrecht, I think it’s a really good course for him but also for a guy like Egan Bernal. I would have liked an ITT to gain some time on them. The Australians have a very good team, so they too will be strong. Neilson Powless is another big contender and I guess he too would have like to have a stage against the clock, just like me. Of course, being at home, also the French will be a team to watch.

– And what other objectives you have for the closing part of the season?

I will try to get a good result at the World Championships in Bergen, which will be an interesting race, I’m sure of that. I’m also keen on racing the Piccolo Giro di Lombardia and help my teammates; they did so much for me this year and I just want to pay back the favour.

Vuelta a España Stats

Historical stats

– The race was created in 1935 and saw Belgium’s Gustaaf Deloor take the victory in the inaugural edition

– Roberto Heras has the most overall wins, four (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005)

– Spain leads the nations standings (32), followed by France (9) and Belgium (7)

– Julian Berrendero (1942), Freddy Maertens (1977) and Tony Rominger (1994) have led the race from the first until the last stage

– Eight riders won the general classification without taking a stage along the way: Jean Dotto (1955), Rolf Wolfshohl (1965), Ferdinand Bracke (1971), Jose Pessarodona (1976), Marco Giovannetti (1990), Angel Casero (2001), Alejandro Valverde (2009) and Fabio Aru (2015)

– Agustin Tamames (1970), Domingo Perurena (1975), Hennie Kuiper (1976), Oscar Sevilla (2001) and Roberto Heras (2002) are the cyclists who lost the race in the last day

– Delio Rodriguez holds the record for the most stage wins, 39, which he got between 1941 and 1947

– Switzerland’s Alex Zülle has the most days spent in the leader’s jersey, 48

– Sean Kelly and Laurent Jalabert are the only riders to have won the points classification four times

– Jose Luis Laguia is the cyclist with the most victories in the mountains classification, which he took five times

– Iñigo Cuesta rode in 17 editions, an all-time record of the Vuelta

– Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta and Federico Echave have the most completed editions, 14

– Three riders from outside of Europe have won the trophy: Luis Herrera (Colombia), Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) and Chris Horner (U.S.A.)

– Smallest ever time gap between first and second was recorded in 1984, when Eric Caritoux came home just six seconds ahead of Alberto Fernandez

– 1945 saw the biggest winning margin, with 30 minutes and 8 seconds separating Delio Fernandez and Julian Berrendero

– Spain’s Domingo Perurena is the only rider to lead the GC at six editions

– Freddy Maertens has the most stage wins at a single edition: 13 in 1977

– Lowest average speed was recorded in 1948: 25,72 km/h; highest average speed was in 2003: 42,5 km/h

– Longest drought without a GC win for the hosts was between 1991 and 1998

– The inaugural edition (1935) had the fewest number of stages, 14; the 1947 edition had the most number of stages, 24

– 34 countries gave at least a stage winner, while 22 nations had a cyclist at the top of the overall standings

– The three most visited cities are Madrid (119), Zaragoza (90) and Barcelona (89)

– Last world champion to take the victory in the race was Freddy Maertens, in 1977

– Angelino Soler is the youngest ever winner – 21 years and 166 days – while Chris Horner is the oldest one – 41 years and 327 days

– At first, the leader’s jersey was orange, then white, orange again, white with a red stripe, yellow, back to orange, yellow, gold and red

– There have been 1398 stages so far and 1368 leaders, because in 1948, Bernardo Ruiz and Julian Berrendero finished in a dead heat

– Delio Rodriguez holds the record for the most consecutive stage victories: six, in 1941

– Only two foreign countries have hosted the start of the Vuelta: Portugal (1997) and The Netherlands (2009)

– In 1995, the race saw a change of date, being moved from April to September

– 213 cyclists got to wear the leader’s jersey since the inception of the event

2017 Stats

– 22 teams will ride this year’s edition (18 World Tour and 4 Pro Continental)

– Of these, only Caja Rural and Manzana Postobon are winless in the World Tour this season

– Aqua Blue Sport is set to become the first ever Irish team to race a Grand Tour

– The 72nd running of the race will cover 3297.7 kilometers and take the riders over 50 classified climbs

– Andorra and France are the two foreign countries which will be visited by the peloton

– The Vuelta will have eight new arrival locations: Nîmes, Gruissan. Grand Narbonne, Alcossebre, ElPozo Alimentación, Antequera, Tomares, Los Machucos. Monumento Vaca Pasiega and Santo Toribio de Liébana

– Sierra Nevada. Alto Hoya de la Mora – which will host the finish of stage 15 – is the highest point of this year’s race – 2510 meters

– Fabio Aru, Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali are the former winners present at the start of the race

– Chris Froome will try to become the third rider in history, after Jacques Anquetil (1963) and Bernard Hinault (1978), to win the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España double in the same season

– The cyclists who’ll line up at the start have won a combined total of 16 Grand Tours, 6 Monuments and over 100 Grand Tour stages

– Lotto-Soudal’s Adam Hansen is racing his 19th consecutive Grand Tour, after completing the previous 18

– Hernan Aguirre, Hernando Bohorquez, Richard Carapaz, Ivan Cortina, Anass Ait El Abdia, Kilian Frankiny, Lennard Hofstede, Enric Mas, Remy Mertz, Antonio Nibali, Domen Novak, Fernando Orjuela, Juan Felipe Osorio, Rafael Reis, Aldemar Reyes, Nikita Stalnov, Bernardo Suaza and Jimmy Turgis are the 18 neo-pros who will make their debut in a Grand Tour

– Youngest cyclist in the race is Lennard Kämna (20 years), while Svein Tuft is the oldest one (40 years)

– Daniel Moreno is the rider with the most editions started (10) and completed (10)

– Spain is the country with the most competitors (31), followed by France and Italy, with 20 each

2017 Vuelta a España Roadbook

2017 Vuelta a Espana Roadbook