Monthly Archives: September 2013
World Championships: Elite Men’s Road Race
Way back in May when I was in Florence to catch a Giro stage, seeing this ad planted the idea in my head of coming to see the Worlds. I can’t remember exactly when I actually planned my travels to make sure I would be here for the cycling, but today’s race was the … Continue reading
World Championships: Jr Men’s & Elite Women’s Road Races
The Junior Men rode a 140 kilometer road race this morning which included 5 laps on the Florence/Fiesole climbing circuit. On their first lap, who was in the 15 man breakaway but my new favorite junior man, Zeke Mostov of the United States. The gap was over 4 minutes back to the peloton where … Continue reading
World Championships: Jr Women’s & U23 Men’s Road Races
As great as the time trial is, the road race is the heart of cycling since this is what these athletes compete in most often. The Junior Women raced 5 laps, for a total of just under 83 kilometers. About 2 kilometers in, the course featured a slow and steady climb with a couple of … Continue reading
World Championships: rest day
Just because there were no races today doesn't mean there wasn't cycling to watch. With the road races starting tomorrow, today the national teams got to scout out the course on traffic-free roads. The Algerian team stopped to discuss the morning's ride. The 2 minibuses carrying the Canadian team drove right by me … Continue reading
World Championships: Elite Men’s ITT
Today was the first day of the World Championships that actually had any degree of a festive atmosphere, to be honest. The elite men's ITT promised to be a big day with several contenders expected to be within striking distance of the coveted rainbow jersey. Since it was going to be such a big day, … Continue reading
World Championships: Elite Women’s ITT
After the excitement of the Junior Men’s ITT, I was happy for the 25 minute walk back to the center of town to let the adrenaline in my system settle down. Fien had arrived from Belgium to be my official spectating partner for the rest of the week, starting with the women’s ITT in the … Continue reading
World Championships: Jr Men’s ITT
The first event of the day was the Junior Men’s 22 kilometer ITT and I was pumped! Two of the first 3 riders to start were Uzbek and I try to never miss an opportunity to cheer for my favorite doubly landlocked country. My plan was to see the last couple hundred meters of the … Continue reading
World Championships: Jr Women’s & U23 Men’s ITTs
I had a great time at the Junior Women's individual time trial this morning. Because women's cycling unfortunately doesn't have the same appeal as men's, I was able to watch the race from a couple of different spots and even see some of the pre-race behind the scenes logistical stuff I find so fascinating. … Continue reading
World Championships: TTT
Day 1 of the World Championships! As I explained to at least 15 different people in 2 different languages (apparently the French were better informed than English and Spanish speakers) throughout the day, today was the only day all week when the cyclists would ride for their trade teams as opposed to riding for … Continue reading
TTT test run
I'm back in Florence for the second time this year and both times I've been here, it's been to watch cycling. The UCI World Championships will take place in the city over the coming week, starting tomorrow with the team time trial. Today was the first day the organizers closed the course to cars, … Continue reading