Aloha from Maui! As I enjoy my vacation in Maui, doing my tradewinds training, I started to think about about the month ahead.. If you are as passionate about cycling as I am, the next 30 to 45 days is going to be jam packed with top-notch cycling events.
First up are the Olympics. It is the eve of the men's road race and, although it may not have the drama of the Tour or a spring classic, we should be treated to an exciting finish. Considering the way he won the last two sprint stages at the Tour, if Cavendish can avoid the crashes and make it over Box Hill he has a great shot to win gold. Sunday's treat is the women's road race followed by the time trial events on Wednesday. The track events kick off on Thursday through Tuesday the 7th with BMX and Mountain Bike events on Aug 10-12. Not sure if all of the events will be shown by NBC (at least in the US) but definitely check online at Cycling CEO to look for live, online streaming.
Running concurrently during the Olympics are the Eneco Tour in Europe and the Tour of Utah in the US. The Eneco Tour marks the return of Alberto Contador to the peloton. I would expect that he will use this event to get his race legs under him in preparation for the Vuelta.
The Tour of Utah started as a domestic stage race and recently has increased its stature as a UCI World Tour event. The organizers have done a great job of creating stages which, combined with the dry heat, will create some challenging conditions for the riders. Although most of the teams will use this as a preparation for the Pro Cycling Challenge, I expect the domestic pro teams to put on a great show to prove they can compete.
August 18th gives us the start of the last grand tour, the Vuelta a Espana. Bjarne Riis, the Director of Team Saxo Bank/Tinkoff, has stated unequivocally that Contador must win this event. If Joaquim Rodriguez can ride with the same form he showed in the Giro and Chris Froome isn't burned out by having completed the Tour and the Olympics, we should be treated to some great battles in the mountains!
In the US, we will be treated to the second running of the US Pro Cycling Challenge on August 20-26. I am sure we will see some good racing but how good remains to be seen. As a cycling fan, it is great to see professional cycling in the US. As a competitive cyclist, I hope that it is more competitive this year than last year (I thought some of the stages were downright boring to watch!).
As always, if you have questions, comments, thoughts, etc., please leave them below or send me an email. And, if you like what you see here, head on over to the Cycling CEO website to see more exciting information.
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