Novara - Fossano 166 km Act 2 of “get over the hump and you get to sprint for the win” Estimated finish time: 17:00-17:25 CEST Tomato and mozzarella of the Day: Olav Kooij Let’s assume UAE cool their jets a little and we get a more normal straightforward stage. Official Site , Startlist ..read more

Le Carpont Plouguin > Lannilis 204 km French dirtroad championships in Bretagne. Estimated finish time: 16:50 CEST French peasant of the Day: Hugo Page Just the right level of quality and small team anonymity. Official Site , Startlist ..read more

Photo by LUCA BETTINI/AFP via Getty Images UAE Emirates’ Tadej Pogačar was always the heavy favorite to win the 2024 Giro d’Italia. The biggest question was whether he could pass up any of the early opportunities to assert his dominance. And so far, the answer is a resounding “no.” In classic, predictably aggressive fashion, Pogačar seized the first major finishing climb of the race, the ascent to Santuario Oropa in the Alpine foothills north of Torino, to win stage 2 of the Giro and take his first maglia rosa. Pogačar overcame a brief slip on a flat front tire just as the final climb was set ..read more

Venaria Reale - Torino 140 km Grand Tour season kicks off for the men as well with the most beautiful one of all. Estimated finish time: 17:05-17:25 CEST Gran Torino of the Day: Julian Alaphilippe A crazy gamble to start the race off. Official Site , Startlist ..read more

Stage 1: Valencia 16 km Team Time Trial First of the big stage races of the year for the women kicks off hot on the heels of one of the best and most competitive Ardennes weeks. Much of the same same stars are here plus a few more. Time for phase 2 of the 2024 season. Unit of the Day: SD Worx-Protime Lidl-Trek and Canyon also have impressive squads here but SD Worx may have the one where they absolutely have no weak link they have to hold back for. Visma also has a very even and strong team. Official Site , Startlist ..read more

Prologue (Timetrial) Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Timetrial Stage 4 Stage 5 Official Site , Startlist ..read more

Liège - Liège 254.5 km / Bastogne-Liège 152.9 km Final day of the spring classics and all the bigs who’ve got a leg to stand on are here. Expected finish times: 16:10-16:45 CEST / 17:40-18:05 CEST LU Biscuits of the Day: Tadej Pogacar & Demi Vollering The two soul crushers go head to head here and I’m going to say MvdP still has a little too much junk in the trunk to beat the skinny guys in Liège. Meanwhile my broken-clock strategy with Vollering is bound to pay off at some point. Official Site , Startlist Women , Startlist Men ..read more

Photo by Murat Pancar/Anadolu via Getty Images Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 7 Stage 8 Official Site , Startlist ..read more

Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images Charleroi - Huy 198.6 km / Huy - Huy 146 km Welcome to the uphill sprint World Championships. Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday. Expected finish times: 16:10-16:40 CEST / 17:45-18:10 CEST Murderers of the Day: Dylan Teuns & Demi Vollering Teuns is a wily old dude at this point, on form and knows how to time this. Unless some of the young guns are on a spectacular day he might have this. And Vollering has to start winning things again at some point. Doesn’t she? Official Site , Startlist Women , Startlist Men ..read more

Photo by ANP via Getty Images Unless you’re asking about the women I’ve been to plenty of fun movies in my life, being of a certain age, and a large slice of that experience is the sports film. A typical sports film creates some sort of compelling sports conflict which builds and smolders and works its way to a stunning sports conclusion that solves the entire conflict. People at the cinema might even cheer a bit, because the actors can definitely hear them through the screen and the projector and whatnot. But what if sports movies were more like real life? Take Rocky III, probably the spicies ..read more