2021-10-04 16:05
Come winter, cycling-wise, Australia lives rent free in my head. While I battle with the 4pm sunsets of northern EnglandContinue Reading Read More
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Ragtime Cyclist | Cycling, Pro Cycling, And The Bi Blog
ragtimecyclist.com
cycling, pro cycling, and the bits inbetween
2021-10-04 16:02
Essential Bib-Shorts: £88.59 Whilst not a ‘rule’ following slave to conformity I generally take some convincing to stray from blackContinue Reading Read More
2021-09-24 11:43
My cycle-centric social media feed was awash recently with images of steep tarmac, low cloud, and gurning cyclists suffering andContinue Reading Read More
2021-09-23 10:04
Big bike rides are high profile right now. You’ve got the likes of Emily Chappell doing extraordinary things and writingContinue Reading Read More
2021-09-03 15:37
Magnus Cort is the perfect cyclist. He is not achieving super-human feats, he is not a robotic winning machine, he’sContinue Reading Read More
2021-08-24 15:12
Standing at the hob, I’m watching onions cook, waiting for caramelisation. Gently, carefully, don’t burn. Twelve minutes, minimum. This isContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-17 18:19
Today’s time-trial, through the vineyards of Bordeaux, was a little lacking in entertainment. The spectacle suffered for two reasons. First,Continue Reading Read More
2021-07-16 15:48
This is the problem, see. In the early hours of yesterday morning fifty gendarmes searched the hotel of the BahrainContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-15 18:02
The day began, in Pau, with a police raid. Just like old times. Hotel doors knocked on, ‘evidence’ gathered, forContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-14 20:13
We were getting to the point of the race where it was noted that Tadej Pogacar had thus far ‘only’Continue Reading Read More
2021-07-13 17:31
I’m not going to be that cushy armchair cycling fan who calls Stage 16 a day off for the mainContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-11 17:49
Deep into today’s massive mountainous schlepp through the Pyrenees, the riders crested the Port d’Envalira. At two thousand four hundredContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-10 19:31
I am a sucker for a downhill Pyrenean stage finish in the Tour de France. It’s my favourite genre ofContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-09 19:02
The town of Carcasonne brings to mind folklore, medieval fortification, and exquisite winding streets escarped with god-awful stalls selling touristContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-08 20:15
Embedded in the race and commentating from the back of a Eurosport moto, Bradley Wiggins was getting excited. Thirty kilometresContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-07 18:24
Yesterday, Stage 10, Belgian superstar all-rounder Wout van Aert took second place in a bunch sprint behind Mark Cavendish. Today,Continue Reading Read More
2021-07-06 18:36
Back in his pomp (the old pomp, before this current, late career pomp), Mark Cavendish was known for his lead-outContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-04 17:33
It was a mucky, wet, cold day in the Alps. Single figures temperatures. Grim. Given the choice you’d peel backContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-04 07:34
When the breakaway went clear after fifty of today’s whopping near two-hundred-and-fifty kilometre Stage 7 to Le Creusot, we blinked,Continue Reading Read More
2021-07-04 07:31
There was a moment, with around thirty kilometres of today’s mountainous alpine stage remaining, when Tadej Pogacar could hold backContinue Reading Read More
2021-07-01 20:18
They’re like buses. You wait five years for one and two appear at once. Mark Cavendish, the fastest man inContinue Reading Read More
2021-06-30 19:32
In this, the era of wafer-thin Grand Tour winning margins, reigning Tour champ and visually adolescent boy Tadej Pogacar hasContinue Reading Read More
2021-06-29 19:44
Thirteen years ago he lit up the race as a mouthy kid to win career Tour de France stage numberContinue Reading Read More
2021-06-28 17:46
The Tour has a crash problem. Or maybe a risk problem? We peeped out from between our fingers today asContinue Reading Read More
2021-06-27 18:54
I see your jubilant stage win and accompanying Yellow Jersey, Monsieur Alaphilippe, and I raise it, said Dutch uber-cyclist MathieuContinue Reading Read More
2021-06-26 19:31
As we edge gently out from the Covid pandemic, we would all agree that fans at the road-side of aContinue Reading Read More
2021-06-23 13:09
Mathieu van der Poel, superhuman Dutchman and acknowledged God of cycling, will soon be making his Tour de France debut.Continue Reading Read More
2021-05-30 19:24
Towards the end of his ride today Filippo Ganna, overwhelming favourite to win this final stage time-trial, punctured. He pulledContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-29 19:02
If Damiano Caruso was a British cyclist his nickname would almost certainly be ‘Robbo.’ As in ‘Robinson’ Caruso. A playContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-28 16:31
There’s something cat-like about Simon Yates. I think it’s the tendon-taught climbing style, controlled and deliberate. If he fell fromContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-27 18:47
Today, into the final fifteen kilometres, Alberto Bettiol looked a million dollars. Race leader Remi Cavagna, holding him at bayContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-26 18:58
With seven kilometres of the final eleven-kilometre climb of Sega di Ala remaining Dan Martin was pulling pain faces. ButContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-24 17:58
What happens on the Passo Giau stays on the Passo Giau. Not because Egan Bernal misbehaved, Vegas-style, as he ascendedContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-23 18:54
The landscape for Stage 15 was pretty and green. The peloton rolled across the countryside, criss-crossing the border between ItalyContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-22 16:33
You know Egan Bernal and Simon Yates. You’re familiar with Vincenzo Nibali, Remco Evenepoel and Dan Martin. You might evenContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-21 18:36
For the most successful runner-up in Giro history, the most decorated of all the losers, today was the day forContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-20 19:31
For a few kilometres, down the descent of the final climb of the day, we were treated to a mini-masterclassContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-19 19:29
In the end we find ourselves talking about Remco. This is the story. The travails of Belgian superstar Evenepoel, theContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-17 18:05
With fifty kilometres to go, and on the single categorised climb of the stage, Peter Sagan hatched a plan. HeContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-16 19:21
You know Egan Bernal. The feline pedal stroke, the sturdy beak-like nose, the Tour de France speckled palmarés. He’s aContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-15 16:12
We haven’t seen much of Remco Evenepoel so far in this Giro d’Italia. The King of Belgium, the next EddyContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-14 16:24
During these Covid times, Giacomo Nizzolo is cleared to travel. We know this, because he has his papers slapped acrossContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-13 20:15
With sixty kilometres remaining in this first, true mountain stage in the Apennines, Team Ineos were leaving us in noContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-12 20:56
On paper, and viewed from our vantage point as non-pro cyclists, going about our hum-drum lives and in search ofContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-11 20:00
If you’ve watched your share of pro cycling over the last decade, you know Alessandro De Marchi. Flat of back,Continue Reading Read More
2021-05-10 19:26
There was a moment, seventeen kilometres from the finish, when Swiss rider Simon Pellaud attacked his breakaway companions on theContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-09 19:07
For Stage 2, way up in the far north west of Italy, the peloton meandered their way down the PoContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-08 16:28
A trial-trial is not everyone’s idea of entertainment. Today’s Stage 1 – a prologue – was a shortened version. AContinue Reading Read More
2021-05-07 19:57
Here we are, on the brink of the Giro d’Italia of 2021. As races go, it’s not short of clichésContinue Reading Read More
2021-04-15 19:42
As a rule I steer clear of nostalgia. I’m not un-romantic but I find the fuzzy sentimentality of days goneContinue Reading Read More
2021-04-12 19:56
Here we are, mid-April in the north of England, and I’ve ridden my bike once this year in shorts. AContinue Reading Read More
2021-04-04 19:33
Predicting bike races is a mug’s game. A game made easier this year by the utter spanking dominance of WoutContinue Reading Read More
2021-03-22 21:56
You can’t have night without day, yin without yang, or an adrenaline-fuelled white-knuckle finish at Milan-Sanremo without the six, long,Continue Reading Read More
2021-03-18 19:29
For some years now, Dutch cycling sensation Mathieu van der Poel has demonstrated some of the classic hallmarks of theContinue Reading Read More
2021-03-08 19:10
Pro cycling is a beautiful sport, and Tuscany is a beautiful place, so the sheer visual spectacle of Strade Bianche,Continue Reading Read More
2021-03-01 19:08
Invani Base Layer: £30 ***Limited time offer – visit the Invani home page and enter your email address: 1 inContinue Reading Read More
2021-02-25 20:43
The café stop used to be de rigeur. A social event. Sometimes better than the ride itself. The promise ofContinue Reading Read More
2021-02-18 16:35
I think we have probably agreed by this point that the mind is a powerful thing. That to be aContinue Reading Read More
2021-02-10 20:12
You might be familiar with the Union Cycliste Internationale, the UCI, the governing body for all things cycling. Don’t beContinue Reading Read More
2021-02-09 20:57
Sometimes, tragically, it’s not possible to go for a bike ride. Perhaps work commitments are getting in the way. MaybeContinue Reading Read More
2021-02-08 19:15
I’m a cyclist, and you’re probably a cyclist, which means we both check the weather an awful lot. We have a well-usedContinue Reading Read More
2021-01-31 19:23
You might remember that EF Pro Cycling went nuts with their kit at the Giro d’Italia last year. In orderContinue Reading Read More
2021-01-27 20:34
Chris Froome is pretty old. For a cyclist, at least. He’s 35 at time of writing, or to put itContinue Reading Read More
2021-01-25 19:39
Tom Dumoulin is tired. Unhappy. He’s done. He’s outta here. One minute giving enthused spiel to the Cycling Podcast aboutContinue Reading Read More
2021-01-24 20:06
My little corner of Lancashire is a warren of country lanes that criss-cross, link up, and loop around to provideContinue Reading Read More
2021-01-21 20:10
Bike racing is a bit thin on the ground, you may have noticed. The Tour Down Under was cancelled, toContinue Reading Read More
2021-01-20 20:14
A Sunday morning ride, with one friend, local, not getting too close to each other, and conversation is a struggle.Continue Reading Read More
2021-01-17 18:27
The Grand Tour Files 2020: click here to buy in paperback or kindle e-book. On one hand we had aContinue Reading Read More
2020-12-15 19:43
Seven hours and twenty-three minutes. Come mid-December that’s how much daylight we have left to play with here in theContinue Reading Read More
2020-12-11 18:47
Come mid-December, every year, that mental light bulb marked ‘Tour Down Under’ flickers into life. I think huh…oh yeah…nearly there.Continue Reading Read More
2020-12-07 18:32
I returned home from a bike ride this weekend to be met my youngest son. He was a bit concerned.Continue Reading Read More
2020-11-26 20:39
The pro cycling transfer season has been and gone for another year. Which means, in readiness for 2021, riders areContinue Reading Read More
2020-11-14 09:05
No-one likes a wheel-sucker: a cyclist who sits on your rear wheel, basking in your slipstream while you do allContinue Reading Read More
2020-11-12 19:45
I don’t enjoy every autumnal-wintry ride; sometimes it’s grim. I’m not saying you shouldn’t Zwift, or turbo, or curate yourContinue Reading Read More
2020-11-08 17:36
Laps around Madrid, back-slaps, photo-ops: you know the script. As the riders swallowed up the city streets, the late autumnalContinue Reading Read More
2020-11-07 17:23
In a sense, when the riders crossed the line at the summit of la Covatilla, they flipped back from athletesContinue Reading Read More
2020-11-06 18:28
Yesterday, a couple of sprinters – Philipsen and Ackerman – made it over the hills to contest a sprint. Today,Continue Reading Read More
2020-11-05 20:26
I see what the Vuelta bosses are doing in this final week. Rather than a succession of vertiginous mountain adventuresContinue Reading Read More
2020-11-04 20:04
Predicting bike races is often a fool’s game. Lot’s of variables, see. Form, tiredness, and fundamental talent being but three.Continue Reading Read More
2020-11-03 17:24
For a short while today we obsessed over how quickly each rider could dismount one bike, mount another, clip in,Continue Reading Read More
2020-11-01 17:19
Everything you’ve heard about the Angliru is true; it’s a terrible climb. In a world of exaggeration and hyperbole itContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-31 17:41
Too tough to be fun. For both riders and viewers. Three first category climbs led us to a summit finishContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-30 16:56
We could do with some kind of wacky moustache notification system. Surely the big tech companies can solve this forContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-29 20:15
The autonomous community of Castile and Leon is big, and empty. People, for some reason, don’t live here. As theContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-28 21:15
You have to hand it to those charge of the Vuelta; they know exactly what they’re doing. They know thatContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-27 19:15
“Shake hands with him and you’d better count your fingers afterwards,” said Eurosport’s Carlton Kirby of Spaniard Omar Fraile. “GentlemanContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-25 21:09
Peering through the gloom it was possible to make out some cyclists. Groups of them, in dribs and drabs, survivingContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-25 17:41
Bradley Wiggins was rambling and emotional in the Eurosport commentary box. Sir Dave Brailsford, team boss at Ineos, was cuddlingContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-24 16:38
It’s a niche area of interest, admittedly, but I could happily spend an afternoon watching Tim Wellens ride his bike.Continue Reading Read More
2020-10-24 15:02
Time, as Albert Einstein was fond of telling anyone who’d listen, is a relative concept. Today, Stage 20, pushed thatContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-23 18:07
The last time we saw Sam Bennett was on the Champs Elysees, green bike raised above his green head, havingContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-23 16:34
With ten kilometres to go a chasing group of five were riding hard, through-and-off like clockwork. Working together, sharing theContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-22 16:43
Dan Martin is not a pretty sight in full flight. His is not the liquid pedal stroke of a RichardContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-22 15:21
Stage 18 was about the Passo dello Stelvio. Twenty-five kilometres from bottom to top. Up into the sky. This placeContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-21 20:24
Are we sure this is a Grand Tour? Can someone check? Where is the caginess and the calculation? Why isContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-21 19:47
Ben O’Connor, the bean-pole Aussie climber, really wants to be a pro cyclist. The main sponsor of his team, NTT,Continue Reading Read More
2020-10-20 19:44
It’s been a weird year. We all know that. But overlapping Grand Tours? A Giro and a Vuelta, in October.Continue Reading Read More
2020-10-20 18:24
Half-way up the final climb of the day and Aussie Ben O’Connor made his move. Casting thoughts of a resignedContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-18 15:25
Joao Almeida, Grand Tour debutant and long-time Pink Jersey, faced the fight of his young life. On the steep rampsContinue Reading Read More
2020-10-17 16:17
In a Grand Tour, the main contenders often finish on the same time on a given day. In a time-trial,Continue Reading Read More
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