It started so calmly. It was a beautiful, warm spring day, the whole of Belgium was out by the roadside and conditions were perfect for E3 Harelbeke‘s first year as a WorldTour race. Odds were on Fabian Cancellara to make it a hat-trick but everyone wanted to see what kind of form Tom Boonen was in on the run-up to Ronde van Vlaanderen. Well, we found out.
Daily Archives: March 23, 2012
Friday Feature: Anti-social media?
Social media – and in particular Twitter – has enriched the way fans interact with sport, sportspeople and each other. That increased accessibility is, by and large, very much a good thing. But not always.
We love social media here at VeloVoices. Of course, we have this blog. But there’s also our Facebook page, where provide more informal content with quick race results, photos, and whatever else happens to tickle our fancies. And then there’s our Twitter, which is the place to come for live race coverage and real-time chat, as well as being a vital source of information and entertainment which Kitty captures in her Tweets of the Week. If the blog is our equivalent of a Michelin-starred restaurant, then Facebook is our Pizza Express, while Twitter is our local coffee shop, where we catch up on the latest gossip. Continue reading
Criterium International preview
The Criterium International is a rather bizarre affair, running over the course of the weekend but featuring three stages, with a time trial running alongside a 90km stage on Saturday. It’s quite a popular race, with some of cycling’s biggest names at present competing to win a title won by some of cycling’s biggest names of days gone by.
What kind of race is it?
This year sees the 81st running of the Criterium International, a race won in the past by the likes of Jacques Anquetil, Sean Kelly, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Laurent Fignon. However, look at its past winners and you’ll notice that prior to 1979 they were all French – that’s because it was only opened to foreign riders after that date.