After the last few weeks, we at VeloVoices were feeling a bit jaded about all the news from the US. So we decided to revisit why we love the sport in the first place – a renewal of vows, so to speak. Over the course of today, we’ll be posting up our ten reasons why we love cycling. Here is Kitty’s list, in no particular order!

1. Small teams who punch above their weight and take the big ‘super-teams’ out for a spanking.

Degenkolb of the Argonauts (Image courtesy of Argos-Shimano)

2. The feeling of liberation when you’re riding your bike on a beautiful day.

3. Tough riders who wouldn’t think of quitting, riding to the end of the stage bloodied and torn.

4. The fact that cyclists seem like very down-to-earth guys, for the most part, always ready to engage with their fans, whether it’s at the start of a race, the end of a race, at cycling shows or on Twitter.

The Gilberts (Twitter picture courtesy of Philippe Gilbert)

5. The fact that a race can change on a dime.

6. The really great people I’ve met (both in person and on Twitter) just through our mutual love of cycling.

7. Winners getting big bouquets of flowers, cuddly toys, tridents, floppy hats, their body weight in beer, cows …

8. The fierce joy of Jens Voigt.

#LiveJens (image courtesy of RadioShack-Nissan)

9. The history and beauty of the iconic races: Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Milan-San Remo, the Grand Tours.

10. The schnozz and haunches of Fabian Cancellara.

Cancellara at the Worlds, 2011 (Image courtesy of Danielle Haex)