PREVIEW
Get ready for the drama and passion of cycling’s most revered one-day races with our guide to the top contenders
It’s the time of year we’ve all been waiting for. The winter chill is retreating, the clocks go back next weekend, and best of all, the Classics are upon us.
While the casual cycling fan might be waiting for the hot, languorous summer days of the Grand Tours, the connoisseurs of the sport k now that right now is the part of the season to be savoured with a special appreciation. We want cobbles and punchy climbs, strong attacks and stronger beer – and we want it all to be decided by teatime.
Picture the scene: a crisp morning in a picturesque European town square, the air vibrating with anticipation as the peloton gathers, each rider knowing that within a few hours their dreams will be realised or dashed. With all the intrigue and romance of the smash hit OneDay, we revisit the same cast of characters (with a sprinkling of newcomers) on these same few days each year – to find out how their form, their temperament and their toughness have evolved. Will they have what it takes this time around? And the answer will come, everything will unfold, over the course of just one day.
It’s rarely predictable, never a repeat; it’s the fusion of history, tradition, and fer vent fandom that sets the Classics apart. These are races steeped in legend, where the hallowed bergs bear witness to new triumphs and tribulations as they echo with those of the past.
Fans line the routes, from the cobblestone streets of Belgium to the winding roads of France and the Netherlands, they flock in droves, braving the elements to cheer on their heroes. It’s a spectacle that transcends sport, a celebration of cycling’s rich heritage and enduring spirit.
MEN’S CONTENDERS
THE UNBEATABLE DUO
The great cycling rivalry of modern times will once more be renewed this spring, with one rider, for once, firmly up on the other. The supremacy of Mathieu van de Poel will have a very visible emblem as he races the cobbled Classics over the next few weeks, in the form of the rainbow jersey he earned by winning the World Championships in Glasgow last summer. His success in 2023 ex tended far beyond the Worlds, which was the last triumph of an unprecedented hattrick that also included the Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix Monuments, all won through solo attacks of unstoppable force. These were results that put him into the record books, and sealed his place among the all-time great Classics riders.
A mong the defeated on all three of those occasions was Wout van Aert, who is growing increasingly frustrated by his inability to win the most soughtafter Classics. As much as he has wowed us with his ability to excel on all terrains, and been a prolific winner of semi-Classics, Van Aert has still only ever won one Monument (the
