"Fondos" they call them, in Italy; in France it's "Sportifs" and in Spain it's "Marchas". The cycling press is full of them, VeloVeritas decided to take a look at these increasingly fashionable "mass participation events." Who better to ask then, than Paul Coates - as well as hurting everyones' legs in the first half of the Scottish road season, Paul is one of the top protagonists in French Sportifs. We also speak to Adam Syme and Dave Chapman about their experiences in these events too.
The nationals are one of my favourite events of the season. The race is strange because I have no specific job to do, no pulling on the front, no marking, no driving the break and no one to let down apart from myself. The first British Elite Championships I took part in were in 2008, somewhere in Yorkshire.
It's Christmas time, which means the first half of the off-season is coming to an end. Time has flown by since finishing up my season in Belgium mid-October. The body was certainly in need of recovery, after hitting the ground too many times in the second half of the season. Not least because on two occassions I was hit by cars, with the last time coming just a week before the end of the season...
I bought most of the 'quality' Sundays, yesterday - to see what they had to say about the Giro d'Italia 2012. The Observer and Times ? nada. The Independent at least had the result. The Herald had a micro mug shot of Phinn