Cycling: It's mid-March. The cycling season is already in full swing. But the real highlights are yet to come. We are particularly looking forward to ten cycling moments in 2022.
1) Cycling fans at the edge of the track
The corona virus has occupied the whole world for over two years. Professional sport and thus cycling is also affected. At numerous important races, the number of spectators had to be severely restricted or even set to zero. The emotions of the fans are a big part of what makes this sport so unique live. In 2022, spectators should be allowed to attend almost all races again - and we look forward to these pictures.
2) Upheaval at Bora – hansgrohe
When Team NetApp was founded in 2010, no one could have guessed that this small German cycling team would one day become a world-class team. But at the latest when Peter Sagan was signed in 2017, it was clear: They mean business! Now the Slovakian triple world champion has left the team again and Bora - hansgrohe is facing a major upheaval. Also gone: Pascal Ackermann, Marcus Burghardt, Rüdiger Selig, Daniel Oss and many other long-time companions. International stars like Aleksandr Vlasov, Sergio Higuita, Sam Bennett and Jai Hindley have come. We look forward to continuing to follow the upheaval at Bora – hansgrohe. So far, things have always been uphill for the Raublinger racing team, but the summit has almost been reached.
3) Pogacar vs the rest of the world
Sport dominance is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the achievements are admirable, on the other hand, they quickly make the competition boring. With Tadej Pogacar, we are threatened with years of top-class dominance – and with it the associated boredom. But we don't really want to believe that yet. The Slovenian seems to be almost unbeatable at the moment, but the competition has positioned itself and will do everything possible to prevent the third tour win in a row. One against all – that has always been interesting in sport.
4) The women's Tour de France
After 2009 it's finally that time again: The Tour de France will also take place for women. Dubbed the “Tour de France Femmes”, the tour will be held over eight stages. It starts on July 24th in Paris and thus on the last day of the men's tour. A milestone has thus been reached in cycling, which should pave the way towards equality in this sport as well.
5) Van Aert is fighting for the green jersey
Even though the color of the Tour de France is yellow, France is of course also about the other classifications. We've seen a less exciting battle for green in recent years. But that will change in the future. In addition to the classic sprinter elite, Peter Sagan now also has competition on his terrain. Wout van Aert has announced that he wants to do the points classification. And the Belgian can certainly be trusted to pull this off successfully without the support of his team. Because the captain of Jumbo - Visma will probably continue to be Primoz Roglic with a view to the overall standings.
6) The development of Evenepoel
Remco Evenepoel, celebrated as the "new Eddy Merckx", hit like a bomb in his first year as a professional. But the young Belgian is still a long way from actually being able to compete for overall victory in a Grand Tour. While experts agree that this will happen soon, we are still watching the rough diamond take its first steps. If he actually lives up to the early praise, then we will never forget this early days of Remco Evenepoel. After all, most of us weren't there when Eddy Merckx successfully completed his laps.
7) Mountain finish & prologue at the Deutschland Tour
We have the Deutschland Tour missing. Between 2009 and 2017, the country's largest tour did not take place. In 2018 she was finally brought back to life. Now, in 2022, it will be extended by one day for the first time and, in addition to the four stages, will also include a prologue at the start. In addition, the climbers will appear for the first time. The third stage ends with a mountain arrival at Schauinsland. So let's look forward to them Deutschland Tour between December 24th and 28th.
8) Cycling World Championships in Australia
Australia is a cycling crazy nation or continent. The fact that the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race could not be held in 2021 and 2022 was a severe blow for the fans on site. They can now look forward to the World Championships all the more. In Wollongong, the women and men as well as the youngsters will fight for the medals from September 18th to 25th.
9) Sagan & Valverde's career history
Without a doubt: Peter Sagan and Alejandro Valverde are among the best professional cyclists of the past 20 years, maybe even of all time. It almost hurts to see that they can't really keep up with the best at the moment. While Alejandro Valverde has already announced the end of his career at the end of the season, Peter Sagan is still in the stars when he wants to hang up his bike. One thing is certain: Both will give their best in 2022 and will be at the start of the most important races in the world. Can they pull off another big win?
10) The Classics & Quick-Step Tactics
The one-day races in March and April are definitely a highlight every year. Especially when things get down to business on cobblestones, there is usually one team with several drivers at the front: Quick-Step! That will probably also be the case in 2022, even if the competition in other teams is getting tougher. The blue and white are no longer the clear favorites. So we can be all the more excited about the tactics of the Belgian team. How do you approach Paris – Roubaix and how do you plan to dominate the home race in Flanders?