As we approach the third month of the year, the racing season shifts into high gear, with action centered around Europe.
Men's racing in March
For the men, March features no less than three WorldTour stage races: Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. These races bring plenty of GC contenders and stage hunters into the spotlight, with provisional start lists featuring big names such as:
Paris-Nice: Jonas Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgensen, João Almeida, Sam Welsford, Mads Pedersen, and Mattias Skjelmose.
Tirreno-Adriatico: Mathieu van der Poel, Biniam Girmay, Jonathan Milan, Adam & Simon Yates, Olav Kooij, and Mikel Landa.
Volta Ciclista a Catalunya: Richard Carapaz, Kaden Groves, Primož Roglič, Jonas Vingegaard, Mikel Landa, Adam Yates, and Juan Ayuso.
But March is not just about stage racing, it is also when the Belgian Classics truly begin! Starting already with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on March 1st, followed by other belgian classics like: Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (March 2nd) Classic Brugge-De Panne (March 26th), E3 Saxo Classic (March 28th), and Gent-Wevelgem(March 30th)
Beyond the cobbles, March also brings contains some big Italian races like the iconic Strade Bianche which takes place on March 8th. It is a race where the defending winner and world champion Tadej Pogačar will be in action. Later in the month, also on Italian soil, it will be time for the first monument of the year: Milano-Sanremo. A race that is often decided on the iconic Poggio, but maybe this year we see a rider like Pogačar attacking early on the Cipressa?
Women’s Racing in March
On the women’s side, March includes the Vuelta a Extremadura Femenina, along with a series of classics races.The women’s peloton will race Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Omloop van het Hageland, GP Oetingen, Brugge-De Panne, and Gent-Wevelgem, where stars like the defending world champion Lotte Kopecky and European champion Lorena Wiebes are on the provisional start lists.
The women will also take on their own edition of Strade Bianche, and for the first time ever, they will compete in Milano-Sanremo! — It is going to very exciting seeing the women getting to battle it out on the iconic climbs!
Some people don’t believe the cycling season starts until the opening Weekend with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. And while I do believe otherwise (I have been watching races for the past two months already! 😆), I can see why, because from now on, the season really intensifies!
You can download the overview here:
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