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About last year from a personal point of view. My cycling pieces for It’s All Sport To Me focused on nine major races that make up the best of the season. From the five Monuments, the three Grand Tours and one World Championship, these are the races I have always penned words for but this year I aim to go further and delve deeper into the Spring Classics and other important stage races.

A year ago today I was already planning my Milan-Sanremo preview piece (doing the same right now as it so happens!), skipping the Opening Weekend and the UAE Tour. No early season pieces did give me some relief to write about other sports, but to the best of my ability, I will to try to improve my writing for 2022.

Planning ahead, I am going to experiment a writing style to mix my pieces up, but do read on as below you’ll find all my thoughts on recent races throughout February as well as the first WorldTour events on the calendar including the UAE Tour and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

For the third successive year, the cycling season has started without Australian races. One has to wonder whether the Tour Down Under will ever return, a race that has always allowed fans to see the colours of the peloton for the very first time. In my view it would be a shame if the race ever had to cancel for the foreseeable.

I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that but despite a lack of Australian stage racing, early European season in 2022 has brought about some fascinating moments. Whether that was Nairo Quintan’s Montagne de Lure descent at the Tour de la Provence, Remco Evenepoel’s ride at the Volta ao Algarve or Michael Woods already in decent form at the Gran Camino in Spain.

One WorldTour stage race complete, the UAE Tour, I cannot tell you have much of a thrill it was to see Belgian cobbles back on my TV screen. I’m probably repeating myself but there’s nothing better than the Flemish flags, long straight roads, bergs and riders having to survive the pavé. Include a cheeky Belgian beer either on location or as the couch pelotons many of us cycling fans are – it’s an Opening Weekend sorted!

Time for my conclusions, my brainstorming of thoughts, off the back of an excellent February’s racing. The road cycling season is back and I’m thrilled! Here are some talking points…

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad: How far can Wout van Aert go?

Opening Weekend, where the Spring Classics are on the horizon but we actually get to glimpse who’s hot and who’s not.

I mentioned in my preview piece how for so many riders, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was their first race of 2022. For the race winner Wout van Aert, winning the 77th edition was indeed his first appearance of the season. Timely and significant, the Belgian champion was impressive once again, a rider who has started 2022 where he left 2021 off.

Attacking solo with 13km to go, Van Aert made the decisive move just ahead of the final climb with brutal cobbles to go with it. The Bosberg after the iconic Muur-Kapelmur in Geraardsbergen isn’t exactly the hardest of all the Flemish bergs, but for Het Nieuwsblad since the changing of the route a few years ago, it’s placed perfectly for someone to lay down a marker.

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There was no chance of Wout Van Aert looking back, a 27-year-old showing once again why he’s a top contender to win his first Ronde van Vlaanderen come April. On the day, he became the first rider to win Omloop on his first race day in 42 years. I have to question what cycling, let alone the Spring Classics, would be like without him. We’d be poorer for it if others didn’t have the competition Wout Van Aert offers and that’s taking into account what this talented rider can do – Classics specialist, sprinter, time trialist and climber.

Wout van Aert is incredible but how far can he go? He came second to one of his greatest rivals Mathieu van der Poel at the Ronde in 2020 by the narrowest of margins. Winning a second Monument and maybe even more, such as a Paris-Roubaix, will be the target this Spring.

Jumbo-Visma must also be commended for how they approached the Opening Weekend. Tiesj Benoot dictated quite a bit of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in an attack group, and when he went backwards, new recruit from Cofidis, Christophe Laporte rode onwards. Jumbo-Visma didn’t need to do too much work and although Laporte was caught and Mike Teunissen didn’t win the final sprint, it’s clear that Jumbo-Visma are not all about Wout Van Aert.

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne: Nothing but joy for Jakobsen

What a phenomenal race the 74th Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne was! Pre-race, with a new route and more hills added to the parcours, questions were posed as to whether pure sprinters could actually make it to finish. Lotto Soudal’s Caleb Ewan was one of these names as was Quick-Step’s Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen plus Israel Premier Tech’s Giacomo Nizzolo to name but a few.

In fairness, a few hills this early on in the season wasn’t going to pose much trouble for the fast men. Pressure on the climbs from teams such as INEOS, Jumbo-Visma, UAE Team Emirates and AG2R did make life difficult including Fabio Jakobsen. His team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl had a terrible Het Nieuwsblad, Florian Sénéchal the best placed rider at ninth, the reason why Patrick Lefevere’s Wolfpack always never seem to do well at Omloop over the years a strange one!

Yet for all the determination other teams had to try and distance a few sprinters but it didn’t work. Fabio Jakobsen’s sprint train was exceptional as he zoomed straight past the final escapees with 200m remaining. It was close, the break could have taken Kuurne, but to also beat Caleb Ewan, what we saw was magical sprinting and teamwork from Quick-Step.

Since his horror crash in Poland two years ago, the bounce back by Fabio Jakobsen is nothing short of incredible. Fans knew how good the Dutchman was before the setback, it feels as if we’re catching up on how good the young man is!

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UAE Tour: Can anyone stop Tadej Pogačar?

Two-times Tour de France champion, riding for UAE-Team Emirates and starting his first race of the year at his team’s ‘home’ race, Tadej Pogačar certainly stamped his authority upon others.

Despite suffering from a puncture on Stage 5, just one day after an impressive stage win atop Jebel Jais, the 23-year-old Slovenian (yes he’s still only 23!) looked nowhere near beatable. A fourth place in the 9km time trial on Stage 3 also summed up how brilliant this Grand Tour supremo is. To make things even better, the second uphill finish was also taken by Pogačar, a second successive red jersey in the UAE Tour secure.

Nobody got close, the GC a repeat result from last year with INEOS Grenadiers helping Adam Yates to take second overall again. But focusing on Tadej Pogačar, what we have here is a rider who once again will be the man to stop at the Tour de France. The question we are all asking is who can beat him? Egan Bernal has suffered a setback after a horror crash, Jumbo-Visma with Primož Roglič can always be depended upon but for two years in a row he hasn’t succeeded.

To make things better or worse (depending on your view), UAE have strengthened over the winter. Former pink jersey wearer, who has finished fourth and sixth at the Giro in the past two years, João Almeida has joined from Quick-Step and Kiwi George Bennett, one of the best climbers in the peloton, now rides for UAE.

Add to this Rafał Majka from last year and you’ve got a very strong team to help Tadej Pogačar. What Almeida in particular did well at the UAE Tour was closing gaps and powering past anyone he could sweep up. Whether the Portuguese rider goes to the Giro for himself or the Tour is another question.

For now though, Tadej Pogačar is in prime position to win a third Tour in a row. It is scary how nobody seems to able to beat him. Excitement also builds as Pogačar aims to ride the Tour of Flanders this April – who knows what he could do!

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Early season in France

Looking at the early season, there are three races in France I’d like to pick up upon. At the Tour des Alpes Maritimes du Var we saw an absolutely phenomenal attack by Nairo Quintana to seal the race title, a win that followed overall victory at the Tour de la Provence. Grand Tours are realistically not achievable anymore for the Colombian but wins at stage races are not.

A word must go to Filippo Ganna. The time trial world champion may not have won the UAE Tour’s only TT but I think we must not overlook how good the Italian is on the road. Since taking Stage 5 of the Giro solo in 2020, we’ve seen Ganna at a really impressive level of performance, motoring along, powering to victory and also keeping sprinters and GC hopeful at INEOS safe. Taking stage wins at Provence in a time trial prologue and also the final stage at the Etoile de Bessèges, winning against the clock isn’t always what Filippo Ganna is capable of. More to come from Ganna no doubt.

Away from France, a quick mention to the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal. Remco Evenepoel took the overall win plus a stage to go with it. After a steep learning curve at the Giro last year, I fully expect the young Belgian to be better in 2022 but on the other hand I don’t think the pressure we put on Remco Evenepoel’s young shoulders is justified. There’s talent but let’s not expect too much from him too early in his career.

Premature sprint tallies

Who has taken a win so far? Elia Viviani is back at the INEOS Grenadiers five years after leaving for Quick-Step. Stage 1 of the Tour de la Provence was a welcome win for the Italian. He may not have had the full quality of rivals to take on, but scoring a win against Bryan Coquard (who took Stage 2) and leaving Arnaud Démare winless, satisfaction is the right word for Viviani at this point.

Wins for Caleb Ewan on Stage 1 of the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var got the Australia off the mark, Coquard once again got a win at Etoile de Bessèges but what about fellow Frenchman Benjamin Thomas. Formerly specialised on the track, Thomas has achieved numerous top ten’s in sprints before but to take one at Bessèges and win the race overall, it can be seen as a small step for the Cofidis rider.

Mads Pedersen also took Stage 1 of the Etoile de Bessèges, the former road world champion can sprint at the best of times and should be in the mix for more this season.

For the overall picture of sprint victories, especially at the WorldTour race we’ve had so far, both Jasper Philpsen and Mark Cavendish getting off the mark in the Middle East. Impressive enough for Philipsen that he rides for Alpecin-Fenix who are not a WorldTour team but ride like they should be. Already a three-times stage winner at the Vuelta and coming close to sprint wins at the Tour last year, Jasper Philipsen should be a marked man for the Grand Tours but there will be competition in fellow Belgian Tim Merlier.

Impressive and exciting, that’s how to describe Mark Cavendish winning Stage 2 of the UAE Tour. Patrick Lefevre has said that the door is open for Cav to potentially ride another Tour de France, the aim of the game simple – to beat Eddy Merckx’s record of 34. It’s a little early to call how good Mark Cavendish is at the moment but if wins more stages up until July then who will deny him the chance. This won’t be the last time you’ll see me writing about Cav’s chances.

Elsewhere, races in Saudi Arabia and Oman did bring another win for Mark Cavendish but let’s not rule out Dylan Groenewegen, who is back with a new team in Team BikeExchangeJayco, and Fernando Gaviria who also secured two wins at the Tour of Oman, still riding for UAE-Team Emirates despite the team signing up Pascal Ackermann.

One sprinter yet to achieve a victory is Sam Bennett, back with BORA-Hansgrohe after two years away at Quick-Step. Regardless of which team the Irishman rides for, I have no doubt that Sam Bennett will be in the mix for wins this season, it might take longer but getting back to his best is definately achievable.

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Spring is upon us, the Classics are in full swing with Italy providing two of the best. Stage races in preparation for the Grand Tours are also not far away now.

The cycling season continues…

Upcoming races for March: