Here's a similar story. A teammate of mine, Robin Carpenter, finished second in a French one day. Having been there, I can tell you this race was brutal; one of those affairs where I spent an exorbitant amount of time in the gutter contemplating why I didn't take up golf as a kid instead. This race was called Paris-Chauny.
What these two races have in common is that the average American cycling fan has probably never heard of them; and that's disappointing. For my friends it's disappointing because they had these incredible rides which went mostly unnoticed at home (fortunately both have enough self-confidence that they can live with this fact). At the same time, it's disappointing for American fans because they missed an opportunity to watch some really exciting bike racing while simultaneously cheering on their favorite riders or team. It's also disappointing because both of these scenarios could have been avoided.
Personally, I don't blame American cycling fans for being in the dark about many of these lesser known European races. After all, watching a bike race in the States isn't as easy as sitting on the couch and turning on ESPN. Sure, in America you can watch a few marque events, such as the Tour de France, on NBC Sports but beyond these select races spoon fed to you with your normal cable package, access to racing isn't that obvious. This is changing though as many new streaming services have popped up in the past couple of years which give American fans the chance to watch races they previously couldn't. As someone who competes in many of these events, I can't endorse these services enough and am often plugging them to friends back home curious as to where they can watch me race.
Below is a collection of cycling resources I think every American cycling fan should be familiar with:
If you've heard of GCN it's probably through their YouTube Channel. In addition, these guys have really stepped up their race coverage game the last few years and especially this year with the launch of GCN+. For something like $50 you get access to a ton of racing (both live and replays) through their app and website. I personally have a subscription to GCN Race Pass and think they're the best bang for your buck race coverage-wise. My first race of the year, the Clasica de Almeria, can be found here along with many of the races Rally competes in. Plus, Jeremy Powers is one of their presenters and you have to be a terrible human being to not like J-Pows.
Whether you're looking for results from the race that finished five minutes ago or you're curious as to who finished 48th in stage 16 of the 2001 Giro, these guys have you covered. It is actually amazing how quickly they get results up. Magic perhaps?
CyclingTips
For the latest news CyclingTips is great at helping you stay in the loop. Many writers for CT live in Boulder so that might make me biased but if you check out the site I think you'd agree the content is pretty solid. They also have an eclectic family of podcasts including one by friend and fellow hot chocolate aficionado, Abby Mickey.
As the racing season picks up steam this summer I'll probably be referencing these resources a lot; especially when it comes to races I and the rest of my teammates will be competing in. If you are an American cycling fan looking to engage more with races beyond the Classics and Grand Tours then, again, I can't recommend GCN Race Pass enough. Even if it's just some random race in Belgium you've never heard of, I encourage you to watch. I promise you'll be entertained.
Thanks for reading,
E
P.S. For all the bike nerds out there, our 2021 Felt race bikes were unveiled today and all I can say is they are FAST.
Glad to have you back, keep writing!
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