Here's my review of 2011, both personal and things in road cycling generally. It's not meant to be exhaustive, just a few things that have stood out to me personally as a casual observor. It's been quite a year on a lot of levels......
January
- Spanish rider Alberto Contador is cleared of doping charges by the Spanish cycling federation. The 2010 Tour de France winner is still awaiting a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport as to whether his title will be stripped from him after Clenbuterol was discovered in his system at a routine drugs test.
- Britains Ben Swift takes third spot in the Santos Tour down Under.
- Former two times Hour record holder and World Champion Graeme Obree announces he's gay. Article.
- My YTD Mileage - 380M/608KM
February
- Storck Scenero wins Cycling Plus "Bike of the Year" award. Article. (Storck has subsequently been aquired by fitness chain Decathlon - watch this space).
- My YTD Mileage - 685M/1,096KM
March
- The 2011 World Track Championships take place in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. Australia top the medal chart. France's Gregory takes the Gold in the mens sprint, Britains Jason Kenny takes Silver, ahead of Sir Chris Hoy in third place. Team GB re-state that everything is on track for London 2012.
- Brtiains Laura Trott, Wendy Houvenaghel and Danielle King take Britains only gold medal in the Womens team pursuit. Results here.
- Specialized launch their Venge bike, Mark Cavendish rode this in 2011. Article.
- Bradley Wiggins takes third spot in Paris-Nice. Things looking good for the Tour de France.
- My YTD Mileage - 993/1,589KM
April
- Take delivery of my new road bike - an Onix Azzuro. Article.
- Paris-Roubaix (The Hell of the North) is won by Belgian Johan Vansummeren.
- Mark Cavendish wins the one day classic Grote Scheldeprijs.
May
- Rode the Fred Whitton sportive. My hardest ever day in the saddle. Article.
- Pro Cyclist Wouter Weylandt dies after an accident at the Giro d'Italia. RIP. Article.
- Spanish rider Alberto Contador wins the Giro d'Italia overall, taking two stage wins along the way. GC here.
- Geraint Thomas wins the Bayern-Rundfahrt.
- My YTD Mileage - 1,401M/2,241KM
June
- Get my Dolan Ares back from Performance Race Art with a brand new paint job tributed to my blog featuring every GC winner of the Tour de France from its inception to 2010 on the headtube. Article.
- Bradley Wiggins wins the Critérium du Dauphiné. Go Bradley!
- My YTD Mileage - 1,663M/2,660KM
July
- Tour de France. One of the best weekends I've ever enjoyed. Article.
- Cadel Evans takes the yellow jersey, Mark Cavendish takes the green jersey. I thought Cadel a worthy winner and Cav is the man when it comes to points and stage wins.
- Britans GC hope - Bradley Wiggins - retires with a broken collarbone following a crash.
- Still no English rider in the top 10 of the GC! GC here.
- My YTD Mileage - 2,240M/3,584KM
August
- Paralympic Gold Medallist Simon Richardson is knocked off his bike and critically injured in a road collision for the second time. The driver is subsequently charged with dangerous driving. Articles.
- 2011 Vuelta a Espana is won by Spains Juan Jose Cobo. Britains Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky, take 2nd and 3rd place. GC here.
- David Millar takes third spot in the Eneco Tour.
- My YTD Mileage - 2,595M/4,152KM
September
- Mark Cavendish wins the rainbow jersey at the 2011 UCI World Road Championships. The pinnacle of a three year plan which saw the first rainbow jersey in over 50 years for a UK rider. Bradley Wiggins comes second in the time trial.
- Britains Lucy Garner takes the rainbow jersey in the Womens Junior Road race at the World Championships. Results here.
- My YTD Mileage - 3018M/4,829KM
October
- James Cracknell and Jerone Waters attempt to break the end to end tandem record. Article.
- Built my winter bike. Article.
- Britains David Millar takes second place in the Tour of Beijing, with Chris Froome taking third place.
- ROSPA report that 111 cyclists have been killed on the road in 2011 so far. 2,660 seriously injured, 14,414 slightly injured.
- My YTD Mileage - 3,337M/5,339KM
November
- Belgian Phillipe Gilbert tops the UCI world rankings.
- Rob Hayles retires from cycling. A fantastic ambassador. Article.
- My YTD Mileage - 3,539M/5,662KM
December
- Wiggle sells for £180M. Article.
- Graeme Obree launches his training manual. Article.
- Mark Cavendish wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Well deserved.
- My YTD Mileage - 3,658M/5,852KM
2011 has seen around 170 articles published on the blog and over 200K hits, thanks all for continuing to visit. It pleases me a huge amount when people say that the blog has helped them in one way or another. Blogging takes time, those that write blogs will tell you that, there's plenty of failed bloggers out there (I'm a previous first time round failed blogger), so I appreciate it when people pass comment, it makes the time investment worthwhile.
So, what have been your highlights? Feel free to leave a comment. Here's to a safe 2012.
I set a goal of 7000 miles for 2011--I hit that a couple of weeks ago. It's hard to get that much riding in while also running a company! Mileage aside, one of my biggest accomplishments was riding the aptly named Mountains of Misery. It's a 103 mile ride with 10,000 feet of climbing. The steepest climb comes at the end; with 100 miles on your legs it is a mental and physical challenge to get to the top.
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