Fave 'smaller' races

MartinGT
MartinGT Posts: 475
edited February 2014 in Pro race
What are your favorite 'smaller' races?

I always enjoy Tour of the Basque. Last year the weather all week was pretty bad and the gutsy riding from Txurruka going for it on most of the days in the breakaway.
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Comments

  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    I like Pays Vasco too. Often found the Spanish shorter stage races were good value, but sadly dying.

    Also 3 Days of De Panne.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    I quite like the Italian autumn one dayers: Emilia, Milan-Torino, etc. Nice punchy finishes, interesting mix of riders. Also, with last year's route, the Eneco Tour. Brilliant racing. Previous years, well...
  • Classica San Sebastien is vastly underrated as far as I am concerned.
  • I don't really consider Pais Vasco a smaller race since it's in the WT.
    The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali is my nomination, since it
    has a great mix of parcour with Pais Vasco type climbs and is at 2.1 level.
    Of course, you need to have Rai Sport 2 on your tele.
    Tre Valli Varesine is my one day race pick. Mid August raced around the Italian lakes,
    with live coverage.
    What could be better?
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Crampeur
    Crampeur Posts: 1,065
    Paris-Tours is great. Narrow roads, smaller teams and a wide range of possible winners make it quite entertaining.
  • Besseges - and I loved Midi Libre the best

    1986 Belgium Claude Criquielion (BEL)
    1987 France Patrice Esnault (FRA)
    1988 Belgium Claude Criquielion (BEL)
    1989 France Jerome Simon (FRA)
    1990 France Gérard Rué (FRA)
    1991 France Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (FRA)
    1992 France Luc Leblanc (FRA)
    1993 Italy Maurizio Fondriest (ITA)
    1994 Slovakia Ján Svorada (SVK)
    1995 Spain Miguel Indurain (ESP)
    1996 France Laurent Jalabert (FRA)
    1997 Italy Alberto Elli (ITA)
    1998 Switzerland Laurent Dufaux (SUI)
    1999 France Benoît Salmon (FRA)
    2000 France Didier Rous (FRA)
    2001 Spain Iban Mayo (ESP)
    2002 Result Void[1][2]
    2003 No race
    2004 France Christophe Moreau (FRA)
  • RonB
    RonB Posts: 3,984
    Tour of Norway and for a one day race, Tro-Bro Léon.

    Must be something to do with seascapes, because I really enjoyed the early stages of the Vuelta as it wound it's way around the Galician coast last year
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,236
    Brabantse Pijl
    Dwars door Vlaanderen.

    Spot a theme?

    There's a one dayer in the summer but the name is very forgettable. The finish is up the ramps of some medieval castle but always enjoy that one.
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    Giro del Trentino
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    Brabantse Pijl
    There's a one dayer in the summer but the name is very forgettable. The finish is up the ramps of some medieval castle but always enjoy that one.
    Was that the one where Jan Bakelants was in a small breakaway towards the end last year, can't remember if he won it?
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    Brabantse Pijl
    Dwars door Vlaanderen.

    Spot a theme?

    There's a one dayer in the summer but the name is very forgettable. The finish is up the ramps of some medieval castle but always enjoy that one.
    GP de Wallonie in Namur
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    Grand Prix de Wallonie? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oZ8eiN ... ata_player

    Edit: Sorry FJS, I hadn't updated it before I posted that. I liked that race too.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,236
    Yeah. Always enjoy that one. Never look forward to it, but have always enjoyed it when I watched it.
  • thomthom
    thomthom Posts: 3,574
    Anything with a cobblestone somewhere on the route.
  • mm1
    mm1 Posts: 1,063
    FJS wrote:
    I quite like the Italian autumn one dayers: Emilia, Milan-Torino, etc. Nice punchy finishes, interesting mix of riders.

    Agree.

    Lazio (that's got cobbles), E3, Plouay, and amoung the shorter tours, Trentino.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,236
    mm1 wrote:
    FJS wrote:
    I quite like the Italian autumn one dayers: Emilia, Milan-Torino, etc. Nice punchy finishes, interesting mix of riders.

    Agree.

    Lazio (that's got cobbles), E3, Plouay, and amoung the shorter tours, Trentino.

    I reckon E3 isn't small anymore.
  • At home:
    Lincoln GP

    Away:
    Tro Bro Leon
    Settimana Coppi e Bartali
    Giro del Trentino
    Pais Vasco
  • Yup, the Tro Bro Leon is definitely a fav of mine, having watched the last 4 or 5 editions.
    No love here for the Strade Bianche?
    A great little, big race.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • ^lots of love, just struggling with trying to distinguish 'smaller'

    But fantastic race. Would love to get out to watch it one year.
  • ^lots of love, just struggling with trying to distinguish 'smaller'

    But fantastic race. Would love to get out to watch it one year.


    That's what I meant by the little big race.
    Gives that impression, but is still only categorized 1.1.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Strade Bianchi and the newly instigated (or relaunched) Roma Maxima made a great couple of hours viewing over the weekend they were on last year. Especially as they were the first time the Sun had appeared in Europe I think!
  • EKIMIKE
    EKIMIKE Posts: 2,232
    Got a lot of love for the Strade Bianche.

    Didn't catch Roma Maxima. I'm curious to check it out.
  • DL1987
    DL1987 Posts: 204
    EKIMIKE wrote:
    Got a lot of love for the Strade Bianche.

    Didn't catch Roma Maxima. I'm curious to check it out.

    Enjoyed RM last year, no race radios allowed for a comedy 2nd place celebration and outside the Colosseum in Rome is a great place to finish a race.
  • DL1987 wrote:
    EKIMIKE wrote:
    Got a lot of love for the Strade Bianche.

    Didn't catch Roma Maxima. I'm curious to check it out.

    Enjoyed RM last year, no race radios allowed for a comedy 2nd place celebration and outside the Colosseum in Rome is a great place to finish a race.

    Indeed - a few commentators took the p out of Pippo P but to be fair he seemed to accept it in good humour.

    There was some good footage of them winding through narrow cobbled streets etc.
  • DL1987 wrote:
    EKIMIKE wrote:
    Got a lot of love for the Strade Bianche.

    Didn't catch Roma Maxima. I'm curious to check it out.

    Enjoyed RM last year, no race radios allowed for a comedy 2nd place celebration and outside the Colosseum in Rome is a great place to finish a race.

    Indeed - a few commentators took the p out of Pippo P but to be fair he seemed to accept it in good humour.

    There was some good footage of them winding through narrow cobbled streets etc.


    The tweets to Pippo from other riders like Nibz were particularly funny... :)

    Pippo's got a great sense of humour, got to hand it to him
  • MartinGT
    MartinGT Posts: 475
    At home:
    Lincoln GP

    Away:
    Tro Bro Leon
    Settimana Coppi e Bartali
    Giro del Trentino
    Pais Vasco

    Great shout with Lincoln GP RR. I always like Tour of the Res too.
  • I liked what David Millar said about De Panne

    He said it's the "racers race", as you have to be a good racer to even stand a chance of winning.
  • Lincoln having the Nat champs next year will be mega, it is a shame its not a 1.1 really as then would get more good teams over for it
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,236
    I liked what David Millar said about De Panne

    He said it's the "racers race", as you have to be a good racer to even stand a chance of winning.

    Is only good viewing if it's bad weather though....

    Unless you like watching crashes.