End April 2010 update

The Classics are over, and as ever I’ve been dipping into different aspects of the bike world as they’ve been going on. Most of the time I’ve been interviewing racers aiming at the Grand Tours, as this is the time of year when I write a large part of ‘Tour’ a magazine sold only through WH Smiths that previews the Tour de France each year.

One of them was an Italian, Dario Cioni, who will lead Team Sky in their first Giro d’Italia. Well, he will if Bradley Wiggins plays the Giro to plan, testing himself early then helping Dario in the second half of the race. I did a ride with
Dario in Chianti country, where he lives,
which will be in Cycling Weekly on May 6, and Dario thinks he’ll be working for Wiggins all the way through.

I also visited Dario's vineyards and olive fields while I was there, for a feature that will go in the WH Smith’s mag. He is bringing these back to production in the old Tuscan ways, and he showed me how to farm olives and grapes organically. Interesting stuff.

Another interesting foreign trip was to Andalucia to visit two British pro from the sixties and seventies who live there. Two Dave’s, Bonner and Nie. They did two fantastic rides in the mountains and are both as fit as fiddles.

Anyway, better get on as I’ve created a ten-day space with no travel in it to get the mag written. I’ll be able to do ten days on my bike too, which is rare, but that’s come just right because I’ve entered a race at the end of August to stretch my legs before (hopefully) having a crack at the master’s track worlds in Portugal at the end of October.