In the news this week:
The Tour of Flanders is this Sunday This year’s edition will include the infamous Muur de Grammont climb. The Muur is a 475m long climb with a grade ranging from 9.3% at the bottom to 19.8% at the top. It’s just under 16k from the finish this year, so it may well be the deciding factor in the race. 
Muur de Grammont
Also in the news this week, more doping. Italian CONI is handing down a two year suspension to Alexander Valverde based on the old Operation Puerto. The Spanish cycling seem to be defending him saying they’re the only ones who can impose sanctions. There’s also a report in an Austrian newspaper that Totschnig had blood doped during his 2005 Tour de France win at Ax 3 Domaines.
Totschnig win at Ax 3 Domaines, 2005 Tour de France
