2015 ends with all the turbulence we expect of the fragmented world of cycling, but 2016 is the only thing in the mind of the riders. ASO and UCI aside the key to enjoying this season will be taking events race by race and looking at the larger picture for peaks and troughs of action, as the story this year looks to unfold on all sorts of levels. We may sit back as the cycling world tears itself to shreds and we may enjoy one of the best seasons in recent memory out of an Olympic season with unique routes, new talents reaching their potential and the farewell, as always, of icons.

STAGE RACING

Team Sky will again bring a strong team to assist Froome in the Alpine finale of the Tour (Photo: Marianne Casamance)

With the unorthodox Tour route, an unpredictable Giro and countless rendezvous beforehand for the stage racers, the stage racing calendar of 2016 looks impossible to predict. Nibali will be looking to recover his GT cred after a woeful season, and will encounter a Sky-assisted Landa and Giro newbie Valverde in what should be a refreshing Giro. With no one attempting a double this year, we’ll race breakneck through Switzerland and the Dauphiné to the biggest race of the season. Froome will look to defend against a Contador looking to blame the Giro for last year, a GT champion in Aru and a probably uncomfortable mixture of Van Garderen and Porte. The Vuelta will again be a place to pick up the pieces of broken seasons, and will be noticeable as the last chance for a Rodriguez GT victory.

ONE DAY RACES

Fabian Cancellara will look to repeat his 2013 win in Roubaix, but Vanmarcke and others will look to stop him (Photo: Thomas Ducroquet)

The biggest story will be the last battles of Spartacus, and what will be anincredibly disappointing World Championships in Doha. Form will be found in Arabia before a well timed assault on Flanders and Roubaix, interspersed with the multiple possible scenarios of San Remo and receding into the diminishing prestige of the Ardennes and the loose end of Lombardia. The pressure will be on the old legs to pedal and perform, but it’s possible riders like Benoot and Alaphillipe pick up the slack for huge wins. Van Avermaet, Vanmarcke and Sagan will continue their journeys to a monument, but whether they complete said journey is a different matter, although in Rainbow stripes the Slovakian may believe anything is possible. Meanwhile strong sprinters Degenkolb and Kristoff will look to show they didn’t win off the injuries of Boonen and Cancellara, and if Kristoff brings the same form into Flanders we’ll see a repeat.

I’m not acknowledging Qatar.

Further on the Ardennes, Valverde remains the favourite, however his trajectory from Flanders into the Giro could leave unpredictable form, waiting to shove him off the podium will be the usual in Gilbert, D. Martin and a renewed Gerrans. Of course if this fight is as boring as last year, it’s possible I won’t care.

I still refuse to acknowledge Qatar.

THE SPRINTERS

Griepel will look to grab stage wins and hold onto the Green Jersey until Paris. (Photo: Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick)

The story this year will be Kittel Kittel Kittel. Was last year just an awful and long hiccup? or will he continue his decline? EQS will hope to get a lot of wins out of him, having gained him by dropping Cavendish to Dimension Data. Griepel will look to repeat, while the OGE pair of Matthews and Ewan will surely look to pick up wins on lumpy finishes in the Tour and Vuelta respectively.

Now for the first time ever the World RR will be firmly filed under this category. It all depends on who targets it, who has form and whether the wind picks up, which something we should all wish for. It’s all too early to tell at this stage.

PREDICTIONS

Just a note on my prediction system for this year, it’s based on my rough estimation of percentage chance, like so:

***** 50–100%

**** 20–50%

***10–20%

**5–10%

*1–5%

MISC

I’ll be posting previews and reviews for each month of cycling, in addition to each World Tour event and some .HC and .1 events. I’ll attempt as much Women’s coverage as possible, but it obviously depends on how much exposure the new system gets and how much I am able to grab myself. There’ll be the odd opinion piece and I’ll answer any comments on any article, which I hope you all make.

Let’s go for 2016.