Jason Saltzman and his Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling team headed off to Africa to ride the Tour of Rwanda, an eight-day stage race in East Africa. A very different experience for Jason, and a great read of us.

Bike racing in 2020 was very strange, things like races with no spectators and Spring Classics in autumn, but the weirdest is the overlapping of the Giro's final week with the Vuelta's first. But in 1981 only three days separated the two races and Giovanni Battaglin, in the new book “48 Days,” tells the astonishing story of how he won both.

With the decisive Giro d'Italia time trial on Sunday, Ed Hood thought it would be a good idea to talk to a man who knows all about aerodynamics and the 'race against the clock' - Dan Bigham. Chrono specialist and aero guru.

Back in 2013, 'The Pez' was in Pisticci, for a lot longer than he planned, due to the maze-like layout of old Italian towns. Here's the story: “Sempre Dritto” – ‘always forward’ makes a good translation.

There have been so many advances not only in the technology of cycling and in our understanding of training approaches and the key benefits of recovery, but also in the importance of nutrition. Today there are valuable resources available to any interested amateur on how to eat well for better performance. “The Cycling Chef” by Michelin-starred chef Alan Murchison is a valuable addition to this literature.

Thanks to “Maglia Rosa: Triumph and Tragedy at the Giro d’Italia” by British author/Italian resident Herbie Sykes we have not only an English-language history of the Giro d’Italia, which is in itself distressingly rare, but an extraordinarily entertaining book.

It's a sad time for Ed Hood, he should be in Italy for the Giro, but... As the 2021 Giro d'Italia starts later today, Ed has had his Giro photo album out to compile his personal 'Alternative A to Z' of the Italian Grand Tour. We love the Giro and Ed knows the race better than most, take note of his (near) complete guide to everything Giro.

For someone just coming into the world of cyclesports, the terminology, concepts and history can perhaps be baffling. How can you win the Tour de France without winning a single stage? Who was the Eagle of Toledo? What is the Cima Coppi? When you ride tempo up the Alpe and the elastic snaps, does the Man With the Hammer come? Thanks to a lovely little book by Tom Bromley, all will be made clear.

Ed Hood has been in conversation with (lectured to) cycling's Nostradamus - Viktor. He's not impressed with the finals of Milan-Sanremo, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, comes down hard on the older riders and Sky's ex doctor, plus the price of bikes these days!