'Le Grand Fusil' - The Big Gun - they called him and he is still firing away after all these years. Raphaël Geminiani was a talented albeit hotheaded pro racer before becoming a brilliant albeit hotheaded Directeur Sportif and definitely qualifies as a Character from the Golden Age of Racing. His wit and wisdom can be found in a charming little book from Rapha Editions.

Participants in men's professional bike racing have not been noted for intellectual pursuits or firepower. Maybe you don't have to think much when riding. But in “The Art of Cycling,” perhaps the most unusual cycling-related book we have enjoyed, there is revealed a very different side.

The final installment of our Tour of California coverage comes from photographer Darrell Parks, who took many of the images that so vividly captured the racing here on PEZ. I asked Darrell for a few of his favorite pics, and his memories from the week…

Not the usual race dissection or in-depth rider interview, but today Ed Hood has a look at the pets of the 'stars of the road'. From donkeys to pigs, with parrots and dogs thrown in for good measure.

My one-finger salute to Vladimr Putin may be small, but it's pointed in the right direction. Who wants to wave with me?

Colin Lewis was a top British professional in the 60's and 70's and if you are of a certain age he will have been one of your heroes. Tour de France rider, multi-national champion and many wins to his name - Ed Hood looks back over the life of a true champion.

While 2022 marks PezCyclingNews' 20th anniversary, there are other milestones worth recognizing. For those riding virtually this year marked the 10th edition of The Tour of Sufferlandria, but for those wanting to ride outdoors and enjoy the pleasures of vintage machinery, roll out those steel bikes and head to Austria in June for the 10th edition of the wonderful In Velo Veritas, held in the wine region north of Vienna.

After many years race-chasing the Strade Bianche, our PEZ-man in Italy, Alessandro Federico, rode his own Strade Bianche - the Gran Fondo at the end of last year. This is his day of dust and suffering on the 'white roads' of Tuscany.

Belgium: it's an odd place. A country put together from pieces other nations didn't really want, it seems resigned to an eternal identity crisis. But beyond this historic and political mess, there is a remarkable sporting story - cycling and the Flemish, described by author Harry Pearson as “a grand romance.”