The thing about the Flиche Wallonne parcours that surprised me most was just how hard this 200km ‘semi-Classic’ is. There’s nothing ‘semi’ about it… This hard course deserves the prime time and throws up 11 rated climbs, including 3 passes over a 1300 meter brute called the Mur. Here’s how it happened to me…

We all dream of days like this: A bright blue Belgian sky, green rolling hills, epic climbs, and a guide who knows this place like the back of his hand. Welcome to a day in the Ardennes with Peter Easton and Velo Classic Tours.

Like many cyclists my opportunities to get out on the bike are subtly balanced with the demands of family, work, and my complete inability to convince my better half that by going out for five hour bike rides instead of completing the decorating I started a year ago it's actually beneficial all round - enabling her to change her mind yet again on the colour scheme.

The UK’s very own spring classic took place last weekend and in our own ‘classic’ style, PEZ’s Nick O’Brien was at the business end of the Archer GP… but not like you might expect.

It was a day of historic – and epic – proportions. We’d journeyed far, across continents, oceans, and the toughest roads in Europe, to arrive at the route for Sunday’s Hell of the North – Paris-Roubaix. Me and my butt found out first hand what it’s like to ride the “pave”.

You might not believe this, but it doesn’t always rain on race day in Flanders. The Gent-Wevelgem racers rolled onto the course in mid-morning, and the sun suggested it was really spring. PEZ went cobble-deep with VeloClassic Tours to witness first-hand the craziness that makes the Belgian Classics… Classic.

PEZ correspondent, Pascal Orsini, was on the loose at Paris-Nice with his trusty camera, and unlike most who aim for the riders and their steeds, he took the interesting perspective of focusing on the team cars. PEZ gives you the up close and personal of all of the 20 ProTour team cars - yeah, that includes Astana and even Unibet!

Don't you just love it when cultures 'mix' and actually get on for a change? That’s what’s happening all over London right now where the combination of club culture is rubbing shoulders with all things cycling and suddenly it’s cool to have a passion for the bike. The recent team Rapha Condor launch was a perfect example just the right mix...

Who will be the next Lance Armstrong? Well, there is a good chance he will come from the USA Cycling National Development Team program. Cycylists like David Zabriskie, Saul Raisin, Jason McCartney, Tyler Farrar, Tom Danielson, Mike Creed and Aaron Olson have graduated from the national U23 program into the Eurpoean Pro Peloton. John Devine is the latest National U23 cyclist to join The Discovery Channel Pro Team.