2013 season in review: The year of first times; plus Awards & Gongs

2013 was the year that Nelson Mandella and Margaret Thatcher died, a Royal baby was born, a Pope resigned, Typhoon Haiyan devistated the Philappines, the Syrian chemical attack and the Boston marathon bombings. But it was also the year that Fabian Cancellara did the Tour of Flanders/Paris-Roubaix double, that Daryl Impey became the first African born rider to wear the Yellow jersey and Chris Froome the first African born rider to win the Tour de France, that Vincenzo Nibali rode through the snow at Tre Cime di Lavaredo to cement his first Giro d'Italia victory, that Chris Horner became the first cyclist over 40 to win a Grand Tour, that Portugal got its first World Road Race Champion in the guise of Rui Costa, and that Peter Sagan became the first rider to win virtually every other race on the calender ... or so its sometimes seemed.

The year in review

The year began not at a race, but on the sofa of Oprah Winfrey's television show. Lance Armstrong sat before us and confessed to what we had known for some time, that yes, he had taken drugs throughout his career and that yes, he was sorry he got caught. All of that madness fueled old media and social media alike for weeks on end as bad press of cycling's days of yore were heaped upon the sport once again and fans were left crying out for the start of some actual racing and the chance to put the over-abused subject of doping in the sport on the back burner for a while.

Some couldn't let it go, of course, but for the rest of us that welcomed the sight of a race, one arrived later in January with the Tour Down Under in Australia in which the little known Tom-Jelte Slagter prevailed. At Paris-Nice and Tirreno–Adriatico, Richie Porte and Vincenzo Nibali triumphed respectively before the Spring Classics finally reached us. Cycling was back.

Billed as the battle between Cancellara and Sagan, it was the Swissman who won by taking two Monument victories at Flanders and Roubaix to Sagan's none. Sagan was consistent however, finishing second at Milan-San Remo behind Gerald Ciolek, second to Cancellara at Flanders, and winning the non-Monument classic, Gent-Wevelgem. The other Monument classic won in the Spring was that of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège by Ireland's Dan Martin. He became the first Irish winner of a Monument since Sean Kelly at the Milan-San Remo in 1992.

2013 season in review: The year of speculating wattage

It started early and it started fast and it continued relentlessly throughout the 2013 season. What watts is so-and-so -- usually Chris Froome -- putting out on such-and-such a climb? Is it worse than Lance Armstrong in his pomp? Is it within the threshold of normal? Normal being what a professional could put out without the need for drugs, but still beyond the normal for you and I. Nobody really knew for sure but a fair few began to speculate and so a wave of wattage began to grow and grow, sucking more and more onto it until it swept over the 2013 cycling season, threatening to take away the enjoyment many are supposed to be experiencing when watching a bicycle race.

Now don't get me wrong. Wattage has its place in cycling ... it helped Sir Bradley of Wiggins win his first and only Tour de France. It is the power output of a cyclist through their pedals at any given time ... divided by the riders weight in kilograms, you are left with a figure that determines a riders watts-per-kilogram. The one with the highest number over a stretch of road -- often fantasised about on climbs -- is the one who goes the fastest. It's a new(ish) technology, an expensive technology, and one that is in widespread use on the computers of cyclists throughout the professional peloton. If you know your maximum wattage at your present weight you know when you're at your limit and how best to judge a ride. It goes against the purists dream of riding by feel, but technology is a fact of life in the 21st century.

What we found in the year that was 2013 however was that the guessing game of these figures has went beyond what is fact on the riders computer into what is fiction among speculating fans.

The Paris to Specialized spring classic coming to you in 2014

Fear is rife among the 96,984 good citizens of Roubaix in Northern France that despite originating sometime in the 15th century, before the United States became a nation, that they may be forced by bicycle company Specialized of Morgan Hill, California, USA, to change the name of their town because the bicycle manufacturing behemoth actually owns the trademark on it.

That fear is spilling over from recent revelations that Specialized, formed approximately 500 years after the town of Roubaix, give or take, are threatening a small bicycle shop called Cafe Roubaix in the Canadian wilderness for daring to use the name Roubaix which they believe is owned by them for use on a line of their bicycles only. They have threatened the shop with legal action if the name is not changed and Roubaix, France (along with perhaps, Roubaix, North Dakota) is on high alert that they could be next.

What the ramifications of this could later mean for the town is one thing with some wondering if the Gare de Roubaix railway station that offers connections from the town of Roubaix to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris must cease operations at once due to its name, but for cycling fans there is the question as to what it means for the famous bicycle race, the Paris-Roubaix formed some 78 years before Specialized in 1896? Will the name change and if not will it be forced to finish elsewhere or use another name? And what of the Pave sections that make this race famous, will they have to go given their association with the name Roubaix in order to appease Specialized?

Roubaix may have survived two World Wars passing through its neighbourhood, but it won't survive the wrath of this American bicycle company.

Shortlist for 2013 cyclist of the year

It's December: The Christmas tree is up, the countdown to the arrival of Santa is on, cheesy festive tunes are pumping out of the radio, the early winter snow fall is already melting due to a brief warm spell but hopes are high it will return before the big day because the worst spell of winter is still to come. And yet, professional cyclists across the globe are already back training with their attentions fully tuned on 2014. No rest for the wicked, especially those wanting to build on their successes of 2013.

With that in mind, and ahead of a review of the year article I hope to find time for between bouts of Christmas shopping, I've drawn up a shortlist of the best ten riders of 2013. There are some who (if they actually read this) might feel aggrieved at being left out, but I couldn't find a better ten and, after much deliberation and hair pulling, I will pick a winner come that year end review. So here we go (in alphabetical order!)…