Sometimes the wind’s at your back, sometimes it’s all uphill

OLD BOY’S CLUB

To mark the 20th anniversary of his Paris-Roubaix win, Italy’s Andrea Tafi is plotting an improbable comeback at the age of 52. At the time of writing, it was still unclear whether he’d found a team to give him a ride.

HEART OF THE MATTER

British Cycling has introduced a mandatory heart scan and electrocardiogram (ECG) for all riders in their performance programmes to find out if they are at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, according to a report by Sky News.

IVAN’S THEIR MAN

Team Sky continue their succession planning by hoovering up more bright talent, this time in the shape of 21-year-old Colombian climber Ivan Sosa, who’s signed for three years from Androni Giocattoli.

PAULSHERWEN

The celebrated commentator and former Tour de France rider passed away at his home in Uganda at the age of 62. For an entire generation of cycling fans, he was no less than the voice of the sport.

GRAND THEFT VELO

Just weeks after moving into their new Bergamo factory, manufacturer 3T were hit by thieves, who drilled through a 1m-thick wall and made off with 20 bikes. The company asked the cycling community to keep an eye on suspicious sales.

VELOTHON GONE

Velothon Wales is no more. One of the country’s biggest closed-road sportives since 2015, year-on-year decline in entries prompted owners Ironman to pull the plug on the Cardiff event.