Farewell Richard

RIP Richard Moore, 1973-2022

Usually this space would be full of yet more insightful words from our regular contributor, Richard Moore, so it is with a heavy heart that we report the news that Richard passed away on 28th March 2022, a few days after submitting this article.

We have been lucky enough to know Richard and feature his words in these pages every issue for the past four years, and it is still hard to believe that this will be his last article for Cyclist.

His knowledge of the sport of cycling was unrivalled, and his was one of the most respected and admired voices in cycling journalism.

A talented cyclist in his own right, Richard competed for Scotland at the

1998 Commonwealth Games. Later he

took up his pen to write about the sport for newspapers including The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Scotsman, as well as a host of cycling magazines.

A prolific author, he wrote numerous books on the topic, including Slaying The Badger and the award-winning In Search Of Robert Millar.

Richard was also a founder and presenter of The Cycling Podcast, which set the standard for all sports podcasts that followed. Most of all, he was a pleasure to work with – charming, funny, professional and with a deep love of cycling.

Richard Moore was one of the good guys. He will be sorely missed by everyone at Cyclist, and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

But not arrogance. There was none of that as the Dutchman – who even looks broader, taller and more muscular these days – strode into the press room for a post-race conference.

How did it feel to be the fastest man in the world at the moment, he was asked. ‘It feels good,’ he smiled. It was a question designed to trip him up but he responded with good humour and without a moment’s hesitation.

There was no doubt in Jakobsen’s mind, either about this or the fact that he should go to the Tour at the expense of the rider who so inspired him last July.

‘Do I feel guilty towards Mark?’ Jakobsen had said in January, speaking at the team’s training camp in Calpe. ‘Yes, although guilty isn’t the right word. Because I think I deserve it too. And if I’m not good enough, I don’t go.

‘Cavendish knows that the Tour is my goal and that he will ride the Giro himself. But he is ready as a reserve. He can do that like no other and I think he’s happy with that role.’

In reality no sprinter would be happy in that role, although there is little the Briton can do about his circumstances. Not when Jakobsen appears to be the sport’s pre-eminent sprinter.

Nothing is set in stone, least of all team selections. Things can change, as both Cavendish and Jakobsen know. But for the moment it looks like the Tour will be deprived of one compelling story – Cavendish’s quest to overhaul Merckx.

It is, however, set to be blessed with another: the extraordinary and astonishing resurgence of a rider who, less than 24 months earlier, lay in a coma in a hospital in Poland, lucky just to be alive.

Sadly, this will be Richard Moore’s last pro racing report for Cyclist – see the box on opposite page

Cavendish is said to be burning with frustration at the situation, even if there isn’t an obvious solution. His biggest problem, although he cannot say it, is Jakobsen’s form