Columnist About
Chris Sidwells is a former policeman turned freelance writer. Based in the UK he's been writing about cycling for nine years, mostly for the UK's number one bike magazine, Cycling Weekly, but regularly contributes to others including The Roar.
He's written nine books on cycling, from maintenance manuals to biographies, and despite being older than he thinks he is, he still turns out for the odd race now and again.
- Member Since:
- February 2012
- Based In:
- South Yorkshire
- Favourite Sporting Team:
- Team GB cycling
- Favourite Sports:
- Football,
Latest Articles
Is it time to start believing in cycling again?
7 Feb 2013Men’s professional road cycling has taken a terrible beating. The varnish has been stripped, the picture reduced to its true colours. Doping was rife. It was something every top pro faced. Many didn’t follow the path of the dopers, but they still had to contend with it and them on a daily basis. The world [...]
Who’s the best pro road racer of the modern era?
31 Jan 2013First, what is the modern era? I’m taking it as post Miguel Indurain, and the question of who is the best arises now because the man who was accepted in the top slot, Lance Armstrong, has been stripped of nearly everything he won. Which throws up another stumbling block. If Armstrong is no longer the [...]
World's Road Race course always picks its champion
21 Sep 2012This has been true of the professional and now the elite world road race title ever since it started. Look back over the last few years. Copenhagen was flat, it was always going to end with a bunch sprint. And who wins those nowadays? Mark Cavendish does. Geelong was a middling kind of course, a [...]
Was the Vuelta real road racing?
14 Sep 2012Did you enjoy the Vuelta? I did, the wild locations of the extreme climbs were beautiful. I like climbers too. The balletic grace of a true climber dancing off into the clouds is a joy to see. But what about the snarling mayhem of a bunch sprint finish? The clockwork perfection of a supreme time [...]
Cycling will emerge from the doping crisis it had to have
30 Aug 2012However it ends, USADA vs Lance Armstrong could hurt cycling. Once more, the sport’s dirty washing is spilling out of the basket – and it has to. It makes and is going to make ugly reading, but do you know what? One day soon, sport as a whole will have a lot to thank cycling [...]
When will Michael Rogers join Orica-GreenEdge?
24 Aug 2012It’s not a case of whether or not Michael Rogers will join Australia’s first World Tour cycling team. It’s a matter of when. He’s ready. Thirty-two now, Rogers has won world titles, been a superb time-trial talent, and had flashes of Grand Tour-winning potential. But Rogers has always lacked something. Consistency? Luck? Desire, even? His [...]
THE ROAR ON