It's quite a common experience that the recent few years seem to have blended together. We all have lost touch with time in a way.
But realizing that for me still Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar are the "new guys", as they were at the start of the road cycling season in 2019 must be a different level, right?
2019 was an important year for me. Previously I have cut off myself from some toxic things in my life, re-designed my long-term plans and, most importantly, started creating digital content in English instead of my mother language. Besides historical fiction, my main research topic during my short-lived academic career, and tmy eternal admiration for British actors in period dramas, one of the most constant things was road cycling during those days of big changes.
I have been blogging (in Hungarian) about road cycling races since 2009, was always up to date and able to provide the latest news about the latest events to my readers. I even felt the confidence to write a book about the hot topics in the world of international professional road cycling races in 2017. (Oh gosh, do you remember, for example, the introdution of the "Hammer Series"? )
Although I was writing about the latest events, a historical (and also cultural theoretical) approach was always part of the fun. I think, road cycling has the most unique connection to its own past I never experienced with any other sport. (Although I'm pretty much into sport history in general nowadays.)
Therefore it was quite obvious for me, that during the months of lockdown when no road cycling event took place I would spend more time with road cycling history.