It's January, which brings three things to my mind in the world of professional road cycling: The obligatory new team kit photo on January 1, escaping to the warmth of Spain for team training camps, and the winding down of another epic cyclocross season (Ok, maybe a fourth thing too... racing is back the Tour Down Under!).
I've been a Strava member since 2011 and have always enjoyed following pro athletes. Thankfully, many pros also love Strava! Over the years, the number of pros on Strava has grown and grown. Strava offers a unique experience for fans of the sport, enabling us to follow our favorite athletes and see what they are up to in their day-to-day training and their races. We get to look in awe at the crazy amount of km's they can rack up in a week of training, as well as how many coffees and pastries they consume!
My Favorite Pros
While there are many pros on Strava, I thought I'd share some of my personal favorites to follow:
- Robert Gesink
Robert has been in the sport for a long time. Not only can he keep up with some of the best on climbs, but he also posts top-notch content! Robert really gives us an inside view into what life is like as a pro cyclist. Shout-out for videos on Strava! - Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel
No list of favorite pros would be complete without Wout and Mathieu. These two have been battling it out on the roads and in the mud for years, bringing lots of excitement and thrilling duels for us fans to enjoy on race day!
Wout also shows us that pro cyclists can do other sports too, like running! New activity type, anyone? - Demi Vollering
Demi has been racing so strong the past few years! She's quickly become one of the fastest racers out there and is my pick as the next world champion. - Annemiek van Vleuten and Marianne Vos
It's well known that some of the best cyclists come out of the Netherlands, including these two G.O.A.T's! The Dutch national team is always the one to beat at the World Championships and these two ladies have taken home a total of 17 rainbow jerseys! - Remco Evenepoel
Speaking of world champions... The future is certainly bright for this 22-year-old. Will he win Liège again in 2023 or will the 'curse of the rainbow jersey' weigh heavy on the legs? We'll just have to follow along on Strava to find out! - Philippe Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet
I've reserved the last spots on this list for two of my long-time favorites. For me, the Spring Classics are the most beloved block of races on the calendar. In my opinion, Philippe and Greg have delivered some of the most searing attacks and thrilling victories ever, never afraid to drop the hammer and animate the race.
Finding Pros to Follow
Lucky for us, the number of pros on Strava these days is quite long. Check out strava.com/pros for an extensive list of all of the pro athletes on Strava.
The other way to find pros to follow is to look at who they follow themselves. It's really cool to see how well-connected the professional athlete community is on Strava, so navigate to the Following page of one of your favorite pros, and odds are they follow some that you'd like to as well. Keep an eye out, as you may spot some with not-so-obvious profile names...
