The 13 most dramatic moments in pro cycling of 2020

Julian Alaphilippe, Dylan Groenewegen and Lizzie Deignan were part of the dramatic stories in 2020 road cycling
Julian Alaphilippe, Primoz Roglic and Lizzie Deignan were part of the most dramatic stories during the 2020 road season (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

The rollercoaster 2020 pro road season had more peaks and valleys than a typical Grand Tour race, and more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel. In fact, while the standard subplots surfaced in the autumn – anguish, escape, intrigue and suspense – the storyline was abruptly derailed in March as the coronavirus pandemic halted the world, including live racing, for six months.

Thrills and spills were replaced with uncertainty, but the 2020 Strade Bianche marked the restart of WorldTour-level professional bike racing on August 1, and it remarkably continued through to November with the completion of all three men's Grand Tours, 10 out of 11 women's WorldTour events and the UCI Road World Championships for elite riders.

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.