There’s a big bike race tomorrow. I will read the reports – of course it’s not televised in Australia. (Yes, I will probably watch the last 10-20 minutes when it gets posted to You Tube. Probably with Flemish or Dutch commentary.)
For the sake of budding cycling journalists, here’s the SI format for a race report (X means insert a number, N means insert a name):
At the start of N Race, X riders rolled out from town N.
Attacks in the first X time kept the pace high until a break of X riders formed that the main field was happy to get away.
The maximum gap gained by the break was X minutes, while team N patrolled the front of the peloton as punishment for not getting a man into the escape group.
By X km from the finish it was clear that (the escape was doomed)/(the escape would succeed). Then began the jostling for position in the (peloton)/(breakaway group).
At distance X from the end, rider N gave his all in search of glory. As it became clear, his all was (good enough)/(not good enough).
After crossing the line in victory, N said, ‘I had great legs today, great sensations. This is a result for the team. It’s great preparation for next week’s race N.’
Runner-up N looked disconsolate, but said, ‘He just was stronger than me today.’