Author: Alex
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Jens Voigt’s legs had one last thing to say
One of the many, many Jens Voigt jokes out there is that he can beat the hour record in under 60 minutes. It doesn’t quite work, because of course anyone who breaks the hour record does so in under 60 minutes. As soon as you pass the previous best distance within your hour of riding,…
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Chris Froome earns himself a second place
Chris Froome’s been runner-up in Grand Tours three times now, but whereas on the two previous occasions, he could blame Bradley Wiggins for not being a place higher, this time it was all his own doing. Not that finishing second to Alberto Contador should really be considered failure. Contador’s bust-legged performance in this race highlighted…
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Dylan Van Baarle clings on to win the Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is not a top flight race and Dylan Van Baarle’s victory would seem to reflect that. But let’s just see how he goes next season. Van Baarle beat some top riders and at 22, his best years are to come. Year by year, the Tour of Britain route is getting harder…
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Alberto Contador has the legs – even if one of them’s a bit skeggy and slightly knackered
I can only presume that having prepared for the Vuelta by riding around with a fractured leg and a huge infected wound, racing Chris Froome up a mountain suddenly seems like a pain-free doddle for Alberto Contador. In the pantheon of Grand Tour suffering, it’s not quite up there with Tyler Hamilton grinding his teeth…
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Dylan Van Baarle nicks the race lead in the Tour of Britain
I’m not going to write about stage seven winner Julien Vermote because he did that stupid heart-shaped hand gesture when he crossed the line and it irritates me. Plus there was quite a lot going on with the general classification. Alex Dowsett started the day in the yellow jersey but couldn’t stay with the leaders…
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Adam Hansen is still going strong… somehow
Last year, Adam Hansen won a stage of the Giro and I took the opportunity to draw attention to an even more staggering feat – he was riding his fifth Grand Tour in a row. You may be wondering whether he’s since maintained that sequence and the answer is yes. He hasn’t missed any of…
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At first Alex Dowsett didn’t succeed
But he knows the saying. After a double puncture did for his chances of taking the overall lead earlier in the race, Dowsett tried again and this time things went rather better. Dowsett is unarguably the finest haemophiliac cyclist Essex has ever produced, but other than a Giro d’Italia time trial, a trio of triumphs…
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Fabio Aru is a grooved rider
Fabio Aru won his second stage of this year’s Vuelta and was followed over the line by exactly the same four riders as last time – albeit in a different order. But if Aru’s emergence this season is one story, it’s that of a minor character. Today’s main protagonist was Chris Froome. Doggystyle Froomedog has…
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Matthias Brandle makes good use of his head start in the Tour of Britain
The stages of this year’s Tour of Britain seem to have settled on a bit of a format. The break goes away – same as it does in any race – and then the day ends with a handful of riders effectively being given a bit of a head start on the day’s final climb.…
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John Degenkolb stays at the right end of the spaghetti
John Degenkolb says his favourite type of training session is the rest day, or failing that the leisurely coffee ride. I doubt all the riders having the previous day off was what allowed him to win stage 17, but who knows? A little of what you fancy and all that. It was a tense approach…