Author: Alex
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The Schlecks become Frank Schleck
Because Andy Schleck has retired from cycling. The reason given is that he has no cartilage left in his knee, which causes it to swell up whenever he makes harder efforts. However, that’s really just the final straw, because in reality the last couple of years seem to have been written by an Eastenders scriptwriter.…
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Dan Martin remains upright round the final corner
Dan Martin has spent most of this season on the deck. He crashed out of the Giro on the first day, he crashed in the Tour any number of times and most memorably of all, he crashed on the final corner of Liege-Bastogne-Bastogne when he was in a position to win it for the second…
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A fairly brief preview of Sunday’s Tour of Lombardy
I’ll try and keep this fairly short, but these things always get away from me. The Tour of Lombardy, also known as Il Lombardia or the Race of the Falling Leaves, is our final formal appointment in 2014. It’s the autumn one-day race. Unlike most one-day races, which are either hilly or flat, the Tour…
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Team Sky flash the cash and buy in some riding talent
A lot of cycling teams shop at Aldi or Lidl. They look to pick up high quality European riders at surprisingly affordable prices. Team Sky aren’t bargain hunters. They park their SUV in the mother and child spot at Waitrose and then buy whatever the hell they feel like, regardless of cost. Who’s in? The…
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The buoyancy of Michal Kwiatkowski
It’s always good to know that a win isn’t a fluke and being as the World Championships finished with the same three riders on the podium as in this year’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege (albeit in a different order), we can reassure ourselves that the cream did indeed rise to the top. If it had been a sprint……
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A time for Cunis – a men’s world road race preview
That title’s a reference to 1960s New Zealand cricketer, Bob Cunis, about whom Test Match Special commentator Alan Gibson once said: “Cunis: a funny sort of name – neither one thing nor the other.” For that is what this year’s world road race circuit demands – a rider who is neither one thing nor the…
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The freakish box-ticking of Bradley Wiggins – a World Championships Time Trial review
Sit Bradley Wiggins down, hand him a form and a ballpoint pen and ask him to tick some boxes. He’ll look at you with a surly look on his face and probably flick the pen at you in a fit of pique. Then he’ll look at the form, spot something he likes the look of…
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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…