Author: Alex
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Benat Intxausti wins the race that no-one’s all that bothered about winning really
The hotly-contested Tour of Beijing is over. Benat Intxausti won. There was a hilltop finish on stage four and the results of that pretty much equate to the final general classification. Dan Martin came second. Sky’s David Lopez came third. There wasn’t much in it. The defending champion, Tony Martin, came sixth. He reckons he’s…
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Richie Porte is well up for the Tour of Beijing
Well up for it. WELL up for it. “It’s been a long season and the legs are tired. I’m here because the team want me here, because the points are tight.” That’s a rabble-rousing statement of intent if ever I heard one. Thor Hushovd is the race leader after winning stage one, taking a 10…
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Why every Joaquim Rodriguez win should be celebrated
Joaquim Rodriguez has cornered the market on bridesmaidery and for that, you should celebrate his wins. He deserves them more than most. While Purito won a number of races last year, his season was defined by losing the Giro on the final day and being denied the Vuelta through a single moment of dosiness. This…
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The autumn one-day race
That’s what I call it, because that’s how I think of it. Most one-day races are in the spring, but this one is an exception. Officially, it’s called the Giro di Lombardia or Il Lombardia. Unofficially, it’s known as the race of the falling leaves or summat like that. It’s the autumn one-day race. The…
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Rui Costa is climbing something
In my World Championships road race preview, I listed a load of major contenders before concluding it would probably be one of the other riders who won. Never let it be said that you don’t get accurate predictions on this website. Rui Costa is a very strong young rider, capable of winning Grand Tour stages…
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Who will win the 2013 World Championships road race?
No idea. Absolutely no idea. Chris Froome is nominated as Great Britain’s leader, but he’ll need it to be a really tough race where he’s basically last man standing in order to win. Chris Boardman has said that if Froome’s coming into the final straight on his own, there’s still a good chance that he’ll…
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Tony Martin really can do a decent team time trial on his own
The team trial took place over the same course as the individual time trial. Based on his individual time, Tony Martin would have finished sixth in the team event. Being as it’s easier to cycle behind someone else – particularly at higher speeds – that’s an astonishing fact. Tony Martin could compete as an individual…
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Contenders for the time trial at the 2013 World Championships
It ain’t much of a spectator sport, but the world time trial promises great drama this year. This is because there are three major contenders, whereas time trials often seem to be more about whether Tony Martin will get a puncture or not. Bradley Wiggins Wiggins is known for winning stage races off the back…
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How did Bradley Wiggins win the Tour of Britain?
The same way he always wins stage races. He rode steadily and conservatively on all the road stages and then smashed everyone to pieces in the time trial. Why break from a winning formula? And to complete a picture of British cycling in microcosm, Mark Cavendish won the final stage. Cav winning the sprints, Wiggins…
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Mark Cavendish jiggles up Guildford High Street
Sprint finish. Mark Cavendish won. But it was a bit of an odd one. It seems Cav’s lead-out man, Alessandro Petacchi, is still strong enough at the age of 39 to split the peloton on the run-in to the line when everyone’s pretty much going flat out. There was him, Cavendish and then some other…