Author: Alex

  • Cavendish wins, Wiggins doesn’t

    It was less than a week ago that I tried to get us all to appreciate the near-inevitability of a Mark Cavendish sprint win. I don’t think I managed it and perhaps the measure of the man is that I feel in no hurry to correct that – I’ve infinite chances to get it right,…

  • Cadel v Cav

    Apologies to the winner, Ramunas Navardauskas, but yesterday’s stage was a bit nothingy. There was a big break (not a Big Break – that would be unacceptable) and Navardauskas showed great strength to win from it, but nothing much happened in the general classification. That will almost certainly be the case again today, but we will…

  • Uran Uran unleashed

    It’s amazing the difference a double-D can make. I’m not being lecherous; I’m referring to woeful 80s posers Duran Duran. They were rubbish, but Team Sky’s Uran Uran is very good. He won stage 10 and leapt into third place in the general classification in the process after finishing 30 seconds ahead of the leaders…

  • The peloton is very wicked

    That’s the only conclusion one can draw, because they don’t get much rest. It was a rest day yesterday, but that still involves a couple of hours on the bike to remind their legs that there’s plenty more to do. Today, it’s back to work and already there’s some serious climbing to be done, as…

  • Ryder Hesjedal has problems

    After yesterday’s time trial, I said that Ryder Hesjedal was a big loser. Today I’m saying he has problems. What is it about the Canadian that makes me talk like I’m in Mean Girls? The defending champion lost over a minute to his rivals on stage nine. He looked rocky in the time trial and…

  • Alex Dowsett wins Bradley Wiggins’ stage

    This is the problem when you have your entire offensive centred on just one stage. If it doesn’t go enormously well, what do you do? Bradley Wiggins was expecting to at least go into the race lead after yesterday’s time trial and he was hoping to put significant time into his rivals. As it turns…

  • Bradley Wiggins doesn’t like descending in the wet

    That’s my conclusion after he lost a bunch of time on stage seven. Maybe he should spend less time climbing volcanoes in Tenerife and more time skittering around in Lancashire, near home. Bradley Wiggins fell off his bike on a corner and he lost a minute and a half on his main rivals. It’s worth…

  • Adam Hansen has put the work in

    This is a bit controversial, but I’m going to post twice about stage seven. I’ll deal with Bradley Wiggins’ time losses and the general classification in a bit, but first let’s honour today’s stage winner, Adam Hansen. Who? A lot of professional cyclists don’t really have a specialty and therefore find it difficult to win…

  • Mark Cavendish imposes order

    Approaching a sprint finish, the peloton is a ruddy great mess. It’s a teeming beast where lines of riders intertwine, break, attach, merge and occasionally make a gravel rash offering to the gods of the road. Who’s leading? Watch TV coverage and it can be hard to pick out the main contenders. They’re the ones…

  • John Degenkolb’s moustache wins stage five of the Giro

    With no changes in the general classification, by far the biggest news on stage five was that John Degenkolb’s moustache conquered steep climbs and crashes to sprint to victory. Here is a photograph of John Degenkolb’s moustache (seen here with a man called John Degenkolb attached to it). Sprinters are more muscly than other riders…