Author: Alex
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Denis Menchov reveals himself
Not like that. Although even if that did happen, you wonder whether anyone would notice. Denis Menchov’s season has reminded me of that bit in Back To The Future where Marty McFly starts fading from existence. He started the Tour de France as a contender, but slowly receded from view and, if I’m honest, I’d…
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Alberto Contador finally shakes Joaquim Rodriguez
The 2012 Vuelta a Espana has featured a lot of Alberto Contador attacks. In pretty much all of them, he has appeared to tow Joaquim Rodriguez along behind him like a little Spanish caravan in a red jersey. However, today, on stage 17, Contador finally uncoupled his unwanted cargo – but how did he manage…
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How steep is the Puerto de Pajares near the finish?
Lungs of Indurain! Who put tarmac on that wall? The end of stage 16 was not all that friendly to a bunch of cyclists who’d already cycled 170km over several mountains and who were into the third week of a Grand Tour. The pace slowed to a degree that would have been comical if it…
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Chris Froome loses the Vuelta
I’ve said before that no-one really wins a Grand Tour. It’s more that one person manages to postpone losing until after the race has finished. At some point or another, everyone else loses. It’s much like life. I’m pretty sure that Chris Froome lost the Vuelta yesterday. A few panting efforts in previous stages foreshadowed…
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Alberto Contador and his mid-climb sprints
Yesterday’s Vuelta stage was about recovering from pain. A long climb creates deep-rooted, constant physical discomfort and then Alberto Contador garnishes it with sudden sprints that bring an extra layer of acute agony. There aren’t many sports where you have to recover from sudden intense activity while still putting in a reasonable amount of effort.…
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Steve Cummings breaks the break and wins a stage of the Vuelta
There are several reasons why the day’s break is such an important part of bike racing. In most cases, the sheer hope-over-logic glorious bone-headedness of the enterprise is hugely pleasing (even if it is, in reality, largely motivated by a desire to increase sponsors’ exposure). There’s also the fact that it gives worthy, overlooked riders…
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Joaquim Rodriguez likes the Vuelta a Espana and its summit finishes
Long climbs have a ‘Dear Lord, when will it end? I’m so very, very tired of experiencing pain’ quality to them. However, short and steep can’t be beaten for pure agony. Pain is rationed in a long climb. It’s intense and seems unendurable. However, when the road kicks up to 20 or 30 per cent,…
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Chris Froome looks a bit wobbly
Not on his bike, you understand, although it would be totally forgivable – those time trial bikes are too damn narrow. They should do time trials on shopping bikes and Raleigh Choppers to keep everyone safe. No, what I actually mean with that title is that Froome’s Vuelta ambitions look a bit shaky after yesterday’s…
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Purito Rodriguez is a crafty bugger
Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez is making me talk like a police captain from a derivative Eighties film of late. “Damn it, Rodriguez – what are you doing?” I hear myself say in a grizzled over-the-top American accent. It’s a rhetorical question, because what Purito is clearly doing is ‘going for the win’. He is doing this…
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Joaquim Rodriguez can sprint uphill
If the finish is short and steep, look for a strong short-arse. Joaquim Rodriguez sprints uphill with precisely no respect for gravity. They said he’d win stage six and he did. Sprinting uphill is a demented thing to do. On the flat, you push the pedals until it feels like someone’s doused your thighs in…