Chris Froome, jack of all trades, master of three-week racing | the 2017 Tour de France final week wrap
The Final Week Wrap is an attempt to give an overview of how things panned out in the Tour de France. It focuses on the general classification – which is the overall race – rather…
Stage 21: Dylan Groenewegen denies Andre Greipel his win
I didn’t see this. I was out cycling. Based on the overhead, Groenwegen started sprinting early and held on. André Greipel came from further back and while he finished strongly, he ultimately ran out of…
Stage 20: Chris Froome makes it seem like he was going to win all along
The Tour de France is typically won on climbs and in time trials. This year the climbing was pretty much a draw and Chris Froome won the time trials. Okay, Froome didn’t actually win either…
Stage 19: Edvald Boasson Hagen makes a gap
A lesson in the value of riding behind someone else today and the challenge of preventing others from doing so. Drafting means that it is tough to make a gap and gaps need to be…
Stage 17: Primoz Roglic unsurprisingly quick downhill
Last year Primoz Roglic was one hundredth of a second away from wearing the leader’s jersey in the Giro d’Italia. He went on to win the second time trial in that race, even though it…
Stage 16: Michael Matthews welcomes hills and crosswinds
Proof that the best way to beat Marcel Kittel in a sprint is to bin him long before the finishing straight. As I said before the race, the German tends to fade a bit as…
Froome and Aru play pass the yellow jersey | Second Rest Day Wrap
The Rest Day Wrap is an attempt to give an overview of where things stand in the Tour de France. It focuses on the general classification – which is the overall race – rather than…
Stage 14: Fabio Aru learns that the peloton is long
As cocky finishes go, Michael Matthews’ 50m long no-handed roll to the line was up there. Greg Van Avermaet couldn’t catch him even when he stopped pedalling – although the ghost of Peter Sagan had…
