Category: Tour de France
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Chris Froome more than a little relieved that there wasn’t more road
The final climb of the 2015 Tour de France was really quite something. A French cyclist, Thibaut Pinot, in the lead; Chris Froome, in the yellow jersey, a few minutes back; and in between, Nairo Quintana, effectively bearing down on both of them. The Colombian was far and away the fastest-moving – but did he…
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Nairo Quintana in the third week
After Chris Froome hurried his way to what appeared an impregnable lead after stage 10, I wrote that Grand Tours aren’t just about who’s fastest, they’re also about how tired you get and I pointed to how Nairo Quintana had been stronger than Froome by the end of the 2013 Tour. So it has proven…
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Bearded win for Simon Geschke and goodbye to the most famous Tejay since Hooker
Simon Geschke’s a good strong support rider and I was slightly surprised to learn that this was only his third professional win. A man with a beard as lustrous as his surely deserves more success. As is so often the case by this point in the race, Geschke got in the day’s break, attacked on…
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Sky to prove everyone right by releasing Chris Froome power data
The rest day will be no such thing for Chris Froome. The column inch shortfall resulting from a lack of racing has in recent times been filled with reasoned debate/rabid frothing about the performances of whoever happens to be the race leader. Team Sky’s good performances have attracted much vitriol among those who don’t believe…
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Peter Sagan finishes second to… Ruben Plaza?
No, me neither. Ruben Plaza won a stage of the Vuelta a Espana a decade ago and he’s been Spanish national champion a couple of times, but I’d have had him down for break fodder; one of those faceless riders who makes up the numbers and ultimately gets dropped. He didn’t though. He waved goodbye…
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Andre Greipel doesn’t get dropped
Greipel wins! Take that pedals! If you’re wondering why I always say that, it’s because Andre Greipel is the most hard-pedalling of all the Tour riders. Other sprinters may sometimes be faster, but they don’t have to push the German’s huge and not-particularly-aerodynamic frame through the air. There’s also his gargantuan basking shark mouth, which…
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Steve Cummings is coming… and now he’s gone past you
I tell you what you don’t see much of in cycling – overtaking. Riders will attack a group, but when they ride up to someone from behind, their first impulse is always to just tuck in behind and conserve a bit of energy. Not Steve Cummings. Just over the top of the steep final climb…
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Peter Sagan can even finish second to Greg Van Avermaet
There are a handful of riders who I characterise as perennial bridesmaids, but Jesus Christ, if you’re coming second to Greg Van Avermaet you’ve entered a league of your own. For a long time I thought Greg’s full surname was Van Avermaet Narrowly Missed Out On Victory. So the Peter Sagan runner-up story rumbles on.…
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Joaquim Rodriguez is again the fastest while attacks rain down on Chris Froome further back
A second stage win for a popular rider following his victory atop the Mur de Huy. The question is, will it be enough to persuade Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen to learn how to pronounce his name? That’s a trick question. Of course it won’t. Joaquim Rodriguez has been around for well over a decade…