Category: Tour de France
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Alberto Contador’s team for the Tour de France
Yesterday, I wrote that Alberto Contador was devoid of team-mates for most of the final stage of the Dauphiné and so Pierre wrote to ask: “Were they all just knackered from the previous day’s efforts or are they just going to be shit at the Tour de France?” The short answer is that Contador was…
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The biggest names in the Dolphin
With respect to the bairns of this year’s Giro, it wasn’t the most stellar field. Nairo Quintana is a big name, but once Joaquim Rodriguez had pulled out, he was racing against riders we were all fairly certain were inferior. You can quibble with that and point to Rigoberto Uran, but I’d say he merely…
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Some of the key stages of the 2014 Tour de France
I’ve tried to work out which stages of this year’s Tour are likely to shape the general classification narrative. I say ‘narrative’ because while a later mountain stage might have a greater impact on the race as a whole, a few seconds snatched early on seem a lot more significant. Maybe it’s just the way…
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The Yorkshire Tour de France climbs – a stage two preview
Stage two: York to Sheffield, 198km – Sunday, July 6 (stage profile) Britain. Proper Britain. This isn’t some half-arsed parade into the centre of London, but proper, harrowing, British cycling. Stage two of the 2014 Tour de France starts in Yorkshire and passes through the Peak District. It’s also long. Don’t be deceived by the…
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Grand Tour contenders – who’s racing what in 2014
It’s a common misconception among casual followers of cycling that all the best riders compete in the Tour de France. This is, patently, bollocks. If the route doesn’t suit them, many riders will instead centre their efforts on the Giro or the Vuelta – often both (albeit with greater emphasis on the Italian race, which…
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My highlights of the 2013 pro cycling season
The 2014 season starts on Sunday with the Tour Down Under, so here’s a somewhat overdue list of my highlights from 2013. It absolutely isn’t that I saved this as a draft months ago and kind of thought that I’d published it, but hadn’t. In no particular order… Adam Hansen’s Giro stage win I’m a…
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The cobbled stage of the 2014 Tour de France
The 2014 Tour de France route was announced yesterday, but it’s too much information to tackle in one go. I’d therefore like to start with just one of the more eye-catching stages because it also fits with my other aim for the close season of getting people a bit more enthused about the Spring Classics.…
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How did Chris Froome win the 2013 Tour de France?
By cycling slightly more quickly than everyone else, you might answer, if for some unexplained reason you wanted to be profoundly irritating. Let’s not go down that route. Let’s instead review the race. Now we’ve got a complete picture, we can look back and identify the bits that matter. Artists and photographers will tell you…
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Best of the 2013 Tour de France
Ben: What’s your favourite Beatles album then? Alan Partridge: Tough one. I think I’d have to say The Best of The Beatles. Everyone likes a ‘best of’. Best moment – Sir Jan Bakelants The second yellow jersey of this year’s Tour tried to claim a knighthood for himself after his stage win. Personally, I think…
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Chris Froome’s position on the bike (and in cycling)
For much of this year’s Tour de France, I’ve been trying to work out whether Chris Froome looks more like a stick insect or a grasshopper when he’s on a bike. I was just settling on grasshopper when I saw this. Turns out he looks more like a praying mantis. A scuttling riding style It’s…