Tour de France on TV

Category: Tour de France

  • Stage two: Marcel Kittel in no mood for upsets

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    Alex
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    If Marcel Kittel has a weakness as a sprinter, it’s ensuring he’s at the pointy end of the race when he has a couple of hills in his legs. There were no real hills today and no hills yesterday. There certainly weren’t any hills the day before because the race hadn’t even started. Kittel also…

  • Stage one: Geraint Thomas has the power

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    Alex
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    The Tour de France is underway! Rumour has it they considered starting with a bang but instead decided to go with a time trial in Germany. It sort of makes sense. Frying some onions isn’t particularly exciting in itself, but it’s nevertheless the starting point for any number of delicious dishes. Similarly, a 14km time…

  • Who will win the 2017 Tour de France? Yellow jersey contenders

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    Alex
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    The Tour de France starts on Saturday. Someone’s going to win the overall. Who? Let’s take a look at the runners and riders. Chris Froome – Team Sky The only runner in this list hasn’t been his usual dominant self of late, winning all of no-races-whatsoever so far this season. He’s still the man to…

  • Who will win the green jersey? The points competition contender for the 2017 Tour de France

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    Alex
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    Peter Sagan. That’s about it really, isn’t it? He’s won the points competition (here’s what that is) in each of the last five years and it’s hard to see anyone beating him. However, working on the premise that you never know when a broken collarbone might strike, here are a few other names to watch…

  • Andre Greipel holds his bike in the air in celebration

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    Alex
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    Greipel wins! Take that, pedals! For a Tour de France that has at times felt surprisingly familiar, there was one last thing to tick off. Since 2008, Andre Greipel has won at least one stage in every Grand Tour he’s entered. He left it late this year. Indeed, it wasn’t until the very moment that…

  • Jarlinson Pantano never knows when he’s beaten

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    Alex
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    Or maybe he does. Maybe he worked it out at the finish when he came second. Jarlinson Pantano was dropped at least three times on the final climb by Julian Alaphilippe. Each time he hauled his way back. Eventually he grew weary of being weary and returned the favour by attacking Alaphilippe. Shortly after, Vincenzo…

  • Romain Bardet stays upright – Chris Froome doesn’t

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    Alex
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    The only thing falling harder than the rain was the riders. Grand Tour cycling is athletically and mentally tough, but the possibility of crashing is an additional brutality that occasionally rises to unwelcome prominence. Chris Froome was one who fell, his front wheel apparently growing weary of traction. It would take too long to list…

  • Chris Froome is slightly further ahead

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    Alex
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    This is, increasingly, what the Tour de France amounts to. You should never, ever discount a twist in the mountains, but if there is a script, the final time trial stuck to it. I’ve not much to report really. Chris Froome won; Tom Dumoulin was a very respectable second; Fabio Aru and Richie Porte were…

  • Everyone goes past Nairo Quintana

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    Alex
    in

    Many have wondered when we might finally get a devastating Nairo Quintana attack in the mountains. The answer, you’d assume on today’s evidence, is never. The not famously selfless Alejandro Valverde will be livid. Just 18 seconds behind his team-mate at the start of the day, he launched a ‘softening up’ attack on the final…

  • Peter Sagan again after Tony Martin again

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    Alex
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    The peloton sustained an outrageous speed in the opening hours of racing. This was because it was pursuing Tony Martin. Martin does this fairly regularly, usually as a kind of unofficial training ride. The finest example was in the 2013 Vuelta when he rode alone all day and almost won. It seems to be how…