Category: Vuelta a Espana
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John Degenkolb v Michael ‘Bling’ Matthews
John Degenkolb and Michael Matthews are suited to similar sorts of stages, but yet I much, much prefer the former. Why? I’ve given it some thought and I think it boils down to name, appearance and interests. Name Michael Matthews’ nickname is ‘Bling’. I might be alone in this, but I find that spectacularly annoying.…
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Michael Matthews can sort-of-sprint and sort-of-climb
There was much dicking about in captain’s hats and aeroplane cockpits at the start of the day, with the stage beginning aboard The Don Juan Carlos I aircraft carrier. The ship managed to remain afloat despite being subjected to the weight of Carlos Betancur, but later on kilograms proved more of an issue with the…
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Nacer Bouhanni is the Vuelta sprinter
Grand Tour sprint days have had a surprisingly small cast this year. Marcel Kittel started the Giro as if he was going to win every single flat stage. Then, when he dropped out of the race, Nacer Bouhanni took over. In the Tour, Kittel again looked totally dominant and while he actually waned a bit,…
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Eight pairs to watch in the 2014 Vuelta a Espana
There aren’t enough race previews binding riders together into twos. Let’s be honest, all the best things come in pairs. Also Twixes. The Chrises – Chris Horner and Chris Froome Horner won last year. Froome’s one of the big favourites to win this year. What more do you need to know? Horner’s age, maybe? He’s…
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Devastating news about Domenico Pozzovivo
The Vuelta just lost a very small amount of its lustre. Our favourite rider, Domenico Pozzovivo, has had to pull out. His season’s over after a feline encounter on a training ride. At 1m65 and 53kg, Pozzovivo isn’t exactly a big bloke. You would however think that he’d come out the better of the two…
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Who’s riding the Vuelta?
Who ISN’T riding the Vuelta? The Spanish Grand Tour is generally a back-up plan or secondary target for the very best riders, which means the line-up can be a bit hit and miss. This year, for various reasons, it seems to have secured one of the strongest fields seen in any race in years. There’s…
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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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Michael Matthews was the sprinter who was glad he turned up for the 2013 Vuelta
No-one else was. Two sprint finishes. Two Michael Matthews wins. The Chris Horner post-Vuelta interview on ITV4 Was one of the most extraordinary slabs of gibberish I’ve ever heard. It was a bizarre collage of amazings and beautifuls. UK readers can see and hear it here. The gibberishiest gibberish comes from around 39 minutes in.…
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Chris Horner’s standing climbing style wins him the Vuelta
There’s a phrase in cycling: ‘dancing on the pedals’. It’s used when a rider gets out of the saddle on a steep slope. The finest exponents sway sinuously, the bike flicking from side-to-side beneath them. Several times during this Vuelta, commentators have said that Chris Horner has been dancing on the pedals. If Chris Horner…