Chris Froome does the early riding | the first 2017 Vuelta a Espana rest day wrap
The Rest Day Wrap is an attempt to give an overview of where things stand in the Vuelta a Espana. It focuses on the general classification – which is the overall race – rather than…
Who will most enjoy the uphill finishes of this year’s Vuelta a Espana
If there’s one thing the Vuelta a Espana is known for, it’s throwing a hill in at the end of a stage. Flat day or mountain day, they tend to find one. There may be…
A good Vuelta for Froome’s reputation but a better one for Quintana’s
For a race so profoundly sprint-unfriendly, the final stage seems bizarre – almost irrelevant. Supposedly a reward for sprinters who’ve lasted the course, the truth is that few turned up in the first place, so…
Nairo Quintana not inclined to budge from race lead
In the end, the task of gaining over a minute on Nairo Quintana on a mountain stage proved as impossible as might realistically have been expected. If the Colombian has a weakness, it is not…
Chris Froome minces his rivals in the time trial
He minced everyone, in fact; minced them as if he had some sort of grinder hooked up to his oval chain ring and a hunger for mince that could not be sated. Only Movistar’s time…
Is Magnus Cort Nielsen really a sex symbol?
It took a while, but we finally got a fairly normal sprint stage. Danish rider Magnus Cort Nielsen – whose nickname is purportedly ‘Sex Symbol’ – took the win. If we’re to categorise this year’s…
Chris Froome looks on his last legs
Maybe it’s all that running he did earlier in the season – efforts which have reportedly earned him an invite to take part in a 10km run in Barcelona. The final climb of stage 17…
Jempy Drucker gets some attention
We’ve had a couple of long stage reports recently. This one doesn’t really warrant it. It was a messy sort of sprint finish as those looking to contest the win ran out of lead-out men…
Team Sky have an absolute bloody nightmare
The peloton is long. Containing getting on for 200 riders, it is a long way from the front to the back. It is even further from the back to the front, particularly when the damn…
Robert Gesink has a new modus operandi
Without wishing to sound too wilfully contradictory, Robert Gesink is an interesting rider for how boring he is. A man who has finished fourth and sixth in the Tour de France and who has three…
