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…
Valerio Conti was one of 12 riders who bothered to race
A peculiar day with the break being given not just a gap, but a chasm. They finished half an hour before the peloton – although none among them had been within half an hour of…
Jens Keukeleire exploits a rare non-summit finish
With Steven Kruijswijk having ridden into a bollard earlier in the race, I was confident in my spelling for the rest of this Vuelta. Then along comes Jens Keukeleire to win what you could probably…
Chris Froome outsprints Nairo Quintana
I love a one-on-one sprint between two climbers. They’re so ill-equipped. It’s like watching a number 11 batsman trying to make the crucial runs that will win a Test match; a taste of the amateur…
Chris Froome’s pacing strategy reaps second-place rewards
Well that was spectacular. Nairo Quintana took the stage and regained the race lead, but it was Chris Froome’s bizarre, ‘okay, you have a head start’ ride that was the most memorable. The final climb…
David de la Cruz benefits from his own future failings
It might be confusing to see Nairo Quintana riding until his lungs burn to take the overall race lead one day before seemingly gifting it away the next. Spaniard David de la Cruz won stage…
When Nairo Quintana attacks…
Cheap populist documentaries like When Animals Attack at least have plenty of source material. You’d struggle to put together more than a few minutes for an episode of When Nairo Quintana Attacks. This year’s Tour…
Jonas van Genechten brings his own (very short) script
There’s a case for saying that the so-called sprint stages are the most interesting in the Vuelta. The relative dearth of actual sprinters and the fact that no stage is particularly flat lends a delightful…
