Tag: Alejandro Valverde
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Chris Froome more than a little relieved that there wasn’t more road
The final climb of the 2015 Tour de France was really quite something. A French cyclist, Thibaut Pinot, in the lead; Chris Froome, in the yellow jersey, a few minutes back; and in between, Nairo Quintana, effectively bearing down on both of them. The Colombian was far and away the fastest-moving – but did he…
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Alejandro Valverde is occasionally the bride
Now that I look upon his breathtaking white dress, it suddenly seems inaccurate to call Alejandro Valverde a perennial bridesmaid. If he fulfilled the role once again at Amstel Gold, finishing second, it turned out that this was merely an omen of what was to come. A win in Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday was followed…
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Alejandro Valverde still likes La Fleche Wallonne
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘did Greg Van Avermaet come second, or possibly, in light of his recent major results, third?’ The answer is no. He didn’t race. He might be back for Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday, but I don’t actually know his race itinerary, so I can’t confirm that. This year’s La Fleche…
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Dan Martin remains upright round the final corner
Dan Martin has spent most of this season on the deck. He crashed out of the Giro on the first day, he crashed in the Tour any number of times and most memorably of all, he crashed on the final corner of Liege-Bastogne-Bastogne when he was in a position to win it for the second…
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The buoyancy of Michal Kwiatkowski
It’s always good to know that a win isn’t a fluke and being as the World Championships finished with the same three riders on the podium as in this year’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege (albeit in a different order), we can reassure ourselves that the cream did indeed rise to the top. If it had been a sprint……
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Alejandro Valverde adds to the uncertainty
I love the Vuelta. I really, really love the Vuelta. I’ve been thinking this a lot recently and can’t put my finger on precisely why I enjoy it so much more than other races. Sometimes it’s best not to scrutinise these things lest you inadvertently dissipate the magic, but one thing I’ve concluded is that…
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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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Velocipedes at the Empire Games
A quick update from the Commonwealth Games where, unlike the Tour de France, British riders have figured prominently. Time trials Cycling News went all Phil Liggett, calling Alex Dowsett’s win for England ‘the ride of his life’. The rider called Rohan (Dennis) came second for Australia and Geraint Thomas took bronze for Wales. In the…
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A French majority on the Tour de France podium
Chances are, if you’re into cycling, you’re not anti-French. I think most of us would consider having French riders finishing second and third in the Tour to be ‘a good thing’. Okay, you’d probably prefer someone from your own country to be standing somewhere on the podium, but failing that, it doesn’t do any harm…
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Alejandro Valverde falls off the podium
He’s been tottering around these last few days, but on stage 18, Alejandro Valverde finally slipped. Now he’s lying in the dirt, clawing at the air and screeching the word ‘podium’ like Gollum. There was an unseemly rush to take his place. The French have been like queuing primary school children, all pressed up against…