Tag: Climbers
-
Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana on Mont Ventoux
On stage 15, Chris Froome won cycling. I don’t mean he won at cycling, as in winning a race. I mean that even if he doesn’t go on to win the Tour, he won the sport of cycling. The longest stage for 13 years, the 100th Tour de France, a stage finish atop Mont Ventoux,…
-
Carlos Betancur climbs mountain and general classification
If you’re wondering what to get Carlos Betancur for his birthday this year, how about second place on a stage of the Giro d’Italia? He loves them. He’s now been second across the line on stages nine, ten and 15. Lord knows what stage 14’s third place was all about. He must have made a…
-
How steep is the Puerto de Pajares near the finish?
Lungs of Indurain! Who put tarmac on that wall? The end of stage 16 was not all that friendly to a bunch of cyclists who’d already cycled 170km over several mountains and who were into the third week of a Grand Tour. The pace slowed to a degree that would have been comical if it…
-
Chris Froome sacrifices stage, Tour and self for Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky
This may be an exaggeration, but it’s not as ludicrous as it seems. Bouncing up the final climb of stage 17, Chris Froome seemed entirely unarsed by the gradient and more than capable of hauling in Alejandro Valverde. However, he opted to wait for Wiggins. Potential stage win lost. Froome also outperformed Bradley Wiggins in…
-
Half an idea what’s happening in the Tour de France
If you’ve no idea what’s going on in the Tour de France, here’s an update from someone with half an idea. Lesson one: forget about all the guys who won stages in the first week. They were just making hay while the road was flat. Yesterday it was onto the serious business. One of the…
-
Chris Froome – your favourite British rider
We quite like both Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, but they’re not to everyone’s tastes. Chris Froome, however – as a Brit, how can you not get behind Chris Froome? The man has been suffering from bilharzia, a tropical parasite, for the last couple of years. He picked it up in Kenya, where he was…
-
The Schlecks – Tour de France riders to know and love
I have a friend called Dan who is one half of a pair of twins. He once told me that some of his mum’s friends call him “the twins”. What he means by this is not that these people call he and his sister “the twins”. He means that he can walk into a room…
-
Domenico Pozzovivo is also illogical
The reasons to love Domenico Pozzovivo keep coming, thick and fast – much like the rider himself should he be going uphill. Most revolve around his limitations – to ‘downhill’, ‘the flat’ and ‘time trials’ we can now add ‘in the wet’, ‘in the cold’ and ‘in a group’. Basically, he can go uphill on…
-
Why I love Domenico Pozzovivo
In general, if you’re one of the best climbers, you’re one of the favourites for a Grand Tour. I love Domenico Pozzovivo because this doesn’t apply to him. I love him because of his limitations. Put Pozzovivo on a long, steep incline and he will ride away from everyone. If he were reasonably competent in…