Half-decent time trial from Fabio Aru the most meaningful ride of the day
The threat of a time trial is a lot more interesting than the time trial itself. Beforehand, you can try and gauge riders’ fitness and fatigue while simultaneously weighing their size and power. You can…
Purito earns a stupid hat and a different jersey
Stage 15 was notable for a rare sighting of the fabled Haimar Zubeldia, a man of such astonishing invisibility that he has five Tour de France top ten finishes to his name without anyone even…
Joaquim Rodriguez is again the fastest while attacks rain down on Chris Froome further back
A second stage win for a popular rider following his victory atop the Mur de Huy. The question is, will it be enough to persuade Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen to learn how to pronounce…
Who’s the fastest climber in the peloton?
If the long mountain passes later in the race will test climbing efficiency and the sustainable uphill speeds of the top riders, the Mur de Huy asks a rather simpler question. ‘How quickly can you…
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…
Yellow jersey contenders in 2014
Who’s going to win this year’s Tour de France? Probably one of these guys and most likely one of the first two. But plenty can happen over the course of a Grand Tour. Just think…
Why every Joaquim Rodriguez win should be celebrated
Joaquim Rodriguez has cornered the market on bridesmaidery and for that, you should celebrate his wins. He deserves them more than most. While Purito won a number of races last year, his season was defined…
Joaquim Rodriguez would like a bit more Vuelta
Perhaps irritated by Chris Horner’s habit of making him sound like he’s from Turkey or somewhere, “Hakim” Rodriguez finally found the zip he seems to have been lacking for most of the Vuelta and won…
Joaquim Rodriguez, Alejandro Valverde and the relationship between their wheels
It’s not like I haven’t written about Dan Moreno and uphill finishes before. He went up the final climb like a cockroach up a wall – which is intended to be descriptive, rather than insulting…
Nairo Quintana wins stage, runner-up spot, mountains competition and white jersey
What an excellent finish to the general classification. The final climb of the 2013 Tour saw the peloton whittled down to pretty much the top 10 riders and this then became the eventual podium –…
