Stage four: Cavendish finds more give in roadside barrier than Sagan’s elbow
It was a day of aqueducts, châteaux and sheep. The flat profile meant the break was always going to be caught and when that break turned out to be just one rider – Belgian Guillaume…
Stage three: Peter Sagan gets it wrong – but not wrong enough
It’s hard to explain why Peter Sagan’s win was so impressive. He only bested Michael Matthews by about half a metre – so why was it such a big deal? It boils down to this:…
Michal Kwiatkowski again surprised to beat Peter Sagan – even though he does it all the time
Peter Sagan is such a colossal figure in cycling that it’s odd to thing he doesn’t necessarily have more of a claim to greatness than Michal Kwiatkowski. Sagan does wheelies and snarfs Gold Bears like…
What does Peter Sagan eat after a bike race?
Haribo. Haribo Gold Bears, specifically. One fistful, smushed into the mouth via the palms of both hands. Here’s some footage, because I know that you’re yearning for footage. The greatest Haribo advert ever created ::…
Autumn round-up: from Belgium to Qatar
I’ve rather permitted the season to peter out and for that I apologise. Last time I wrote about actual racing, Steve Cummings had won the Tour of Britain. What’s happened since then? Eneco Tour I…
Peter Sagan again after Tony Martin again
The peloton sustained an outrageous speed in the opening hours of racing. This was because it was pursuing Tony Martin. Martin does this fairly regularly, usually as a kind of unofficial training ride. The finest…
Sagan! Crosswinds! Echelons! Magic!
Echelons! Was ever there a finer spanner flung gleefully into the works of a predictable bike race? Crosswinds are always fun. When a race splits into pieces on flat roads, all bets are off. It…
Michael Matthews conserves his power – Peter Sagan doesn’t
What an odd stage. The hill near the end suggested that we might have the likes of Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews, Edvald Boasson-Hagen and Greg Van Avermaet contesting a bunch sprint rather than the out-and-out…
Peter Sagan’s luxury wardrobe
Peter Sagan is some kind of deluxe onion. Peel back his layers and his appearance will barely diminish. His stage two victory has put him into the yellow jersey, but when someone overhauls his lead…
Green jersey contenders in 2016
I’ve been putting off writing this points competition preview for a few days now and presumed there was some reason for this – nothing conscious, just some mystic message from the cosmos saying: “No, don’t…
