Tag: Tony Martin
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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 rather like the Eneco Tour, but didn’t really get chance to follow it too closely this year. It’s rough and…
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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 example was in the 2013 Vuelta when he rode alone all day and almost won. It seems to be how…
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Tony Martin doesn’t win time trial gold at World Championships
Tony Martin wins time trials. That’s his thing. Last year, when Bradley Wiggins won gold at the World Championships, he looked very, very unhappy on the second step of the podium. It was widely assumed that he would come back this year and set things straight. It was therefore somewhat surprising that he came seventh.…
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Give Tony Martin an inch and he’ll cycle away from you very quickly indeed
Tony Martin, on his own, can almost beat the entire peloton over a distance of 175km. When he decided to have a go with 3.3km to go on stage four, the front group didn’t stand a chance. They’d maybe have stood half a chance if they’d chased him down instantly, but Geraint Thomas was on…
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The freakish box-ticking of Bradley Wiggins – a World Championships Time Trial review
Sit Bradley Wiggins down, hand him a form and a ballpoint pen and ask him to tick some boxes. He’ll look at you with a surly look on his face and probably flick the pen at you in a fit of pique. Then he’ll look at the form, spot something he likes the look of…
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Alberto Contador steals Tony Martin’s headlines
I think I’ve said this before, but the problem with being Tony Martin is that everyone expects you to win time trials, so when you do, it’s literally unremarkable. What’s newsworthy is when you lose. Tony Martin won the stage 10 time trial, so let’s move on. Over the handlebars The most dramatic moment of…
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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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Best of the 2014 Tour de France
As I said when I did the same thing last year, everyone loves a ‘best of’. Best viewing option – mute What is it about cycling that attracts such mediocre commentary? Sean Kelly’s emotionless analysis on Eurosport is usually interesting and informative, but while his partner, Carlton Kirby, can have his moments, when he starts…
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Vincenzo Nibali cares not for gravity
If Richie Porte is ‘flying’ then Vincenzo Nibali’s in orbit, effortlessly circling the earth. Just as it did in 2012, La Planche des Belles Filles brought clarity to proceedings. Searing, searing clarity. What happened? One of the greatest aspects of the Tour de France is the sheer number of different stories unfolding simultaneously. Sometimes it…
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Tony Martin gets his revenge on the peloton
Here are three facts about Tony Martin. He would have finished sixth in the world team trial last year, competing on his own He once told Lance Armstrong to get fucked He raced the entire peloton over the full length of a stage of last year’s Vuelta a Espana and almost won On that Vuelta…