Stage five: Fabio Aru is no muppet
It was a day for the breakaway big hitters. When he’s not at the front of the break, trying to ride everyone off his wheel with a complete absence of subtlety, Thomas de Gendt is…
Stage one: Geraint Thomas has the power
The Tour de France is underway! Rumour has it they considered starting with a bang but instead decided to go with a time trial in Germany. It sort of makes sense. Frying some onions isn’t…
Who will win the 2017 Tour de France? Yellow jersey contenders
The Tour de France starts on Saturday. Someone’s going to win the overall. Who? Let’s take a look at the runners and riders. Chris Froome – Team Sky The only runner in this list hasn’t…
Jarlinson Pantano never knows when he’s beaten
Or maybe he does. Maybe he worked it out at the finish when he came second. Jarlinson Pantano was dropped at least three times on the final climb by Julian Alaphilippe. Each time he hauled…
Chris Froome is slightly further ahead
This is, increasingly, what the Tour de France amounts to. You should never, ever discount a twist in the mountains, but if there is a script, the final time trial stuck to it. I’ve not…
Everyone goes past Nairo Quintana
Many have wondered when we might finally get a devastating Nairo Quintana attack in the mountains. The answer, you’d assume on today’s evidence, is never. The not famously selfless Alejandro Valverde will be livid. Just…
Tom Dumoulin wins another thing (a time trial, specifically)
Wasn’t even close. Tom Dumoulin finished 1m03s ahead of Chris Froome in second and 1m31s ahead of Nelson Oliveira in third. The gaps stretched out from there. It was Dumoulin’s second stage of the race…
Chris Froome running towards the finish line halfway up Mont Ventoux
Crowd knobheads have given us many memorable moments in the Tour de France, but surely few can rival the sight of Chris Froome, in the yellow jersey, running up Mont Ventoux with no bike anywhere…
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…
