Just as the last remaining sunflowers await harvest there’s one more classic at stake. A classic with a small “c”, Paris-Tours has a long history and some big winners but doesn’t enjoy the same status today sitting outside of the UCI’s World Tour. Nevermind the UCI’s label this race consistently offers a lively finale, a tense battle between between the breakaway and the sprinters.
Want to run a pro team? You need millions of Euros a year. Here’s a closer look at the team budget of Ag2r La Mondiale, the French team in the World Tour sponsored by one of France’s largest mutual insurance companies.
When Guillaume Van Keirsbulck took off yesterday we got to see his attack live on TV and then the rest of the 200km procession. Good TV? Perhaps not unless you’re tuning in for the scenery but it’s better than the alternatives on a midweek afternoon.
Having all the stages televised live from start to finish is a novelty for 2017. Why? It’s a story of supply, demand and dull daytime TV schedules.
How many times have you driven somewhere, or been sat in a train, and looked out to see a road and thought “I have to ride that“. The Plateau de Solaison is one such place, visible from the autoroute between France and Italy as a balcony road cut into high cliffs. It’s also the final climb of the final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné this year, a discovery for the pro peloton and a very tough climb.
French magazine Le Cycle has labelled the Mont du Chat “one of the hardest” climbs in France and it’s back on the route of the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France after vanishing from these races for decades.
A challenging climb, almost traffic-free and with superb views from the summit. What’s not to like? Actually it’s hard work with few rewards along the way and a useful example of how the enjoyment of a climb depends on more than the road itself.
The Tro Bro Leon race took place yesterday with the win going to Corporal Damien Gaudin (Armée de Terre) and Laurent Pichon (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) winning a pig as the best local rider. This is a unique race and a remote one that may not attract the big names and World Tour teams but its quiet success proves it needn’t worry either.
With Paris-Nice done and Milan-Sanremo coming up soon it’s only a short ride along the coast between their two finish lines. Along the way there’s plenty of interest to the sport, from fine climbs, star gazing and a cycle path that’s so good the Giro used it for its opening stage a couple of years ago. Plus the definitive answer to whether it’s San Remo or Sanremo.
The first major stage race of the year starts on Sunday and then makes its way to Nice. There will be daily stage previews here and ahead of the race here’s a look at who might shine in the “race to the sun”.
Scenery, altitude, length, gradient, little traffic and variety: the Cormet de Roselend has it all. The only thing missing is celebrity status. The Tour de France has only used it a few times for the blunt reason that the pass was only tarmacked in the 1970s.
Riding some of the Tour de France route last summer under the pretext of route recons for this website’s stage previews was a pleasure. Cycling through rural France in the height of summer is always a joy.
Along the way there was a common theme of closed village cafés. Place after place so many had shut for good that there had to be a reason behind this trend and a mental note was made to explore what’s happening.