History

The Pyrenees, Mountains of Myth

Pyrenees Brouillard Tourmalet

The mountains have long remained a mysterious place where the truth can be as murky as the fog. Before the railways made France accessible, many believed those who lived in the mountains were freakish figures and imagined strange beasts roamed wild. It’s not all false, today you will find bears in the Pyrenees and wolves in the Alps.

Cycling loves its myths and each July sees the race return to the Pyrenees. Like a child visiting a grandfather, the same stories are told every year. There are the broken forks of Eugène Chistophe, the cry of “assassin” from a Octvave Lapize as he passed the organiser on a steep climb and more. Only many of these tales are exaggerations and even fabrications.

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Book Review: The Tour de France

The Tour de France by Christopher S Thomson

This is a history of the Tour de France with a difference. It is written by a professor who places the race and the development of France into a social, economic and cultural setting. There are several books to tell you who first won the yellow jersey or the identity of the youngest post-war winner of the Tour de France *, the kind you might receive as a gift. This is sort of book you’d buy for yourself.

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Hard As Nails

Rabobank Tour de France

Today’s stage of the Tour de France saw a clever win by Luis Leon Sanchez who attacked Peter Sagan just as the Slovak was riding one handed to eat some energy food. Behind the bunch took it steady on the Mur de Péguère, the steep slopes didn’t incite attacks. Instead the drama came from a section of road that was littered with nails, provoking a wave of punctures. This enlivened the racing but it was not good television. Instead of attacks, we got tacks.

The event has made the TV news bulletins in France. This isn’t the first time it has happened in the race. A century ago nails were almost part of a rider’s tactical arsenal and their appearance on the route of the Tour led to fundamental changes in the race.

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Did Ag2r Avoid Breaking Saunier Duval’s Losing Record?

A double win yesterday for French squad Ag2r La Mondiale. First they won in the Circuit de Lorraine Professionel, a 2.1 stage race on France’s eastern borders thanks to Sébastien Hinault. Then Sylvain Georges doubled-up with a fine solo stage win in the Tour of California.

Until now they had yet to win a race this year and were a day away from “beating” the longest losing streak set by Saunier Duval who didn’t win a race until 19 May back in 2005. This time Ag2r won their two stages on 18 May, a day ahead. But 2012 is a leap year meaning the French squad might have won earlier in May but we’ve had an extra day in the year.

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The Original Rapha

St Raphael jersey

Say “Rapha” and many cyclists will associate this with a London-based company producing semi-retro styled cycle clothing. But this start-up has appropriated a slice of history as it tries to evoke tales of epic rides and hardened riders for its brand. Here’s an explanation of where the name comes from.

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Ag2r La Mondiale into second place

Ag2r giro d'italia team

The UCI Pro Tour started in 2005 as a way of categorising the top teams in pro cycling and has since become the World Tour. Since this designation became many teams have enjoyed success and failure but we must go back to 2005 for the longest losing streak when Saunier Duval didn’t win a race of any kind until 19 May with Leonardo Piepoli taking a stage in the Tour of Catalonia.

But French squad Ag2r La Mondiale now surpass the second longest losing streak set by Euskaltel-Euskadi in 2005, when they didn’t win a race until 8 May. With no stage in the Giro and Europcar’s Matteo Pelucchi winning the final stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, Ag2r now beat the Basque team to take second spot in the losing streak status race and now need to win a race in the next 10 days to avoid setting the “record” currently held by Saunier Duval.

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Book Review: The Jersey Project

The Jersey Project by Bill Humphreys and Jerry Dunn

The cycling jersey has changed so much over the years. From a simple piece of clothing made out of wool, today’s jerseys deploy modern fabrics, reflect corporate sponsors and are cut to suit a racer bent low on the bike. This book traces the evolution of cycling jerseys, cataloguing all the changes via a series of photos.

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Book review: Eddy Merckx The Cannibal

Merckx history book biography

Eddy Merckx, The Cannibal by Daniel Friebe

During his career Eddy Merckx won roughly one third of all the races he started. For an unbroken period of seven years he finished no lower than first in every grand tour he completed.

Daniel Friebe’s biography is more than the story of Merckx, it is a history of cycling under the reign of rider known as The Cannibal as told by interviews and anecdotes from the riders who saw their hopes, ambitions and earnings swallowed up by the insatiable Merckx. Yet many now seem cheerful about the whole experience.

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Tuesday shorts

What does the picture above remind you of? No, this isn’t a Rorschach test, it is a painting by British artist Chris Billington. Can you see anything that looks like a bike race?

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Paris-Roubaix: The Moment The Race Was Won

Boonen Terpstra breakaway

A fast start, an early breakaway, crashes in the Arenberg forest. So far, so typical of Paris-Roubaix.

Then with 56km to Tom Boonen and team mate Nicki Terpstra got a gap and then on the cobbled section at Auchy-lez-Orchies, Tom Boonen rode away from his team mate, launching a solo move that saw him ride to a record-equalling fourth win in the queen of classics. This was the moment the race was won.

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