Mirror, mirror, up the wall, who is the fastest of them all? Today’s stage is 180km to an uphill finish via the Côte de la Glacerie, “Glassworks Hill”, with its 14% section just before the line.
Tour de France
Tour de France Stage 1 Preview
The race begins and the first stage seems to have a known ending: surely a sprint finish? Probably but the riders have to get to the finish first and there are some obstacles in the way including plenty of crosswinds and a fraught finish. It’s live on TV from start to finish.
Who Will Win The Tour de France?
Who’s going to win and do you really want to know? The problem last year was that it was all too obvious too early rather. Ideally this would all come down to the final moments of the final mountain stage, a showdown over the top of the Col de Joux Plane and the toboggan run down into Morzine.
Two riders stand out in Nairo Quintana and Chris Froome but the route will reward others and the irregular climbs and several downhill finishes mean it’s as much a test of W/kg as a test of nerves. Here’s a look at the contenders and pretenders for the 2016 Tour de France.
Who Will Win The Mountains Jersey?
An iconic jersey and an accidental competition. If a big name rider wins like Chris Froome did last year then it’s incidental, a bonus on top of the yellow jersey. If a lesser rider wins then we may appreciate the effort but it can feel like the triumph of arithmetic rather than a genuine award for the best climber. Either way it’s a fine prize and many riders will try to wear it, even one day can mark a career. Here’s a look at the competition for 2016 with the contenders and what’s new with the points scale.
Who Will Win The Green Jersey?
A trick question? Peter Sagan was such a convincing winner of the Tour de France points competition last year that it’s hard to imagine anyone else winning. He’s taken the green jersey home four years in a row and even when they changed the rules to tilt the competition against him last year he still won.
So why ask the question? Because it’s still worth posing and also gives us the chance to assess his rivals. Above all if last year’s rule tweak was anti-Sagan, this year’s route is too. Here’s a closer look at the competition from the points scale to the likely scorers.
Tour de France Guide
Here’s the guide to the Tour de France stages, all the profiles and a quick take on each day, as well as ancillary information like the points scales for the green and polka-dot jersey classifications and more.
Tour de France iCal
With 10 days to go here’s a downloadable calendar of the Tour de France for your electronic diary or smartphone with brief details of each stage.
Why Show The Whole Race?
Why was Paris-Roubaix live on TV from start to finish? Pose the question and the answer isn’t immediately obvious.
It’s to do with advertising, the media landscape in France and technology. More and more people are watching normal programs with a delay, either recording the show or using catch-up streaming services, says Daniel Bilalian, the head of sports at France Télévisions in an interview with L’Equipe’s print edition last Saturday.
A La Walkowiak
“They stole my Tour, they’re bastards“
That’s 1956 Tour de France winner Roger Walkowiak talking about the Parisian newspapers who criticised him for winning the race. To this day “winning à la Walkowiak” is a term used for an easy or an unexpected win, often in cycling but sometimes beyond, a French politician can triumph à la Walko too. With Paris-Nice passing by the city of Montluçon today, birthplace of Walkowiak, it’s a good day to correct this phrase. What if à la Walko really meant to take an impressive win at the end of a great race?
The Rowdy Crowd
Much was made last summer of the hostile reception given to Chris Froome as he rode around France with reports of urine being thrown at him and Richie Porte saying he was punched as he climbed to La Pierre St Martin. Readers even emailed in to ask if the Tour de France is safe to visit (of course it is). In fact hostility from the crowd, or at least a few morons along the way, has long been part of the sport. Gino Bartali got lynched and Jacques Anquetil even named a boat after the jeering crowds.
A few incidents might still shock but the wonder is why an event that passes 12 million people with barely a barrier, tape or fence between athletes and spectators doesn’t see more trouble.