Five moments from 2011. They are a personal choice like any list sometimes you omit more than you include but I’ll explain each moment. They’re presented in no particular order.
Here, a double header: Stage 18 and Stage 19 of the Tour de France. I could cover each stage as a separate highlight but that means I’d have to drop something else from the year so a tandem highlight…
Stage 18 of the Tour de France saw something special: a contender for the yellow jersey launching a long range attack.
I’m going to pick five moments from 2011. They are a personal choice like any list sometimes you omit more than you include but I’ll explain each moment. They’re presented in no particular order.
First up is Stage 13 of the Tour de France from Pau to Lourdes. Allow me to set the scene. We had Thomas Voeckler in yellow and a relatively short stage across the Pyrenees dominated by the hors catégorie Col d’Aubisque. Revisiting my preview of the stage I called things quite well predicting a breakaway and pointing out the descent would suit risk takers. But few thought Thor Hushovd was going to win.
First up don’t get visions of thousands of Frenchmen waving banners and going on strike. Protests are small but nevertheless the arrival of the Tour de France at the Planche des Belle Filles ski station is filling some pages of the French press.
Flashback to July and Alexander Kolobnev tested positive in the Tour de France. It was the only doping scandal of the 2011 race and the media besieged the Château de Salles, the Katusha team’s overnight accommodation. Some riders and team staff went to police station, adding to the tension.
Except now the verdict has fallen and it’s far less dramatic: a warning and a fine of 1,500 Swiss Francs (US$1,700). We will get further details of the case in two weeks when the Russian authorities publish their verdict in full. But this is the lightest option possible, a small fine and no suspension. This suggests Kolobnev presented satisfactory evidence to prove he accidentally ingested the banned substance. But the case highlights a lot more.
The opening week of the Tour de France was marked by several crashes that took out many riders including several favourites for a podium spot. Nobody wants this, even TV producers who might get a thrill from the carnage realise that decimating the cast of contenders isn’t good for their viewing figures over three weeks. A formal review from the UCI has suggested reducing size as a solution.
Regional newspapers are big in France, selling more than the national dailies. Open a local newspaper and you don’t have to turn many pages before you find the latest on the grape-picking harvest or minor traffic accidents. It reinforces the pleasant idea that not much happens in rural France, there just isn’t enough bad news to report.
For many places in France the passage of the Tour de France is the highlight of the year or even the decade. In a great piece Le Monde today reports on the importance of a stage visiting French towns. There are 36,000 mayors, from Paris down to tiny villages, and most of them would love to see the race visit their corner of France.
The leaked route proved true but only the summary details came out last time. This is a race of 3,479km but it comes down to a few strategic points and today’s presentation showed where these will be.
Yesterday saw the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia routes leaked on to the internet. Conspiracy or cock-up?
Both races like to unveil the route at a set-piece presentation, the chance to showcase the event, to explain the route and construct a narrative around the route to unite the stages into a three week story. For example in 2010 we had the celebration of the Col du Tourmalet and the Pyrenees in general, 2011 saw the same in the Alps thanks to the Col du Galibier. This year’s Giro d’Italia celebrated 150 years of Italian unity. We’ll see what the message for 2012 is on Sunday for the Giro and the following Tuesday for the Tour.
Tour de France organisers ASO briefly published stage details on their website this afternoon and Dutch journalist Sander Slager alerted me to this via twitter. They’ve since taken down the listings but I was fast enough to copy the information down.
Here is the 2012 Tour de France.
The 2012 Tour de France hasn’t been announced but the blogosphere has a good take on the route already. Whilst rumours circulate it seems several reports are confirming that the first mountain stage will feature the Grand Colombier climb in the Alps. It sits above the Lac du Bourget near Aix Les Bains and regardless of the route to the top this a hard climb with double-digit gradients and ramps at 20% at times. Many riders will know it from the Tour de l’Ain race held every August.