Tour de France

Where’s Alberto?

Contador

Today sees Alberto Contador’s pre race press conference and he has some explaining to do. Now maybe you know what’s been happening during the last year, you are aware of the series of events beginning with his positive tests, the delays, the rulings, the appeals and more. But millions of French citizens aren’t aware of these intricacies

So like or not, the positive tests from last summer have left many scratching their heads. This isn’t about doping, it’s more giving the French public an explanation and the chance to put his side of the story. Only nobody’s seen him in France.

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Is Eddy Merckx wrong?

“The UCI is going too far by banning the use of syringes for recovery products… it’s foolish and dangerous. The riders, as a consequence, are taking pills and risk unsettling their intestines. What they are doing in a Grand Tour is extraordinary, so why lay such strict rules on them? If a doctor says that they need recovery products, then they do. It’s not by drinking sugar water that they will recover from their efforts produced in the rain of that terrible stage with the Gardecchia…”

So says Eddy Merckx in an interview with L’Equipe, the words have been translated by cyclingnews.com. It feels like I’m doubting a god but I can’t help feel he wrong on the subject of recovery methods.

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The smell of fresh tarmac

La Patrouille

They say the Queen must think the world smells of fresh paint because everywhere the British monarch goes it is likely that the buildings have been smartened up with a fresh coat of paint for the occasion. It’s not that dissimilar to France at the moment, where with the Tour de France just days away, final preparations to the roads, towns and even fields along the route are underway.

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Tour de France to visit Qatar?

Qatar Tour

Confirmation has arrived of yesterday’s story on the blog that Qatar Airways have signed a deal with the Tour de France to provide air transport for the race. The company’s chief executive Akbar Al Baker is already in town for the Paris air show and as well as ordering some new planes, he shook hands with Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Tour organiser Christian Prudhomme today. As expected the airline will now fly riders from Grenoble to Paris-Orly after Stage 20…

…but what if this deal has more to it?

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Tour de France guide

2011 Tour de France

I’ve put together a guide for the 2011 Tour de France. It’s got a permanent link at the top of the page so it’s easy to find.

Go there and you’ll find profiles and concise analysis of each stage, a start list that’s currently a work-in-progress as well as explainer for the different jerseys plus a breakdown of the prizes payout.

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Eyes on the prize

Tour de France trophy

Win the Tour de France and you get the porcelain bowl made in Sèvres by the state-owned  pottery company Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. It’s a unique trophy and has no official title, except it is awarded “in the name of the Presidency of the French republic“. It’s elegant and you probably wouldn’t use it as a fruit bowl. But it’s not that valuable in crude money terms.

Instead, there are plenty of cash prizes up for grabs. The Euro might be in crisis thanks to worries in Greece and other countries but when the Tour de France starts, riders and teams stand to share a cash pot totalling €3,412,546. Over the three weeks there’s money up for grabs every day, from stage wins to team prizes, sprints to climbs but also prizes big and small for those who reach Paris.

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You know the Tour de France is coming when…

…special adverts appear to promote goods and services linked to the race.

Here are three adverts, the first is in French, the second doesn’t involve much speech and the third is in Dutch. But don’t worry, you don’t need to understand the language to get the message. Be sure to watch to the end.

French Eurosport has Virenque and the Devil:

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The calm before the storm

halle-ingooigem

It might be mid-summer but there’s a real shortage of racing for the next two weeks. There’s Belgian one day race Halle-Ingooigem on Wednesday and the European nations have their national championships at the weekend. But that’s about it until Saturday 2 July when the Tour de France starts.

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Could the first week of the Tour de France be the best?

Stage 4

When you look at the Tour de France route you often tend to skip the first week and look up the mountain stages. For good reason, often the opening days are a parade around the more northerly parts of France where sprint finishes are almost inevitable and nothing of great tactical consequence happens, apart from maybe some crosswinds or every few years, the use of some pavé.

But this time it’s different. The opening stage features an uphill finish with 2.2km at 4.7% and Thomas Voeckler lives just down the road. Stage 4 has 2km at 6.9% to the Mûr-de-Bretagne finish and it’s Philippe Gilbert’s birthday. Stage 6 has a 4% gradient just before the flamme rouge. Stage 8 finishes in a small ski station in central France.

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New rules for Tour de France competitions explained

Green jersey

At last, I’ve found a source quoting the new rules for the Tour de France points and mountains competitions. These rules have changed after Tour organisers ASO wanted to liven up the race a bit, to ensure the green jersey is more closely correlated with a stage winning sprinter and also so that the mountains jersey goes to a proper climber, rather than a calculator-wielding rider who takes off early on a couple of mountain stages.

Anyway, there had been talk of rules changes… but then more talk of more changes and nobody’s had a definitive version. Now it seems LiVE-Radsport.com have got their hands on the rules. Here’s how it works…

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