Andy Shleck is alive and well. A lot of the coverage of his retirement has resembled an obituary, with sorrow at his sudden departure, talk of a promising career that stopped too early and people sharing fond memories. Apart from a knee that can’t take the demands of pro cycling – the doctors said if he kept riding he’d need a knee transplant before he’s 40 – he’s in rude health, has a young family and he’s a millionaire too. He’ll be ok.
Team Sky announced five signings and the unanimous opinion seems to be there’ll all strong riders, to the point where picking nine for the Tour de France will keep some list-makers busy over the winter. Injuries and other incidents will hit the best laid plans, just ask Richie Porte who’s Giro bid went bad before the race started. With Nicolas Roche and Leopold König the team is buying in riders to work as helpers who could be leaders on other World Tour squads… and this is exactly what big teams do.
König’s case is perhaps the most interesting. Seen as a climber he finished seventh overall in the Tour de France via fifth place in the final time trial, his second highest placing in the race so he’s much more complete than a pure climber.
Who’s Leaving Sky / Alonso Update / Bardet’s 4 year deal / All change at FDJ? / Ferrand-Prévot’s ambitions / Contract Deadline Day / Milan-Turin / Jean-Paul Gaulthier inspured by Del Tongo team
If all good things come to an end then the only choice left is to pick the moment to quit. Jens Voigt is ending his career with an attack on the Hour Record, Cadel Evans is planning antipodean swansong and others are leaving the peloton like Thor Hushovd or David Millar. Some get to choose when but most don’t.
Watching bike races in August feels like being in a seaside resort out of season because after the Tour everything feels slower, quieter, smaller. There’s also a lack of a story, riders are racing to win each day but it’s hard to judge their efforts against a wider criterion or a bigger upcoming goal. Even if the Vuelta might’s fast-approaching it’s hard to judge form levels and some riders aren’t racing before starting the third grand tour. But there’s one immediate event coming up and its qualification for the World Championships this week. Here’s a look at how various can qualify and which ones will send large squads to Spain.
Famous as one of the fastest men in sports Fernando Alonso is proving to be a pedestrian cycling manager. His team is struggling to get going.
Want to see the future? Well today is the day because it marks three futuristic events: rider transfers, team registrations and hiring stagiaires for the rest of the season.
The meeting above of Fernando Alonso and Peter Sagan seemed to represent the future but six months later things seem to be turning out quite differently.
As part of a series to explore the famous roads of cycling, here is the Planche des Belles Filles in France. The idea with this series is to discover the road and its place in the world, whether in cycling’s folklore or to explore what it is like on a normal day without a race.
The Planche des Belles Filles is a novelty that first appeared in the Tour de France in 2012 after the Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme came across cyclists buzzing about the climb on a forum. It’s back for the 2014 Tour and could well feature again and again.
A big day of climbing but the route has the look of a decisive stage in reverse, a series of climbs followed by a flat run to the finish. Consequently it’s not as selective because the finish allows time for things to regroup. It’s a deliberate choice not to make the race too selective, instead it offers the certainty of a big breakaway. It’s all on tough roads where it will be hard to control and if a team or two wants to launch an ambush it can be done.
Denis Menchov has been given a two year ban and stripped of all results from the Tour de France in 2009, 2010 and 2012 following a successful anti-doping prosecution based on findings from his biological passport.
It’s the biggest catch so far by the UCI, a grand tour winner who is now thrown off the podium of the 2010 Tour de France. Only the news was discovered accidentally by a cycling fan browsing the UCI website earlier this afternoon. Later today the UCI issued a short press release to confirm this but explaining little else.
