The pro peloton’s existence is predicated on imitation. You can buy the same bike as the world champion, you can have the same clothing as the yellow jersey. “What the pros ride” is the sporting equivalent of “as seen on TV”.
There’s one aspect nobody should be copying: the practice of slinging used bottles, wrappers and other waste into the countryside. Time after time riders hurl their empty food packets away. This might change in 2015.
After the highlights, the lowlights. Sport is meant to have its drama but pro cycling often crosses the line from pantomime villainy to worse. Here’s a round-up of some of the lows.
This won’t be the most read post of the year but hopefully it’ll sit quietly on the site to help those asking search engines for information.
Every few months a reader will email to ask where to find Laurent Fignon’s grave in Paris. There’s no grave, the double Tour de France winner died in 2010 and was cremated. His remains were placed in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, a tourist attraction for the graves of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and more.
What would Miguel Indurain have done? The Spaniard won the Tour de France five times in a row as well the Giro twice and more. He built his wins in the time trials and now that foundation has crumbled, no more so than next summer’s Tour de France with its meager 13km opening stage.
Pro cycling’s calendar runs from late January to mid-October leaving a vacuum that lasts longer than three months. All riders deserve a vacation and a chance to do something else. Why stop the show? Could the sport race all year instead?
After yesterday’s look at the established pros, what happened to the six neo-pro picks for 2014? It’s been a more mixed story which reflects the variety of life as a junior pro, some triumph while others don’t break through.
There’s a fuss about George Hincapie’s gran fondo because it’s resembling a US Postal reunion. Lee Rodgers sets out the moral case on crankpunk.com. But whether your sympathetic to Hincapie or Armstrong or not doesn’t matter. The UCI rules are clear:
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
