This surprising Tour continues with a new summit finish in the Pyrenees after a hard final 60km with tough backroad climbs. Julian Alaphilippe’s spell in the yellow jersey continues but he’s got little support and rival teams want to work him over.
Tour de France Stage 14 Preview
The Pyrenees and a summit finish on the Tourmalet, a long climb and a big test for Julian Alaphilippe.
Tour de France Stage 13 Preview
A time trial to shake up the overall classification before a series of mountain stages. If watching a TT on TV isn’t your thing then don’t miss La Course this morning.
Tour de France Stage 12 Preview
The race heads into the Pyrenees with two hard climbs, this should give us a fight for the breakaway but the main GC contenders will aim for a steady introduction ahead of tomorrow’s time trial
Book Review: One Way Ticket
One Way Ticket: Nine Lives on Two Wheels by Jonathan Vaughters
Jonathan Vaughters has written an autobiography that covers his start in cycling, the rise up the ranks and his move into team management. I’d been looking forward to this book for some time as there few books from senior team managers, the only other contemporary one is from Marc Madiot.
In A Roundabout Way
Nobody knows how many roundabouts there are in France, only that their number has soared. The image of the peloton parting like a school of fish to navigate a roundabout has become a televisual staple and they sometimes form tactical features of the course, ask Jacob Fuglsang and Thibaut Pinot or see Edvald Boasson Hagen exploit one to get away for a stage win in 2017. They’ve become an unloved feature of France and even political. Let’s take a tour…
Tour de France Stage 9 Preview
The Bastille Day stage with a hard start and a tricky climb at the finish, this should be a day for the breakaway.
Tour de France Stage 8 Preview
One for the breakaway across some fine roads to ride, a succession of peaceful climbs in woodland, including some surprise climbs on very small rural roads. This should be a hard stage and those with ambitions for the overall classification need to avoid the traps and ambush risk.