Seeing the day’s breakaway get reeled in and beaten resmebles a nature documentary where the predator inevitably catches and consumes its prey. Only this day in Tirreno-Adriatico was different as a carnivorous Contador joined with the breakaway riders to help escape those in his pursuit.
It’s easy to see the Ronde as one of the sport’s best races but it doesn’t automatically deliver the best racing. This year’s edition had solid action through the final hour and suspense right until the end.
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.
Let’s limit this to one Tour de France highlight. It’s a tough pick, do we celebrate Tony Martin’s enormous ride across the Vosges? Celebrate Ag2r’s joy as the team stood below the podium in the pouring rain while Blel Kadri took the applause for his stage win? What about the French pride at two riders on the podium, the way the sport was reaching people like it used to? Or those huge crowds in Yorkshire and London?
The highlight was the stage to Wallers-Arenberg, 155km and several cobbled sections.
The hardest climb you’ve never heard of? The Giro d’Italia has included the Colle Fauniera sparingly and perhaps needs to go back at some point to correct this. For everyone else it’s open all summer and is one of the most spectacular climbs in the Alps.
The Bike Deconstructed: A Grand Tour of the Modern Bicycle by Richard Hallet
How many parts does your bike have? You can start counting the wheels, frame, bars, pedals and so on but it’s all the small pieces you forget about. Take the seatpost, it’s got clamping bits, bolts, fasteners and washers. Even a headset can have ten more component pieces when if you include any spacers and the compression nut and that’s before you count the individual ball bearings. The point is that even the lightest race bike is made up of a very large number of parts. Too much? That’s for later but first the book review.
I’m going to pick five moments from 2014. They are a personal choice. With any list you often omit more than you include but I’ll explain each moment. They’re presented in no particular order.
First up is the Critérium du Dauphiné, we got the duel between Alberto Contador and Chris Froome but it was Andrew Talansky who won with the suspense lasting until the last minute of the last day.
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.
Last year I nominated a dozen riders to watch for 2014 from promising neo-pros to established world champions. It’s been a mixed year with success, surprise and some misfortune. What happened?