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.
For the final of five pieces picking highlights from 2014, it’s been hard to choose an episode to celebrate, remember and review. It’s not for the lack of racing, there have been plenty of action-packed races and that’s just the ones we can see on TV, a lot of the sport still takes place beyond the reach of video. Rather it’s choosing which event to include.
Here is a look back at the E3 Harelbeke. Peter Sagan might do well to replay his win because it showed him triumphant, forcing the attacks and outsmarting breakaway companions, including an OPQS tandem. A far cry from his hesitant summer and invisible autumn.
Think of the First World War and you might conjure up black and white images of trench warfare from Northern France. This year has seen centennial commemorations for the anniversary of the outbreak of war in Europe. We saw the Tour de France take part with a route that passed memorials and battlefields. The dutiful ceremonies across much of Europe are important and remind us of the devastation.
But the war was fought across Europe and beyond and includes the Alps. Nothing offsets the devastation and loss of life but combat needs saw the establishment of new mountain passes and more accessible routes across the mountains. Today many roads used by the big races and cycle tourists were built out of a military imperative.
We celebrate the summit finishes and often forget the roads the roads that preceed them. Today’s the chance to venerate a climb that’s used en route to many a Tour de France stage finish and it’ll be scaled twice next July.
It’s worth riding for its own sake and ideal to combine with other high mountain passes in the area.
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.
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.