Ag2r La Mondiale’s Team Budget

It’s been a winning year for Ag2r La Mondiale with Jean-Christophe Péraud’s second place in the Tour de France but so much more including Carlos Betancur’s win in Paris-Nice plus the team prizes in the Giro and Tour de France and they might have won in the Vuelta had Domenico Pozzovivo, Carlos Betancur and Alexis Vuillermoz been present and in-shape. Nevermind the speculation, they’re third on the UCI’s team rankings today.

But how much does it all cost? Having looked at Team Sky’s accounts recently here’s a look at the numbers for a French team.

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The Moment The Vuelta Was Won

Alberto Contador attacks on the road to the ski station of Aramón Valdelinares. With early-day escapees up the road this move was more than a test, he took time on all his GC rivals and turned the story of a broken leg into a breakaway, going from crash victim to wounding the hopes of all his rivals.

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Vuelta Stage 21 Preview

The End. A final time trial but that’s so short it should be labelled an epilogue. The overall classification is unlikely to change and instead the suspense is reserved for the stage winner. For once this is a time trial held in the absence of Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara.

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Vuelta Stage 20 Preview

The final mountain stage. The podium places are not certain and today could see the gaps narrowed ahead of tomorrow’s final time trial.

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Vuelta Stage 19 Preview

The last stage of the Vuelta? Well it’s the last stage for a large share of the peloton looking to salvage something from this race because tomorrow’s summit finish is fierce and Sunday’s short time trial is reserved for the specialists.

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Vuelta Stage 18 Preview

Better late than never? The web hosting company’s had problems but here’s the preview of Stage 18. Pointless? Well maybe orth putting up for to see the prediction go wrong… and more usefully to ensure Manuel Díaz’s daily contribution is there to read.

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Jens Voigt’s Last Hour

Jens Voigt is going to attack The Hour record on 18 September. It’ll be on TV. It seems he’s on course to beat the record but should leave something on the boards for others to have ago. It’s the perfect move for him and The Hour as a contest.

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Vuelta Stage 17 Preview

The final week’s racing resumes with a stage suited to the sprinters, the last flat stage of the race. Just one problem: there are not many sprinters left in the race. It’s not that riders can’t rush for the line but with few teams capable and willing to chase down a breakaway the certainty of a sprint is reduced.

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Contador’s Vuelta

Religious miracles have been built on less. Alberto Contador’s resurrection from a broken leg to the strongest legs in Spain continues as he rolls on towards Santiago de Compostella. It’s hard to see how he can be beaten now and the battle for the podium could be settled too.

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Roads to Ride – La Farrapona

It’s only appeared once in the Vuelta but La Farrapona has already made a name for itself. There’s the Alto de la Farrapona as the climb and the Vuelta lists the finish as the Lagos de Somiedo. But La Farrapona has stuck. What’s it like to ride?

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