Money makes the wheels go round in pro cycling and the governing body has just quietly published its annual report on UCI.ch. Here’s a look at the financial report for the calendar year ending 2013 and the summary take is a steady year.
Tour de France Stage 22 Preview
A 13.7km time trial in Utrecht. The flat route suits the specialists and we’re likely to see Tom Dumoulin up against Tony Martin for the stage win while the GC contenders will aim to contain their time losses.
The Moment The Race Was Won: The Tour de France
Stage 10 and Vincenzo Nibali wins atop the Planche des Belles Filles. It was one of only two days when he wasn’t wearing the yellow jersey but he reclaimed the race lead with a performance so strong that doubts about his form in the mountains were crushed.
Tour de France Stage 21 Preview
Not just one but nine victory laps of the Champs Elysées. The final stage is part parade, part criterium and both pointless and essential.
Tour de France Stage 20 Preview
The only time trial of the Tour de France but the distance compensates for the absence. 54km is long for any race but as the 20th stage it’s going to feel even longer for some.
Tony Martin winning the stage and Vincenzo Nibali staying in yellow seem as certain as the passage of time but the podium places are still up for grabs.
Tour de France Stage 19 Preview
North to Paris! The race leaves the Pyrenees behind with 200km to ride to Bergerac. This is no rest day but it doesn’t have the same strategic interest as the previous days in the mountains nor tomorrow’s time trial. A sprint seems likely but because it’s the last chance for many teams to win a stage this is the last battle.
Roads to Ride: Hautacam
Does it exist? Stage 18 of this summer’s Tour de France finishes in Hautacam but many maps don’t show anywhere called Hautacam. But it’s testimony to the geopolitical force of the Tour and the tourism industry that, like an invading army, the map of France gets rewritten.
What is certain is that the climb exists and if it is a relative newcomer to the Tour de France, it’s a case-study of Pyrenean climbing with an irregular road.
Tour de France Stage 18 Preview
The final mountain stage of the Tour de France and a great way to end given the short distance, the mighty Col du Tourmalet and then the road to Hautacam, one of the hardest climbs in the Pyrenees.
Le Jargon Cycliste
Have you ever had ants in your legs and found yourself sporting a lightweight sock? Or did you end up pedalling with two legs on the same pedal?
The French cyclists and TV commentators often talk about le jargon cycliste but they don’t mean the technical terms such as watts per kilogram, haematocrit or press-fit bearings. Instead le jargon is a long list of poetic phrases and slang.
Tour de France Stage 17 Preview
The shortest road stage of the Tour and possibly the best thanks to the repetition of Pyrenean passes before a famous summit finish. It’s live on TV from start to finish.