With just over two weeks to go here’s a downloadable calendar of the Tour de France for your electronic diary or smartphone.
ASO, the UCI and Sports Betting
In recent years, sports betting has become more and more popular. It’s glory days for the bookmakers but also for the event organizers. Due to the rapid increase in sports betting and thereby property and image exploitation, the event organizers naturally want a piece of the cake as well, writes Mikkel Condé.
Book Review: Merckx 69
Eddy Merckx has just turned 69 but the number has another significance for him: 1969. It was the first year of Merckx’s domination, the first feast for his cannibal appetite. This book chronicles that year via a series of rich images.
Anxious Times at the Tour de Suisse
The Dauphiné brought great racing with the top contenders for the Tour de France in Alpine action. The Tour de Suisse promises more of the same but also racing of a different kind with riders struggling to be themselves, competing for the eye of their managers and with whole teams in racing against time to save their future.
The Moment The Race Was Won: The Dauphiné
Andrew Talansky leads the breakaway on Stage 8 of the Dauphiné. He’d gone clear in a maxi-breakaway early in the stage and became the virtual race leader on the road. By now Alberto Contador was chasing and eating into the lead but Talansky was driving the pace almost as if in a solo breakaway. This was the moment the race was won.
Le Journal Du Dimanche Accuses UCI and Froome
French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) has come up with the sensational headline “Froome “dopé” par l’UCI” which doesn’t need much translation. Behind it is the allegation that during the Tour de Romandie Chris Froome fell ill, the team doctor wanted him to take an anti-inflammatory drug called prednisone and the UCI gave approval and that this was “rushed” with “administrative legerity”.
Dauphiné Stage 8 Preview
All to play for. In recent years the final stage has been a bit of a let down, a fight for the stage win but a procession for the overall classification. This year it’s different with just eight seconds separating Alberto Contador and Chris Froome and time bonuses on the finish line.
Sportsmanship and Ethics in Pro Cycling
Watching the opening game of the FIFA World Cup reminded me why I don’t watch much football. A Brazilian player called Fred felt a rival’s hand on his shoulder and collapsed to the ground as if struck by a sniper. In football they call it a professional foul, elsewhere it’s called cheating.
Not that cycling is superior. Here cheating is elevated to an art and the rulebook can at times resemble an à la carte where participants, including the governing body, select the rules they want like a diner picking their dinner. What ever happened to sportsmanship?
Dauphiné Stage 7 Preview
The Queen Stage of the 2014 Critérium du Dauphiné promises to settle this month’s duel between Chris Froome and Alberto Contador although it’s so close we might still need Sunday’s final stage. This is a tough day with the two hardest climbs saved for last. If that’s not hard enough the hot weather could break into thunderstorms for the finish.
Note today’s stage is forecast to finish later than usual.
Dauphiné Stage 6 Preview
Glance at the profile and it looks like a day for the sprinters but look more closely and the final 30km include some disruptive roads that promise a tense finish with several sharp climbs including a 15% wall with two kilometres to go.