Book Review: The Cycling Anthology Volume 2

Cycling Anthology Volume 2

I enjoyed Issue 1 of The Cycling Anthology and now Volume 2 is out with a Tour de France theme. Whether planning or luck there’s a take on Colombian cycling history – ¡ Hola Quintana ! – as well as a look into German cycling – fünf stage wins and counting – via the curious career path of Linus Gerdemann.

The idea behind The Cycling Anthology is simple, a collection of essays about pro cycling. Some of the writers will be familiar if you read the various cycling magazines. But here there are no glossy photos nor adverts. It’s almost retro but portable despite over 300 pages. If it fits into your pocket, the prose stands out.

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Tour de France Stage 13 Preview

Tour de France Stage 13

Another day, another sprint? Yes and if I’d pencilled in today’s run as the most boring of this year’s Tour de France there’s always room surprise, especially for the superstitious on Stage 13. Yesterday we saw Chris Froome narrowly avoid a crash whilst team mate Edvald Boasson Hagen left the race with a broken shoulder.

There are not many chances left in the Tour for the sprinters. Perhaps tomorrow but that’s uncertain and then all that remains is Paris. With so few chances left for the sprinters to win this means high pressure to deliver.

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Tour de France Stage 12 Preview


The Tour goes to Tours, better know in cycling as the finish of Paris-Tours, the so-called “sprinters classic” held every autumn. No sprinter is towering over their rivals and the various sprint trains seem evenly matched too which promises another close finish, especially because today’s stage ends with two bends in the final kilometre.

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A Trial To Watch

Chris Froome Mont St Michel Tour de France

Time trials are crucial in the Tour de France. Yet for all their importance, watching a rider pedal solo rarely offers great TV. Barring a crash or puncture, the only action comes at the time checks and finish line meaning 95% of the video output features a rider tucked into an aero position, face masked by a visor. It’s like watching a metronome set to 90 bpm.

Can more be done to make a time trial more interesting on TV? The answer is yes, from low tech ideas all the way to telemetry and graphics software and other sports show the way.

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Tour de France Stage 11 Preview

A stage to reshape the overall classification. If the 2013 Tour is all about the mountains, today is the exception with a flat course that’s exposed to the wind, a route to scare the climbers.

But it’s short and the time gaps should be deliberately small in order to preserve the suspense of the race. Tony Martin is everyone’s pick to win the race but the suspense comes in seeing how the overall classification changes.

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Sponsoring the race instead of the team

Peter Sagan green jersey

Cycling represents great value for a sponsor. You’ve probably seen the news that a sponsor can get big publicity for a modest outlay, a big return for a small investment. What’s not to like?

But talk of return ignores the other side of the coin: the risk. Sponsor a pro team and it can blow up in your face with a doping scandal. Even if all your riders are healthy and honest then backing a team still isn’t for every brand.

But whilst several teams are struggling for sponsors, multinational corporates are backing the Tour de France, partnering with the event instead of its participants. Here’s a look at what it costs to get your company name on leader’s jersey and more.

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Tour de France Stage 10 preview

With the Pyrenees in the rear view mirror there’s less to look forward to this week in terms of terrain and scenery. But we’ve still got the biggest race on and it’s rare to see the top sprinters go head to head in the season, the Tour is one of the few times it happens and today should be the day.

The race cuts across Brittany but there’s coastal section for the finish where crosswinds or simply the fear of a crosswind could be enough to panic the peloton.

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Rest Day Notes

You’re never short of a story during the Tour de France. The racing gets covered in full but there’s plenty more going on too. It’s the level of coverage that makes July such a rich month for cycling.

With no racing on today here’s a collection of notes and thoughts, from presidential leaks to team mergers, sunglasses to sausage.

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Tour de France Stage 9 Review

Dan Martin wins Stage 9 of the Tour de France. If you were to scan the results you’d see a chasing group with Froome, Contador, Valverde and Quintana and other names. Only you’d never know what happened.

Instead this was one of the most explosive mountain stages for years, a day when everything was thrown upside down by a relentless start where attack followed attack and Chris Froome found himself without a team mate. In the end things calmed down but it was still a wild stage.

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Tour de France Stage 9 Preview


Yesterday was supposed to give some insight into climbing form but the stage brought such conclusive results that it’s tempting to see the next two weeks as a victory lap of France for Chris Froome. He’s in the ideal position after one mounain stage but there’s a long way to go and others have been calculating their race on the final week. So be careful not to extrapolate too much from one day, a point that’s valid for results, tactics and performance.

Today’s stage is another in the Pyrenees but quite different to yesterday’s summit suspense. A series of climbs make for a tough day that could be hard to control and finally time for a breakaway to stick.

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