The Spin – Stage 11

“In Alps you are an eagle or a cretin”
Victor Hugo, Philosophie Prose

The hardest stage of the race? One of only two Alpine stages in the Tour this year, the question only arises because of the 148km distance which makes it one of the shortest stages this year. But all the better to make the race come alive as riders will have relatively fresh legs all day so whilst some will soar today others risk failure.

Even better this is another stage that will be televised from start to finish so if you’re lucky you won’t miss a pedal-stroke of the action.

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UCI President Mistaken Over USADA Case

“I’ve read what they’ve said but as they’re not licence holders so I don’t know how they can ban them or what they can be banned for”

“From the UCI’s point of view we can’t see how these guys can be sanctioned for life,” said McQuaid. “They are not UCI licence holders, so under what grounds can they be sanctioned?”

Those are the words of the Pat McQuaid, president of cycling’s governing body, the UCI. The first quote is after speaking to cyclingnews.com, the second is after speaking to Velonews. He was commenting today on the lifetime ban issued by the US Anti-Doping Agency to Luis Garcia del Moral, Michele Ferrari and Jose “Pepe” Martí, all three staff or helpers of the US Postal Cycling team.

Only President McQuaid needs to check the UCI rulebook . The anti-doping code applies to all licence holders, that is obvious. But Article 18 says it applies to all team staff as well, even if they have no team licence. So there are good grounds for the UCI to apply USADA’s ban worldwide.

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The Spin – Stage 10

The first mountain stage of the race, some have dismissed today’s route as the main climb is too far from the finish, meaning there’s time for riders to regroup and recover instead of allowing an attacker to power to the finish. That’s true, but only just as the climb is so big that time taken isn’t easy to pull back.

The Tour’s handbook lists this as one of only three étapes de grande difficulté or “stages of great difficulty” owing to the climbing and the distance.

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How To Beat Team Sky

Wiggins Maillot Jaune

In the Dauphiné race back in June Bradley Wiggins beat Cadel Evans in the time trial stage by a margin of 103 seconds. He did the same again yesterday, but on a course that was over 10km shorter; far from peaking too soon, Wiggins’ performance advantage over Cadel Evans seems to have grown, although take care not to extrapolate one day’s racing too far. Still, Wiggins’ background is on the track and taking almost two minutes in a time trial is the equivalent of catching your rival in the pursuit race.

But all is not lost for the others. The race is still not at the halfway point and all the media like to say anything can happen. There’s an element of desperation, a message of “don’t touch that dial” in case the audience begins to switch off. But it is also true, there are random events, the errant spectator who knocks Wiggins off his bike, the hairpin bend on a wet day or the tiny shard of glass that lies waiting somewhere on a French road. But there are also tactical considerations, the events that riders can shape.

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Thibaut Pinot

Pinot Porrentruy stage win tour

He might ride for the French lottery, he might have a four-leafed clover on his jersey but yesterday Thibaut Pinot didn’t get lucky. Instead his stage win was clever tactics coupled with strong riding rather than a breakaway finally beating the odds. I’ve tipped him on here and it seems even Team Sky are watching him closely.

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The Spin – Stage 9

Tour Stage 9 profile

If the race so far has been like a murder-mystery novel with clues as to the rider with killer form, today should reveal their identity, leaving the others to work on their plans to entrap the best rider in the coming days.

A 41.5km time trial, the stage is more technical and hilly than the profile above suggests, although it remains a test for the specialists.

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Pinot Wins, Madiot Roars

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ-BigMat) won today’s stage of the Tour de France. The youngest rider in the race, he delighted French fans with a big win to confirm the hopes invested in him. But there was nobody more delighted than team manager Marc Madiot.

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The Spin – Tour Stage 8

Again this isn’t really a mountain stage. But nor was yesterday’s route and it was still decided by the climbing. Today is as much about descending as climbing with some very steep climbs but also some tricky descents. It’s also short and promises action from start to finish, ideal since it will be televised live from the start.

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Tour Stage 7

Chris Froome Planche des Belles Filles

As many have remarked, when Team Sky launched they stated the aim of winning the Tour de France. It seemed far-fetched but my take was that when you have a big sponsor and you launch the team then you cannot say much else.

Today this aim is now a possibility and in Sky’s management style, a big box to tick. The British squad is in a very comfortable position with both Wiggins and Froome in control and don’t forget it was the work of Edvald Boasson Hagen, Michael Rogers and Richie Porte that shredded the peloton. It split in the approach to the final climb, it exploded on the slopes of the Planche des Belles Filles.

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The Spin – Stage 7

All change. If you’ve been dipping in and out of the Tour de France during the last week, today’s the day to plunge right in as first proper summit finish of the race appears. But the climb is not Alpine: it will give us clues about the relative form of riders and 10 minutes of tension.

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