Dekker returns

Thomas Dekker
Scope for improvement?

A quick mention of Thomas Dekker. In case you’re not familiar, he was once a promising Dutch rider but got busted for EPO. His ban is coming to an end and now he has a book out. If this sounds familiar, yes it is similar to the case of David Millar given the Scot has been banned, has comeback and also released a book this month.

Thomas Molenaar
As much as it sounds like Millar all over again, each case is individual. We can draw parallels but the picture isn’t identical. Yes to the doping bust, the partying, the alcohol and now the desire to make a fresh start is similar, not to mention the book release within weeks.

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Tour de France to visit Qatar?

Qatar Tour

Confirmation has arrived of yesterday’s story on the blog that Qatar Airways have signed a deal with the Tour de France to provide air transport for the race. The company’s chief executive Akbar Al Baker is already in town for the Paris air show and as well as ordering some new planes, he shook hands with Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Tour organiser Christian Prudhomme today. As expected the airline will now fly riders from Grenoble to Paris-Orly after Stage 20…

…but what if this deal has more to it?

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Turning good news into bad

This should be the positive story of the day. The UCI and AFLD working together, the sport’s governing body and the French anti-doping authorities have a deal to help ensure doping controls in the upcoming Tour de France are effective and thorough. Just what we needed to hear. Only a little bit of careless talk … Read more

Tour de France guide

2011 Tour de France

I’ve put together a guide for the 2011 Tour de France. It’s got a permanent link at the top of the page so it’s easy to find.

Go there and you’ll find profiles and concise analysis of each stage, a start list that’s currently a work-in-progress as well as explainer for the different jerseys plus a breakdown of the prizes payout.

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ASO partners with Qatar Airways

It doesn’t take much to help the environment!

So say Tour de France organisers for 2011. Before the race starts this year riders, team managers, the media and the publicity caravan will all be briefed on ways to help the environment, from rules on where riders can and cannot drop used food wrappers to advice for the media to car-pool and switch off the engine of their car if stationary for more than a minute. Indeed ASO says the reduction of C02 emissions is “our priority” too.

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Eyes on the prize

Tour de France trophy

Win the Tour de France and you get the porcelain bowl made in Sèvres by the state-owned  pottery company Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. It’s a unique trophy and has no official title, except it is awarded “in the name of the Presidency of the French republic“. It’s elegant and you probably wouldn’t use it as a fruit bowl. But it’s not that valuable in crude money terms.

Instead, there are plenty of cash prizes up for grabs. The Euro might be in crisis thanks to worries in Greece and other countries but when the Tour de France starts, riders and teams stand to share a cash pot totalling €3,412,546. Over the three weeks there’s money up for grabs every day, from stage wins to team prizes, sprints to climbs but also prizes big and small for those who reach Paris.

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Germany, Europe’s largest consumer market

German riders are having a very good season. Andre Greipel’s a dependable winner and this year Tony Martin’s confirmed his abilities whilst neo-pros John Degenkolb and Marcel Kittel have been highly impressive. And if you want a tip, look out for a guy called Tino Thömel.

Germany isn’t quite Europe’s premier cycling country but it is certainly Europe’s biggest country. It’s got the largest population with 81 million inhabitants and the continent’s biggest GDP too. Put simply it’s big and it’s rich and for a sport that rhymes with commerce, where teams are named after companies and brands, it’s a key market. Germany is hard to ignore.

ARD
ARD to ignore

Only that’s exactly what the UCI is doing. It’s refusing to do interviews with German broadcasters ARD and ZDF. For context, switch on a German TV and “channel 1” is ARD. Hit the remote and next comes ZDF. These are broadcasting giants and the German equivalent of Britain’s BBC, CBS in the US or ABC in Australia.

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You know the Tour de France is coming when…

…special adverts appear to promote goods and services linked to the race.

Here are three adverts, the first is in French, the second doesn’t involve much speech and the third is in Dutch. But don’t worry, you don’t need to understand the language to get the message. Be sure to watch to the end.

French Eurosport has Virenque and the Devil:

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When did a ride become so complicated?

The other day I was listening to one of The Bike Show podcasts and broadcaster Jack Thurston mentioned something like “the age of innocence” with cycling, when a ride was simply about jumping on a bike and enjoying the feelings, whether the wind in your hair or a moment of escapism. I certainly remember the … Read more

The calm before the storm

halle-ingooigem

It might be mid-summer but there’s a real shortage of racing for the next two weeks. There’s Belgian one day race Halle-Ingooigem on Wednesday and the European nations have their national championships at the weekend. But that’s about it until Saturday 2 July when the Tour de France starts.

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