With the Tour de France done, a chance to look at the team rankings. The situation’s urgent for the women with relegation and promotion at stake at the end of the season, less so for the men but equally important as a slow start in the first year can see a team struggle.

It’s also 1 August which in cycling means the two things for the transfer market, teams can officially sign riders for next year and announce this, it’s also the day the the transfer window opens and riders can move teams so watch for any moves here too.

Read more

The winning moment? Everyone thinks it’s the time trial stage and that’s clearly an obvious point. But the whole point of a review is to look back with the benefit of hindsight and look for the signs. Sure it could be on the road to Bastogne in Liège one Sunday in April but that’s casting too wide. Instead we could see right from the start how Jonas Vingegaard wanted to wear Tadej Pogačar down, take Pike Bidea where he shook his head at Pogačar to say he wouldn’t do a turn and take him to the finish, see the Marie Blanque where Vingegaard took time. Remember the Joux-Plane where Vingegaard kept Pogačar’s attack in range? Or Le Bettex where he closed him down right away?

Read more

A final stage in Paris and the likely sprint finish. Don’t miss the opening start of the Tour de France Femmes that precedes this stage and takes over for the next week.

Read more

A last hurrah in the mountains with a short and lively stage in the Vosges. There’s a prestigious stage win, places in the top-10 in play, the polka dot jersey is still up for grabs with Felix Gall able to challenge Giulio Ciccone, unless Jonas Vingegaard runs away with everything.

Read more

There are more famous places in the Vosges mountains but this is probably the hardest climb on Stage 20 of the Tour de France. It’s also a quiet side road while many of the other climbs in the Vosges are bigger and even crowded at times.

Read more

A sprint stage on paper but as yesterday proved riders willing to barge clear can get their rewards and today’s course suits the breakaway even more.

Read more

Like Wordsworth leaving the Alps, there’s always a moment of melancholy when the Tour de France turns its back on the mountains, even if Saturday’s Vosges stage holds out a last hurrah on the way to Paris.

Read more

These two mountain ranges have their differences but the Tour de France can struggle to explore the subtleties. If you’re faced with trying to pick one over the other, it’s less one versus the other and more about where within each range you go.

Read more

The Queen stage in the Alps and we’ll see if Tadej Pogačar is mentally hungover today or has “ants in his legs” as they say in French. There will be a big battle for the breakaway.

Read more

Did you spend the rest day staring at tea leaves to see if you could spot a likeness of Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard or staring at clouds to see their shape might give us a clue? Today the pair are forcibly separated by regulation with this short, sharp time trial.

Read more