The French stage winners were invited to a function at the Elysée Palace, the Presidential office and residence. President Nicolas Sarkozy is suffering in the polls and this reception was a first: after the disastrous football world cup showing, a photo opportunity with sportsmen who win can’t go amiss, even if some tastelessly loud shirts … Read more
The Tour de France’s lanterne rouge was Lampre’s Italian rouleur Adriano Malori. He seemed to battle on but didn’t suffer from any big illness or injury but he’s a heavier rider who spent a lot of energy helping Alessandro Petacchi to secure the green jersey. Here are a few other observations on the race: Most … Read more
Don’t worry, there’s only 344 days to go until the Tour de France starts again. The presentation of the 2011 route takes place in late October. If that’s too long to wait, here’s some conjecture on the route for next year: The start will be in the Vendée region, that’s been announced already. A team … Read more
“Aux Champs Elysées” by Joe Dassin. Apparently Andy Schleck was singing it at breakfast and I’m sure others had the tune in their heads today.
I’ve been listening to the Pro Cycling / cyclingnews.com podcasts. If you haven’t tuned in, they cover some of the racing but also the daily grind of covering the Tour, and there’s a lot of chit chat between the staff who are on the road. Frequently recorded over dinner, it’s an audio version of the … Read more
Sunday’s photograph takes shape already We’ve had one of the most mountainous Tours in recent memory and Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck are barely indistinguishable, a mere 8 seconds after 88 hours of racing. That’s a margin of 0.0025%. There’s some irony in the 52km time trial as the course is so flat that the … Read more
[insert superlative here] Mark Cavendish has now won four stages in this year’s Tour. Any rider who bagged four stages during their entire career would be considered pretty useful but four in one tour is exceptional. Cavendish’s total now stands at 14 stage wins. That puts him just one win short of übersprinter Freddy Maertens. … Read more
Siestas are popular in south-western France, it must be the Spanish influence. I suggest you consider having an afternoon nap too as this afternoon’s stage promises to be a dull one. Certainly it’s a day to focus on the day job, to clean the bike or generally avoid the race. Just tune in for the … Read more
The war of fog I’ve got the blues this morning, after an incredibly close battle for the overall it feels like the Tour de France has already finished. Certainly riders claimed they could see the Eiffel Tower yesterday through the mist on the Tourmalet and the remaining stages to Paris look like a procession. It’s … Read more
Right, this is a blog and not a newspaper or website with high standards of journalism to uphold. It’s not cyclingnews.com either. I feel I can float ideas even when I can’t get them officially confirmed. Fran Contador is a busy man So here goes. Astana can’t afford to keep Contador. His brother, acting as … Read more