Who’s got the muscle, the bustle and the hustle for the Tour de France sprints… and the mental arithmetic for the points competition. Peter Sagan can target an eighth green jersey, his hardest challenge yet as the route suits the pure sprinters. If Caleb Ewan can start a winning streak then he can be in green and it’s the prospect of a contest that is the most exciting.
Here’s the 2021 Tour de France route and reference guide. Yes the Tour de Suisse is still on and so is the Tour of Slovenia but all roads lead to Brittany at the moment.
There’s a profile of every stage with a quick summary of the day’s course. You’ll also find references for time bonuses, the points scale for the green and polka-dot jersey, time cuts, prize money and plenty more. If you want to come back between now and July, just visit inrng.com/tour or click on the Tour guide from the menu above.
ASO have announced more details of the women’s Tour de France set for 2022. We already knew it will start in Paris before the men arrive and then have seven more stages, now a lot of details such as sponsorship and television coverage have been announced.
The racing comes so thick and fast at times that you can’t watch it on TV, you need a computer screen with multiple windows open. Last week you could watch the Tour of Slovenia, the Belgium Tour, the Route d’Occitanie and the Tour de Suisse all at the same time. This week? Not much.
A Cyclist’s Guide to The Pyrenees by Peter Cossins
The Pyrenees stretch from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean but chances are if you asked cyclists to name the famous climbs they’d pick a few like the Tourmalet, Soulor, Aubisque or Luz Ardiden. All good but they’re all French and within a narrow central band of the this large mountain range, there’s more to discover, and on both sides of the Franco-Spanish border. This book is a very practical guide.
There are different ways to follow this blog, most browse the website but some use the RSS feed and this is an admin message for anyone who is reading this by email subscription.
It’s hard to pick one moment, Egan Bernal did not launch a coup to seize control, his was a victory of small gains, of seconds gained here and there while others faded. Whether it was at Sestola, on the sterrato or the Zoncolan, he was in charge. But the most visible demonstration of this was Stage 16 when Bernal was so far ahead of the others he could peel off his rainjacket in the cobbled streets of Cortina d’Ampezzo to let the maglia rosa brighten a damp day.
A final time trial and maybe a reward for Filippo Ganna for towing the peloton around Italy for three weeks but it’s this that could cost him today.
The last roll of the dice, a big stage in the Alps awaits. Can Simon Yates attack, and if so where?
