The real mountains have finally arrived. It is time for the general classification battle to really kick off and what a battle it is going to be over the next two days. Tadej has lost one of his leading generals in the mountains, George Bennett who tested positive for Covid during the rest day, Rafael Majka isn’t 100% and the rest of his entourage isn’t that well equipped to protect him on the two merciless…
It is almost inconceivable that we still have two weeks of racing left after such an epic first week in this year’s tour. Traditionally it is the third week of the tour where we see massive time losses occur, however with the nasty second week the organisers have on the menu I think we will definitely have some clear winners and losers by this time next week.Today is the appetiser to the week ahead, a…
Today’s stage starts in Switzerland before heading back to France. It’s classified as a mountain stage and ends with two Cat 1 climbs , there is a small dip after the last climb and a 3km ramp to the line. The last three kilometres are not steep enough to allow teams to force any significant time gaps and we will most likely see the action happen far earlier in the race. As racing has become…
How does one top yesterday’s stage? I don’t think you can. Today we expect a GC truce after the immense battle we saw play out on La Super Planche Des Belles Filles yesterday. If this is the case we will see another frenetic start to the race with all teams hoping for that elusive stage win pushing hard to snap the elastic back to the peloton. The stage is classified as hilly with two Cat…
La Super Planche Des Belles Filles Words that most likely trigger severe PTSD for Primoz Roglic and the rest of the Jumbo Visma team as they saw their tour hopes unexpectedly shattered by the current Yellow Jersey, Tadej Pogacar in the 2020 tour’s final time trial. Today however it comes at the end of a the stage and is preceded by two Cat 3 climbs and it’s not the standard Planche Des Belle Filles, it’s…
After the massacre on the cobbles yesterday today may be one for the break. The parcour is “hilly” with our first Cat 3 climbs of the race, the last of which is an eye-watering 800m@12% only a few kilometres from a punchy finish. Today is the longest stage of the tour at 220km, just what the riders needed after yesterday. The stage suits your Classics Riders and many of yesterday’s protagonists may once again be at…
COBBLES! The last time the tour properly traversed the cobbles in 2014 it was a rainy day that turned the race on its head. Nibali used his Astana team to animate the race and put the other GC riders under pressure. The day was won by the Cyclocross legend, Lars Boom. Nibali went on to win that edition of the Tour after gaining time on the cobbles. This year the weather seems far kinder however…
En France! After a short transit / rest day the riders are back in France. In some ways the real race starts today with a lumpy 171km speckled with six Cat 4 climbs. The last climb is a punchy one @900m/7.5% and we will likely see some ferocious pace being set. Normally this stage wouldn’t dislodge the pure sprinters however we have some rouleurs dying to get in on the action, foremost amongst them is Mathieu…
The ‘Battle of the Bridge’ never materialised yesterday but it was a nervy finale with a fair amount of crashes. Yves Lampaert ceded the Yellow Jersey in favour of teamwork which paid dividends as his teammate Fabio Jakobson took an emotional win and justified Quickstep’s decision to leave Cav back home. Today’s stage should, in theory, follow the script. Flat, fast bunch sprint. We will almost certainly see Magnus Cort try and get into the…
Yesterday we saw a wet and unpredictable prologue with Yes Lampaert taking the Yellow Jersey much to the embarrassment of his helmet sponsor. Behind him it was business as usual and the battle lines have been drawn as expected. Today, going by the numbers, should be an out-and-out sprint with a flat 202km route along the coast. What the numbers don’t tell you is that approaching the finish the riders traverse the Great Belt Link, a…
