News
Remembering Fabio Casartelli’s Win in the 1992 Olympics (VIDEO)
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of Fabio Casartelli in the Tour de France. The young Italian rider had been descending the Col de Portet-d'Aspet, when he crashed and struck his head against a concrete block alongside the road. He suffered severe head injuries and lost consciousness. Doctors arrived quickly on the scene. He was...
Tour de France Stage 12 Details
The final day in the Pyrenees is the most difficult. The route from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille takes in four categorised climbs. Km 57.5 - Col de Portet-d'Aspet (1 069 m) - 4.3 kilometre-long climb at 9.7% - category 2 Km 93.0 - Col de la Core (1 389 m) - 14.1 kilometre-long climb at 5.7% - category 1 Km...
Dan Martin nets another second place and the most aggressive rider award
Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) bounced back from his difficulties of yesterday to claim second place on today's stage of the Tour de France. The Irishman made a tremendous effort on the last climb to try and catch Rafal Majka but the Tinkoff-Saxo rider was able to hold on for the win. Early on in the stage from Pau Cauterets to Vallée...
An Post Rás stage winner Francesco Reda tests positive for EPO
According to RAI, the Italian rider Francesco Reda (Team Idea 2010 ASD), who earlier this season won a stage of An Post Rás, has tested positive for EPO at the Italian National Championships. Reda was subsequently kicked out of the Rás for taking a tow from a race vehicle. Afterwards, he tweeted a message saying “the stench of s**t Irish...
“Crossed Tourmalet. Very Good Road. Perfectly Passable – Signed Steines”
Today's stage of the Tour de France includes one of the most iconic climbs in the race - the Col du Tourmalet. It was first used in the 1910 race, and has featured in the race over seventy times since. Below is the remarkable story of the reconnaissance trip made in 1910 to determine if the Tourmalet was safe to...
Tour de France Stage 11 Details
The Tour de France continues today with another stage in the Pyrenees from Pau to Cauterets - Vallée de Saint-Savin. The riders will cover 188 kilometres taking in six categorised climbs including the mighty Col du Tourmalet, the penultimate climb of the day. The Tourmalet is rated HC, the highest possible ranking for a climb. In addition, they will tackle...
Highlights of Stage 10 of the Tour de France
Chris Froome (Team Sky) put in a remarkable performance today on the stage to La Pierre-Saint-Martin, the first summit of the Tour de France where he won the stage and increased his lead over all of his rivals. Richie Porte made it a one-two for the team by taking second. There were two non-starters today: Ivan Basso (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Lars...
Irish Talented Athlete Program (Team iTap) looking to recruit new riders
The Irish Talented Athlete Program (Team iTap) is the U23 Development Cycling Program that provides scholarships to riders who wish to make a career in cycling and endeavour to become full-time professional cyclists and athletes. The scholarship program provides individual coaching, full performance laboratory facilities for athlete analysis such as lactate testing, biomechanical analysis, bike fitting etc., sports specific strength...
Jed Mildon Nails the First Ever BMX Quadruple Backflip
Pro BMX rider, Jed Mildon has landed the world's first ever quadruple BMX backflip. He achieved it at Travis Pastrana's home compound in Davidsonville, Maryland. Two riders, Mildon and James Foster, had been vying to become the first rider to achieve the feat, and Mildon had numerous failed attempts in recent months before he got it right. He was also...
Tour de France Stage 10 Details
The Tour de France enters the big mountains today with the 167-km stage from Tarbes to La Pierre-Saint-Martin in the Pyrenees, and how the race unfolds on the summit finish could provide an indication as to who is going to win the Tour overall. The stage is predominantly flat, with three category four climbs along the way. However, the fifteen-kilometre...
Ivan Basso Reveals Testicular Cancer Diagnosis (VIDEO)
Twice-winner of the Giro d'Italia, Ivan Basso, has revealed during today's rest day of the Tour de France that he has been diagnosed with testicular cancer. He will be returning to Italy for treatment. Basso had been expected to be one of the key Tinkoff-Saxo team members to try and help Alberto Contador win the Tour de France. Basso...
“No Words to Express How I Feel Now” – Nicolas Roche
Nicolas Roche (Team Sky) has expressed his disappointment on Twitter about the outcome of yesterday's Team Time Trial in the Tour de France. Team Sky managed to come within a second of the winning BMC Racing Team's time. After his team mate Wout Poels put in a big turn on the final climb, Roche was seen to be struggling. On...
Highlights of Stage 9 of the Tour de France
As had been predicted by many, BMC Racing Team won the team time trial from Vannes to Plumelec. However, their margin of victory was what was the big surprise as they only beat Team Sky by one second in the 28-kilometre stage. Orica-GreenEdge started first due to being last in the team classification. However, with just six riders left in...
A German in Yellow – The remarkable Team Time Trial of the 1978 Tour
In 1978, the Tour de France featured a team time-trial which was an incredible 153 kilometres in length. It was the fourth stage of the race from Evreux to Caen, and instead of a team's actual time applying, teams were given time bonuses based on their finishing positions. The winners would be given a 2 minute bonus, 2nd got 1...
Tour de France Stage 9 Details
Today's ninth stage of the Tour de France is from Vannes to Plumelec. What's unusual is that team time trials normally take place in the opening days of the race, rather than nine days in. The teams of the main GC contenders, Team Sky (Chris Froome), Movistar (Nairo Quintana), Tinkoff-Saxo (Alberto Contador) and Astana (Vincenzo Nibali) will be all expected...
“I really had the legs today, but I couldn’t get out” – Dan Martin
Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) came close to taking his second ever stage in in the Tour de France yesterday, when he finished second behind Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2R-La Mondiale) on the finishing climb of the Mur de Bretagne. It was always a stage that was going to suit the Irishman, and he had spoken beforehand of it being one of the stages...