Road
Tour de France Stage 17 Details
The Tour enters the Alps today for the first of four mountainous stages. Today's stage from Digne-les-Bains to Pra Loup is possibly the easiest of the four though. Along the way, the riders will face five categorised climbs: Km 40.0 - Col des Lèques 6 kilometre-long climb at 5.3% - category 3 Km 67.0 - Col de Toutes Aures 6.1 kilometre-long...
“There’s still a long way to go in this Tour and we’ll give everything to win” Nairo Quintana
Nairo Quintana, who sits in second place on GC in the Tour, has discussed his performance so far in the race and his ambitions for the remaining few days. At a rest day press conference, he said: "Finishing runner-up wouldn't be a failure for me, rather a huge honour, but there's still a long way to go in this Tour...
BMC Racing – Before and After the Cobbles
Dutch photographers Jeroen Halverstad and Nina Geurds of Plan78 Fotographie came up with the idea for an interesting project recently. They decided to take photographs of the BMC team before and after the recent stage in the Tour de France over the cobbled sectors in Northern France. They describe how the idea came about below: Modern cycling has experienced some...
Ivan Basso to join Tinkoff-Saxo team in Paris following successful surgery
Following on from Ivan Basso's recent diagnosis of testicular cancer, Professor Francesco Montorsi, Director of the Urology Surgery Unit at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, has issued the following statement regarding the former Giro d'Italia winner's latest medical condition: "Today, 20 July 2015, Ivan Basso underwent a post-surgery checkup. The patient has perfectly recovered from the intervention. The final histological...
Peter Sagan’s Descending Masterclass
This video of Peter Sagan on the descent of the Col de Manse during the last few kilometres of Stage 6 really shows his skill on the bike. The Slovakian champion really gave it his all in trying to catch the eventual stage winner Ruben Plaza of Lampre. The descent has seen a number of riders come to grief over...
Peter Sagan heading for the most second place stage finishes ever in the Tour de France
Following on from his second placed finish on today’s sixteenth stage of the Tour de France from Bourg-de-Péage to Gap, Peter Sagan now has five second places in the race this year. He has also finished in second place on Stages 2, 5, 6 and 13. This moves him into equal fifth place on the all-time list for the...
Joseba Beloki and the tricky descent of the Col de Manse
On the 14th of July 2003, the ninth stage of the Tour de France would see the riders race from Le Bourg d'Oisans to Gap. Going into the stage, Joseba Beloki sat in second place overall, just 40 seconds behind Lance Armstrong. That day, the riders would negotiate the Col de Manse before descending to the finish in Gap. Beloki...
Tour de France Stage 16 Details
The race will reach the foothills of the Alps today after the 201 kilometre stage from Bourg-de-Péage to Gap. Although, it's considered a transition stage, it could be tricky enough and GC riders will have to be vigilant. The main danger is the final climb of the day, the Category 2 Col de Manse. It's not so much the climb...
Highlights of Stage 15 of the Tour de France
André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) took his third stage victory of this year's Tour de France when he outsprinted John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) in a bunch finish in Valence. 172 riders started stage 15 in Mende, and Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka) was the first attacker of the day. A large group of twenty seven riders would...
Sean Yates banned from the Tour for one day for mechanic’s bottle throw (VIDEO)
Directeur Sportif of the Tinkoff-Saxo team, Sean Yates, has been given a day long ban from the Tour de France, following an incident where team mechanic Faustino Munoz threw a bottle at a TV motorbike. Yates had been driving the car at the time, and the ban comes into effect for Stage 16. The incident took place when Peter Sagan...
Tour de France Stage 15 Details
Today's stage from Mende to Valence is a day off for the GC contenders. Despite four categorised climbs along the route, the stage will most likely end in a bunch sprint. It's in the interests of the top sprinters for today to end in a bunch sprint, as it will be the last opportunity for the fast men to win...
Ugly scenes at the Tour de France as urine thrown at Chris Froome
Yellow jersey holder, Chris Froome, has revealed that a spectator threw a bag of urine over him and threw insults at him on today's stage of the Tour de France. “A fan threw a bag of urine over me and called me a doper," revealed Froome. "It was disappointing, reprehensible and wrong on so many levels. It was irresponsible, a...
Eduardo Sepulveda kicked out of the Tour de France for taking a lift
The Argentinean rider, Eduardo Sepulveda, was disqualified from the Tour de France today for hitching a lift in a car. Sepulveda, who rides for Bretagne-Séché-Environnement broke his chain, but his own team car had passed him by. He then got a lift from one of the Ag2R team cars for approximately 100 metres in order to get a replacement...
The 1979 Tour and the Fight for the Lanterne Rouge
By Graham Healy The title of Lanterne Rouge, awarded to the cyclist who finishes in last place in the Tour de France, is a badge of honour identifying the rider who has arguably fought hardest to make it to Paris. It can be such an honour though that it can be fought for amongst the riders and the most memorable...
Tour de France Stage 14 Details
Today's stage takes the riders from Rodez to Mende and features some spectacular scenery along the way including the Gorges du Tarn and the Millau Viaduct. Once again, we can expect to see a breakaway trying to form early on, in the hope that teams behind aren't interested in chasing. It will be one of the few opportunities for...
Highlights of Stage 13 of the Tour de France
The finish of Stage 13 was always going to be interesting, as it was difficult to call what type of rider it might suit best. The climb at the finish in Rodez on the Avenue de Saint-Pierre in Rodez was short but very steep. 175 riders started stage 13 in Muret this morning, and four of them got clear at...