Road
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...
Tour de France Stage 8 Details
Today, the riders face a 181.5kms stage from Rennes to Mûr-de-Bretagne, and the key feature of the stage is the climb to the finish. The Mûr-de-Bretagne has featured just once before as a stage finish. In 2011, Cadel Evans timed his sprint perfectly to take the win. The climb has also featured in another stage, when it was on...
Vive le Tour – Louis Malle’s Documentary on the 1962 Tour de Franc
Vive le Tour is great short documentary by French filmmaker Louis Malle. It chronicles the 1962 Tour featuring scenes beyond just the racing itself. It shows the atmosphere as spectator gather to watch the race pass, the caravane publicitaire, the feed zone and drink raids. One of the most remarkable parts of the film is the footage of a...
Tour de France Stage 7 Details
The seventh stage of the Tour de France is 190.5kms from Livarot to Fougères, and this is a stage that should suit the sprinters. It's predominantly flat, with just a category 4 climb of the Cote de Canapville to be negotiated shortly after the start. Chris Froome (Team Sky) goes back into the race leader's position, following the withdrawal of...
Highlights of Stage 6 of the Tour de France
A serious crash had a big impact on the Tour de France again today, as yellow jersey wearer Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) crashed in the last kilometre. He was later diagnosed with a broken collarbone and forced to pull out of the race. 188 riders had started stage 6 in Abbeville, with Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) a non-starter due to a...
Tour de France Stage 6 Details
Today's stage of the Tour de France along the coast of Normandy has a sting in the tail that could suit the likes of Peter Sagan, rather than Mark Cavendish or Andre Greipel. Usually, Michael Matthews (Orica - GreenEdge) could have been expected to contest the win, but the Australian is struggling with injuries. The riders will travel from Abbeville...
Highlights of Stage 5 of the Tour de France
Stage 5 of the Tour de France took the riders from Arras Communauté Urbaine to Amiens Métropole over a distance of 189.5kms. With no climbs on the route, it was always expected to be a stage that would suit the sprinters and that's how it turned out. Unfortunately for one of the big name sprinters in the race, Nacer Bouhanni,...
40 Years of the Polka Dot Jersey
Forty years ago this year, the iconic polka dot jersey was introduced to the Tour de France. It meant that for the first time, the best climber in the race would wear a distinctive jersey. The meilleur grimpeur (best climber) of the race had been first recognised by the l'Auto newspaper back in 1905, when René Pottier was chosen as...
Tour de France”Fans Training Center” (VIDEO)
Hilarious parody putting three typical Tour de France fans through some rigorous training ahead of the Tour. We see the familiar characters of the man in the morph suit, the afro wigged mankini wearer and the more recent addition the inflated sumo wrestler. Training includes how to jump barriers, how to take a selfie with a moving...
Tony Martin Solo Win Split Screen Video Version
Check out this dual screen version of Tony Martin & his teams reaction during the final 1km of Stage 4 of #TDF2015. Tony Martin Solo Win TDF2015 (Seraing / Cambrai) from Alexander Giraldo on Vimeo.
Tour de France Stage 5 Details
Stage 5 of the Tour de France is from Arras Communauté Urbaine to Amiens Métropole covering 189.5 kilometres. A bunch sprint finish is expected in Amiens although the race could again be affected by crosswinds. If it comes down to a sprint, Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick Step) will be aiming to make amends for Stage 2, where Green jersey wearer...
Video shows what Tony Martin’s win meant to his Etixx-Quick Step team
This behind-the-scenes video shows what Tony Martin's win on yesterday's stage of the Tour de France meant to his team. Davide Bramati cries out in celebration at the German's victory in Cambrai, and lets Martin's team mates know of his victory as he passes them. In another team car, Brian Holm is a bit more calm and collected than the...
101 Years of Tour de France Globalisation
National Geographic have produced an interesting series of infographics showing the number of French cyclists and cyclists from other countries taking part in each race since the very first in 1903. In the 1903 race, 73 French riders lined up compared to 11 foreigners, who were all from Europe. The foreigners consisted of 4 Belgians, 2 Germans, 4 Swiss riders...
Highlights of Stage 4 of the Tour de France
Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) today made up for the disappointment of missing out on the yellow jersey for three days in a row, by winning the stage into Cambrai after breaking away solo with 3.1kms to go. Martin had been a member of a front group comprising all GC favourites with the exception of Thibaut Pinot following a spectacular...