Rest Day Review: Tour de France 2019.....a British perspective!

Hey!
So we are once again at that time of the year and the best cyclists in the world are pounding French roads for our entertainment.  And let's be fair, the first 9 days have been a veritable feast!  I don't know about you, but any pre-formed ideas I had about how the Tour would pan out this year have not come close to predicting the real life drama!

In fact, even before the race began it seemed to have been turned upside down.  The loss of @chrisfroome during a training ride at the Dauphine upset the apple cart before the fruit was even ripe on the tree!  Adam Yates getting sick and calling it a day rubbed salt into British wounds, which were then just beginning to heal when along came G's crash at the Tour de Suisse which firmly kicked the disabled cart down the bank and into touch!  It seemed that the God's of Cycling Chaos were laughing at us; taunting us Brits into believing that 2019 was to be the end of the British grand tour domination!

The outrageous form of Julian Alaphilippe, the phenomenal rise of Wout van Aert, a wonderfully resurgent Thibaut Pinot and a second Dauphine triumph for the dominant Jakob Fugulsang all seemed to be sending the message loud and clear.

Britain.....this ain't gonna be your year!

But we're made of stern stuff in ol' Blighty and are not likely to be shoved aside so easily!

And so.....here we are!  First rest day after 9 days of incredible racing and, whilst it may be the width of the Rhone Valley away from where I thought we'd be at this time, the GC has rather a familiar look to it; one that I never expected it to have to be sure, but one that I am, as a proud (slow!) cycling Brit and chest thumping patriot, am very pleased about.

G is on the rise and sits 2nd; Adam Yates is up to 8th and Froomey is out of hospital!  My confidence of yet another G success...or should it be 'a G up?'..... is once more high!  If Yatesy can attack successfully in the coming mountain stages as well we may well be looking at a two Brit podium once again!  Which would be wholly unexpected but very, very welcome, I must say!  I just hope that the crash when Mike Woods brought G down is the extent of his mishaps this year otherwise I may well be eating some serious humble pie in 2 weeks time!

That said I must tip my chapeau to some amazing non-British performers thus far.  The stand out performance in my opinion has been that of Julian Alaphilippe, who has proven himself by far the best all round road cyclist in the world and must surely now be considered a serious threat for overall victory!  There would be no more popular winner I'm sure and I wish him all the very best for the days to come.

Alaphilippe, in the yellow jersey, follows Nairo Quintana & Geraint Thomas with Thibaut Pinot in the foreground.

Next, the amazing, up and coming talent of Wout van Aert who is surely the natural successor to the whirlwind that is Peter Sagan.  And finally, a huge tip of the hat to the guy who has picked the baton of the Tour's iron man from the now retired Jens Voigt and that is Thomas de Gendt, who doesn't know the meaning of the term 'to have an easy day!'

But without each and every rider we would have no race and without the race what's the point of having the Summer!!!  So thank you one and all.....ride hard, stay safe and keep doing what you're doing.

Chris Froome does an historic double!

I have been watching Grand Tour cycling for more than 30 years now and over that time my appreciation of just how hard any of the three tours (the Giro d’Italia, le Tour de France & la Vuelta a Espana) might be has grown and grown.  Just to complete a tour is an achievement in itself; to win one takes something very special indeed, which is why I never thought I would see the day when one rider could possibly win two of them in one year.  And then we have Chris Froome.

Okay, okay, so I had always considered it possible for an exceptional rider with a proven pedigree to pull it out of the bag and maybe do the Giro, Vuelta double, given that the Giro is in May and the Vuelta at the end of August.  Maybe, just maybe, a rider ‘par excellence’ could peak twice in one season and do that double, but if truth be told the more I watched the tours the less likely this seemed to become.  And of course that particular double might be considered (by cycling purists) to be the lesser of any of the possible double combos, since ‘le Tour’ is still considered by most to be the epitome of the grand tours, la creme de la creme, if you will, thus a double without ‘le tour’ is, thereby, a lesser achievement (?).

                                           Chris Froome winning this year Tour!

Whilst I have rarely heard it said out loud, la Vuelta was, until recently anyway, considered to be the poor relative of the grand tours; the least prestigious of the three perhaps.  Then in 2014 it was taken over by the team that also run ‘le Tour’, namely the Amaury Sport Organisation, who have transformed the impoverished Vuelta into perhaps the most exciting grand tour of them all to watch from a spectators point of view.  The race now attracts many of the sports top names with Froomey being perhaps the biggest draw of all.

Of course ‘le Tour de France’ retains its’ position as the most prestigious cycling crown of all and is still the one that most professionals yearn to be a part of more than any other, but ‘le Tour’ certainly lost some its’ lustre during the Lance Armstrong scandal and the subsequent years of Tour winners who were proven latterly to be cheats.

For me personally, as an avid and daily cyclist, if not a very talented one, and as a long time fan of the sport, the first decade of this century were the dark years; the forgotten years, and even though the sport as whole was to blame for the excessive drug culture that ran riot through the peleton during the Armstrong years and probably for sometime before that, the largest scandals always seemed to resonate around ‘le Tour’ even if the race itself was not to blame.

Thus the organisers (of ‘le tour’) and those at the UCI deserve immense credit for the way the sport has been cleaned up and similarly for the way in which, despite its’ travails, ‘le Tour’ has retained it’s position at the pinnacle of the sport.   Just to be slightly controversial for a minute, I think a fairly large part of that credit and the way in which ‘le Tour’ has resurrected itself, must go down to Chris Froome himself.  Alright, in France he’s not the most popular rider by a long chalk, but then who is if they’re not French?  It’s a sad fact that it’s been a long time since the French have a genuine grand tour contender, the last two years withstanding (with Romain Bardet), and Chris Froome has borne the brunt of the French disenchantment with their chances during the last few years.  Let’s just agree that the French are poor sports if they’re not winning and leave it at that!  But outside of France I think Froome has been an amazing ambassador for cycling.  He is charming, intelligent, well spoken and more than a little bit shy (I would say).  He comes across as extremely humble, likeable and agreeable, but with an iron resolve that is quietly, but firmly stated and as sporting figureheads go I think there are none better at the moment, and perhaps even doubly so given cycling’s recent rocky history.  He is, as the man says, ‘just what the doctor ordered’!

However, the Vuelta is catching up fast and since its’ recent reinvention the race has gone from strength to strength.  This years race was not so much a grand tour as a ‘tour de force’!  Unlike some days at ‘le tour’ there were no ‘so called’ easy days where a breakaway (of riders out of contention for the overall GC win) is allowed to escape and accumulate huge time gaps with the peleton ambling along 10’s of minutes down.  Days such as this in ‘le tour’ seem to be, if not a common occurrence, certainly an expected one, and can make for a poor spectacle from a fans perspective.  But this years Vuelta was all crash, bang, wallop right from the first day to the last.  Even if a break away did manage to gain a significant advantage the peleton was always livened up at some point, more often as not, Alberto Contador, whose aggressive racing style will be sorely missed next season, or by another GC contender (Nibali, Zakarin, Chaves, one of the Yates’s, for example) attacking Froome’s lead.  It really was a great 21 days racing and one that will live long in the memory.  The mountain stages were hard, harsh and relentless providing a wide variety of finishes and giving ample opportunities for riders of all (physical) persuasions to ‘have a go’!

Whilst the 2017 Tour might have been closer, time wise, than the Vuelta, the level of excitement for watching fans was by far the better in the Vuelta.  And all Froome’s critics (yes, he does have them) and detractors who said he was all but finished after such a close Tour in July, are perhaps eating their words now.  Given that there were barely 4 weeks between the end of ‘le tour’ and the start of the Vuelta, it can now be seen that Froome’s preparation and timing was all but perfect.  It is impossible for any athlete in any sport to ‘peak’ twice in such a short time, thus I would suggest that for ‘le tour’ Froome and his team gauged his fitness level in such a way that he had just enough to win in France without really hitting the heights that he had perhaps done in years gone by.  And by doing so they left that extra bit of polish to be buffed up in time for the start of the Vuelta where (I would suggest) he probably hit a slightly higher physical peak than he had previously reached during the 3 weeks of ‘le tour’, thereby allowing him to make history and become the first man in modern times to do a grand tour double.  An absolutely stunning achievement by any measure and one that any cyclist will be hard pushed to equal in the future.

Froomey cementing his win at the Vuelta!

I hope this double win will go some way to cementing Froome’s popularity in the UK where his phenomenal achievements thus far have not (I believe) recieved the recognition they deserve.  He truly is a sporting giant and deserves every accolade no matter what he may go on to win the future.  For me Chris Froome is a true and valiant hero and I, for one, feel privileged to have witnessed this amazing sporting feat.

Cheers Chris!  Until next year.......!  

PS.  As a footnote I would like wish Alberto Contador all the best in whatever he does next and say that I will miss his punchy, agressive riding next year.

Le Tour de France: My Overall Conclusions

Well, the Tour is over for another year and once again the cream rose to the top.  Chris Froome won the GC battle with room to spare, a winning margin of over 4mins between himself and his nearest rival who came in the somewhat unexpected shape of French rider, Roman Bardet (AG2R Mondiale).  If Froome had been widely tipped to win his 3rd Tour prior to it's onset, then Bardet would have been equally unfancied to have been standing next to him on the podium in Paris!  Bardet had been rumoured to have been on the verge of hitting the 'big-time' for a few years now, but few would have predicted (before the Tour started) that he would finish ahead of all the other big names in the field, men like Quintana, Valverde, Porte and Aru, who many (me included) thought would be pushing Froome to ever greater heights in his pursuit of his 3rd Tour victory.  In the end all of the expected challengers fell by the wayside, either unwilling or unable to take the battle to Froome and his relentless Team Sky teammates, leaving the way clear for newcomers like Bardet and Adam Yates (Orica BikeExchange) to leave their stamp on the race.

Chris Froome & the unstoppable Team Sky train reach Paris

If Adam Yates was the new sensation of the Tour, then Bardet was surely the. man who came of age.  His amazing stage win in last years Tour had singled him out as (potentially) the next French Grand Tour challenger, but after so many years of waiting and so many disappointments and nearly men, perhaps we all expected that Bardet, like Rolland, Pinot, Jalabert and Virenque before him (the list goes on), would not fulfil his promise.  But we were wrong.  Unlike the many French nearly men of recent times, Bardet seems to have mastered the ability to ride consistently well.  His improvement has been gradual and regular (e.g. in the Criterium du Dauphine - the big pre-Tour event, won in each of his 3 Tour winning years by Froome - Bardet has finished 12th in 2013; 5th in 2014; 6th in 2015 and 2nd this year) exhibiting much more consistency than that of other French riders who can be brilliant on their day, but then lack the resilience to back it up with a consolidating ride the day after, and the day after that, as is needed if one is to make ones mark on a Grand Tour these days.  Even bad days have to be mastered and losses minimised (as Froome has shown so brilliantly in each of his wins) if one is to come out on top.  A bad day might mean digging deep and limiting ones losses to a couple of minutes, and no more, and Bardet seems to have got this straight in his head and does not leave so much of himself out on the course on one day so that on the next he cannot keep up his challenge.

So whilst not many would have expected Bardet to have finished the 2016 in 2nd place, it wasn't entirely a shock result either.  As to whether he can mount a more serious challenge to Froome next year we will have to wait and see.  With all due respect, I have to say that if it his his aim to win the Tour (and why wouldn't it be?) then remaining at AG2R is perhaps a no-no!

Froome and Team Sky have moved the sport on in the last few years, revolutionising the way things are done in terms of preparation, tactics, planning and professionalism, facts that are beginning to be acknowledged and taken note of within the peleton and team management of their rivals.  Sure Sky have the largest budget, but it's more than that; it's about getting things done in the correct way.  It's about eating right, warming down properly after a long day in the saddle, surveying routes (all of them) and riding them beforehand so there are no surprises en route, and it's about being single-minded in the pursuit of the team's goals (whatever they may be) and making sure everyone in the team (from dietitians, therapist, domestiques and team leaders) is on the same page, working towards the same ends with same dedication and drive as the man who will eventually gain most of the plaudits, and these things are not about money, they are about how much you want it and how much everyone about you wants it.  And perhaps AG2R are still stuck in the glory days of Hinault and all that heady French success to be able to push Bardet to surmount that final step.

I think to mount a serious challenge to Froome, Bardet will have to move to a bigger team, one that is also on an upward trend like himself, and who is looking to emulate Team Sky, but in their own way, by making their own mark.  The more established teams I think will struggle to make the necessary changes in a quick and efficient manner, just because they have been in the mire for longer, and so I believe Bardet should look to one of the newer teams (like Orica or even a Team DiData) who are perhaps a bit more open to shaking things up in order that he can take that next step and give the French what they have waited so long for, a French grand tour winner.

As for Adam Yates, he rode a truly remarkable Tour and, as a fellow Brit, I have to hope that it is not a flash in the pan and we have another British grand tour contender in the making.  I love his attitude; the way he took it all his stride with dignity, a smile and that steely determination that only a few possess.  I do believe that Adam, and perhaps his brother Simon too, will go onto win grand tours because, like Bardet, his rise has been steady, consistent and constantly on an up, and at the age of 23 one has to think there is much, much more to come since most tour winners don't start to reach their physical peaks until their mid- to late 20's.  If he can stay (relatively) injury free, keep progressing and maintain the positive outlook then I have every hope that he will go on to make his mark like Wiggins and Froome before him, as British tour winners.

Other 2016 Tour successes are undoubtedly Peter Sagan, Mark Cavendish, Tom Dumoulin, Greg van Avermaet, Jarlinson Pantano and Thomas de Gendt, whilst my big Tour disappointments are Nairo Quintana, Fabio Aru and Thibaut Pinot.

Sagan was unstoppable in so many ways; 3 stage wins, his 5th green jersey, his 1st yellow jersey, countless breakaways and relentless domestique on occasions, he is arguably the most complete cyclist of his (and perhaps any) generation and deserves all the plaudits he receives.  Cav came storming back to take a truly amazing 4 stage wins taking him to 2nd on the all time list of Tour stage winners, confirming himself as the top sprinter in this years race and letting everyone, me included, know that he is far from finished.

Tom Dumoulin, with 2 stage wins including the first long TT, once again singled himself out as the man to beat in any TT (now that Tony Martin and Fabian have had their days) as well as in any one off races, be they a classic or otherwise.  As to whether he can convert himself into a grand tour contender we still don't know, but nevertheless he is an exciting and unpredictable rider who adds a great deal to any race.

van Avermaet (BMC) I have included not only because of his stage victory (S5) but because of the fight and panache he showed to keep the yellow jersey once he'd got hold of it!  Jarlinson Pantano and Thomas de Gendt were both unbelievably aggressive riders throughout, both winning stages and, like Sagan, appearing in countless breakaways demonstrating breathtaking resilience and fight whenever challenged.  In this regard Julien Alaphilippe also deserves an honourable mention but didn't quite manage to get himself that all important stage win.

And finally there was Quintana, Aru and Pinot, all of whom had specifically targeted this years Tour as the race for them, and all of whom, for whatever reason, were found wanting.  In the end there are no excuses and none of them performed to their best on any single occasion and as such, left the door open for others to lead the challenge to Froome's dominance.  Maybe next year guys.....!

Overall, it was a great Tour de France, if not in terms of the yellow jersey race, which to be honest Froome never looked losing once he got hold of it, but in the quality and excitement of each of the days racing which seems to become of a higher quality each passing year!  In 2017 can Froome come back to do it again?  Well, you wouldn't bet your house on him not doing it!  He now heads off to Rio and then to the Vuelta (where incidentally he'll be racing quite close by to me for a couple of days....can't wait!) at the end of August and one wouldn't get long odds on him winning both of those either!  But it's already been a long season for Froomey and the Vuelta, like before, might prove to be a step too far!

But here's hoping.....!  Come on Froomey!!

Le Tour de France; Week 2 Review

Do you know how sometimes you commit to something and then almost immediately wish you hadn't? Well, this weekly review is one of those things! Whilst the tour is on it's 3 weeks of afternoons that are blocked out 100% as I absorb every twist, turn, crash and sprint of the world's best bike race. So when the rest days come along I just find I've got loads of stuff to catch up on, none of which I generally manage to get done completely, and then I add to the load by deciding to do a review the tour which inevitably ends up being a rush job at best! Nevertheless, the tour is, as always, totally absorbing and so it's no great chore to think about it that bit more!

So here we go!

Don't know about you, but I've found this year's race to be a bit short on drama thus far when it comes to the pursuit of the various jersey's. The polka dot (KOM) is all but Rafa Majka's; the green (points) jersey has been tied since the first days by the irrepressible Peter Sagan; the white (young rider) jersey looks to be tied up by Britain's Adam Yates despite the attentions of Louis Meintjes and the yellow (GC) jersey by Team Sky's Chris Froome who looks all but impregnable.

That's not to say that any, if not all of these jersey's aren't going to be fought over in the final week, because they will be; here's how I see them panning out.

The fight for the King of the Mountains will be, I predict, between Rafa Majka (Tinkoff), Thomas de Gendt (Lotto) and Danny Navarro (Cofidis) but, barring any unforeseen disasters or accidents, I think Majka is too strong for the others and will win out with Navarro second.

The points jersey is the one that is now beyond doubt since the departure of Mark Cavendish yesterday to prepare for the Olympic Madison event with young Bradley Wiggins!

The best young rider jersey should remain firmly on the shoulders of Adam Yates (Orica Bike Exchange) who has shown himself well capable of staying with the best climbers in the world the past 2 weeks.  Whilst he might not be in shape (this year) to attack his wallflower approach of hanging onto the coattails of the best climbers may well see him reach Paris in a podium position.

And the most prestigious overall winners yellow jersey will I think stay on the shoulders of Froomey who has shown himself to be the man most likely the past 2 weeks.  Team Sky are so strong, with Wout Poels and Sergio Henao in particular, showing great fortitude in the climbs, that they have literally rode the sting out of the other GC contenders.  The only main GC rider to have shown any force of will to attack so far is the man already in yellow.  Everyone talks of Froome's struggles in the final week of his two previous tour victories, but in both of those wins he had attacked on mountain stages in the first two weeks in order to open a big enough gap to cushion any losses in the final weeks climbs.  This year however, his major strength has been his racing brain and the courage to put himself on the line in order to seize opportunities as they presented themselves and to take the race to his rivals in a completely novel way to that seen before.  Froome's armoury now appears to be replete, whereas previously people had questioned his ability to descend, for one, and his reticence to leave the security of his team-mates shelter for one more, both of which he has ably demonstrated to be no longer the case, and all of this without having put in his customary mountain attack, as yet.  Thus I confidently predict that Froome's usual 3rd week difficulties will be minimised, if not totally distanced, this year.

His main rivals, Bauke Mollema (Trek Segafredo), Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Adam Yates and Richie Porte (BMC) have all shown an inability to shake Froome when they have attacked, either due to the relentless pace set by Sky or because they are intimidated by Froome's new found racing strengths this year.  Either way, if anyone is going to shift Froome from yellow they need to put themselves on the line and show the same desire to win that Froome, himself, has already demonstrated.  However, I think Wednesday will see Froome attacking and putting yet more time into his rivals.

Now I'm out of time because it's already Wednesday and the stage is underway!

Enjoy!