Here is a look across all the various final standings of the 2016 Tour de France with a little word on each. From the overall classification to the best French riders and from a review of my questionable pre-Tour predictions to my overall team of the Tour of which there can be no debate! First up though, the yellow jersey...
The Final General Classification:
1. Chris Froome (GBR/Sky) in 89h04'48"
They took out the early summit finish to try and test him more, so what did he do? He took the race by the scruff of the neck by attacking on the descents and in the cross winds, by out gunning his rivals in the time-trials and by running up Mont Ventoux. There's no doubt Froome was the best rider here but unexpectedly, he was also the most entertaining.
2. Romain Bardet (FRA/AGR2 La Mondiale) @ 4'05"
I'd picked him for the top five but didn't think he could soar this high. No pressure goign forward for the young Frenchman, but he showed a lot of maturity in this race, got stronger as it went on and took an excellent stage victory to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains to move onto the podium.
3. Nairo Quintana (COL/Movistar) @ 4'21"
Failed to flatter and rarely left the rear wheel of Froome. By the time he attakced on Mont Ventoux he was already trying to make up time and by the time he went again it was on the final 4th cat. climb just outside Paris and the Tour was long over. Allergies or too long training back in Colombia? Whatever the reason this wasn't the Quintana we expected...and yet, he still made the podium.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Sunday, July 24, 2016
André Greipel keeps his streak alive...Chris Froome wins his 3rd Tour de France
They call the final stage into Paris, and the charge up the Champs-Élysées, the sprinters World Championships, and rightly so. It's the most spectacular bunch gallop of the lot and the one that every sprinter wants to win...and one of the most satisfying to win at that. Partly because of where it is and partly because of what race it is, but also because you've survived 21 stages, several mountain ranges and everything else that comes with a Tour de France to earn the right to partake in it.
It's why someone like Mario Cippolini, regarded by many as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, never won here. He couldn't make it through all twenty stages before hand to get the opportunity. Mark Cavendish won four stages this year, but he never made it across the Alps and so he didn't get the chance either.
Cavendish, of course, has been here before however. He won on this wide cobbled boulevard four straight times between 2009 and 2012 and would surely have been the favourite this time had he made it. Instead it was a fourth straight German win, this time by André Greipel, who won it for the second straight year to go with the two won by Marcel Kittel in 2013 and 2014.
It's why someone like Mario Cippolini, regarded by many as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, never won here. He couldn't make it through all twenty stages before hand to get the opportunity. Mark Cavendish won four stages this year, but he never made it across the Alps and so he didn't get the chance either.
Cavendish, of course, has been here before however. He won on this wide cobbled boulevard four straight times between 2009 and 2012 and would surely have been the favourite this time had he made it. Instead it was a fourth straight German win, this time by André Greipel, who won it for the second straight year to go with the two won by Marcel Kittel in 2013 and 2014.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Top ten shakeup but Froome avoids trouble
On a stage which finished with a ride over the Col de Joux Plane in the driving rain followed by a tricky descent down into Morzine, the potential there was for all kinds of drama, especially after what we had seen in the rain just twenty-four hours before, but as it was, the mayhem failed to unfold and while the the top ten had a few names drop out and a few new ones come in, the top five remained unchanged as Chris Froome kept his cool, avoided trouble and is now a short procession into Paris away from being crowned a three time winner of the Tour de France.
All the major action was reserved for the battle to win the stage. That is if you discount the anticipation of someone taking a risk on the descent to try and unsettle Froome behind. But up front it was Vincenzo Nibali out looking to take a consolation victory away from a Tour in which he arrived as the Giro d'Italia champion but very much out of form and using the Tour to build his condition ahead of a Gold medal bid in Rio in a few weeks time. He made the last major move on the Joux Plane from a large group of stage hunters, made up of many of the same names we have seen day after day trying to take some glory from this Tour, and it looked to be the winning move by the Shark. That was until the pair of Jon Izagirre and Jarlinson Pantano worked their way back to him in time for the summit.
You may have noticed that up until this point in the Tour that there had been no Italian or Spanish stage winners, a rare sight indeed, and only until yesterday, when Romain Bardet won, were the French also looking for a stage. The globalisation of the peloton had never been clearer. So no shock then to see the Spaniard in Izagirre and the Italian in Nibali trying to put things to rights, with Pantano looking for his second stage of this Tour alone.
All the major action was reserved for the battle to win the stage. That is if you discount the anticipation of someone taking a risk on the descent to try and unsettle Froome behind. But up front it was Vincenzo Nibali out looking to take a consolation victory away from a Tour in which he arrived as the Giro d'Italia champion but very much out of form and using the Tour to build his condition ahead of a Gold medal bid in Rio in a few weeks time. He made the last major move on the Joux Plane from a large group of stage hunters, made up of many of the same names we have seen day after day trying to take some glory from this Tour, and it looked to be the winning move by the Shark. That was until the pair of Jon Izagirre and Jarlinson Pantano worked their way back to him in time for the summit.
You may have noticed that up until this point in the Tour that there had been no Italian or Spanish stage winners, a rare sight indeed, and only until yesterday, when Romain Bardet won, were the French also looking for a stage. The globalisation of the peloton had never been clearer. So no shock then to see the Spaniard in Izagirre and the Italian in Nibali trying to put things to rights, with Pantano looking for his second stage of this Tour alone.
Friday, July 22, 2016
Drama hits the Tour as the rain falls, riders fall, the classification implodes, and the French get a win with Bardet moving to 2nd overall
If this was the drama you felt was sorely lacking in this years Tour thus far, then you got it all in spades today. A reminder that the Tour is never over until it reaches Paris, or at least until it gets itself out of the high mountains...especially a mountain range in which the rain decides to descend upon it. It was unfortunate that a lot of the drama came by way of general classification riders crashing, but action packed it was nonetheless and while the rain played a big part, the tactics of Astana to drive the pace all day left me wondering why they had waited until three days to go to turn this kind of race on?
As it was the French got a win. Until today it had been a terrible Tour for the home nation. No winners and nobody seriously contending, or so it seemed. Romain Bardet has quietly gone about his Tour until today, sticking around, marking moves, hanging tight and keeping without touching distance of the podium without really being noticed. Now suddenly the French have a race win and Bardet is up to second overall and from a terrible Tour they are just one disaster day for Chris Froome away from having their man win it!
That may be unlikely but it may not be as unthinkable as it might have been twenty-four hours ago when Froome won the time-trial leaving some to write the Tour off as finished. It was hard not to, but today served to remind us that on days like this anything can happen. Tomorrow is another day of high mountains, tough climbs and dangerous descents and, according to the forecasts, more rain is a certainty.
As it was the French got a win. Until today it had been a terrible Tour for the home nation. No winners and nobody seriously contending, or so it seemed. Romain Bardet has quietly gone about his Tour until today, sticking around, marking moves, hanging tight and keeping without touching distance of the podium without really being noticed. Now suddenly the French have a race win and Bardet is up to second overall and from a terrible Tour they are just one disaster day for Chris Froome away from having their man win it!
That may be unlikely but it may not be as unthinkable as it might have been twenty-four hours ago when Froome won the time-trial leaving some to write the Tour off as finished. It was hard not to, but today served to remind us that on days like this anything can happen. Tomorrow is another day of high mountains, tough climbs and dangerous descents and, according to the forecasts, more rain is a certainty.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Froome wins uphill time-trial as battle for podium place grows tighter
Baring a disaster of epic proportions, the battle for the yellow jersey is over. Still, the fight for a place alongside Froome on the podium in Paris has rarely been closer or involved so many riders. In what is becoming a Tour much like 2014 when Vincenzo Nibali ran away with the win and a handful of others fought out for the lower podium spoils, this year we have five men positioned from 2nd to 6th sitting within 1 minute 8 seconds of one another after an uphill time-trial that Froome won and the top six remained unchanged but seen a dramatic tightening of the pack behind the Sky rider. Richie Porte continues his third week surge while the likes of Bauke Mollema and Nairo Quintana are very much on the defensive.
Yesterday I said that after today Chris Froome could be leading the Tour by four minutes. He's not, but he is just eight seconds short of that mark thanks to a mightily impressive ride over the 17km mostly uphill individual time-trial. He timed his effort to perfection, getting stronger as the course went on whereas his rivals slowly faded.
A look at the various time splits gives an idea as to how well Froome measured his effort. At the 6.5km check he trailed the best time of Richie Porte by 23sec, with Porte himself 9sec better off than Dumoulin. By the 10km check it was Dumoulin leading Porte by 9sec with Froome just 1sec further back. 3.5km later at the final check Froome took the lead for the first time, 13sec ahead of Dumoulin with Porte at 22sec. And then on the line, the win for Froome, 21sec ahead of Dumoulin and 33sec ahead of Porte. Another who measured their ride well was Fabio Aru. At each time-check he trailed Porte by 25sec, 14sec and 7sec respectively, and finished on the same time as the Australian.
Yesterday I said that after today Chris Froome could be leading the Tour by four minutes. He's not, but he is just eight seconds short of that mark thanks to a mightily impressive ride over the 17km mostly uphill individual time-trial. He timed his effort to perfection, getting stronger as the course went on whereas his rivals slowly faded.
A look at the various time splits gives an idea as to how well Froome measured his effort. At the 6.5km check he trailed the best time of Richie Porte by 23sec, with Porte himself 9sec better off than Dumoulin. By the 10km check it was Dumoulin leading Porte by 9sec with Froome just 1sec further back. 3.5km later at the final check Froome took the lead for the first time, 13sec ahead of Dumoulin with Porte at 22sec. And then on the line, the win for Froome, 21sec ahead of Dumoulin and 33sec ahead of Porte. Another who measured their ride well was Fabio Aru. At each time-check he trailed Porte by 25sec, 14sec and 7sec respectively, and finished on the same time as the Australian.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
The waiting game of others pays off for Froome
They waited and they waited and they waited. They waited until the final two kilomtres of the final climb up to the summit at the spectacular Finhaut-Emosson before a serious move was made. By then we already had a stage winner in Ilnur Zakarin, the best of the days large break that had taken so long to form but from which so many common names for such moves in this years Tour finally got away. They waited because they couldn't go before or because they didn't want to risk going before? It was hard to say in the moment, but wait they did, and by the time Richie Porte sprung clear the gains were only ever going to be minimal but what became clear was why they were waiting. Chris Froome must have been delighted.
The pace was high all day and that probably played into it, but the stage was made for an early move. For Astana or Movistar or BMC to throw caution to the wind and try to isolate Froome from as many of his men as they could and not wait until the final climb were the pace might limit them. It's easier to say than to do, and perhaps nobody had the legs to try something like that, the finish perhaps alluded to it. So as it was they waited over two third category climbs, a long valley road and then the first category Col de la Forclaz at 13km and 7.9%, content to sit in the wheels of Sky...and wait.
When they hit the final climb of the day, a brutal 10.4km grind at 8.4% with long sections coming in at over 10%, Astana did move to the front but only to set a tempo. They burned one match after another until suddenly Fabio Aru was on his own, and with it Team Sky slowly retook the front line and continued their pace setting with a thank you very much to Astana for doing some of the heavy lifting.
The pace was high all day and that probably played into it, but the stage was made for an early move. For Astana or Movistar or BMC to throw caution to the wind and try to isolate Froome from as many of his men as they could and not wait until the final climb were the pace might limit them. It's easier to say than to do, and perhaps nobody had the legs to try something like that, the finish perhaps alluded to it. So as it was they waited over two third category climbs, a long valley road and then the first category Col de la Forclaz at 13km and 7.9%, content to sit in the wheels of Sky...and wait.
When they hit the final climb of the day, a brutal 10.4km grind at 8.4% with long sections coming in at over 10%, Astana did move to the front but only to set a tempo. They burned one match after another until suddenly Fabio Aru was on his own, and with it Team Sky slowly retook the front line and continued their pace setting with a thank you very much to Astana for doing some of the heavy lifting.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
A quiet rest day is how it should be
How strange it must be for everyone on the Tour to have such tranquility on the rest days? It's been going that way the past few years but more so this year than ever before has there been a distinct lack of gossip and controversy and despite what some suckers for such stuff might tell you, it can only be a good thing and a sign of the times of where the sport is at.
Once upon a time a rest day at the Tour couldn't come or go without a scandal, and usually a doping scandal at that. A top rider testing positive; a collection of riders being caught. The press would scramble, rumours would swirl and the fallout with threaten to overshadow what was going on in the race itself.
In more recent years with the number of actual positive tests going down the scandal pages (or twitter accounts as it has morphed into) have been filled with speculation, accusation and innuendo. Whomever happens to be wearing the yellow jersey at the time of either rest day -- and more so the second rest day because that is often the man in yellow who might well keep it until Paris -- is hit with a barrage of questions about his stance on doping and whether he himself might be doping.
Once upon a time a rest day at the Tour couldn't come or go without a scandal, and usually a doping scandal at that. A top rider testing positive; a collection of riders being caught. The press would scramble, rumours would swirl and the fallout with threaten to overshadow what was going on in the race itself.
In more recent years with the number of actual positive tests going down the scandal pages (or twitter accounts as it has morphed into) have been filled with speculation, accusation and innuendo. Whomever happens to be wearing the yellow jersey at the time of either rest day -- and more so the second rest day because that is often the man in yellow who might well keep it until Paris -- is hit with a barrage of questions about his stance on doping and whether he himself might be doping.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Sagan by a tire width
Peter Sagan completed his 100th Tour de France stage today and in it he took his 7th Tour de France stage win. The numbers don't sound spectacular by his lofty standards, but when you remember how closely he is marked and how often others turn to him to close gaps, it's incredible to learn that in those 100 races, he has finished in the top ten on 52 occasions, and of those, 33 were podium positions.
Yes, since 2012 when he entered his first Tour (and he's won the green jersey every year), Sagan is finishing in the top ten of a stage every other time he races at the Tour and a third of the time he's in the top three. Can you imagine the numbers if just half those podium places had gone another way and he'd won them as, if you remember long and hard, he probably deserved to do? He could already be two-thirds of the way towards catching the spectacular total of wins by Mark Cavendish who himself is just four away from the all-time record of 34 held by Eddy Merckx.
There's a lot of 'what if's' in that last paragraph, but those hard statistics up top are incredible in themselves. And when you consider a pure climber and often takes those days off, what does that do to his strike rate for top 10s or podium placings in stages not raced in the high mountains? There is definitely a feeling of 'if only' within me that wishes he could climb the big mountains that little bit better.
Yes, since 2012 when he entered his first Tour (and he's won the green jersey every year), Sagan is finishing in the top ten of a stage every other time he races at the Tour and a third of the time he's in the top three. Can you imagine the numbers if just half those podium places had gone another way and he'd won them as, if you remember long and hard, he probably deserved to do? He could already be two-thirds of the way towards catching the spectacular total of wins by Mark Cavendish who himself is just four away from the all-time record of 34 held by Eddy Merckx.
There's a lot of 'what if's' in that last paragraph, but those hard statistics up top are incredible in themselves. And when you consider a pure climber and often takes those days off, what does that do to his strike rate for top 10s or podium placings in stages not raced in the high mountains? There is definitely a feeling of 'if only' within me that wishes he could climb the big mountains that little bit better.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
More to this stage than the lack of fight for yellow
Many criticised today's stage because back in the general classification group there was little in the way of action and the sharp end of the overall standings tonight remains much as it was this morning, with the exception of Tejay Van Garderen, but those critical only looked at the GC angle because up front it was full of action and a damn good watch.
A large group went clear early and various pretenders to the stage win took their turn going up the road before falling away in a yo-yo of action. At one stage Tom Dumoulin had set off on a bid for his third stage win and was being chased down by Vincenzo Niabli but when I came back from making myself a cup of tea, the pair were out the back and it was someone else -- Serge Pauwels or Ilnur Zakarin or Julian Alaphilippe -- bidding for glory.
But all of them fell away. Legs for Pauwels, descending for Zakarin, and a crash or mechanical not caught on camera for Alaphilippe. And then it looked like Rafal Majka had timed it right. Sweeping up points throughout the day the Polish climber had led over the mighty Grand Colombier (which I was shocked to learn had only been used in the Tour for the first time in 2012. Anyone know why it took so long? There's four roads up and one of them, the hardest they say, is still yet to be used) and the Lacets du Grand Colombier to take a commanding lead in the King of the Mountains classification.
Like the rest before him, however, Majka hadn't quite done enough and a mighty descent into the finishing town of Culoz by Jarlinson Pantano, in which he made up 23 seconds, brought the Colombian rider across to Majka and set up a two man sprint for the stage. The Colombian with the bit between his teeth was too strong and took the win for IAM cycling who will disband as a team at the end of the season.
So plenty to enjoy as the general classification took a day off.
A large group went clear early and various pretenders to the stage win took their turn going up the road before falling away in a yo-yo of action. At one stage Tom Dumoulin had set off on a bid for his third stage win and was being chased down by Vincenzo Niabli but when I came back from making myself a cup of tea, the pair were out the back and it was someone else -- Serge Pauwels or Ilnur Zakarin or Julian Alaphilippe -- bidding for glory.
But all of them fell away. Legs for Pauwels, descending for Zakarin, and a crash or mechanical not caught on camera for Alaphilippe. And then it looked like Rafal Majka had timed it right. Sweeping up points throughout the day the Polish climber had led over the mighty Grand Colombier (which I was shocked to learn had only been used in the Tour for the first time in 2012. Anyone know why it took so long? There's four roads up and one of them, the hardest they say, is still yet to be used) and the Lacets du Grand Colombier to take a commanding lead in the King of the Mountains classification.
Like the rest before him, however, Majka hadn't quite done enough and a mighty descent into the finishing town of Culoz by Jarlinson Pantano, in which he made up 23 seconds, brought the Colombian rider across to Majka and set up a two man sprint for the stage. The Colombian with the bit between his teeth was too strong and took the win for IAM cycling who will disband as a team at the end of the season.
So plenty to enjoy as the general classification took a day off.
Friday, July 15, 2016
Dumoulin destroys field; Froome destroys rivals
Tom Dumoulin had clearly targeted this one, though with a stage win already in the bag you had to wonder if someone else might step up. It wasn't to be though and the Dutchman proved himself the nailed on favourite for the Olympic time-trial next month by putting over a minute into his nearest rival and as much as 2min 5sec into Olympic rival Tony Martin and a huge 3min 15sec into Fabian Cancellara.
The nearest rival in question was Chris Froome, who with a lot on the line went all in, ending speculation that he might be tired or his legs sore after a daring attack with Peter Sagan two days ago before the mayhem on Ventoux yesterday in which he had to run part of the mountain.
After yesterday's stage the race jury sat down for the better part of an hour to decide how best to sort it out and in the end they gave Froome the same time as Bauke Mollema, who had been with him at the time of the crash but who had been least affected. Had they not, Froome would have lost 1min 40sec on the day to Mollema and 1min 21sec to the likes of Adam Yates, Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana and he would have started this morning 53sec in arears of Yates, 46sec behind Quintana and 44sec down on Mollema.
By the time he had negotiated the 37.5km rolling individual time-trial course from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to Le Caverne de Pont d'Arc, Froome had put 51sec into Mollema, 1min 45sec into Valverde, 1min 58sec into Yates and a full 2min 5sec into Quintana. The upshot to the overall standings today had they been as they were on the line yesterday would have still seen Froome emerge from the days time-trial with the yellow jersey back on his shoulders, albeit just 7sec better off than Mollema rather than the 1min 47sec he now finds himself ahead by. But Quintana, who is now 2min 59sec down overall and with his Tour in tatters, would still have found himself 1min 19sec back.
The nearest rival in question was Chris Froome, who with a lot on the line went all in, ending speculation that he might be tired or his legs sore after a daring attack with Peter Sagan two days ago before the mayhem on Ventoux yesterday in which he had to run part of the mountain.
After yesterday's stage the race jury sat down for the better part of an hour to decide how best to sort it out and in the end they gave Froome the same time as Bauke Mollema, who had been with him at the time of the crash but who had been least affected. Had they not, Froome would have lost 1min 40sec on the day to Mollema and 1min 21sec to the likes of Adam Yates, Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana and he would have started this morning 53sec in arears of Yates, 46sec behind Quintana and 44sec down on Mollema.
By the time he had negotiated the 37.5km rolling individual time-trial course from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to Le Caverne de Pont d'Arc, Froome had put 51sec into Mollema, 1min 45sec into Valverde, 1min 58sec into Yates and a full 2min 5sec into Quintana. The upshot to the overall standings today had they been as they were on the line yesterday would have still seen Froome emerge from the days time-trial with the yellow jersey back on his shoulders, albeit just 7sec better off than Mollema rather than the 1min 47sec he now finds himself ahead by. But Quintana, who is now 2min 59sec down overall and with his Tour in tatters, would still have found himself 1min 19sec back.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Mayhem on Ventoux as the yellow jersey loses bike and has to run
Where do I even start? It was a day in which so much happened but only one thing stood out. A moment that will burn deep into Tour folklore. The sight of Chris Froome, with the yellow jersey on his back, surrounded by fans, running up Mont Ventoux. His bicycle nowhere to be seen, his Tour in tatters as chaos reigned in the final kilometres of a stunning stage.
I can only imagine what was going through the minds of those at the side of the road as Froome came running past? What was going through the minds of the Team Sky management, behind in the team car, as Froome told them through the radio that his bike had broke and that he had set off on foot in a desperate bid to limit his losses?
The rules state that you must cross the line with your bike. They do not appear to mention covering a portion of the course without your bike. Not that there is ever a time in which you'd prefer to do this. As such I also wonder what was going through the mind of Chris Froome? Especially when his rivals passed him, when he looked behind to see a sea of people and no team car. Many cyclists would have slammed their bike into the ground and stood at the side of the road waving their hands in frustration. But with no idea how long he might be standing there, Froome reacted as a champion should, as someone so focused on the task at hand might. Always thinking he figured the only logical move was to get as far up the mountain as he could. Wait for a team mate to come to him, or neutral service, or maybe even the team car. What if he'd reached the line before any of this? Did he know the rule? He ran for what seemed like a few hundred metres. It was one of the most surreal things I've ever seen in cycling. And I thought I'd seen it all in this sport.
I can only imagine what was going through the minds of those at the side of the road as Froome came running past? What was going through the minds of the Team Sky management, behind in the team car, as Froome told them through the radio that his bike had broke and that he had set off on foot in a desperate bid to limit his losses?
The rules state that you must cross the line with your bike. They do not appear to mention covering a portion of the course without your bike. Not that there is ever a time in which you'd prefer to do this. As such I also wonder what was going through the mind of Chris Froome? Especially when his rivals passed him, when he looked behind to see a sea of people and no team car. Many cyclists would have slammed their bike into the ground and stood at the side of the road waving their hands in frustration. But with no idea how long he might be standing there, Froome reacted as a champion should, as someone so focused on the task at hand might. Always thinking he figured the only logical move was to get as far up the mountain as he could. Wait for a team mate to come to him, or neutral service, or maybe even the team car. What if he'd reached the line before any of this? Did he know the rule? He ran for what seemed like a few hundred metres. It was one of the most surreal things I've ever seen in cycling. And I thought I'd seen it all in this sport.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Froome joins Sagan to ignite the stage
Words like spontaneous, entertaining and opportunist are often associated with a rider like Peter Sagan, but not so much with the Team Sky leader, Chris Froome. For a long time Froome has been associated with being robotic like, unwilling to ride on instinct, but one who watches his power meter and sticks exclusively to the team plan, often talking with the team car through his radio. Well, not anymore...not after he linked up with Sagan today to rip the race to bits.
The 2016 Tour de France is showing us a new side to Chris Froome...or perhaps one that has always been there but has never had to come out. But with his rivals thinking that they were going to see the same old Chris Froome at this Tour, one who would hide behind his black and blue Sky team mates before exposing himself in the high mountains to make his move on yellow, Froome has changed tact and caught them napping when they least expected him to move.
Firstly with that downhill attack on stage 8 and then today in the cross-winds, on the road to Montpellier, bridging across to a surge by Sagan to form a four man move that included Sagan's team-mate Maciej Bodnar and Froome's team-mate Geraint Thomas. Sagan created the move as you might have expected, but Froome's daring to go with it said a lot about the way he wants to race this Tour. Once again his opponents were caught behind and losing time.
The 2016 Tour de France is showing us a new side to Chris Froome...or perhaps one that has always been there but has never had to come out. But with his rivals thinking that they were going to see the same old Chris Froome at this Tour, one who would hide behind his black and blue Sky team mates before exposing himself in the high mountains to make his move on yellow, Froome has changed tact and caught them napping when they least expected him to move.
Firstly with that downhill attack on stage 8 and then today in the cross-winds, on the road to Montpellier, bridging across to a surge by Sagan to form a four man move that included Sagan's team-mate Maciej Bodnar and Froome's team-mate Geraint Thomas. Sagan created the move as you might have expected, but Froome's daring to go with it said a lot about the way he wants to race this Tour. Once again his opponents were caught behind and losing time.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Review of the first week...Cav is back...British cycling 5 out of 8...and Froome CAN descend
So the 2016 Tour de France is a week old, or eight stages to be precise, and I've returned from a wonderful holiday. I tried hard to avoid technology over the week, and while I did well for the most part, I couldn't ignore the Tour entirely. I allowed myself the final 5km of some of the opening weeks stages to stream on my phone before returning home to catch the weekends stages on the television.
What I seen for the most part was a week for sprinters that was a throwback to that of the 1990s intersected with solo stage wins and a passing around of the yellow jersey to several worthy first timers as British riders took five wins in eight days ending up with Chris Froome in yellow, Mark Cavendish in green, Adam Yates in white and elsewhere Andy Murray winning Wimbledon and Lewis Hamilton the British Grand Prix. Not a bad way to get over the hurt of the European Championships!
With regards to the Tour, the week began with the return to glory of Mark Cavendish in which he took his first yellow jersey by winning the first of three stages over the opening six days to move into second all-time ahead of Bernard Hinault and behind Eddy Merckx. A first yellow jersey for Peter Sagan followed as he too took a stage win before Marcel Kittel got in on the act. The Four solo wins played in and around the sprinters fun and came first through Greg Van Avermaet (who also took his first yellow jersey and did so by a margain of more than five minutes), then through Steve Cummings (with a brilliant attack over the Col d'Aspin to stick a middle finger up to the British Olympic selectors), next via Tom Dumoulin (on the first summit finish of this years tour at Andorra Arcalis with his arms aloft as the rain and hail belted down upon the mountain), and finally by Chris Froome (who caught his rivals napping with an attack over the Peyresourde and a blitzing descent down to the finish to win the stage and take yellow).
What I seen for the most part was a week for sprinters that was a throwback to that of the 1990s intersected with solo stage wins and a passing around of the yellow jersey to several worthy first timers as British riders took five wins in eight days ending up with Chris Froome in yellow, Mark Cavendish in green, Adam Yates in white and elsewhere Andy Murray winning Wimbledon and Lewis Hamilton the British Grand Prix. Not a bad way to get over the hurt of the European Championships!
With regards to the Tour, the week began with the return to glory of Mark Cavendish in which he took his first yellow jersey by winning the first of three stages over the opening six days to move into second all-time ahead of Bernard Hinault and behind Eddy Merckx. A first yellow jersey for Peter Sagan followed as he too took a stage win before Marcel Kittel got in on the act. The Four solo wins played in and around the sprinters fun and came first through Greg Van Avermaet (who also took his first yellow jersey and did so by a margain of more than five minutes), then through Steve Cummings (with a brilliant attack over the Col d'Aspin to stick a middle finger up to the British Olympic selectors), next via Tom Dumoulin (on the first summit finish of this years tour at Andorra Arcalis with his arms aloft as the rain and hail belted down upon the mountain), and finally by Chris Froome (who caught his rivals napping with an attack over the Peyresourde and a blitzing descent down to the finish to win the stage and take yellow).
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