Vino wins gold; Cav stood no chance in the end

That don't look much like Mark Cavendish ... Alexandr Vinokurov, he of the school of former dopers, wins Olympic Gold in final road race. Photograph: Bettini

One hundred and forty-four cyclists took to the start line in London on Saturday for the men's Olympic road race  and five of them were British. Those five held the hope -- and the best odds going for them -- that the race would come down to a bunch sprint, the other 139, wanted anything but, for to gain any other kind of a finish would leave the result open to a number of contenders, but to take it to a sprint up the Mall, would all but ensure a British victory by way of pre-race favorite, Mark Cavendish. The 139, not surprisingly, beat the five and a surprise name in Alexandr Vinokurov took home the Gold.

A Sunday mountain biking at Kelso Park

Sunday was a glorious day outside and one I couldn't pass up on going out on the mountain bike for a while. The Olympics might be into full swing now after a fantastic opening ceremony on Friday night, but whatever was on could be re-watched later as I decided I couldn't spend the next two weeks entirely on the sofa.

Bradley Wiggins: A champion we can believe in

Bradley Wiggins is a man of the people and a champion we can at last completely believe in

What would you be doing today? The day after you have just won the Tour de France? I know where I'd be and it would result in a nasty headache in a few days time. But not Bradley Wiggins. "I'll just go on my usual loops and it will be nice to ride along with a bit of peace and quiet, enjoying riding the bike without all these bloody idiots on motorbikes taking photos of you!" said the new Tour de France champion.

To be fair to him, he would probably be doing the same as me if it wasn't for the Olympic Games next week and his continued preparation to add a Gold medal in the time-trial to his recent Tour victory, and if that happens then you can really expect the celebrations to begin. But it's the kind of answer that he provides that makes him different from the rest.

You call it dull ... I'll call it clean ... Wiggin's says it's "More human now"

The days of wildly entertaining rides like those by Marco Pantani are a thing of the past, but surely that's actually a good thing?

"Someone is going to have to sustain 500 watts over 20 minutes of a climb to stay away which is not possible anymore unless you’ve got a couple of extra litres of blood. That’s the reality of it. It really is."

-- Bradley Wiggins

It was the early evening of Saturday July 19, 1997 and Marco Pantani had just crossed the finishing line at the top of Alp d'Huez having gone up the fabled mountain of 21 switchbacks faster than anyone before, or since. It was a phenomenal sight, at an average speed of 14.3 mph, and the Italian mountain goat who could defy, as the band Queen would sing, the laws of gravity, was the toast of the Tour. A year later he would become the first pure climber since Lucien van Impe in 1976 to win the Tour de France but by February 2004, he would be dead.

How the British (and French) press broke the news of Wiggins's victory

A look at the front pages of a number of Britain's daily newspapers and how they were reacting to the news that one of their own, Bradley Wiggins, had just won the biggest bike race in the World for the first time. With the Olympic Games just days away, it's one hell of a time to be a headline writer for the sports sections of a daily British paper and an even better time to be a cycling fan...

Proof that you probably shouldn't bet on my advice

Before the tour began I laid down my predictions for the top ten overall as well as the top three in the points and mountains classifications. To say I was quite wide of the remark with regards to some picks would be an understatement though to be fair you can never predict crashes that might suddenly eliminate a contender. Perhaps the closest I got, aside from picking Jurgen Van Den Broeck correctly in forth, was picking Wiggins in second, one place below where he finished. Why did I ever doubt you Brad? The following is a look at where my picks ended up finishing along with the actual stage winners by comparison to my questionable picks in the stage previews.

Cav makes it 7 stage wins for Britain as Wiggins makes history

Rambouillet to Paris (Champs-Élysées), 120 km (74.6 mi)

Job done. Wiggins is on top of the cycling world as champion in Paris. Photograph: Getty Images

There was only ever going to be one winner today. In a warmup for the blast up The Mall on July 28, Mark Cavendish took the perfect lead out, including the rare sight of the Yellow jersey at the head of the peloton setting a ferocious pace that no rival team could move ahead of to take control with a kilometre to go, to swing out of the final corner, around his final lead out man of Edvald Boasson Hagen and clear to the line. It was a dominant victory, once again by several lengths, and from much further out that his rivals might have expected. As they were hoping to grab his wheel and come around him out of that final corner, they straightened up only to find Cavendish was already twenty yards up the most famous avenue in the World and heading for his forth straight victory in Paris.