Video: Roche and Delgado share memories, 25 years after 1987 Tour
Mutual respect and friendship shown between former rivalsExactly 25 years ago today, Stephen Roche and Pedro Delgado had what is regarded as one of the most exciting stage battles in the history of the Tour de France. On the 185 kilometre mountain leg from Le Bourg d’Oisans to La Plagne, the decisive stage of the race played out with considerable drama; Roche, who had lost the yellow jersey one day earlier to his Spanish rival, went on the attack early on but was brought back before the final climb. Delgado attacked almost immediately after the long ramp up to the finish began, seeking to put as much time as possible into Roche and to pad his advantage. He quickly drew clear and opened a gap of over one minute. Struggling, Roche decided to leave everything until the final five kilometres, reasoning that he could sustain a strong effort for that [...]
Tour de France: Video insight into today’s crucial Pyrenean mountain stage
2010 Tour competitor Dan Lloyd rides the courseToday’s sixteenth stage of the Tour de France will be pivotal to the final outcome of the race, being the second-last mountain stage and, along with Saturday’s time trial, one of three which will settle the general classification. The riders are currently racing hard towards the finish in Bagneres de Luchon, and will reach there later this afternoon. However you don’t have to wait until later to see details of the climbs; former WorldTour pro and current IG SigmaSport rider Dan Lloyd has previewed the stage and talks through the main points in the video below. The 198 kilometre race from Pau features four major summits; the first two of those, the 1709 metre Col d’Aubisque (km 53.5) and the 2115 metre Col du Tourmalet (km 120.5) are hors categorie ascents, with the latter being the highest peak in this year’s Tour. They [...]
Tour de France video preview: La Planche des Belles Filles to blow race apart
Preview of tomorrow’s first summit finish of the 2012 Tour de France The riders still have to negotiate todays’ flat stage to Metz, but the Tour de France will take a very different tone tomorrow when the riders hit the mountains and have the first summit finish of the race. The Planche des Belle Filles will feature for the first time ever in the Tour, and is set to completely upend the general classification. Eight and a half kilometres in length, it rises from 483 metres to 1035 meters in that distance and will tear the bunch apart. Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack Nissan), who has led the race since the prologue, will almost certainly lose his lead, while the second-placed rider Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling) will do what he can to take over at the top. However the stage is not just about that final ramp; prior to that the riders [...]
Video: Nicolas Roche hoping for strong Tour de France despite time trial kilometres
Irishman talks about expectations and also his Irish championship silver medalAlthough the race features over 100 kilometres of time trials, Ireland’s Nicolas Roche begins his fourth Tour de France today believing that his good form could see him log a strong GC performance. The Irishman has traditionally lost time to the other GC riders against the clock but has worked hard this year to try to improve there. His position has been tweaked and having had time to become acquainted with the changes, he is hoping to limit his losses. He has drawn encouragement from his tenth place in the recent Tour de Suisse, his best pre-Tour performance thus far. That contrasts with last year, when he fell heavily in the Critérium du Dauphiné and was forced to pull out, compromising his preparation. This time round, things have gone to plan and while he had to be satisfied with a [...]
Video: Kelly predicts an Evans-Wiggins battle in Tour de France
Former world number one weighs up Hesjedal’s chances of taking rare doubleRegarded as one of the best analysts in the sport, Sean Kelly has echoed the assessment of others in stating that there are two clear contenders for this year’s Tour de France. The former world number one and four-time Maillot Vert winner sees the race as being a likely showdown between last year’s winner and the general classification rider who has been in the best form thus far this year. “I think Wiggins and Evans are the two guys who are the big favourites,” Kelly told VeloNation after last Sunday’s Irish road race championships in Clonmel, close to his home town of Carrick on Suir. “After that, there are a number of guys like [Jurgen] Van den Broeck, who is preparing big time for the Tour de France this year, plus four or five others who could cause problems. [...]
Video: Lavery hoping Irish championship bronze medal and Under 23 title will boost future prospects
Tour of Britain a target for Node4 Giordana riderThe new Irish under 23 champion Philip Lavery has said that he is hoping that title plus his bronze medal amongst the Elite riders in Sunday’s road race championships will open some doors for him, both in terms of his programme for the remainder of the season and also in relation to his future. The Node4 Giordana competitor performed very strongly in the race, being the only one able to remain with UCI WorldTour riders Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Matt Brammeier (Omega Pharma Quick Step) in the finale. He attacked in an attempt to get clear, went again when that was covered, but Brammeier was able to use those two surges as a platform for his own victorious surge. Lavery’s performance was a very encouraging one for the 21 year old, who this year took stage placings of eighth and [...]