Innehållsförteckning för August 27, 2020 från Cycling Weekly

At last we can all breathe a sigh of relief – the Tour de France is here. For months we were assuming the worst, but with just a couple of days to go we’re now confident that the race will start in Nice this weekend. It is, however, going to be a very strange race indeed. Run off in September at the end of summer could make things interesting if the weather in the mountains is as changeable as it can be at this time of year. Then there’s the lack of racing for everyone in the peloton in 2020. What will that mean when they get to the last week? Will anyone ride through the race with the poise and control that we’re used to seeing from the likes…

CW: Where do you live? SC: My wife and I have three houses. One is in Andorra where we live during the season. Andorra is a beautiful place. It’s 42km from border to border but with 21 classified climbs so there’s plenty of climbing. We have another one in Italy because my wife’s Italian and then I own one in Australia that I rent out but I’ve never slept in. One day I’d like to sleep a night in my own house! CW: If you could win any race what would it be? SC: To win Strade Bianche would be amazing. Where I grew up, there was a two-kilometre dirt road that was steep, with a section of 15 per cent. My whole younger life was spent barrelling down this…

If this Tour de France were a rider, they’d be struggling to the line through a snowstorm at the top of the Galibier, determinedly ploughing a lonely furrow against all the odds – some would say against all sense – to make it to the line. It has taken all the world has to throw at it and stamped on the pedals, face etched with a grimace and eyes staring defiantly up the road, saying: “Is that all you’ve got?” Sure, it’s later than expected but if there was any event that was going to survive the coronavirus pandemic it was the Tour. A large part of that is its central place in the finances of the sport for organiser ASO and the teams but it’s also because if there’s…

198km Monday, 31 August Start 11:20 Finish 16:17 Tracing much of the Route de Napoléon that the French emperor took when he returned from exile in Elba, the race heads into the foothills of the Alps, but this stage should culminate in the Tour’s second bunch kick. Terrain Coming between two mountain stages, the terrain covered today is far less challenging, in spite of a long rise from the Côte d’Azur through Grasse and on to Digne les Bains. The wind could prove a complicating factor, depending on its direction. If it’s gusting from the north, the section after Digne could see echelons form, while the final kilometres will be into the teeth of it. Gameplan It may still be a litt le too early for a breakaway to hold…

191km Thursday, 3 September Start 11:10 Finish 16:00 Stage 6 ETAs With the first 80 per cent of the stage near pan flat and the final 20 per cent up all the way, it will be cat and mouse between the peloton and break. Terrain The Tour route passes through the rugged, heavily forested Cévennes on the southern edge of the Massif Central on its way westwards to the Pyrenees. The peloton will cross two third-cat climbs to reach the day’s main test, the first-category Col de la Lusette, which has never featured in the race before. It rises for 11.7km from Mandagout at an average of 7.3 per cent, steepening significantly during its second half. Beyond is a vast plateau and a gentle climb to the first-ever finish at…

153km Sunday, 6 September Start 11:35 Finish 15:27 Stage 9 profile Like the previous day, the mountain tests are packed into the second half of this stage, which concludes with a downhill run towards the finish. Terrain Starting in Pau, the race heads south-west, bumping through the hills of the Jurançon winelands to reach Oloron-Sainte-Marie, then continuing on the same trajectory to Lanne-en-Barétous. Turning southwards, the road rises a litt le, making for the Col de la Hourcère, a climb that’s new to the Tour. It begins just beyond Barlanès and is abrupt from the off. Averaging close to nine per cent for 11km, it kicks up steeply through woodland, its second kilometre more than 10 per cent, its third more than 11. The gradient eases as the road climbs…

218km Thursday, 10 September Start 11:00 Finish 16:11 The longest stage of the race and the only one over 200km. It could well deliver some fireworks as it undulates almost continually during its second half through challenging terrain in the Haute Vienne and Corrèze. Terrain The rollercoaster ride begins to the north of Limoges as the route enters the rugged countryside of the Limousin. Soon after it passes through Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, the home village of Tour legend Raymond Poulidor. The hills get steadily bigger as the route continues south-east into the Corrèze, the biggest of them the 10km ascent of the Suc au May, which comes with 20km remaining. The finish is in Sarran, its population less than 300, making it the smallest stage town on the race. Gameplan Expect a…

175km Thursday, 17 September Start 11:30 Finish 16:28 The last mountain stage of the race doesn’t come with a summit finish, but serves up an intriguing finale that could reward an aggressive approach by GC riders. Terrain There are more than 4,000 metres of vertical gain on the menu, the first portion accumulated on the Cormet de Roselend, the climb rising for 19km at six per cent to reach almost 2,000 metres, the route then dropping a similar distance at a similar rate to Beaufort. The riders will be quickly onto the Col des Saisies, a litt le shorter and a touch tamer than the Roselend, but still providing another good dose of climbing. From the pass, the road drops through some steep sections to arrive quickly in Flumet, where…

Four years ago, Bora-Hansgrohe hit the jackpot when they landed the prized contract of Slovak superstar Peter Sagan. He’s a rider whose extraordinary talent and effortless charisma virtually guarantees regular wins and positive publicity, and indeed he’s bagged them two green jerseys and a hatful of Classics wins during his time here. They also have emerging climber Emanuel Buchmann, who was the revelation of last year’s Tour, producing an unassuming, but effective performance to finish fourth overall. In the mountains he defied expectations to hang with the big contenders, and the result was a huge leap forward for a rider who had never before finished inside the top 10 at a Grand Tour. The performance clearly inspired the 27-year-old and his team, who have stated they are aiming for the…

After breaking his run of five successive high finishes – including podium finishes in 2016 and 2017 – Ag2r’s star Romain Bardet was left seeking a fresh challenge. He planned to skip this year's Tour in favour of the Giro followed by the Olympics and Worlds, but the wholesale rearrangement of the season (and perhaps a little thinking time) has seen those plans revised, and the 29-year-old is set to be at the Grand Départ on 29 August. Pierre Latour, who will have been looking forward to a first tilt at team leadership, will have to wait – unless Bardet finds his form lacking, allowing the young pretender to take the reins. Former stage winner and yellow jerseywearer Tony Gallopin is also part of the team. STAR RIDER Romain Bardet…

Jumbo-Visma were exceptional at the Tour de France in 2019, placing Steven Kruijswijk third overall and becoming the first team since Movistar a few years back to challenge the long-standing supremacy of Team Ineos. While an injured Kruijswijk will have to sit this one out, the team’s since signed two of the world’s elite Grand Tour riders in the form of Tom Dumoulin and Vuelta a Espana winner Primoz Roglič, so looks well placed to mount a serious bid for yellow. Have they been a little hasty, though, in their preparations? Announcing their line-up right at the beginning of the year suggested a supreme confidence but perhaps betrayed a desire for control that is in practice unattainable in bike racing. A perfect example of this was when the team’s early…

What was so impressive about Lotto-Soudal’s Tour last year was the way they balanced the requirement for a disciplined lead-out for Aussie sprinter Caleb Ewan, with the breakaway impulses of riders like Tim Wellens and Thomas De Gendt. But they also rallied behind Ewan in the sprints, helping him to three stage wins, including the prestigious ‘sprinter’s World Championship’ on the Champs-Elysées. The stage-winning potential of new recruits Philippe Gilbert and John Degenkolb suggest there is no intention of dialling back their maverick tendencies — expect more wins this year, in both sprints and breakaways. STAR RIDER Caleb Ewan (Aus) With his distinct aero-tuck and lightning cadence, and a tried and tested lead-out train, the diminutive Aussie will be considered the sprinter to beat at the 2020 Tour de France.…

Insanity is often defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, but that hasn’t deterred Movistar from doing just that at the Tour de France. In all but one Tour since 2013, they’ve lined up with Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde as co-leaders, and have not managed to win the yellow jersey once in that period. Their prospects may have been promising at first, with both riders finishing on the podium behind Chris Froome in 2015, but it’s been a case of diminishing returns since then, as Quintana became inconsistent and Valverde old. Mikel Landa was brought in from Team Sky in 2018 to try and freshen things up, but only seemed to make matters worse, and things reached a nadir last year when…

Few would tip a 23-year-old Colombian in his first full year on a WorldTour team for victory in the Tour de France, but after Egan Bernal’s sensational victory last year, Sergio Higuita could be worth a punt. There is a theory going around that rookie pro cyclists have so much training and racing data available to them these days that they can dispense with the apprenticeship and go straight to the boardroom. Higuita took the overall win at the Tour of Colombia in February. With a strong team, including his older compatriot Rigoberto Urán by his side, that Colombian Tour squad is similar to the one set to take to the start line in Nice on Saturday. Chief among the list of mostly younger talent is another Colombian, Daniel Martínez,…

As the road market races to adopt tubeless technology, we’ve found that tyres can have a harsher feel as a stiffer casing is necessary to ensure a tight seal on the rim. Unfortunately for Cadex, this was the case with the Race 25 tyres. While the effect was noticeable, they’re no means the worst we’ve tried. We were initially worried that this harshness would impair the tyre’s grip, but happily the RR-S Silica compound works well and the tyres have plenty of bite in corners. Once we were used to the slightly harsher feel of the rubber, we were contentedly leaning over in bends and attacking descents. They certainly offer the feeling of fast rolling that accompanies other top-end race tyres – a sort of subtleness that just makes riding…

Dependent upon your specific needs, you won’t go too far wrong choosing one of the six tyres included in this grouptest. With regards to meeting the brief of being an everyday race tyre, each fits the bill perfectly. Cadex and Wolfpack are probably the new kids on the block in terms of tyre brands, yet the tyres from both brands have some stand-out features. We were really impressed with the construction and durability the Wolfpack Road Race tyre brings to the table, and the Cadex demonstrates a great level of grip. Maxxis’ High Road get the vote for best value tyre in the test (alongside the Wolfpack) and also have a great balance between speed and durability. Specialized has the edge from a tubeless perspective, being by far the easiest…

The full frame Pro Team is made for “complete protection and clear vision while training and racing” and is out there to compete with the likes of Oakley and 100%. The lens features Rider Optimised Surface Enhancement (ROSE) technology. This is Rapha’s equivalent of 100%’s HiPER or Oakley’s Prizm lens, offering enhanced contrast between light and dark so you can see the road more clearly in those wooded areas or areas with dappled light. I found the Pro Teams worked just as well as anything else I’ve used in this respect, helping to spot those pesky potholes on country lanes under dappled light I certainly could hardly tell the difference when switching between these and Jawbreakers with the road Prizm lens. The fit on the Pro Team is good; the…

Recently I listened to an interview with everyone’s favourite team pursuiter, Ed Clancy. He explained the tensions of sitting on an Olympic start line. “Will I take it out too hard?” his brain murmurs slyly. “Will I take it out too slow? Will I puncture? Will someone in the crowd spill a bottle of Evian down the track and we all slip on it and crash?” It is clear from the Evian that Ed is a man who worries about all eventualities. I once crashed into a cow mid-race. This came as a complete surprise to me (albeit perhaps not to the cow, since Olympic medallist Chris Newton had also crashed into it a few moments earlier). Ed, on the other hand, would have been expecting it. I used to…

Ineos will go to the Tour de France this year without the two riders who have won the race for them five times since 2013 – Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. The team – rebranded Ineos Grenadiers for this year’s Tour – broke the news last week after an under-par showing in the Critérium du Dauphiné from the British pair, which saw them both finish in the autobus on the final day. Egan Bernal put in a good if not sparkling showing, only to be withdrawn mid-race with a back issue, but the team as a whole were unable to match up to their big rivals for the Tour GC, Jumbo-Visma. The Dutch team emerged from the race looking imperious, and what followed was a hasty reshuffle of what was…

1. Maurice Garin 2. Eugène Christophe 3. The toe-clip 4. Three 5. Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle 6. Monsieur Chrono 7. 1957 8. Laurent Fignon 9. False: he won the Vuelta a España in 1964. 10. The Puy de Dôme 11. St. Raphael 12. Milan-San Remo 13. La Vie Claire 14. Alpe d’Huez 15. Louison Bobet 16. Bernard Hinault 17. Bernard Hinault 18. Maria Canins 19. Laurent Jalabert 20. Jean François Bernard 21. Louison Bobet and Bernard Hinault 22. The Prix Citron (the Lemon Prize) – granted by the media for being the most difficult individual to deal with that year. 23. The Col de Vars 24. Brittany 25. Bordeaux-Paris 26. Crédit Agricole 27. Roger Walkowiak 28. Milan-San Remo on the Via Roma 29. Jacques Anquetil (1960) 30. Crédit Agricole in 2001. They…

156km Saturday, 29 August Start 13:15 Finish 16:58 It’s very unusual for the Tour to have a stage that includes circuits, even less so one where fans can see the peloton as many as three times, which makes this opening day especially intriguing. Terrain The outward half of each lap has plenty of twists and turns while the inward half is largely on straight, wide highways running slightly downhill. The third lap is longer, continuing beyond Aspremont to Levens, the stage’s high point, before turning southwards again for the finale on Nice’s seafront, where a bunch sprint is the most likely scenario. Gameplan Like the past two years, the opening stage presents the peloton’s sprinters with the chance of a double prize – the stage win and the yellow jersey.…

160.5km Tuesday, 1 September Start 12:30 Finish 16:31 This stage continues the early flirtation with the mountains that started on stage two, once again keeping the GC contenders on their toes in the first week. Terrain It runs through the Dévoluy massif that sits between the northern and southern French Alps to finish at the ski station of Orcières-Merlett e. Rated first-category and averaging 6.7 per cent, the final climb isn’t anywhere near as tough as the ascent to La Planche des Belles Filles that featured at about the same point last year. It is, however, exacting enough to shake out any GC hopeful who’s at less than their best. Gameplan Undulating constantly, this is prime breakaway terrain and plenty of teams will want to get one of their stronger…

168km Friday, 4 September Start 12:35 Finish 16:29 Starting in Millau and quickly passing beneath the majestic Sir Norman Foster-designed viaduct with its distinctive sail-like piers, this stage through the departments of Aveyron and Tarn should see att ention swing back once again to the sprinters. Terrain Near Castres the route turns towards Lavaur and reaches open countryside where things could get complicated, with the wind potentially coming into play. Echelons could form and the peloton split, so positioning in this section will be vital. Last year, Thibaut Pinot lost more than a minute when rival teams took advantage of a gusting wind on a similar, apparently innocuous stage. Gameplan If the wind doesn’t get up, this looks like the most straightforward sprint stage of the race so far, which…

168.5km Tuesday, 8 September Start 11:35 Finish 16:29 The rest-day transfer northwards from the Pyrenees takes the Tour to the holiday beaches of western France. Terrain Racing recommences with what looks on paper to be the most benign of stages, starting on the Île d’Oléron and finishing on the Île de Ré, a litt le to the north. After returning to the mainland from the start, the riders will head south along the coast to Royan, before turning north. The parcours has no significant difficulties unless it’s gusting off the Atlantic, in which case this whole stage will take on a very different complexion. Gameplan Being in the break is likely to yield no more than a good dose of publicity for sponsors, as the sprinters’ teams will be determined…

191.5km Friday, 11 September Start 11:05 Finish 16:02 Although it’s run through what is usually medium mountain territory, with 4,400 metres of vertical gain, this is a full-on mountain stage with a tough uphill finale. Terrain The final Peyrol climb begins easily enough, running at eight per cent for 3km, then kicks up to more than twice that for the final 2.5km to the finish, set on a ridge above a cluster of long-extinct volcanoes. Gameplan The peloton is going to have a far from easy ride, often on narrow and winding roads where there’s litt le flat. The closing 60km look especially favourable for ambushes, and it would be a surprise if one or two teams don’t att empt to capitalise on this, well knowing that every one of…

164km Tuesday, 15 September Start 12:20 Finish 16:36 The day after the second rest day is a medium mountain test but expect the big guns to keep their powder dry for tougher stages. Terrain The race covers some very challenging terrain in the Chartreuse and Vercors massifs. The second significant climb is almost 15km long and averages a pretty steady 6.4 per cent. Gameplan With the big guns relatively quiet, the bett er climbers in the rest of the pack will get their chance to shine. Players There’s a chance here for riders and teams looking for consolation, confirmation or even redemption. In the last couple of years, NTT (previously Dimension Data) have been one of these teams. The South African-backed squad will be looking for an upturn in fortunes…

166.5km Friday, 18 September Start 12:45 Finish 16:37 While the GC riders concentrate on saving their resources for tomorrow’s time trial, today’s tactics will depend on how many sprinters are still in the race. Terrain Today the Tour heads north from Bourg-en- Bresse to finish at Champagnole, just to the north of the Jura massif. There are no significant difficulties, route director Thierry Gouvenou clearly deciding that there has been enough hard climbing. Gameplan Breakaways have a tendency of going the full distance on stages like this in the last few days of the Tour, when so many riders are running close to empty, but this one doesn’t look long or hard enough to give the day’s escapees a decent chance of savouring an unexpected success. No doubt a handful…

In 2019 the Colde l’Iseran was the scene of a double regicide. Egan Bernal’s audacious, and ultimately successful, bid for Tour glory nearly 40km from the finish would be the catalyst for him taking two thrones. The first was Nairo Quintana’s – the new Tour champion Bernal was received in Colombia with a fervour that has only been matched by the former Movistar man. While it’s fair to say Quintana still holds a special place in the hearts of Colombian sports fans, it is Bernal that is today’s golden child. The second, it would turn out, was his team-mate Chris Froome’s. Bernal fulfilling his potential as a Grand Tour winner was doubtless a factor in Ineos team principal Dave Brailsford feeling he could afford to let Froome walk away to…

When Mitchelton-Scott entered the pro cycling scene in 2012, as fresh-faced upstarts with a typically brash Aussie manner, their ambitions were initially limited. Without a single star rider to compete for the yellow jersey, they focused their resources instead towards more achievable goals, like perfecting the art of the team time trial (which they won in 2013) and excelling in non-specialised, punchy stages. That changed in 2016, when young Brit Adam Yates hit the big time with fourth place overall at the Tour. His success was built upon by twin brother Simon, who won the Vuelta a couple of years later (at least, we think it was Simon — the Yates are about as identical a pair of twins as you’ll see), while Esteban Chaves’s Cheshire cat grin was on…

Once the man most likely to challenge Chris Froome’s Tour dominance, Richie Porte seems to have been missing either luck or form since crashing out of the 2017 race, crashing out again in 2018 and finishing 11th last year – well short of what the Tasmanian is capable of. However, he has started the postlockdown season strongly, with second place on Mont Ventoux in the Dénivelé Challenge suggesting he has the hunger, and even some of the form needed to take on the Tour this September. The fact that this year’s Tour is skewed towards climbing, with just a single time trial will also work in his favour, and at 35 years old, Porte may see this as his final realistic opportunity to challenge. Vincenzo Nibali was the star signing…

B&B Hotels-Vital Concept’s turquoise jerseys are easy to spot, so keep an eye out for them in the early breaks throughout the Tour. Without a top-rank stage taker, they will be hoping to rack up screen time when French viewers are settling down in front of the TV with their post-lunch coffee. They may not figure so prominently at the sharp end of the day, but if the team has played its part they will be satisfied. Pierre Rolland – a former winner on Alpe d’Huez – and sprinter Bryan Coquard could bag top-10s in hilly and sprint finishes. Pint-sized Dutchman Tom-Jelte Slagter is a useful climber who could be the team’s top performer in this hilly Tour. STAR RIDER Bryan Coquard (Fra) Had a good season last year and…

Primoz Roglič returns to the Tour de France in 2020 after missing La Grand Boucle in 2019 to focus on the Giro d’Italia. However, his previous two appearances in the race in 2017 and 2018 showed his potential. They included a fourth place finish two years ago and a stage win in each appearance as well. Three years ago Roglič bagged his first Tour stage win on a classic alpine mountain stage. After cresting the Col de la Croix de Fer and Col du Telegraphe, he attacked six kilometres from the top of the Col du Galibier. Time trialling to the summit he maintained a lead on the GC group before embarking on a 30km demon descent to Serre Chevalier to take the win. His descending skills saw him to…

Team Ineos Grenadier might win the Tour every year, but many rate Deceuninck-Quick Step as the best team in the world. Why? Because of their unique capacity to challenge for victory on every single stage in the race. In the sprints the ‘Wolfpack’ has honed a fine lead-out train, all but guaranteeing whoever is at the end of it a hatful of stage wins – as Elia Viviani, Fernando Gaviria, Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish would testify. This year they’ve signed Irishman Sam Bennett, who with five stage wins across the Vuelta and Giro in his palmares, will be worth watching. In the medium mountains former stage winner Zdenk Stybar and young prodigy Kasper Asgreen are capable of winning from breakaways, while Bob Jungels will surely be a contender in…

Seven wins in 2019, with little of note to report from last year’s Tour, prolonged the woes of South Africa’s WorldTour team, formerly Dimension Data but now badged as NTT from the same group and with a new boss, Bjarne Riis. Since 2016, when they won five stages through Mark Cavendish and Steve Cummings, their Tour form has ebbed. Even the talismanic Eddy Boasson Hagen hasn’t won a stage since 2017. Combative and reliable Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen still has it in him to win stages at 33 years old, as does Italian fastman Giacomo Nizzolo. Michael Valgren could also be a good stage hunting option if he can find the sublime form that netted him two Classics in 2018. STAR RIDER Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) He hasn’t won a…

Launched in 2014 to foster Israeli cycling talent and bankrolled by Israeli-Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams, the team has progressed rapidly from tier-two status to the WorldTour. When the Russian outfit Katusha folded last year, Israel Start-Up Nation snapped up half a dozen of their riders and filled its spot on the WorldTour. One-day specialist Nils Politt is the only former Katusha alumnus to make it onto this Tour de France squad. Much interest will be on the star signing from UAE, Dan Martin, who never really gelled with the Italian-run team and the Irishman will be determined to put the last two years behind him. At 33 his powers as a climber and GC rider should still be formidable and if he can finish consistently on the eight summit finishes…

French cycling fans love a noble failure, and few defeats have struck as much of a nerve as Thibaut Pinot’s heartbreaking collapse at the Tour last year. On the back of a triumphant victory atop the Col du Tourmalet, Pinot entered the final three days with a very real possibility of becoming the long-awaited first French winner of the yellow jersey for 24 years. However, in distressing scenes, the overwhelming pain of a freak muscular injury in his thigh forced him to dismount his bike and abandon the race in tears. He was utterly distraught. But now, no doubt with the help of his paternal team manager Marc Madiot, he’s daring to dream, using the devastation at what happened and the nagging sense of what could have been as extra…

Following a lacklustre race last year in which their Dutch big hitter Niki Terpstra crashed out, Total Direct Energie will be frustrated at having to leave the 36-year-old out of their 2020 Tour squad following a nasty training crash. But the team will have 27-year-old Lilian Calmejane, who will be hoping for a repeat of his impressive stage win at Station des Rousses in 2017. Many expected Calmejane to take over from popular veterans Thomas Voeckler and Sylvain Chavanel, but he has so far struggled to meet French expectations. Calmejane will be joined by Italian sprinter Niccolo Bonifazio, the dependable Jérôme Cousin and up-and-coming French climber Mathieu Burgaudeau, who might have an outside shot in the young rider competition. STAR RIDER Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Showed promise post-lockdown, winning the King…

Specialized has two tubeless-ready tyres that sit within £5 of each other – a set of Turbo Road Tubeless and the RapidAir models on test here. The main difference is variation in the threads per inch count. Our RapidAir 2Bliss test models come with a 120 TPI count compared to 180 on the top-end models. Typically, tubeless tyres have to have a lower count than clincher tyres so the side walls are stiffer to form a better seal. Setting up the tyres tubeless on the test rims couldn’t have been easier, only requiring minor thumb work – something that cannot be said of all tubeless-ready tyres – and a compressor. A daily pressure loss of just a few PSI meant we didn’t need to grab the track pump before every…

The Maxxis High Road has been used by the British Canyon-DHB team for the past couple of years and boasts a 120TPI casing, pretty standard for a high-end tyre. The tyre uses new HYPR compound rubber, which it says reduces rolling resistance and increases grip over its previous rubber, while puncture protection is provided by a layer of K2 kevlar, lighter than its standard sibling. Both tyres seated easily on our test wheels and the 25mm width came up as a true measurement on the calipers. All that tech does seem to have been successful and out on the road they feel supple and grippy – the two biggest asks of any tyre. In the crosswinds of some recent storms, we didn’t once feel like the bike might slip out…

It’s not the workout that makes you stronger, it’s the recovery afterwards. Specifically, it’s the subsequent sleep that lets your body make posttraining adaptations. The fact is, improving our sleep quality and routine can, over time, have a transformative effect on our cycling performance. The humble nap is an undervalued performance-booster. Nocturnal sleep is the foundation, but naps are a valuable aid on the road to mental and physical recovery. Spend any time with a pro rider and you soon learn that they’re not only excellent at riding a bike, they’re also exceptional at napping. We are paying more and more attention to aero, conditioning, flexibility, weight loss and all the rest, but sleep is area largely untapped. Elite sports sleep coach Nick Littlehales said: “Many people just take sleep…

Mark Cavendish’s new team Bahrain-McLaren has left the Manxman on the bench for the upcoming Tour, seeing him miss the race for the second year running. His struggle to find form will be a source of endless frustration for the 35-year-old, who, says Eurosport’s Brian Smith, has worked extremely hard trying to get back to his best – seemingly in vain. “I know he has sacrificed a lot, and he has worked bloody hard since he got sick,” Smith said. “People don’t understand the commitment he’s got. You know, to spend the last 11 weeks away from family focusing on his training. He has tried so hard to get back there.” Cavendish has ridden three stage races post-lockdown — Burgos, Poland and Wallonie — with his best result 12th on…

Seven days after winning the National 100-Mile Championship, Adam Wild added the 12-hour crown to his palmarès, while long-distance ace Christina Mackenzie took the women’s title. Wild, the 23-year-old GS Metro rider from Morpeth, clocked a provisional 294.90 miles to take the win in his first attempt at the distance – and despite losing around 13 minutes to a puncture. Meanwhile 43-year-old Scot Mackenzie covered 251.64 miles to take the women’s title and make up for the disappointment of not being able to have another go at the End-to-End record because of the Covid-19 restrictions. “It’s pretty cool to have the 100 title and the 12-hour!” said Wild. “The 100 was definitely an aim for me, but I’ve never done a 12-hour before so I just didn’t know what I…

Evenepoel walking under a week after horror crash Remco Evenpoel is back walking again after his death-defying escape from a crash into a ravine at Il Lombardia. Evenepoel suffered multiple injuries in the fall including a pelvis fracture and a contusion to his right lung and he was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the year. But the Deceuninck-Quick Step rider shared video of his first steps (assisted by crutches) on social media. He said: “I did a different kind of time trial today… making small steps forward.” Tour de France drops ‘podium girls’ The organiser of the Tour de France has finally opted to stop having ‘podium girls’ on stage for 2020. Traditionally the Tour de France podium ceremonies after each stage have featured two hostesses who would…

Your “From the archive” article and image of the 1977 Glenryck Cup (CW 20 Aug) brings back memories in many different ways. I recall riding the Eastway circuit numerous times on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 1979 through to the closure of the circuit, and recognise the spot the riders are passing, dropping down on to the back straight. It was so often the place where the winning break left the field in both 1/2/3/ and 3/J/W/V events. Having safely negotiated Clarey’s Corner, the leaders usually tore down that section, stretching the bunch out over anything up to a quarter of a mile. God help you if you weren’t in the first 30 at that point. I remember being unceremoniously lapped by Polish road champion Ryszard Szurkowski one year. Equally…

186km Sunday, 30 Augus Start 12:20 Finish 17:08 Tour director Christian Prudhomme and route director Thierry Gouvenou have regularly endeavoured to bring the yellow jersey contenders out into the open early in the race, and this stage very much fits with that trend. Terrain As they weave into the back of Nice, the riders will reach terrain that will be extremely familiar to most of them from Paris-Nice, turning eastwards initially to cross the Col d’Eze. Dropping from there to the coast, they’ll pass through the finish on the Promenade des Anglais and head back in the direction of the Col d’Eze, climbing its toughest section to the Col des Quatre Chemins, from where they’ll dive back into the finish. Gameplan This is the toughest stage on the Tour’s opening…

183km Wednesday, 2 September Start 12:30 Finish 16:30 Stage 5 ETAs After being somewhat short changed so far, in comparison with previous Tours, today is the time for the sprinters to shine. Terrain The route today has a gastronomic feel, heading into the Rhône valley via the AOC olive- and oil-producing town of Nyons to reach the nougat centre of Montélimar before turning north to Privas, renowned for its marrons glacés — sweet chestnuts glazed in syrup. This turn northwards is where the stage becomes a litt le more complicated. If the Mistral is blowing down the Rhône, the peloton will be heading straight into it initially and, as they bear more to the west into the finish, will have it more on their right shoulders. The finale is on…

141km Saturday, 5 September Start 12:35 Finish 16:14 The end of the first week brings the first hardcore mountain stages, although Christian Prudhomme and Thierry Gouvenou have opted to keep the batt le for the yellow jersey simmering by deciding against a summit finish for either of the two Pyrenean stages. Both are relatively short, this first one beginning at Cazères sur Garonne on the plain to the north of the mountain chain. Terrain The first third of the stage takes the riders through Aspet to reach Pont de l’Oule, where a T-junction branches left onto the tougher side of the Portet d’Aspet pass or right onto the easier flank of the Col de Menté. It’s still a decent test, especially once past the short descent early on, averaging eight…

I t’s difficult to remember a time when Ineos Grenadiers (formerly Sky) didn’t reign supreme over the Tour, with seven of the last eight editions all being won by their riders. Such success doesn’t come by accident, and Ineos have made the most of their enviable financial advantage by buying up the world’s best talent. Colombia’s Egan Bernal has already shown his worth by winning the yellow jersey last year, and looks likely to deliver many more in future years. The team then further broadened their strength in depth with the signing of the Ecuadorian victor of last year’s Giro d’Italia, Richard Carapaz. Consequently, Ineos boast an almost unprecedented embarrassment of riches. At most teams Carapaz would be leader, here he has had to compete to become a domestique for…

Astana are one of the most successful teams in the WorldTour, notching up wins all over the place from an international squad. Jakob Fuglsang had a terrific season last year and having won the Critérium du Dauphiné he went into the Tour as a strong GC contender, only to be forced to abandon on stage 16. Fuglsang has already shown great form this August, following up a fifth place in Strade Bianche with second at the Tour of Poland and a win at Lombardia. However, the Dane, their best GC rider, is going to the Giro this year instead. Astana will instead focus their efforts on Miguel Angel López in his first Tour. Last year López finished top-10 in the Giro and Vuelta. STAR RIDER Miguel Ángel López (Col) Another…

The departures of Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis left Greg Van Avermaet as team leader, and he brings experience and stage win potential. The team has signed Italian fastman Matteo Trentin, a Tour stage winner last year who was second in the Yorkshire Worlds too. He is brimming with potential, although a quiet start post-lockdown with a two fourth-place finishes in Burgos and Wallonie suggest he has a little to make up before he can win a Tour bunch sprint. CCC’s other big signing, Russian Ilnur Zakarin, could potentially challenge on GC, but his ninth place in 2018 was followed by 51st in last year’s Tour, and an anonymous ride at the Tour of Poland doesn’t bode particularly well either. STAR RIDER Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) The current Olympic road…

Following its promotion to the WorldTour for 2020, Cofidis has had a mini makeover which could end a decade of disappointing Tours. Major signings are Italian fastman Elia Viviani, a Tour stage winner last year, and French climber Guillaume Martin, who has impressed already post-lockdown with his third on GC at the Critérium du Dauphiné. With Jesus Herrada by his side in the mountains, Martin could improve on last year’s 12th overall, while Viviani will be expected to win from at least one bunch kick. He’ll be led out by veteran Frenchman Pierre-Luc Perichon and Italian Simone Consonni in a quest to end the long Cofidis drought. STAR RIDER Guillaume Martin (Fra) Martin may not have the profile of Romain Bardet and Julian Alaphillipe, but he is one big result…

Had they managed to keep Tom Dumoulin, Sunweb could have genuine contenders for a GC win, but they will have to play it rather differently at the Tour this year, with stage wins being the target. The team will be headed up by new Belgian signing Tiesj Benoot. The 26-year-old, who won Strade Bianche in 2018, can assert himself in almost any terrain bar the high mountains, and is a potential stage winner. He’ll be ably backed by veteran Irishman Nicolas Roche, who will be starting his 10th Tour. They’ll be joined by rouleur Søren Kragh Andersen and sprinters Cees Bol and Nikias Arndt STAR RIDER Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Riding for Lotto-Soudal last year Benoot finished second on stage nine, fourth on stage 12 and sixth on stage 18. He…

What better way to emulate the success of Ineos Grenadier than to hire those who were once a part of it? That appears to be the logic at Bahrain-McLaren, who have for this season used the British squad as a source to overhaul their squad. Their most exciting new addition is Mikel Landa. The Basque climber showed flashes of brilliance for Ineos to finish fourth at the 2017 Tour while riding for Chris Froome, and continued to sporadically impress for Movistar over the next two seasons, but at both teams he was never given sole leadership status at Grand Tours. With Bahrain-McLaren’s former leader Vincenzo Nibali having departed, that won’t be the case this year, and the cycling world holds its breath in anticipation for what he’s capable of once…

Arkéa-Samsic could be the dark horse of this year’s Tour. An unremarkable wildcard before now, gaining their place at the Tour thanks to being French and having Warren Barguil on the books. Even Barguil, a double stage winner from 2017 and French road champion last year, only registered a minor blip with 10th overall at last year’s race. But when Colombian superstar climber Nairo Quintana announced that he was leaving his long-time berth Movistar for Arkéa, the Breton outfit acquired overnight kudos. With Barguil still at the top of his powers, and further new signings like climber Winner Anacona and Diego Rosa, suddenly this looks like a climbing team to take the fight to the best of them. Even a GC run is a possibility from former podium finisher Quintana,…

In Tadej Pogacar, UAE can surely boast the Tour’s most hotly anticipated debutant. Last year, in his first WorldTour season, the 21-year-old took three stages and third overall in his first Grand Tour — the Vuelta a Espana. He says he will ride this year’s Tour for experience — though he could hardly say he is going to win. And yet he just could; as Bernal showed last year and other young riders like Remco Evenepoel are proving — with the right training and a strong team, anything is possible. The team also boasts Italian climber Fabio Aru, a Grand Tour winner and top 15 last year. It’s notable that the young Pogacar will be surrounded by more experienced heads in the mountains such as David De La Cruz and…

If you are looking to inject some performance into your ride, the first place you should look is your tyre choice. Without doubt your tyres are the key to unlocking performance gains, and by performance gains we’re not just talking about speed. Choosing the right tyre will also improve handling, safety and comfort; you name it and a good tyre will probably enhance that aspect of your bike’s character. Being the only point of contact between bike and road, your tyre has to pack a lot of features into what amounts to a tiny contact patch and almost all features are fighting against each other. It’s important that the construction of the main body of the tyre, the ‘carcass’, is robust enough to remain stable through rapid direction changes and…

Vittoria has moved with the times and is now producing the Corsa in this TLR tubeless-ready version we’re testing here, as well as the standard clincher version. The tubeless version adds around 70g to the overall tyre weight. It isn’t the hardest tyre of this type to mount by any means and slipped onto the rims of our test wheels with just a little teasing with some tyre levers. The Corsa has always been one of the faster-rolling tyres on the circuit and this new version is no different. Their ability to skim along and maintain speed is nothing short of impressive. Even set up with tubes and allowing for the added weight, the Vittoria Corsa G2.0 TLR felt light and responsive. When descending, that extra weight makes them even…

Tailfin’s AeroPack S provides a neat solution to luggage storage without reverting to bulky panniers or unstable seatpacks and offers compatibility with even lightweight carbon road frames without traditional frame fixings. It uses an effective quick-release mechanism that holds the rack and bag in place. You can opt for a replacement quickrelease, thru-axle or Fast Release frame as mounting options. Simply close the dropout around the mounting pin and push together until it clicks — rapid, secure and pretty foolproof. A cam-lock strap holds the pack steady to the seat post and is safe to use with carbon and aero posts. The bag itself is made of fully waterproof material and I have never had an issue with water ingress. Even when loaded with everything I need for a multi-day…

When Ronan McLaughlin answers my call, speaking from his home on the outskirts of Derry, Northern Ireland, he asks me to call back in five minutes – he’s just putting his 18-month-old daughter Sophia to bed for her morning nap. Such duties have become a well-rehearsed part of the 33-year-old’s daily routine, as becomes clear when I ask about his training during lockdown. “Initially I struggled a lot. My wife Rachel is a nurse, so she was on the front line. I was trying to work from home while running ‘daddy daycare’ at the same time, so training was restricted to maybe 20 minutes before Rachel went to work or in the evening once Sophia was asleep.” There was a flurry of Everesting record attempts over the summer (see box),…