Posted: Fri, Jul 11th
Hail ColumbiaWhile the spectacular battle for stage 6 unfolded on the erratic climb to Super-Besse on Thursday, I was standing at the finish line next to Bob Stapleton, the owner-manager of Team Columbia. As we watched, we speculated whether his team leader Kim Kirchen could make up the 12 ...
Posted: Wed, Jul 9th
Inside the Tour with John WilcocksonThe French fans finally saw a real sprint finish Wednesday — resulting in a superbly confident first Tour stage win for Team Columbia’s young Manxman Mark Cavendish — but his well-placed GC teammates, along with ...
Posted: Tue, Jul 8th
Staying out of yellow is key for CadelThis Tour de France couldn’t be going any better for Cadel Evans. In four days of racing he and his Silence-Lotto team have ridden conservatively, largely out of the spotlight — just like the modest Aussie wants it. He showed his form was coming along nicely on opening day, ...
Posted: Tue, Jul 8th
Echelons, rain showers, crashes — and now a time trialWhen I was an amateur racer in Brittany a few decades ago, one event I did was the local classic, Nantes-St. Nazaire. We raced on some of the same flat roads that the Tour de France peloton covered Monday; and the weather was similar: heavy rain showers and a strong southwest ...
Posted: Sun, Jul 6th
It’s the wind (and the hill), stupid!Anyone who follows American politics knows that in the build-up to the 1992 presidential elections, Arkansas governor Bill Clinton had the message “It’s the economy, stupid!” pinned to a wall in his campaign headquarters. By keeping that mantra in mind, Clinton came from ...
Posted: Sun, Jul 6th
Look for more hills, more fans and another frenetic finishIt’s not a coincidence that the front-page photo chosen for Saturday’s edition of L’Équipe, the top-selling French sports newspaper, was a shot from the rear of the Tour de France peloton climbing the Mur de Bretagne, a 10-percent-grade, wall-like climb that marks ...
Posted: Sat, Jul 5th
Look for more hills, more fans and another frenetic finishIt’s not a coincidence that the front-page photo chosen for Saturday’s edition of L’Équipe, the top-selling French sports newspaper, was a shot from the rear of the Tour de France peloton climbing the Mur de Bretagne, a 10-percent-grade, wall-like climb that marks ...
Posted: Sat, Jul 5th
Starting another TourEditor’s note: Every day during the 95th Tour de France, VeloNews editorial director John Wilcockson will be writing his “Inside the Tour” column. It will have a more personal slant than most of the pieces he writes. There will be comments on each day’s ...
Posted: Fri, Jul 4th
A Tour with many questions, but few answersWhen Lance Armstrong was winning the Tour every year, the only real question before the race was not “Who will win?” but “Can anyone get close to him?” Now, after two totally unpredictable Tours, both of them ruined by doping controversies, it looks like we’re about to ...
Posted: Fri, Jul 4th
Inside Cycling, with John Wilcockson - Kashechkin's year in limbo - Part 2Editor’s Note: After team leader Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for homologous blood doping during last year’s Tour de France, the entire Astana team left the race under a cloud. Vinokourov’s top lieutenant Andrey Kashechkin tried to relax by spending time ...
Posted: Thu, Jul 3rd
Inside Cycling, with John Wilcockson - Kashechkin's year in limboEditor’s Note: After team leader Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for homologous blood doping during last year’s Tour de France, the entire Astana team left the race under a cloud. Vinokourov’s top lieutenant Andrey Kashechkin tried to relax by spending time ...
Posted: Wed, Jul 2nd
The race for the green jerseyThe positive out-of-competition test for cocaine that put defending points champion Tom Boonen out of the Tour de France, and the absence of the top Italian sprinters Alessandro Petacchi and Daniele Bennati, has opened up ...
