In case you missed it, we were present (on the lazy side of the barriers) at the finish of yesterday's second stage of the Tour of Britain in Kendal. For myself, this meant quite a trip, needing two trains to get from Manchester to Kendal. The plan was to change at Oxenholme onto a short hop to Kendal station, which was much closer, but sadly a slight delay meant that didn't happen.
Cue the contingency plan, which meant walking the 3.7km from Oxenholme station to the finish up Beast Banks. The thing is, coming out of the station, a guy who I'd passed on the platform came surging past me. It was on.
I kept a couple of steps behind my breakaway partner on the downhill run at the start of the trip, but when that levelled out he seemed to kick on and I was struggling to keep up as the road climbed, and he took the first King of the Mountains points.. I considered keeping my pace steady and taking the Team Sky route of hoping to catch him later on, but combativity got the better of me, and I caught back up to him before the Leisure Centre, although I let him have that intermediate sprint.
As is so often the case, he eased off just after that and I swept past after he made a mess of the roundabout.
The dilemma at this point was do I risk letting him relay past again, or put my superior route knowledge to good use and attack him, potentially resulting in tiring before the end. Naturally, swashbuckling showman that I am, I wanted to attack. Egged on by my DS Andy, I went for it.
And he had no answer. On the flat run along the river I steadily increased the gap, and he fluffed the next big corner in the left-right over the river. As we straightened up towards the town centre, he was out of sight already, as this onboard camerawork shows.
At this point I honestly wasn't sure if he'd gone off the course or gone straight on into the pub, but I didn't feel comfortable easing off yet. Under the virtual flamme rouge my lead must have been pushing 30 seconds, before a left hander put me at the foot of Beast Banks. And bugger me, it's steep.
A few fans getting in the way aside, it was a clear run very, very slow walk up Beast Banks, finally spitting me out for the final false flat 200m after a calf killing climb.
Beautiful success. Hugging the barrier to hold my line, there was even time to mug to the camera to celebrate my achievement, keeping the effort (and the effects of inclement weather) well hidden.
Or something. A quick retrospective of the parcours for the day.
46 minutes, said the official stage guide. The stopwatch at the end of the race said I'd done it in 37:46, smashing the course record and defying even the most optimistic schedule predictions. In fact, the organisers found it a bit suspicious.
Clean as a whistle. Eventually the stragglers, including Andy and Paul rolled in, just in time to see me presented with an actual winner's jersey by Tour of Britain MC Joe Fisher (@themanonthemic) after being asked about my thoughts on Bardiani-CSF. It happened. Ask him.
Regrettably I've only been able to keep up with the Vuelta so far thanks to the wonders of YouView. Get the sponsored posts rolling in, that will.
Anyway, I'm willing to bet you've seen more than me, so what makes me a big enough authority to tell you what I think of it rather than letting you form your own opinions? Largely that you're on my site. So let's get on the soapbox and see what's happening.
It was a predictably unsettled start to a Grand Tour, as the leader's red jersey bounced around like a rubbery simile until it settled on the shoulders of Darwin Atapuma on day 4, and was only removed from them today, as (with all due respect to the BMC man) the proper fight for it began.
Safety has been an unhappily frequent topic lately, and concerns over the organisers', er, organisation were raised again after Stage 5, when Steven Kruijswijk, a decent-looking outside bet after a strong Giro, was launched out of the Vuelta after crashing into a bollard the organisers hadn't bothered to either cover with padding, hi-vis warnings or just run barriers around altogether.
And from another angle, the pole & the pavement where Kruijswijk received first aid. pic.twitter.com/Ec7Te52fBk
Absolutely terrifying. That sort of road furniture is dangerous even for cars (as evidenced by the lean suggesting it's taken a clout from a car at some point), but to have that angled at a cyclist is shameful. Race organisers Unipublic were quick to apologise for the accident, but more should have been done in the first place.
With a similar crash last year that shattered Peter Stetina's leg in the Tour of the Basque Country, it should have been clear what the risks were. You can argue that one isolated incident can be learned from, but for it to happen twice in the same country inside 18 months suggests pure ignorance of rider safety.
Fortunately (!) for Kruijswijk, he escaped with a broken collarbone, comparatively light compared to Stetina, but still more than enough to end his race. Another to have an abandon thrust upon his was Rein Taaramae in Stage 7, who was hit by the Cofidis team car after being dropped, an incident which the Cofidis DS accepted responsibility for. Taaramae was somehow largely unhurt apart from cuts and grazes, with the stomach bug that caused him to lose time the primary reason for his withdrawal, but it's another reminder that rider safety has to be prioritised.
Speaking of crashes, Alberto Contador has been on the Contafloor again. He crashed at the end of Stage 7, but unlike his spills in the Tour, it doesn't seem to have affected him, as he managed to bounce back today to gap Chris Froome. Only by 8 seconds, but it's still a promising sign for the Spaniard, who had been more Contapoor than Contador as of late, losing time after the TTT and again in Stage 3, amounting to a minute and a half in next to no time.
But the final word has to go to Nairo Quintana, who took the lead of the race on today's Stage 8 after... wait for it...
QUINTANA ACTUALLY ATTACKED!
lavuelta.com
All on his own! Solo and early in the race and everything we've been gagging for him to do for the last two years. Although it is entirely possible that this is just him leaving it really, really late from the Tour, it is nevertheless a clear marker that the Colombian is on form, and wants to shake the Chris Froome-shaped monkey off his back. He took over 30 seconds out of Froome and teammate Valverde on the climb of La Camperona, who remain his two closest rivals in the current GC standings, with Valverde second ahead of Froome in the third he's held for almost the entire race, having been 5th and 4th in the first two days. That potentially race winning consistency is evident, and if Froome feels fit enough to properly show his hand at some point in the next fortnight, we'll all know about it. And so will Quintana's red jersey.
Stage Winners
1. Team Sky (ITT)
2. Gianni Meersman (EQS)
3. Alexandre Geniez (FDJ)
4. Lilian Calmejane (DEN)
5. Gianni Meersman (EQS)
6. Simon Yates (OBE)
7. Jonas van Genechten (IAM)
8. Sergey Lagutin (KAT)
The last Grand Tour of the 2016 season is almost upon us, and in true Vuelta style, it's looking hard to predict. So let's try.
lavuelta.com
On paper, this Vuelta could be the three-way fight between Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador that we didn't get in July, thanks to Contador's crash/illness, Froome's general brilliance and Quintana's... yeah. We'll get to that.
Right off the bat, I'll go on record as saying my pick for the victory is Alberto Contador. He's unbeaten in three appearances at the Vuelta, and should be relatively fresh after his disastrous Tour didn't even reach the first rest day. Plus, there's the added incentive of a certain eccentric Russian, whose team are set to compete in their last Grand Tour before folding. You have to believe Oleg will want to go out on a high, and has named a team with the sole aim of helping Contador achieve their mutual goal.
skysports.com
Speaking of teams arriving at a Grand Tour with one focused goal, Sky are here to win. Chris Froome is back after dominating the Tour and taking bronze in the Olympic time trial. The key question with Froome is whether he's in form, as his Olympic road race was very lacklustre compared to his immensely high standards from the Tour. He's also not successfully raced in two Grand Tours in a season since 2012, when he followed 2nd in the Tour with 4th in the Vuelta. His two previous attempts at the red jersey both ended in DNFs, so bizarrely he comes into this race with a significant point to prove.
The third of those is, of course, Nairo Quintana, who is in danger of becoming the nearly man despite having won a Grand Tour. That sole win came in the reasonably dreadful 2014 Giro, and the major asterisk over Quintana is that he's never beaten Chris Froome in a Grand Tour they've both finished. Ever. His Tour performance was the limpest podium finish I can remember, with him somehow managing not a single successful or even threatening attack.
Movistar will once again send Alejandro Valverde as the backup/joint leader/outright leader/see what happens, and they will need to seriously rethink their tactics if they're going to improve their recent record of podiums, but no victories. For the sake of the race, let's hope at least one of their riders can muster an attack.
eurosport.fr
In my wise, wise opinion, I don't see that being Valverde, at least not for an attack on GC, as he competes in his third Grand Tour of the season, and fifth in a row. He's dominated the points classification in the Vuelta in recent years, and it will be a superb achievement if, at 36, he still has the legs to win the green jersey again after such a packed year of competition.
Of the teams outside that "top 3", LottoNL-Jumbo's Steven Kruijswijk and Orica-BikeExchange's Esteban Chaves will be looking to make the podium after strong showings at the Giro, while Astana will look to have a much more harmonious race without the duelling Aru and Nibali. All the world's top sprinters are focused squarely on the world championships in Dubai, and mercifully have elected not to ride in Spain at all rather than make a token, half-length effort such as we saw at the Giro.
It's intriguing to see question marks over all of the favourites coming into a Grand Tour, especially after the two we've already had this year. After Vincenzo Nibali made a meal of a comparatively weak field in the Giro, and Froome decimated a theoretically strong one in France, what will these next three weeks bring us in Spain? I've laid out my thoughts, comment or tweet us with your own, and keep your eyes here and there for our reactions throughout the Vuelta.
The history books will say that the winners of the 2016 Olympic Road Races were Greg van Avermaet and Anna van der Breggen, but that's not even close to the whole story. Both races were marred, and decided, by crashes on a tight, technical descent in the closing stages.
The men's race on Saturday was dominated by a strong breakaway, including Michal Kwiatkowski and break specialist Jarlinson Pantano. The six breakers remained clear through the four laps of the first circuit of the Grumari and Grota Funda climbs, and holding down the 20km run back down the coast to the decisive final circuit, the Vista Chinesa, with maximum climbs of 24%.
The circuit served to shake up the leaders, with Damiano Caruso, Geraint Thomas and Greg van Avermaet bridging to the break, followed later by Sergio Henao, Vicenzo Nibali, Richie Porte, Adam Yates, Jakob Fuglsang and Rafal Majka.
Conspicuous by their absence in the lead group throughout were the Spaniards, including Alejandro Valverde, the pre-race favourite according to our TLG poll. He, along with Joaquim Rodriguez (in his final race before retirement) were too slow to react, eventually joining a third chase group, but never threatening the leaders, and Valverde accepted defeat 20km from home, while Rodriguez rallied to claim fifth in his swansong.
The Dutch had an even worse time. With a strong lineup of Tom Dumoulin, Steven Kruijswijk, Bauke Mollema, Wout Poels, things started badly with Dumoulin withdrawing after just a few km, and only got worse from there. Mollema suffered a puncture and mechanical on the tough cobbled sections in the first circuit, Poels crashed after losing time, and Kruijswijk never looked capable of staying with the peloton.
But for bad fortune, look no further than the leaders on the descent that would quickly become infamous. Going down it for the final time, roughly 20km from home and averaging around 10%, Nibali, Majka and Henao had gone clear, followed by an elite group of chasers. Nibali and Henao fell from the lead group, leaving Majka alone out front, while Thomas slid off when well placed in the chase group.
Two of those chasers eventually caught Majka in the closing stages, van Avermaet and Fuglsang having stayed clear of the carnage and bridged across. Majka had nothing left to contest the sprint on the Copacabana, leaving van Avermaet to outsprint Fuglsang to take the gold medal, while Majka's disappointment at defeat was compensated somewhat with bronze.
skysports.com
The next day's women's race was a quieter affair in the early going, but with a much more dramatic ending. A group of seven had gone clear into the final circuit (which the women covered just once, rather than the men's three laps), with the Dutch well represented, with Marianne Vos, Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen all showing at the front.
As with Chris Froome 24 hours earlier, Lizzie Armitstead missed the decisive attack, and was left to chase in futility, in conditions not suiting her. An adequate but not great climber, she was never able to stay with the stronger riders, while Froome was limited by a lack of one-day skills, preferring longer, less punchy climbs.
Into the descent from Vista Chinesa, van Vleuten had attacked along with USA's Mara Abbott, with a chase trio of van der Breggen, Elisa Longo Borghini and Emma Johansson a minute behind.
Disaster then struck for van Vleuten, getting the back end out on a right hander, somersaulting into the gutter in probably the scariest crash since Johnny Hoogerland's flip into barbed wire in the 2011 Tour de France.
Abbott was left out in front alone, and as with Majka yesterday, couldn't hold on, but hers was a more heartbreaking effort. She was caught just 200m from the line, and by a group of three, meaning she had to settle for a medal-less 4th. Anna van der Breggen jumped clear as they caught Abbott, and was never challenged, taking gold for the Netherlands.
Tom Jenkins
But all of the sport pales in comparison to the fairly evident safety issues faced by the riders on the course. The first circuit had a punishing cobbled section, which caused several dropped chains, and bounced a lot of riders' water bottles loose. Those bottles did seem to be the cause of a crash in the first lap for the men, as Turkey's Ahmet Orken went down after apparently hitting a dropped bidon.
The second circuit, particularly the run down from Vista Chinesa, was treacherous. A narrow, winding, steep descent, with a thick canopy of trees causing either rippling shadows or blocking the light altogether. On either side of the road was a straight drop of roughly a foot, with a small concrete wall on the other side, forming a ditch.
It was a recipe for disaster, and the organisers' disregard for safety was shown by their reaction to Richie Porte's crash on the second lap. He went into the catch fencing on the left hand hairpin at the Vista Chinesa itself, and the mangled, limp fencing was left unfixed the next day. Had another accident happened at the same point, the rider could have gone through the fencing and down the drop below.
Fortunately, that didn't happen, but it was by no means the end of the crashes. Leaders Vincenzo Nibali and Sergio Henao both went down on a right hander in the final stages of the men's race. The tv bikes were, to their credit, giving the riders plenty of space, and as a result weren't close enough to get a proper view of the crash, only catching the two as Nibali was rolling down the hill, his bike tangled with Henao's a few yards earlier.
BBC Sport
Geraint Thomas was the next to crash, sliding off a little further down, ending up in the ditch at the side of the road, but luckily unhurt, managing to remount and finish 11th.
Annemiek van Vleuten was, of course, not so lucky on the same corner the next day. While the riders all knew the risks after the carnage of the men's race, rain made the descent slippery, and the prospect of a gold medal led the riders to keep pushing. She ran wide on the right hander, the back end stepped out and sent her flying over the handlebars, landing back-first on the wall of the ditch, and scarily head-first in the ditch itself.
It was a nervous wait for news on her condition, with nothing coming through until after the race. Much was said about her being described as 'ok', but considering the initial fears of many were grave, even that was good news. She was taken to hospital quickly, where she was diagnosed with a concussion and three fractured vertebrae in her lower back. It could have been much, much worse.
I am now in the hospital with some injuries and fractures, but will be fine. Most of all super disappointed after best race of my career.
Those injuries, coupled with fractures to Porte's shoulder, Henao's pelvis and Nibali's collarbone, add up to an unacceptable casualty list for two races. Whenever the course was decided, and what little safety measures that were added were put in place, more should have been done. A few metres of catch fencing, and foam padding on the ends of walls and boulders on the descent, were not enough.
I appreciate a desire to even out the style of the events, and with a sprint-focused event in 2012, the organisers wanted one for punchers and climbers this time round. But if a safe route couldn't be found, it should not have been used. Four top quality riders over two days with broken bones is too high a cost, and one that could, and should, have been avoided. Whether it was the UCI, the IOC, or someone else who decided and ratified the route, they should be held accountable for the injuries suffered.
Sorry, couldn't resist a Cool Runnings reference. In case you hadn't guessed, TLG is about to wade into the murky waters of the Lizzie Armitstead situation. Before I give my thoughts, let's get the facts out of the way.
UK Anti-Doping has a policy of a four year ban from competition for three missed anti-doping tests within the space of 12 months. Lizzie Armitstead missed three tests on August 20th 2015, October 5th 2015 and June 9th 2016. By UKAD's own rules, Armitstead was charged and provisionally suspended on June 11th.
Ten days later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the first missed test was to be voided, as correct procedures were not followed. Armitstead stated that she was in her hotel room when the tester had visited. Her phone was on silent and the staff at the hotel refused to give the rider's room information out. Armitstead did not contest the second and third violations. These were due to an administrative error for the second, and not updating her whereabouts due to a family emergency for the third, (and final) violation.
This is where the facts stop, and the questions begin.
bbc.co.uk
One of the key questions is why was the first offence not appealed much sooner, if not immediately. You can perhaps understand not bothering to expunge one strike out of three, but with a second coming just over six weeks later, why take the risk of another mishap in the next ten and a bit months?
And speaking of not wanting to take any risks, knowing that she was on her last chance before a four year ban should have had Armitstead in a state of constant vigilance. I appreciate I don't know the ins and outs of exactly how it works, but as far as I can tell there's a system where you can keep your whereabouts updated at all times, in and out of competition, so that you're always reachable.
My lack of knowledge also extends to what this family emergency was, but after eight months of being a step away from a lengthy suspension, surely it should have been second nature by this point to whip her phone out and update her availability. Being that close to having your reputation shredded, whether justifiably or not, would surely reshuffle your priorities.
That last point, about whether there would be justification, is an interesting one. A failed test is theoretically very different from a missed one (especially since Armitstead passed a test just a day after one of her missed ones), but in terms of suspensions, it makes little or no difference historically.
In 2007, Michael Rasmussen was suspended for two years for missing a drug test (granted, he admitted years later to have doped throughout his career). That two year suspension was the same received by Floyd Landis, who failed a drug test a year earlier. Both were leading the Tour de France (or in Landis' case, had just won it) at the time of the tests.
Boels-Dolmans
I was wondering whether she'd been saved by the five stripes across her jersey, as the current World Champion, but those high profile suspensions (plus Alberto Contador's suspension and stripping of two Grand Tour titles in 2012, when he was arguably the biggest name in cycling at the time) suggest that the UCI, WADA and associated bodies are not above suspending big names. If anything, the sense that not even the big names are above the law serves to add to cycling's credibility, which is slowly being regained despite episodes such as this.
But if there isn't any 'one rule for one, one rule for another' at the top of cycling, why has Armitstead's suspension been lifted. Was the family emergency deemed serious enough that they took pity on her, and absolved her using any loophole they could find? Doubtful. Anti doping agencies and the CAS aren't known for their caring approach.
The only reason can surely be that she is clean, and that the first test was indeed not attempted under proper circumstances. Perhaps the only favouritism here is that Armitstead's name value has seen this case thrust into the wider public view. Did you all know that Diego Rosa will take part in Rio under the same cloud? He missed two attempted tests in June and was cleared of two of his three strikes. It is true that these were inarguably down to error on the part of the testing body, but three missed tests still get tongues wagging.
We could sit here all day and listen to me (or smarter people) discuss this issue, so I'll summarise my thoughts as best I can. I don't believe, in heart or head, that Lizzie Armitstead dopes. Nor do I believe that there's any nefarious reason for her missed tests. What I honestly think is that she's either naive or just plain daft. The questions I raised earlier, about why the first strike wasn't challenged earlier and how she did not think to update her whereabouts constantly when at risk of that third strike, are the biggest that Lizzie Armitstead has to answer, and ignorance is likely to be the reason.
What does remain, however, are two of her strikes, so let's hope she is constantly in touch with testers up until at least October 5th (when the second of those three infamous strikes will be, er, stricken), and hopefully well beyond. Armitstead's reputation has taken a bashing this week, but in time, with no more ammunition, it should survive. But if she allows more questions to be raised for any reason, it may not.
The Tour is all done and dusted for another year, and the result that few people doubted since the start of the second week has been confirmed. Chris Froome is now a three time Tour de France winner.
But how can this have been so predictable? The Tour is over three weeks long, with a huge variety of stages and lots of tough mountains to give people the opportunity to attack on. Surely, there must have been someone who could have prevented Chris Froome and Team Sky from running away with it?
skysports.com
Yes and no. It's true that there is a huge amount of talent in the race, but for one reason or another, nobody aside from the winner had a particularly clean Tour. Coming in, the talk was of a battle between Froome and Quintana, with Contador perhaps there to battle with them, and the next level of riders (Porte, Aru, Valverde, Bardet, Pinot) with outside chances of success and more realistic aims of the podium.
Quintana first, because this could take a while. The Colombian spent much of last year's race sat on the wheel of Froome, only ever attacking him on the final climb of the final stage (discounting the processional Champs-Elysees stage), and while he took a big chunk of time out of Froome on the Alpe d'Huez, it wasn't enough to prevent Froome's victory last year.
With that in mind, it was widely expected that Movistar would be more aggressive this year, but it was a constant source of frustration that Quintana spent almost the entire race once again on Froome's wheel. Once again, the only sniff of a Quintana attack was on the final climb of stage 20, by which point Froome's advantage was so great he was happy to watch, and eventually only gave away six seconds. Six seconds.
The tactics of his team were not up to scratch against the might of Team Sky. While Froome was protected in the mountains by five or six riders, Movistar more often than not were left with two or three riders at most, one of whom was Valverde, Quintana's not-quite-co-leader. Movistar's only tactic seemed to be to send Valverde on an attack a few km from the final summit, which generally burned him out for no time gains and with only one - two at best - of Froome's lieutenants taken as collateral.
Other mitigating circumstances may yet come to light. Quintana's lack of willingness to attack could have suggested poor Movistar tactics, but when Froome himself attacked in Stage 17, Quintana obviously had nothing to respond with, even after a rest day. A poor showing in both time trials were miserable exclamation points on a Tour to forget for Quintana and Movistar, although his class was shown by still making the podium despite his most underwhelming Grand Tour showing since his debut season with Movistar.
Sirotti
Richie Porte looked much better, the swashbuckling Aussie the only man to regularly look willing to attack the yellow jersey. By contrast to Quintana, who had a terrible Tour and still finished 3rd, Porte had his best Grand Tour to date, and his only reward was 5th, and thoughts of what might have been, had his luck been a little better.
Porte's Tour almost looked over from the start, a badly timed puncture on Stage 2 costing him 1 minute and 45 seconds, and with the BMC setup of joint leaders in Porte and Tejay van Garderen, it seemed he would have to play second fiddle in France yet again. But Tejay's GC challenge never came close to materialising, and by the time van Garderen was left behind by his teammates as he got into difficulty in Stage 17, there was no doubt who the top dog at BMC was.
Porte lost more time on Stage 19, crashing on the same descent as Froome, but he was ahead of the yellow jersey and hunting down Bardet when he fell. Coupled with being the man to ride into the back of the moto in the infamous Mont Ventoux crash in the second week when he was looking strong enough to kick on again, it was a misfortune in every week for Porte. Few would be able to argue that he didn't deserve at least second place for his efforts in lighting up this year's race.
ASO/A. Broadway
Bardet's eventual second place came by virtue of a solid Tour, staying safely in the GC group and picking the perfect moment to launch his one big attack of the race. Another regular in the GC group was Adam Yates. The young Englishman was unfancied before the race, but he launched himself into the white jersey, and second overall at the time, with a well timed attack late in stage 7.
Launched being the key word, as Yates' solo attack meant he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was hit by the deflating flamme rouge, flipping over it and ending the day with a nasty cut on his chin. Had he attacked a few metres earlier, or had the unwitting spectator snagged the generator cable a few seconds later, he would have been clear, and surely would have held on to the podium place he ultimately lost to Quintana by just 21 seconds.
Future races may be tougher for Yates, who was probably allowed to attack by Sky due to him not being regarded as a GC contender, a status which he will now surely enjoy as his career continues.
As for Alberto Contador, what can you say? A disaster of a race for the Spaniard, who crashed on Stage 1, fell again on Stage 2, was dropped on Stage 5, developed a fever after Stage 8 and abandoned on Stage 9. Small mercy that he won't be retiring this year, so he'll have other chances to leave a final impression on the Tour de France.
Contador's misfortune was perhaps Tinkoff's gain, as his team took two jerseys in their final Tour before team owner Oleg Tinkov walks away from the sport. Rafal Majka was imperious in his King of the Mountains challenge, keeping Thomas de Gendt at bay throughout the three weeks, but particularly kicking into gear after Contador climbed into the car on Stage 9. Majka's determination to win the polka dot jersey was made clear on Stage 17, when he prevented de Gendt from making it to the break, and got in himself to open up a lead big enough that his victory was confirmed in the middle of Stage 19, with six climbs left in the race.
@maciejbodnar
Peter Sagan was never much of a doubt for the green jersey (although Cavendish gave him a headache in the first half of the race), but the lack of a GC leader gave him more resources than he would normally be afforded. With Contador around, it would be hard to imagine anyone being allowed to use up energy leading Sagan to his Stage 11 victory as Maciej Bodnar did.
Sagan in fact had his best Tour for some time, winning the points classification by a huge 242 points from Marcel Kittel (whose struggles we covered here, sentiments we stand by), although Cavendish had more than Kittel's eventual points tally when he withdrew on the second rest day.
Speaking of Cavendish, it was a glorious return to form for the Manxman. Much had been said about Dimension Data getting the old HTC sprint team back together, with with Bernie Eisel and Mark Renshaw in front of him, Cavendish was damn near untouchable in the first half of the race, most memorably winning Stage 1 to take his first ever yellow jersey, and after that swapping the green jersey with Sagan on almost a daily basis on his way to four stage wins, his best haul since 2012.
Those four wins were enough to see him catch and pass Bernard Hinault in the all time stage win standings, a mark he had been within touching distance of for two years. At the risk of sounding hypocritical after my remarks on withdrawals by sprinters from the Giro, his announcement on the rest day that he wouldn't continue to allow him to focus on the Olympics did nothing to tarnish what will go down as one of his best Grand Tours.
The final word, though, has to go to Sky, and Chris Froome. They are, beyond a shadow of doubt, the best unit cycling has ever seen. They arrive at the Tour de France with just one aim, the yellow jersey, with an entire team of nine, plus all the support staff, there for one man. Sky's unerring focus on average speed and power output may not make for hugely exciting racing, but they're there to win, and do it almost faultlessly.
ASO/A. Broadway
Not a single attack or break went clear without Sky first analysing it and allowing it, or, if it was too dangerous, hunting it down. In the mountains, Froome was always protected, ready to be released to attack of his own accord when the moment was right, and there were many of them. Ironically, the enduring image of the Tour will be the moment when the plans went out of the window, as Froome was forced to run up Mont Ventoux after the moto crash ruined his bike, but even then, the competitive instinct to get up the hill took over.
Sky's dominance and control of the peloton forced the other teams to rethink their strategies, and attacks became less frequent as a result. A cagey Tour all round was exemplified by the incredible Stage 19, when Froome fell on a tricky wet descent. Despite tearing one side of his yellow jersey (and himself) to shreds, only one of the chasing pack of GC riders attacked. The others sat back to the point where Froome beat many of them over the line, actually extending his lead from overnight.
AFP
In the five years since their goal of GC victory became so focused, their only failure came in 2014, when Froome was injured in a crash. He had to settle for second behing Bradley Wiggins in 2012, but has been rewarded since with three Tour victories, and unless something changes within the other teams, the record of five wins of Anquetil, Hinault, Indurain and Merckx is achievable, and beatable.
Oleg Tinkov gave an interview towards the end of the Tour when he said this was the Froome Age, and that as long as he was there, and that he wouldn't return to cycling to win the Tour as long as Froome is there. If this year is anything to go by, we won't see him for a long time.
Before you say anything, no, we haven't forgotten about Stage 12's time trial. But time trials are boring and rubbish, so while Andy did live tweet it, it boiled down to the predictable "X sets off, B finishes, Y sets off, C finishes" and you can see the results by looking at the GC classifications at the bottom of the page. Spoiler alert, today's stage didn't change them.
Because yes, it was a sprint stage, and one which actually resulted in a bunch sprint, rather than Tinkoff and Sky catching everyone napping like stage 11. Once again Andy was your Twitter eyes and ears, and he was seemingly still so bored by the time trial it was affecting his counting.
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
It's 14, mate. His boredom wasn't looking like being lifted any time soon, either, the poor lamb.
Hello. I get all the best stages, don't I? This one's looking very similar to stage 3. Been assured by Ned that we've missed balls all. #tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
One thing that has happened is a breakaway of four riders: Cesare Benedetti, Jeremy Roy, Alex Howes and Martin Elmiger. #tdf#TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
Their lead is hovering around the 4'00" mark, and the peloton are quite happy to let them dangle there. 99.9km to go. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
At least you get specific updates with TLG, many lesser sites would have just rounded the distance to 100km. It was a flat stage into a headwind, so let's all be honest with ourselves and admit nothing happened for a long, long time, and press the skip button to nearer the end.
Thought something exciting had happened then, but realised they were just showing a replay of the incident on Ventoux. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
No word of a lie, that VT snapped Andy out of a little snooze. Just in time, too.
We're approaching the intermediate sprint point, so we might be treated to a bit of excitement. The breakaway's gap is now 2'27". #tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
Benedetti the only one of the break to contest the sprint, to the surprise of the others. Etixx get going on the front of the peloton. #tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
A half-arsed effort sees Sagan beat Kittel and Cav. Because it's an intermediate sprint and he's Peter Sagan. #tdf#TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
Well, it was better than nothing. SKIP!
For the first time this stage, the peloton are moving with purpose and Etixx-QuickStep are driving the group. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
There's a risk that the roads at 9km to go are exposed to crosswinds. Could make things interesting. For a change. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
Praise the cycling Gods! We have a sprint on, once the breakaway is finally caught anyway.
The pack are baring down on the lead duo, now, and Griepel's Lotto-Soudal lead the catch, as the leaders shake hands. 3.2km to go. #tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
Bingo. Now, the first proper sprint finish for about a week meant the return of a long lost friend.
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
Been dying to use that again.
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
Etixx-QuickStep were doing their best to prove me wrong, and Kittel still had his final lead out man Sabattini, with Cav on his wheel. As the line approached, the German apparently morphed into former Neighbours actor Mark Little, but would that faze Cavendish in his slipstream?
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 16, 2016
As it was, the commissaires kept up their trend of being unnervingly sensible, took no action, and Cav retained the win from Kristoff and Sagan, with Kittel left languishing down in fifth. It's really not been his Tour so far, after what was expected to be a glorious return to form after a disastrous 2015, while Cav keeps up his old blistering form, already eyeing up more stage wins.
There won't be one tomorrow, but Gary Imlach sprung a surprise by announcing Cav would be in The Laughing Group for the hilly stage 15. It's news to us, frankly, as we'd expect to see him still riding in the Tour de France, but the only way to know for sure is to follow us on Twitter for updates! Stage results:
1. Mark Cavendish (DDD) 5:43:49
2. Alexander Kristoff (KAT) + :00
3. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :00
On a stage where a big German sprinter, Andre Greipel, attacking a break on the slopes of Mont Ventoux ISN'T the craziest thing that's happened, you know something big has gone down.
As Thomas De Gendt was crossing the line to claim an impressive stage win, on the shortened stage 12, all hell was breaking loose just over a kilometre down the road behind him.
The trio of Richie Porte, Bauke Mollema and the yellow jersey, Chris Froome, had made a break from the rest of the GC contenders, and had put a not inconsiderable distance between themselves and the struggling Nairo Quintana.
The move was looking like one that would further cement Froome's place at the top of the standings, until Porte suddenly found himself getting a camera close-up neither party would have wanted.
As ever, throngs of fans congregated on the climbs of the infamous Alp, but this time they seemed denser than normal. The curtailed stage meant 6 km-worth of fans planning to be in attendance on the original finishing segment were now taking their place further down, taking up most of the road.
As the camera bike struggled to carve its way through the hoards, it was brought to an abrupt stop by the sea of fans. Unfortunately for the threesome, the stop was too abrupt to avoid, as they ploughed into the back of the Moto and the BMC man's face came hurtling into the camera lens.
@BaukeMollema
If that wasn't mad enough, the proceeding scene of Chris Froome legging it up the rest of the mountain (pretty impressively after +100km of cycling and wearing cleats, it has to be said), in search of a service vehicle and a working bike, is one that will go down in Tour history.
The change of bikes was hindered further with the support vehicles also struggling to make their way through the legions of fans.
Froome eventually crossed the line, but this farce had provisionally relegated him to 6th in the General Classification. Thankfully, sense prevailed and Froome and Porte were awarded the same time as Mollema - who somehow came through the incident comparatively untroubled - but questions remain over organisation; specifically of the fans.
@letour_uk
One of the joys of professional cycling is the ability of fans to get so close to the action. By and large, the fans add to the spectacle, particularly on climbs as iconic as Mont Ventoux.
The images of riders winding their way through the bright orange of Dutch Corner on Alpe d'Huez are almost as famous as the mountain itself, and the Tour de France wouldn't be the Tour de France without an overexcited middle-aged mad dressed as a devil jumping up and down.
Initially, it was assumed it was an error by the Moto driver, with incidents including the motorbikes becoming seemingly commonplace in recent times, but, in reality, there was nothing more they could have done.
The alternative was to wrap the spectator around its wheels and drag them up the hill and, as satisfying as that may have seemed to Porte, Froome and the rest of us, at the time, it's not really an option, is it?
@veloimages
The obvious solution to these troubles is to extend the barriers - normally seen inside the last few hundred metres - out further.
Races, however, can be won and lost at any point on a climb, so where do you draw the line and stop the barriers? The whole climb? Would that always be logistically possible or, even, as Jonathan Vaughters pointed out, financially desirable?
An alternative is almost even simpler: better stewarding.
The crowds often seem unruly and, but for a couple of gendarmes dotted on the edges, there seems to be nobody on hand to restore order, should things get a little OTT. Again, though, the sourcing and training of any stewards, if they don't go down the volunteer route, is a financial, if not practical, hurdle.
As earlier pointed out, for the majority of the time, the fans add to the experience, rather than detract, but you can't help but feel there is a certain element of organisation lacking; especially today, when they should have foreseen the trimming of the stage would result in the same amount of fans having to pack into a shorter space.
Lessons will have been learnt from today (although how many times have we said that about the Tour before) and hopefully we can continue to have the fervent support, whilst avoiding the major bollock-droppings of today. Because, in a sport that costs its fans nothing to enjoy, we don't want the enjoyment of the fans to cost the sport.
One for the sprinters, they said. Breakaways will be futile, they said. As it turns out, Peter Sagan and Chris Froome are above conventional wisdom. But more on that later, as first we'll look at Andy's tweets from the stage, bringing the info as only he can.
The winds are blowing strong and, for once, that's on the roads and nothing to do with the Jalfrezi I had last night. #tdf#TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Talking of breaking and and wind, there's a breakaway of two riders up the road - Arthur Vichot and Leigh Howard. #tdf#TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Those two are 4'10" ahead of the peloton, with about 94km to go. #tdf#TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
The peloton was in no mood for letting that break stay, as they worked on closing the gap swiftly.
A big push at the front of the peloton has split the group. There's now a 40" gap between the two. #tdf#TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
The high pace of the peloton has seen the leaders' advantage drop to 1'47" with 77.7km to go. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
That group that got gapped by the peloton had to keep the pace up to claw back the gap, but soon they did and everything was fine again.
Most of the peloton is back together, but a small group including Michael Matthews are still trying to battle back. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
I've done it again, haven't I? Big splits and echelons forming, splitting the group once more. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
The Curse of Steel strikes again. Movistar were having great fun tweeting about the echelons (or abanicos in their native Spanish), and Andy was getting in on the action too.
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Sky weren't playing games, however, keeping up a hectic pace and shattering what remained of the peloton in the crosswinds.
35km/h crosswinds and the lightening pace are making this one hell of a flat stage. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Sky setting such a pace that it's already knackered Kiryienka, who's had to drop back. We're not even at the intermediate sprint yet! #tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
That intermediate sprint was predictably between Kittel, Sagan and Cavendish, who finished in that order, saving themselves from expending too much effort for the expected sprint finish. Two teams had other ideas, however.
Tinkoff going hard at the front and this turn is splintering the group! #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Froome sees an opportunity to distance Quintana by trying to latch onto Sagan's wheel and create a gap with Thomas! #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Normally an attack close to the line would be caught again by the sprinters, but a combination of it being four very strong riders (Sagan, Bodnar, Froome and Thomas) and the much-maligned Etixx-QuickStep not bothering chasing them down (read my thoughts on them here) meant they got about 20 seconds clear and stayed there, as Quintana was marooned at the back of a very strung out peloton.
And Cav screaming for a bike change! Disaster for the Manx man. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Cav's mechanical meant that Dimension Data were out of the chase too, and with no Contador to think of, Tinkoff and Sky were working to a mutually satisfactory goal. And it was causing havoc behind them.
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
20" the gap now. Etixx very reluctant to help the chance, for some reason. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
As Millar points out, what's the point in saving for a lead-out if there's not group to lead-out from? #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Towards the last kilometre, even Froome was taking his turn at the front of the breakaway quartet, meaning the chances of a bunch sprint were all but over.
Against all odds, we hit the flamme rouge and there's no need for Ned. Stand down, Lord Stark. #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Thomas leads them out and drops off, before Sagan leads the remaining trio over the line! #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Perhaps a slightly more sedate finish to the stage than many were expecting, with just three eventually contesting the win, and even then, it was in the bag for Sagan. Which is off, because as he said last year, winning isn't really his bag. Our man was very impressed with Sky's efforts, too.
The chase was closing, but there's a definite gap. A genius move by Froome that nets him both time and 2nd place in the stage! #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Sky are boring? Froome even nets time on a sprint stage! Chapeau! #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
And I'll leave it to Sky's number one fan to sign off for the day's highlights.
So, that brings to an end an utterly intense stage. A nice calm one before we hit Ventoux tomorrow, then... See you then! #TDF2016#tdf
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 13, 2016
Stage results
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 3:26:23
2. Chris Froome (SKY) + :00
3. Maciej Bodnar (TNK) + :00
General Classification
1. Chris Froome (SKY) 52:34:37
2. Adam Yates (OBE) + :28
3. Dan Martin (EQS) + :31
4. Nairo Quintana (MOV) + :35
5. Bauke Mollema (TFS) + :56
Sprint Classification
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 309
2. Mark Cavendish (DDD) 219
3. Marcel Kittel (EQS) 212
King of the Mountains
1. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) 80
2. Rafal Majka (TNK) 77
3. Tom Dumoulin (TGA) 58
Tuesday's Stage 10 almost looked like it was in reverse, with a big category 1 climb at the start, and then a flat finish. It was a parcours asking for a breakaway, and not only did one oblige, it was half decent.
On the road, a pretty damn high quality breakaway group has six minutes on the peloton with 67km left of the stage.
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
That group includes Landa, Sagan, van Avermaet, Boasson Hagen, Gallopin, Rui Costa, Matthews, Chavanel and Nibali. #TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
Costa and Sagan won the early climb and intermediate sprint, and almost everyone in the peloton was happy to let them stay clear. Almost.
For the third time this #Tour, the Tommy Tongue is dragging the peloton's pace upwards. Gap to the break drops under 6 minutes. #TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
It was a slightly odd move considering that Voeckler's Direct Energie team had two riders in the break, but slightly odd is pretty much Tommy V's modus operandi. It was a quiet middle part of the stage, and even into the final 30km there was little of note. Until, of course, two things happened at once.
Mechanical for Rafal Majka there. Majkanical. #TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
While I mess about making terrible puns, the break has split! They've dropped Chavanel, Cummings, Costa, Gallopin, Caruso, Landa and Nibali
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
The lead pack now is GVA, Sagan, EBH, Sam Dumoulin, and three from OBE (Matthews, with Impey and Durbridge) #TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
Hilarious pun I'm sure you'll agree. That attack was the last nail in the coffin of hope for the peloton for the day, as they were still several minute behind and with an ever more determined group, that would battle it out between themselves for the stage honours.
The lead pack now is GVA, Sagan, EBH, Sam Dumoulin, and three from OBE (Matthews, with Impey and Durbridge) #TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
Those three riders gave Orica-BikeExchange a big advantage over the rest of the group, but they were all still together in the pack, so who was the favourite?
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
As though he was the long-since jettisoned peanut Revel, Durbridge was dropped by the group, his shift done for the day.
One of the OBE riders has been dropped, think it's Durbridge. Dumoulin clinging onto the back as they all toy with each other. #TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
I say all, it's Sagan vs Matthews, with Boasson Hagen and van Avermaet waiting behind them for the fireworks. #TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
It did come down to those two, with Impey trying to lead Matthews out into the final straight, but there was a floppy-haired spanner in the works as the finish approached.
Sagan basically treating Impey as his lead out man for the time being. Into the final straight, who's going to win it? #TDF2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
Ultimately it was having three guys in that breakaway that made the difference, Matthews' sprint was so much fresher than the rest. #TDF
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
A tactical masterclass from Orica-BikeExchange then, their first win under their new sponsorship, and well deserved. Sagan, meanwhile, reclaimed the green jersey, for his 75th day in the green jersey in his 96th Tour stage. Stat.
Behind them, the peloton did nothing of note, rolling over uncontested and without any particular effort 10 minutes after the much more exciting breakaway group, meaning Froome retained his yellow jersey, before I made a dangerous prediction.
Don't expect those standings to change tomorrow either, Stage 11 to Montpellier has only two early cat 4 climbs, & is one for the sprinters
— The Laughing Group (@Laughing_Group) July 12, 2016
You tell 'em, Kev.
Stage results
1. Michael Matthews (OBE) 4:22:38
2. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :00
3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (DDD) + :00
General Classification
1. Chris Froome (SKY) 49:08:20
2. Adam Yates (OBE) + :16
3. Dan Martin (EQS) + :19
4. Nairo Quintana (MOV) + :23
5. Joaquin Rodriguez (KAT) + :37
Sprint Classification
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 242
2. Mark Cavendish (DDD) 204
3. Marcel Kittel (EQS) 182
King of the Mountains
1. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) 80
2. Rafal Majka (TNK) 77
3. Tom Dumoulin (TGA) 58
Ok, so that title isn't exactly fair. Etixx-QuickStep (from herein known as EQS, for the sake of efficiency) are one of the best all-round teams in the peloton, with one day riders such as Boonen, Stybar and Terpstra, emerging climbers and GC candidates like Bob Jungels and Dan Martin, and of course Marcel Kittel, one of the best sprinters in the world, if not the best right now.
Kittel's success (two stage wins and holding the overall lead for a day) at the Giro, and subsequent withdrawal from it to preserve his freshness, had the German's hopes high for a strong Tour de France, and in all fairness, out of the first four flat stages, he has won one. But that doesn't tell the whole story. If his team had been better organised, it could easily have been all four.
In Stage 1, EQS were well placed coming into the finishing straight alongside Mark Cavendish's Dimension Data train, but Kittel lost the wheel of his lead out man Fabio Sabattini, and while he managed to get a slipstream off Cavendish and Peter Sagan, it left him two bike lengths behind Cav, which he was only able to halve.
Once can be chalked up to bad luck, but it was a similar story in Stage 3. Kittel held third wheel under the flamme rouge behind Sabattini and Tony Martin, but Martin pulled off too shallow, holding Sabattini up and letting Lotto NL-Jumbo and Dimension Data past in a pincer movement that boxed Kittel in. Kittel still rallied to 7th from absolutely nowhere 300m out, again showing that he was capable of winning the stage given a clear run.
Kittel was also narrowly beaten out in Stage 6, where he did get a clean run in the end, but no thanks to his team, who lost him in the last few hundred metres, Kittel finding Bryan Coquard and Andre Greipel between himself and Sabattini. He did lead towards the line, but only because those issues forced him to launch too early, again allowing Cavendish to beat him to the line.
Even Kittel's one success so far, Stage 4, wasn't plain sailing, as the EQS team were hugely held up by a bottleneck at a roundabout a few km from the line. With only Lotto-Soudal with an uninterrupted run, EQS drove forward to get Kittel the leadout he needed, but it was hardly a well-organised victory.
So that one stage could well have been four, had Kittel been put in better places by his men, as he proved every single time that he had the power and pace to beat anyone in a clean straight fight.
I tweeted a stat after that stage 6 that Cav had won three stages in one Tour for the first time since 2012, which dawned on me was the last year he wasn't riding for Etixx(then Omega Pharma)-QuickStep. And I'm not sure that's coincidence.
Cav's 2013 in particular was riddled with sprint train issues, as while he's always had his main man Mark Renshaw with him, the rest of his train were fairly inexperienced (an argument used by Kittel this year too) and were letting him down all too often. Even on Cav's domain, the Champs Elysees, he was beaten, by... Marcel Kittel, given a perfect lead out by his Argos-Shimano team.
Armed with the two men who I'd go so far as to call the best sprinters of all time (argue that out below), in the last three and a half years of the Tour, the QuickStep team have won four stages. Or, to put it another way, as many as Kittel won in 2014 alone. Even writing off 2014, when Cavendish fell in stage 1 and had to withdraw, it's still not far over a stage a year, which, to quote Cav, is shit.
You can't really blame waning skills either. That was the argument put forward against Cavendish in the last few years, but his three wins this year (when he was expected to struggle due to focus on the track) put paid to that. And Kittel has shown he's back to his devastating best, after a torrid 2015 that should have opened the door for the then-Cavendish led EQS to score more wins.
Oddly, in the 'lesser' races this year, the EQS train has been looking good this year, as it has in the intermediate sprints in the Tour itself. Kittel took overall victory and two stage wins in his season opening Dubai Tour with his new lead out train, so inexperience can't even really be blamed there. They just seem to go to pieces when under the pressure of a stage finish.
Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com
Sprinters can win stages without lead out trains. Cavendish spent all of his 2012 Tour at Sky without a proper lead out train, as they were focused on GC, so he went guerrilla and latched on to other teams from way out. Peter Sagan has done the same in his time at Tinkoff. The difference there is that by knowing they have to do that, riders can plan for it. Losing your supposed lead out man 400m from the line leaves you in a panic, and by the time you've rethought your plans, the race has already been won.
Maybe that list of riders I gave at the start of this blog are the problem. Maybe EQS are spreading themselves too thin, and need to sacrifice their GC or sprint hopes to allow their riders to perform to their capabilities. Something definitely needs to change. For the last few years, EQS have had two of the best sprinters in the world at their disposal, and they've made both look distinctly average.
