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Visualizzazione dei post da luglio 17, 2015

Vince Van Avermaet o perde Sagan?

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André Greipel a Zélande alla seconda e ad Amiens alla quinta; Zdeněk Štybar a Le Havre alla sesta. E adesso Greg Van Avermaet alla 13esima tappa, la prima dopo il trittico dei Pirenei. Quattro volte secondo, due terzo e una quarto: ormai a fare notizia non è più Peter Sagan che perde in volata, ma chi riuscirà a farsi battere dallo slovacco - sulla carta il più forte negli arrivi più svariati eppure da due anni a digiuno alla Grande Boucle. Da Albi 2013, ben 13 podi virtuali e mai il gradino più alto. Poco stupisce i superstiziosi che, di venerdì 17, il 25enne della Tinkoff-Saxo non sia riuscito a invertire la tendenza. Peccato per lui, perché il secondo arrivo a Rodez, 31 anni dopo il successo di Pierre-Henry Mentheour - storico gregario di Laurent Fignon - sembrava disegnato per la maglia verde, bruciata invece da Van Avermaet, che quasi vinceva a braccia alzate. E dire che il 30enne belga in crosa ha rischiato di non esserci: il 7 maggio scorso la sua federazione aveva chiesto 2 ...

In Praise of Folly - Talansky and His Great Refusal of the Broom Wagon

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It came to prominence in 2014 Tour de France for "the extraordinary lesson in courage" provided by Andrew Talansky at the end of the stage eleven, the Besançon-Oyonnaz, but it has been Best Supporting Actress since the days of silent cinema. Here's how and why broom wagon was born in the Pyrenees almost a century ago... by Christian Giordano Voiture balai in French, autoscopa in Italian, coche escoba in Spanish. In English-speaking countries, it's the dear old meritorious “broom wagon”. The mini or mega van that picks up riders and their bikes who withdraw from the race, or already too deep down to hope not getting out of time. It has existed since 1910, when for the first time the Tour de France faced the mountains – and what mountains. Riders called the Pyrenees “loop the loop”. Even Grande Boucle boss Henri Desgrange was so worried by his chance to stay at home rather than be associated with the possible disaster. Fears in part justified, since onl...

Tour 2015: Stage 13 Muret > Rodez

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198.5 km | Friday July 17 | Start 12:20 – Finish 17:17 CET STAGE FACT Rodez dates back to at least the fi fth century BC. It has been occupied by Celts, Romans, Franks, Visigoths, Moors and, during the 100 Years War, the English After three days of summit finishes in the Pyrenees , the peloton heads north-east into the department of Aveyron. A far easier day than what came before, there are only three lowly categorised climbs and the main contenders will likely treat it as an unofficial rest day . One uncategorised climb comes 10 km before the end, while the finish culminates with a 400 m rise at a gradient of 9.6%. Sprint or breakaway? Could go either way. Traditionally you’d think this is classic breakaway territory but in more recent years sprinters’ teams have kept things together over tougher parcours. The finish atop Rodez’s Côte Saint-Pierre doesn’t lend itself to pure gallopers , but certainly the more robust men like Peter Sagan and Michael Matthews might well ...