PREFACE - ISSUE 233 / SEPTEMBER 2017
Procycling, ISSUE 233 / SEPTEMBER 2017
EDWARD
PICKERING
EDITOR
The ’17 Tour is growing on me. The GC never quite ignited, save for Peyragudes. But the more I look back at the race, the more I appreciate its texture and complexity. Sometimes a Tour improves with age, like wine and cycling journalists.
I like Chris Froome. He’s a great athlete and intelligent company. I even have a soft spot for his style of pedalling – there’s a rhythmic spiky angularity to it which is more jazz than classical but that’s the thing about cycling and music – there’s room for everyone. However, I find Sky’s tactics boring and Froome’s detachment frustrating, even if I understand why he rides and acts the way he does. Of the four Tours he’s won, I only really enjoyed last year’s in terms of the GC. That downhill attack! That crosswind escape with Sagan! Running up the Ventoux! These showed me that Froome is not just a rare physical talent, he is also a racer.
There was no such equivalent in 2017 – just good rides in the TTs, and smothering tactics. The fact that he and his team shut down the traditional rest day press conferences stuck in my craw as well. Yes, I would say that, but I’ll never stop believing that objective scrutiny of the world, whether it’s in cycling or politics, is one of the pillars of a functional society. Now that Sky have set the precedent of closing down access, they’ll continue with it. Given the year they’ve had, that’ll reduce trust. But there’s more to the Tour than this.
2017 was the Tour of Kittel, Barguil and Matthews. Of De Gendt and Offredo. Of Urán and Bardet. Of the roadside throng and the Colombian fan who told me that his colourful travelling band and their heroes, Quintana and Urán Urán, were the real face of his country, not the stories about drugs and violence. We were at the Tour from Düsseldorf to Paris and this edition of Procycling conveys the colour, excitement and depth of the race. I hope you enjoy it.
I like Chris Froome. He’s a great athlete and intelligent company. I even have a soft spot for his style of pedalling – there’s a rhythmic spiky angularity to it which is more jazz than classical but that’s the thing about cycling and music – there’s room for everyone. However, I find Sky’s tactics boring and Froome’s detachment frustrating, even if I understand why he rides and acts the way he does. Of the four Tours he’s won, I only really enjoyed last year’s in terms of the GC. That downhill attack! That crosswind escape with Sagan! Running up the Ventoux! These showed me that Froome is not just a rare physical talent, he is also a racer.
There was no such equivalent in 2017 – just good rides in the TTs, and smothering tactics. The fact that he and his team shut down the traditional rest day press conferences stuck in my craw as well. Yes, I would say that, but I’ll never stop believing that objective scrutiny of the world, whether it’s in cycling or politics, is one of the pillars of a functional society. Now that Sky have set the precedent of closing down access, they’ll continue with it. Given the year they’ve had, that’ll reduce trust. But there’s more to the Tour than this.
2017 was the Tour of Kittel, Barguil and Matthews. Of De Gendt and Offredo. Of Urán and Bardet. Of the roadside throng and the Colombian fan who told me that his colourful travelling band and their heroes, Quintana and Urán Urán, were the real face of his country, not the stories about drugs and violence. We were at the Tour from Düsseldorf to Paris and this edition of Procycling conveys the colour, excitement and depth of the race. I hope you enjoy it.
Commenti
Posta un commento