from The Adventure Blog
Yesterday one of the best Tours de France in recent history came to an end when Cadel Evans rode onto the Champs Elysees in Paris wearing the race's famed Yellow Jersey. In doing so, he became the first man from Australia to win the race and showed that he is without a doubt amongst the elite riders in the world. The traditional Sunday ride into Paris during the Tour is largely a ceremonial affair. The Peloton calls a truce against the Yellow Jersey, and everyone enjoys a quiet morning before the sprinters
published: 10 months ago
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from The Adventure Blog
Yesterday was a great day in the Tour de France . Today was even better. There are certain stages that always deliver on the promise of high drama and theatrics in Le Tour, and Alpe d'Huez is right up there with the best of them. With its 21 iconic switchbacks, and nearly 15km (9.3 miles) of climbing, often at grades in excess of 10%, the mountain has dashed many riders hopes of winning the race. This year was no exception, delivering unprecedented suffering to the Peloton. Today's stage was a short one,
published: 10 months ago
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from The Adventure Blog
Heading into today's Stage 18 of the Tour de France , we knew that we could expect some fireworks between the top contenders in the GC. But what we didn't know was that one of those contenders would put in an amazing attack, while another would see his hopes of winning dashed beyond repair. The 200.5km (124.5 mile) stage ran between Pinerolo and Galibier-Serre Chevalier and featured high mountain passes, and three uncategorized climbs to sap the strength of the riders in the Peloton. The ride started as
published: 10 months ago
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from The Adventure Blog
Earlier today, the Tour de France returned to the high mountains, as the riders moved into the Alps at last, heralding the arrival of the biggest, and most important, stages of the race. Over the course of the next two days, there will be some epic showdowns to say the least, as the GC contenders do their best to shake Thomas Voeckler out of the Yellow Jersey and position themselves to take the crown. But that is what lies ahead. Today's course featured 179km (111.2 miles) of racing between Gap and ...
published: 10 months ago
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from The Adventure Blog
It is becoming increasingly clear that in the 2011 Tour de France you should expect the unexpected. Case in point was today's 162.5km (101 mile) stage between Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux and Gap which was expected to be a great opportunity for a breakaway, but not have much of an impact on the GC itself. Those expectations were both right and wrong in so many ways, and with the rain, and sometimes snow, steadily falling throughout the day, the riders once again put on a show. As predicted, there was indeed a
published: 10 months ago
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from The Adventure Blog
Each year, when the Tour de France announces it's intended route, fans circle a few dates as the ones that will really sort out the General Classification. Usually those days involve big mountain climbs which leave the Peloton in tatters and give the contenders a chance to rise to the top. Today was just such a day, as the 2011 Tour arrived in the Pyrenees at last. The day started off rather typical, with a fairly flat beginning, that soon gave way to a slow, but steady climb. That all changed following
published: 10 months ago
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from The Adventure Blog
On the penultimate day in the 2010 Tour de France the riders faced a 52km (32.2 mile) individual time trial that would see them out on the road alone and racing against the clock. Heading into the day, the race came down to a two-man duel between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck, both of whom were pre-race favorites, and have done little to disappoint over the past three weeks. Today's time trial ended as we expected, although for a time it looked like the results could be in doubt. Contador went into the
published: about 1 year ago
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from The Adventure Blog
With the Pyrenees behind us, and the big showdown on the Tourmalet between Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador over, the Tour de France returned to the flatlands today, giving the sprinters a little relief, and letting them stretch their legs at last. The stage was a mostly paint by number affair, that ended quite predictably. For the most part, the peloton was content to ride the stage without pushing it incredibly hard. It was 198km (123 miles) of very flat riding, a welcome respite from the mountain the
published: about 1 year ago
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from The Adventure Blog
Today was the day that fans of the Tour de France had circled on their calendar since the course was first announced. A deciding stage if ever there was one. Stage 17 would send the riders on a 174km (108 mile) ride that would end on the summit of the Col du Tourmalet and would likely have a direct impact on who would be wearing Yellow when we head to Paris on Sunday. The grueling climb up the Tourmalet is legendary, and the top climbers battled it out on the slopes of that famous route, in the end though,
published: about 1 year ago
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from The Adventure Blog
Today's 16th stage of the Tour de France was a good one, and was literally competitive right down to the finish line, but it really was just a warm-up for what should be a big day on Thursday, following tomorrow's rest day. The stage today ran from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Pau, covering 199.5 km (124 miles) in the process. The climbers had plenty of opportunity to stretch their legs on this one, with two Category 1 climbs to get things started, followed by two tough beyond category climbs in the middle, ...
published: about 1 year ago
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