Vuelta a Espana Nibali disqualification

Nibali disqualification among several topics for debate during opening days of Vuelta a Espana

 August 27, 2015   John Welsh

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Just four weeks after the conclusion of the Tour de France, the 2015 Vuelta a Espana began in the province of Malaga last weekend with several of the leading contenders for honours in the French Grand Tour participating in this event. Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde, Vincenzo Nibali and Tejay van Garderen were all […]

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Tour de France victory Froome

Froome acknowledges the vital role of his fellow Team Sky members in clinching 2015 Tour de France victory

 July 27, 2015   John Welsh

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Andre Greipel won the 21st and final stage of the Tour de France after a tussle amongst the sprinters on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday, but it was noticeable that overall winner Chris Froome crossed the finishing line alongside his fellow Team Sky members as if to demonstrate that his victory owed […]

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Tour de France review

Expect attacks from Quintana as two difficult Alpine stages loom in Tour de France

 July 24, 2015   John Welsh

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With two days completed in the Alps and just two remaining, Chris Froome still retains his 3 minutes and 10 second lead to Colombian rider Nairo Quintana in the Tour de France general classification, but there are suggestions that difficult summit finishes to La Toussuire and L’Alpe d’Huez will offer a real opportunity for Quintana […]

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Tour de France lead

Unwelcome incidents frustrate Team Sky as Froome seeks to maintain his Tour de France lead

 July 19, 2015   John Welsh

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It has been quite an eventful week for Team Sky at the 2015 Tour de France. There have been allegations of hacking into the training data of the team amid accusations of doping within the camp while Richie Porte has also claimed to have been punched by a spectator. Then on Saturday’s stage to the […]

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Froome overwhelms his Tour de France

Froome overwhelms his Tour de France rivals during first day in Pyrenees

 July 14, 2015   John Welsh

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The first serious mountain stage in any Tour de France is normally the day in which the pre-race favourites test each other with bursts of acceleration and counter-attacks during the final kilometres. During action often resembling a game of chess or poker as increases in pace are followed by deliberate slowdowns, one rider usually claims […]

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Tour de France

Froome retains Tour de France lead after Team Time Trial with the mountain stages next on the agenda

 July 12, 2015   John Welsh

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During a first week of crashes, several misfortunes and a great deal of thrilling action, Chris Froome will enter the mountain stages of the 2015 Tour de France with a 12 second lead over BMC rider Tejay van Garderen after a team time trial on Sunday which tested the resolve of many of the riders […]

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Tony Martin leads the Tour de France

Tony Martin leads the Tour de France after a few days of mixed fortunes for the favourites

 July 8, 2015   John Welsh

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German time trial specialist Tony Martin now leads the Tour de France after four days of fairly intensive riding for the peleton in which one or two of the pre-race favourites fared better than others. Martin managed to escape from the leading group of riders with just a few kilometres remaining in Tuesday’s difficult stage […]

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Tour de France action

Froome and Contador benefit from early Tour de France action but difficult days await

 July 5, 2015   John Welsh

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There was a time when the opening week of the Tour de France was geared more for the sprinters as the contenders for overall victory were generally satisfied to be finishing in the middle of a closely grouped peleton on the flat stages. Individual time trials plus the mountain stages in the Pyrenees and Alps […]

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Chris Froome

Chris Froome secures a second Criterium du Dauphine victory but the Tour de France will be a greater challenge

 June 16, 2015   John Welsh

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With the Tour de France due to start in less than three weeks, 2013 winner Chris Froome ended his serious racing preparation for the event by claiming victory in the Criterium du Dauphine staged in the French Alps, a race which he also won prior to claiming his solitary Tour de France success. Although the […]

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Alberto Contador duly won the 2015 Giro dItalia

Contador secures 2015 Giro d’Italia victory with Mikel Landa emerging as the name for the future.

 June 1, 2015   John Welsh

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Alberto Contador duly won the 2015 Giro d’Italia as the final stage from Torino to Milano was completed on Sunday but just 24 hours earlier, his comfortable lead in the general classification nearly evaporated as he struggled to cope with the unrelenting steep gradients on the upper slopes of the Colle delle Finestre. For the […]

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