by Anna Magrath | Jul 19, 2013
The Tour de France has experienced more than its fair share of sabotage, stupidity, and strangeness in its hundred editions.
Any event that uses an entire country as the backdrop for a sporting contest is likely to suffer moments beyond the control of its organisers.
Spectacular crashes, animals in the road, random acts of sabotage, and occasional assaults have all be part of the rich tapestry of Tour life.
In our latest infographic from our partners at RoadCyclingUK, we explore the anarchic side of life at La Grande Boucle.
by Anna Magrath | Jul 18, 2013
L’Alpe d’Huez is the most iconic climb of the Tour de France and today, for the first time in 100 editions of the race, the riders will climb it twice in one day.
What awaits them? Just 13.8km of climbing at an average gradient of 8.1 per cent, and, of course, the legendary 21 hairpin bends.
Fausto Coppi, Il Campionissimo, one of the greatest riders in the history of the sport, won on the climb’s first appearance in the Tour in 1952.
This year’s elite – Froome, Contador, Quintana et al – would love to claim victory on the first ‘double d’Huez’ of La Grande Boucle.
Here’s the latest infographic from our partners at
by Anna Magrath | Jul 16, 2013
The middle week of the Tour de France – stages ten to 15 – saw Chris Froome (Team Sky) dominate the general classification in his bid to become the second successive Briton to win cycling’s greatest race.
An incident-packed week also saw Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) bounce back to record his second victory of the 2013 race and 25th Tour stage win in total to move the Manx Missile up to joint third in the all-time list and becomes the new title holder of “most road stage wins in the tour throughout Tour de France history” [all the other greats have bumped up their totals with time trials].
Meanwhile, Cavendish’s team-mate, Tony Martin, won the individual time trial on stage 11 at an astonishing average speed of 54.271km/h. That’s just one of the stats plucked from our latest infographic provided by Cycling Shorts partners RoadCyclingUK – week two in numbers.
by Anna Magrath | Jul 15, 2013
Sport can offer no greater backdrop than the giant climbs of the Alps or Pyrenees, and the mountain stages of the Tour de France are typically the most memorable. Here are the stats in our latest infographic from our partners at RoadCyclingUK.
by Anna Magrath | Jul 11, 2013
Today’s Tour infographic provided by our friends at RoadCyclingUK looks at Andre Greipel’s Lotto Belisol sprint train, it’s one of the most efficient in the business.
Here’s an illustrated breakdown of the power behind Greipel’s throne: the staff behind the German national champion and the brave team-mates who deliver ‘the Gorilla’ to the line.
by Anna Magrath | Jul 8, 2013
The folks at Momondo have provided Cycling Shorts with a series of five useful infographics on European city bike schemes. The staff at Momndo put it together in their spare time. So a big thank you goes out the them.
When going on a city break, the best way to explore a city is by bike. You’re plans can be more flexible, it allows to truly experience the city, you can go at your own pace and discover places and streets that one would not see when taking the boring old tours buses. Government sponsored bike schemes make it really easy to do.
The first city in the series is:
London
London with its parks and the river Thames offers the perfect scenery for a bike ride. It’s not just about the great music and fashion scene, the city has so much to offer. A lot of the museums have free admission, great street markets and the place oozes history from the grand buildings and royal history that is woven into the fabric of the city. The tube can be very crowded so the bike offers a welcoming alternative to visit all the hidden corners in the city.
To view the Paris Guide click here.
To view the Berlin Guide click here.
To view the Amsterdam Guide click here.
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