by Nick Dey | Apr 21, 2014
The Pain and the Glory
The official team sky diary of the Giro campaign and Tour victory
Introduction by… Sir Dave Brailsford & Chris Froome
Words by Sarah Edworthy, Photography by Scott Mitchell
Cast your mind back to Team Sky’s annus mirabilis. Its 2012 and the halcyon day’s of Wiggo’s dominance in the stage races cumulating in victory in the Tour de France and yet another Olympic gold, this time in the time trial. Every pedal stroke of which, you’ll recall, was chronicled in the rather good ’21 Day’s to Glory’.
Now comes this 2013 Grand Tour journal charting the ups, downs, plan A’s, plan B’s, the tragedies, the triumphs and inner working’s of Team Sky.
The Pain and the Glory delves deep into Team Sky’s attempt to win the double: the 2013 Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. This is a book in two-parts and is generally chronological.
It opens with a well written introduction from Sir Dave and quickly leaps straight into the Giro and Sky’s charge for victory through Bradley Wiggins – remember all the talk, Nibali or Wiggins – and their eventual re-structuring and plan-B second place in GC with Rigoberto Uran. The ‘second half’ of the book covers the Tour and Chris Froome’s gradual deconstruction of the other main GC contenders. Geraint Thomas’ epic ride through of pain will long live in the memory – a legend tales root.
The Pain and the glory has a real fly-on-the-wall feel to it. Although it does leave one or two crucial question unasked – as you’d expect from an internally employed team of professional journalists. The book rally excels in the unusual layers of detail about each and every stage. All supplemented beautifully by the Scott Mitchell’s sublime photography and enriched by input from the all the main protagonists – Wiggin’s, Froome, Uran, Thomas (he of the fractured pelvis in stage 1… This man is one tough dude!), Stannard, et al. It also allows an insight into to the oft hidden, but absolutely vital, work of the mechanics, medical staff, cooks and families.
This is the very official account of a tumultuous yet ultimately successful year in the life of one of the leading professional road cycling teams. Kudos to Sarah Edwards for generating such a flowing narrative.
Marginal gains on the road… Massive gains in reader experience: the book is accompanied by a fascinating commentary from the team players, photographers and writers. Just download the free Livebooks App from The App store or Google Play, scan the photo’s with the livebook symbol and sit back and listen. This really works and is highly effective in enriching and enlightening. I found the chats about photography, framing and choice, artistic and highly educational.
CyclingShorts Star Rating: 80/100 (9 if Team Sky ran a women’s team!)
YOU CAN WIN A COPY IN OUR LATEST COMPETITION – JUST CLICK HERE!
Title:
The Pain and the Glory: the official team sky diary of the Giro campaign and Tour victory
Exclusive – with accompanying Team Sky podcast Apps
Author:
Sarah Edworthy
Published by:
Harper Collins – Non Fiction on 17th October 2013
Available in Hardback & eBook
Price:
RRP £20.00 (Hardback) RRP £13.39 (Digital)
by Leigh Marshall | Dec 4, 2013
Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
St Andrews Day 2013 and the much awaited Revolution Series rolled back into Glasgow. Would racing to a home crowd give the Scots some extra firepower? Given the depth of talent on the start sheet, a fiercely fought battle was guaranteed.
Both the afternoon and evening sessions started with a sombre and respectful minutes silence following Friday night’s tragic helicopter crash in Glasgow.
With the temperature inside the velodrome definitely on the warm side, the afternoon session got underway with both men’s and women’s UCI Sprint Qualifiers. Dani Khan (GB) once again showed she meant business. Setting a time of 11.604 in the women’s 200m time trial. Seeding her in third and comfortably taking her through to the Quarter Finals, where she won her heat against Helen Scott (GB). In the men’s 200m time trial, Callum Skinner (Scotland) topped the seeding with a 10.346. Up against Matt Rotherham (GB) in the Quarter Finals, Skinner showed his dominance winning the heat.
The UCI Points Races threatened to be savage and they certainly lived up to the hype. In the men’s 40km points race Jake Ragan (GB) shone brightly. Lapping the field twice and finishing with 49 points. A truly gritty performance. However, Kalz (Rudy Project RT), Stroetinga (Telegraph Allstars) and McCallum (Rapha Condor JLT) weren’t giving up easily and fought till the end for all available points [finishing with 45, 41, 36 points respectively].
The women’s 25km points race was just as thrilling. With Ciara Horne (Team USN), Eileen Roe (Scotland) and Nina Kessler (Boels-Dolmans) taking a lap early on. A few sprints later and Amy Hill (Team USN) pinged off the front taking a lap, placing her at the top of the standings going into the final stages of the race. With one sprint to go Kessler, Roe and Horne took another lap, scooping up more points [finishing with 54, 52, 51 points respectively].
Khan and Scott once again showed their good form in the 1st round of the women’s UCI Keirin. Both successfully going through to the final. In the men’s round John Paul, Callum Skinner and Chris Pritchard (all Scotland) qualified for the final. Leaving Matt Rotherham (GB) and Kenny Ayre (Scotland) to contest the minor final with Thiele and Kanter (both Germany).
Chris Hoy meets his public – Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
The final event of the afternoon session was the Elite Championship Flying Lap. Ross Edgar (Rouleur) set the fastest time 13.836, with Nico Hesslich (Rudy Project RT) 2nd in a time of 13.850. Chris Latham (WD40) rounding up the top 3 with 14.040.
During the break between afternoon and evening sessions, Sir Chris Hoy was launching his new HOY Bikes track bike. Several cycling journos had been invited to take a burl round the track with the Big Yin on the new Fiorenzuola. I had a brief wee look at the newest black beauty, as entry level track bikes go it’s certainly competitively priced with a beautiful understated timeless style and design. Which is more than can be said for the display of sartorial elegance from many of the lycra clad journos ;)
The evening session started with the UCI Sprint Semi Finals. Both men’s and women’s events producing nail biting racing. Elis Ligtlee (Netherlands) and Dani Khan (GB) winning their heats. In the men’s Semi Finals Callum Skinner (Scotland) and Robert Kanter (Germany) won their heats.
In the women’s UCI Sprint Minor Final, Rosie Blount (GB) and Helen Scott (GB) snapped up the top two spaces with Jenny Davis (City of Edinburgh) taking 4th. Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) just outgunned Chris Pritchard (Scotland) and Matt Rotherham (GB) to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the men’s UCI Sprint Minor Final in a time of 11.206.
In a thrilling Final, between the excellently matched Khan and Ligtlee, it was not to be Khans day. The Dutch rider taking the win. In the men’s Final the showdown between Skinner and Kanter had the Glasgow audience on their feet roaring support for their home boy, Skinner. And he didn’t disappoint, snatching the win from Kanter in a time of 10.975.
Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
Always a crowd pleaser, the women’s Elimination Race engaged and excited the fans. Emily Kay (Team USN) took a narrow win from Eileen Roe (Scotland). The Boels-Dolmans rider, Nina Kessler finishing in 3rd. In the Elite Championship Elimination Race, Jesper Asselman (Madison-Genesis) was victorious against Jacob Scott (HMT-Sportscover). The 3rd sport taken by Andreas Muller (Madison-Genesis).
For me one of the most exciting parts of the programme are the Future Stars races. This is such a valuable platform for the development and progression of young talent.
In the Girls 6 Lap Dash, Sophie Capewell (HMT-Sportscover) continued her good form from round 1, finishing 1st. Lucy Harper and Emily Haycox (both Rouleur) finishing in 2nd and 3rd – Not bad placing from Emily since she has been battling with ill health and is due to have her pesky tonsils out this week, hopefully she can return to the top of the table after she recovers fully. In the Boys 6 Lap Dash, it was ‘all the J’s’ with Joe Holt (Team USN) taking the win, Joe Truman (Rapha Condor JLT) finishing 2nd and Scotland’s Jack Carlin (Rudy Project RT) rounding up the top 3.
Onto the Girls 5km Points Race and 1st place went to Grace Garner (Team Sky) with Megan Chard (Telegraph Allstars) 2nd and Jessica Roberts (Team USN) 3rd. Joe Truman (Rapah Condor JLT) finished 1st 4 points ahead of Jack Escritt (WD40) with Matt Walls (Champion System-Club Roost RT) finishing just 1 point down on Escritt in the Boys 5km Points Race.
The Future Stars 5km Scratch race yet again produced some very hard fought aggressive racing. In the Girls Scratch, Paige Millward (WD40) finished ahead of Jessie Ansell and Lucy Shaw (both Rudy Project RT). In the Boys Scratch, Joel Partington (Team Sky) took the win from Joe Holt (Team USN) and Tom Rotherham (Rouleur).
The women’s UCI Keirin Minor Final gave the crowds plenty to shout about with two Scottish riders and a GB rider doing battle for places. In the end it was Scot Jenny Davis (City of Edinburgh) who placed 1st. Rosie Blount (GB) a close 2nd with Ellie Richardson (Scotland) in 3rd. Matt Rotherham (GB) and Kenny Ayre (Scotland) finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the men’s UCI Keirin Minor Final.
Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
A 4th and 6th place for Khan and Scott in the women’s UCI Keirin Final concluded a really good day and night’s racing for the talented GB ladies. Scotland once again showed well with a 3rd place for Skinner and a 5th for Pritchard in the men’s UCI Keirin Final.
Rudy Project Racing Team Win Madison TT | Revolution 42 ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
Marcel Kalz and Nico Hesslich of Rudy Project RT took the win in the Elite Championship 1km Madison Time Trial in a sizzling 00:55.472.
Team USN’s Ciara Horne smashed the women’s 10km UCI Scratch Race by lapping the field in a tenacious attack. Team mate Emily Kay snatched 2nd with Scotland’s Charline Joiner clinching 3rd. In the men’s 15km UCI Scratch Race, Team Sky duo Chris Lawless and Germain Burton finished 3rd and 4th.
Round 2 TV Highlights
If you’re in the UK you can watch the highlights of Round 2 on the new BT Sport2 Channel (not available on all TV services in the UK).
Thursday 5th December 2013
For more information on the Revolution and to book your Manchester tickets for round 3 visit: www.cyclingrevolution.com
Results
Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
Elite Championship: Flying Lap
1 Ross Edgar – 13.836 Rouleur 10
2 Nico Hesslich – 13.850 Rudy Project RT 9
3 Chris Latham – 14.040 WD40 8
4 Chris Lawless – 14.435 Team Sky 7
5 James McCallum – 14.663 Rapha Condor JLT 6
6 Andy Fenn – 14.886 Telegraph All Stars 5
7 Scott Jacob- 14.988 HMT-Sportscover 4
8 Andreas Muller – 14.385 Madison Genesis 5
9 Scott Davies – 15.610 Team USN 2
10 Julio Alberto Amores – 15.653 Champion System/Club Roost 1
Lizzie Armisted Commentates – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
Elite Championship: Elimination Race
1 Jesper Asselman
2 Jacob Scott Team Sportscover
3 Andreas Muller
4 Marcel Kalz
5 Christopher Latham 100% ME
6 Nico Hesslich
7 Lucas Destang
8 Scott Davies Team USN
9 Mark Stewart Team ASL360
10 Christopher Lawless Kuota – Spinergy – GSG
11 Michael Nicholson
Future Stars Podium – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
13 Julio Alberto Amores
14 Evan Oliphant Team Raleigh
15 James McCallum Rapha Condor JLT
16 Oliver Wood Team Sportscover
17 Germain Burton Team De ver
18 Wim Stroetinga
19 Ross Edgar Team IG – Sigma Sport
20 Jacob Ragan Wheelbase Altura MGD
Elite Championship: Points Race
1 Jacob Ragan Wheelbase Altura MGD
2 Marcel Katz
3 Wim Stroetinga
Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
5 Julio Alberto Amores
6 Jacob Scott Team Sportscover
7 Scott Davies Team USN
8 Germain Burton Team De ver
9 Oliver Wood Team Sportscover
10 Andreas Muller
11 Jesper Asselman
12 Nico Hesslich
13 Evan Oliphant Team Raleigh
14 Michael Nicholson
15 Christopher Latham 100% ME
16 Andrew Fenn Omega Pharma Quickstep
17 Christopher Lawless Kuota – Spinergy – GSG
18 Tim Veldt
19 Lucas Destang
20 Ross Edgar Team IG – Sigma Sport
Rudy Project Racing Team | Revolution 42 Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
Elite Championship: 1km Madison Time Trial
1 Rudy Project RT 56.001 10
2 WD40 58.993 9
3 Rapha Condor JLT 59.486 8
4 Rouleur 59.692 7
5 Team Sky 1.00.013 6
6 HMT-Sportscover 1.00.360 5
7 Telegraph All Stars 1.00.506 4
8 Champion System/Club Roost 1.01.482 2
9 Madison Genesis 1.03.648 1
Elite Championship: Scratch Race
1 Marcel Kalz Rudy Project RT 10
2 Wim Stroetinga Telegraph All Stars 9
3 Chris Lawless Team Sky 8
4 Germain Burton Team Sky 7
5 Chris Latham WD40 6
6 Andreas Muller Madison Genesis 5
7 Julio Alberto Amores Champion System/Club Roost RT 4
8 Evan Oliphant WD40 5
9 Lucas Destang Team Sky 2
10 Ollie Wood Rapha Condor JLT 1
Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
1 Nina Kessler
2 Eileen Roe Ronde Cycling Club
3 Ciara Horne Team USN
4 Amy Hill Team USN
5 Emily Kay Team USN
6 Charline Joiner Team Thomsons Cycles
7 Emily Nelson Bike Pure – LeMond – Aspire Ve…
8 Manon Lloyd Abergavenny Road Club
9 Sarah Inghelbrecht
10 Alex Greenfield Scott Contessa Epic
11 Kayleigh Brogan Team Thomsons Cycles
12 Hannah Walker Matrix Fitness Racing Academy
13 Ella Hopkins Breast Cancer Care Cycling Tea…
14 Corrine Hall Matrix Fitness Racing Academy
Emily Kay – Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
Elimination Race Women
1 Emily Kay Team USN
2 Eileen Roe Ronde Cycling Club
3 Nina Kessler
4 Ciara Horne Team USN
5 Kayleigh Brogan Team Thomsons Cycles
6 Amy Hill Team USN
7 Emily Nelson Bike Pure – LeMond – Aspire Ve…
8 Alex Greenfield Scott Contessa Epic
9 Hannah Walker Matrix Fitness Racing Academy
10 Charline Joiner Team Thomsons Cycles
11 Manon Lloyd Abergavenny Road Club
12 Sarah Inghelbrecht
Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
1 Joe Holt County Cycles Racing Team
2 Joseph Truman I-Team Cyclists’ Club
3 Jack Carlin Team Thomsons Cycles
4 Tom England
5 Ellis Kirkbride Border City Wheelers CC
6 Thomas Rotherham Sportcity Velo
7 Jack Escritt Velocity WD-40
8 Reece Wood Aire Valley Racing Team
9 Stuart Balfour Ronde Cycling Club
10 Hisham Al-Ramah VC Londres
11 Rhys Britton Cardiff JIF
12 Fabian Brennan Velocity WD-40
13 Matthew Walls Velocity WD-40
14 Karl Baillie Witham Wheelers Cycling Club
15 Joel Partington Sportcity Velo
16 Jack Payne Sportcity Velo
17 Luke Morgan CC Luton
18 Matthias Barnet Edinburgh RC
19 Ben Forsyth Edinburgh RC
20 Joey Walker RST Racing Team
Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
1 Sophie Capewell Lichfield City CC
2 Lucy Harper Welwyn Whls CC
3 Emily Haycox Cardiff Ajax CC
4 Grace Garner RST Racing Team
5 Eleanor Dickinson RST Racing Team
6 Paige Milward Squadra Donne – Shutt VR
7 Sophie Williams Cardiff JIF
8 Jessica Roberts RST Racing Team
9 Elizabeth Bennett Cardiff JIF
10 Henrietta Colborne Beacon Wheelers
11 Jessie Ansell Wolverhampton Whls
12 Rhona Callander Stirling Bike Club
13 Megan Chard Bush Healthcare CRT
14 Lauren Bate-Lowe Eastlands Velo
15 Samantha Verrill Marton Race Team
16 Bethany Taylor Abergavenny Road Club
17 Sallie Birchall Lyme RC
18 Emma Borthwick Edinburgh RC
Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
1 Joseph Truman I-Team Cyclists’ Club
2 Jack Escritt Velocity WD-40
3 Matthew Walls Velocity WD-40
4 Joe Holt County Cycles Racing Team
5 Tom England
6 Jack Carlin Team Thomsons Cycles
7 Joel Partington Sportcity Velo
8 Karl Baillie Witham Wheelers Cycling Club
9 Rhys Britton Cardiff JIF
10 Stuart Balfour Ronde Cycling Club
11 Thomas Rotherham Sportcity Velo
12 Ellis Kirkbride Border City Wheelers CC
13 Hisham Al-Ramah VC Londres
14 Fabian Brennan Velocity WD-40
15 Reece Wood Aire Valley Racing Team
16 Jack Payne Sportcity Velo
17 Matthias Barnet Edinburgh RC
18 Luke Morgan CC Luton
19 Joey Walker RST Racing Team
20 Ben Forsyth Edinburgh RC
Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
1 Grace Garner RST Racing Team
2 Megan Chard Bush Healthcare CRT
3 Jessica Roberts RST Racing Team
4 Sophie Capewell Lichfield City CC
5 Lucy Shaw Solihull CC
6 Elizabeth Bennett Cardiff JIF
7 Sophie Williams Cardiff JIF
8 Eleanor Dickinson RST Racing Team
9 Monica Dew Sportcity Velo
10 Rhona Callander Stirling Bike Club
11 Henrietta Colborne Beacon Wheelers
12 Bethany Taylor Abergavenny Road Club
13 Lucy Harper Welwyn Whls CC
14 Samantha Verrill Marton Race Team
15 Jessie Ansell Wolverhampton Whls
16 Lauren Bate-Lowe Eastlands Velo
17 Emily Haycox Cardiff Ajax CC
18 Sallie Birchall Lyme RC
19 Emma Borthwick Edinburgh RC
20 Paige Milward Squadra Donne – Shutt VR
Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
1 Joel Partington Sportcity Velo
2 Joe Holt County Cycles Racing Team
3 Thomas Rotherham Sportcity Velo
4 Jack Escritt Velocity WD-40
5 Reece Wood Aire Valley Racing Team
6 Joseph Truman I-Team Cyclists’ Club
7 Tom England
8 Stuart Balfour Ronde Cycling Club
9 Karl Baillie Witham Wheelers Cycling Club
10 Rhys Britton Cardiff JIF
11 Matthew Walls Velocity WD-40
12 Hisham Al-Ramah VC Londres
13 Matthias Barnet Edinburgh RC
14 Joey Walker RST Racing Team
15 Ben Forsyth Edinburgh RC
16 Ellis Kirkbride Border City Wheelers CC
17 Luke Morgan CC Luton
18 Jack Carlin Team Thomsons Cycles
19 Jack Payne Sportcity Velo
20 Fabian Brennan Velocity WD-40
Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
1 Paige Milward Squadra Donne – Shutt VR
2 Jessie Ansell Wolverhampton Whls
3 Lucy Shaw Solihull CC
Scratch Race Women
1 Ciara Horne Team USN
2 Emily Kay Team USN
3 Charline Joiner Team Thomsons Cycles
4 Emily Nelson Bike Pure – LeMond – Aspire Ve…
5 Nina Kessler
6 Amy Hill Team USN
by Paul Harris | Sep 27, 2013
Have you ever wanted to have a mooch around the much-vaunted Team Sky bus? I know I did, and thanks to Jaguar, along with some lucky competition winners, we got that very chance whilst the Death Star sat awaiting its star charges during the final stage of the Tour of Britain.
For a race like the Tour of Britain, Team Sky send the team bus and a big service truck – the service truck has a kitchen and laundry at the front, and bike storage and a workshop at the back. The workshop is empty because the team are out on stage, safely shepherding Sir Brad’s run to the gold jersey.
Visiting the team bus while the riders were away was the cycling equivalent to stepping aboard the deserted Marie Celeste where the coffee pot on the stove was still hot. Bernie Eisel’s spare helmet waits patiently for the call to arms.
The bus was designed and built solely to transport nine riders from the hotel to the start line in as comfortable a fashion as possible. The first vehicle to be built so uncompromisingly, other teams have since followed suit.
Team Sky advise that their riders become attached to particular seats – this seat, the second row on the right hand side, is the one that Chris Froome favoured during his Tour de France triumph.
The seat behind the Froome chair is the one that David Lopez occupied during the Tour of Britain, and his newspaper, recovery bar and phones await his return. Team Sky were fantastically open-handed about allowing us access.
Wiggo’s seat, predictably enough, is in the front row, right behind the driver – some goon who really doesn’t like having his picture taken poses with the jersey that Sir Bradley picked up at the end of the Guildford stage the day before. The helmet weighs nothing.
Sir Bradley’s shades and his Guildford trophy. The seats are exquisitely comfortable.
The rules according to Team Sky.
At the back of the bus, past the showers, is a little meeting room where the world’s supply of energy bars, gels and powders are stored. We were invited to go and have a look around, but I felt too guilty intruding on someone’s workspace to go any further.
How much do you want to try a bottle of this?
Even from the outside, I’ve always been appreciative of what Team Sky have done for the sport in the UK, purely in terms of results and the associated boosting of the profile of racing. But it was a privilege to have a chance to have a look on the inside – even in the closing stages of a fairly important stage race in which they had a vested interest, they took the time to offer the chance to have a mosey around to four randoms that they didn’t know from Adam. And not just a faceless guided whizz around – we had a guide, of course, but Rob could not have been more open and friendly. It was remarkable – all their riders’ personal kit was there, any questions could be asked, photos were encouraged and nothing was off limits. British Cycling Head Coach Shane Sutton was on and off the bus doing his thing whilst we were there, and he was perfectly happy to answer questions as he worked.
It was a fantastic treat, for any cycling fan, and a real privilege to have had the chance – massive “thank you thank you thank you!” thanks to Fran Millar of Team Sky and Claire Boakes of Jaguar for allowing Cycling Shorts this window into such a fascinating world. #ToB2013 #ridelikeapro @TeamSky @JaguarUK @Sportbrake
by Paul Harris | Sep 26, 2013
Did you go? Were you there? In case you left the country for a couple of weeks, you would have struggled to avoid seeing that the Tour of Britain hit the streets of this great cycling nation, and even with the inevitable inclemency of the weather, it appeared to be a great success. Cycling Shorts were lucky enough to be invited to London by Jaguar to see how the final stage all panned out, and did we ever pick a good day to go…
The first thought that occurred, when we arrived for the Johnson Health Tech Westminster Grand Prix was how busy the circuit was, even at half ten on a Sunday morning. The sizeable crowd was treated to the spectacle of the pack trying to attack Hannah Barnes for the best part of an hour, but their efforts were fruitless, the national crit champion relentlessly driving the bunch to cover chase after chase, with a final, full-blooded effort by Lydia Boylan and Nicola Juniper failing to stick after putting a big chunk of time on the peloton. The pack was all together for the finale and there was only going to be one winner in the sprint to the line, Barnes taking the win to popular delight. Two observations occurred – firstly, even when you have a standout favourite like Barnes, the racing can still be fantastic. And secondly, if you have any questions over the popularity of women’s racing, put them to one side – this race was massively popular.
The next event was the IG Gentleman’s TT, over one lap of the full 8.8km course, where pairs consisting of a pro “pacer” and a celebrity “gentleman” teamed together with the gentleman’s time over the line being the one that counted. Honours went to Andrew Griffiths and Francis Jackson with a respectable 11:47, tonking second placed Olly Stephens and Alex Stephenson by 47 seconds, with Gavin Morton and Steve Carter Smith another 7 seconds further back in third. I’ll be honest with you – I thought it was a really cool concept, but with very few exceptions (Lee Dixon, Dermot Murnaghen, Ned Boulting), I didn’t know who the celebrities were, although that may say more about me than anything else… A good idea, though – maybe next year get Boris and Ken to get involved, add a bit of local colour and create a budding sporting rivalry.
But the main event was always going to be the final stage of the Tour of Britain. On a pan-flat stage, no-one was likely to make a race-winning break big enough to take the gold jersey, but that didn’t mean it was a dull affair, Pete Williams and Angel Madrazo joining a six man break in a frenzied battle to take the points jersey, the Spaniard taking it to add to his mountains jersey when Williams was DQ’d from a sprint for some overly lively riding. Inevitably however, the pack hunted them down and despite a late and valiant dash for glory from Alex Dowsett, it was all about the sprint, and there was only ever going to be one winner there, Mark Cavendish rocketing to his third stage victory. With Sir Bradley following him safely home to seal the overall, Whitehall went nuts in celebration – which is not a phrase you’ll hear often!
It’s hard to see the tour in general and stage 8 in particular as anything other than an unparalleled success. Certainly, all day long the crowds were both full and vocally happy, whilst the results were what everyone wanted. But more than just being a showcase for the extraordinary talents of two of Britain’s brightest stars, riders who fly comparatively lower on the radar than Cav and Sir Brad also received rapturous welcomes, riders like Alex Dowsett, Dan Martin and Nairo Quintana. It was great to see that, not only were they recognised and their names known, people were genuinely happy to see them, regardless of nationality. A year on from the Olympics, it’s clear that cycling has as firm a place in the heart of the sporting nation as it has had for many years, and all the signs show that it’s here to stay. Happy days…
Huge thanks to Claire and all at Jaguar UK for their hospitality on a fantastic day #ToB2013 #ridelikeapro @JaguarUK
by Anna Magrath | Jul 8, 2013
As the riders have a well earned day off after a tough week and the two gruelling days in the Pyrenees we take a look at some interesting figures compiled by our partners at RoadCyclingUK.
Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas fractured his hip on the first stage of the 2013 Tour de France but has refused to quit.
Such displays of courage are the norm for professional cycling, despite the unimaginable challenge of racing for three weeks.
Do the stars of other sports have it easy by comparison, and reap greater rewards?
When Andy Murray stepped on to Centre Court at Wimbledon, he was playing for a £1.6m pay cheque. If Chris Froome wins the Tour de France, he will collect €450,000.
Thomas tweeted recently on the £23,000 prize money given to players who exit Wimbledon after the first round, joking that his girlfriend should attend the local tennis court.
We compare the prize money offered to the riders of the Tour de France and the players at Wimbledon, it’s certainly an eye opener.
The Pain and the glory has a real fly-on-the-wall feel to it. Although it does leave one or two crucial question unasked – as you’d expect from an internally employed team of professional journalists. The book rally excels in the unusual layers of detail about each and every stage. All supplemented beautifully by the Scott Mitchell’s sublime photography and enriched by input from the all the main protagonists – Wiggin’s, Froome, Uran, Thomas (he of the fractured pelvis in stage 1… This man is one tough dude!), Stannard, et al. It also allows an insight into to the oft hidden, but absolutely vital, work of the mechanics, medical staff, cooks and families.
This is the very official account of a tumultuous yet ultimately successful year in the life of one of the leading professional road cycling teams. Kudos to Sarah Edwards for generating such a flowing narrative.
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