Saturday, July 27, 2024

Le Tour de France 2014 – Stage 3; Cambridge – London, 159 km. Kittel’s Second

-

HomeRaceRace ReviewsLe Tour de France 2014 - Stage 3; Cambridge - London, 159...

Tour+de+France+logoTwo riders away all day from kilometre zero, they get caught with six K to go, Giant dominates the finale, Kittel wins.

And that was that – but ah, yes, it did rain for the finish.

I guess the boys deserve a bit of R & R after yesterday’s mini-Ardennes death race – but a two man break holding the 194 man peloton off until they could almost hear the finish flag flapping ?

But as they say in the USA; ‘KUDOS’ to Bideau and Barta showing those Pro Tour wheels suckers how it’s done.

Barta is Czech time trial champion and as hard as they come – his efforts got him on the podium as most aggressive rider of the day.

And his team mate and ex-Condor man, Zak Dempster took 11th in the madness of that gallop – so not a bad day at all for NetApp-Endura.

The break was let go without much of a fight by the peloton. Photo©Eurosport.fr
The break was let go without much of a fight by the peloton. Photo©Eurosport.fr

Bretagne-Seche Environnement also ‘honoured the race’ through Bideau’s efforts with Barta and by placing former flyer and now on the comeback trail from illness, Roman Feilu in the top ten.

I used to like Feillu’s sprinting – the man was patently deranged.

But Kittel is a straight line drag racer and a mightily impressive one – and so is his team with Degenkolb in particular putting in a massive, leg ripper of a turn in the finale.

Kittel's Second
Kittel takes his second stage in a straight gallop. Photo©Eric Feferberg

Sagan again showed his intelligence; he knows that Kittel is quicker and there’s no way he can beat him in a drag race so he latched on to the German’s wheel and stayed there – not even thinking about coming off it.

Good to see Coquard racing aggressively with the slight Frenchman and his Europcar equipiers not afraid to mix it with the Giant giants on their Giants – sorry.

Kittel's Second
Bryan Coquard. Photo©TeamEuropcar.

Massive crowds again and I must admit that the Media has caught Tour Fever with The Times even giving the race a ‘wrap’ today (Monday).

It’ll be interesting to see how the coverage goes after tomorrow’s stage, ‘back ont t’other side’t Channel.’

As a matter of interest, I asked our Euro Pundit, Ivan what the word is on the Tour in Britain on the Belgian Velo Forums – which I might and are not inhabited by Trolls but serious students of the sport:

“The minority, maybe a dozen guys, mostly Dutch, who are pro-mondialiation, think it was very good.

“The majority are against mondialisation and think it’s all about commerce triumphing, and there is no real depth to the interest in Velosport in the UK.

“The GB interest wasn’t really about cycling, more about the Tour as a mega sporting event, which happens to be cycling, a jolly day out at a mega sporting event rather than interest in cycling for its own sake.

“You have that general purpose interest in le Tour in France too, but the cultural roots in France are a century deep, in GB it’s more AstroTurf, shipped in, laid and taken up again.”

A good way to put it…

Greg Lemond clunked his way through his slot again – and I could hear almost the keys on ‘outraged of Chipping Sodbury’s’ laptop clacking as he expressed his dismay at an ‘evil doper’ like Vinokourov being allowed to share the same good Yorkshire air as an all American hero like Greg Lemond.

Check out Vino’s palmarès sometime – nobody could take that much kit over all those years and still look so healthy.

Nibali, Contador and Froome all kept well to the fore on the run in, with Tinkoff’s answer to a battle hardened marine sergeant, Matteo Tosatto spending a lot of time on the front line inspiring his troops.

And on the subject of battles – let’s look two days ahead to the pave of Northern France.

Kittel's Second
Cancellara is looking forward to the cobbles. Photo©TrekFactory

Now, here’s the thing – the man who’s happy to refer to himself as the leader of a slave revolt in ancient Rome; but who’s actually one of the highest paid riders in the sport has announced that he’s going to, ‘give it laldy’ over the cobbles – ‘every man for himself’ and all of that.

Did I imagine said short sword bearing sandal wearer being the man who called a truce due to ‘dangerous road conditions’ back in 2010 whilst clad in yellow?

Ah, but yes, I forgot, he had GC guys on his team then and his team mates, the Schlecks were way back and in danger of losing any GC hopes before the Tour had really begun.

To jog your grey matter, check out what we said at the time… some people have short memories.

Maybe I’ll find that L’Équipe tomorrow…

A demain.

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

Related Articles

Le Tour de France 2009 – Stage 15: Pontarlier > Verbier, 207.5km

We finished in Verbier today, but first, a little diversion; I've always admired Bradley Wiggins as a pursuiter, but as a roadman, he's never cut the mustard; the cycling saddo's bible, 'Velo' doesn't lie.

Le Tour de France 2017 – Stage 12: Pau – Peyragudes, 214.5km. Bardet confirms and Aru goes Yellow!

It wasn’t until inside the last kilometre at Peyragudes that the drama really unfolded; Bardet confirms, as does Aru, Froome cracks a little, Quintana cracks A LOT and much as it pains me; ‘one season too many, Bert!’ And Bennett and Martin impress, especially the latter who’s carrying injuries from that horrible crash with Porte on Sunday.

Il Giro d’Italia 2014 – Stage 2; Belfast, 218 km. Marcel Kittel a Class Apart

Cannondale, F des J, Giant, Greenedge, Sky, Trek - they all tried to take control in the finale in Belfast in Stage Two on Saturday. But none could. It's not until you see a situation like we did in Belfast that you realise just how good Mario Cipollini's Acqua Sapone and Cav's HTC trains really were. In the event, it was irrelevant; Kittel was in a different league. He was way back and would usually have been out of it but turned left, found clear road, turned on the boosters and left the others scrabbling for the placings.

Scottish 10 Mile Time Trial Championship 2008

On a Sunday morning as close to perfect as we'll get in Scotland, Arthur Doyle (Dooleys) did what most people had expected and took the Scottish ten mile championship over the A811, Kippen Flats, equalling Graeme Obree's 20-13 course record. If Arthur's first time trial championship win went to form, then the destination for rest of the medals was much less predictable.

At Random

Alan McCormack – Part Two; Building a Successful Career in the USA

In Part One of our interview with former Irish Champion, Alan McCormack we covered his junior days, his seasons as a pro in the UK with Carlton-Weinmann and in Belgium with Old Lords-Splendor then his introduction to the 80’s US scene. By seasons ‘83 and ‘84 he was a fixture on the US race scene...

Adam Hansen – 20 Quick Questions

For once, Adam Hansen isn't burning up the tar at the Aussie champs, he's off shore in the Med, getting ready to try and help HTC-Columbia top a remarkable 2009 season. Worried that he may be getting bored, VeloVeritas flashed him 20 questions - here's what the big man had to say...

The VV View: What are the Odds? Team Sky, Brad and Dave Millar

I hope you all had a good Xmas; Viktor didn't - but that shouldn't surprise us. He did make a good point though - namely that Sky are well behind with their training camps; all of the big squadra have had one, if not two camps already. From a fitness and bonding point of view the digital vision guys are behind the eight ball already; it'll be interesting to see if that makes a difference come flag dropping time.

GP de Saint-Dié and Bigger Thighs; James McKay Blog

Grand Prix de Saint-Dié-des-Vosges My latest antics in the gym meant that my quads have got too big for my (non-cycling) shorts, which resulted...