I must admit, I was hoping for tears on the podium. Not “full Winslet” perhaps, but a quiver in the … More
Category: Vuelta Espana 2018
Vuelta Espana Stage 20: home sweet home for Simon Yates
Today, at La Vuelta, Simon Yates was on home turf. On the small handful of days each year when he’s … More
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 19: monkey murder
The simplicity of stage nineteen appealed to me. From the start in yesterday’s finish town of Lleida, the roads rolled … More
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 18: will-they-won’t-they…
With a few hundred to go Sagan launched a hail Mary sprint to bridge the gap. Meanwhile Wallays got the jump on Bystrom. A seething peloton’s worth of fast finishers gasped and snorted just behind.
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 17: the Vuelta-o-meter
If you ever find yourself with exactly sixty minutes in which to demonstrate the Vuelta Espana to a complete novice, … More
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 16: the TT party
As anyone who has been watching this year’s Vuelta Espana will know, Simon Yates is managing to lead the race … More
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 15: the dingers on the donga
There’s a church at the bottom of the climb: the Basílica de Santa María la Real de Covadonga. As the riders skirted past it I felt sure that Carlton Kirby, Eurosport commentator extraordinaire, would make reference to it. That the riders might be wise to offer a prayer before the climb. That divine intervention might be handy. Instead, he fixated on the two massive bell-towers.
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 14: suspicious levels of Los Lobos
As he attacked in the final kilometre or so I carefully monitored his cadence. His legs were spinning quickly. Wasting no time, I instinctively clicked on Apple music, streamed La Bamba by Los Lobos, and had my suspicions confirmed. Yates’s legs were spinning at the exact RPM of that 1987 hit single.
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 13: from zero to hero
While silky Polish climber Rafal Majka and Belgian Dylan Teuns eyed each other up for the race win Rodriguez spun up from behind, spun level, and then spun away off into the distance. For a guy who’s never won a bike race before, he sure seems to know how to win a bike race.
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 12: he’s not the messiah…etc. etc.
In that horribly cynical, know-it-all way that modern humans have, the very moment he crossed the line to bag a surprise lead in this Vuelta Espana we said: “He won’t win the race though….”
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 11: a final grimace
There are days when you watch bike racing on the TV and it looks like a bit of a jolly. … More
Vuelta Espana 2018 Stage 10: the Royal Owl of Fermoselle
Today, stage ten, really was about as flat as the Vuelta Espana gets. Having said that the organisers still couldn’t … More
