all words by Mike Franchetti
The 2021 Tour de France was so good that it was actually pretty dull. Some moments were so perfect that they were actually almost boring. There were so many heroes that we began hoping to unearth a villain. The best four riders in the world all won at least one stage. All four of them
Only romantics imagined that the mess uncovered at the 1998 Tour de France would have disappeared by the turn of the century, and the crooked doping programs which defined the era have impacted the image of pro cycling forever. Yes, the Tour de France in the early 2000s was a mess; but we can’t forget
Egan Bernal is the Tour de France favourite and – at 2/1 – he could be huge value. He’s the best pure climber at a Tour crafted for pure climbers. He’s riding for the team who has delivered six of the last seven victories and who – debuting the Ineos guise – can boast one
As a result of an increased workload away from Just Pro Cycling (in the real world), I decided against daily previews for La Grand Boucle. I also decided to move away from a traditional chunk-by-chunk preview extravaganza in favour of this post; twenty one wild predictions for each Tour de France stage…made far, far too
They say a picture speaks a thousand words. I say that 500 is a more accurate figure: The two faces dominating this photo carry entirely different expressions. Wearing the Dauphine’s inverted polka dots is a rider with innocence and arrogance in equal measure. He’s unzipped, unleashed, and unaware of the hatred being stared into his
They say a picture speaks a thousand words. I say that 500 is a more accurate figure. In this series, I’ll be taking a photo from cycling history, dissecting it, rewinding, and telling the story. Where better to start a photo-themed series than a 1999 Alpe d’Huez stage, remembered for the bad choices of a
For any regular cycling fan, stage 9 of the 2016 Giro d’Italia was an introduction to Primoz Roglic. An exciting 40km time-trial in Chianti was rain soaked and the conditions heavily favoured the early starters. Roglic, who had started in the opening hour, held top spot for much of the afternoon and took the win.
The final week of the Tour de France is a time where absolutely anything could happen. Or absolutely nothing. We could see a continuation of the Alps – Sky squashing Movistar, Dumoulin digging in – or something completely different. Will our race leader hang on? Will the Giro take its toll? Just how bad will
Just Pro Cycling 