Ahhh, what a day! One of the hardest days of the Tour, stage 11 finishes in Briancon, in teh middle of the Alps, after heading up the slopes of the Col de la Madeleine, the Col du Telegraphe and then straight into the Col du Galibier for a total of 54.9km of cat 1 and hors categorie climbing at no less than 6.1%. There's plenty of Tour history in these mountains, and the legendary status of all three cols has been the x-factor in victory for many Tour champions. It's a day made for those who can climb and descend fearlessly, and with his recent run of great form and support from the likes of Ullrich and Kloeden, Vinokourov could give Lance a real run for his money, much like 2003; it was at this stage two years ago that the Kazakh made his push for the lead. Young riders such as Michael Rogers and Alejandro Valverde are expected to excel in this kind of environment - Rogers is a proven Tour finisher, whilst Valverde is untested over the tough three weeks in France, so anything could happen. This day will most likely separate the real GC contenders from the rest, as the selection for the final week is made and the remainder of the peloton hangs tough to weather the storm.
-
UCI awards 2032 Road World Championships to Pune, India
Drenthe, Netherlands wins bid for 2034 Road Worlds -
Two years on from Muriel Furrer's death, GPS trackers still haven't been introduced to cycling – Why teams can't agree, and what's next
As the UCI fails to introduce GPS tracking mandate, Cyclingnews takes a deep dive into the GPS tracking issue, hearing from Velon, the CPA, riders and more about what the issue is and what the next steps are -
CRO Race: Carl-Frederik Bévort takes surprise first pro win in stage 2 sprint finish
Nicolas Gojković finishes second with Jaun Sebastián Molano retaining the overall lead in third -
'Changes call for a different governance and leadership' – CEO Fran Millar leaves premium kit manufacturer Rapha
More cost-cutting and management changes on the way at British brand
