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Authors: John Deering
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for six whole
days, especially during quiet periods in the racing. It’s much more fun then. My season had ended and I was kicking back a bit . . . I won’t go into detail, I look bad enough as it
is.’
Wiggins’s success has not come as a surprise to his old teammate.
‘No, not at all. From day one he was different gravy. And he just loved it so much. He was a pleasure to be around. I know I’ll be telling young kids in my shop in years to come
about how I used to ride with Bradley Wiggins. Well, if I’m honest, I’m already doing it. And telling them how Sturge used to pull Brad’s pants down when he wasn’t
looking.’
Illingworth had a great career that he can look back upon with pride: an Olympian, a Commonwealth Games medallist, a host of World Championship appearances and stage wins and podium places on
the track and on the road all over the globe. Even now, though he may try to give the impression of being an old soak in an armchair, the antipodean Brit has a formidable record as an Ironman
triathlete. But the buzz he gets out of seeing Bradley Wiggins bossing it at the Tour de France is as good as anything he got from his racing career.
‘I get a bit emotional, to be honest. When you see him sweating up a big mountain, digging in and holding all those other guys who’re trying to spit him out, and he’s just
saying to them, “I’m still here.” In the time trials these days, he’s unbelievable. So smooth, so powerful, it’s a shock if he doesn’t win. I’ve known him
for such a long time, seen him grow from a boy into a man and become a global superstar, but he hasn’t changed one bit. He’s a bit of a geezer who happens to be the best bike rider in
the world. And that’s not a bad thing to be, is it?’
STAGE 6:
Épernay–Metz, 207.5km
Friday, 6 July 2012
Cadel Evans’s triumph in becoming the first Australian Tour de France winner a year ago was all the more impressive for those he beat. The two dominant riders of recent
tours are Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador, and Evans managed to put both to the sword.
Andy Schleck would have been favourite to win this new edition of the world’s greatest bike race if he’d been here. The Luxembourger has a similar build to Bradley Wiggins: over six
feet tall but slim enough to be described as painfully thin at anywhere but a bike race. He has reached Paris in second place three times, despite still being only 27. One of those results was
upgraded to the status of champion after the winner was found to have cheated. More on that later . . .
Schleck has always been a popular rider, largely due to the attacking style that always sees him jumping up the road in the mountains. It’s not just the mountains either: he won a
memorable victory in the world’s oldest classic, Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking early in the race and riding away from the strongest of fields. His relationship
with his older brother Frank is also a fascination for fans, the two of them flanking Evans on the final podium in Paris last year. One school of thought says that the support the two men show each
other adds up to a powerful weapon that is worth more than the sum of its parts. Others claim that Andy could make his big attacks stick a bit better if he wasn’t so worried about dropping
his brother along with his rivals.
One thing is certain about Andy Schleck: he is awful at time trialling. Needing to finish within 57 seconds of Cadel Evans to secure victory at the 42km time trial that was the last stage before
the procession along the Champs-Élysées, he contrived to lose a staggering two and a half minutes in less than an hour of racing. Given that the three attributes needed to win the
Tour de France are habitually given as: a) ability to climb, b) ability to time trial, and c) ability to ride for three weeks without a bad day, it is astonishing to find a champion who is so poor
at one of them. His great ability lies in the hills and
days, especially during quiet periods in the racing. It’s much more fun then. My season had ended and I was kicking back a bit . . . I won’t go into detail, I look bad enough as it
is.’
Wiggins’s success has not come as a surprise to his old teammate.
‘No, not at all. From day one he was different gravy. And he just loved it so much. He was a pleasure to be around. I know I’ll be telling young kids in my shop in years to come
about how I used to ride with Bradley Wiggins. Well, if I’m honest, I’m already doing it. And telling them how Sturge used to pull Brad’s pants down when he wasn’t
looking.’
Illingworth had a great career that he can look back upon with pride: an Olympian, a Commonwealth Games medallist, a host of World Championship appearances and stage wins and podium places on
the track and on the road all over the globe. Even now, though he may try to give the impression of being an old soak in an armchair, the antipodean Brit has a formidable record as an Ironman
triathlete. But the buzz he gets out of seeing Bradley Wiggins bossing it at the Tour de France is as good as anything he got from his racing career.
‘I get a bit emotional, to be honest. When you see him sweating up a big mountain, digging in and holding all those other guys who’re trying to spit him out, and he’s just
saying to them, “I’m still here.” In the time trials these days, he’s unbelievable. So smooth, so powerful, it’s a shock if he doesn’t win. I’ve known him
for such a long time, seen him grow from a boy into a man and become a global superstar, but he hasn’t changed one bit. He’s a bit of a geezer who happens to be the best bike rider in
the world. And that’s not a bad thing to be, is it?’
STAGE 6:
Épernay–Metz, 207.5km
Friday, 6 July 2012
Cadel Evans’s triumph in becoming the first Australian Tour de France winner a year ago was all the more impressive for those he beat. The two dominant riders of recent
tours are Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador, and Evans managed to put both to the sword.
Andy Schleck would have been favourite to win this new edition of the world’s greatest bike race if he’d been here. The Luxembourger has a similar build to Bradley Wiggins: over six
feet tall but slim enough to be described as painfully thin at anywhere but a bike race. He has reached Paris in second place three times, despite still being only 27. One of those results was
upgraded to the status of champion after the winner was found to have cheated. More on that later . . .
Schleck has always been a popular rider, largely due to the attacking style that always sees him jumping up the road in the mountains. It’s not just the mountains either: he won a
memorable victory in the world’s oldest classic, Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking early in the race and riding away from the strongest of fields. His relationship
with his older brother Frank is also a fascination for fans, the two of them flanking Evans on the final podium in Paris last year. One school of thought says that the support the two men show each
other adds up to a powerful weapon that is worth more than the sum of its parts. Others claim that Andy could make his big attacks stick a bit better if he wasn’t so worried about dropping
his brother along with his rivals.
One thing is certain about Andy Schleck: he is awful at time trialling. Needing to finish within 57 seconds of Cadel Evans to secure victory at the 42km time trial that was the last stage before
the procession along the Champs-Élysées, he contrived to lose a staggering two and a half minutes in less than an hour of racing. Given that the three attributes needed to win the
Tour de France are habitually given as: a) ability to climb, b) ability to time trial, and c) ability to ride for three weeks without a bad day, it is astonishing to find a champion who is so poor
at one of them. His great ability lies in the hills and
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