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It is surely appropriate that cyclingnews.com has garnered an 'exclusive' by having Robert Millar write for them during the current Tour de France. For only a few years ago the Scot had apparently become something of a hermit, happy to go about his daily existence without concern for the public face of modern professional cycle racing.
At the start of the season I wrote an open letter to the sport of road racing. The letter called for more 'panache' from racers: more daring, flamboyant exploits, more spirit and more risk-taking to excite us.
We are now half way through the 2011 season with the early races, classics and one grand tour already behind us. I thought it would be interesting to take stock and look back at the moments of panache that have inspired me so far this season.
JOAQUIM AGOSTINHO
Stage 17, Les Menuires - Alpe d'Huez, 1979
The Portugese puncheur completed the Tour de France 12 times and was one of the most feared racers of his era. In 1979, riding for the French Flandria team, he won the first of two stages (Joop Zoetemelk won the other) to finish atop Alpe d'Huez, one of the Tour's most notorious Hors Categorie climbs.
A predictable outcome in the end in Paris, yet a Tour de France to be savoured, especially for the French. Ironically, national interest in Le Tour from the French public is at its lowest for many years, perhaps a hangover from the dominance of Lance Armstrong in the 21st century and the lack of a French Tour winner for well over two decades. The riders and fans have been enduring what Graeme Fife refers to as a “crise morale” (see Rouleur no.12). Yet 2010 - the year where Mr. Armstrong takes a final floundering bow and is forced to remove his Livestrong jersey by A.S.O (he’s no Gérard Depardieu, after all) - is also the occasion where French riders stormed the race with some delightful attacking flair.
© Janet Pearch Photography
Good luck to every rider about to embark on what is surely one of the most epic Étape routes to date. Etapistes will be scaling the punishing gradients of the Marie Blanque, the Col du Soulor and the Giant of the Pyrenees, the Col du Tourmalet. With nearly 5000m of climbing and a distance of just under 180km, it will be a punishing yet beautiful tribute to the centenary of the Pyrenees mountains' inclusion in the Tour de France. Bonne Chance.
Photo © Fotoreporter Sirotti
The performance of Sylvain Chavanel to re-take the yellow jersey on Saturday’s stage to Station des Rousses was quite brilliant. A man who fractured his skull after crashing into a team car during Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Frenchman is showing that panache is alive and Gallic. The fight between Portugal's Rui Alberto Costa and Spanish racer Carlos Barredo after this stage, which involved a carbon wheel, also showed us that the heat is really getting to some of the riders.
From the cobbles of Belgium to the loftiest peaks of the Pyrenees, this year’s Tour de France looks to be as gruelling and intriguing as ever. With expectations of Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins high, Armstrong approaching his final ever Tour, the Schleck bros preparing to fly in the mountains and Contador already polishing his podium shoes, we can expect a mouth-watering three weeks of racing.
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