The 2021 Tour de France race route was released last month and thus begins the excitement of that 3 week long event that anyone who knows what a bicycle is ends up watching at least 1 stage. It’s a morning ritual for me. Get my coffee, put on the TV and watch the stage. With the pandemic keeping me at home for my job (fortunate, I am aware of that) I get to watch the whole stage and I don’t have to wait to watch the evening replay. It’s a time when I think I can hop on my bike and ride….90 miles like their stages. When I eventually stand up, I’m reminded that at one time I might’ve been able to clip out a 30 miler, reality is that I’d be lucky to make it around the block.
Cycling is a sport of teamwork. We only hear about the winner, be it stage, mountain, sprinter or the coveted overall winner. But without a core team around top riders, winning the overall is pretty much out of the question. Take, for example, Mark Cavendish. He is number 2 on the list for all-time stage wins at the Tour de France, winning 30. But he’s never won the overall. 2020 almost saw him retire as he was frustrated with no top-10 finishes in 2020 riding for Bahrain McLaren. But, racing is in his blood and Mark is back with a previous team, one in which he had success with, Deceuninck-Quick Step. There was no team around him to support him. See, teams need to have a few solid components to get their leader to the finish line. Each team leader works with 8 other riders, called “domestiques”. These riders have no chance to win but their role is critical. They ride in front of the leader and set pacing, start break aways to draw contenders out, all set up to help their leader maintain energy and finish high enough to wear the yellow jersey and win the overall. It’s estimated that leaders can save between 20-40% of their energy during a long event. That’s pretty important when there are 1,000 foot climbs and sprints down hills for 23 days. Chris Fromme had the perfect team in 2017 with Team Sky. Each teammate had their role, each one knew their role was to protect and help Chris win. This was his 4th Tour de France victory with the team.
So what does 2021 have in store? Many riders have changed teams, with Fromme moving to UCI WorldTeam Israel Start-Up. A team has been built around him, but will it be enough for him to claim #5? Jumbo-Visma has two potential winners, Primoz Roglič (SLO) and Steven Kruijswijk (NED). Trek-Segafredo also have a pair that could take the overall victory, Bauke Mollema (NED) and Vincenzo Nibali (ITA). But the core UAE Team Emirates team around Tadej Pogačar (SLO) is mainly intact and stronger this year. Last year he won the tour as a snatch-and-grab but this year I suspect he will be more dominant.
If we look at the warm up event, Itzulia Basque Country in Spain (the 13th race of the 2021 world tour), we have to go with Roglič who won it all. This isn’t too far fetched. Pogačar finished 3rd overall, over 1 minute behind Roglič, but most notable is that the mountain stages were won by Roglič where Pogačar typically dominates him. Team Jumbo-Visma also was the top team. So are things lining up for Roglič to take the pinnacle cycling event? It’s possible, very possible.
I still have my money on Pogačar though. I think his team is strong and they seemed to be working out strategies as a team during the Itzulia Basque Country. He won last year because Roglič ran out of juice on the 22nd day’s Time Trial. I’m sure he learned from that mistake. 2,000 miles in 23 days is a long stretch to try to maintain energy so if Roglič can keep it maintained, I see a very close overall. This year’s event is geared towards stronger, more powerful riders. So you can’t rule out Geraint Thomas who is an incredible at time trials, can climb well and is comfortable in cross winds. Tao Geoghegan Hart, Adam and Simon Yates also have a chance to win, or at least make it interesting.
The race will be fun AND fast this year. So sit back with your coffee, tea or beer and enjoy the show.
Time Out With Jenn & Lisa 