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Kenny Pryde went to the Tour of Poland to see what was next for Bradley Wiggins’s career
It is 31 degrees in Krakow’s Rynek Glowny, the medieval market square packed with spectators enjoying the Tour of Poland. Inside a PVC tent that doubles as an interview space, it’s several degrees warmer than that. Although he had crossed the finish line an hour earlier, having won the 37km time trial, sweat is still trickling down Bradley Wiggins’ neck as he faces the Polish media.
Astonishingly, it was Wiggins’ first win since the London Olympic Games time trial in Hampton Court almost exactly a year earlier. From a golden throne to a sweaty tent, a year is a long time in sport.
Wiggins had put almost a minute into Fabian Cancellara, his RadioShack rival, in a testing hilly-then-flat time trial that concluded the Tour of Poland. It had been a hell of a performance and one that shocked the Swiss rider. In another smaller tent, still peeling his yellow skinsuit off, ephemeral race leader Christophe Riblon turns to Cancellara, “Did you win the stage then?” The Swiss raises his eyebrows, “No, Wiggins… by a minute.”
Riblon’s eyes widen in surprise as Cancellara nods a resigned ‘Yes, I know.’ Had Cancellara just seen the writing on the wall for months to come? Wiggins his new time trial nemesis? If Wiggins is to abandon general classifications and concentrate on winning time trial stages and titles, had Cancellara just seen the future?
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What’s behind the success of the Colombian riders this year? Klaus Bellon looks at what’s happening in South America that has produced this latest generation
Like others in the pro peloton during the 1980s, Pedro Delgado couldn’t figure out how Colombia’s relatively unknown riders were capable of such amazing climbing feats. He wondered if the chunks of panela — the unrefined, highly caramelised sugary snack that Colombian riders brought with them to Europe — had something to do with it. Such was Delgado’s curiosity that he once asked Patrocinio Jimenez, who was a mainstay in early Café De Colombia teams, if he could have a piece of this foreign substance that no one in Europe was able to identify. Jimenez obliged, and the Spaniard bit down on the rock-hard piece of panela. He nearly lost a tooth to his naiveté.
Delgado’s curiosity had got the better of him, but he was not alone in his efforts to understand why Colombian riders excelled at a sport that had flourished in continental Europe almost exclusively. That curiosity remains today, as Colombian professionals retain a certain mystique, due in great part to how little most people know about Colombia itself.
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Marcel Kittel was the sensation of this year’s Tour de France. Sophie Smith followed the Argos Shimano team throughout the race to see what made the difference
It’s dusk in Paris and a crowd has gathered around the Argos-Shimano team bus parked 400m down from the finish line of the centenary Tour de France. Flutes have been placed on two high tables outside the bus but the champagne is on ice until Marcel Kittel gets back.
Kittel has just defeated Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) and Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to claim his fourth stage victory of the race and for the first time in his career finish a Grand Tour.
Koen de Kort is outside doing interviews under mobile camera lights as a collective voice emanates from inside the bus. “Tika-taka-tika-taka,” comes the victory cry the team initially chanted three weeks prior, when Kittel won the opening stage in Corsica and with it the first yellow, green and white jersey of the race. The inside of the bus is illuminated and on one of its televisions is a replay of the finish on the famed home straight, which the 25-time Tour stage winner Cavendish has, until now, never lost on.
“Cavendish is dead, all hail Kittel,” rallies a spectator standing nearby, as team cars navigate the temporary parking compound.
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Cycle Sport October 2013: Contents
Focus: Best photography from the world of cycling
Riblon’s bike: Close-up look at the bike that won on Ale d’Huez
Team of the month: CS’s fantasy team from the last month of racing
The Vicar of Nibali: Cycling mad church where the bike is worshipped
Racing by numbers: CS’s resident statistician reviews the month
We love Eneco: The week-long race is an ideal antidote to post-Tour blues
Objects of desire: This month we’re mostly lusting over tubs and helmets
Graham Watson: Graham tells us why he’ll miss the Euskaltel riders and fans
Thomas on the mend: Dog walks in Monaco: how Geraint’s TdF R&R went down
Any questions? We speak to Jakob Fuglsang
Cortisone comeback: Why it’s within the rules to take this potent drug
Don’t go Wiggo: Will Sir Bradley really turn his back on the wonderful world of road racing just for a piece of gold?
Non-stop Froome: Tour champs don’t take is easy in August; there is lots of money to be made
King Kittel: How the big German stole Mark Cavendish’s sprint crown at the Tour de France this year
Colombians on top: Klaus Bellon looks at why the South American riders are back on top
Class of ’98: The lies and deceit have caught up with some of the big names (again)
The talent factory: Why so many pros start out in the Bontrager team
Pro spec bikes: Something pretty to look at
Gimondi’s beautiful Bianchi: A vintage vision in celeste
Retro photo exclusive: Stars of the 60s on the Isle of Man
Moment in time: The day when Bernard Hinault smiled
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