Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 10 - Abandonments

Amets Txurruka (Spa) (withdrawal Stage 9, fractured collarbone)
Ivan Murillo Velasco (Spa) (non-starter Stage 6, fractured collarbone)
Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) (withdrawal Stage 9, Fractured 3 ribs, Fx shoulder blade, collapsed lung)
Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) (withdrawal Stage 4, fractured collarbone)
Frederik Willems (Bel) (withdrawal Stage 9, fractured collarbone)
Juan Manuel Gárate Cepa (Spa) (non-starter Stage 9, shoulder pain, groin pain from Stage 5 crash)
David Zabriskie (USA) [American National Champion Time Trial] (withdrawal Stage 9, fractured wrist)
Christopher Horner (USA) (non-starter Stage 8, concussion, fractured nose)
Janez Brajkovic (Slo) (withdrawal Stage 5, concussion, fractured collarbone)
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) (non-starter Stage 10, fever)
Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) (withdrawal Stage 9, fractured femur, possible Fx hip)
Tom Boonen (Bel) (withdrawal Stage 7, concussion)
Bradley Wiggins (GBr) [British National Champion Road and Time Trial] (withdrawal Stage 7, fractured collarbone)
Rémi Pauriol (Fra) (withdrawal Stage 7, fractured collarbone)
Christophe Kern (Fra) [French National Champion Time Trial] (withdrawal Stage 5, knee tendinitis)
Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) (outside time limit Stage 6)
Beñat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) (withdrawal Stage 8, fractured arm)
Pavel Brutt (Rus) (withdrawal Stage 9, crash)
Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) (non-starter Stage 10, poistive A sample doping from Stage 5 test)
Wout Poels (Ned) (withdrawal Stage 9, crash)
John Gadret (Fra)

These are the twenty-two cyclists who have so far abandoned the 2011 Tour de France. Some readers of this blog might have thought I too have abandoned; but no, I've just had an extended rest day.

Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 7 - Kraftwerk

Throughout this, the 98th edition of le Tour de France, I will be writing a daily despatch on some of the things that have combined to make this race one of the biggest, most celebrated and anticipated sporting shows on earth.

The Tour hasn't just inspired folk to get on a bike; it also inspired the German electronic band, Kraftwerk.  Their track, imaginatively titled Tour de France, was released in 1983. It reached number 22 on the UK charts and saw various versions released.

It's not to everyone's taste but it is about cycling!

Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 6 - 1924

Throughout this, the 98th edition of le Tour de France, I will be writing a daily (except yesterday) despatch on some of the things that have combined to make this race one of the biggest, most celebrated and anticipated sporting shows on earth.

Bottecchia

The 1924 Tour (which I mentioned in Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 5) was won by Ottavio Bottecchia who was the first Italian ever to do so. What's more, he was also the first cyclist to take the yellow jersey on stage one and keep it all the way through Paris.

Stage one was was a 381 km marathon (well, actually nine marathons if you want to be pedantic) from Paris to Le Havre. As such, the stage started at 1am. The Tour itself was also monstrously long at 5,425 kilometres (or 129 marathons to continue the use of this unusual unit of measure).

Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 5 - Henri Pélissier

Throughout this, the 98th edition of le Tour de France, I will be writing a daily despatch on some of the things that have combined to make this race one of the biggest, most celebrated and anticipated sporting shows on earth.

A common hypothetical in cycling circles asks what could have been for Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali? How many races would these two great Italians have won if it weren't for WWII? For considering both cyclists had their careers interrupted by the war, that there would have been many more wins cannot be doubted. So, the hypothetical is, how many?

Bartali and Coppi share a drink

A hypothetical you don't hear so often is, what could have been for Henri Pélissier? This is despite the fact that he too won many races either side of a great war. Maybe you don't hear it so often because his was WWI, which was shorter. Or perhaps it is actually because he just wasn't as good. Sure, he had an impressive palmarès with wins in the Giro di Lombardia, Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, Bordeaux-Paris, Paris-Brussels, Paris-Tours and the Vuelta al País Vasco. But despite various stage victories and podium finishes, he was only able to win one Grand Tour, the 1923 Tour de France.

Compare this to Bartali and Coppi, who shared eleven Grand Tours, and Pélissier's record looks somewhat lacking. So maybe that's why there's no Pélissier hypothetical getting bandied round at bike-geek parties.

Catherine Deveny Interview

I recently had the pleasure of having a good chat with Melbourne writer, comedian and social commentator, Catherine Deveny. She is an avid commuter cyclist, what she terms "walking with wheels", and those familiar with her will not be surprised that she has some strong views on various topics related to bikes.

Catherine enjoys the wind in her hair

So without further ado, I present to you one opinionated, informed and ready-to-talk Catherine Deveny.

Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 4 - 1948

Bobet chats with the Pope

The great Italian, Gino Bartali entered the 1948 Tour for the first time since he won it a full decade earlier. After twelve stages of racing, it didn't look like he would repeat his victory, as he languished over 21 minutes behind the leader, Frenchman Louison Bobet.

Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 3 - 1989

Throughout this, the 98th edition of le Tour de France, I will be writing a daily despatch on some of the things that have combined to make this race one of the biggest, most celebrated and anticipated sporting shows on earth.

Fignon and LeMond

With Contador losing 80 seconds to his main rivals on stage 1, there is already talk that he may have lost the Tour. And indeed, if he happens to lose by less than 80 seconds, all will look to the events that occurred between the Passage du Gois and Mont des Alouettes.

In most walks of life, 80 seconds isn't all that much. In cycling, it's heaps. Indeed, it was one tenth of that amount that separated Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond in the 1989 Tour after three weeks of racing. This 8 second time difference still stands as the closest Tour de France ever.

Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 2 - Jacques Anquetil

Throughout this, the 98th edition of le Tour de France, I will be writing a daily despatch on some of the things that have combined to make this race one of the biggest, most celebrated and anticipated sporting shows on earth.

Jacques Anquetil was the closest thing to a rock star the cycling world has ever seen. So close, in fact, that he probably would put a few rock stars to shame if he'd ever had the chance. There were women, mansions, speed boats and benders. His biography, Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape, as well as being an excellent read, has to be one of the great titles of all time (I'm a big fan of a good pun).

He openly admitted both to doping and racing bikes for solely financial reasons. This second assertion is perhaps confirmed by the fact that he only rode a bike three times after his retirement in December, 1969.

Tour legends and legends of the tour; stage 1 - 1903

Throughout this, the 98th edition of le Tour de France, I will be writing a daily despatch on some of the things that have combined to make this race one of the biggest, most celebrated and anticipated sporting shows on earth.

Yellow newspaper, yellow jersey.  No coincidence.

Today marks the beginning of what is invariably the biggest three weeks of racing for each and every one of the 198 starters. As such, I thought a good place to start would be the beginning...

Northside Wheelers

Northside Wheelers is a bike shop unlike most.  Malachi Moxon, the owner and operator, runs the operation out of a small space on Greville St., Prahran.  For those familiar with both Melbourne and cardinal directions, you're probably asking, "Why northside?"  There are two reasons for that and both relate to Malachi's geographical roots; firstly, he heralds from Yorkshire, a fact his accent reveals, and more recently, he calls the north of Melbourne home.