In the 2010 Tour de France, we saw plenty of drama including crashes, cobbles, hills, and headbutts, as well as mechanical problems and controversial attacks. Some of the favorites left the race, and others saw their dreams of a podium finish fade away. As we look back on the overall outcome of this epic event, the question arises: as they head home for a much-needed rest, are the riders generally more or less exhausted than they were at this point last year? Which Tour de France was harder, 2010 or 2009?
The final mountain stage of the 2010 Tour de France was already designed to be incredibly challenging, with 3 high mountain passes in the Pyrenees, each one harder than the last. Add in the fact that the top two riders in the race were separated by only 8 seconds at the start of the day, and Stage 17 became one of the hardest rides the Tour has ever seen. Exactly how hard is that? Read on to find out!
In another exciting day at the Tour de France, Team Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck rode his way to the yellow jersey in a dominating performance that included amazing support from team mates like Chris Anker Sorensen, who rode at an average of over 300 watts for 6 hours. With numbers like that for Chris, just imagine what Andy did! Will this be the hardest stage of this year's Tour? View power data and analysis of all the stages so far, sign up for a free training account from RoadCycling.com, and read on for more.
As one of the more experienced stars of Team RadioShack, Jose Luis "Chechu" Rubiera has seen many changes in the world of professional cycling, not least when it comes to nutrition. In this exclusive interview, he tells Simon Burch how refuelling once meant munching on fruit - and why he has to dodge flying bars at feed stations.
Doctor Asplund Answers
In our new column Chad Asplund, MD and Sports medicine physician at the Ohio State University will answer questions from Roadcycling.com readers about cycling injuries, healing and prevention.
Jun 19, 2009 - 3:56:50 AM
Neck and Back Pain in Cycling
Neck and back pain are very common in cycling. Many riders experience occasional or recurrent neck and back pain related to their riding.
Apr 9, 2009 - 2:25:06 AM
Keep the Fitness You've Earned
One of the biggest crimes in human performance is the willful loss of the fitness gains made during the course of the season; and it’s about time you stopped the cycle.
Oct 6, 2007 - 9:01:44 AM
Climbing to the Top
Climbing can be one of the toughest yet most enjoyable aspects of road cycling.
Aug 16, 2007 - 9:32:18 AM
Warm Up for Time Trials and Criteriums
You have put in hours of training on the bike; you have the equipment and the bike dialed in to the very last detail. Arriving at your peak race time trial or criterium, you start your usual warm-up, not quite sure what to do for a proper warm up.
Jul 23, 2007 - 9:13:48 AM
Sleep Your Way to Better Performance
Here's an experiment in thought: what do you think happens when you look at the reported sleep patterns of a high-powered CEO versus that of an elite athlete?
Mar 24, 2007 - 5:56:28 AM
Super Charge Your Virility
Unless you do something about it, testosterone levels begin to fall once you reach your mid-30s.
Feb 27, 2007 - 6:00:45 AM
Cyclocross Training and Racing
Cyclocross, or cross, is beauty in motion, a skill-building workout and good old-fashioned fun. The beauty is how the riders gracefully flow from bike to road, and then effortlessly back on the bike again, making the transitions look much easier than they are.
Oct 14, 2006 - 11:48:28 AM
Inspiration Trumps Motivation Every Time
Given the choice of who I’d rather coach, I’d take one inspired athlete over 10 motivated ones.
Aug 10, 2006 - 11:15:22 AM
