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Another Year, the Same Old Tour de France So Far

Maybe the title of this article is a bit of a generalization, but at the same time, the 2017 edition is starting to blend in with the tours of years past. Team Sky is dominating, not many people are challenging Chris Froome (Team Sky), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) lacks the creativity to win, and riders are still riding by the unwritten, old world rules. Fabio Aru (Astana) has taken the lead, but will it be enough to dethrone the defending champion?

There isn’t anything wrong with another Froome win. Team Sky is a dominant team. They have taken the USPS playbook and upped it with their marginal gains approach. They have a solid group of riders, just as Lance Armstrong had, and Froome knows how to control the field. As much as it pains me to watch him power up a climb out of the saddle, he genuinely is one of the top GC contenders.

On that note, not many people are trying to challenge him, and teams almost seem to be working to support Team Sky and Quick-Step for that matter. Aru seems to be one of the few riders that have been outspoken on their intent to challenge Froome and has. Aru is not willing to let Froome roll into Paris in yellow without a fight in the mountains and showed that by taking the lead after stage 12. I applaud that. Team Sky can be beaten. Roman Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) are also showing signs that they two can also made a bid for the overall win. It remains to be seen which team will have the support for their GC contender to keep them in the lead and bring them home to Paris.

The losers of this year’s GC race, in my opinion, are Quinatna and Dan Martin (Quick-Step). Quintana doesn’t seem to have the natural instinct to go for the overall win. That’s not based on this year’s your only. There have been times he has needed to attack over the years but continues to sit on wheels and wait. Until he finds this inspiration, I think the Tour is one race that will continue to allude him.

Martin, on the other hand, is one rider I want to see succeed, but this is just not his year. It’s frustrating to see him riding with such good form, yet is hindered by back luck and nostalgia of cycling’s unwritten rules. On stage 9, Martin was involved in that horrific crash with BMC’s Richie Porte. While Porte was taken away in an ambulance, Martin was able to continue. Rewind the stage a bit, and he was marshaling the riders in the yellow jersey group to slow and wait for Froome who was caught out with a mechanical. As Froome’s arm went up to show officials he wanted his team car, Aru seemed to take advantage of the situation and pulled away from the front of the group. Martin eventually caught the Italian national champion and convinced him to slow and wait for Froome. We are left to wonder what would have happened if everyone had taken advantage of the situation and made Froome and Team Sky have to work to chase the other contenders down.

This leads me to the unspoken rules of racing. We have seen it a number of times over the years. If the yellow jersey has a mechanical or a problem, riders will pull up and wait. Cycling is one of the only sports I have ever seen it in. I understand the idea of respecting the yellow jersey and making it about the rider, and not the equipment or circumstances. But why? Cycling is no different than auto racing. It is a team sport. It’s the riders, their equipment, their mechanics, and the team leaders, all working together. In NASCAR, if Kyle Larson blows a tire, Kevin Harvick is not going to stop the race or slow down the field so that Larson’s crew can swap wheels and get back to the front. In F1, Lewis Hamilton is not going to slow down if Sebastian Vettel is caught up in a crash with other riders not in the hunt for the overall championship. I think it is time to just race. If your equipment isn’t up to par, or you have bad luck, it is what it is.

With nine more stages, I am sure there is going to be more fireworks as the peloton rolls towards Paris. Stage 16 looks to be the next chance for a possible shake-up with the Col de la Croix, Col du Telegraphe, and Col du Galibier, but unfortunately, there is almost 30km of decent to Serre Chevalier. Stage 17 features the Col de Vars and the finish at Col d’ Izoard. With Stage 18 a day for the sprinters or a break, the Stage 19 22.5km time trial in Marseille looks like it will be the deciding factor of the race. If Aru is still in the maillot jaune going into stage 19, or Bardet or Uran have taken it away, they will all need to be in their best form in the race against the clock to take the jersey into Paris.

Now, if we can stop the final stage from being ceremonial and get the race officials to be a bit more consistent in their penalties (or lack thereof, looking at you Arnaud Demare) for irregular sprinting.

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