Cafe Roubaix

2015 Tour de Suisse Stats

– Simon Spilak became the first ever Slovenian rider to win the race

– Slovenia is the 16th country to give an overall champion in the Tour de Suisse

– Same Spilak is the first rider since Levi Leipheimer, in 2011, to take the GC without scoring a success in a stage along the way

– Peter Sagan joined Ferdi Kübler and Hugo Koblet in an all-time stage wins classification, with 11 victories

– The Slovak also holds the record for the most points jerseys, five, all won in a row

– IAM Cycling’s Stefan Denifl became the first Austrian to win the mountains classification

– Tom Dumoulin took both individual time trials; not since Gerrie Knetemann (1979) a Dutch rider has managed to notch at least two stages at one edition

– Winner in Risch-Rotkreuz, Kristijan Durasek is the first Croatian cyclist to nab a World Tour success

– Gotthardpass featured in the race for the 37th time, thus extending its record in the history of the Tour de Suisse

– 120 riders have completed the race, the fewest since 2012

Tour de France roadbook

TdF roadbook

Eddy Merckx – a career in numbers

On the day the one they called “The Cannibal” turns 70, here’s a look back at his achievements.

– 11 Grand Tours: Giro d’Italia (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974), Tour de France (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974), Vuelta a España (1973)

– 64 stage wins in the Grand Tours

– Other important stage races: Paris-Nice (1969, 1970, 1971), Tour de Romandie (1968), Volta a Catalunya (1968), Tour of Belgium (1970, 1971), Critérium du Dauphiné (1971), Tour de Suisse (1974)

– 19 Monuments: Milan-Sanremo (1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976), Tour of Flanders (1969, 1975), Paris–Roubaix (1968, 1970, 1973), Liège–Bastogne–Liège (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975), Giro di Lombardia (1971, 1972)

– Other important one-day races: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (1971, 1973), Gent-Wevelgem (1967, 1970, 1973), Scheldeprijs (1972), Brabantse Pijl (1972), Flèche Wallonne (1967, 1970, 1972), Amstel Gold Race (1973, 1975), Coppa Agostoni (1970), Paris-Bruxelles (1973), Giro del Piemonte (1972), Giro dell’Emilia (1972), National Championships (1970)

– 3 World Titles: 1967 (Herleen), 1971 (Mendrisio), 1974 (Montreal)

– 525 victories on the road and on the track, as an amateur and as a pro

– Only rider to have won the general, the points, the mountains and the combativity classification at one edition of the Tour de France (1969)

– He is the cyclist who has scored the most victories in a season: 54

– Holds the record for the most Grand Tour wins (11) and most wins in a Monument (Milan-Sanremo, 7)

– He was the first rider to win the Triple Crown – Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and World Championships – in one season (1974)

Conclusions after the Criterium du Dauphiné

Things are looking good for Chris Froome ahead of the Tour de France. The 30-year-old hasn’t had an easy season so far, with just two early wins to his name (a stage and the overall standings in the Ruta del Sol), followed by some health problems which hampered his Spring races. But things turned around in June, once Froome took an impressive victory in the Criterium du Dauphiné – the last event he rode before the Grande Boucle – where he was clearly the best rider. After his 9th career triumph in a stage race, the Brit will start the Tour de France as the main favorite for the yellow jersey, but more important, he’ll not have the same question marks that have shred his confidence before last year’s edition, following his crash and poor GC results in the Dauphiné.

BMC’s Tejay van Garderen was upset after Sunday’s finale because he missed the victory for just ten seconds, but the US cyclist has reason to stay confident he can reach his goal in the Tour de France, where he hopes to get on the podium. Although he did not enter the Dauphiné as a big favorite, Van Garderen slowly began to show he’s in great shape, so that mid-way through the race everyone could see he was one one of the strongest cyclists out there. A smart rider, who knows when to go to the attack and when to play it safe, the 26-year-old made some significant progress in the past months and he is now headint towards the right direction, which can land him his best ever result in a Grand Tour.

For many, Simon Yates was the revelation of the race, but he isn’t a surprise anymore and people shouldn’t forget that the young Brit underlined his huge potential since he rode as a U23 in 2013 and won two stages in the Tour de l’Avenir. Last year, because of an injury, he stayed in the shadow of his twin brother Adam, but this didn’t stop him get a couple of strong results, which continued this season in 2015 with top 10 placings in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, the Tour de Romandie and the Criterium du Dauphiné, where he also secured the white jersey after a gutsy ride in the last two mountain stages. Just 22-year-old, Simon Yates will race his second Tour de France next month and he’ll surely be one to watch out for in the mountains, where he’ll fight for a victory.

Nacer Bouhanni came home safe and wrapped up the points classification at the end of a perfect week. The French sprinter arrived here with the precise goal of notching just a stage win, but he was the fastest in the flat days and that helped him produce two great sprints, which led to as many victories, his first in the World Tour this year. After taking the green jersey, Cofidis’ star cyclist will hope to carry these success and form in the Tour de France, There, hiss fearless attitude and high speed will certainly add some extra incentive to the sprints, where he’ll fight with the likes of Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan, Marcel Kittel, André Greipel and his former teammate Arnaud Démare, the man he still considers to be at fault for missing many opportunities during his spell with FDJ.

Alejandro Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali came 9th, respectively 12th at the end of the week-long stage race, minutes behind Chris Froome, but these results aren’t by all means worrisome, as it was obvious for everyone that neither hit top form for the Dauphiné, where they came just to tune up their shape before July. Actually, judging by the look of things, Valverde and Nibali took it easy in the mountains and played it smart, as they have just one goal in mind: the Tour de France, where they will start as two of the strongest riders in the pack, while also being somewhat of an unknown quantity for their rivals.

Tour de Suisse Stats

Historical stats

– Italy’s Pasquale Fornara has the most GC wins – 4 – scored between 1952 and 1958

– Fornara is also the rider with the most days in the leader’s jersey – 18

– The nation standings is led by Switzerland, which has 23 wins so far

– Only four cyclists from outside of Europe have won the race: Phil Anderson (Australia), Andy Hampsten (U.S.A.), Levi Leipheimer (U.S.A.) and Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazahstan)

– Pasquale Fornara has the most days in the leader’s jersey: 17

– In 1987, seven cyclists succeeded one another at the top of the general classification

– Of the cyclists who have never won the race, Wladimir Belli has the most podiums: 3

– Last rider to triumph here while wearing the rainbow jersey was Rui Costa in 2014

– Same Rui Costa is the only cyclist to have won the event three consecutive times

– With 11 stage victories, Hugo Kobler and Ferdi Kübler are the most successful rider in the history of the race

– Ferdi Kübler won the mountains classification four times, a record for the event; in the points standings, Sean Kelly and Peter Sagan share the record, with four jerseys

– Zurich is the city that has hosted the most starts (34) and finishes (45) throughout the years

– Italy and Switzerland are the only countries to place three riders on the podium at one edition

– Belgium’s Daniel Willems holds the record for the most stages won at a single edition: six, in 1980

– The first individual time trial took place in 1947 (60,6 kilometers) and was won by Fausto Coppi

– Gotthard is the climb that featured the most times – 37 – while Nufenen is the highest ever point of the race, 2478 meters

– Roman Kreuziger is the youngest stage winner (22 years in 2008); Levi Leipheimer is the oldest one (37 years in 2011)

– Albert Zweifel is the cyclist with the most participations: 16

– In 1941, Josef Wagner and Werner Buchwalder finished with the same overall time, with Wagner being the winner after a two-man sprint on the Oerlikon Velodrome

– Largest winning margin between first and second was recorded in 1947, when 21:16 have separated Gino Bartali and Giulio Bresci

– The longest ever edition took place in 1991 – 1921 kilometers; shortest one had 606 kilometers, in 1941

– 2001 saw the highest average speed – 41,781 km/h; lowest average speed was 30,9 km/h in 1935

2015 stats

– 19 teams (17 World Tour, 2 Pro Continental) will race the 79th running of the event

– Of these, six haven’t scored a World Tour victory in 2015: IAM Cycling, LottoNL-Jumbo and Wanty-Groupe Gobert

– The course includes 43,5 kilometers of ITT and a summit finish, on Rettenbachgietscher

– Two former winners will be at the start: Fabian Cancellara and Frank Schleck

– The cyclists in the 2015 race have won a combined total of 18 Monuments, 7 world titles and more than 110 Grand Tour stages

– Youngest rider in this years’ race is Matej Mohoric, 20 years; oldest one is Italy’s Davide Rebellin, 43 years

– 27 countries will have at least one cyclist in the race, with Belgium and France topping the list (20)

Criterium du Dauphiné Stats

Historical stats

– Bernard Hinault, Nello Lauredi, Charly Mottet and Luis Ocaña share the record for the most wins, 3

– France leads in an all-time nation standings, with 30 victories

– Australia (Phil Anderson), Colombia (Martin Ramirez, Luis Herrera), Kazahstan (Alexander Vinokourov) and U.S.A. (Tyler Hamilton, Greg LeMond, Andrew Talansky) are the countries from outside of Europe that have won the race

– 13 countries have had a champion in the Dauphiné; surprinsingly, Italy isn’t on the list

– Thierry Claveyrolat holds the record for the most points jersey (3) and mountains jersey (5)

– When it comes to stage wins, Bernard Hinault has the most victories – 10 – as well as the most days in the yellow jersey, 19

– The longest edition had 1935 kilometers and took place in 1956, when Belgium’s Alex Close finished first

– Grenoble is the city which featured the most times in the race

–Jacques Anquetil, Louison Bobet, Chris Froome, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Eddy Merckx, Luis Ocaña, Bernard Thévenet, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome have all won the Criterium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France in the same season

– Cadel Evans has the most podiums – 5 – without winning the general classification

– In 2001, Christophe Moreau defeated Pavel Tonkov for just one second, smallest ever gap

– Biggest winning margin was recorded in 1981, when Bernard Hinault put 12:07 to Portugal’s Joaquim Agostinho

– Greg LeMond is the youngest ever winner (21 years in 1983), while Christophe Moreau is the oldest one (36 years in 2007)

2015 stats

– 21 teams (17 World Tour, 4 Pro Continental) will race the 67th running of the event

– Of these, six haven’t scored a World Tour victory in 2015: Bora-Argon 18, Cofidis, Europcar, IAM Cycling, LottoNL-Jumbo and MTN-Qhubeka

– The course includes a team time trial and three summit finishes: Villard-de-Lans, Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc and Modane Valfréjus

– Three former winners will be at the start: Chris Froome, Andrew Talansky and Alejandro Valverde

– The cyclists in the 2015 race have won a combined total of 5 Grand Tours, 9 Monuments, 3 world titles, and more than 100 Grand Tour stages

– Youngest rider in this year’s race is Tiesj Benoot, 21 years; oldest one is Spain’s Haimar Zubeldia, 38 years

– 35 countries will have at least one cyclist in the race, with France topping the list (31)

June on Cafe Roubaix

The Giro d’Italia is done and dusted, and although people are now waiting for the Tour de France, with the excitement and hype growing day by day, they shouldn’t forget that the Criterium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse are still to take place, races in which we’ll see the Grande Boucle favorites test their form ahead of their July goal. Due to some personal reasons, you won’t find a preview of these events here, as well as other cycling news, but this doesn’t mean you can’t come here from time to time, as there will be plenty of things to read about.

As it goes, in the following weeks I will publish some interesting stats on the Dauphiné and Suisse and a couple of interviews with some of the most talented young riders of the moment, cyclists like Pascal Eenkhoorn, Laurens De Plus or Keegan Swirbul, who are all poised to have a great future once they’ll turn pro. As was the case in the past years, later in the month you’ll find the list of the national champions and the startlist (as well as other info) of the Tour de France. Of course, you can check also the 2015 Results piece, which will be updated every time a race takes place.

Conclusions after the Ardennes Classics

Alejandro Valverde came out of the Ardennes as the king of these races, after finishing second in Amstel Gold Race and winning both Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. By doing this, he entered the history books as only the second ever cyclist – after Ferdi Kübler – to make this memorable double. In both races, the Spaniard was very powerful and had a flawless tactic, two things which helped him control the other contenders and eventually outsprint them. Although he remains a controversial figure because of his dodgy past, one can’t overlook the fact that the 35-year-old remains one of the best riders in the peloton, one who has every chance – considering that he looks to be living a second youth – to win other Ardennes Classics in the following seasons and equal or even break some more records.

Julian Alaphilippe stunned the big stars of the peloton by coming second in Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, showing not only that he has the skills, but also the mindset to be a protagonist here in the years to come. A pro since 2014, he has had a low key start of the season, but then hit top form just in time for the Ardennes week, where he proved that Brian Holm wasn’t wrong when he said that the Frenchman can be Etixx-Quick Step’s revelation in 2015. What’s even more important is that Alaphilippe – a 22-years-old who notched France’s first podium Monument since 1998 – has a killer instinct and considerable room for improvement, which can make him the finest Ardennes specialist of his generation. As expected, Patrick Lefevere came quickly with a two-year extension, which will keep Julian Alaphilippe with the Belgian team until the end of the 2017 season.

The Frenchman wasn’t the only young rider to impress in the Ardennes. Amstel Gold Race showed once again that Michael Matthews – who finished third – is not just a punchy sprinter, but a rider with a huge potential, which even now remains unknown and can be developed in the years to come. In the same Dutch Classic, Michael Valgren was 22nd and proved that he can be back here one day as a big favorite to take the win. A couple of days later, in Flèche Wallonne, Alexis Vuillermoz (6th) and Dylan Teuns (13th) came at the forefront, with the latter confirming that he can follow in the footsteps of his more famous countryman, Philippe Gilbert. Finally, “La Doyenne” brought Louis Meintjes to the spotlight, the talented South African mixing it up with the main protagonists all day long, before taking a well-deserved 11th place.

Joaquim Rodriguez came at the start of the Ardennes Classics as one of the big contenders, especially after scoring an impressive overall win in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, in the first half of April. But Katusha’s Spaniard was off-pace and after finishing just outside the podium in Flèche Wallonne, he was determined to change his luck in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, a race he dreams of winning for some years now. Unfortunately for “Purito” Rodriguez, he didn’t perform well at all and lacked the power he needed to get away from his rivals, settling in the end with a third place. Most likely, giving that he’ll soon turn 36, this was Rodriguez’s last opportunity to add “La Doyenne” to his palmares.

There’s a long list of disappointments after this campaign, and it includes some big names, one of which was Philippe Gilbert, although the former world champion – who put on a fierce attack on the Cauberg, which unfortunately for him didn’t shake off all his opponents – has an excuse: the crash in which he was involved in Flèche Wallonne, that made his ride in Liège–Bastogne–Liège a real painful one. The Italians had big hopes from Vincenzo Nibali, but the Tour de France champion failed to impress and was unable to follow the favorites as the race neared its conclusion. Finally, Bauke Mollema had hoped for a solid week in the Ardennes, but couldn’t find his rhythm in any of the races and was left empty-handed, so his best result was a top 20, far from his expectations.