Post Tour Racing
Posted August 15, 2011
Life after the Tour is often never the same for many of the peloton’s unsung hero’s. A stage win in a grand tour can not only change a riders career and standing in the peloton, but also his entire way of life and outlook on racing. Such will be the way for Thomas Voeckler, Riguberto Uran and Jurgen Vaderweert. Similarly the Tour can have exactly the opposite effect for others; well and truly crushing dreams, altering their perception on their own attributes and leading them to re-assess and often re-ignite their goals and aspirations.
The post-Tour Criterium series is a showcase for the world’s greatest riders. Many are coming off form highs from the Tour, such as Mark Cavendish, Philippe Gilbert and Cadel Evans, all of whom have been victorious in the Criterium series thus far. The ‘crits’ take the form of town centre races on short laps on closed roads; races vary from an hour to two hours and their podiums almost always feature a star of the Tour; to what extent this racing is a true representation of riders Criterium riding credentials has long been called into question, with big name riders allegedly commanding huge sums of up to £50,000 to compete in racing.
Jersey winners such as Cadel compete in their jerseys; Cavendish likewise sports his green jersey in the crit series to tumultuous applause. So these riders might be slightly rigged, but who wouldn’t love to see Evans, Schleck and Cavendish slogging it out for the win on the back streets of their town?
The Classic de San Sebastian takes place on the Sunday after the Tour finishes in Paris. This WorldTour race provides a brilliant opportunity for those whose Tour didn’t go quite according to plan to seek some redemption. Riders like Schleck, Gilbert and Van Avermaet are suited to the punchy parcours and will likely feature predominantly. The race unfolds over around 234km, one of the longer one day races on the world calendar, and features many climbs which test the legs of the favourites.
Course changes in recent years make it possible for a number of race scenarios to play out, from small groups to a lone winner; whatever the situation, the race rarely fails to live up to the hype and rather fittingly the man of the moment, Philippe Gilbert took the plaudits ahead of Barredo and Van Avermaet with a trademark move around 3km from the finish which saw him pull out a 12 second advantage over second and 14 seconds over 3rd place.
picture featured in the Daily Cycle Flickr Group – added by sharonnord
