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SIMON
RICHARDSON
Editor
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38
MY HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
10 Simon Yates on the attack and
winning stages
44 Alaphilippe’s S-Works Tarmac
46 Five aero road helmets on testPhotos:^ Corbisvia^ Gett
y
Images
,^ Getty^ImagesW
hen was the last
time we came into
the Tour’s fi nal
week not having a
clue who was going to win?
Team Sky ’s dominance, along
with hindsight, has conditioned
us into thinking, ‘ Well, of course
— insert rider name here — was
going to win. It was never in doubt.’
Realistically the last time there was
this level of uncertainty was 2011
when Thomas Voeck ler was destined to lose
yellow to Cadel Evans, A lberto Contador or
A ndy Schleck, who were all fi ghting it out
behind him.
Julian A laphilippe has stepped into
the plucky French hero role (although,
unlike Voecker, he has what it takes to win
one day), as riders in fourth to sixth are
separated by just 39 seconds.
So where have Team Ineos been? Of
course the riders have been supporting
Thomas throughout, but they didn’t hit the
fi rst mountain stage hard and let others set
the pace through the Pyrenees.
A re they waiting for the three big A lpine
days? It ’s been a tough route so far and this
year’s winner will be the one who has held
something back for stages 18, 19 and 20, and
has a strong team around them.
Either way, the race is perfectly poised
for a thrilling A lpine showdown and I
can’t wait.26
How altitude affects performanceHow tech could
revolutionise the TourTraining secrets of the pros