Many outsiders believe that the unsung heroes at the Tour de France or on a pro cycling team are the domestiques, but at the end of the day, all the riders get a piece of the glory. However, as a professional cyclist, I know all too well that to see the true unsung heroes of … Read more
The 5 categories of climbs in cycling designate the difficulty of the climb, based on length, gradient, and (depending on who is doing the categorizing) a range of other objective or subjective factors such as where the climb falls in a race.
In some professional races such as the Tour de France, the categories also dictate the number of points awarded for the Mountains Classification.
An iconic figure who pedaled his way to seven consecutive Tour de France titles, his legacy turned to ashes with the greatest doping scandal in the history of the sport.
But what is Lance Armstrong doing now? As he shifts gears from the saddle to entrepreneurial ventures, podcasts, TV shows, and even a deep-diving documentary, one thing remains clear: Lance Armstrong is indefatigable.
In a thrilling display of strength and teamwork, the Dutch powerhouse DSM-Firmenich defied the onslaught of torrential rain to secure a stunning victory on the opening stage of the Vuelta a España.
Though debate is raging over potential additional safety measures that could be introduced, the fact remains that danger is an inherent part of cycling. As this list will explore, many of the most infamous moments in the modern history of the Tour de France come from these shocking moments.
Slovenian Bahrain-Victorious rider Mohorič took the stage today with an impressive lunge to the finish line that beat yesterday’s winner – Kasper Asgreen – by a hair, confirmed only by a photo finish.
Danish Soudal-QuickStep rider Kasper Asgreen outsprinted the remainder of a small 4-man breakaway to win a breathtaking Stage 18 as an unorganized peloton came within seconds of catching them at the finish line.
AG2R Citroën’s Felix Gall launched an impressive solo attack with 6 km to go of the toughest climb of this year’s Tour – the Col de Loze – and held his lead to the finish despite the efforts of Simon Yates and Jonas Vingegaard.
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard rode the time trial of his career to eclipse rival Tadej Pogačar and take a potentially Tour-winning 1 minute and 38 seconds out of the Slovenian in his first stage win of the year.
Imagine planning your summer vacation. Now, imagine planning a vacation for not just your family, but for 176 cyclists, their support teams, a vast media crew, and a legion of enthusiastic fans. That’s a small glimpse into the Tour de France logistics.
Established in 1903, the Tour de France is more than just the world’s premier cycling race—it’s a moving city that travels across the diverse landscapes of France for three weeks.
The world of professional cycling is a heady mix of adrenaline, endurance, and high-speed strategy. But behind the scenes, unsung heroes are tirelessly working to ensure every race goes off without a hitch.
These are the mechanics – the lifeline of every team, the guardians of every cycle.
Wout Poels claimed a superb first Tour de France win on Stage 15 in Saint-Gervais de Mont-Blanc, as Tadej Pogačar failed to land a hammer blow against Jonas Vingegaard in the battle for yellow. Poels dropped Wout van Aert decisively on the final climb, pushing on to the line with an advantage of over two … Read more
Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed a brilliant victory on Stage 14 with a nerveless descent into Morzine as the electrifying duel between Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard ultimately ended in a stalemate.
The final climb up the hors catégorie Col de Joux Plane delivered high drama as anticipated, but neither Pogačar nor Vingegaard could land a knockout blow in what became a cagey, tactical contest.
In the modern cycling world, everyone’s “getting aero”.
A huge chunk of new cycling tech and discourse is about optimizing our bikes, accessories, and our position on the bike in order to minimize aerodynamic drag, in pursuit of saving some precious watts.
What does it take to compete in the world’s most grueling cycling event? Is it just about power, speed, and endurance? Or is there more to the story? This isn’t a typical 9-to-5 job; it’s a day in the life of a Tour de France rider.
Ion Izagirre took a brilliant solo breakaway victory on Stage 11 of the Tour de France with arguably the greatest ride of his storied career.
A select chasing group contained threats such as Thibaut Pinot and Matteo Jorgensen, but never had the legs or organization to seriously challenge the outstanding Izagirre who sustained a comfortable gap to the finish.
As the starting gun echoes through the morning air, a swarm of cyclists surges forward, their eyes fixed on a singular goal: the Champs-Élysées.
But what factors decide who gets there first, and what is the Tour de France average speed?
Cycling enthusiasts know that the annual Tour de France is about much more than the competitors battling it out across a grueling 3,500 kilometers.
In the midst of this epic athletic event, another breed of competitor emerges: the Tour de France superfans.
Spain’s Pello Bilbao claimed a long-awaited Tour de France stage victory with a tactically astute breakaway victory on Stage 10. Krists Neilands ambitious solo break looked set to pay off when the chasing group of five – including Bilbao – started playing tactical games when they should have been hunting him down with 10 km … Read more
Denmark’s Mads Pedersen overpowered the pack to sprint to victory on Stage 8 in Limoges, denying Jasper Philipsen a fourth stage win of the 2023 Tour de France.
The stage was marred by the crash suffered by Mark Cavendish 60 km from the finish, which forced him to abandon his final Tour de France – and his bid for a record 35th stage victory – with a suspected broken collarbone.
Mark Cavendish has been forced to abandon the 2023 Tour de France with a suspected collarbone after crashing on Stage 8.
The episode marks the end of the 38-year-old Manxman’s legendary Tour de France career given his planned retirement at the end of this season, robbing him of the opportunity to surpass Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins.
Tadej Pogačar delivered the perfect response to his Stage 5 struggles with a destructive late attack to drop Jonas Vingegaard and claim an epic victory on Stage 6 of the 2023 Tour de France.
Even more important than the psychological victory of decisively dropping Vingegaard for the first time in his career – just a day after many were questioning his chances of recovering any kind of title push – was the 28 seconds Pogačar took out of his Danish rival, reducing the GC deficit by half.
Bora – Hansgrohe’s Jai Hindley showed his General Classification intentions by sustaining a powerful solo attack for almost 20 km to take the first mountain stage of this year’s Tour.
It was the Australian’s first stage win in his debut Tour de France, after winning the Giro d’Italia last year. Hindley snatched the yellow jersey from UAE’s Adam Yates, on what was a poor day for UAE.
Alpecin – Deceuninck rider Jasper Philipsen was the fastest of the bunch today as he crossed the finish line a wheel’s length ahead of Phil Bauhaus in a thrilling bunch sprint in Stage 3 as the Tour de France returns to French soil.
Victor Lafay launched a blistering acceleration to distance himself from the bunch – and pre-stage favorite Wout van Aert – in the final kilometer, as Stage 2 of the 2023 Tour de France arrived in San Sebastián.
Lafay crossed the line a bike length ahead of van Aert, who was seen to punch his handlebars in frustration at the finish line as he lost the sprint.
The Tour de France 2023 is fast approaching, and the hype machine is beginning to tick into overdrive.
For us, that means one thing above all: It’s BikeTips Tour de France Pub Quiz time!
Scandal is at the heart of the mythology of Le Tour that feeds the cycling fanatics and whips the sporting world into a frenzy for one month every summer a century later. With this year’s edition fast approaching, we’re looking back at the 5 most controversial moments in Tour de France history.
With the Tour de France 2023 just one month away, attention is inevitably turning to the red-hot favorites for the yellow jersey.
For the uninitiated, Tour de France lingo can be pretty impenetrable.
It can take some time to understand the structured chaos of a Tour de France stage at the best of times, and new cycling fans aren’t helped by the sea of jargon surrounding the sport’s most famous race.
That’s right, the Tour de France is getting the Drive To Survive treatment.
Next year we can expect a double bill of the high-octane Netflix documentary on the 2022 Tour, and the real-time action of the 2023 Tour de France.
But what do we know so far about the Netflix Tour de France: Unchained documentary? What are we expecting from the show? And when can we see it?
The pinnacle of road cycling, the Grand Tours are three multi-stage races taking place every summer: the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España. The most important events on the cycling calendar, racing at – and winning – a Grand Tour is the ultimate goal for every professional road cyclist. Characterized by brutal … Read more
The most prestigious and iconic race in the cycling calendar, the Tour de France has changed immeasurably from its formative years. The Tour de France is an annual multi-stage cycling race held (mostly) in France. Beginning well over a century ago, the Tour de France history is one of the longest and most fascinating of … Read more
From country lanes outside Cardiff to Olympic Gold medalist and Tour de France champion, Geraint Thomas is cemented as a Welsh sporting legend on both road and track. So who is Geraint Thomas? What cycling achievements and sporting accolades does this high-flying Welshman hold? And what do you need to know? In this article, we’ll … Read more
Each of the Tour de France teams comprises a diverse group of riders each serving a specific role in the team. If you’re new to the sport, you might think that every rider would have the same objective in a Grand Tour: to win. This would be a reasonable assumption – it is called a … Read more
Conquering Alpe d’Huez is often top on the bucket list of anyone who has fallen in love with cycling. After Fausto Coppi won the first Tour de France stage to summit the fearsome climb in 1952, the snaking mountain road immediately established its legendary status. Alpe d’Huez is infamous for its 21 brutal but beautiful hairpins, each equipped with … Read more
A technique developed to reduce the effect of a crosswind, a cycling echelon formation can make or break a team‘s tactics on a windy day. Crosswinds can have remarkable effects on a road race, often producing large time gaps, and resulting in a thrilling watch for the spectators. Riders often use a formation known as … Read more
On a multi-day, mountainous, and 200+ kilometer-per-day race such as Tour de France, riders push their bodies to the absolute limit. Even years of experience and a lifetime of training may not be enough to stop riders from falling behind. You’d imagine that being in the group of riders right at the back of such … Read more
With an impressive number of victories already, Tom Pidcock is taking the world of bike racing by storm. It’s hard to watch almost any men’s cycling event these days without hearing the name Tom Pidcock. Encapsulating the future for both British cycling and Ineos Grenadiers, he’s already among the top 5 best-paid cyclists in the … Read more
Marco Pantani is revered by cyclists as arguably the greatest climber in the sport’s history. However, the story of this legend’s spectacular climb to greatness is mired in controversy, and ends tragically surrounded by doping allegations, depression, and addiction. Who was Marco Pantani? Why is he known as the greatest climber in history? What happened … Read more
After a 33-year absence, the Women’s Tour de France – officially Le Tour de France Femmes – finally returns on Sunday 24 July 2022. The greatest female road cyclists in the world will be battling for the iconic yellow jersey through eight stages across France in what looks set to rival the Giro d’Italia Donne … Read more
If you’ve been following this year’s Tour de France, you might’ve noticed each team’s domestiques grabbing bags from their soigneurs at the side of the road at certain points on a stage, then dishing out the contents to their teammates. This sack is called a musette bag – or a “bonk bag” if you’re British … Read more
Imagine training your whole life to enter the Tour de France, then come race day, the position you’re competing for is… last place? Well, such is the nature of the Lanterne Rouge. In the professional road cycling world of Grand Tours, last place has often come to symbolize a badge of guts and perseverance, having … Read more
The Tour de France is the biggest and most prestigious prize in world cycling. Victory at Le Tour – or even just a day spent wearing the race leader’s iconic yellow jersey – can rank among the defining achievements of a rider’s career and secure their place in cycling folklore. But if you’re a new … Read more
The 2022 Tour de France is fast approaching. One of the oldest and most iconic multi-stage bike races in the world, the Tour de France has a history stretching back almost 120 years, with the first edition taking place in 1903. However, it’s changed dramatically since then. This year’s edition covers a total distance of … Read more
Looking to brush up on your Tour de France winners history before the 2023 edition’s Grand Départ in the Basque Country on July 1st? We’ve got you covered! This page details every Yellow Jersey winner in the history of Le Tour, organized by: Ready to tune up your Tour de France knowledge? Let’s dive in! … Read more
The Col du Tourmalet is the single most iconic climb in the history of bicycle racing. Nestled high in the thinning air of the French Pyrenees lies a thin ribbon of tarmac straddling two of its greatest peaks, a jagged grey scar carved into a sea of green. Countless champions have been made on the … Read more
It’s an issue that has had its fair share of controversy and debate in recent years. The “supertuck” is an ultra-aerodynamic riding position in which a cyclist sits on the top tube rather than the saddle, then tucks forward to make their frontal body area as small as possible to reduce drag. It makes a … Read more
Every sports fan with even a passing interest in the Tour de France knows the iconic Yellow Jersey, worn by the race leader. But what about the other three Tour de France jerseys awarded at the end of each stage? What do they signify, and what are the stories behind them? To get you up … Read more
Want to know who the world’s fastest cyclists are? Well, there’s both a short answer and a long answer. For the absolute fastest cyclist ever, look no further than Denise Mueller-Korenek’s staggering 184 mph (296 km/h) cycling speed record set on the salt flats of Utah in 2018. However, with so many disciplines and styles … Read more
Whether it’s the Tour de France or an Olympic road race, you’ll hear the term peloton used pretty often in cycling commentary. So what does it actually mean? Put simply, a peloton is a large group of riders bunched together on the race route. In the context of the Tour de France, it tends to … Read more
If you’ve ever watched a Tour de France time trial stage or seen photos of one in the Sunday newspaper, you’ve probably caught yourself wondering: What on earth are those space-aged bikes they’re zipping along on? The answer: they’re time trial bikes (or TT bikes for short). They probably look – and cost – more … Read more
Anybody who pays even a little attention to the world of professional road racing and the Tour de France has likely heard of the sport’s superstars: names like Chris Froome, Greg LeMond, Eddy Merckx, and – the most infamous rider of all – Lance Armstrong. If you’re familiar with these riders, you might also have … Read more