Tour de france

Over his 12 years as a professional rider, Thierry Gouvenou never stood atop the podium. But in his 12 years designing stage routes, the 56-year-old Frenchman has built a reputation as the artist behi

At 10.43am on 11th March 1956, 104 riders left Milan’s Piazza Sant Elena for the start of the 39th Milano-Torino Classic. Ahead lay 225km and a finish on the track at Turin’s rather dilapidated Motove

Times are changing at the world’s biggest bike race. For most of us watching at home, the more fans, the more razzmatazz, the more hullaballoo the better. The carefully distilled passion fills up our

FRED WRIGHT T he stage race for ...

Length: 21.3km Elevation gain: 1,142m Average gradient: 5% Maximum gradient: 12% The Colle del Nivolet in north-west Italy is the most beautiful mountain road in the world. Fact. But that’s not the on

True to form, this year’s Vuelta doesn’t shy away from the high mountains and offers just two nailed-on sprint stages