From the control of the ‘Sky Train’ days to the aggression of the sport’s current top rider, both approaches produced dominance at the Tour de France, albeit in very different ways.
Cor Vos, Kristof Ramon, Gruber Images
There was a period between 2012 and 2019 when Team Sky dominated all but one of the Tours de France. So much so, that the outcome became something of a foregone conclusion. Not much has changed in that regard now that we’re in the Tadej Pogačar era, but the approach taken by the favourites and their teams, and the tactics employed during the race, have undergone a certain amount of evolution.
Speaking of evolution, there have been changes to the Tour de France itself too. One of the most obvious was the reduction of Grand Tour team sizes from nine riders to eight in 2018, but there’s also been a big effort from the ASO to make the racing more dynamic and consistently exciting. There are now far fewer pure sprint stages and there’s been a shift away from multiple consecutive flat finishes, more evenly spreading the action. For instance, in 2016, seven days passed before anyone besides a sprinter or breakaway specialist raised their arms in victory.
This post is for subscribers only
Subscribe now
Already have an account? Sign in
Did we do a good job with this story?
👍Yep
👎Nope