Procycling

EDWARD PICKERING

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Back in 1986, I was captivated by the Tour. That race was dominated by La Vie Claire, who put riders on the top two steps of the podium, plus fourth. Such dominance isn’t usually compelling, but the soap opera between winner Greg LeMond and his team-mate Bernard Hinault, the runner-up, was one of the greatest dramas I’ve ever seen. It wouldn’t have been as fun if the roles had been reversed, but the insecurity and paranoia of LeMond was counterbal­anced perfectly by the confident, bullying Hinault.

It would never happen now. As we go in to the 2019 race, all the talk is

of the astonishin­g strength of Ineos, even if they don’t quite match up to the dominance of La Vie Claire in 1986. They have Geraint Thomas, the 2018 winner, four-time champ Chris Froome, and Egan Bernal, who looks like a future winner. They’re surely not going to sweep the podium, even if these three are arguably among the top four riders in the race, along with Tom Dumoulin. At some point, with eight-rider teams, one of these three will have to ride for the other two. Furthermor­e, Thomas and Froome are not LeMond and Hinault – both want to win, but 2018 showed that they will toe the party line.

That we can even speculate about things like this with a straight face shows how strong Ineos are. Whether such strength, and the ability to buy it, is a good thing for the sport depends on your outlook. I prefer close, unpredicta­ble races, so I don’t love it, but I don’t blame Ineos for buying the best possible team. However, looking at this year’s Tour route, I’m hoping that their strength in depth doesn’t stifle the possibilit­ies for attacking racing. Yes, if Ineos get their train running in the big mountain stages, it will make life hard for their rivals. But there’s plenty of opportunit­y for ambushes on what I think is the hardest race for years, as this month’s mag, our Tour guide, makes clear. I hope you enjoy the read.

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