Cycling is underrated
In a weekend which had so much to offer many people had
their eyes glued upon either of two events - The Wimbledon finals or the F1.
Both turned out to produce classic sporting encounters, but the real
anticipation, tension, power and thrill was to be found not in England but Switzerland,
where the Tour De France had its 1st French stage winner so far in
the sensational Jerome Pinot, who blitzed his way from the front Frankel style
and never looked in any danger at all. We’ve already had some fine moments in
sport this year, but few will match the sight of ‘director sportif’ Marc Madiot
banging the side of his car door while literally lifting the youngest rider in
the tour to a 26 second victory over a group which contained Champion Cadel
Evans, hot favourite Bradley Wiggins, the day’s previous stage winner Chris
Froome, and expert mountaineers Vincenzo Nibali of Italy and Jurgen Van Den
Broeck of Belgium. Pinot’s win was sensation in itself but the battle between
Evans and Wiggins for the yellow Jersey fascinated and excited in equal
measure, with fans or favourite backers of the Brit sure to have been greatly encouraged
by the way he fended off the descending skills of Vincenzo Nibali and the
assault that Evans launched for the second day in a row. That in itself was one
of the most enjoyable aspects of this year’s tour, with Wiggins looking so
assured in covering his moves before today’s Time Trial, where he put well over
a minute between himself and his rivals – mainly Cadel Evans - in jaw dropping
style, with Fabian Cancellara over a minute behind in third behind him and
Chris Froome a clear second. All that and I haven’t even had to cover the madcap
sprints of last week. What a sport, eh?
Slow may not win the race, but steady sure helps
This year has generally been the most unpredictable in the
world of F1 – at least according to the 1st 7 races of the season –
but it’s no surprise that now a clear pecking order has been established, of
the first four in the standings, three are former World Champions and the other
is one of the most consistent performers on the circuit. Fernando Alonso has
been in what many would call the third fastest car at best, but consistency
since the start has given him the lead, as through a mix of sheer talent he’s
one of just two people to win two Grands Prix. What makes things all the more remarkable
is that the now championship leader’s car was for the opening 5 weekends,
slower than Lotus, Red Bull and the now extremely disappointing McLaren, but
Alonso’s cool headedness in Malaysia and Valencia is what has him I the lead,
and Webber’s own patience yesterday was a masterclass in trusting the car to do
the work even with just 4 laps to go. Without such care the World Championship
would almost certainly have a very different shape at the moment.
Patience is a virtue in the world of F1……
Sport, more often than most things in life, will leave you
with ‘what if’ questions and F1’s Pastor Maldonado might well have plenty of
those in his head if he was to look back upon his current season so far. An undoubtedly
talented driver, Maldonado struggled along with his Williams team last season
but the work done by Sir Frank’s team which has resulted in their first points
since Belgium of last year in Malaysia, and that stunning drive and win from
pole in Barcelona, but elsewhere reads a long catalogue of stupid mistakes and
missed opportunities. It started with Australia, where after taking Grosjean
out early on (it’s your choice as to whether he was guilty or not), but chasing
Alonso too hard at the end of the race cost him sixth, while that was nowhere
near as costly as the recklessness that saw him take Hamilton out with just 3
laps to go in Valencia certainly cost him fourth or better, although he had a
podium in the palm of his hand given Hamilton’s tyre wear. Those are not the only
incidents that he’s been involved in this season, with brazen crashes in qualifying
in Monaco and Canada (notably when on course to make it to Q3 in Monaco, where he
went from 22nd to 13th), costing him dearly in hindsight.
When Pastor keeps his cool in check he can win a race, and
to be fair to him on his day there are few better drivers over a long haul, but
he’s not scored a point since Barcelona when he should have more than double
the points he currently has. I’m of the opinion he’s a future champion in
waiting – yes, that is honest – but he’ll never get there unless showing some
patience, and dare I say, backing out when in doubt on a couple of occasions.
Looking at the calmness of Webber in victory on Sunday puts Maldonado’s brazen manoeuvres
into perspective and the moment he calms down there’s money to be made
following him.
….And so is timing in the world of sport
The above seems to be an obvious thing to say but it’s
something that’s forgotten too often. Perfect timing can come in the form of
either aggression or patience. Just a year separates Jerome Pinot and William
Buick but they both rode with the minds of men double their ages in knowing just
when to kick for home. Buick’s win on Nathaniel was a textbook example of
perfect race reading from the front,
kicking so that the ability he had to get 1m4f would always be enough to hold off
Farhh, kicking off 3 furlongs out but always going well and finding more.
Jerome Pinot showed both aggression and patience, biding his time through the
escape before kicking late, but with devastating effect, 3 Kilometres out late to take the lead close to the top of the
Col de la Croix, and from then on the best cyclists in the world couldn’t reel
him back in some truly inspiring scenes (as mentioned above). Mark Webber has
also been praised for his patience in victory on Sunday but he wasn’t the only
one of the drivers to bide their time and reap the rewards, with Romain Grosjean
going from last after an early puncture before fighting his way to sixth with a
succession of smooth moves).
We’ve got a lot to look forward to this summer
And what now? Well there may be a rest day in the Tour De
France tomorrow but we’re back for more mountain spectaculars on Wednesday and
beyond, while the day’s entertainment tomorrow comes in the form of the fourth
ODI for England and Australia. And then on Thursday it’s the July Meeting, with
three days of top class racing for us to enjoy before a Saturday which is chock
full of racing action (too much so, but still, all you can do is try to enjoy
it) with the July Cup, John Smiths Cup and Weatherbys Super Sprint. And the
final big names in team GB’s Athletic squad at the last pre-Olympic Diamond
League meeting. And if you wait just a week, you have the most eagerly awaited
test series for years between England and South Africa, along with Day 1 of the
Open at Royal St Lytham, for a sporting feast that will go on until the 23rd
of June. And then you have 4 days until the Olympics. Life is good.
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