WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID THAT SUMMER
Aquarter of a century has passed since one of the most memorable moments of the controversial mid-1990s: the point on the Hautacam climb in the Pyrenees when Bjarne Riis turned round, dropped nonchalantly down the side of the lead group, and then hammered away.
It was the moment that the 1996 Tour de France was won, 25 Julys ago. It also came to epitomise the ‘EPO years’, when cycling was dominated by the generation that developed with the help of the blood boosting wonder drug. Two years later, EPO would be suddenly thrust centre stage in the chaos of the Festina scandal, prompting years of doubt and controversy as the sport came to terms with its doping problem.
On July 1, 2022, the Tour will start in Copenhagen with a 13km time trial. It will be a stunning occasion, a massive festival, as foreign grands départs always are. That set piece will be followed by two more stages through Denmark, as the country celebrates a run of success in bike racing that can clearly be traced back to the time of Riis.
This year alone, at the Vuelta a España, Magnus Cort Nielsen proved he was one of cycling’s consummate stage hunters with three stage wins taken in very different ways. At the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard came from nowhere to finish second overall. At the recent world championship in Leuven,
