The mental battle at the heart of the Tour de France (From Lancashire Telegraph)
When news happens, text LT and your photos and videos to 80360. Or contact us by email or phone.
The mental battle at the heart of the Tour de France
8:38pm Wednesday 11th July 2012 in Bob Hart's cycling blog
By Bob Hart, Web editor
Fans' favourite Thomas Voeckler crosses the line to win today's stage of the Tour. His victory won't worry race leader Bradley Wiggins.
TODAY was one of those Tour de France stages that utterly confuses people who don't follow bike racing.
Groups of riders spread out all over the mountain passes. Someone will win, but the victory's not that significant in the context of the race. Meanwhile, a group of elite riders hoping to win the yellow jersey watch each other and occasionally try to grab a few seconds.
Having been watching the Tour since the early '90s, I'm fascinated by the tactical battles that take place in the middle week of the race.
It's interesting to see who will attack, who will work together, and which riders a race leader will allow to escape.
Team Sky have played a clever game in defending the yellow jersey of Lancashire's Bradley Wiggins today.
They've calmly controlled attacks from Vincenzo Nibali and (to a lesser extent) Cadel Evans, but allowed Lotto-Belisol's Jurgen Van Den Broeck to pick up around 30 seconds or so.
In doing so, they've not done Wiggins any real harm, but have made the Belgian a more significant threat to riders hoping to at least be on the podium in Paris.
In cycling, as in any sport, physical prowess is only one of the requirements for success - another is having the right psychology to deal with the strain of competition.
Fear of getting hurt or fear of failure can have a worse effect on a rider than simple lack of fitness.
Much of the mental battle is fought in the press conferences.
Last week, Nibali said he wasn't that impressed by Wiggins.
Today, Wiggins described Nibali's failed attack as 'desperate'.
So far, Sky are winning the both the physical and the mental battle of this year's Tour.
- Wiggins told journalists that he had goosebumps before rolling down the time trail start ramp on Monday - and that moments like that make his tough winter training regime in Lancashire worthwhile.
He said: "That is what I train for, that's what it's all about - going out in Lancashire in December in minus one, going over the Trough of Bowland and it's hail-stoning.
"Those are the moments you do this for and from the first pedal stroke I enjoyed every moment of it. It was just fantastic."
- Get ready for another dramatic day's racing tomorrow, when the peloton tackles the giant mountain passes of the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de la Croix de Fer before a mountain-top finish at La Toussuire.
The top contenders will fancy a chance at grabbing some time from Wiggins tomorrow. It's likely to be a very exciting day.
