He was a burly, jolly painter before he became a burly, jolly academic for this project. VeloMuseum was in part an excuse to examine his own passion for cycling. Despite achieving cycling stardom, De Bruyn struggled to hold on to jobs after he came out.
Explaining why might be a matter of physiology. The best tend to have some combination of naive, monastic, masochistic, or sociopathic personality traits. During World War II, pro cyclists were some of the only people who were allowed to travel around and outside of the country for competitions, the Germans believing that people could use something fun to do besides being occupied. Those cyclists became part of the resistance by dismantling their bike frames, stuffing them with travel documents, letters, photos, and fake IDs, and reassembling them to ride off and distribute the contraband from town to town.
Real heroes are others, those who have suffered in their soul, in their heart, in their spirit, in their mind, for their loved ones. Those are the real heroes. My favorite story that Carremans told me is about three Belgian cyclists during World War II who took off ahead of a train full of Jews being transported to Auschwitz.
His son, Axel Merckx , was also a professional cyclist but never won the competition. Philippe Thys is the second most titled Belgian cyclist in Tour de France. He won in , and Philippe was also the first cyclist to win the title three times. The following two days feature traditional road stages, where the terrain is flat but the wind could have a say, making for a typically tense and nervy start to the race.
Stage 2, from Roskilde, heads down a long stretch of coast and then crosses a 18km bridge over the Great Belt strait to the finish in Nyborg.
Following the three Danish stages, the race will transfer to France and, given the distance involved, there will be an additional and early rest day to facilitate this. Having started a day earlier than usual on the Friday, this allows the rest day to take place on the traditional Monday slot.
According to Velowire , the race will take the shortest trip possible from Copenhagen to France, with the race set to resume on the Tuesday in the very north east corner of France. The Voix du Nord newspaper, which covers the Nord region of France, has the most information, reporting that stage 4 will finish in Calais, possibly starting just along the coast in Dunkirk, although details of the parcours remain scarce.
There is a stronger indication that the following day will be raced on cobblestones, starting in the centre of Lille and heading for Wallers-Arenberg, which is the heart of the Paris-Roubaix route. If so, the stage would almost inevitably incorporate some of the cobbled sectors from the Hell of the North, albeit in the opposite direction. The race is then set to cross the border into Belgium. After the early stages, the picture is that the race would then head towards the Alps via Switzerland.
Swiss outlet RTS reports a stage 8 finish in Lausanne after a start in Dole, in what could be a totally flat stage or a late climb and descent if it approaches via the small Jura mountain range. There are plenty of nearby climbs to make a mountain stage but, given the proximity of the two towns, a time trial - which would be around 30km and largely uphill - cannot be completely ruled out.
Prediction: He'll lose too much time in the time trial. Both are talented contenders in the same classification. In France, Simon, who was captain at the Giro, will likely ride for Adam. He's good on the mountains and solid in time trials. Prediction: Has a chance, but won't win.
A talented rider has now become a potential podium finisher — Emanuel Buchmann impressed in the preparation races for the Tour. The quiet German has become one of the best on the mountain, and has improved in the time trial. The year-old is still lacking the punch and the confidence to seal the big win. Predicton: He'll keep getting better. The double of the Giro and the Tour last year proved to be too ambitious.
The experienced "shark from Messina" will remember the trials of the race in Italy, one he lost due to a tactical mistake. But his consistency and passion will see the year-old pick up points again. Prediction: The shark is a few teeth short of a strong bite. He is over his fear of the descent and has improved on his time trial — is Thibaut Pinot finally ready for a good finish?
The Frenchman continues to improve and is focused on the Tour. His team is good, but the others are better. Prediction: Pinot will attack, but won't be able to hold off all his opponents. The defending champion had a moment of shock during the Tour de Suisse. After a bad crash, his dream of a second Tour victory appeared lost. But the year-old Welshman can and will be at the Tour. His preparation wasn't perfect - this year won't be as comfortable as last year.
Prediction: He'll still be on the podium. For years, the Dane found himself in the service of other top riders: Jakob Fuglsang rode for the Schleck brothers and was also in the shadows of the Astana team. Now he is captain and it's about time too. He has been the most consistent of all the Tour candidates, and has improved up the mountain as well.
Prediction: He will get very close to the yellow jersey. Viva Colombia! The cycling-crazy nation is excited about the next star, one who will enrapture his home country. Egan Bernal has shown exceptional performances of late and as a member of Ineos, he is on one of the strongest teams.
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