Philippa York analysis: Magical mystery Tour

UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogacar edges out Jumbo-Visma’s Primoz Roglic (right) and Sunweb’s Marc Hirschi (centre) for the victory on stage 9 of the 2020 Tour de France
UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogacar edges out Jumbo-Visma’s Primoz Roglic (right) and Sunweb’s Marc Hirschi (centre) for the victory on stage 9 of the 2020 Tour de France (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

There's an excitement in the peloton when the Tour de France heads towards the big mountains, especially when it's the Pyrenees that begin the action. The promise is of a proper sort-out between the team leaders, where some will flourish whilst others whither. However, to get to there, quite often you need to survive a windy stage or two before you find typical Pyrenean weather, which can vary from hot, humid and threatening one day, followed by misty, cold and wet the next.

It's essential to arrive in the mythic terrain with most of your faculties, and then you have to adapt from pulling the big ring round to pedalling the inner one with suppleness – or, as the French say, en souplesse. It seems a much more elegant expression of the pedalling technique required, although it disguises the effort involved somewhat by its hint of femininity.

Philippa York

Philippa York is a long-standing Cyclingnews contributor, providing expert racing analysis. As one of the early British racers to take the plunge and relocate to France with the famed ACBB club in the 1980's, she was the inspiration for a generation of racing cyclists – and cycling fans – from the UK.

The Glaswegian gained a contract with Peugeot in 1980, making her Tour de France debut in 1983 and taking a solo win in Bagnères-de-Luchon in the Pyrenees, the mountain range which would prove a happy hunting ground throughout her Tour career. 

The following year's race would prove to be one of her finest seasons, becoming the first rider from the UK to win the polka dot jersey at the Tour, whilst also becoming Britain's highest-ever placed GC finisher with 4th spot. 

She finished runner-up at the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1986, to Pedro Delgado and Álvaro Pino respectively, and at the Giro d'Italia in 1987. Stage race victories include the Volta a Catalunya (1985), Tour of Britain (1989) and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1990). York retired from professional cycling as reigning British champion following the collapse of Le Groupement in 1995. 

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