PROCYCLING : AT THE HEART OF THE PELOTON

Cycling’s success gap keeps growing

Big budget teams like UAE Emirates monopolised much of the success at the 2021 Tour de France

Images: Michael Steele (main), Chris Graythen (O.Connor)/Getty Images.

⇨TOUR DE FRANCE 2021

There was a very clear divide between the successful teams at the 2021 Tour de France and the also-rans. The wins were concentrated in a small group of outfits. In recent history, there tend to be between 10 and 12 teams who win stages; however this year only eight teams did so. Four teams won 15 of the stages between them, leaving slim pickings for the rest of the field. And with Tadej Pogacar winning the yellow, white and KoM jerseys for UAE Emirates, Mark Cavendish of DQS taking green, Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard coming second overall and Bahrain winning the teams prize, these teams also hogged the Paris podium.

At the other end of the scale, there were several teams who spent a long three weeks travelling around France and racing for little reward. Qhubeka-NextHash, TotalEnergies and Intermarché-Wanty didn’t manage a single stage top three between them; Qhubeka’s best result on a stage was 10th. Several other teams significantly underachieved - DSM were the team of the 2020 Tour, winning three stages, but a single third place was as good as it got this year. EF Education-Nippo sacrificed going for stage wins in favour of defending Rigoberto Urán’s GC position - the Colombian was in second overall going into the final duet of Pyrenean stages, but faltered badly on both days, dropping to 10th, still a decent result but well down on his previous best of second overall. By the time the team realised that their GC challenge had more or less fizzled out, it was too late to change tack. BikeExchange and Movistar had similarly invisible Tours - Enric Mas did hang in for sixth overall for the Spanish team, but he’d done so by being a worthy stayer rather than attacking to gain time.