Edward Pickering

72km to go. Three left. Kuss, Vingegaard & Pogačar.

73km to go, make that 10. Three + three + four.

74km to go, and the yellow jersey group is down to 13 riders – four Visma, four UAE + five others.

Read this piece, and also download Stubbleman's amazing 1:46:43 The Ventoux Trilogy. This may be the most fun I've ever had writing a cycling piece.

Can't buy that kind of advertising for the product.

There have been more rider/moto interactions involving pieces of cardboard in this Tour than any I can remember.

There will be good days and bad days. Probably more bad days than good ones.

Hello, Pog's into the green jersey as well.

I find the 'Pogačar is vulnerable in week three' narrative mystifying. He's ridden seven Grand Tours, and won stage 20 in five of them. In the other two, he won stages in the final week. Last year he won the final three stages.

It’s a way more sustainable option than flying, especially as I was essentially a foot passenger. It’s about 10 per cent of the carbon footprint of a short-haul flight.

My Italian is basic duolingo level, so don’t learn anything from me. A google suggested tappa regina is in use, but a) tappone is trad, and b) AI might have hallucinated it.

Suboptimal, but the cold was the biggest challenge. Was zigzagging down because I was shivering so hard!

Stage 16 🚴‍♂️
Bolzano - Badia
1835

Epic lone night ride over the Passo Val Gardena.

Stage 15 🚂
Verona Porta Nuova - Bolzano
1701

Final train journey before la tappa regina between Bolzano and Badia.

Am over the border into Italy now, so should be safe, but I still have the return journey to contend with…

Stage 14 🚂
Milano Centrale - Verona Porta Nuova
1515

Frowns from the train guard about the bike not being in a bag. But Italian jobsworths are amateurs compared to the Brits and French, and he not only let me on with the bike, but also put me in business class.

We should have more buildings with forests on them.

Stage 13 🚴‍♂️
Milano Porto Garibaldi - Milano Centrale
1400

Pleasant bimble away from motorised traffic, then a terrifying last 500m.

Stage 12 🚂
Gare de Lyon - Milano Porto Garibaldi
0645

Longest leg of the journey, fuelled by a Big Mac and fries for dinner, and too short a night’s sleep in a hotel in Gare de Lyon’s red light district.

Stage 11 🚴‍♂️
Gare du Nord - Gare de Lyon
22:10

Paris is a cycling city. Exhibit A.

Thank you! I usually use the Waterloo line but first train on Sunday is only 8:30, would have got me to London an hour later than Paddington line. Much prefer it normally!

Stage 10 🚂
Lille Flandres - Paris Gare du Nord
1920

First lucky break of the journey - hopped on the late 1912 instead of having to wait for the 2012. The seagull shit was a sign.

Stage 9 🚶‍♂️‍➡️
Lille Europe - Lille Flandres
1905

Stage 8
Calais Fréthun - Lille Europe
1837

Length of journey: 28 minutes
Number of blind panics that allen key had disappeared : 2

Preparation for stage 8.

Stage 7
Calais Port - Calais Fréthun Gare.
13km

Never in doubt.

Oh good, it’s market day on this road down which I need to cycle fast.

Stiff headwind, obvs.

Worry not, Nick, stage doesn’t start for a while.

Bit concerned about stage 7, to Calais Fréthun station, which I didn’t realise is 13km from the port.

I’ve got 57 minutes to get there, including packing my bike down at the other end and passport control.

You can’t win Exeter-Badia-Exeter on stage 7, but you can certainly lose it.