Tour won’t be won in Sheffield, but may be lost there

The opening stages of recent Tours de France have provided yellow jersey contenders with a steady opening to their bid for glory.

Organisers and route planners, perhaps wisely, do not want to eliminate high-profile names from contention in the first few days.

Hence the prologues and flat roads that usually signify the early stages and allows general classification challenges to ease into the race.

The 101st running of the great race in 2014, however, will be different.

For the second stage between the historic city of York and the industrial heartland of Sheffield threatens to throw the cat amongst the pigeons early on, or more pertinently, throw the challenger out of contention.

That is the view of Malcolm Elliott, a two-time Tour de France rider who knows better than most how treacherous the terrain will be on the run in from West Yorkshire to his native Sheffield on July 6 next summer.

If the best cyclists in the world were not tested enough by the Grand Depart’s opening stage from Leeds to Harrogate, then the second could see them leaving the county with newfound respect for the roads of Yorkshire.

“If you are general classification candidate, you could lose the race there,” says Elliott of the closing stretch of the 200km route, which sees six climbs in the last 60km with an overall height of 1,500 metres scaled.

“The Tour won’t be won going into Sheffield, but it could be lost on that stage.

“It’s very technical for the last 20 miles or so, over Strines Moor and Jawbone Hill.

“It is horrible, it’s just up and down with some stiff climbing, when the racers will be close together.

“Anyone getting dropped on there will struggle to get back because you’re straight into the next climb.

“That could be a little more difficult for the likes of Mark Cavendish but could suit someone like (Rotherham’s) Ben Swift. Because of his local roots Swift is going to be the most motivated rider there, assuming he makes the team, obviously.

“Ben will know all those roads well, so that would be a dream scenario for him.

“There is a whole bunch of riders who could win that second stage – the Philippe Gilbert type of riders (good climbers and sprinters).

“The first stage I probably know the roads but I can’t picture them clearly.

“From what Brian Robinson (Britain’s first Tour de France stage winner) was telling me, it’s rolling but nothing too challenging and it could likely finish in a bunch finish in Harrogate which of course would suit Mark Cavendish.

“The next stage I know much better, particularly the second half of the stage and that final run in to Sheffield.”

Such is the demands of the second stage that Elliott believes riders will have to be well prepared beforehand if they are to remain in the hunt.

That could mean reconnaissance rides from Alberto Contador and Bradley Wiggins in the weeks and months leading up to the world’s most famous bike race.

“Unless they do their homework and check it out beforehand, a lot of the guys are going to be very surprised just how tough that second stage is,” continues Elliott.

“You don’t see it so often in a grand tour, a stage early on that is so crucial.

“You have to put it into context – the stages in Yorkshire aren’t the Alps or the Pyranees, but it’s still tough.

“It’s the repetitive nature of it, 1,500m of climbing in the last section.

“Holme Moss is notorious. There’ll be gaps on Holme Moss and then you’re straight on to the Woodhead which is more a drag than a climb, and it’s not long before you’re back on to the smaller roads again and over into Strines.

“There are some 20 per cent, maybe even 25 per cent, climbs on those roads there.”

If any of the world’s best need a guiding hand to what to expect on stage two in the lead up to next year’s Tour, they would be wise to give Elliott a shout.

The 51-year-old is still in good nick, having only hung his bike up for the second time last year.

So could the Tour de France coming to Yorkshire tempt back a man who rode the Tour twice in the 80s and won the points jersey in the Vuelta Espana into the saddle for one last hurrah?

“I only hung my bike up just over a year ago,” he laughs.

“I still enjoy riding the bike. I retired at 36 and came back at 41, so had a long stretch out, and then did another nine seasons, which no-one has really ever done before.

“I’m satisfied with what I achieved.

“Me getting back on the bike and trying to ride the Tour would be even less likely than the Tour de France coming to Yorkshire...”

When he was first approached two years ago about helping tourism board Welcome To Yorkshire bid for the Grand Depart, Elliott was still competing for a British UCI Continental team

Having enjoyed a career that included Olympic Games appearances 16 years apart and two gold medals at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, seeing the showpiece race of his beloved sport come to the roads where he has trained for much of his life, was a genuine thrill.

“The last 20 years it’s become more commonplace for the Tour to extend beyond the French borders but not for it to come this far north,” says Elliott, who was brought up in the Wadsley area of Sheffield and inducted into the British cycling hall of fame in 2009.

“It was unheard of really. A couple of years ago I first got wind of a bid from Yorkshire and I had to check the date to make sure it wasn’t April 1!

“But then things progressed and it became more of a reality.

“When you looked at the opposition who were also tendering for it, I still thought that we would be lucky to get it.

“But Gary Verity and the Welcome To Yorkshire team have pulled off a fantastic achievement.

“Now as you start to get the detail padded out with the stage routes, it starts to sink in a little bit more.

“And I was delighted to come on board.”

Malcolm Elliott facts and figures

1961: Born: July 1, in Sheffield.

1979: Riding for Sheffield’s Rutland club, picked to represent GB at junior world championships in Argentina.

1980: Attends Moscow Olympics, finishing seventh in the team pursuit.

1982: Wins two golds at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in team time trial and in 184km road race.

1987-88: Rode and completed Tour de France.

1988-89: Won three stages of Vuelta Espana and claims the points jersey in ‘89.

1996: Attends Atlanta Olympics, finishing off the pace in road race.

1997: Retiring aged 36.

2003: Returns to competitive cycling at age of 41.

2011: Retires at end of the season aged 50.