Author Archives: Patrick Santino

2021 TDF Stage 19: The Heroes Head Home

“Much has been seen and accomplished, life lessons and growth has been gained, but now the ordeal is on the cusp of being over: the longed-for return to normal life is on the horizon. Now these heroes return home out of the south like the hobbits on to the edge of the Shire at the end of Return of the King.”

2021 TDF Stage 18: Mountains Wrap Up with a Carbon Copy

“I cannot contain my frustration: what have these guys been doing the past three days? For the past two mountain stages, neither got into the breakaways, and both scored at most a handful of Points combined. And because of cagey tactics, yesterday without even trying for the Polka-Dots, Pogacar got himself into contention for that competition.”

2021 TDF Stage 17: Bastille Day Battle on the Col du Portet

“Truly, truly, I praise them with the highest compliment I, Patrick Santino, can give. Their ascent up this Col du Portet reminded me of my days of most yore: to the memories I have of Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador duking it out round for round on the third week Pyrenean climbs of the 2010 Tour. If you listen to my first Introduction episode you will understand why I hold those days in such mythically high regard.”

2021 TDF Stage 16: Last Ditch Efforts for Green

“But should one of the four KOM Hunters have escaped, at what cost would this have come for the final two rounds tomorrow and Thursday where more weighty and higher ranking mountains loom? We shall not find out, because the KOM Hunters called a truce. There would be no race for the Polka-Dots today…but there would be for Green.”

2021 TDF Stage 15: Kings of the Mountains on the Queen Stage

“Ah! Ah! It was one of those stages where the most obsessed fans began watching eagerly early, for the profile contained so many jagged high peaks surely it would be a fierce battle for KOM Points at the top of every climb! And the obsessed fans were right: all four riders at the top of the KOM Classification were in the breakaway today hunting for Polka-Dot Points”