Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Friday 1 July 2016

2016 Tour de France starts tomorrow – Nairo Quintana's turn to win?




The world's greatest sporting event – The 2016 Tour de France  – starts tomorrow at Mont Saint Michel. Three weeks later it finishes in Paris. Will Chris Froome win for the third time – previous victories in 2013 and 2015? Or will Nairo Quintana win for the first time. Or might Alberto Contador move back to three Tour de France victories having lost his third win – 2010 – because of a positive dope test. 

Quintana has shown himself to be very strong in the third week of previous editions of the Tour, so I'm I think he may well win this year with Froome second.   

Stage 1: Mont-Saint-Michel Utah Beach

The opening stage from Mont Saint Michel to Utah Beach (188 kms) is flat. It will surely be won by a sprinter, although cross winds as the bunch moves up the Normandy Coast could well cause splits in the peloton. Whoever wins the stage will take the Yellow Jersey. It would be great to see Mark Cavendish win as he has never worn the Yellow Jersey, while he has worn the leader's jersey for both the Giro and the Vuelta. However, I think Marcel Kittel has the best chance followed by André Griepel.  

Let the excitement begin!         

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