Racing on wheels that is just around the bend!

Tour de France

The yellow jersey of the Tour de France is the most iconic image in road racing. On Friday riders will be starting in Copenhagen in the first stage to continue putting themselves through three weeks of gruelling climbs and sprints round the mountains of France in the world’s biggest bike race.

The man that everybody will have their eye on in this year’s race is the winner of the yellow jersey for the past two years Tadej Pogačar. At only the tender age of just 23, it could easily be argued that he is the current best stage racer in the world. He has ridden in three stage races this year already and secured victory in all of them, meaning he is coming into this tour in great form. He rides for UAE Team Emirates and has a strong team around him with the likes of Rafał Majka, Brandon McNulty and George Bennet supporting him, all of whom have got what it takes to bag stage wins themselves. This team will be a tough one to beat if allowed to ride to the best of their ability.

Their closest competitors are team Jumbo-Visma. Their team contains Jonas Vingegaard who came second behind Pogačar last year. His real strength is in the climbs, and he can be a match for Pogačar on these sections. Riding for the team there is also Primož Roglič who has won the Vuelta de España three times. The time trials are his strong suit, but as an all-rounder he is still very much second best to his compatriot.

There are lots of other interesting riders in the tour to follow as well, although it is hard to imagine them toppling the giants in the two previously mentioned teams. The Ineos Grenadiers are set to start the Tour with riders who have had past success in the tour with 2018 winner Geraint Thomas and former white jersey winner Adam Yates.

British Grand Prix

However, if indulging your inner petrol head is more your kind of thing, this weekend has also got you covered as the F1 season makes its way to Silverstone this weekend for the British Grand Prix, where Red Bull will be eager to further cement their recent dominance.

With a cool 304 points in the Constructors’ Standings at the time of writing, Red Bull go into this race with a whopping 74-point lead over nearest challengers Ferrari after some truly red-hot displays in recent races.

Although Sergio Pérez was forced into retirement last time around in Canada, his team still bagged plenty of points in Montreal thanks to yet another win from the truly imperious Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has now taken the chequered flag in 5 of his last 6 races (with Perez winning the other one) and is looking firmly on course to retain his driver’s championship.

Things couldn’t be more different for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, however. Despite a promising start to the season, which included a 1-2 with teammate Carlos Sainz in the first race, the wheels appear to have come off the Monacan’s title challenge as he now sits in 3rd place behind Verstappen and Pérez.

That being said, he did show tremendous spirit to fight back from the back of the grid to secure a 5th place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix and throwing pedal to the metal in similar fashion at Silverstone could be just what he needs to stop the Driver’s Title race turning into show jumping.

His teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. also showed what he was made of in Canada, securing a 2nd place finish after pushing reigning champion Verstappen all the way. If ever there was a time for the Spaniard to secure his first ever Grand Prix win, this is it!

Mercedes will also take encouragement from the Canadian Grand Prix after securing 3rd and 4th place finishes to put some points on the board. Whilst the Silver Arrows haven’t exactly been firing on all cylinders this season, due to more problems with their car than you can shake a stick at, their car does seem to be getting better as the season progresses. What’s more, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be champing at the bit to be in and amongst the points on home soil.

Hamilton has won 7 of the last 8 races here and will be in no mood to loosen his iron grip on victory, as he seeks to give his compatriots sitting in the stands something to cheer about.

Whatever happens, one thing’s for sure, this race is bound to have us all glued to our screens this Sunday.