Tour de France

Wow! Whatever's going to happen next!?

Real life at the Tour - better than any soap any day.

Agreed!

And for the record, there's no way The Badger would have packed it in if his frame snapped.

He'd have just stared at it for a bit, 'til it welded itself back together and apologised to him for snapping in the first place!

Sluffy wrote:First proper mountain stage today.

Should be a cracker.

Nibili's already posted a man at the front - so no doubt he wants him there to help him later in the stage - so the plotting and scheming as already started.

Let battle commence!

You called it, mate.

Brilliant tactical ride form Nibali - that's how you time a charge!

Feel sorry for Rodriguez though, he was dead in his saddle by the end.

Yes I felt sorry for Rodriguez and the French lad who rode in yellow too.

Joaquim is one of my favourite riders - great climber but can't time trial - so he doesn't normally do the Tour mostly the Tour of Spain where they make the course more to his (and Valverde's) liking.

Rodriguez nickname is Purito, Spanish for little cigar, a name he was given in an early season training camp during his first year as a professional. When some of his teammates stepped up the pace on a small climb, he passed them making a hand gesture appearing to be smoking a cigar, suggesting he was climbing without much effort. The gesture was not welcomed by his teammates, who made him smoke a real cigar later in the evening!

Unless he too fall's off his bike Nibili's won this, so the fun is to see who will come second.  I had hoped Porte would be up there but he's just not quite good enough in the mountains.  I think Valverde will probably do it now - but he's another with a drugs background.

I'm happy to see the French lad Pinot show in the last two stages - I think he's sixth now.  He won a cracking stage in the Tour in 2012 and I had him as doing good things for 2013 but his nerve cracked in that Tour and he couldn't ride down the mountains at speed.  He most have got his confidence back, so one to watch for the Tour in a few years - they reckon around the age of 30 you are at your peak (no pun intended).

Rest day tomorrow then off to the Alps.

Proper mountains those!

Can't see Nibali losing this now.

Brilliant ride today which earned him the KOTM jersey to go with his nice yellow one.

Tomorrow's stage looks like a killer - that finishing section looks evil!

Can't wait.

Breadman wrote:Can't see Nibali losing this now.

Brilliant ride today which earned him the KOTM jersey to go with his nice yellow one.

Tomorrow's stage looks like a killer - that finishing section looks evil!

Can't wait.

Damn!!!!    I ought to know not to read this thread before seeing the days highlights!

 

Oops, sorry mate......

Breadman wrote:Oops, sorry mate......

No worries, it was my own stupidity for reading thee thread before seeing the action.

Nibali - superb.

Just a small wonder about tomorrow as he pushed his team hard - maybe they might feel it their legs?

Porte - crap.

He's really good but there's a question mark about him.

He blew up one day in the Tour last year and did the same today - unexplainable really?  I bet he rides well now for the rest of the Tour.

Pinot - future Tour winner.

Watch him get picked up by a good ream soon then watch what he is capable of in a few years as the team leader.

Carnage on the Alps again tomorrow!

Strange Tour this year, but very enjoyable, nonetheless.

The top two went out early and completely changed the dynamic of it for me.

Really enjoyed the open nature of things but it soon became apparent that there would only ever be one winner and Nibali fully deserved it.

Roll on La Vuelta!

And as an aside, I heard Wiggins moaning about Team Sky and Brailsford on the radio the other day and he's done himself no favours at all in my opinion.

He really does believe his own hype, doesn't he...?

Wiggins as always been about himself.

I said at the time that he was really fortunate to win the Tour and Olympic gold in 2012 as that years Tour was one of the rare ones set up to favour a Time Trials specialist - which is Wiggins strength - he could only be bettered by Martin and Cancellara - who both can not climb - hence his victory - and if Froome had disobeyed team orders he would have one that Tour as he wasn't that far short on Wiggins in the TT's and was certainly vastly superior in the mountains.

And for the Olympics both Martin and Cancellara either crashed or suffered from crashes before the Olympic TT started.

Fair play to Wiggins for winning but the cards fell for him that year.


The interest for me in this years Tour was really all about who would finish second and third.

I'm really pleased for Jean-Christophe Peraud who at 37 as only been road racing for 4 years - his career up to then was in cross country cycling, in which he won an Olympic silver.

I'm equally happy that Valverde didn't get into the top three as a known drugs cheat.

The Vuelta should be good as Froome should be back, Quintana will be there - odd he wasn't at the Tour(?), Horner will be defending from last year and I hope Fabio Aru will be there too - one to watch imo - finished 3rd in this years Giro.

I guess Valverde and Rodriguez will be there too being Spanish and I hope the latter as recovered more from the bad crash he had in the Giro which clearly effected him in the Tour.

Usually a load of hill top finishes in the Vuelta and Foome was toally out foxed last time he rode it (although he should have won it in 2011 when he gave up his chance to nursemaid Wiggins).

I'm looking forward to it as you can tell.

Geraint Thomas deserves two gold medals for winning that race today - one for each puncture!

Unbelievable Jeff!