Tour de France

Where the hell did Greipel come from then?

Brilliant finish!

Wow, closest finish I've ever seen!

Missed the last 50k today - went mowing the grass and got my timings wrong......

Highlights on ITV4 at 7.00PM.

Tbh bit of a dull stage until the finish.

Talansky fell yards from the end - he's a contender with Porte for third place on the Tour imo.

I do hope he's ok but one less to worry about if he's not.

Mountains soon!

My favourite part of Le Tour.

Good to hear Simon Yates getting a mention today.

He'll be thereabouts on the mountains - maybe even win a stage if the leaders are playing cat and mouse with each other. Look out for Irelands Nicolas Roche too but he'll be riding for Contador rather than himself.

Not really the big mountains today - Monday's stage is a bit of a brute though.

All the fun will come at the end of todays race when three climbs come one after the other.

Viva la Tour.

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!

Oh dear....poor old Alberto!

 

Contador's fallen - now 4 minutes behind Nibili on the stage - going to be impossible to get that back today I would imagine.

Sometimes the 'field' (peleton) will not push on and let riders catch up again - sort of an unwritten rule but they can't this time because up ahead of them at the front is a young Polish rider (very talanted) who on the 'road' as become the Tour leader - so they can't let him out of their grasp.

All happening and still 5 mountains to go!

Bye Bye...

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!