The OFFICIAL Tour de France, thread.

[1066familyman]

In about five years we should have ITV cycling, a 24 hour, 365 days a year cycling channel.

After years of watching TDF I've yet to see even a stage of the giro or vuelta, and that's a real shame. In cycling terms, compared to yourself and a few others on here, I'm just a glory hunter However, I'd watch the giro and veulta and the spring classics just as avidly if a free to air channel showed them. ITV 4 seems ideally placed to step in and do us all a favour, but ultimately I suppose it'll always be about ratings on any commercial channel.
As Stat Brother has said, ITV 4 have increased their coverage year on year now and we should be thankful for that. I'll also repeat again just how key to their coverage Phil Leggitt and Paul Sherwin are. I remember them saying the other day that they've both covered over 30 Tours each and of course Sherwin has actually ridden 7 too. That's precious experience, and as a double act, complete with their sometimes comical slip ups, they're just brilliant.

Amazing sprinting from Cav today ! I agree about Patachhi nailed on for Green in Paris though. Oh, and I disagree with you about Schleck being strong enough to beat Contador this year even had Frank not crashed out This year will have done his confidence no end of good though and at some point his time will surely come. Mind you, Andy may only be 26, but Contador is only 28, so there could be a few more years of dominance to go yet.

 

[1066familyman]

Rojas has been riding well and is always up in the top 6-7 riders.

Turgot from BBox is the best French hope, he's been top 10 in almost all the sprints.

Good calls, yet again, but it'll be a major upset if Patachhi throws it away now. You must have done alright with your bets this year ? Nothing's slipped your attention all Tour

I expect you're all excited about the world championships being in Geelong this year. No doubt you'll be roadside watching all the action ?

Have you got any predictions for the TT tomorrow ?

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Good calls, yet again, but it'll be a major upset if Patachhi throws it away now. You must have done alright with your bets this year ? Nothing's slipped your attention all Tour

I expect you're all excited about the world championships being in Geelong this year. No doubt you'll be roadside watching all the action ?

Have you got any predictions for the TT tomorrow ?

I agree, I can't see Petacchi losing it now bar falling over.

But now Cav has proven to himself he can get through arguably the toughest tour for sprinters in a long time he can really aim for the green jersey for years to come now with confidence.

Not out of question he could win 3-4 greens in a row.

And yeah i'm sitting pretty safe with my bets at this stage. Menchov should end up 3rd so that bet is pretty safe.

Young Roche would have to lose a bit of time for him to drop out of the top 20 now so that's pretty much safe too. Had a bet on Contador to win too, but didn't we all.

Been a good tour for the back pocket, though I just went and spent my Rodriguez winnings on a hair cut and new clothes lol

I'm absolutely pumped for the world championships, its going to be awesome.

My whole aim for the week will be to get a picture with Roman Kreuziger. So a bit of stalking is on the cards.

Might even make up a sign with something to do with NSC on it and see if i can get it on the telly.


The TT is a tricky one, Cancellara will of course be a nominal favourite merely because this year unlike the last few he hasnt had to do as much work at the front of the peleton in the mountains so should still be reasonably fresh.

Martin and Contador are the other strong chances.

Think I might just have a few small bets on riders finishing top 20 for the stage for fun.

For the Brit lads Wiggins will want to put in a decent ride to try and get something from a disappointing tour.

Stay away from punting on Millar as he's pretty much said he couldn't care less about the TT he's hurting so much.

One guy I'm going to have a few extra bob on is Dave Zabriskie.

Just got a feeling he might put in a really good TT ride.

Will also throw in Brent Bookwalter, Bert Grabsch (is last overall so hasn't been riding too hard lol), Vino and to go out with a bang Lance Armstrong.

 

[Stat Brother]

I guess we ought to begin wrapping this up, with the TdF awards:-

Best Rider
Best Team
Best Stage
Best Individual performance

Rider with most to prove next year
Team with most to prove
(they were the politest I could make them!)

Worst judging decision

The Ty award for best tipster.

Feel free to add any others, it's early.

 

[Gwylan]

After years of watching TDF I've yet to see even a stage of the giro or vuelta, and that's a real shame. In cycling terms, compared to yourself and a few others on here, I'm just a glory hunter However, I'd watch the giro and veulta and the spring classics just as avidly if a free to air channel showed them. .

Same here. I've watched the TdF every year since the 90s. In those days, the TdF wasn't live and the highlights were on at 4.00 in the morning.

I think cycling has been ill-served by TV in this country. I'd love it if the Giro and Vuelta was covered - but I'm not holding my breath

 

[Pantani]

After years of watching TDF I've yet to see even a stage of the giro or vuelta, and that's a real shame. In cycling terms, compared to yourself and a few others on here, I'm just a glory hunter However, I'd watch the giro and veulta and the spring classics just as avidly if a free to air channel showed them. ITV 4 seems ideally placed to step in and do us all a favour, but ultimately I suppose it'll always be about ratings on any commercial channel.
As Stat Brother has said, ITV 4 have increased their coverage year on year now and we should be thankful for that. I'll also repeat again just how key to their coverage Phil Leggitt and Paul Sherwin are. I remember them saying the other day that they've both covered over 30 Tours each and of course Sherwin has actually ridden 7 too. That's precious experience, and as a double act, complete with their sometimes comical slip ups, they're just brilliant.

Amazing sprinting from Cav today ! I agree about Patachhi nailed on for Green in Paris though. Oh, and I disagree with you about Schleck being strong enough to beat Contador this year even had Frank not crashed out This year will have done his confidence no end of good though and at some point his time will surely come. Mind you, Andy may only be 26, but Contador is only 28, so there could be a few more years of dominance to go yet.

Next year treat yourself to Eurosport for a month during the Giro. It is only £4, well it is on the internet anyway. The Giro is my favourite grand tour by far. Generally the route is far tougher than the Tour. some of the mountains they go over make the Tourmalet look like the South Downs. Check out the Stelvio.

and the Mortirolo: The actual climb to the summit starts at Mazzo di Valtellina and is 12.4 kilometres long at an average of 10.5% (height gain: 1300 m), the maximum gradient being 18%. I mean 18%, this is the most savage climb in any race, in my opinion.

On Contador and Schleck, they could be this generations Anquetil and Poulidor. If their battles turn out to be half as good as these two's were we are in for years of great Tours to come. This is a good article on Anquetil and Poulidor's greatest battle. It makes Contador Schleck the other day look like mates out on a training ride.

Anquetil v Poulidor '64 Tour de France

 

[Pantani]

I guess we ought to begin wrapping this up, with the TdF awards:-

Best Rider
Best Team
Best Stage
Best Individual performance

Rider with most to prove next year
Team with most to prove
(they were the politest I could make them!)

Worst judging decision

The Ty award for best tipster.

Feel free to add any others, it's early.

I'll wait until today's stage has finished. My approval has generally led to failure for the rider concerned. What I would like to say is that I have enjoyed this thread immensely. Sensible debate without any binfests in 15 pages. We should all by thrown off NSC for bringing the board in to disrepute.

 

[1066familyman]

I guess we ought to begin wrapping this up, with the TdF awards:-

Best Rider
Best Team
Best Stage
Best Individual performance

Rider with most to prove next year
Team with most to prove
(they were the politest I could make them!)

Worst judging decision

The Ty award for best tipster.

Feel free to add any others, it's early.

A few quick ones off the top of my head.

Can I nominate Sylvain Chavanel for gutsiest Frenchman award ? I'm shocking at remembering one day to the next but it seems me Chavanel has just been immense. In fact, does anyone get to start next years tour wearing red numbers ? I know each stage has a most aggresive rider, but not sure about the most aggresive rider overall.

Sympathy and respect award for battling on has to go to David Millar, especially after his little interview after the TT just now. Although old frog face must get a special mention here as he could easily have just given up with that cracked arm - fair play to him for finishing.

I expect you're still after top tipster award with your man Ryder Hysedel (sp ?). Fair play to you, but surely Tyrone has played a blinder this year and walks it on this thread.

 

[1066familyman]

Next year treat yourself to Eurosport for a month during the Giro. It is only £4, well it is on the internet anyway. The Giro is my favourite grand tour by far. Generally the route is far tougher than the Tour. some of the mountains they go over make the Tourmalet look like the South Downs. Check out the Stelvio.

and the Mortirolo: The actual climb to the summit starts at Mazzo di Valtellina and is 12.4 kilometres long at an average of 10.5% (height gain: 1300 m), the maximum gradient being 18%. I mean 18%, this is the most savage climb in any race, in my opinion.

On Contador and Schleck, they could be this generations Anquetil and Poulidor. If their battles turn out to be half as good as these two's were we are in for years of great Tours to come. This is a good article on Anquetil and Poulidor's greatest battle. It makes Contador Schleck the other day look like mates out on a training ride.

.
Anquetil v Poulidor '64 Tour de France

Re: the climbs you're describing

If I could find a way of recording Eurosports coverage for playback in the evenings ( at work all day ) I wouldn't begrudge a one off payment of £4. Might look into fiddling with the satelite dish to see if I can get Eurosport for the coming Vuelta. I have a feeling though that all the record functions I get with my freesat box don't work if I tune into different satelites.

P.S Will have a good read through that link at some point too. Cheers.

 

[1066familyman]

Schleck is holding his own here at the mo. Fantastic stuff ! Still can't see him doing it but what a massive point he'll be making if he can keep the time down to less than the 31 secs overall at the end.

Menchov riding himself onto the podium so far as expected.

Stat Brother will be happy too.

 

[1066familyman]

Will also throw in Brent Bookwalter, Bert Grabsch (is last overall so hasn't been riding too hard lol), Vino and to go out with a bang Lance Armstrong.

Good call again.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Dave Zabriske you legend! Top 5 finish in TT = very nice little earner

Still some hit and misses with my TT selections.

The TT is a tricky one, Cancellara will of course be a nominal favourite merely because this year unlike the last few he hasnt had to do as much work at the front of the peleton in the mountains so should still be reasonably fresh.

Martin and Contador are the other strong chances.

Think I might just have a few small bets on riders finishing top 20 for the stage for fun.

For the Brit lads Wiggins will want to put in a decent ride to try and get something from a disappointing tour.

Stay away from punting on Millar as he's pretty much said he couldn't care less about the TT he's hurting so much.

One guy I'm going to have a few extra bob on is Dave Zabriskie.

Just got a feeling he might put in a really good TT ride.

Will also throw in Brent Bookwalter, Bert Grabsch (is last overall so hasn't been riding too hard lol), Vino and to go out with a bang Lance Armstrong

Cancellara - 1st (no brainer selection)
Martin - 2nd (see Cancellara)

Grabsch - 3rd ( nice collect on Bert)
Zabriskie - 5th (very, very nice collect from Dave)

Contador - 35th ( did waht he had to do to win the tour, dud tip!)
Vino - 33rd ( looked tired, dud tip!)
Bookwalter - 42nd ( good ride for a promising young rider, BUT, dud tip!)
Armstrong - 67th ( must remember to not be sentimental anymore, worst tip!)

 

[Stat Brother]

Best Rider - Would have been Renshaw. 'Unsung heros' shouldn't be that good!. But Ryder for me, not only cos I'm biased but he has ridden a Wiggins style blinder on an awful tour for 'big' men.

Best Team - Bit left-field here but I'm going for Footon, the word novice doesn't even begin to describe them but they still put it about, and got seen (that terrible kit helps!)

Best Stage - Easy The cobbles, I loved that stage. More Classics please ITV

Best Individual performance - Thomas on the cobbles

Rider with most to prove next year - Wiggins will still be the high earner in the peleton

Team with most to prove - Or otherwise known as the Sky questions.
(they were the politest I could make them!)

Worst judging decision - Renshaw, I still say he may well not have seen Farrar

The Ty award for best tipster. - The clue is in the question!. I nearly got Armtrong's stage tac-tics a couple of days late!.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Allez allez bloody brilliant today. Hot hot then windy off for beer (expect to see wiggo drinking) and food. Come on Cav Paris expects.

 

[Statto]

A great stage today, I thought for a moment Schleck was going to overtake contador before a brilliant ride in the final 2 sectors by the spaniard. Another thing of note, Contador hasnt won a stage this year, the only 2 times I can remember this happening before was in 1989 (Greg Lemond) and 2006 (Oscar Pereiro). Been a great tour this year though. I hope Cav can finish on a high tomorrow. Its a long shot for him to win green but you never know.

 

[Stat Brother]

Well done Cav, doing it without a team shows how good he is, like we didn't know already.

Well I for one have loved this tour, I'll give it a good 8.5 out of 10.
Only marked down because the 2 riders are so much better than anyone else. which is hardly the tours fault. But imagine if there had been 4 of them, on that level, it would have been a 10 out of 10 bestest ever tour.

And finally I totally agree with Pantani this has been a great thread, I've really enjoyed it, and all the different opinions.

Great stuff, see you all next year (not that I'm signing off, from here, just yet)

 

[Gwylan]

Hear, hear - I've enjoyed the Tour thoroughly. I have a keen interest but am no expert and have appreciated hearing the views of Stat B, Pantani and, especially, TB.

I take SB's point about there not being 4 riders but many recent tours have had one dominant riders, so it's been good to have two.

 

[1066familyman]

Hear, hear - I've enjoyed the Tour thoroughly. I have a keen interest but am no expert and have appreciated hearing the views of Stat B, Pantani and, especially, TB.

I take SB's point about there not being 4 riders but many recent tours have had one dominant riders, so it's been good to have two.

Well said Sir !

I'm like you in that I've been following TdF for years but still wouldn't consider myself an expert, so I too appreciate the opinions of the three hardcore cycling posters you've mentioned. There's also the roadside expertise of Horton's halftime iceberg too, and on that note I'd like to wish TB happy live viewing for the coming World Championships in Geelong.

It's really good that everyone has stuck to this one thread and even the posters just chipping in with the odd post or two have kept it rolling along a treat. There's a nice little group of TdF fans on here - long may it continue.

I wonder if anyone could come up with a few book recommendations to keep us all going until next year ?

So far I've read - In search of Robert Millar. The Death of Marco Pantani. The Flying Scotsman ( Graeme Obree ). It's not about the bike.
Also finally found again after losing it, and now about to settle down to - Inside The Peleton, Riding, winning & losing the tour de france ( by Graeme Fife )

Can't comment on the last of the list above just yet, but I'd certainly recommend all of the others, although I suspect most on here have already read them anyway. Thinking of getting this next Skys Quest to Conquer the Tour de France: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Moore: Books. Although I'm a bit confused as to if it's actually available or not.

Finally for tonight - well done again today to Cav. He's ended up having an excellent Tour again, and all this after some, including me , thought he wouldn't make Paris after the troubles he had in the first week.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Best Rider: Mark Cavendish - Made it over the mountains and then produced two devastating wins to prove he's lengths better than his rivals and can do it without Renshaw.

Best Team: Quickstep - They didn't have a GC rider and their best rider wasn't at the tour. Despite that they still managed to win several stages and hold the Yellow jersey for a few days.

Best Stage: Stage 3 over the cobblestones. Was the day when heroes were made (Ryder H) and old heroes fell (Lance A) It was the day Andy S lost brother Frank and perhaps his best asset in trying to win the tour.

Best Individual performance: Joaquim Rodríguez for finishing 8th in his first Tour De France. (honourable mentions to Sylvan Chavanel and Ryder Hesjedal).

Rider with most to prove next year: Bradley Wiggins. He and everyone else had high expectations for him to at least finish to 10 again and he was just never had one decent day to suggest he was in the hunt.

Team with most to prove: Liquigas. Went there with one of the stronger teams in the tour yet despite Krueziger finshing top 10 they really never looked like winning anything. A Nibali and Pellizotti return next year could turn them into a TDF force.

Worst judging decision: On reflection for me by far the worst decision was to deny the sprinters any points and a chance to sprint the finish on stage 2.

 

[Stat Brother]

The book I'm after next will either be:-

Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape: The Remarkable Life of Jacques Anquetil, the First Five-times Winner of the Tour De France
or
Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi

Yet another mention for Cycling Home From Siberia, it's not really a cycling book more travelog, but certainly is a very good 'holiday' read.