The Official 101st Tour de France, thread.

1066familyman said:

I'm listening to all your comments intently because of your cycling background and thinking you'd know your stuff regarding injuries. Then I just remembered again what you now do for a living as well Thanks for the feedback.

I know you've only initial reports to go on, but best case scenario on location of a fractured Tibia, when's the soonest he's likely to be back you reckon? Season pretty much over or Lombardy at the beginning of October a possible? The Worlds at the end is September is a flat parcours anyway I think?

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Getting beyond my area with those kind of details. Got to think it's pretty much season over now, though.

Indurain's Lungs said:

Getting beyond my area with those kind of details. Got to think it's pretty much season over now, though.

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That's a shame for him if so. Must be absolutely gutted, particularly having come into this Tour in such great shape.

Indurain's Lungs said:

Broken tibia! Nails!

Can't believe it's the first time he's climbed off in 8 years.

Some talk of him taking a few too many risks though.

On a more concerning note, estimates put nibali at 6.2-6.5w/kg for the final climb!

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Watching the race live this afternoon i was amazed at the speed of Nibali over the last 2 km, it just looked too easy. I hope for the sake of the tour it was kosher.

Southern Toon said:

Watching the race live this afternoon i was amazed at the speed of Nibali over the last 2 km, it just looked too easy. I hope for the sake of the tour it was kosher.

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It was the first time all day Nibs had put his nose into the wind.
Purito had fought, properly fought, Tommy V up the previous 6 (six) categorised climbs.

Had that situation been reversed, so would the result.

[tweet]488786697002700801[/tweet]

As for Bike-gate:-

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/07/t...dentified-as-cause-of-snapped-contador-frame/

desprateseagull said:

how many riders will crash, before they stop the tour?

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How many need to be injured before a Frenchman can win?

dougdeep said:

How many need to be injured before a Frenchman can win?

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Probably only another 3, if you get the right ones...

Broken tibia and back on the bike. Hardcore. I'm gutted Contador's out. I don't like him, or want him to win, but he climbs beautifully and the Tour was panning out nicely for a high mountains duel. Now it's a bit less exciting, but other teams will now at least see a podium place as very possible.

Stat Brother said:

[tweet]488786697002700801[/tweet]

As for Bike-gate:-

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/07/t...dentified-as-cause-of-snapped-contador-frame/

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You beat me to it, SB. Its interesting that it is his left shoe that was in such a bad state - his right leg was the one that was cut up badly. I wonder if its his left tibia that is fractured. Certainly the force required to do that amount of damage to a cleat could break bones.

Indurain's Lungs said:

You beat me to it, SB. Its interesting that it is his left shoe that was in such a bad state - his right leg was the one that was cut up badly. I wonder if its his left tibia that is fractured. Certainly the force required to do that amount of damage to a cleat could break bones.

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No it's definitely his right, I've seen a pic of him braced up going out of the x-ray wagon.

I guess he got his left foot out, but fell on his right side.

By all accounts hit happened very very quickly.

Southern Toon said:

Watching the race live this afternoon i was amazed at the speed of Nibali over the last 2 km, it just looked too easy. I hope for the sake of the tour it was kosher.

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Yes, the cycling world has to hope it's all kosher, but as [MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION] said, Nibali had a well drilled Astana team working solely for him with a full compliment of 9 still in their team. Nibali got to the foot of that climb with 2 team mates still with him, his last team mate dropping off and he made his dash to the line - the only point in the race he'd had to work for himself.

Had Contador and Froome still been in the race, I really don't think Nibali would have got that far ahead, in fact we can only imagine the what if's for that finale had they been there.

Porte has been suddenly thrust into leadership, his team are 2 experienced climbers down, so to be fair to him, he's actually doing remarkably well to be hanging on. Would be great if G could just stay on his bike though, lovely lad that he is, this tour is surely now a big opportunity to stake a claim at being a team leader in a grand tour in the future.

It's a rest day - the traditional moment for doping stories to come out, and for finger pointing to begin! So, who's on the sauce this year?

Personally I think G has to be on something - probably whiskey based on his inability to stay upright. Nothing overly suspicious so far I don't think, although Tony Martin's 2 day motorbike impression would raise an eyebrow if it had been anyone else.

Has cycling turned the corner?

teaboy said:

It's a rest day - the traditional moment for doping stories to come out, and for finger pointing to begin! So, who's on the sauce this year?

Personally I think G has to be on something - probably whiskey based on his inability to stay upright. Nothing overly suspicious so far I don't think, although Tony Martin's 2 day motorbike impression would raise an eyebrow if it had been anyone else.

Has cycling turned the corner?

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Poor old G, he takes it in great humour, and to be fair he's having a great tour in between falling off.

July 16, Stage 11: Besançon - Oyonnax 187.5km

Stage details

Distance: 187.5km

Category: Flat

Highest point: 998m

Both cheats to some degree though Stat....*ducks for cover....

From the Guardian (with a bit of detail about the Froome fuss a few months ago i'd not heard)

Less than a year after taking over from Pat McQuaid in farcical circumstances, the International Cycling Union (UCI) president, Brian Cookson, is facing a barrage of criticism over his handling of the governing body.

Members of the sport’s Ethics Commission have been replaced in controversial fashion, a high-profile doping case was not disclosed to the media and last month, the 2013 Tour de France champion, Chris Froome, was granted a therapeutical use exemption (TUE) in disputable manner.

Shortly after Cookson was elected president of the UCI in Florence during a spectacular congress, the Ethics Commission, the guardian of the principles of the UCI’s Code of Ethics, was subject to a major overhaul.

The Dutchman Peter Zevenbergen, who brought up claims against the Russian Igor Makarov, one of the biggest supporters of Cookson in his election campaign, was asked to leave his job, he claims.

“It is quite simple: the new management committee did not accept my criticism,” Zevenbergen told Reuters on Tuesday.

Article 14 of the Code of Ethics of the UCI states that the members of the Ethics Commission “shall be irremovable”, unless they die or resign.

“I think those who were in the congress meeting last year would have been disappointed with the performance of the Ethics Committee as it was represented,” Cookson said. “I think that it was quite clear that we had to change. We have got a new Ethics Commission now, all the members of the commission have been renewed. People we have are of the highest quality.”

Zevenbergen said that he received a visit from Martin Gibbs, the UCI director general, in late December 2013, as the Ethics Commission was investigating claims that the Russian federation president, Makarov, had promised €1m (£793, 350) to the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) in exchange for a Cookson vote.

“Martin Gibbs came to Amsterdam to discuss this with me on the 27 December. I would not say he asked me to resign, there was some pressure, he said he did not want to continue with me.

“He said if I stayed, it [the Ethics Commission presidency] would be an empty function. As a consequence Peter Barth from Germany resigned from the commission.”

Sources told Reuters that Barth, who left his job in April, felt the independence of the Ethics Commission could not be guaranteed any more.

Meanwhile, last month Froome, who rides for Team Sky, was handed a TUE for a steroid-based drug so he could ride the Tour de Romandie with a chest infection.

Member teams of the Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Credible (MPCC) prevent their riders from competing while under steroid-based treatment but Team Sky are not one of them. It was, however, the way the TUE was granted that was subject to debate.

Regulations state that “the UCI shall appoint a committee of at least three physicians to consider requests for TUEs,” yet only the UCI doctor Mario Zorzoli was involved in granting Froome a TUE.

Asked why the UCI would bypass its own regulations, Cookson said: “Not strictly true. The commission had given delegation to the UCI’s doctor to make those decisions. It would have applied to any other rider.”

Cookson pointed out that the World Anti-Doping Agency had not seen anything untoward but the Briton added that from now on, only the three-man panel would decide on TUEs.

“But we can do a better job. We will now change our procedure,” he said. “We have reconfirmed the members of the TUE commission and we have ensured that from now on decisions about TUEs are not taken by one single individual but taken by a panel of TUE experts.”

Last week, the Russian Denis Menchov, who retired after winning the Giro and the Vuelta, was retrospectively stripped of all his Tour de France results from 2009, 2010 and 2012 after irregularities in his biological passport were found.

The UCI failed to communicate this to the public or the media despite usually sending out a statement once a doping case is closed. It simply put a pdf document on its website without advertising it. It only sent a statement after members of the media discovered the pdf file.

Reuters understands that the case was opened in April 2013, and in September 2013, when Cookson took over from McQuaid, negotiations were still ongoing between the UCI legal department and Menchov.

“We would put out a press release at the end of the process,” McQuaid said. “I think you have to be upfront and when your system is working and working well you need to be able to state that.

“You need to make statements when you catch big guys and Menchov is a big guy.”

Cookson denied there could be a link between this way of communicating and him having been backed by Makarov, the founder of Menchov’s Katusha team, during the UCI election campaign.

“I understand the implications of that,” said Cookson, who insisted on transparency during his election campaign. “It was not hidden at all. If I look at it, probably it would have been better if we had made a more positive announcement.

“I have not spoken to Mr Makarov about this and I haven’t seen him since a management committee back in June so I understand why people say these things but it’s not true,” he added.

I'm not sure whether to feel sorry for Peter Sagan or not after today. He's had the Green jersey competition sewn up since stage 3, and yet can't catch a break with a stage win. However, he knows people won't work to take him to the finish only for him to take the sprint, so why not go with Gallopin when he kicked again? If others go with him it becomes 1 from 4 again, which he should win. By not going he banks on the peloton catching everyone and then winning a bigger sprint with quicker riders. I don't get it. To win a race you have to be prepared to lose it, and he didn't seem like he wanted to risk losing in a sprint against 'slower' riders.

An exciting stage with a lot happening on intriguing roads, and only one comment.

C'est la vie.

July 17, Stage 12: Bourg-en-Bresse - Saint-Étienne 185.5km

Stage details

Details: 185.5km

Category: Flat

Highest point: 867m

Turned on the ITV4 streaming for a change. Can't cope with Phil any more - how long does he have to keep going on about Giant working for Kittel when its bloody obvious they're working for Degenkolb!