The Official 100th Tour de France thread, 2013.

[Tyrone Biggums]

With Cav's history if it had been him that fell he'd have gone off his dial blaming the other guy for everything under the sun causing him to fall.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

I do wish they'd get rid of the time trials from the Tour.

 

[teaboy]

I LOVE a time trial. Team TTs are better though. I'd like a TTT Prologue <5km.

Does anyone else prefer Roland's stupid polka-dot shorts to his really bad red ones? Surely a polka-dot skinsuit is on the bus somewhere...

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

I just think too many tours are being won or lost on the time trials.

Get rid of them and there would be far less gaps between the GC contenders.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I just think too many tours are being won or lost on the time trials.

Get rid of them and there would be far less gaps between the GC contenders.

Without looking it up, how many of the past TdF's would you say have been decided on TT's? Obviously Wiggins was, but can't believe Evans or Schleck won it due to TT's? Genuine question?

 

[Stat Brother]

Without looking it up, how many of the past TdF's would you say have been decided on TT's? Obviously Wiggins was, but can't believe Evans or Schleck won it due to TT's? Genuine question?

They are the exceptions.

Lance's template was win the big mountain stage and nail it home on the last TT.
Which in itself was loosely based on Indurain.
Anquetil set the standard.

That's a lot of tours won on TT's.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

They are the exceptions.

Lance's template was win the big mountain stage and nail it home on the last TT.
Which in itself was loosely based on Indurain.
Anquetil set the standard.

That's a lot of tours won on TT's.

Add Contador too. Schleck could match him in the mountains, but get smashed in the TT.

 

[Stat Brother]

The OPQS cap is pony, although their front to back stripes has a nice touch of fading to it!!

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Tour over. With another time trial to come might as well call it now.

So Green and Yellow are settled (bar accidents).

Only Polka and White to decide. Time trial might decide the White as well if Quintana isn't given the green light to try and smash the Pole by 5-6 minutes during the mountains.

 

[Stat Brother]

Tour over. With another time trial to come might as well call it now.

So Green and Yellow are settled (bar accidents).

Only Polka and White to decide. Time trial might decide the White as well if Quintana isn't given the green light to try and smash the Pole by 5-6 minutes during the mountains.

As it was always going to be.

Garmin handed Movistar & Saxobank their chance on Sunday and neither took it.
That's hardly Sky's fault.

 

[teaboy]

I just think too many tours are being won or lost on the time trials.

Get rid of them and there would be far less gaps between the GC contenders.

The closest Tour in history was won/lost on a TT stage - 8 seconds between Lemond and Fignon. If it had been a normal road stage Fignon would've won by almost a minute.

The Tour is supposed to test riders in a multitude of disciplines and terrain. Without TTs you win in the mountains. I think it's time for another Tour comprised solely of Team Time Trials.

 

[1066familyman]

Perhaps an ideal compromise would be just one TT and make the parcours half and half to suit climbers and TT'ers?

Or if that favours the climbers too much, then make that one TT a flat parcours of a length that can be balanced out by the climbers come the mountains?

Either way, how do you beat a rider like Froome when he's exceptional at both anyway

 

[1066familyman]

Tour over. With another time trial to come might as well call it now.

So Green and Yellow are settled (bar accidents).

Only Polka and White to decide. Time trial might decide the White as well if Quintana isn't given the green light to try and smash the Pole by 5-6 minutes during the mountains.

I think White should be Quintana's easily enough in the end as that final TT suits him better than today's and I think Kwiatkowski will tire more than Quintana as the race goes on and lose too much time in the mountains.

Polka dot could be interesting as Tommy V might be able to help Rolland keep it when Rolland is having a bad day.

 

[Stat Brother]

July 11, Stage 12: Fougères - Tours 218km

 

[Stat Brother]

Well well well, no excuses, in a straight up fight, Cav got beaten by a huge thighed German.

I can't help thinking Billy Bonnet was responsible for the crash.
I'll be amazed if all there were involved start tomorrow.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Well well well, no excuses, in a straight up fight, Cav got beaten by a huge thighed German.

I can't help thinking Billy Bonnet was responsible for the crash.
I'll be amazed if all there were involved start tomorrow.

Wow, it looked perfect for Cav, great lead out by Stegmans, Kittel absolutely flew past Cav, came from some way back. What a performance. Incredible. It looked Cav's nailed on.

 

[Stat Brother]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/5live/posts/The-Tour-Crowd-Incidents

 

[black & white seagull]

Mr Halftime Iceberg and I have gathered many, many freebies from the Tour over the years, but this - from today - was a first:



A condom. Sponsored by a French Trade union.

 

[Stat Brother]

Blimey that was a short stage!!

July 12, Stage 13: Tours - Saint-Amand-Montrond 173km

 

[teaboy]

Will Kittel get over that lump?