The Official 102nd Tour de France, thread.

[Stat Brother]

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Remember those boring old first weeks when it was what sprinter will win today and you could tune in at 16.15 to catch all the action, Cobbles today lets hope peoples teams won't lose anymore riders today and the threatened rain stays at bay, watching riders on wet cobbles is like watching dentists pull death, the noise and groans lives with you.

 

[Stat Brother]

Remember those boring old first weeks when it was what sprinter will win today and you could tune in at 16.15 to catch all the action, Cobbles today lets hope peoples teams won't lose anymore riders today and the threatened rain stays at bay, watching riders on wet cobbles is like watching dentists pull death, the noise and groans lives with you.

Team Stat is already down to 8 men, third might just be as good as it gets.

 

[Stat Brother]

Stage 4 Seraing - Cambrai, 223.5 km COBBLESTONES

This is the longest stage of the 2015 Tour. The longest stage ever was 482km between Sables d’Olonne and Bayonne, used between 1919 and 1924.
221.5km is the shortest distance covered by the Tour’s longest stage in the race’s history. (am I being thick?)
The Tour enters France, its third country. The most cosmopolitan Tour was 1992, which visited seven countries in total.
The Tour last visited the start town, Seraing, in 2012, when Peter Sagan won his first Tour stage





I guess it's fairly safe to say Nibali will be active today.
Gallopin and GVA will be aiming for yellow, while G & Stan sit either side of Froome.
I can see Stybar and Martin making the race, and I think the Steppers will come away with something today.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Team Stat is already down to 8 men, third might just be as good as it gets.

I think most teams will have riders down after yesterdays episodes, lets hope the rain over Brighton stays here and does not decide to watch the cobbled sections. Really don't want riders taken out today.

G will have to work hard today, would have been a great stage for Cancella unfortunately. I am sure velocasts were muting Alexis Vuillermoz as a good outside chance today and was about 66-1. Would someone like Stybar be given free reign today to have a go at a stage win,

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

About to hit the first Pave and I think they just said Standard has punctured, SKY still ramping up the pace

 

[Bold Seagull]

Blistering pace heading into the first section of cobbles. Cross wind causing the main peloton to split into 2. 125km to go and it's already looking a classic stage.

Cav leading the peloton riding for Tony Martin - great stuff

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Cav looked a cobbles specialist, Nibbali very close to front wonder if he will spring an attack

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

How did Lotto get away with cycling kit that looks so similar to the yellow jersey

 

[Pantani]

How did Lotto get away with cycling kit that looks so similar to the yellow jersey

Weird isn't it. Back in the day, Once used to change their yellow kit to a pink kit for the Tour. When Cancellara crashed yesterday with all those Lotto Jumbo's it took ages to know he had crashed, whereas normally the yellow jersey sticks out like a sore thumb, like it is supposed to do.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Cav won the intermediate sprint really well, using Renshaw as a decoy

 

[Bold Seagull]

Cav won the intermediate sprint really well, using Renshaw as a decoy

Did you see Sagan after they sat up after the sprint say to Cav, Griepel and Dekenklob 'lets form a break' - Griepel actually looked behind to see where the peloton was then had a good laugh with Sagan. Really good to see a bit of humour from them. Cav's expression didn't change though...

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

Weird isn't it. Back in the day, Once used to change their yellow kit to a pink kit for the Tour. When Cancellara crashed yesterday with all those Lotto Jumbo's it took ages to know he had crashed, whereas normally the yellow jersey sticks out like a sore thumb, like it is supposed to do.

Lotto Jumbo and Saxo had to change kits for the tour but LJ left the back almost completely yellow so you can't see the Maillot Jaune!

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Lotto Jumbo and Saxo had to change kits for the tour but LJ left the back almost completely yellow so you can't see the Maillot Jaune!

The Tinko Saxo camouflage shades of grey over yellow is truly horrible

Are we in France yet?

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

3 go down entering the next Pave, rain due, pace fast Dan Martin down

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Machan and Joyce both 50's

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Dowsett down and bleeding

 

[Pantani]

WTF. Annoying constant phrases are one thing, but coming back from the ad break with the words, "like last year the crashes happen before the cobbles, with Froome coming down".

Has Froome crashed today? No, he hasn't. Think about what you say

 

[Pantani]

Right that is it. Eurosport and the incredibly annoying Carlton Kirby it is. Confusing Kwiatkowski with Rui Costa just isn't good enough.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

In the classics the cyclist seem more spread out, its seems more cyclists heading for the narrow cobbled roads in the TDF

All the main contenders through the second section