North of Robertsbridge
Well-known member
He's got a bit lost in all the excitement (and speculation) about Pogačar, but the other exciting new talent I've watched winning at this year's tour is Biniam Girmay, the Eritrean sprinter
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[Other Sport] 2024 Tour de France
- Thread starter Weststander
- Start date
Fignon's Ponytail
Well-known member
Anyway.....team of the race for me..?
EF Education. Always on the attack, stage wins, the yellow jersey, the climbers jersey etc. Great race for them I thought.
Disappointments? Decathlon AG2r, as one of the winningest teams in 2024 I expected a lot more from them, although they snuck Gall into fairly decent final position without really showing anything at all over 3 weeks. Also Bahrain....what was the point?
EF Education. Always on the attack, stage wins, the yellow jersey, the climbers jersey etc. Great race for them I thought.
Disappointments? Decathlon AG2r, as one of the winningest teams in 2024 I expected a lot more from them, although they snuck Gall into fairly decent final position without really showing anything at all over 3 weeks. Also Bahrain....what was the point?
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Pogue Mahone
Well-known member
- Apr 30, 2011
- 10,936
Absolutely. He’s been a breath of fresh air throughout.
Cycling has been a sport noticeable by its ‘whiteness’ - hopefully this is going to change.
Oh, I agree with that, certainly.
After the majesty of the French countryside and mountains, Paris serves up a thrilling spectacle to round the whole thing off.
keaton
Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
- Nov 18, 2004
- 9,956
In my head I think he must be clean because if he was doping surely he wouldn't be so obviously taking the piss and winning so many stages unnecessarily
Fignon's Ponytail
Well-known member
But then you could say the same about LA all those years.....
Spiros
Well-known member
Agree. Also saw a comment on coverage (though can’t remember who) saying that cycling has widened its appeal tremendously over the last few years and they’re getting athletes in the sport who would previously taken their abilities elsewhere. As the pool of talent gets bigger it also gets better.
For example Remco Evenopoel was originally going to be a footballer (he played for Belgium at u16 level) but opted for cycling instead.
I really enjoyed the whole race. Even though Pogacar was nailed on to win from ages out he still lit up the race with attacks on most stages and stirred the pot with some of the sub contests. I really hope he goes for the Vuelta but can’t see it happening
The Lemming Stomper
Under the flag
Adverts with a bit of cycling thrown in...
Discovery plus the way to go ( if it's affordable natch) imo
Fignon's Ponytail
Well-known member
Still got this on VHS somewhere. Love looking back at the era of cycling when I was a kid, & idolizing these riders.
sir_gullahad
Well-known member
Fignon's Ponytail
Well-known member
I was only thinking the other day that ITV need to update their intro music etc...its been like that how many years now?!Nostalgia overload. ITV should bring that opening credits music back.
Pogue Mahone
Well-known member
- Apr 30, 2011
- 10,936
No! It’s like BBC’s music for cricket, tennis and skiing. Iconic!
Pogue Mahone
Well-known member
- Apr 30, 2011
- 10,936
It’s felt less like that this year. (And anyway, when I’m feeling particularly geeky, I turn over to Eurosport during ITV’s ad breaks).
Fignon's Ponytail
Well-known member
I've never liked it tbh. Theres something about it thats just not grabbed me - unlike the old Pete Shelley Ch4 intro.
I hope Pogačar has won it clean but lets face it the sport's history is littered with doping scandals so it is inevitable that apparently superhuman efforts that result in significant racing results are always going to be open to question particularly on mountain stages - and the dopers tend to always be one step ahead of the testers.
Albion in the north
Well-known member
Noooo... It needs to stay! My daughter used to come home from school around the same time that the end of the stage would be on and we would put it on. This music has such happy memories for me. Shes now 19 and at University. A year or 2 ago, I asked her if she wanted to sit down and watch the tour with me, she said that she didnt really like it and only did that to spend that time with me
keaton
Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
- Nov 18, 2004
- 9,956
Interesting article about some legal but dubious techniques that may be used by UAE and others
www.theguardian.com
Road cycling: how a legitimate blood test became the focus of performance abuse claims
Carbon monoxide rebreathing, which may give riders an edge, caused controversy at this year’s Tour de France
www.theguardian.com
keaton
Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
- Nov 18, 2004
- 9,956
Cycling fans criticise ‘terrible news’ after ITV loses Tour de France rights
Warner Bros Discovery and Eurosport have won exclusive rights to show the Tour from 2026
www.independent.co.uk
No more free TdF on ITV. Not going to do much to grow the sport here, I'm sure most people get into cycling as theTdF was free to watch
sir_gullahad
Well-known member
A real shame, they did a good job, better than what I have seen of Eurosport's coverage.