The Official 101st Tour de France, thread.

[Stat Brother]

The only thread with it's own intro music, press play and read on:-





The Route for 2014
3,664 km (21 stages)
4 countries visited (the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain)
33 French departments visited
36 stage towns/cities
662 cities visited (611 in France, 39 in the United Kingdom, 9 in Belgium, 3 in Spain)

Stage by stage

1st Stage Sat 5 July Leeds to Harrogate 191 km
2nd Stage Sun 6 July York to Sheffield 198 km
3rd Stage Mon 7th July Cambridge to London 159 km
4th Stage Tues 8 July Le Touquet Paris Plage to Lille 164 km
5th Stage Wed 9 July Ypres to Porte du Hainault 156 km
6th Stage Thur 10 July Arras to Reims 194 km
7th Stage Fri 11 July Epernay to Nancy 233 km
8th Stage Sat 12 July Tomblaine to Gérardmer 161 km
9th Stage Sun 13 July Gérardmer to Mulhouse 166 km
10th Stage Mon 14 July Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles 161 km
Rest day Tue 15 July
11th Stage Wed 16 July Besançon to Oyonnax 186 km
12th Stage Thur 17 July Bourg en Bresse to Saint-Etienne, 183 km
13th Stage Fri 18 July Saint Etienne to Champrousse 200 km
14th Stage Sat 19 July Grenoble to Risoul 177 km
15th Stage Sun 20 July Tallard to Nimes 222km
Rest day Mon 21 July
16th Stage Tues 22 July Carcassonne to Bagnères de Luchon 237 km
17th Stage Wed 23 July Saint-Gaudens to Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet 125 km
18th Stage Thur 24 July Pau to Hautacam 145 km
19th Stage Fri 25 July Maubourguet Pays du Val d’Adour to Bergerac 208 km
20th Stage Sat 26 July Bergerac to Périgueux Individual time trials 54 km
21st Stage Sun 27 July Evry – Paris 136 km

Riders
198 riders at the start (22 teams of 9 riders)
4 Brits (kind of)
300 support staff
15 members of the race jury.

First winner
Maurice Garin 1903 (FRA)
Most wins
Jacques Anquetil (FRA)
Bernard Hinault (FRA)
Eddy Merckx (BEL)
Miguel Indurain (ESP)
(5-time winners)

Most recent - 2013

Winner Chris Froome (GBR)

Second Nairo Quintana (COL)
Third Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP)

Points - Peter Sagan (SVK) (Cannondale)
Mountains - Nairo Quintana (COL) (Movistar Team)
Youth - Nairo Quintana (COL) (Movistar Team)
Team Team - Saxo-Tinkoff

One month after the Tour ended, it was announced that there were no positive doping tests, but that all tests would be stored, so they could be re-analyzed in a few years once new tests have been developed

Daily recommended podcast updates with be available at:-

The cycling podcast
ITV.com/tourdefrance

 

[Stat Brother]

David Millar to join ITV Cycling for Tour de France coverage

David Millar is to join ITV’s coverage of the 2014 Tour de France, which begins on Saturday in Yorkshire.
The hugely experienced and well-respected Scottish rider will lend his expert insight and analysis to ITV’s on-screen team during the first three days of coverage (when the Tour is in Britain), alongside presenter Gary Imlach, reporters Ned Boulting and Matt Rendell, cycling legend Chris Boardman, and commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

David is the only British rider to have worn all the Tour de France jerseys, and is due to retire from professional racing at the end of 2014. This was supposed to be his last Tour, but he was not selected by his team Garmin-Sharp.

Live action from the first three stages, running from Leeds to Harrogate, York to Sheffield, and Cambridge to London, will be shown on ITV and ITV4, with daily live coverage of the rest of the Tour to be shown on ITV4 (see the full TV schedule).

It is the fifth time ITV4 has screened daily live coverage and extended highlights of the Tour, with a total of 98 hours of cycling to be shown during the event. Last year, ITV signed a new deal to show cycling’s showpiece event until 2019.

Alongside terrestrial TV coverage, ITV Player will feature live action and ITV.com/tourdefrance will feature highlights and exclusive features, and the @ITVCycling Twitter feed will keep fans up-to-date with the latest developments.

 

[Hillian1]

Load of druggies etc, etc, etc.

This year I'm going to try and follow what goes on and the tactics behind the teams.

 

[perseus]

Could have had the rest day on 13th July

 

[Stat Brother]

Load of druggies etc, etc, etc.

This year I'm going to try and follow what goes on and the tactics behind the teams.

Don't be afraid to ask, we're 'geeks' for a reason.

I'm expecting this to be the most tactical race in recent history.
There's going to be a awful lot going on.

 

[Foolg]

Not going to lie, the last couple of years are the only 2 tours i've actually taken the time to sit down and watch (due to working part time on summer break from Uni), and will definitely be watching again this year. Guess it helped having two British winners as well to keep me interested.

Shame how the timing all worked out though, if it were a week earlier i'd still have had my house up north to stay for the weekend and watch the first 3 days. Ah well.

 

[Goldstone1976]

[MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION] Cycling is a sport I know little about, but I plan to follow this year's race given I live in Cambridge.

One thing that is obvious from reading (even casually) your posts is that you are animated about the issue of PEDs in cycling and other sports. I see that you've listed Merckx as a 5-time winner, even though Wiki tells me he tested positive three times. I can see no such controversy about the other 5-time winners. Is your inclusion of him simply because he has not been retrospectively disqualified by the cycling authorities, unlike, say, Armstrong; and thus he remains a 5-time winner? Or, is his inclusion for a different reason - perhaps you don't believe his test results?

I realise that this post may read aggressively. It really isn't supposed to; I'm just genuinely interested in your reasoning

 

[Gritt23]

I literally cannot wait for it to start. Just a fantastic event. Been watching it for years, and still learning more about it all the time.

 

[Stat Brother]

[MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION] Cycling is a sport I know little about, but I plan to follow this year's race given I live in Cambridge.

One thing that is obvious from reading (even casually) your posts is that you are animated about the issue of PEDs in cycling and other sports. I see that you've listed Merckx as a 5-time winner, even though Wiki tells me he tested positive three times. I can see no such controversy about the other 5-time winners. Is your inclusion of him simply because he has not been retrospectively disqualified by the cycling authorities, unlike, say, Armstrong; and thus he remains a 5-time winner? Or, is his inclusion for a different reason - perhaps you don't believe his test results?

I realise that this post may read aggressively. It really isn't supposed to; I'm just genuinely interested in your reasoning

Its not really mine and NSC's place to retrospectively ban people from the tour!!.

Le Tour is steeped in fabulous stories of cheating, since day 1 in 1903.
There's no point being a PED denier, quite how Indurain didn't pop up on your search is beyond me.

But I guess time is a great healer, and many previous winners have 'got away with it'.
This goes some way to form opinions now, and that is unfair, not only on current clean riders.
But those who point the finger from sports with no regulation minimal doping control, and are 1 scandal away from the whole thing collapsing around their ears.

 

[BensGrandad]

Should stick to its name THE TOUR DU FRANCE and not include the uk too many cyclists here already delaying everybody.

 

[El Sid]

Should stick to its name THE TOUR DU FRANCE and not include the uk too many cyclists here already delaying everybody.

An interesting point. Why do they ride outside France?

 

[Bob!]

Should stick to its name THE TOUR DU FRANCE and not include the uk too many cyclists here already delaying everybody.

There are too many cars on the roads delaying me as well!!

 

[JJ McClure]

Looking forward to this. I'm going to be working at the "Fan Park" in Green Park which will have loads of events and demonstrations going on.

 

[BensGrandad]

There are too many cars on the roads delaying me as well!!

But they pay a duty to be on the road so no argument about them being there.

 

[footychick]

One good reason to avoid Cambridge on the 7th July lol.
I remember when it came through Sussex a few years ago.

 

[Jesus Gul]

The guy I worked (volunteered setting up the course) for at the Abu Dhabi Triathlon has the rather cool title of...

Managing Director, Zing Event Management Ltd
and Route Manager, Stage 1 Tour de France - Leeds to Harrogate - 5th July 2014

Kinda wish i'd offered my help for this weekend.

 

[TomandJerry]

I wonder if the Sky team will fail again!

 

[Hillian1]

But they pay a duty to be on the road so no argument about them being there.

I don't suppose you could take this argument to one of the literally hundreds of other thread where it crops up could you.

Ta in advance.

 

[Stat Brother]

I don't suppose you could take this argument to one of the literally hundreds of other thread where it crops up could you.

Ta in advance.

Not to mention being factual correct about the vehicle excise duty.

 

[Marxo]

Simon Yates included in the Orica GreenEdge team for the Tour, he's a good prospect but would liked to have seen his twin brother Adam given the chance after finishing 6th overall in the Dauphiné.