The Official 98th Tour de France, thread, 2011.

[1066familyman]

Apologies, just wanted to see if I could get these down to a respectable size since playing around with picture manager.

 

[1066familyman]

Hurray !

 

[rcf0712]

Must say I am loving this year's tour more than ever before - work is particularly hard at preent so after a long day and having got the kids to bed, to sit watch it through to the end of the stage (at around 11.30 each night) is very very relaxing.
And so far, without any serious mountains yet, Cadel Evans is looking good and there's Brit's everywhere. Add in the yanks in the HTC and BMC teams and it seems to this cycling layman that there's more English speaking riders than ever before at the top end - as there were at the last Olympics.
Tonight I will tune in once the WCE Geelong AFL game is over, should be a ripsnorter as they say here, a top eveining in sport tonight methinks....

 

[Stoichkov]

I'd be very suprised if it wasn't a bunch sprint today. The intermeadiate sprint is quite late on so the sprinters teams should have it all in hand by the end.

Smart money will be on Cav but as that's the obvious choice, I'm going to go for Farrar - he's kept his head down nicely over the past few days

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Cyclesport have done this job for us:-

The greatest 50 cycling books of all time | Cycle Sport

I was surprised by how many of these I'd read, and unsurprised I hadn't read #1!. Of these, my highlights would be:-

Must read - A Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage, Put Me Back On My Bike – In Search of Tom Simpson, William Fotheringham, The Robert Millar one you've read (mainly because he is my first cycling hero).

Comedy - The Hour by Michael Hutchinson, French Revolutions by Tim Moore, 2001

Personal - The Escape Artist by Matt Seaton

Sex Lies and Handlebar tape by Sussex's very own Paul Howard was also a good read, I just can't remember if it should be recommended to a 'wider' audience.

The Dave Millar book is shaping up to sit, at the very least, in the top 3.
I suggest you start there.

Cycling books are our passion. We especially love reading them during the TDF.

The last part of the escape artist was the reading at the end of our Wedding along with GOSBTS.

Hutchinson's the hour is also fantastic.

My wife is currently chortling through the Ned Boulting book.

It's really lovely out here today (as compared to yesterday). Our plans have changed and we are off to a TDF party in Ruille next to the chateau. I am armed with chalk and plan to draw a White jersey in honour of the Welsh wonder, will draw a target for the Modfather and the wife planning a giant Cav.

Feels a bit early for beer and kirs but what the heck viva la tour....

 

[Pantani]

Cav today for me too. It will be interesting to see how the intermediate is contested with it being so near to the end, teams won't want to get their trains together and work hard twice in quick succession.

 

[les dynam]

Really good. Fignon was a great rider and an awkward customer to the media because he was smarter than your average pro.

Halfway through reading it, he sadly died which was, to be honest, really weird - reading the words of someone who'd passed away that day.

One book i'd recommend is 'Tour De Force' by Daniel Coyle. A bit Armstrong-centric but the other stuff is really good

Bad Blood by Jeremy Whittle is good as well although a bit dark as the title suggests. He used to cover the Tour for the The Times and was editor for Procycling Magazine - a proper journalist

thanks Hristo. will hunt down a copy from George Street's exceptional selection of charity shops... one of them will have a copy!

can't really look any further than Cavendish today, perhaps Tyler or Rojas if Cavendish is bumped or blocked a bit.

going to tear into David Millar book over the weekend. always been a huge fan of his

 

[Pantani]

GET A MOVE ON! Has no one told the peloton that I start work at 5:00. Last hour at an average of 32kmh, I could have ridden with them today.

 

[Stat Brother]

GET A MOVE ON! Has no one told the peloton that I start work at 5:00. Last hour at an average of 32kmh, I could have ridden with them today.

Yeah you're quite right, these loafers have been swanning around France for a week, we deserve to have them racing to the death!.

I was saying to a colleague, this morning, todays a day for the highlights show.

 

[Pantani]

Yeah you're quite right, these loafers have been swanning around France for a week, we deserve to have them racing to the death!.

I was saying to a colleague, this morning, todays a day for the highlights show.

Maybe not to death but at least at a speed I can't achieve. I've phoned work now and told them I'm going to be late. Some things are more important.

 

[Pantani]

Huge crash. Wiggins down, could be collarbone. He's out by the looks of it.

 

[Pantani]

Wiggins abandons.

 

[skipper734]

Bradley gone. ****

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Disaster

 

[skipper734]

Yea Cav.

 

[Pantani]

Now that is a lead out train. Now doubt at all that Cav would take that.

Absolute disaster for Sky. They should not have made Thomas and Boassan Hagen wait for Wiggins, too many eggs in one basket I'm afraid.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

HTC master class, Cav is awesome

High and lows of British cycling all in one easy stage.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Cav just summed it up for Brad...

An 'oh shit'

 

[black & white seagull]

Completely gutted for Wiggo - puts quite a tarnish on today's otherwise fantastic result.

On a happier note - picked up a great souvenir on today's stage. Am going to assume it belonged to George Hincapie.

 

[Stat Brother]

Now that is a lead out train. Now doubt at all that Cav would take that.

Absolute disaster for Sky. They should not have made Thomas and Boassan Hagen wait for Wiggins, too many eggs in one basket I'm afraid.

Great minds Pantani, I was thinking exactly the same.
The team were always going to wait, due to there sense of duty. But Wiggins should have instantly sent word up to G, instead of leaving 5 team mates standing around for x amount of minutes.

I'm totally gutted for BW, I still didn't see his this tour as the rest of Sky (and Cav for that matter) did, but hey what do I know.
But I'm now more gutted for G, sure he would have had to man up, a year or 2 earlier than planned, but I'm sure he could have taken the mantle on, but not giving 2-3 mins away, to the big boys.