One symbol follows another. After Coëtquidan and Saint-Malo, we will be setting up camp in front of Mont Saint-Michel for another stage that promises to be spectacular. Our countryside will get a tremendous publicity boost if the sun decides to come to the party as well. Mont Saint-Michel is France’s second most popular tourist attraction after the Eiffel Tower, and images of it will be broadcast to two billion viewers across the world? All this could almost make us forget that, back on the road, there will a great duel between the rouleurs. As part of the balancing act designed to maintain suspense, we have opted for a shorter time trial than those in recent editions.

[rant]
Well yesterday gave all the armchair racers something to type furiously about. Pro tip: if you’ve never raced, don’t get involved. And that’s not just about the Cav thing, but the whole Sky thing too. Honestly, one day it’s “SKY ARE SO STRONG THEY MUST BE DOPING” and literally the next it’s “SKY ARE CRAP WHERE’S WIGGO FROOME IS GOING TO LOSE”. Just chill… They’ve got this.
[/rant]

( I’m annoyed cause I wanted Cav to win 🙁 )

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkzgfIorEpQ[/video]

Photos from Stage 10 (not yet live, should be in a hour or so, but I’m going for a ride – sorry!)

Today? Froome to win, Contador, Evans, Porte, Tony Martin to ride good TTs. Chavanel might set a good time too. Schleck to lose time (as always), and I feel Quintana might too. Valverde to be average…? Not sure about him, or the Belkin riders.

Whilst this is a very important day, and people will lose time, I don’t think we’re going to have a massive shuffle (maybe just a few swaps) of the GC riders – just a widening of the gaps.

A few useful links

Live Cycling News Text Updates
Steephill
Official Tour Live Feed App
Classifications
Withdrawals
Fantasy League Standings
Loser League Standings

Much the same as yesterday, Mike`s Men – no Fro by mikewingrave still number one in the fantasy league, with Time to do some crashing still sitting stubbornly at the bottom of the loser league. Sensing a reshuffling this evening.

http://www.lequipe.fr/explore/clock-hunters/ – a lovely article on the discipline by L’Equipe (in English). Everything you ever wanted to know, plus a whole lot more. Also nice pictures.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/renshaw-to-ride-for-omega-pharma-quick-step-in-2014 – Best. News. Ever.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/robert-millar/the-great-escape – and another great blog from Robert Millar

I know I already posted this, but just in case anyone missed it…

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAl1-mBhFpU[/video]

well, after yesterdays outside the box prediction, I’m going for Froome today.

Pro tip: if you’ve never raced, don’t get involved

sorry, but you can have an opinion no matter what your background or experience is 😀

Pro tip: if you’ve never raced, don’t get involved
sorry, but you can have an opinion no matter what your background or experience is

Never quite understood this attitude either – there are all sorts of things I have an opinion on which I’ve never personally experienced: violent crime, for example, or the merits of eating dog poo. So I, too, will continue to opine.

Back to the topic… not sure who’ll win, although the likely candidates are pretty obvious: Froome, Contador, Evans… Stunning place to end the stage, too!

Stunning place to end the stage, too!

Hope they checked the tide tables properly! 🙂

martin ftw injury or not

Only one winner today…

BIG Tony Martin

And takling of TTing… on euro sport last night there was a nice little film on the UK TTing scene. It follow a young lady from the London area, a gent from Cornwall and fast becoming everyone favourite Essex boy (well my fav, anyway) Alex Dowsett…. Sorry don’t know what the program was called but it’s well worth searching out… It knocked ITV4’s Bike Show into a cocked hat… (not hard I guess)

I kind of want Tony Martin to win this. The guy has had nothing but bad luck over the past couple of seasons and soldiering on after his bad crash in Stage 1 is pretty heroic. To be fair to him, he’s been hitting the front of the OPQS leadout.

Cav must have royally thrown his toys out of the pram yesterday and demanded that they buy Renshaw! Lets hope it pays off.

The guy has had nothing but bad luck

He is the world TT champion so its not all doom and gloom!

ok 🙂 well the Tours de France then.

what happens if the tide comes in and covers the causeway?

Pro tip: if you’ve never raced, don’t get involved.

I like your posts better when they aren’t ranting about people enthusiastic enough to comment on a public thread. This isn’t a sacred space, you know.

They could add colour by a final km transition to fat bikes and a last leg over the sands to the island.

when they aren’t ranting about people enthusiastic enough to comment on a public thread

I think he was probably referring to the press and other forums rather than STW.

EDIT: Doesn’t matter

sorry, but you can have an opinion no matter what your background or experience is

true, I know bugger all about road racing, I’m only interested 3 weeks of the year so I try to keep my comments plainly obvious as the opinion that they are rather than statements of fact like
“SKY ARE SO STRONG THEY MUST BE DOPING” and “SKY ARE CRAP WHERE’S WIGGO FROOME IS GOING TO LOSE”
which (if they are from those as uninformed as me) probably are scorn worthy, I think realman just worded his rant badly.

TTs are boring to watch tho, it’s just sitting around chatting while waiting for the numbers to flash up on screen. Tried to get interested during the team TT but couldn’t, might even skip the highlights today.

Martin is on good form this season and must be favourite if his injury doesn’t hold him back. Surely Froome can’t beat Martin on a flat TT.

Edit: TT’s boring to watch? Fignion v LeMonde on the champs?!

Pro tip: if you’ve never raced, don’t get involved.

Oh my God – not even sure I have permission from “RealMan” (compensating much?) but do you know what? I’m going to make a comment anyway.

One feature of this ITT is the ongoing uncertainty in Sky. The pressure is on Froome to take more time because he is possibly going to be very exposed in a few days time. The psychological pressure must be immense – he still has a lot of rivals to watch and that’s not easy, especially if he has an off-day.

Edit: In other words, Sky have very much not got this and still have one hell of a job to do.

Pro tip: if you’ve never raced, don’t get involved
sorry, but you can have an opinion no matter what your background or experience is

Course you can but dont expect anyone to listen 😉

if i want an impartial view on cycling from an ex pro only one man springs to mind Lance [ you can trust me” Armstrong

As DONK notes you can have a view but , for those of us in the know it is like listening to our children explain things 😉

Lets stay on topic these tend to be a good laugh with folk explaining things to the noobs

Yes the TT is pretty dull – many stages are to be fair but when they are exciting boy are they exciting

wow! that Tuft time looks impressive – who is he? that’s going to be one to beat.

Tuft 8)

Some good results in TTs ealier in the year, which is how he found his way into my Road.cc team.

Grrr

Tuft was almost in my road.cc team last night … went for Castroviejo of Movistar instead… only to find out this morn he’s riding with a broken rib

Froome isn’t an amazing timetrialler. He can put in a decent time but he is not a specialist so I don’t see him winning. He will however put some time into his rivals as most of them are more climbing specialists. I think Contador is out of the running unless this is a tactical master class and he is holding his nerve to take the yellow on one of the later stages so he does not have to defend it. His bluff so far looks good as he gives me the impression of a man suffering.

Tony FTW.

depends what you mean by amazing. third in the Olympics is pretty amazing, podiums in ITTs in grand tours is pretty amazing.

Martin looking to be c.90 seconds up on tuft.

Martin’s first split pretty impressive. A minute faster than Tuft.

ex-Road racer, qualified to post, my views are important 🙂

Anyone seen the pics of Tony Martin from behind after his crash? I’m not so sure he’ll be on the form necessary to win though I’d like to see him do so if he has managed to recover.

As for Cav, I reckon he intended to give Veelers a little scare for deliberately getting in his way once he’d finished his lead out but that combined with the turn and him not expecting it resulted in a big crash… 50/50 for me – they were both at fault.

Come on Millar!!

Matt Slater, BBC sports news reporter at Mont Saint Michel

“I’ve just had it confirmed that somebody threw urine at Mark Cavendish during today’s stage.”

Oh dear…

that’s just taking the piss!

Thats story has been confirmed by the OPSQ team boss.

Cav is keeping quite at the moment.

Watch out any lead-out men who stray off line tomorrow 😆

Shocking “fan” behaviour there. Disgraceful behaviour whatever you think of the performance.

Chavanel going well, first one to get anywhere near Martin’s time on the first split.

Has Eurosport player broken today? Or has my subscription ran out or something?

why has Porte gone so hard today? Currently in third place, surely he could have eased off quite a bit, to give him fresher legs for the weekend, given what happened this weekend?

why has Porte gone so hard today?

To provide technical info and benchmark times to Froome. Things like “is this hill doable in 53 x 16?”
If Porte dies half way up it, Froome will know that the answer is no. 🙂

aah, nice answer crazy legs!

Has Eurosport player broken today? Or has my subscription ran out or something?

Mine died. Switched to ITV4 stream

Has Eurosport player broken today?

Here too 🙁

poor from Evans, I expected better from him today.

Generally I’d rather not listen to Phil Liggett after his amazing revisionist support-defence-dropping of Lance Armstrong. The bloke is a solid gold ****.

Needs must though

Eurosport is back…

I cant get anything alse as go through a german server, so was in a pannick.

*Pokes head out of tea-pot*

What is a

revisionist support-defence-dropping of lance armstrong

Because I can’t understand that sentence – what did the Ligno-got with the painfully striated voice* actually do?

(*to me, his voice actually sounds like a personification of Lactic Acid, which is quite an achievement really. He has managed this to my brain with his voice ever since I was a child)

Odds on stage win:

Martin: 1/8
Froome: 9/2

Doesn’t look like the bookies are expecting Froome to topple Martin…