Stage 18 • ANNECY > ANNECY • 40,5 km (ind. Time trial)

Let's hope Wiggo can pull back some real time!

Damien Hirst destroys a Trek Madone!

😯

Loving the tour in our house, looking froward to the TT.
Even Stoner Jr insists on wearing his helmet when he's watching the highlights. And "Peloton" is his favourite words at the moment 🙂

what time do the TTs kick off?

And "Peleton" is his favourite

You could at least teach him to spell it properly 😉

http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/LIVE/us/1800/etape_par_etape.html

looks like 11.10?

Dont worry, he's got detention for getting that wrong.

looks like 11.10?

Yeah – they started around 10 UK time

is there no live coverage online today? tried a couple of feeds with no joy.

EDIT: live on Eurosport 1:15 UK time

can we get someone from the French stw contingent to set up a vpn so we can stream geo limited french telly ❓

so what are the odds on Cancellara winning, he was able to take it "easy" yesterday so may be a bit fresher than the GC contenders.

can we get someone from the French stw contingent to set up a vpn so we can stream geo limited french telly

I have a live feed from France Televisions here 🙂

I've just put on my TT helmet to join the helmet wearing gang, I guess I can watch it faster now.
ITV4 live coverage today. And I'm at home, Yeah!
Go Wiggo! err…. what time is he off?

so what are the odds on Cancellara winning, he was able to take it "easy" yesterday so may be a bit fresher than the GC contenders.

thats what i thought about wiggins when he tailed off on the last climb

Wiggins isnt leaving until 3.30 UK time.

i stayed in bed until 11 to rest up for the TT. I was shattered after yesterday's stage

either that or the fifth 13+ hour day at work in a row.

I see Thor's still rubbing it in…

Millar is next to go…

Cancellara only second…

miller into third at the first check.

cancelara 18 seconds down

I think live web coverage starts at 2:00 on itv.com/tour. It's live from 2 on ITV4 on the telly.

cancellara's pulled it back, Millars loosing time though.

Windy's running a recon for Wiggins, so not totally bothered about the time.

Millar cant keep on it, coming in 38s behind cancellara and also 26s behind ignatiev.

Has anyone jumped a red light yet?

Zabrinske isn't hanging around either. still not up with Cancellara. Still a couple of hours till the riders that matter start. lots can change.

anyone have a weather forecast for Annecy? all i can find is one that says showers, and trying to guess the weather on text feeds….

live feed now on ITV4 online
http://www.itv.com/Channels/ITV4/default.html

can't get the live ITV feed 🙁 i work through a dutch network, and i can't get the dutch feed as the firewall blocks it 🙁

I can only get adverts on itv.com

I'm not going to buy a samsung, oasis, or a seat

Am I right in thinking the Schlek Bros aren't all that when it comes to TTs?

comment from Andy yesterday to the effect, TTs aren't my strongest thing.

make of that what you will, and Andy Schleck lost c40secs to Wiggins on stage one, a course 15 km long, today is 40km.

Yeah, theyre not that good apparently.

Just switched to Eurosport & heard them saying there may be rain later but it shouldn't hurt the late runners too much as it's not too technical

Sounds about right – from a staying upright point of view
But, what if any benefit can be gained by the reduced friction that wet roads would offer?

can't get the live ITV feed i work through a dutch network, and i can't get the dutch feed as the firewall blocks it

ITV4 shows 20 minute ad packages with 5 minutes of cycling in between.

Try http://www.p2pstation.net, http://www.justin.tv, and http://www.cyclingfans.com

P2P and Justin normally have the Versus / ITV stream

But, what if any benefit can be gained by the reduced friction that wet roads would offer?

Thats not how it works..

Thats not how it works..

care to expand?

I don't see how rain wouldn't hurt later riders. Even if it's not too technical they'll definately be more cautious on the corners.

I'm just praying it stays dry

Well if anything, it will increase the rolling resistance.

Rolling resistance isnt the same as the friction you produce when you rub your hands together. If they were skidding down a mountain, then yes, water on the roads would make them go faster/further. But because the tyres flick up water constantly, energy is being lost moving the water around. Also, the tyres will be wet, so they will actually be slightly heavier.

Rolling resistance is more about how flexible the tyre is, and how well it can conform to the road in order to stop the momentum going in an upwards direction (eg: if you hit a stone, you want the tyre to conform, not to lift the whole bike up). Its also a little bit about how much the tyre sticks to the road, so how much energy is needed to lift the tyre away from the road. I dont know much about this, but logic would say that water might make a stronger bond between the road and tyre, acting almost as a glue. But I'm not certain.

Millar interviewed on Eurosport after he finished. He reckons that Wiggo will take 3+ mins out of Frank Schleck and 2 to 2.5 on Andy Schleck. He also said the climb is over 3 K though and the last 500m pretty hard.