Other rider’s have been banned for the same offence.
Froome will be banned if he's found guilty. Let's continue the conversation once the investigation is complete?
They don’t need lawyers, just the balls as it’s their event.
Not true. They refused Tom Boonen entry after his cocaine positive. He raced anyway after a legal appeal. Froome hasn't even been found guilty of anything yet.
What’s up with Cav currently? Sadly I can’t see him adding to his TDF wins..
His luck has been out since his TdF crash in Yorkshire. It's partly of his own making mind, what with his determination to squeeze through every gap possible, but I'd like to see him on form again. Lot of sprinters in the field now though. Not sure anyone will dominate this year.
Also Froome hitting a full field TdF after the Giro rather than a smaller field vuelta espana after a tour.
Very much so. Everyone signed up for the TdF when they heard he was riding the Giro. Gonna be a tough one.
You are just being really offensive trolls taking the some of the fun out of this place.
Apologies, yep happy to not contribute to the speculation on this thread
I rushed to set the PVR, it doesn't start until July 7th! Story of my life.
Anyway showing on Eurosport and ITV.
St 1 Sat July 7, Noirmoutier-en-l’Île to Fontenay-le-Comte, 189km
St 2 Sun July 8, Mouilleron-Saint-Germain to La Roche-sur-Yon, 183km
St 3 Mon July 9, Cholet to Cholet, 35km TTT
St 4 Tue July 10, La Baule to Sarzeau, 192km
St 5 Wed July 11, Lorient to Quimper, 203km
St 6 Thu July 12, Brest to Mûr de Bretagne, 181km
St 7 Fri July 13, Fougères to Chartres, 231km
St 8 Sat July 14, Dreux to Amiens, 181km
St 9 Sun July 15, Arras to Roubaix, 154km
Rest Day, Mon July 16, Annecy
St 10 Tue July 17, Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand, 159km
St 11 Wed July 18, Albertville to La Rosière, 108km
St 12 Thu July 19, Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Alpe d’Huez, 175km
St 13 Fri July 20, Bourg d’Oisans to Valence, 169km
St 14 Sat July 21, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteuax to Mende, 187km
St 15 Sun July 22, Millau to Carcassonne, 181km
Rest Day, Mon July 23, Carcassonne
St 16 Tue July 24, Carcassonne to Bagnères-de-Luchon, 218km
St 17 Wed July 25, Bagnères-de-Luchon to Saint-Lary-Soulan/Col-de-Portet, 65km
St 18 Thu July 26, Trie-sur-Baïse to Pau, 172km
St 19 Fri July 27, Lourdes to Laruns, 200km
St 20 Sat July 28, Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle to Espelette, 31km ITT
St 21 Sun July 29, Houilles to Paris, 115km
Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-live-tv-guide-233516#gAcZIWTCLesesz1j.99
"You are just being really offensive trolls taking the some of the fun out of this place."
Need a hug? I think you're being a little too sensitive...
2 things:
1. doping in pro-cycling ain't going away - it's best you accept that there'll be talk of it whether you like it or not.
2. More than happy to post on the other thread, but don't expect me to keep quiet if (when?!) a rider gets busted!
I’ve started a Froome/Drugs/TDF thread. Please take the drug stuff there. Everyone is set in their views. Nobody is going to change position. You are just being really offensive trolls taking the some of the fun out of this place.
Well done, have a biscuit.
Offensive is an odd word, annoying Yes but not offensive.
Froomidge splits the country like the current politics and referendum result.. Ya can't hide from it so stop trying and believing putting your head between your legs and shouting "make it stop" is fruitless. Expect more AAF chat.
Expect more AAF chat.
Why ? Why can't we just have 1 for race and 1 for AAF.... I don't want to get into the AAF debate in the slightest, but i do want daily update type threads as it's an epic discussion.
Ya can’t hide from it so stop trying and believing putting your head between your legs and shouting “make it stop” is fruitless. Expect more AAF chat.
Nobody is ignoring it, just the pointless posts Ctrl C, Ctrl V opinions repeated over and over again.
Back to racing, hopefully some smaller squads and some of the sky helpers moving around will make for better racing, certainly too many contenders to let a lot get down the road. After the Giro the tour needs to up it's game a little.
Jesus. This place sometimes....
For the past 4-5 years there's been a dedicated TdF thread with people like Lunge and NathanB (and another lad who was a student and went overseas?) putting a lot of effort in to preview stages etc. Each year, there's been an agreement to keep the doping discussions separate to these.
Are you lot just desperate for attention or enjoy antagonising? I'm coming back to this thread on July 7th.
Has Cav really crashed 45 times???
Bloody hell, if so, he’s braver/stupider than I give him credit for.
By crash do you mean his full bore, flat out, screaming at the wind style crashes? Falling over whilst clipped in at the lights? I do that all the time!
We can, however that other thread will get lost in the internet under someones desk chair and AAF chat will inevitably end up here.
Just accept it.. unless mods decide it's not right only they have the opportunity to shut it up.
I've made my point very clear in my opening into, I'll stick to racing from now on... on the stages I watch.
Re. AAF etc, there’s going to be crossover & that’s got to be expected. I can’t see how you can divorce the 2 unfortunately..
Exciting thread so far 🙄
Personally, I find the GC a little less interesting than the smaller battles.
Really looking forward to the battle for the White Jersey and also watching Edvald Boasson Hagen try and escape for a solo win.
Sagan certainly looks ready!
https://twitter.com/petosagan/status/1003681797765509120
Re. AAF etc, there’s going to be crossover & that’s got to be expected. I can’t see how you can divorce the 2 unfortunately..
Froome Free Zone
Has Cav really crashed 45 times???
LOL sorry, no.... but i bet it's felt like that sometimes !
I like the grid start idea. Sounds like fun.
They should do it on a cobbled stage though (cobbles are back this year, aren’t they?)
For this stage only, they should also arm one domestique from each team with a sawn-off shotgun. Just rock salt; don’t want to mess with the format too much.
Heres the route map..
Looks kinda cool this year..
A couple of long drives for those team support vehicles.
$64m question - has Bardet trained on his TT bike? 2016 he knew it was something he needed to work on as he went really well in that tour, last year he admitted that he still hadn't done any and from 2nd place he nearly dropped off the podium.
I wouldn't discount Porte or Dan Martin, they were going well until that crash on the dodgy descent, but all the other big players will be there too. Movistar need to decide who their leader is and tell valv.piti he isn't a contender any more and that he should either work for the leader or not go.
"LOL sorry, no…. but i bet it’s felt like that sometimes !"
Certainly feels like it watching him!
I haven’t looked at the stage profiles or details but it looks from the above that it’s stage 10 before they get to anything bigger than the hill to my house? Not much coastal riding, so no crosswinds. Britanny is pretty but not overly challenging. There’s a 35km TTT on stage 3, and the stage to Roubaix might have some interest. What am I missing? Is there anything interesting before the first rest day or are the organisers aiming for the Most Boring Grand Tour Of 2018?
Brittany is bumpy, very bumpy. That section from Fonteney all the way around to the Mur is full of nasty steep hills and looooong drawn out climbs that last like forever man... 🤯🤩
Its one of the sections I’m most looking forward too, in fact I reckon it’s probably the best selection in the whole tour. The Northern pavé will be interesting, but no Frenchman will want to win “up Norf” they’ll want to win in Cyclings best kept secret, Brittany.
I’d have liked to see different climbs in the Alps, yeah like evvvvveryone has been up the Alp and like evvvveryone knows when to slip of the front and like evvvvveryone just knows when to attack and like evvvvvveryone knows how to ride it at pace too.. I reckon it’ll be a very very dull segment the Alps this year.
It’s not like there aren’t any other routes, climbs or small roads there is it.......?? C’mon Prudie, sort it out and stop using the same old boring routes ad nauseum there’s a lad. 🤷♂️🤣
Hope the sun shines this year and the sunflowers come out 🤪💥💥💥☀️☀️☀️☀️🙏🙏🧚♀️
Brittany is bumpy, very bumpy. That section from Fonteney all the way around to the Mur is full of nasty steep hills and looooong drawn out climbs that last like forever man…
I’ve toured there on a very loaded up bike - it was lumpy (rather like Devon, I thought) but won’t make any difference to the final result. Even Mur de Bretagne.
Stage 10 Col de Glières and Stage 17 Col de Portet are new I think.
Love to see bardet win just for the French nation's reaction. God like status assured. Should be a good scrap though
Froome shouldn’t ride till his AAF is cleared
What about the riders with AAF issues that didn't have it leaked to the press? It's almost as if this attitude could be the reason behind the leaking, thought about that?
Back on track, Froome looks good, but I think the Giro flattered him. Porte could be very dangerous, but Gerraint has always looked as though he's operated at his peaky with no surprise areas to improve in.
If sky turn out to be as stong as they look on paper then it could mean some d u l l mountain stages.
Here's hoping someone does a Yates (maybe even the other Yates?) and just goes on a rampage.
I'd like Bardet to do some of his super-awesome descending. It makes me weep with joy.
Where’s Warren Barguil this year? He fell out with his team at the Vuelta but his polka dot heroics were the best thing about last year’s Tour.
New team got an invite to the tour but he's had a quiet year really. More race days than Bardet but less visible and he's not really doing much at the Dauphine either. I'd bet his team are hoping for big-mountain attacks to get the brand visible but I'd guess that's about as much as they can do.
Dauphiné spoiler follows:
in a bit
just making enough space
(and sorry if it has its own thread)
... WTF - the little welsh feller is romping after his crash. Not many great climbers in the pack; do we think he'll take it ? Hope so as he may not get too many more number 1 shirts if Bernal carries on developing as he has been.
https://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2018/06/10/tour-de-suisse-stage-1-bmc-take-ttt
Team time trial marker set 🙂
I can't see any reason Thomas won't take it. It does put into context though just how much of a difference it makes having a strong team of riders, the Irish unpronounceable fella has been amazing as has Castrov, they've given Thomas the springboard to shine for sure.
Really enjoying the race with some good battles. Will be interesting to see if riders like Bardet, Barguil, alaphiliipe etc find the extra edge of form come the TDf.
I love watching Roman Bardet descend - yesterday's 40 second gap in the blink of an eye was ace. I hope he does well in the tdf.
I'll also cheer the Yates',Dan Martin, Lilian Calmejane & G.
Fwiw I don't think someone should race whilst there's an investigation hanging over them either.
Yeah Geraint has the CritDauph sealed, but I’d really like to see Yates floor it and disrespectfully win by 4mins 👍👍💋
Great to see Barguil up in the break, hope he’s finding the mental strength to stick it out.
Teao has been riding for yonks, picked up as a youth on one of BC’s old Squad regimes then he went to ride for Condor JLT for a bit. Always had the talent as could be seen slamming off the front in the bumps for k after k after k.... one of my old riding my mates is best buddies with him 🤴
I think an interesting question to ask is who would win a race without Froome in it.
Not sure what the answer would be, which speaks volumes.
I've got got a feeling Yates will have learnt an awful lot from the Giro and will be a major threat moving forwards. It's one thing to show potential like Gerraint (there or thereabouts on a few days but really threatening) or Yates (clear strongest in the race for 2 weeks with multiple stage wins). This points to Gerraint never really achieving the top level vs Yates having that level but learning to maintain it.
In a slightly abstract way it reminds me of the tale of Wiggins when he moved from the track. It was all about the fact he could put x watts out for y time that showed the incredible innate ability, then it was a case of focusing it and applying it to lots of mountains over 2018 weeks. Yates couldppossibly achieve that level, others like Porte, et al, physiologically can't.
They've maxed their talent, I'm pretty sure Yates hasn't.
Tao is a very good rider indeed, a lot of potential and a sensible head too. He could have joined Sky a year earlier but stayed at his U23 team to develop further and it’s proved a very good move. He’s been a huge help for G this last week.
I’ll make a big call here, he’ll be the next Brit to win his first grand tour. Froome may well win again but Tao will win one before Dan Martin and The Yates’s.
Sky and Ag2r had a falling out today...wonder when we will see pay back?
I’ll make a big call here, he’ll be the next Brit to win his first grand tour. Froome may well win again but Tao will win one before Dan Martin and The Yates’s.
No, he's got a couple of years on super-domestique duties before Sky will unleash him as a leader. Nice guy; even as a Junior he was so polite. Simon Yates will have learnt loads from the Giro, he'll be a big threat if he can have the right team 100% dedicated to him.
G I think is just too unlucky / flaky to ever win a Grand Tour. He goes really well and then has one spectacular day of falling to pieces. Brilliant on one-day races and races up to a week or so but longer than that and the gremlins raise their heads and he decks it.
Sky and Ag2r had a falling out today…wonder when we will see pay back?
I *think* G was sort of joking, the tone of voice and half-smle as he said it...
However Ag2r had already attacked at the point that G punctured. This bollocks about "thou shalt not attack the leader if he punctures" is confusing to everyone including the riders and there seem to be a lot of grey areas of "etiquette". No-one really seems to know which ones apply at any given moment.
Also, Sky need a new tyre supplier, they seem to puncture with alarming regularity, usually at critical moments and why the hell is no-one using tubeless?!
Pros still ride tubulars because you can ride OK on a deflating/flat tyre, particularly a rear, whilst you wait for the team car. Carbon tubular rims are lighter and stronger too. You can however put sealant in tubulars too....
I'm hoping to be in Bourg Saint Maurice when the Tour comes through. Are there any detailed maps of the route yet? I've had a google but I can only find the national overview.
Ha! I looked really well! Cheers chap.
In an attempt to leave doping discussion elsewhere, shall we talk about the race here?
Mur de Bretagne (Stage 6) is one of those interesting lumps that could leave some big gaps.
Stages 11 and 12 are the ones to decide the race overall, though. Shirley!
Really looking forward to it, if Froome has some Giro fatigue in his legs then it could be quite open too. I still think he'll win mind you but I think Landa will push him hard. And what about green? A walk in the park for Sagan?
I think the fantasy tdf is open now. Happy to set it up for stw but I know someone else mentioned setting it up earlier.
