Great to see AC out of it too. Working out to be a good day 🙂
Tour de France? Romeo D. Froome-dog, you absolute beast.
Froome got the tour in the bag now! Awesome stage win.
I was always a wiggo man in the great debate but I now officially like Chris Froome!!
Great ride from Porte and GT as well.
Classy there by Thomas. Good man.
Too right. Still up near the pointy end, I want to see him properly off the leash in a grand tour.
Classy there by Thomas. Good man.
+1, amazing rider.
Probably one of the best all-rounders in the world.
It's far from over - lots of corners to crash on still to come. Plus forgetting to eat, overheating, residual fatigue...
Still, climbing pecking order established. Ride of the day? Geraint Thomas.
Nibbles losing 4 minutes!
Bet Bertie has beef for dinner tonight.
Think the mountains are Portes territory but going up against Froome might be a little tough
Crikey I'd be done in even doing the warm down Froomey's doing now!
Ooh, I missed Adam Yates in 7th place as well, good effort!
3 Brits in top 7.
Doesn't that put Geraint Thomas in top 5 on GC?
Hopefully AC held something back to go on the attack tomorrow.
Second rest day was the time for beef, wasn't it?
1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 35:56:09
2 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:02:52
3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:09
4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:01
5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:04:03
6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:04
7 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 0:04:33
8 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:04:35
9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:06:12
10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:06:57
Good work by Barguil to hold on, it looked like the fall earlier really hurt!
2.52 ahead.
Just wow.
On BBC:
[b]16:07
Chris Froome now warming down. Loads of others are still climbing up the mountain.[/b]
Holly Mother of Crap..
Frommie!
and
Porte!
Thats mighty impressive, mighty.
😯
Very un-Sky to have GT, RP and Froome all keep the pace up like that too. I suppose they wanted to get Porte in the Spotty jumper.
Wow, I didn't like road racing, but now I do.
Getting compared to Lance and Big Mig on the same day, Shirley they wouldn't have started to talk like that openly unless they actually had the data to back it up. Oh...
Remind me again why I'm supposed to dislike Froome? He's quiet, polite, gives credit to his team, and seems genuinely pleased to be winning in a race he loves...
Remind me again why I'm supposed to dislike Froome?
He has elbows. Apparently that's not cool.
Also been impressed with Froome's commentary on the race - intelligent and astute, and has something polite yet meaningful to say about the other riders. Seems like a clever bloke, in a good way.
Handed out a serious kicking today though!
Re drugs.. I'm more tempted to think that the others have been exposed without their steaks recently, but I've no idea really that's just what I'd like to think.
I love, love road racing, I love the romance of it all, the characters, the futile French attacks, the pain and suffering. I adore how I have just watched the last 20 minutes and felt real excitement, how it all went off.
But...
But, as the adrenaline has died down, the thought lingers, is this all a bit late 90's? Putting 2 mins into a rival is fine, putting into 2 rivals is OK too, but into 4? And having 2 team mates in the top 10 as well? Well, it "not normal"...
I want to believe, I do believe, but it's healthy to question things, like we didn't with Lance, like we didn't all the way through the 90's and early 2000's, so yes, I'm questioning. You can't prove a negative, I know that, but it does no harm to question.
Remind me again why I'm supposed to dislike Froome?
I reckon most of that comes from his GF. And the fact that he is not friends with one of our greats. He's won me over after today though, reckon a few more will give him the credit he deserve's now as well.
Unless the rumors are true.........I hope they're not though and it's sad that the association has to be there at all. Armstrong is a ****!
You can't prove a negative, I know that, but it does no harm to question.
It does. It sours the spectacle, it tarnishes his reputation, it bores the arse off anyone who's focused on the racing and it gives some deeply tedious people an opportunity to work themselves up into a dunning-kruger circle jerk which spunks gooey droplets of hearsay and rumour all over the delicious biscuits of threads like this.
It does. It sours the spectacle, it tarnishes his reputation, it bores the arse off anyone who's focused on the racing and it gives some deeply tedious people an opportunity to work themselves up into a dunning-kruger circle jerk which spunks gooey droplets of hearsay and rumour all over the delicious biscuits of threads like this.
See, I don't see it like that. As you can see from the thread, I have bloody loved the racing today and will be all over every other stage as well. But I'm old enough to have had a few hero's fall (Lance, Pantani, Ulrich, etc.) and therefore feel I should question it. Maybe it's a defence mechanism, maybe I'm just cautious, I don't know.
But, I understand your point and perspective and think it is completely fair. I shall now keep that train of thought off this and other similar threads in the future.
But, as the adrenaline has died down, the thought lingers, is this all a bit late 90's? Putting 2 mins into a rival is fine, putting into 2 rivals is OK too, but into 4? And having 2 team mates in the top 10 as well? Well, it "not normal"...
Big time gaps aren't a sign of doping at all, though, really. Big gaps happened pre-EPO all the time. Merckx put 8 minutes into the entire TdF field in a single stage once, for example. Yeah, that was Merckx, but still, you get my point. And the big gaps in the doping era were all against a similarly juiced-up field, it's not like Armstrong doped and everyone else was on bread and water. All things being equal, you get big gaps in bike races from time to time, doped or undoped.
And anyone impugning G's integrity can * the * off, frankly.
a dunning-kruger circle jerk which spunks gooey droplets of hearsay and rumour all over the delicious biscuits of threads like this.
*polite applause*
The dude just gave out an ass kicking of the highest order thanks to his team dragging themselves up that hill. There will always be doubters, IMHO if one team is still doping they are all still at it.
I reckon the manner in which he won this stage, and the way he communicates back to the journos will has a massive positive impact on the UK fans, whilst he's not Wiggo, he has just shown us he's an absolute machine when it comes to racing, and that is what its all about.
BJ
And anyone impugning G's integrity can * the * off, frankly.
That's fair as well, my apologies.
I genuinely don't believe Sky are doping. I do believe they have a monetary advantage though and achieve many of the same things that doping does, but within the rules.
From a selfish point of view I would prefer a closer race, with more people in the mix. Hopefully the gap between them will tighten up in the 3rd week.
Thomas is still my favourite rider.
Lets not drug it down Guys, please.
😕
And anyone impugning G's integrity can * the * off, frankly.
Why? Seriously, what makes him so specially clean?
There are lots of people on these threads who sound like the worst of the Armstrong apologists.
I do believe they have a monetary advantage though and achieve many of the same things that doping does, but within the rules.
iirc sky are only the 2 or 3rd best funded team. 1 thing they do have though is Brailsford, I think there are very very few people like him in any sport.
And lets face it, Contador has mad Tinkof telling him to race every grand tour, as much a disadvantage as Brailsford is an advantage
The dude just gave out an ass kicking of the highest order thanks to his team dragging themselves up that hill.
Was the team the difference? It could simply be good management that has delivered not only lots of marginal gains but a great team too? I haven't watched it yet but it doesn't sound like the others had such good help from their teams?
1 thing they do have though is Brailsford
Comparable maybe to Ferguson or Woodward?
I dont think we'll see much today. Quintana and Contador will try to keep powder dry for bigger days to come. A break could go and survive up the final climb. Sky wont mind losing yellow as long as the main players are in the bunch so they wont want to chase.
Panned out almost exactly as I predicted. Uncanny.
😆
I didn't get it much better mind...
nemesis - Member
My prediction - about 5k to go, Quintana goes, Froome goes with him and shadows him until the line. AC dropped but loses a relatively small amount of time.POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #
Woodward, Woodward? They guy who almost destroyed the Lions? Must mean a different one surely?
Contador should of got his rest day steak here!![img] 
[/img]
Lunge, totally understand where you are coming from. It's the result of the baggage that pro-cycling has always carried with it. But..lets enjoy the fact there were 3 Brits in the top 7 today and 2 of the top 5 on GC.
'Hat' to Adam Yates for his ride too. First ever TdF Mountain stage and he burns off some of the best climbers in the world. Blimey. Image if Froome was a twin......
+1 great ride from Adam Yates.
I didn't publish my thoughts, but I had everyone marking each other and a french rider winning. Ah well.
I'm not a fan of Voekler so was glad to be spared his gurning.
You don't like this?
[img] 
[/img]
c'mon, what's wrong with you? 🙂
I'm not a housewife 🙂
If I did that to housewives I'd be arrested!
it gives some deeply tedious people an opportunity to work themselves up into a dunning-kruger circle jerk which spunks gooey droplets of hearsay and rumour all over the delicious biscuits of threads like this.
quite magnificent....
Possibly the best comment on here ...ever....:-)
