Here we go. Time for another TdF already. I'm going to try and get a daily thread on here like the ones from @crazy-legs and @lunge. If you haven't been watching womens racing then this is a great chance to see a really different style of racing. It's going to be awesome.
The race starts today in Paris and makes it's way to the Planche Des Belle Filles next weekend:
There's a good whole-race preview over on Rouleur:
https://www.rouleur.cc/blogs/the-rouleur-journal/tour-de-france-femmes-preview
Today is a bit of a city centre crit in Paris
You can read the preview here: https://cyclingtips.com/2022/07/preview-what-you-need-to-know-about-stage-1-of-the-2022-tour-de-france-femmes/
It's on GCN/Eurosport/Discovery+ but no sign of it on ITV. I'll try and find some good highlights to post later on.
Lets go! Who is your money on for this? I reckon Vos because she's Vos.
Good stuff, I've very little knowledge of the women's circuit but after enjoying the men's this year so much I'm going to tune in.
Often the racing is better with the women, though the men this year will be hard to beat for excitement.
It should be a good one, there's been a nice build up to it, the riders understand the significance of it all in terms of exposure and what's at stake.
Hopefully, the event itself will be better run and managed than the frankly embarrassing "La Course" races which have happened in recent years - they always felt like token gestures that the organisers had reluctantly tacked on because they had to rather than because they wanted to.
10km to go! Bunch sprint time
If you don't have gcn but want to watch this, you can aply for a free pass
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-free-8-day-gcn-pass/
Bunch sprint time
It's looking more like bunch crash time at the moment. 😥
Two or three small scale spills so far.
Cracking sprint that!
I do find the camera position on the champs Elysees stage frustrating, the highlight views are always more informative about how the sprint works itself out.
They used to have a motorbike pace alongside outside the course, but don't seem to do that anymore
Great racing
That looked like a spring classics sprint. Ace.
I’ll try and find a free highlights vid to post up later - shall we keep spoilers off until I’ve posted?
ITV4 doing a good job of highlights of the whole 3-week Tour plus some of the TdF Femmes Stage 1. On now.
Has to be said, Ned Boulting's commentary is vastly superior to Marty MacDonald and Dani Rowe on Eurosport.
Here's some highlights from GCN.