Le Tour (may contain spoilers)

Eased up. Purleeese. Obviously Lotto split the train, Cav down to Renshaw so was forced to go early. The gorilla jumped his wheel.

Great race.

Hidden motor, obviously.

I think it was probably hidden under a car bonnet. Some nice motor pacing from Nibbles too.

It’s a normal response from Cav but he DID sit up when he saw he wasn’t going to win. My guess is that he was going for a win or nothing and didn’t even take Martin’s possible yellow jersey into consideration. (Obviously my observations are based entirely on slobbing on the sofa all day! 😆 )

An angry Cav is a winning Cav, watch out Peleton!

…he DID sit up … My guess is that he was going for a win or nothing and didn’t even take Martin’s possible yellow jersey into consideration.

My thoughts too. But in fairness, I don’t think he expected Cancellara to be up there in the sprint against the against the big boys. And I’m not sure they played it that well as a team. Did T Martin really need to do all that work up front and render himself useless in the last few k?

Awesome effort from Sagan, all things considered. Almost came past Greipel.

I farking love a split!! Awesome stage, sucks to be half the GC guys right now! Looking forward to Quintana smashing everyone to make up time. Let’s hope for moar wind when the cobbles strike 😛 Every day’s a race day, pay attention boys.

Great to see Cancellara in yellow again.

EtixxFailStep.

Did Cav look a bit… weak? Or just a bit premature?

What did Cav say about Boardman, then?

Def went waaaay too early. Looked strong to me.

It’s a normal response from Cav but he DID sit up when he saw he wasn’t going to win.

I interpreted his comment as he was absolutely spent, rather than lazy.

I’m a cav fan but that was poor.

My lad is 4 and knows to run through the finish line.

He should have mtfu and apologised rather than some sob story of being “spent”

🙄

🙄

You wouldn’t be doing that if you were Etixx QS’s DS and your team had just cost you a yellow jersey. 😆

Tour Stage 3 Preview

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow combine some of my favourite words in cycling

Echelons
Mur
Pavê

Great “classics” racing.

Not sure we have a fantasy league thread?

So the scores on the doors after 2 stages are as follows for the top three:

1: Alan`s Deep Bath, DA Andy are on 772 points, (just outside the top 100 overall! kudos)
2: Brooklyn Chewing Gum, DS Flux are on 749 points
3: Michael Flatley Quick Step, DS Scandal42 are on 745 points

http://www.velogames.com/tour-de-france/2015/leaguescores.php?league=29092751

Alan`s Deep Bath, DA Andy are on 772 points, (just outside the top 100 overall! kudos)

8)

I don’t think it’ll stay like that for long, but today at least I have a spring in my step.

I think Cav went flat chat too early too, shame but he just didn’t have if and Gripy had him, but Fabulous Candellabra !! Like Wow! 8)

Hoping today will see the clean shaven (oh dear me) Fabulous one off the front attacking, possible win? Nah but hoping he’ll break the mould of leaders in Yellow sticking to the main group like velcro.

A win prediction? Dutch or Belgian, YVDB or Krysi’ maybe.. Lotto Jumbo anyhoos’ or the possibility of (one of my fave riders) Dan Martin if CannG’ can close ranks and protect him for the first 60k’s..

Good stage this.

Boom, 3rd place, close the league now.

Can’t see Cannondale being strong enough to deliver Martin. Kwaitoski has been sand bagging…he’ll smash this!! Look for an enraged Tony Martin ripping the bunch a new arsehole soon too!

Here’s hoping we see some aggressive racing from Nibali for the next couple of days to try and gain back time on Contador/Froome, he’s got the skillz!

Apparently the GPS data showed the fastest rider in the sprint was… Cancellara.

Awesome stage (watched it all live, then watched the highlights 😳 ). BMC wasted an opportunity, taking an age to actually get riding and put more time into TJVG’s second-string-GC competition when Dennis was always going to lose yellow. Another wiley move from Contador but this time Sky didn’t get caught out (unlike in 2013), and Froome even got mixed up in the sprint finish.

Nibbles fined a massive 50 swiss francs for the sustained motor pacing. That’ll teach him. 🙄

I was wondering what sort of penalty he’d get after what happened at the Giro. Pretty lenient given the time he could have lost.

TBH after a puncture I don’t really see anything wrong with what he did.

TBH after a puncture I don’t really see anything wrong with what he did.

This. I don’t have a problem with it at all, I want to see the racing won with horsepower not punctures.

Did Sagan get a drafting fine?

I was somewhat surprised that he made contact with the lead group again, and then had the power to almost win!

Ha, was going to mention Sagan but forgot, not a chance he got back on without some very obvious drafting!! The speed he got back on and the fact he had the freshness to fight for the stage suggests he had a dedicated motopacing bike 😛

different situation for Sagan compared to Nibali – for Nibali it was at the worst possible time with the split happening and the front group really drilling it, bad conditions and riders all over the show, etc… Sagan had a team car with him and managed to get a bike straight to him and pace him back when the front were going at a more sensible pace – still a cracking bit of riding to get back on

Conveniently it wasn’t on caught TV, but the gap was big enough for the commissioners car to be there….

Or least not in Eurosport Sweden coverage

I don’t have an issue with motorpacing provided it doesn’t have an impact on the overall. If it happens in a lead group and the cars are in between then No, if it happens in the 2nd group onwards and simply brings the riders back to that group then I’m fin with it – it was obv’s when Nibbs did it though as a the whole of Tele2 was had a camera on him..

As for Kit’ dunno about today for the win.. think everyone needs another stage in their legs before proper breaks happen. As is it’ll be a mad bunfight at the OK Coral to get to the bottom of the Huy won’t it ?

Eeeek 😯

Tricky one to call today, will be a crazy sprint up the Mur with the GC boys not wanting to lose out. Finish looks to be right at the top too. Valverde unfortunately the obvious pick. No Gilbert sadly.

Yesterday you could see why Contrador wins as much as he does, proper on the road leadership.

It’s on stages like yesterday that being pro cyclist must suck. The physical and mental demands of racing in conditions like that are so high and you still have nearly 3 more weeks to go!!!!

If it’s of interest and you may need some proxy fun to get it working but this is where the Froome/Porte year started – where I live at the moment
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/469111875731/the-climb-starts-here-froome-and-porte

Just another comment on yesterdays stage from me..

Flat Chat, full on, on the rivet, power driving, Z4 all day, hard riding, tough conditions, bumping and brawling, positioning, knackering.

😀

OI! ITV PLAYER! STOP IT!

So having avoided the newspaper and internet cycling all day to sit and watch the highlights without spoilers, their title screen is a grinning Greipel with his fists in the air. Harumph.

Massive Massive crash, whoa this is messy, lots of names down

shitting horrible bang.

the neutralisation question is going to be interesting….

Oof!

and we have stopped, looking a little unpopular

Just switched on, WTF? Spanish commentators are saying there aren’t enough ambulances and have had to pause the race?

Ouch!

Awful crash, will be amazed if there’s no serious injuries there. Good decision by Prudhomme to stop

dont think it was that bad (RE Ambulances) There a re few out, but it’s the neutralisation and stop that’s going to make the headlines tomorrow.

2 crashes, lots down about 3 or 4 into ambulances and abandoned
Gerrins, Ten Dam, Dumolin, Bonnet and probably a few more by now. Just carnage, CANCELLARA went very heavy into the ditch