With an element of surprise as per AG2R earlier in the tour.. Wait for a couple of team Sky to drop back for bottles, then quick acceleration by a couple of teams and see what carnage they can cause.. ideally with a couple of riders in the large breakaway up the road to help you out later.. yeah there’s a good chance it won’t work, but it’s better to try to win, rather than settle for a possible podium..

Would never work. All too close at the top for that sort of alliance to be successful. And even if they did they’d just leave their leaders with no support and Froome with a couple of Sky guys.

It’s the only way they’ll win, barring a Froome crash/mechanical/illness – if they want to beat the strongest team and potentially win the race than they have to take risks given that it’s the last stage to gain any real time. If you need 2-3 mins on Froome then you have to try something different on the Col du Vars, if you leave it to the last climb then it’s game over..

Yeah he still puts the effort in, just he has it a lot easier than his rivals. His team chase down most attacks, and pace him up the final climb, whereas the rest of the GC contenders have to do these things themselves..

In past years Froome has been by far the strongest, but this year if every GC rider had a clone of Sky’s team working for them then the GC would look very different.

Yeah teams have attacked individually, but not together.. Sky are clearly the strongest team even without G, so it would take two teams working together to break them..

Froome’s only looked good as he’s hardly had to work (relative to his rivals), he’s not been anything like as dominant so far this year, no stage wins, getting dropped on Stage 5 etc.. in previous years he had a huge buffer by this stage.

Edit: Stage 12, not 5!

AG2R, Cannondale, Astana, Quickstep need to work together to isolate Froome.. burn out their domestiques to burn out Sky’s, and then once it’s just the GC contenders left then fight it out, leaving Froome to chase down attacks, rather than having his team do it.

It’s the only way they’re going to get any significant time on Froome today, who arguably looks like he’s going to win the tour due to having the strongest team rather than being the strongest rider..

Thing is though, in recent years it’s been his trademark… big attack, blow up, end race.

Maybe, but I’d prefer to watch him race than most of the other GC riders who will settle for a top 10 / top 5.. it’s win or nothing for AC..

If he was just after the stage win today he’d have attacked far later on.. he almost certainly won’t manage it, but he’s trying to get back his 7 minutes today IMO..

Cycling will be a lot poorer when Contador retires.. might not be the force he once was, but loves causing chaos..

I’m more interested in what happens if AC/Landa pull out 3-4 mins to see how Froome/Sky reacts.. joint leadership?

Froome sitting at the back of the group at the moment, think he was one teammate with him.. maybe a bluff though

Although would be interesting to see what happens if Aru, Bardet etc decided to call Sky’s bluff and let Landa go.. would Sky pull him back to keep Froome as leader, would Froome chase his own teammate down in order to still lead the team, or would they just let Landa gain time on everyone?

Edit: Ah sorry, misunderstood your point!

Yep, is to make Astana, AG2R, Cannondale etc work hard to bring him (Landa) back as he’s a threat at only 2 or so mins down.. Aru and Bardet don’t have many teammates left so will have to do it themselves..

Contador just wants to cause carnage, love watching him race..

Could be his attack on the Peyresourde for the stage win at Luchon? Was a sight to behold.

Thanks.. Not hugely familiar with his riding as was a youngster then.. could be this though, can’t find the original video, was probably the most impressive attack I’ve ever seen..

Slightly OT: I remember seeing some Youtube footage of Phillipa (in her past life) attacking another rider in a Grand Tour Mountain Stage (either TDF or Vuelta) with an acceleration that more resembled motorbike speed and absolutely destroying them.. never been able to find it again.. anyone have any idea?

Admittedly I use this bike mainly on road, but they hardly move at all, have never touched the tyre, mainly thanks to that long metal bracket on the front – I’m now after a set for another bike but can only find Flingers using stays?

Edit: they feel pretty chunky compared to newer mudguards I’ve seen, the plastic is pretty stiff on it’s own..

I’m surprised that the North Koreans have managed to launch anything.. thought that the Americans would have sabotaged everything with a stuxnet type virus.. I imagine that’s what caused the failed tests so far

Yeah I agree he needs to attack, but using up your entire team all day for a maximum gain of an extra 10 seconds (assuming he wins, and his biggest rivals finish 4th or lower) is a big risk.. there are a lot of riders who can win today, and if he’s not at the top of his game then he’s A) cost his team a lot and B) Handed those bonus seconds to his rivals.

Bit of a risk by BMC.. knackering out their team for a potential 10 seconds bonus for Porte.. could quite possibly be wearing themselves out to catch the break only for Porte to not have the legs, and someone else to take the win..

Same as flannol.. I just buy these, never worn one out, (lost one instead)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004S7P5RE/%5B/url%5D £3.89, fairly small, not minimalist though.. wouldn’t pay much more for a wallet..

Hanson grew up to become Kings of Leon

^^ this. You’d be surprised how many people place a low bid with the logic that if they get outbid then they’ll simply bid again slightly higher.. like a regular auction.. outbidding them with your max bid with 5 seconds left means you often get cheap stuff simply as they don’t have time to respond… and if you don’t get the items with your max bid, then it wasn’t worth it anyway..

Absolutely horrible.. Do the emergency services own any of those movie stunt air mattress things that would potentially allow people to jump as a last resort?

Should clarify I didn’t mean the independent opticians, just Specsavers, Vision Express and the like. If that makes it any better..

If you want to save money, get a free eye test at Tesco, then visit as many opticians until you find a pair of glasses you like – make a note of the make and model number (on the inside of the arm), then buy them online for about half price.

Depends on gender, but pretty sure I read something about British Cycling advising female riders (poss male too) to keep it hairy down below, as shaving/waxing etc makes their riders more susceptible to saddle sores.. here

My girlfriend used to be his kids’ nanny.

/shit claim to fame

I genuinely think half the issue is that the average driver mistakenly assumes all cyclists to be cycling at roughly the same speed that they cycle at (when they last rode a bike) – which in most cases would be relatively slow – hence the desire to overtake before a bend, misjudging pulling out etc.. for the most part it’s not malice, it’s just misjudging the amount of time they’ve got, in my experience..

nah about 1:20 down according to my stream*..

*internet, not wee..

Are they waiting for him? They should, but obviously if he was with them, chances are they’d be attacking right now.. #poogate

According to this page, Michele Scarponi is 33/1 to win the Giro if anyone fancies an outsider :(

Personally I’d only use Planet X/On-One if I wanted cheap components for a hack bike – wouldn’t trust their RRPs/Customer Service for anything more expensive

Whatever happened to Official Richie McCoy?

Swear at it. Then Stab it. Then cut it off the rim. Then stamp on it. Then wee on it. Then burn it. Then smash the melted goo into the ground with a pair of bombers. Then go to the local bike shop, buy another and get them to fit it, and if they ask, deny ever trying to fit the previous one yourself to save your pride. << That’s probably what I’d do.

This might explain it?

edit: ah sh*t, beaten to the skoda joke!

You’ll get loads of answers here – firstly ignore any blog posts telling you to sign up with BlueHost, HostGator etc – they earn £100 commission if you use their links so they won’t be impartial.. That’s how most successful Lifestyle Bloggers earn their living, through recommending their users to start a blog using whichever hosting company pays the most commission.

I personally use Heart Internet, having used dozens of hosts over the years.. probably not the cheapest, but the most reliable and helpful in my experience.

I think AJ has come in a bit heavy, and is gambling on the early KO.. we don’t know his stamina yet, carrying an extra stone or so of muscle will not help.. WK coming in light wants to outbox him, stay mobile and take it into the later rounds.. be interesting how this turns out, either a Calzaghe/Lacy boxing masterclass from WK (points) where the young powerful guy gets schooled, or AJ will have him out early to mid IMO.

Seems Joshua has come in heavy for this one, WK looking lean.. Hopefully gonna be a good fight.. Be good to see AJ’s chin tested, as well as what WK has got left in the tank..

AJ is currently 1.44 at bookies, WK is 3.25

^ What several others said: Do everything in bulk.

Drive in one day a week with all of your work gear/non perishable food etc (or carry it all on one ride) so the rest of the time you’re riding light – it’s way more fun.

Bulk cook massive meals, so you can freeze them. We bought a £100 freezer for this – it saves so much time, and we eat healthy all the time without much washing up or cooking required. It’s hardly any more effort/time to cook 10-15 portions than it is to cook 2. Do that for a few meals and you’ll hardly have to cook.

Hmm.. more leaks[/url].. Team Sky accused of violating UCI no-needles policy with IV recovery

You do realise that it is a word of German origin and the cole bit is just German for cabbage. The OP is probably using kale or some other brassica, but prefers not to admit it. Way to stop language evolving, dude.

Line him up against the wall ;)

Pour off any sauce / juices, then reduce in a pan, then mix back in once it’s thick/concentrated.

Oh and don’t call it Slaw, even with an apostrophe it’s highly inappropriate. Coleslaw or nothing. When I am king, the “Slaw” users will be first against the wall ;)