Tour de France 2016

H8rs Gona H8. Majka (or Matka, according to ITV4's leaderboard) is a solid legend.

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Anybody noticing Froome stifling a cough for a second post-race interview in succession?

asthma, innit

Yeah, I think that save the last 50k the opening stages have been a bit boring. They're mostly long straight runs from A to B. Yesterday was a welcome diversion from this. I don't really want pave carnage and I accept it as the nature of the transfer stages needed to get from North to South. However, if I were designing the stages myself, I would make them shorter and more technical, even if they stayed flat.

A bit of race lung is perfectly normal, especially after Quintana and Valverde made that cheeky move late in the game.

yesterday's stage had 4000m elevation, so this could have been called a mountain stage

I did not appreciate the climbing yesterday from the stage profile. It looked brutal.

Let's hope it's nothing more, but he is quite a sickly chap (although many elite athletes are).

You should hear me after a 10 mile TT. You'd think I had a touch of the typhoid.

Would love to see the Tour include a gravel stage a la Tro Bro Leon...won't be as destructive as a cobbled stage but would add a bit of extra spice

boring? two photo finishes and an epic break in the last three stages. tough crowd

I'm not saying it's all been boring but the casual club run to 50k out from the sprint finishes was hardly what you'd describe as scintillating.

There are a decent Group of sprinters With various teams and strengths. The first 80% of these stages isnt going to be edge of seat stuff. But its definitely not dull.

Yesterday Movistar got on the front and fecking beasted it. Not sure what the intention was. But it opened a massive backdoor.

Romain Bardet seemed to og on some huge pointless attack towards the end too.

Conty hasnt been written off yet. Love him or hate him. He makes for unpredictable racing.

Not really sure about Teejay. But if he can hold on it'll be another candidate and team that needs marking.

I think its shaping up nicely.

And to start the stage today, a gift for those playing The Guardian's Name That Breakaway game in the form of Barta and Arashiro.

Nice.

Listen to David Millar on the ITV TdF podcast.
He thought the Movistar 'show of strength' was amateurish.

Last year I watched a stage in Pretorious bikes in Shoreditch. I've got next Thursday afternoon off to watch the Ventoux stage - anyone fancy joining me? Nice and airy, quiet and relaxed.

@youramericanlover @Rod_Munch ?

Allpress and Gamma Ray as well.

Not sure Pretorius is still going from those premises, rode past a few months back and seemed like someone else had taken over.

I am not sure this is the case, but you may want to double check that you can still watch the tour there..

http://hackney.cc/shops/hex-cycles/

Lampre kit in the sunshine.

It wasnt going to dislodge anybody other than Berty. Whos had the shite kicked out of him and deserves a little more IMHO.

A few Sky riders popped out the back. But I didnt see any reason for them to maintain a full team around Froome. So might just have been saving themselves.

Still. I thought it was fun.

Romain Bardets attack was worse. Boom....watch me Climb away........erm where the hill go?

Looks like Pretorius have just got out of the bricks and mortar shopfront game... Wonder if they're still invested in the space?

i liked it when Porte went off the front and everyone got excited. only for him to grab a bottle. got to be a lot of nervous excitement in among that GC group.

Yeah don't get that?