Tour de France 2010

Cheeky monkey Schick

Poor old Barredo

I was going to pick Fedrigo for the stage this morning then changed my mind. Doh!

He's not the kind of rider you want to give a free ride to the finish. Chapeau to Barredo though, he looked the strongest on the climbs and then gave it all when going for the long one.

Not sure if anyone has seen this [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOJLuePexs&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOJLuePexs&feature=player_embedded[/ame
]

To be fair to him, he has had an achilles injury. He's not the next Merckx but he's a raw talent whom, under the correct management, could win a lot of high quality races.

oh, i agree. he's great. shame team sky are such a bunch of bungling amateurs.

anyone up for look mum no hands on thurs that stage will be a good one i think, finishing upon high
should shake up gc a bit

Not sure if anyone has seen this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOJLuePexs&feature=player_embedded

that didn't look too genuine did it

Good Result For BBox two stage wins ... two days ... I suspect they will be able to get sponsorship for the team next year.

that didn't look too genuine did it

Specialized+SRAM probably had a word...

How well are the French really doing? For stage wins it's been a good Tour but for the GC it's been hopeless. Then again a stage win is no doubt more valuable to a sponsor than any placing below the podium. And though I think the polka dot jersey has been discredited for years as a mark of climbing ability it is still handy for the sponsor.

People remember stage winners, they don't remember who finished 11th, and the French riders have got wise to this. Chavanel could finish in the top 15 but chooses to lose time to give him the freedom to go on the attack and it's worked for him.

6 stage wins, I heard on ITV.

For BBox team ... since they were looking for sponsors and they have won 2 of those stages, there is some definitely some negotiating muscle now .. as opposed to earlier where they kept missing the breakaway and letting Confidis have it.

Thinking about it I'd say that people remember stage winners, they don't remember who finished 11th, and the French riders have got wise to this. Chavanel could finish in the top 15 but chooses to lose time to give him the freedom to go on the attack and it's worked for him.

Deja Vu .....................

Yeah! Was thinking of a half day and after somewhere to watch it with others.

The race will be won on that stage.

anyone up for look mum no hands on thurs that stage will be a good one i think, finishing upon high
should shake up gc a bit

Just found a cafe in Portland that is showing replays of the tour when people are actually awake so will be spending a couple of hours there on Thursday to watch that stage at least.
Shame about wiggins but there's always next year and I'm thinking this year despite the bravado was all about learning, hopefully at the end of this five year plan we'll see some British riders having a genuine chance of getting into the top three and maybe in with a shout of winning the damn thing if the course suits them as it did for wiggins last year.
And there's nothing wrong with trying your best and failing to achieve the top prize, learn more from defeat yadda yadda yadda, and I'm sure wiggins will be even more aware of what he has to do next year. Anyway what I'd love is for wiggins to win or at least podium the vuelta or the giro, that would really force the media to take note of road cycling. Obviously I'm thinking that the vuelta and the giro are easier than the Tdf which make it a more viable option for team sky and wiggins..

what I'd love is for wiggins to win or at least podium the vuelta or the giro, that would really force the media to take note of road cycling.

Oh rly? The mainstream media (front pages) have never heard of those races. As far as the non-cycling world is concerned, there is only one stage race. Robert Millar was on the Vuelta podium twice and the Giro once, and nobody noticed.

Realistically, it's the winners of stages who are remembered by the public, not those who finish just outside the top 10, and this has become received wisdom amongst riders from France. A top 15 finish would be possible for Chavanel, but he's decided instead to prioritise attacking over cumulative time loss, and it's definitely paying off.

In the future everyone will be AndyP for fifteen miniutes.

The Giro and the Vuelta shit on the Tour.

They're still not the most important things in RPM's life though.

He's in cyber-denial. Did you know his 2 goldfish are named Zoncolan and Angliru?

I thought they were Shoreditch and Hoxton? That must be his ferrets.

Ferrari's the ferret.