Tour de France 2012

Stage under way. Wiggins has a wheel change due to puncture...

Evans attacks!

#jokes

#lols

Sylvain Chavanel has abandoned

Do you has DAB radio in the car? If so you can listen to it on 5live sports extra.

It's a hire car, neither me nor the missus owns anything with an engine.

School boy error there Sparkes.

Ironically you were probably eyeing up bikes/parts on line when you just nodded and agreed with her (we've all done it!)

More like working nights for the last couple of weeks and being constantly on the verge of slipping into a nap.

That's revenge if ever I heard it.

Listening to cycling is about as exciting as listening to golf or cricket.

I've really ballsed this up, haven't I?

Driving to Cornwall during school hols should only be done at 3am. You'll fly down in without jams and have plenty of time to settle in at the pub.

Just ensure you blast the horn when passing any parked caravans.

I think we're going to Bath Sunday morning, staying the night there, then on to Cornwall until Friday.

What time is the action happening on Sunday, and are there any bars in Bath that will be showing it? Could still salvage this...

Also, there was some Sky team kit in RP this morning. Anyone on here?

Yeah that would do it

Is it just perspective or does this tyre look really, really wide?
#ScobleWasRight

Should Cav stay at Sky? His needs are always going to be second to the yellow jersey effort, and while he has proved he can win a stage without the entire team pulling for him, Greipel's success is demonstrable of a team built around a sprinter and stage wins (although not the green jersey curiously). Conversely in Van den Broeck the same team had a GC contender that may be higher up with greater team support.

In Froome Sky have a leader that will need less nursing through the lumpy stages you feel, but even with that I don't think Cav will getting the same level of support and he has cut a slightly pitiful figure at times, World Champion jersey stuffed full of bottles, coming in well behind the peloton on stages he might have been challenging for, working as a domestique in the mountains. Stage 13 was a case in point: he would have been dragged over that climb and back to the bunch much like Greipel was, and been there for the win potntentially if he had more of a team around him.

I realise he makes the right noises in interviews, and he's clearly happy to be part of Sky challenging for yellow, but I think it's a shame he can't do more in the rainbow jersey. I also think if he wants to cement his legacy as the best sprinter of all time and carry winning stages and creeping toward the Merxck number he needs more support.

Now I've said all that he'll win today and the Champs Elysee and I'll look like more a twat than I already do.

Is it just perspective or does this tyre look really, really wide?
#ScobleWasRight

coz its deflated.

and even more because it probably acually is wider. more teams are switching to 25mm tubulars nowadays (and maybe even more for the Pyrenees roads?)

Should Cav stay at Sky? His needs are always going to be second to the yellow jersey effort, and while he has proved he can win a stage without the entire team pulling for him, Greipel's success is demonstrable of a team built around a sprinter and stage wins (although not the green jersey curiously). Conversely in Van den Broeck the same team had a GC contender that may be higher up with greater team support.

In Froome Sky have a leader that will need less nursing through the lumpy stages you feel, but even with that I don't think Cav will getting the same level of support and he has cut a slightly pitiful figure at times, World Champion jersey stuffed full of bottles, coming in well behind the peloton on stages he might have been challenging for, working as a domestique in the mountains. Stage 13 was a case in point: he would have been dragged over that climb and back to the bunch much like Greipel was, and been there for the win potntentially if he had more of a team around him.

I realise he makes the right noises in interviews, and he's clearly happy to be part of Sky challenging for yellow, but I think it's a shame he can't do more in the rainbow jersey. I also think if he wants to cement his legacy as the best sprinter of all time and carry winning stages and creeping toward the Merxck number he needs more support.

Now I've said all that he'll win today and the Champs Elysee and I'll look like more a twat than I already do.

He's only got an eye on the Olympics, that's why he's pulling on the front and fetching drinkies for the boys. He's saving up favours with the British lads for later. Personally, I reckon he'll leave next season.

Should Cav stay at Sky? His needs are always going to be second to the yellow jersey effort, and while he has proved he can win a stage without the entire team pulling for him, Greipel's success is demonstrable of a team built around a sprinter and stage wins (although not the green jersey curiously). Conversely in Van den Broeck the same team had a GC contender that may be higher up with greater team support.

In Froome Sky have a leader that will need less nursing through the lumpy stages you feel, but even with that I don't think Cav will getting the same level of support and he has cut a slightly pitiful figure at times, World Champion jersey stuffed full of bottles, coming in well behind the peloton on stages he might have been challenging for, working as a domestique in the mountains. Stage 13 was a case in point: he would have been dragged over that climb and back to the bunch much like Greipel was, and been there for the win potntentially if he had more of a team around him.

I realise he makes the right noises in interviews, and he's clearly happy to be part of Sky challenging for yellow, but I think it's a shame he can't do more in the rainbow jersey. I also think if he wants to cement his legacy as the best sprinter of all time and carry winning stages and creeping toward the Merxck number he needs more support.

Now I've said all that he'll win today and the Champs Elysee and I'll look like more a twat than I already do.

I think Cavendish and Sky are well aware that it's the Olympic road race that's the real prize for Cav this year. He's just thinking ahead, staying out of trouble and trying not to wear himself out too much I think.

Who's going to take him though? While he may be an awesome sprinter, and more than capable of winning without his own train, that's only if he's in the right place (i.e. in the lead group), which is dependent on him not being a bit sub par on the rest of his riding.

He's only got an eye on the Olympics, that's why he's pulling on the front and fetching drinkies for the boys. He's saving up favours with the British lads for later. Personally, I reckon he'll leave next season.

That's what I'm saying: go somewhere else next season because I can't see Sky approaching the Tour too differently next year, even if Froome is leader. Sky can use Swift as their sprinter and Cav can have a team dedicated to sticking that green jersey on his back.

And for all the positive things coming from his mouth, his body language and expression says that he wants to be up their in the sprints, if do nothing else but wipe that giant gorilla gurn/grin off Greipel's face. even though I have in my team I hate seeing him win.

BMC might be a good bet, and Garmin could do with a sprinter who gets results. The only problem might be the pay. He needs plenty dorra to keep himself in stripy jumpers and page 3 stunnas.

+1 he will cost a hell of lot but the pay off is you should be able to grab 10+ wins a season. Love to see him in Garmin blue, But I doubt they could afford him

Jimmy, I don't think you give Cav enough credit, he's at Sky to win things, and because they are paying him a truckload of money and the majority of the british team at the olympics are Sky riders so will know each other and be comfortable on the road together.

Cav is a student of cycling history, and he wants to part of history, helping the first briton to win the tour de france is I think more of a carrot than we think, William Fotheringham was telling a story yesterday about Cav helping out the Isle of Man team at the commonwealth games, I think, when he was already knocked out of the competition, or finished, driving the car, being a impromptu DS, and generally helping out wherever he could, because he could.

Cav has personal goals to achieve, and I think he wants to achieve them with a british team. If Froome leads into a grand tour, I think the composition of the squad will be different as he wouldn't need as many climbers around him to haul him up the hill at a certain pace a'la Wiggins. You could in all honesty split the team 5/4 GC/GJ and Four climbing/general domestiques for the GC attempt and Three for Cav's leadout train.

Also whats wrong with Sky being ambitious and trying to go for the GC and the Green Jersey at the same time, more history to be made and as mentioned before that is what Cav - it would seem - is interested in most, making history...

Nearly won the Giro too. Just been so many crashes for him this year.

shame wiggins needs babysitting.

^^^ nicely put, and pretty spot on I'd say

He doesn't need babysitting. That's just the set-up that works for him.

Will Froome have enough juice to go for the Vuelta GC, I wonder?

Sub par?

He's been doing fine, been unlucky on a couple of stages. Shit happens.
First Manx man in Gold at the Olympics. The only incentive required.

he shouldn't be team leader then he isn't strong enough and he has a pathetic attitude. focus should be on CAV or froome, wiggins isn't ever going to be remembered as a great.

.

Three pages too late

froome for yellow

fingers crossed

shame wiggins needs babysitting.

Shouldn't you be bitching at Cath Wiggins on Twitter, Michelle?