Tour de France 2012

Which Teejay most definitely hasn't been, riding past him after he punctured the other day.

I think it's a shame that VDB and Nibali are calling for allies. I didn't like it in the Giro when the Italian riders ganged up and tried to isolate Hesjedal, a lot of good it did them. That said I can understand why, given Sky's strength. An act of desperation methinks.

If Wiggins were to blow up at some point in the mountains and look like he's gonna lose several minutes to Evans or Nibali, would Sky let Froome off the leash or keep him supporting Wiggins in the hope of minimising the losses and leaving him with a chance of making up time in the TT?

France 2 HD on my three screen desk PC

@Brun - that would depend whereabouts on the stage he blew up.

i am a big sky fan and love wiggins but i sort of want him to crack just a little bit today. Seeing froome having to make that decision to stay or not and actually seeing a bit of racing is outweighing my support for all that is team sky

what i don't understand is how having froome chasing nibbles and evans would benefit wiggins
it's not like froome can tug on the seatpost of them both and hold them back

the only benefit would be to froome and would take froome right to the top of the leaders board

wonder if wiggo has butterflies at the start today

what sort of gaps did lance / delgado / pantani etc put on their GC rivals in one good days climbing ?

and to add
tomorrows stage will probably be a better one to watch hill top finish no chance for other riders to gain time as there are no mountains after that stage
a yellow jersey challenging ride today could just as easily be wiped out tomorrow

brinksmanship time

How the hell did Horner end up there?

what i don't understand is how having froome chasing nibbles and evans would benefit wiggins

If they can't get away from Froome they may crack then the sky team can pace Wiggins back into the stage.

How the hell did Horner end up there?

He was putting Valverde's shoe covers in his pocket.

Is today's run in steep enough for Nibali to get some time? This looks on paper like his best chance. Evans is also quicker than Tim down a hill.

It's not a very technical descent, a few wide, sweeping hairpins at the top but then it's pretty straight all the way to the finish.

Tomorrow's finish, with the technical descent off the Port de Bales then the uphill finish is better suited for a Nibali type attack.

poisoning....I'd say the chances of contamination deliberate or otherwise are quite high......I'd guess that all riders areonly told to take bottles from their own soineurs for this very reason, but can they account for everything that get's consumed during the three weeks?

And talking of poisoning, mussels are the last thing I would be eating mid tour!

Noticed one of the Europcar riders, either Voeckler or Rolland, take a drink from a spectator the other day. Didn't strike me as a very smart thing to do.

^ It might have been laced with carpet tacks.

And talking of poisoning, mussels are the last thing I would be eating mid tour!

They can get a bit clammy in the jersey pocket.

mmm, sweaty mussels

It would have been better if today was a mountain top finish. The downhill run to the finish is such a deterrent for anyone hoping to make a break on the final climb.

Freak accidents aside i think the most exciting part of this race now will be the battle for the minor placings.

Nibbles would want to make up time on evans before the time trial. What will hapen to Froome and there will be a number of others looking at that third step of the podium hoping to get onboard....

It would have been better if today was a mountain top finish. The downhill run to the finish is such a deterrent for anyone hoping to make a break on the final climb.

Bullshit.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FsaN9uMo10"]Marco
Pantani climbs up the Col du Peyresourde - YouTube[/ame]

The descent of the Peyresourde is such, that there is very little opportunity to bring back a solo attacker or a small group.

which bike rider has the best nickname? Froome's Froomedog Millionaire is daft, Wiggo is a bit dull, Sagan's Terminator is ok, but not as good as Cancellara's Spartacus or Cav's manx Missile

Noticed one of the Europcar riders, either Voeckler or Rolland, take a drink from a spectator the other day. Didn't strike me as a very smart thing to do.

Voeckler grabbing a bottle and pouring it over himself for cooling I think, if it's the same bit I saw. Think they generally know not to drink random bottles tbh

which bike rider has the best nickname? Froome's Froomedog Millionaire is daft, Wiggo is a bit dull, Sagan's Terminator is ok, but not as good as Cancellara's Spartacus or Cav's manx Missile

Cuddles and Nibbles. Only when used both together

Sorry if reep, but Guardian have just flagged up Jens' crossbar:

"I love his motivational crossbar this year. It reads: Shut up legs! 805,000 km. 3,100kg of pasta consumed. 110 stitches. 100 crashes. 64 wins. 40 years. 25 screws. 16 times around the world. 11 broken bones. 1 Jens!"

http://www.pbkblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Jen-Voigts-frame.jpg

I love that man more than is healthy.

25 screws.

Any of them mentioned by name?

There seems to be so many substances you are not allowed to take. If you took ten average cyclists, say one if us who had never doped before and tested them all, how many would fail I wonder (excluding illegal drugs). Can you be affected by infected meats and side effects of common-medicines? Obviously it is up to the teams and riders to be as well informed as possible but banning him before proven absolutely guilty seems a little harsh

Their full time job is to ride and to adhere to the rules around this. They have more help than any of us ever get. There's no excuse for taking in something banned.

How does a diuretic help performace? I thought it would be worse as you'd keep needign to stop for a wee - hence Frank's crap tour..