Tour de France 2012

Gotta love Voekler's gurning.

Most interesting thing to watch today.

Evans fate sealed. Nibali all talk. Froome looking after his contract.

Sorry not explained myself well, my query is whether the tour has a statistically higher proportion of in-competition positives than other races e.g the giro?

Brilliant ride there by the Belgian and Kenyan :)

I'd say more 'ok'. Nibali clearly isn't as fast as he thinks he is.

What fucking drug was he on to make him go faster down hill?

Downhillzepam?

Seems obvious now, but Evans never had the form all year did he?

I wonder if winning one takes the fight out a bit. Plus all the stuff you do post-win?

Wiggo's a lock in now. Yay sideys

I think it does. It takes a special kind of mentalist to keep winning them, but that hunger dims eventually. For Evans, he won his first so late in his career, that there was always a chance he'd not repeat it. But, you have to respect him for the fight he has put up, he's been on the back foot from the off but hasn't given up, even after today.

Hugh Porter = legend.

Thats a fucking cracking photo!!

Evans has seen the funny side of it too - check out @CadelOfficial on twitter.

Most interesting thing to watch today.

No chance. Today was a masterpiece of intrigue. Day before yesterday's was deathly boring though.

Evans has seen the funny side of it too - check out @CadelOfficial on twitter.

He really does seem like a genuinely nice bloke.

He really does seem like a genuinely nice bloke.

Yeah even when he could have kicked off loads about the tacks (i know they slowed to let them rejoin but he'd have been justified at being way more pissed off on camera than he was). Always comes across as a nice guy when interviewed. Apart from when he kicked of at having his shoulder touched that is....

Evans has seen the funny side of it too - check out @CadelOfficial on twitter.

He's mellowed a lot in the last few years.

Today Wiggins & co climbed at 1680m/h. Limits of VAM acknowledged, compare that to this graph we drew back in 2010:

...

+1 for Evans. The man is a legend as probably the first clean tour winner in a generation. Loved the way he put it on the line every stage last year and this year.

Today Wiggins & co climbed at 1680m/h. Limits of VAM acknowledged, compare that to this graph we drew back in 2010:

I find this stuff quite interesting.

Here is what Wiggins wrote regarding climbing before the tour.

There will be no showboating on climbs. It's going to be a matter of emptying it in the last kilometre of a mountain-top finish when the guys around me are getting dropped, but I know I have done the work that will enable me to do that. My win in the Dauphiné confirmed that for me. It didn't tell me that all I have to do is turn up and I can win, but it was proof that I should be able to dig deep physically with the work I've done since last November.

In the Dauphiné, on the Col du Joux-Plane on the penultimate day, we were climbing at about 1,700 VAM. There aren't many riders out there who can go that fast, and there weren't many able to stay with us on that stage. So that gives me confidence that physically I'm in the right place at the moment. The catch, however, is that the Tour is not just about the numbers. We've got to take those numbers, the physical ability they represent, and perform day after day after day.

And whilst we're doing stats, these are the winnings payouts so far.

If Peter Sagan was a team, he’d be third in the rankings.

From here.

^that Sagan fact - wow! he's the reason my fantasy tour team is doing respectably.

Holly repped for Voeckler chat upthread.

What time is today kicking off? I am touring in Friesland but its just startd pouring down and is meant to for the rest of the day, might have a day in the pub.

Sagan is also getting a new porSche from team, made a few good bits before the tour, needed 2 stages and the green.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sagan-set-to-win-porsche-in-paris

Is Ireland part of Britain?

British Isles = Yes
Britain = No

So when the commentators on ITV4 say that Wiggins will be the first British winner, why are they discounting the win of Roche in 1987?

He is by definition from the British Isles, therefore making him British...

he's eirish

not irish............. isn't he ?

So when the commentators on ITV4 say that Wiggins will be the first British winner, why are they discounting the win of Roche in 1987?

He is by definition from the British Isles, therefore making him British...

No, british is a political thing. Ireland is not part of that thing.

Also, Wiggo is Belgian.