Tour de France 2008

no fucking chance cadel will retire. a bit of road rash.

I saw it as something rather more serious than that, but fairplay if it's not so bad. I agree.

just reminds me of Vino staggering out in the morning all bandaged up like the mummy's revenge , hardly able to move, then winning.

the deck of a grimsby trawler couldn't have been more fishy..

must say highlights at eurosport is so much better than itv4. seems like the coverage on itv is equal to the amount of commercials...pissed me off when i was on itv yesterday.

didnt see evans' crash but he seemed ok staying in the first bunch. was rico really on the big ring when he kicked ahead?

Figure of speech, but possibly...

...not here:

... but yes here:

just need to rotate that second image in photoshop and we're golden.

I saw it as something rather more serious than that, but fairplay if it's not so bad. I agree.

this is possibly me being overly optimistic. we'll see tomorrow and over the next few days.

I saw it as something rather more serious than that, but fairplay if it's not so bad. I agree.
just reminds me of Vino staggering out in the morning all bandaged up like the mummy's revenge , hardly able to move, then winning.
the deck of a grimsby trawler couldn't have been more fishy..

They suggested that all those bandages were bullshit though. Just trying to make him look more injured than he was. Cadel won't retire but he did look banged up. "He just said don't touch his side".

didnt see evans' crash

Nobody did.

*"I'm not angry about the rumours, I'm just disappointed. I've had these blood values ever since I was a child," said Riccò, who has a naturally high hematocrit level of 51 although the highest allowed level is 50.

"The UCI knows my situation, and I have a certificate to prove it," said Riccò. "I'm following the UCI regulations and I hope that people can appreciate my performances as I've got a natural high hematocrit level."*

Evans crashed over the top of a Euskaltel rider about 105 km into the 224 km stage. "I don't know what happened," Evans said immediately after the finish. He is being treated by his team and is expected to continue racing Monday.

   *"Don't touch me on my left side," he yelled as the press scrum          swarmed around for any snippet available. Evans was whisked straight into          his personal minivan and gone before he could be interviewed. But before          he left, he did pass his helmet to Australian journalist Rupert Guiness          and said, "This is your interview."*
   * The helmet explained a lot. It was badly damaged and had received a          severe impact on the left side. The front left corner of the helmet was          completely crushed and there was little doubt that without the helmet          Cadel would be out of the race and maybe even this world. *
   *Sports Director Roberto Damiani was quite relieved after the finish.          "It was a very bad moment, but Cadel is a man of strong character          so he will be ok. But what could have been a disaster, in the end was          a good day."

"Apparently he touched the wheel of an Euskaltel rider," explained Sergeant. Evans' team-mate Christophe Brandt believed it was an object from a spectator. "He had some sort of bag in his front wheel and it blocked it," he said. "It was not a *musette, but something from along the street."

dodgy frenchies trying to ruin evans chances.

thinking bout this on the weekend. with the abolishment of time bonuses for stage wins, there is no reason for the favourites to go for stage wins. they just need to stay in the peloton. not sure if i like the rule or not!??

whinging aussie? surely not.

    * The helmet explained a lot. It was badly damaged and had received a          severe impact on the left side. The front left corner of the helmet was          completely crushed and there was little doubt that without the helmet          Cadel would be out of the race...*

The accident might have ripped the skin off his face, causing thousands of pounds worth of cosmetic improvements...

dodgy frenchies trying to ruin evans chances.

thinking bout this on the weekend. with the abolishment of time bonuses for stage wins, there is no reason for the favourites to go for stage wins. they just need to stay in the peloton. not sure if i like the rule or not!??

I like the abolition of time bonuses. It does change the tactics but it does reward the stronger teams and both Columbia and CSC are looking nails at the moment.

it's the etape du tour stage today. would be interesting to see the pro's times on this one. mate did it in 7hrs40mins. on paper, the profile doesnt look that bad but there are two HCs. maybe it kicks up to a stupid gradient.

hopefully mountain stages like this would break up the team riding patterns of the previous stages to make it more interesting. unless of course the team's got a lineup full of climbers (eg euskatel).

No time bonuses means the favourites have to get away from the others in order to gain time on 'em. So it doesn't really just keep them in the peloton.

Cavendish bit the tarmac already this morning but he's back on the bike and in the peloton.

No time bonuses means the favourites have to get away from the others in order to gain time on 'em. So it doesn't really just keep them in the peloton.
but the big teams won't let any people get away?!?

http://www.justin.tv/giac2007

for those without fancy tv channels

i am skipping out of the office this afternoon to watch the last hour of todays stage. that's all.

Where are you heading jonny? I'm having similar thoughts and was going to go to this place;

http://www.cosbar.co.uk/

but the big teams won't let any people get away?!?

Escape is always possible..

like today in the mountains?

They are just about to start the climb

No spoilers.

Must... not... read... this... thread...

Escape is always possible..

easier on the hills...