Tour De France 2011

His nickname is Holland is Johnny Testosterone.

I appreciate Hoogerland's bravery, but he is also doped to the eyeballs, so don't hero worship him too much.

By this do you mean EPO etc. or do you mean that he is currently taking a large amount of painkillers for his injuries? If it is the latter will it really effect his performance?

Edit, oh you answered my question while I was typing :(

I appreciate Hoogerland's bravery, but he is also doped to the eyeballs, so don't hero worship him too much.

+1

Massive helmet on Andy Schleck

Balki is Clive's daughter

do we have any estimations as to what time they'll hit the final decent? 15.45 BST?

do we have any estimations as to what time they'll hit the final decent? 15.45 BST?

Time schedules for average speeds of 41, 39 and 37 km/h are available here;

http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1300/etape_par_etape.html

[URL="http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/3823/Hoogerland-reveals-extensive-testing-defends-Cancellara.aspx"][/URL]Rabobank sacked Hoogerland in 2001 for elevated testosterone levels, when he was 18. Apparently those levels have remained consistent for the last ten years. Either he's been doping conspicuously for over a decade without being caught or he's got naturally high levels of testosterone.

Don't get me wrong, I've got my suspicions about him, but he's got no other doping sanction against him and until then I'm trying to remain impartial and enjoy the racing.

I cheer when he attacks.

andyp - on JH: When did he test positive? Must've missed something

Many years of watching procycling have made me suspicious of any rider who suddenly comes good in their late twenties, especially if they've been riding for lower level teams before their breakthrough. Hoogerland fits that profile exactly;

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Hoogerland[/ame]

One of the Procycling journalists was on twitter this week saying that every Dutch journalist he's spoken to this week has raised their eyebrows when asked about Hoogerland.

ok

Vanendert in exactly the same boat as Hoogerland. Total unknown to beating the elite group? Right.

The collective improvement across OPL is depressing.

Leaving the testosterone aside, his career profile doesn't make any sense though. What has made the difference in the last few years? There are far too many suspicious rides in this Tour. Not least Vanendert yesterday. He's come from nowhere to beating the elite group. Questionable.

Vanendert is 26 so it's less of a surprise to see him develop. He was Gilbert's most reliable domestique in the Ardennes races, and was at the front of all three races at the end. He's shown as a amateur that he was a strong climber so that's less of a surprise to me.

Chasing Legends is an awesome film.
Yeah was surprised to find that on TV when I got home. Really good. Most memorable part was Bernie Eisel grinding up some godforsaken hill saying (over radio?) "Can you please stop talking... out of respect... people are suffering here."

Vanendert was injured last year I believe, so maybe a combination of recovering from that and development with age kept him under the radar before now.

I'd love it if he was clean, because I have a bone deep ache to believe in Gilbert. Childish really.

Many years of watching procycling have made me suspicious of any rider who suddenly comes good in their late twenties, especially if they've been riding for lower level teams before their breakthrough. Hoogerland fits that profile exactly;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Hoogerland

One of the Procycling journalists was on twitter this week saying that every Dutch journalist he's spoken to this week has raised their eyebrows when asked about Hoogerland.

he won the junior tour of flanders at 18 though so has always had some talent, his palmares show he's always been up there.
he does have a bit of the HGH face about him though.

I saw some of Chasing Legends last night, the controversy surrounding Hincapie's failure to get the yellow jersey. What a fucking crybaby that man is, it's a bike race, not a fucking testimonial.

What wasn't mentioned, but was instrumental in him not getting the jersey, was that he was trying to win the stage too, so instead of getting on the front and riding hard for the finish, he was messing about trying to have his cake and eat it.

I am 100% sure this has been asked in the past, but where could I see what bikes and components the teams use?

Watch them on tv and google the bikes? That works for me.

All teams have websites which detail the equipment suppliers. Cyclingnews also usually cover the bike each team are riding in their Tech section.

it's not about the bike. that's what lance says anyway.

I am 100% sure this has been asked in the past, but where could I see what bikes and components the teams use?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech

I want a Canyon Aeroad.

There's scope for a good descender to get close to yellow today. If Cunego nails it like he did in the Tour of Switzerland then he could creep closer to the top of the GC.

I think today will be a long break, but I also think it will explode on the climb. if it's dry Cunego will throw himself off the top.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech

Thanks, Lucy.

Tommy V is a good and mental descender, so maybe he will put himself even further in yellow.

I didn't see it, but I read about his descending on one of the stages of Paris-Nice, and it sounded awesome.