Tour de France 2018 **SPOILERS**

[perplexed]

Hmmmm. It’s a bit like suggesting that Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling should fight it out among themselves to see who can score more goals without any interference from the rest of the team.

Wouldn't be much of a fight would it?

 

[perplexed]

They commented on it on ITV4 as well.

In the meantime. What does everyone think of the 8 rider teams? Doesn't seemed to have stopped the crashes. A few saying there's a lot less aggressive riding with teams knowing they can't waste riders in a break. I dunno yet, waiting to see what happens in the mountains, it certainly doesn't seem to have encouraged more instinctive riding, with riders thinking there might be less chance of an organised chase but let's see.

I don't think the 8 rider format brings anything to the party myself. It seems to have somehow watered down, or diminished the status of the race. Prefer 9 man teams, but of course it's just my opinion.

 

[smutchin]

Wouldn't be much of a fight would it?

In many ways, Geraint Thomas is the Raheem Sterling of pro cycling.

 

[perplexed]

I mostly love them all. I even noticed that watching last night’s summary show I said something warm/enthusiastic about ever fellah they showed. Even whiney voiced Richie Porte evoked some sympathy ... I know!

I support anyone who can beat Froome. If there is anyone!

It's horses for courses I guess. I like Froome and I suspect he's just not as naturally 'bloke-ish' and is a little awkward (not in the 'difficult' sense) in interview which probably doesn't endear him to some. Wiggins is undoubtedly a terrific rider but he blows a little hot and cold for me. Sagan I find really difficult to warm to because of his previous behaviour. I like Thomas and would love him to have a Grand Tour win, but I suspect he hasn't quite got a 3 week tour in him, but is more naturally gifted for shorter races.

Still, it'd be dull if we all thought the same! Looking forward very much to todays stage

 

[suzeworld]

Don't feel the need to justify it. Following sport is the last bastion of irrational prejudice, where people can "hate" towns they've never visited on the basis of their footy team, and use chummy nicknames for athletes they've never met as if they are their mates. Roll with it. It's part of the fun, especially if it's kept positive. And I'm sure my mate Cav would agree.

On the subject of Froome's (un)popularity there was a small smattering of very half-hearted booing for him at the sign-in at Fougères, Hardly a vengeful pitchfork brandishing mob. Peter Sagan definitely won hearts and minds with plenty of autograph signing and crowd interaction (and if you want someone with a funny/whiny voice, look no further)

How true, but his voice is absolutely part of his charm!

I just loved the way Sagan smiled when he crossed the line to win his first stage .. just so engaging, and then did you see Cav congratulating Denglkob (sp!) he was obviously just so warm and and delighted for him. That's class, innit?

I wasn't so much trying to justify myself as realising that I do have enormous warmth and respect for them all, and really get huge pleasure from watching any of them -- except the slimy reptile ....
That said ...
I DO feel sorry for Froome about the "drug" hatred that's been whipped up around him - plus, it could prove dangerous for them all if some 1/2-witted "fan" decides to take the law into their own hands after sitting boozing on a mountain all day. Fingers crossed that danger doesn't arrive.

Getting excited about today's stage. That col de columbier is the first Alpine climb I ever did myself ...

 

[suzeworld]

Ummm...if a man said that about a female athlete....

offs

Really - if he did he'd be entitled to his opinion, so long as he acknowldged that is't totally irrational ... which I have the sense to realise about myself.

 

[mjr]

There's a good race on ahead of the tour. It seems the riders liked the pursuit finish last year so much that they're replicating it!

 

[smutchin]

There's a good race on ahead of the tour. It seems the riders liked the pursuit finish last year so much that they're replicating it!

Just switched the coverage on with 2km to go... Cracking finale.

 

[smutchin]

Watching pure CX, meanwhile, bores me to death

Funnily enough, I was just thinking to myself that it's about time the Tour had a cyclocross stage.

The Giro had a truly memorable stage over the Strade Bianche in 2010, which remains one of my favourite ever single days of Grand Tour racing.

View: https://youtu.be/tkjSLKuqmmg

(ETA: that stage is among the reasons I still have a grudging respect for Vino, despite him being an unrepentant doping nobber.)

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

*Poor surface alert*

Some of today's stage covers a dirt road <shudders>

 

[Milzy]

I think that Chris Froome is playing the long game, as per The Giro. He now knows that, with a TT almost at the end, he can afford to go into the last few stages with 4 minutes deficit or more, as he can pull that back in one mountain stage and a TT compared to his rivals, who are less able time triallers, and too cooked for the last mountain stage having fought to gain seconds in the ones immediately before. So he will let GT take the yellow jersey this week, rather than grab it early on and have to defend it every day on Giro-fatigued legs.

Just my theory.

Nice theory but hope it’s wrong.

 

[Crackle]

Cruel finish for Van Der Breggen, she looked like she had Van Vleuten licked but that slight uphill did for her right on the line. Doesn't get much crueller than that.

 

[smutchin]

The first climb on today's stage takes me back to when I was 16 and on a cycling holiday in France with a couple of mates. We were staying in Annecy and decided to ride to Chamonix, but we didn't have any maps other than a rudimentary leaflet from the tourist office that was somewhat lacking in both scale and detail. It looked like there were two options - the main road or the shorter, more direct route on minor roads. Of course we chose the latter, not considering that there was a reason why the main road didn't take the more direct route...

And thus it was that the Col de Croix Fry (not to be confused with the Croix de Fer) was my first taste of Alpine cycling. There's a little village called Manigod halfway up where we stopped at a tabac and played pool with a couple of local young ladies... And not much else. The cycling was good though.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

On the one hand you dismiss racing on pavé as a 50 year old anachronism yet simultaneously point out that there are other current specific races that include that type of terrain. And those races are conducted on modern road bikes.

Was there a point you were trying to make?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Something to do with cake ... and eating it.

WHOOSH