Le Tour de France 2016! - MN Peloton takes to the road again!

[thewheelscomeoff123]

Yes it's July almost, which means only one thing. The biggest, craziest, Frenchiest push bike race in the world. Three weeks of riding round France in multi-coloured lycra, sweating, swearing, playing poker on 380 wheels, tears of joy and frustration, in the saddle for about 5 hours per day, up and down massive hills, throwing the odd tantrum. Then going to bed, and getting up in the morning and doing it all again! Questions: Why? Well we just don't know. When? Starts on Saturday 2nd July with a flat bit from the beautiful Mont Saint- Michel on the Normandy coast to Utah Beach, and ends with the sprint finish on the Champs Elysee, Paris on Sunday 24th July. Where do they go? Essentially they ride for 2,200 miles around the edge of France, and wandering a bit into Spain, Andorre, and Switzerland. This is for the sake of going up and down the Pyrenees and the Alps. Which we know as the 'lumpy bits'. There's a route map coming up. There's always a route map. Is it tiring? Evidence suggests it might be. In the 3 weeks the riders consume the calorific equivalent of eating 252 McD's double cheeseburgers. Some of us are both proud and ashamed of the fact we could eat all of that in the 3 weeks without riding anywhere..... So who wins? It's the person who covers that distance in the shortest time. BUT..it's a team game and the winner cannot do it without all 9 team mates. The prize is 500,000 Euros, which the winner will partly hand out to his buddies. Is it on UK tv? Yes, ITV and Eurosport carry a lot of live action and both do a highlights package for an hour or so each evening. Is there a 'virtual' competition where you can 'buy' a team of riders within a budget and see how they do? I'm glad you asked that. here is a link to everything you will need to show off your directeur skills and have a bit of added interest for the race Do I have to know loads about pro-cycling to understand what's going on? Nope. Have a watch, have a read, ask anything on this thread and your layered knowledge will build and you will get so much more out of it. When are you going to shut up and show the route map? Now.

Fantastic stuff, what skill, what ability to pedal in unbelievable positions.

And the ability to thump a Columbian Big Bird whilst riding in close formation uphill!

I don't understand how Froome stayed on. It looks precarious enough when they just freewheel like that, pedalling was terrifying to watch.

So glad Cav got through, although isn't he likely to drop out before Paris anyway, to save his legs for Rio?

Oh I could watch that all day, nice work Froome dog, that's some biking skills .

That was a good stage. Big Bird deserved it, I think. As they said at the end of the ITV4 show if you're close enough to thump you are too close.

Well done to Froome for a gamble that paid off & a great descent. BUT I can't help feel frustrated that the peloton did not chase him down earlier. They would have caught him had they reacted a bit sooner. There are a number of regulars in the peloton that are happy to wheel suck and never put in a turn, expecting the other teams to do all the work. Such a pity that they are happy to settle and not contend or at least work together to stop Sky!
Not a Sky fan, but they just seem so much more organised and tactically astute than their rivals. Oh, & they actually put in turns to catch breakaways!
Looking forward to tomorrow.

I bet they were all thinking 'OMG the top, I made it to the top, christ my legs hurt and I need oxygen....hold on, where the HELL is he going' _. They were waiting for Sky to lead them out before they remembered they had to do it by themselves if they wanted to catch Froome. Saying that, I was expecting him to go at that point but I was watching from the comfort of my sofa with a nice cup of tea so it was easier to think.

Chuffed for Dan Martin too and Aru and Porte because they are in my team I do have a soft spot for him.

Oh wow, that was some stage. Froome's descent was nerve wracking.

I get to keep my yellow jersey for another day, too

YY Drama, you've got an epic team there and you know it, Pan has you rumbled .

Congrats DramaMaillotJaune!

Agree Saffa and MrS. As Brailsford said, if teams don't take responsibility for leading and chasing they cannot complain. It was really a bit surprising that no-one latched on to Froome tout suite but whatever that descent was hair raising.

We are looking at a formidable fight on Ventoux AND..there is the small issue of two TTs, one up hill. From what I recall, Froome would out do Quintana on those. I'd hate it to be a "23 second TdF" all the way to Paris.

But for this year...as Cole Porter wrote.."Anything Goes".

Just place marking - this thread is great. This year's tour is great. I bloody love Mark Cavendish.

Bienvenue Nyborg!

Rather than Cole Porter, how about something more vaguely French, with Inspector Clouseau to reflect possibilities:
"I suspect everyone. And I suspect no-one."

Bonjour Nyborg

DH is off on his weekly club cycle tomorrow morning. He has been told, in no uncertain terms, not to attempt any descents in the style of Chris Froome. And not to go that fast either. It was a bit hair-raising

80 km/h! Crazy He's been watching Sagan

Saffa is exactly right. Sir Dave was saying so too.

Sorry, pressed send. It would be good if Brailsford's forthrightness sparks a bit of oomph in the peloton - anyone reckon it will happen?

And yeah, Froome has to be a better TTer than Quintana, I think. So it'll depend whether Q can pull some time back in the Alps ....

Bonjour tout le monde. Just needed to pop in and say WHAT AN AMAZING STAGE that was. I've only been following cycling since 2012 so know very little about it really and have no RL fan mates to rant at.

Bolleaux was that amazing descent not planned though!

I don't mind Froome, but I can't warm massively to him. There is just something aloof & robotic about him, no matter how hard he tries to appear nice. Like yesterday, why could he not just admit it was something they'd practiced and a tactic, & not that it was just a whim that paid off?!
That's where Mark C scores big points from me - he shoots from the hip and wears his heart on a sleeve, you get an honest answer from him.

I can't help wandering if the leadership lines in Movistar, BMC, Tinkoff and Astana are not as harmonious as they would have you believe, hence the lack of concerted work at the head.

All in all, Froome got time AND a big psychological advantage over his competitors methinks....

mupperoon - hi there! IF there's anything you're curious about the whole thing then ask away. I'm sure someone on here could assist. eg. I'm sometimes a bit about the ability to send one rider up the road to 'close down' a break away. The escapado riders can just ignore him, surely?

Other teams - yes there was some talk about Movi, BMC, Astana colluding to challenge Froome BUT you can only do that IF one actually colludes and uses riders to stretch Sky. But that just isn't happening.

I do like Froome: I think there is something very "ordinary" about it. I like his combination (as it appears to me) of humility, self-confidence and awareness/gratitude of what the rest of the team do for him.

Wiggins on the other hand I always felt came (and comes) across as an arrogant so-and-so who thinks the world (and his team) owe him a living.

I did think Froome was being a bit disingenuous when he said it wasn't planned but he just happened to have an extra big chainset on Brailsford was a bit more honest, saying they were planning surprises.

And Attia - at one point according to the vitesses on screen he was going at 90km/hr

Just seen that Renshaw has abandoned.

I didn't initially like Froome but he's grown on me, some of his twitter posts are very funny. Which, of course, is the measure of a man in todays society .

Thing is Cav/Froome/Wiggins to get where they are being good on a bike is obviously desirable but it's the drive and ambition that makes them the best, heart on sleeve or shy with the media those men have to be 99% steely determination, probably doesn't always make for the cuddliest of personality.

Be interesting to see today if the other teams have woken up a bit, has Nibali wrecked himself with that fuck off break away a couple of days ago? is he able/willing to help Aru now? Before the start we said it would be great if Froome won by taking them on himself and he showed that yesterday, everyone had a tow up the hill by the Sky Train, only he jumped off at the top and scared the hell out of me powered away downhill to victory. Great stuff.

Right, off outside to exercise the children, buggers don't finish until 4, record button it is and no social media until it's finished. See you all later.

Just caught up with the podcasts now I've found you all! Hooray.

Hi officer! Tres bien!

One to watch today? Lurch. He;s been v v quite and his team don't have a serious GC contender. He's a reasonable/good climber and Sky will be watching a few other people. And he did a good escapado at Vuelta a couple of years ago.