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.

Got (nearly) all my chores done yesterday and first thing today, and have been watching tv since Tour Extra at 11.30 today, finishing my ironing just before the stage finish.

Think dh and dd think they're winning the Tour - yesterday dh was given Froome's numbers, so their panniers are now well-decorated, and today dd got a kiss from Ashley House

ebay.com

Very very impressive!

EBay! God no Ned made some comment about a bidon going on eBay - wouldn't happen either, they all get used here However, dh got Cav's entire musette one stage last year - he was handed it, looked at it, and chucked the whole thing. Dh didn't even let us drink the Coke out of that, he's hoarding it all!

That's so sad. Poor Chris Boardman and family. What a lovely tribute to his Mum.

I had to google what happened to Chris Boardman's mum as I hadn't heard. How terribly sad for the family.

Atia your lucky DH & DD. They are clearly having an awesome time.

Yeah, I just googled too, how bloody awful. Poor Chris. I heard him on the radio not long ago talking about his parents and their racing - his mum sounded like a real character.

Sorry, I should have thought. They explained his absence and ran his tribute to her at the end of the highlights.

I watched it live today, so hadn't seen the news about Chris's mum - that is so sad - my heart goes out to him and his family.

Tragic. He tweeted this afternoon and I had to re-read it a couple of times as it didn't make any sense, until realising his absence from the show with Gary I.

It's just dreadful, isn't it? So sorry for the whole family.

The closest I've got to cool Tour stuff is eye contact with Cav as he rode past on the tour of Britain two years ago. Newborn DD1 in my arms may have caught his eye

This is a bit cool. It's a souvenir hard back book stuffed with photos from the fantastic two days in Yorkshire (and my bit of the Peaks) in 2012. It was 30-40 quid at the time, which I thought was milking us a bit, so didn't purchase it. dd (who has nooo interest in ) bought it for me from a charity shop yesterday, in pristine condition. V happy and proud dad.

Not actual stuff but I love it.

I have my ID from the VIP area at the finish line in Canterbury a few years ago.

Cool!

Pan you clearly have a lovely & very thoughtful DD.

I have just looked up the exact year of that Canterbury finish. 2007! Cliché, but it doesn't feel like nearly ten years ago. I can see David Millar pulling on the King of the Mountains jersey now.

That was a lovely gift Pan. You must be chuffed to bits with book and daughter.

dd - yes thanks, but it's taken a loooong time. She's emerging from her teen-driven myopia and it's a wonderful thing to witness. She';s becoming a proper grown up!

There are also photos from 2007 and 1994 - they look 'quaint' already.

Atia - there are also a lot of pictures from the Gruber bros.

The reason I got the VIP ticket in 2007 was because the person who took me knew how pissed off I was about missing 1994. It went past my school. I was in maths.

That little bit of teenage angst will never die!

Aww, Pan, that's lovely :)

I'm so pleased I managed to see the Tour in 2014 - not Yorkshire, but on the Cambridge-London stage. DD1 was six days old, perhaps pushing a pram up a road to an ideal picnic spot wasn't the most sensible idea, post-caesarean, but what a fantastic day. DD2 made it to the women's tour of Britain a few weeks ago, at three months ish. I wonder if they will be remotely interested in cycling as they get older.

Yes, that weekend in 2014 was just utterly fantastic in every way wasn't it? Watching Jensie/Geraint/Froome/Kittel and Greipel (all near the front of the bunch off Holme Moss) riding on roads I ride on. Two worlds clash.

It really was incredible. On our way to our picnic spot we drove past the Trek buses, waved madly in case Jens was looking!

And here he is on the telly too, good choice to step in for Boardman.

Quite a high energy finish today, well done Sagan. I'm pleased Cav made it up the hill but am starting to wonder if he's going to get enough rest before Rio.

I want to know what sunblock Froome is using. He's barely got any colour, much less south of France outside in blazing sun all day tan.

Callmecordelia have you seen our Velogames league today?

The race for the yellow jersey is hotting up, cordelia & I are now separated by just one point, 3713 to 3712!! And there are another two or three teams within sprinting distance too.

We're going to have an exciting last week

Wow! That is serious competition! I speak as someone still keeping my powder dry....until Vuelta it seems.

That finish today was crazy - so many contenders and won on a throw. Nice to see Degenkolb up there, even with his nodding dog style.

Not Spartacus' day then? Blessings to MrSlant where ever she may be? We're a team - do you need pacing back up?

I need pacing back to the team it seems that a giant dose of steroids have left me lost at the back of the grupetto. Is it wrong to be cross with everyone that they contested the stage instead of forming an orderly queue behind Spartacus as is right and proper? Still, he has his points for my team now so I don't need to have anymore stern words back on the team bus.

Heartbroken for Chris Boardman, how utterly hideous for him and his family.

Awesome gift from DD Pan, I am seeing similar returns to humanity from DS1, was expecting a much longer wait. Will hold off judgement until the next level of education starts, fingers crossed they turn out as good as Atia's daughter. Those numbers from Froome on the panniers are possibly the coolest things I've ever seen, chapeaux to them.