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.

Velo games = Cav is doing the Welsh teams proud!

I think Cav is a bit fed up with all the he is finished/he is the best newspapers, he was a bit short in the tv interview this afternoon. ( I want to write 'he loves his kids'. Must resist temptation.) I wonder if they are the reason why though, he was best of the best with his HTC train and Sky took him on then never really wanted him for what he did. His current team have built him the best lead out train again and he is repaying them by being in amazing form. Boassen-Hagen, Renshaw, Eisel what a lead out. I think he has matured a lot as well, timing his sprints and thinking about what other people will do. He won today on a well timed lunge. Can you tell I'm over the moon ?

My families devotion to and belief in him is certainly paying off in velogames right now anyway .

Yeah he definitely showed his experience in that interview when he was reflecting on how nervousness made him start sprinting too early last year so he knew that Greipel might do that this year etc

It was an interesting insight into how it all works. Hell of a job, to keep going over 200k, trust your team members to keep you safe and in the right line at nearly 70kph then work out the exact time to bury yourself and push yourself up against the fastest in the world. It's no wonder he's reportedly good at chess.

yes really insightful stuff from the boy. IF...there is a debate re sponsors v Olympics then surely if there is space for him to continue, then knowing this year he has the beating of our German friends, not only on a flat sprint but also on an incline, then sponsors, and his own ambition will win and he remains on Le Tour.
Obv it's that tricky RH sweeper off the Place de La Concorde that is pivotal, but Bernie/Eddie/Big Aussie thug have experience of this and know where to place him off the Rue de Rivoli.

Perhaps I'm looking too far ahead.

And I always slightly snigger at his short arms and small hands going up to take the win. Normally the winner has long skinny arms, and then Cav's shortened versions pop up off the handle bars. Could be just me though.

It would be interesting to see them lined up together. Cav, Kittel, Sagan and Griepel. Purely for scientific limb/torso comparison of course. That young British boy is doing well too isn't he, Dan something.

Froome staying pleasingly off the radar whilst creeping up the GC isn't he. (Porte if you could look to his example please?).

yes that sounded a bit petty so I take it back. .

Dan McLay? Yes he's putting in a really consistent showing on his first Tour isn't he?

Well it's not really petty if it's true! He has a very different physique to the ones who were all beating him last year.

I thought this was interesting not only because it's the first time Sagan said something that made me snort with mirth. The idea that the peloton have it so fine tuned that they know what speeds to turn over so they catch the break away in exactly the right place for the sprinters teams. I feel like I'm learning loads this year already.

The good thing about watching the highlights yesterday was that there was plenty of time to do the washing up in the middle of the programme, safe in the knowledge I was missing nowt .

I have Porte and I don't have Cav or Sagan. I'm stuffed.

Ah there's time yet, the first three days are never representative of the whole thing. We don't know who will crash out yet or someone else will puncture, it's only just about to get interesting now.

It had better because if my teenagers stay ahead of me in the league I'm going to throw them out

147 miles today! there''ll be some sore bottoms this evening no doubt. As delicate as a peice of Limoges porcelain.

DS1 is nodding in agreement and giggling a bit Pan

Makes me feel a bit better, thanks MrsS

Spartacus is at the back doing a bit of back-pedalling and generally enjoying his last Tour.

Today's break needs a Jensie.

This tour needs a Jensie. Thank god for Voekler yesterday, his going from the peloton to the break away guy was the only entertaining moment apart from the last 100m. Although it was a shame he got the combative prize, that poor lad cycled a very long way on his own.

From a biking journalist, on twitter:

"Nice to see the Tour doing its bit for the environment by making the riders do the long boring transfers by bike rather than by bus. #TDF"

Even closer than yesterday!

Gosh that was an interesting last 5k, the road 'furniture' was scaring the hell out of me, so lucky there wasn't a crash at that horrible roundabout.

Astonishingly close!

Finally it all kicked off. Looks like Froome vs Quintana will be the big rivalry.

Well that was a weird stage wasn't it? And quite the wake up stage for their legs. Can't see Bertie staying to Paris. Losing so much additional time on that ground doesn't bode well for the really lumpy bits.

yeah, it's all about Froome & Quintana for me. Who's your money on? I'm unsure!
Although what about Greg Van Amereit? The yellow jersey?

I'm with Pan. Weird stage. I'm surprised Nibali isn't doing better.

Is Nibali sulking? He must have been miles away from Aru.
Surely Sky are too strong to lose?

And Cordelia holds the virtual maillot jaune. Well done! I'll be paying a visit to my team hotel shortly, in order to "offer some words of encouragement"

I'm not bothering with words of encouragement, I have decided on the Patrick Lefevre method of somewhat passive aggressive tweets. Though to be fair I did pick a team based around performing on the mountain stages so I only have myself to blame.