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Original poster

Tour de France 2013

455 replies

Panonabike · 29/06/2013 13:43

Are we having a spin on Le Tour this year? They are half way across Corsica already, and Cav and Froome are settled in. Cav's looking for a stage win.

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Original poster
Panonabike · 05/07/2013 23:29

Sagan. Having the 'girls' isn't good but they aren't there for this

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maillotjaune · 05/07/2013 23:34

Only just seen this thread but already need to say a very big thank you for the pointer to the Jens app which has just kept DH and me amused for the last 10 minutes. How good is that?

Original poster
Panonabike · 06/07/2013 00:26

If you didn't know, the Orica greenedge do a 'Backstage Pass' video after each stage - usually about three mins -

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ChairmanWow · 06/07/2013 09:06

Thanks panonabike. Brought a tear to my eye when Impey signed the SA flag for that bystander. It's great to see such pride.

As for the Sagan pic Shock. I find the whole podium 'girls' thing a bit tacky, a bit '70s dolly birds, but that photo is just vile.

Anyhoo, first day of the Pyrenees! Gorgeous scenery and hopefully lots of cat and mouse moves. Bring it on!

HowGoodIsThat · 06/07/2013 17:14

yy Its the single thing that annoys me most about professional cycling. There is NO NEED for podium girls. Until they are retired, I just can't see women's racing being taken seriously. When there are role models like Marianne Vos out there, why on earth is the same sport still trotting out such tired gender cliches.

I remember the Sagan thing did ignite a very small back lash about podium girls but it died away pretty quickly, unfortunately.

We were watching live this afternoon but I fell asleep so I am still none the wiser until the Highlights show.

Original poster
Panonabike · 07/07/2013 10:31

Did we lose a few posters on those steep climbs?Grin

Orica GreenEdge
So un-Sky like.

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Gigondas · 07/07/2013 10:39

Nope still here- looking forward to today which is more than some of riders, like cav, were.

I am also keen to see the new orica music video which they filmed yesterday ..

ChairmanWow · 07/07/2013 12:15

Grudging respect for Froome yesterday.

I'm dying to settle in and watch today but DS (2.3) will only stand still for 8 seconds at a time so it's off to a family festival-type thing this arvo. Meh. Bloody kids. Highlights later.

Orica Greenedge have to be everyone's new fave team don't they? Smile.

ariadneoliver · 07/07/2013 12:22

Sky suffering badly today, Froome's on his own with no team members in sight. It's made the race v. exciting.

prettybird · 07/07/2013 12:27

Ooooh - exciting day! Whoever wears the yellow jersey tomorrow will truly have earned it (not suggesting in any way that Froome didn't deserve it yesterday).

Tennis, what tennis? WinkGrin

Original poster
Panonabike · 07/07/2013 12:32

But Porte is only 2 mins behind Froome, and the non-climbers will fall off pretty quickly on the next cat 1 climb.
Interesting the notion that a few riders will be 'cut off' at the end of the day for not keeping up with this av speed.

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Gigondas · 07/07/2013 12:46

Doesn't the race official have discretion on cut off in certain circumstances - I think one of them can be where leaders go at silly pace and the bulk of peloton or good number of them are outside time limit in the auto bus.

Original poster
Panonabike · 07/07/2013 12:50

yes I think you're right re cut off. Eurosport reported it as a bit of a hole the race commissars have dug for themsleves and unless they want to decimate the race overall they'll have to carefully dig themselves out of it.

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ariadneoliver · 07/07/2013 17:26

They've been pretty strict with the cut off I think it was Ted King who was let go for being 7 seconds late and that was because he was injured in the big pile up on the first day and then couldn't ride his time trial bike. Anyway, Cav is still in so all is OK. Grin

ivykaty44 · 07/07/2013 18:44

I was impressed with the 23 years old columbian offering up his wheel on the climb - he went to early and paid the price later, but he is going to be coming back and making a name for himself in years to come

LostInWales · 07/07/2013 21:31

Hmm, an upcoming Sky signing perhaps Wink.

Well I have spent the entire weekend in a field with no wifi or telly but a cracking view of the sea so I have an awful lot of freckles and have nearly finished Wegelius' book but was pretty clueless as to the racing until this evening. Go Froome! I have a new found respect for his abilities after he stuck on like glue with no team mates to help him today. He was lovely being interviewed after as well. Don't know if I will ever really like him in the way I do Wiggo but he certainly has my respect.

HowGoodIsThat · 07/07/2013 21:39

Watched yesterday's stage at 3am this morning after coming home from a party, fell asleep during it and was oblivious to the fact Froome was in yellow until we started the highlights tonight. Blush

Froome did justice to the yellow and defended well, didn't he? Kudos, as Strava-ites would say. And - look - Andy Schleck is back, back, back.

IS Wegelius worth reading? I need to sort out my camping reading list...

ChairmanWow · 07/07/2013 22:16

Ha, that is brilliant howgoodisthat. Kudos for drunkenly insisting on watching. Kudos on being up til 3am. I was doing a feed at that time!

Froome was amazing today. Similarly I will never respect him the way I do Wiggo, but what a hard and lonely day. What happened to Porte? And the rest of the team for that matter, though Geraint is excused. Can't believe he's still grinding it out with his knacked pelvis. Whaddaguy.

Rest day tomorrow. And just me and the baby at home too- and she's transfixed by the tour. There's no justice!

Original poster
Panonabike · 07/07/2013 23:38

Big up The Froominator! He just didn't give up did he?
And watching the incident with Kennaugh it looked from the o/head that the guy had enough road on the inside but just seemed to lean into him and take his space.

Rest Day tomorrow.
Lazy bastards.Smile

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Gigondas · 08/07/2013 07:33

Just got wegelius book so can't tell you - also got the William fotheringham article collection,

But here is something for the rest day http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=fAl1-mBhFpU&desktop_uri=/watch?v=fAl1-mBhFpU&feature=youtu.be orica rocks- enjoyGrin.

HowGoodIsThat · 08/07/2013 07:56

How good is that?!! I love Orica Green Edge!

They were quick of the edit, weren't they -loved the bit where they measure the bus! And they got Didier into it which is sweet. The podium girl at the Team Trial just looks bemused.

They are just having a blast this tour.

HowGoodIsThat · 08/07/2013 08:04

Is it just me or is anyone else feeling a touch heart-sore for Wiggo? I was reading DH's Cycling Weekly and there was an account from a cycle club member who was timing some mates round a road Time Trail course when, in his words, "a chancer in a Team Sky kit just turned up", flew round the course and left - at which point they realised Wiggo had just totalled them! There was also a small piece about how much nicer the atmosphere on the Sky Team bus is this year under Froome rather than the intense introspection of Wiggo last year. It smacked of a PR positioning piece to "rehab" Froome to which I have no objection per se, but it felt like Wiggo is being consigned to history. Sad

We did the Sky RIde yesterday and they were displaying Wiggo's TT bike from the Tour last year. DH had to have his picture taken with it - it is an extraordinary piece of kit. Beautiful - and I never thought I'd hear myself saying that about a bike! They had a mock-up of a podium in front of a pic of the Arc d'Triomphe, complete with bouquets, toy lions and a yellow T shirt. We did a family pic, although sweetly, the girls wouldn't pull on yellow as they "hadn't actually won something".

RIght - enough Tour blah blah - must get kids to school!

Original poster
Panonabike · 08/07/2013 10:50

"hadn't actually won anything" Sweeeet!

I work round the corner from the Nat Cycle Velo, Manchester and was biking into work one morning a few weeks ago along the road toward the velo when a bike swooshed in from my right, it slowed, a bloke of about 60 yo built like a stick said "'mornin'" and swooshed on past me. He was liviered in the Team Sky outfit, was obv off to work, but had no need to carry anything with him (as his needs are already catered for at work?) unlike my stuffed Berghaus rucksack with towel, clothes, lunch etc. I like to think I was utterly creamed by a Sky coach person...we see Sky trains quite a lot round East Manchester and it's really frustrating trying to id them!

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Original poster
Panonabike · 08/07/2013 11:20

They were fast on the edit weren't they? Those Spanish dancers were on the route yesterday weren't they?

Given that it will be a very prickly affair to have Froomey and Wiggo on the same team next season, esp. IF Froome wins Le Tour, can anyone else see the perfect marriage of Wiggo and Orica GE?
-OGE don't have a GC contender, don't take themselves too seriously, like to paaarty, have a competitive womens team which Wiggo is trying to promote in UK, an expanding antipodean market to exploit with a 'big name', half of the OGE team aren't Aussie anyway, quite a few live in Europe so no need to relocate.
OGE + Wiggo. A team of teams.

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LostInWales · 08/07/2013 11:29

That would be ace, although as the mother of ginger boys I think he'd have to change the colour of the kit to stop him looking constantly sickly Wink. Ned Boulting has a great line on how he looked at the end of the tour last year. I will grab it in a bit and put it down properly. Awesome video, I think I will have to watch that a few times particularly the section containing the gentleman in the white shirt and black pants, mmmmmm

Looking forward to ITV4 tonight, they are doing a sum up of the tour so far and then something about good ole Lance. That should be interesting.

I wish I saw Sky riders in my day to day life. I remember seeing Wiggo on the tour of britain about three years ago, we stood in the rain for hours waiting for them and yet when he went past he just glowed with health and fitness, there was such an air about him.