Tour de France 2014 - Au revoir Yorkshire and the south, bonjour les montagnes et les côtes!!

[Panwearsjaune]

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Photo finish!!!

Thanks for the jerseys link Atia, I knew I'd seen that article somewhere but couldn't remember where!

But yes, good stage! Tinkoff's post-Contador plan B is going well :)

G now the highest ranking Sky rider.

Watched The Cycle Show after the highlights and liked his t-shirt!

Handy link Atia. I'd like Giant-Shimano's kit IF I could have Kittel's legs to go with it. Oh well.

Michael Rodgers was quite emotional after that win and he won despite the horrible kit! I'm not keen on Astanas or Cannondales neon get up either. Movistar & OPQS are quite nice, but my favourite has been Ned Boultings Herne Hill Velodrome Jersey - nice one Ned.

Ned surely must be responsible for a major spike in sales - that Jersey is fab.
I hate the new cannondale colour way on their bike I don't like the green.
I love OPQS s bikes - gorgeous. The kit is ok, a bit fussy, but I like the caps they are all wearing.
I like sky - v v distinctive when you watch aerial shots.
I keep losing giant/shimano. It's only when I see Kittel's hulk in a sprint do I know where he is!
Sox look ridiculous, but then you get a rainy stage and they are the only ones you can spot on tv so their sponsors must love it :D

Btw you look at the way OPQS and Saxo have responded to losing plan A, and compare to Sky - Sky's team have been exposed as v lightweight. The domestique so don't appear very strong really, or am I wrong? You think OPQS lost Cav but had Tony Martin there etc, there just doesn't seem to be the depth or breadth in Sky. One trick ponies too harsh? (G is fab don't get me wrong)

I'm another one with a soft spot for AG2R's kit. But I agree with SeaShell the best ones are the ones that stand out in an overhead shot so I can tell the teams apart. So for that reason I won't diss the eye-watering Tinkoff kit.

I think Sky have lost the plot this year. Part of their problem was, if the word on the street is to be believed, that Wiggo wouldn't commit to supporting Froome as principal. So even if they had brought him they may not have won overall. But they had no plan B, Tinkoff had riders who can be stage winners in service of Contador and OPQS had to have a plan B because their principal was a sprinter (although the rest of the sprint train is pretty handy) and they have Tony Martin and Michal Kwiatkowski who is top 10 material and they give every appearance of being a team who works together as do for example Tinkoff.

In other news Simon Gerrans does not start today, so they have lost two in two days.

I too think that Tinkoff wear nappies. Urgh.

I agree that the Sky squad needs to be refreshed - I actually got quite cross with Dave B when he (very patronisingly) said that the Yates bros were in the right team at OGE for now and that he was basically waiting to pinch them. Grr..... Stick your money where your mouth is and back some of the talent that is out there. I do wonder whether they have tied up too much cash in having both Froome and Wiggo on the squad - there is a good article out there (I will try to find it) that says Dave should have made a decision one way or another for either Froome or Wiggo about 3 years ago and cut one of them loose to go and play with another team - if you think about it they had Wiggo, Froome and Cav in one season - too many big players and too many big egos.

I love big G but it says something when he is their best performing rider as really he is a classics man like Spartacus. Sky don't have that rangy stage-pursuer like Tony Martin, Tommy V or Mick Rogers. (Although they did have Mick for a while!). So they have no sprinters and no real super-domestique beyond G. Just a bunch of not-really-climbers.

It was interesting that Gary raised the spectre of Astana & Vino's chequered past in the rest day programme and promised to talk to Chris Boardman about it but then never did. DH & I have been chuntering for a while about Astana - anyone else have an opinion?

yes that scanned fairly arrogantly re Yates' didn't it? Sky are at risk of turning into the ManUtd/Tesco/Evans(?) re: being the evil empire.. of the cycling world....unless they are already there! It must be a worry that they seem to have collapsed so quickly.

Yup I was also rather cross with DB in that interview - I normally admire him but I was rather hmmmmmmm about that whole interview.

I though Gary and Chris did talk? It was a v v good rest day programme - the interview with Christophe Bassons etc was good. Interesting to see how much more critical and analytical of the whole sport cycling coverage is cf to football shows - a lot more naval gazing done!

I really like the Astana turquoise, but it doesn't go well with the yellow of the yellow jersey, unfortunately.

I think there are too many teams that look too similar - Trek, Sky and OPQ are very black, and Giant Shimano and Bretagne-Seche are largely white - it makes it harder to pick out who is who.

I do quite like AG2R - the mix of brown and turquoise, and the fact that they haven't changed their colours appreciably over the years.

Funnily enough SDTG - I just commented to dh yesterday how well I thought the Astana blue went with the yellow jersey!

I suspect Nibali would agree with you, not me, prettybird! Just a theory...

Is it just me that giggles at Paul Sherwen every time he says "Frank Schleck, Champion of Luxembourg"? I don't think he's saying it ironically either.
Loving today's stage, reminds me of driving around the Pyrenees - it's scary enough on some of those roads coming down in a car let alone on a bike.

Watching Nibs take 30 odd seconds out of the stage winner in the final km made me wonder if the type of steak he's eating is as undetectable as the type Armstrong ate before it was outed by Dwain Chambers. I suppose we'll find out soon enough and that will be a sad day.

Tomorrow's stage looks like yet another toil for the sprinters. The autobus will be busy again.

Quick non tour question - do you think women need a woman's bike frame? Just looking at options and there are far more men's road bikes. I'm not short etc

Dr2 - yup.
Looking forward to watching hoy's documentary on catchup today

Sea I don't think you particularly need a women's one as long as the one you like feels comfortable. I think a women's bike has a shorter reach than a mens to account for our stubby arms

DP offered me his bike as he's getting a shiny new one delivered this week which would be great if he wasn't a foot taller than me. I can't even get my leg over the bar of the 60cm frame and the seat post is set so high that it comes up to my nipples

Eeeeek! My dh is a short arse that luckily matches my frame size I think, so he's currently reconditioning his Marin for me. It's pie in the sky ATM - I may be getting an insurance pay out that may go partly to a new bike. Or to the food shop (more bloody likely!!)

That's lucky! I wish DP was the same height as me so I could ride his new Argon 18 (like he'd even let me touch it ). He's just asked me if I actually want a road bike or a hybrid as he's asked his bike shop pal about it today. I don't know if its a massive waste of money as I probably won't ride it!!

Wow! Not surprised - I doubt he feel he should be allowed to ride it either!
The Marin is a hybrid, which seems sensible as I'm just getting back into it all, if a little too staid

Ok not tour related but still bike related. Not sure if anyone has seen this yet but I am sat open mouthed at it! gawker.com/hero-cyclist-somehow-lands-on-his-feet-after-high-flyin-1609667733/+cushac

Just a warning that has some colourful language! I can totally understand why though

Well hello, such a busy thread by the time I've caught up on the highlights and done the dishes and sorted out the warring teenagers it is time to go to bed
I like sky kit, saxon tinkoff yuk too bright hurts my eyes. Used to like Columbia, but they had Cav so prob biased. I have pics somewhere on an old computer of Cav in an old tour of Britain all dressed on pink. (Just snapping cyclists at the start before I knew who he was and the mega sprinter he would become. Must dig them out. G was there too...)
I have watched 'the Armstrong lie' tonight. Interesting. Makes me angry. He had so much potential to be an inspiration (was an inspiration...) to cancer survivors, but abused that position because he thought the cancer link conferred some sort of sainthood (believed his own publicity?) and winning was everything. There was this too £££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££
At the end of the day a thoughtless bully, albeit a hell of a cyclist.

Re: specific bikes for women, I've got a blokes bike (I'm not a bloke) and it is fine, I'm tall and long of limb, it is a hybrid I've never tried a road bike. I did go to an independent bike shop for a proper fitting though. I think that is worth doing if you are treating yourself to a new one.
Jealous of those cycling to work. I used to do that every day but travel too far in the working day now so can't. Cars feel so lumbering after hopping on your bike, and you arrive refreshed on a bike.
Happy days

Those cheeky winks to the camera from Majka have got me all flustered!

SeaShells, no, you don't need a 'woman's bike'. You just need to get fitted for a bike, which is a service that's probably not available in Halfords. Your local independent is your friend.