The MN peloton heading for the Alps and then Paris. The TdF thread. Hopefully we're not on drugs. Actually, do nicotine and alcohol get you banned? In which case I'm buggered...

[ariadneoliver]

Starting tomorrow in Utrecht

The stages

1 Individual time trial Saturday, July 4th Utrecht / Utrecht 13.8 km

2 On-line Sunday, July 5th Utrecht / Zélande 166 km

3 On-line Monday, July 6th Anvers / Huy 159.5 km

4 Hilly Tuesday, July 7th Seraing / Cambrai 223.5 km

5 On-line Wednesday, July 8th Arras Communauté Urbaine / Amiens Métropole 189.5 km

6 On-line Thursday, July 9th Abbeville / Le Havre 191.5 km

7 On-line Friday, July 10th Livarot / Fougères 190.5 km

8 On-line Saturday, July 11th Rennes / Mûr-de-Bretagne 181.5 km

9 Team time trial Sunday, July 12th Vannes / Plumelec 28 km

• Rest day	Monday, July 13th	Pau		
  

10 Mountain Tuesday, July 14th Tarbes / La Pierre-Saint-Martin 167 km

11 Mountain Wednesday, July 15th Pau / Cauterets - Vallée de Saint-Savin 188 km

12 Mountain Thursday, July 16th Lannemezan / Plateau de Beille 195 km

13 Hilly Friday, July 17th Muret / Rodez 198.5 km

14 Hilly Saturday, July 18th Rodez / Mende 178.5 km

15 Hilly Sunday, July 19th Mende / Valence 183 km

16 Hilly Monday, July 20th Bourg-de-Péage / Gap 201 km

• Rest day	Tuesday, July 21st	Gap		
  

17 Mountain Wednesday, July 22nd Digne-les-Bains / Pra Loup 161 km

18 Mountain Thursday, July 23rd Gap / Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne 186.5 km

19 Mountain Friday, July 24th Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne / La Toussuire - Les Sybelles 138 km

20 Mountain Saturday, July 25th Modane Valfréjus / Alpe d’Huez 110.5 km

21 On-line Sunday, July 26th Sèvres - Grand Paris Seine Ouest / Paris Champs-Élysées 109.5 km

www.letour.com/le-tour/2015/us/overall-route.html

Teams

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/tour-de-france/11693097/Tour-de-France-2015-teams-and-riders.html

Hope you've all got bottles and musettes filled for the long haul!
Allez MN Peloton

As if you can have too many sunflowers.....

There's talk of Cav joining MTN Qhubeka. They've already got Boassen Hagen though.

Ds2 was saying today that, at the Sky dinner following the final stage, Dave Brailsford came in and announced, with great excitement, that they are signing one of the best young riders around. No clue who that might be, though!

isn't it Landa? And/or Kwiatowski, both being flouted as signings.

Oooh - I'm not sure - that was all the info in the article he read.

You can only really get in front of the podium if you are press, VIP or pay for a seat. All the public are pretty much behind. My final couple till I get home.

I think you can only really get in front of the podium if you are press, VIP or pay for a seat. All the public are pretty much behind from what I could see.

Looks like Kwiatek is heading to Sky. Good move for him, good move for them. My opinion is that he will be their GC contender and de facto team captain once Froomey moves on, which is a bit of a kick in the plums for G.

Fwiw, I like the guy as a cyclist and I can see why Sky would sign him. He's aggressive, competitive and he's the current world champ. With him on board I can see Froomey winning next year too.

I'd heard Sky are interested in Kwiatkowski & Landa too.

Last two I have for the moment.

Ooops wouldn't let me post. Will have to wait till tomorrow.

So, is La Vuelta the next big event?

Yep msr. Hopefully next time if I start the thread with my fanfuckingtastic title it'll stand and not get deleted as a duplicate. :o

The new Cycling Topic might be up and running cycling in time for the Vuelta!

I hope I'll be able to watch - are they doing it on ITV 4? We don't have Eurosport any more.

I am not sure I'll be allowed in a cycling topic seeing as I can't ride a

Not sure - but it's possible to sign up to Eurosport online for something like £2.99. It's a rolling monthly contract and you can cancel at any time. We tend to let it lapse in non-cycling months and reinstate it when there's something we want to watch.

oh thanks prettybird, that's good to know.

I am told you can subscribe to Eurosport on line - I think £7 per month. Plus there are lots of highlights available on line in the evenings anyway via twitter account links. I'm about to ditch Sky Sports channels as I can't really justify keeping it to see highlights evening when I can watch them on lap top.

I don;t think there's going to be a proficiency test for the topic, Endo.

I'd go for PB's deal...

I'll check with dh how much it is.

That's our legitimate subscription .

Dh also manages to watch various rugby games via USA Goals. You have to click through loads of dubious pop-ups and then make sure to run anti-virus/malware software afterwards though . Not sure if the cycling would be on there - but it's worth a go!

Not managed to talk to dh but I've checked the reviews: key thing seems to be NOT to download the app but to go to the Eurosport player on a PC or Mac and subscribe to that, which is cheaper (at £3.99/month rolling) than the App subscription AND you can still view it on your devices

Ok, I'm hoping these will post, just want to get up my great action shot of Segan and all the jerseys waving at us from the podium. Not sure if I can post videos but will try and link to one when I get home.

Just spotted myself on the live stage from ITV4. At 80.1 km can hear us shout Froome and him glance over and me in a bright pink coat and KoM hat! Super chuffed! Will work out how to get a screenshot.

Yay to spotting yourself! Tried to see us last year (twice) but just weren't in shot, although we were right by the side of the road both times.

My Internet is knackered so I can only use the mobile site but looking forward to seeing the photos when I can get on the main site cucumber