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

Yep, Cav & co went too early.

Bonjour tout le monde! I am sorry to have missed the start but I have my parents staying and they don't understand how serious this business is.

Watching live right now with my heart in my mouth. Anyone else watching?

I am, MrSlant (The Turtle Moves). Pretty dramatic!

Horrible, I am having a terrible longing though to grab my magic sponge and hop over to the continent and offer to soothe some aching bodies .

I have a sponge - I will come with you!

Do you think we could team up and make some money perve? We could be there at the end like windscreen washers at traffic lights, dashing out and sponging down tired thighs. I wouldn't even ask for money.

Well this has started well, miss the first two days of the tour and get right in with the making kissy eyes at riders without even pretending to talk about the actual cycling

I have actually started having a soft spot for Froome as well, he seems to either have a new social media manager or be letting his human side show. This tweet made me giggle.

I haven't watched today's stage yet but just read on Twitter that Laurens ten Dam popped his dislocated shoulder back in and carried on riding

I know. Eeeeew. There were a few brave ones making it to the finish. I'm going to have to wait until after the highlights programme and come back on for a full debrief with you all!

Laurens Ten Dam , hard as nails. This is from back in the day ....
www.cyclingnews.com/news/ten-dam-continues-in-the-tour-de-france/

I was on a train during the race so have only caught a few highlights, this is turning out to be very exciting, if not quite the results I am hoping for.

Cancellara is out with fractured vertebrae

ariadneoliver I remember that! Was it 2011? Definitely hard as nails.

Nooooooooo Spartacus. I am flying over right now to soothe his brow. He looked in so much pain and yet he didn't stop. Chapeau. Also to Laurens Ten Dam, Jonny Hoogerland and a million other cyclists who just plough on through the pain. What a sport!

Gutted about Cancellara, he's one of my faves. Hope he's not too hurty :( That climb was unbelievable today, I could barely walk up it let alone cycle!

That crash OMG!

As soon as I saw Cancellara had crashed I thought of you two, MrSlant & SDTG, imagining you turning up at the finish line & fighting over whose turn it was to make his bruises feel better

I guessed it was something to do with his back - he was doing the same stretches DH does when his back is annoying him. Sorry to see him out.

TV coverage was reporting that ten Dam had abandoned, but now you tell me he put his dislocated shoulder back in and carried on... wow, these lycra boys are well tough, aren't they?

So Froome has nabbed yellow - hope it's not too soon & that he can hang on to it.

That crash was horrible, watched the highlights and they kept showing it, didn't want to watch really! Cobbles tomorrow, but forecast not wet cobbles this year.

Yes, I've now seen replays of that crash far too many times.

I imagine Froome will not worry too much about holding onto yellow now, as long as he stays within easy reach of the top of the GC.

I hope that the cobbles don't claim any victims this year.

Fingers crossed it's not too bad if the forecast is dry. I've still not watched yesterday's stage yet. Dd is off to the childminder this morning and I've got loads of errands to run but I'm tempted to sit on my arse and watch the tour instead

Ouch! That crash was horrible to watch. That flipping lamppost! Was Cancellara in the second crash? I didn't see that one. Such a shame he's out.

Fine Exciting Finish today.
(Fab rider but Tony Martin is eye candy NOT.)

Crafty move by Tony Martin, we were cheering him all the way home.

Was one of those times when you are willing them to stay ahead at the finish, glad he got there in the end.

Watched the end of yesterday's stage (and the crash repeated about a million times - so brutal!) and now catching up on today. Although I already know the result

Also can't believe Cancellara managed that end climb with a broken back