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

Can I join in? I love the tour Md have been following it since I was little.

I watched the live show of today's stage. I'll be interested to see what everyone thinks of it after the highlights!

Wow. Won't say anything yet to give people a chance to watch the highlights. Just

Ok...shame for Nibali, I felt sorry for him at that press interview.

I thought Quintana would win today's stage so I was surprised when he didn't, but he was right that Froome could burn himself out. I hope he doesn't though!

Wow, just wow. What a stage.

Do you remember me saying that Geraint Thomas is a GC contender of the future? Chris Boardman said that today in the highlight package. How chuffed and vindicated do you reckon I feel? Yip yip yaroo!

He's doing really well, isn't he?

Geraint's been going from strength to strength since 2012, and I still don't think he's hit his prime yet. Yesterday one of the commentators (can't remember which channel I was watching!) referred to him as "the amazing bike rider, Geraint Thomas", or words to that effect. And he is soooooo nice, and seemingly almost entirely without ego. Plus he's Welsh, which makes him popular in this house, and tweets a lot about Welsh cakes

I don't particularly like Nibali, but what is going on with him???

This Froome "clean test" thing is interesting too. I'm surprised that all his racing and training data are actually his to publicise, I would have thought his teams had some say over that. Definitely looking forward to seeing how that pans out.

I feel for Nibali. Remind me of when Froome was in poor form and it turned out he had that illness.

G is one of my favourite bike riders. All round good bloke, IMO.

I heard an interview with Richie Porte the other day, where he said that in retrospect he was glad that he left the Giro early as it turned out it has been good for his TdF preparation. He said that those riders who finished the Giro and who are now riding in the TdeF are more tired than they should be & not as well prepared. The condition of Contador & Nibali, to name just two, would seem to back this up.

Incidentally, I hear Porte is leaving Team Sky at the end of the season & probably going to BMC.

Oops . Correction to above post. As DH has just pointed out to me, Nibali didn't ride the Giro this year.

Looking forward to catching up on today's stage later, it looks an absolute beast.

And they have rain to contend with - as well as hailstones at the finish!

Looks like Nibali has been sacked, Fuglsang now the leader for TdF

cyclingtips.com.au/2015/07/report-vinokourov-tells-nibali-to-leave-astana-one-year-ahead-of-end-of-contract/

Bonjour! Bonjour! Comment-allez vous?

It's been all about these wonderful things!

So many photos, so much to say!

So Vino was just trying to get Nibali fired up???? Hmmmmmm.

What about Peraud then? We watched the live version on ffwd and there were lots of crotch-shots that didn't seem to make it into the highlights show Poor bloke, but good on him for getting on with it, and did you see his tweet later? Translated roughly as "thanks for the cameramen on Le Tour for preserving my privacy #irony"

And Sagan? We were cheering him on (youngest daughter loves him), he looked like he was going to make it .... and then ... didn't.

I've got an essay to write this weekend. Wondering if I can manage to sit in front of the telly all afternoon and work!

Peraud! Oooch indeed! Being circumcised by hot tarmac has got to hurt.

Quite Atia - as Gary says, nothing Vino says is worth paying any attention to, n'est-ce pas?

Thanks for the good wishes too, companieros. We were staying at my friend's mum's farmhouse about half way between Toulouse and the Pyrenees in very rural France. Temps were 30c to 38c and it hadn't rained since May!
We got to Stage 12 roll out on Thursday at Lannemezan - that's the one that started in 35c, and finished in hailstones. We got to point about 300mtrs from the start so they were still rolling out behind the big red car.....and of course as an experienced photo-sports journalist I just had to stand in the way to get a good shot! I think if you click on it, it gets much clearer.
And of course a photo of your very pleased reportage garcon

And Quintana keeping a very close eye on Froomey..

Even at 11.15am it was stiflingly hot and the road was very sticky even to walk on, never mind riding on rubber over it. They went by in a minute followed by the cavalcade of team and service cars and lots of shouting and waving. We wandered into the town and had lunch under a canopy but still sweating just sitting still and drinking water. The riders must have been losing a proportion of body weight in sweat along the way. Froome really looked the part in yellow, tall and riding out of his saddle about a metre from the car bumper, you know, just in case any challengers tried to nip in.

Back at the house a few family and friends were popping in and the blokes chatting in rapid French about the Tour - so I'm sat there ears open, and nodding along with an occasional "Whey, whey.." utterly clueless about what was being said.

And a couple more roll out photos....would anyone recognise any of these dudes??

I am very jealous indeed, Pan. Those are amazing photos!

One of my dreams is to hire a camper van and follow the whole of the Tour - I might miss out Paris, because the crowds there make me homicidal, but I'd love to be parked by the road each day, waiting for my boys in lycra to come past.

Thanks SDTG! There's a few more but there's the 6/day limit isn't there.

My friend got me a bidon from the AG2R Mondial stand. Once we'd finished lunch in a bodega we walked back into town, and it was all gone, like they'd never been. It's weird sight - all of the banners, road signs, bunting etc, all taken down within hours and then taken to the next roll out town. France and the world descends, but just for a few hours, and away again. Never write, never call.

I've also picked up a nice bit of new Franglais....

'Qu'est que le fuck!'

or better still 'Qu'est que le fuck actuelle!'

DH went to stages 3/4/5 last week (I am stuck working) - headed to the feed zones on 3 and 4 for some souvenir-hunting (as well as near the finish on both those days), and got CAV'S MUSETTE (full of energy gels etc) on Tuesday!

Glad you have had such a good time - look forward to tomorrow's installment of photos :)

Cav's musette. Qu'est que le fuck indeed!!

LOL! I will use that on my French A level dd ;)