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

Geraint was fucking lucky there. Almost feel sorry for the telegraph pole. :o Looked like Barguil missed his braking point by at least 10 metres.

I feared the worst, Dr.

In 2003 I drove down that descent the night before for the finish (when LA rode off into a field), and it was foot on brake for most of it. The skill to descend at speed is breath-taking.

That was some crash. I thought he'd be out of the race, not catching them up again at the end.

How on earth did he end up so close behind them? Must have taken more than 36 seconds to get back on his bike - I'm glad we didn't have to see his descent, must have been mental.

G must be now into the Jensie hard man clarification

And as for Barguil .... tut tut tut.

Lol at Sagan's tweet:"2nd today, well done, maybe I can win tomorrow :D" Was nice to see him looking happier today

That was scary stuff

G's sense of humour wasn't damaged at any rate. Apparently when the doctor was checking him over he asked his name, and G replied 'Chris Froome'

Hope he'll be OK for the Alps.

Good to see G was okay. He's doing such a great job for Froome - would love to see what he could do as a leader in his own right.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's leader of the Giro next season.

Nor me DA. It's surely just a matter of time now...

In other news, MTN Qubeka had three riders in the breakaway yesterday! Can someone remind them this is their first Tour please. :o

Rest day. Heels kicking.

or we could nip over here and support a cycling topic?

I've just added my vote

Geraint's T.'s thwack against that tree screamed whiplash to me, I'll be surprised if he doesn't have any. :( Could hurt Froome a lot in Alps if GT is struggling.

I think G is like Richie Porte & not really cut out to be a leader, he can't produce explosive speed when people like JRodriguez/Contador/Sammy Sanchez of Yore can. Fantastic as pacemakers who can keep the tempo up too high for the explosive riders to get away, though.

Well it's hard to produce explosive speed when you've been putting a lot of energy into supporting the top dog. I don't know what Geraint could do given the same treatment Froome currently gets.

I've tried to find the thread where I predicted G as a future GC contender but can't. It could've been the 2012 TdF thread but I can't remember which topic it was in.

Dr* iirc all of the MN peloton threads have been in Sports, and nowhere else??

I've doubts about G. as leader too. 'Leadership' qualities def. but from what you expect from the GC winner not so physiologically - just not light enough for climbing in the way other contenders do. If he had to lose a couple of kilos he'd be sacrificing muscle too. But Sky coaches talk of him that way so what do I know?

Heading off to Paris tomorrow, very exciting, hopefully catching up on Eurosport player. I'll try and get some photos on Sunday. Any tips for Paris watching? Also DH wants to try and get out on his bike on the Champs Elysées on Sunday morning, anyone done it?

no tips! Just max out the enjoyment. And get some sharp elbows at the barriers.

I've often wondered how early people get there. But I guess anywhere on the final loop is pretty good - you'll see them several times.

We were at the finish in St Malo two years ago and we arrived about 9.30 in the morning, straight off the overnight ferry. Plenty of people already there, and we got a nice spot about fifty yards from the finish. Which happened at 5.30, by which time it was jam packed. (We hadn't planned to be there all day, it just happened when we realised how many people were already there - we'd already bought food and drink, so we just stayed. And got free cold Vittel all day too, which was much appreciated!)

All depends how much you care about where you might end up, I suppose.

Dunno about the bike-riding, would be great to manage that :) Dh was one of the hundreds who cycled up from Leeds to Harrogate last year and will tell you it was one of the best days of his life

Have a fabulous trip! Well jel

After some pressure from France2, I've decided to release my power data from my ride past the sunflowers. I've liaised with Sky on this.

0.0001kw

'ish.

Were you looking at your (sunflower) stem as you went past?

Fnarr Endo

No Endo, my friend's laughter as I rode by meant there was no need to check any stem...her "zut alors!" was enough...

But....can I be heretical for a moment and suggest that the 'race' has been quite..well...boring? So Froomey gets a slight advantage then Sky throw a wet blanket over anything and everything. Even the jersey categories are pretty well sewn up, as it were.
It would be jolly if The Valve or Quitana just went for it tomorrow morning at the first climb and got Sky out of the control setting.

I agree it's not that exciting. It wasn't exciting last year when Nibali was so far ahead either. Be interesting if someone got time back tomorrow so that it all came down to who was first up the big hill on Saturday.

It might not be a close Tour, but I'm still really enjoying it - for the scenery, as much as the racing. Those hairpins today were spectacular, especially from the air.

Mmmm, today wasn't particularly interesting, but I'm fascinated by those hairpins! Fabulous road.