Now that first stage was a bit of a lottery.
There will be lots of sticking to the sheets tonight!
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Now that first stage was a bit of a lottery.
There will be lots of sticking to the sheets tonight!
Ha ha!Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
And some sulky tears from Thibaut Pinot.
Sticky sheets???
Have you never fallen off a bike Stagger?
And I'm referring to the type that has wheels;)
Yes and Roglič rides a Bianchi, but anyone except Ineos.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Please!
I'm glad we have some decent sport on tele again and look forward to the next few weeks.
We were discussing who we thought would win yesterday whilst watching the hightlights. I tipped Pinot who almost instantaneously then fell off. Shows what I know but I do rate him highly so my pick for the Podium along with Roglic and Bardet 3rd.
Six years ago he was 3rd and the "new Hinault" since when he has had three DNF in the last four tours. Just finishing would be progress.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
I recently read about LeMond who had everything* going for him - superb physically, intelligent, innovative, film star looks - that he could have won six tours but without the luck he had he might have won none. Since Hinault, France has had riders who could have won the Tour but the weight of expectations has destroyed them all.
* He was a bit of a whiner but calling Armstrong out for the cheat that he was bankrupted his bike company and made him poisonous in the USA - so I overlook that.
Mon Dieu!
You've just got to love le Tour!
Yep.Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
But sticky sheets mean something different in Yorkshire.
Yes. I bet those Pontefract cakes get everywhere!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
Yates now leads
I'm cheap:rolleyes:
What is a good online channel to watch the highlights?
edit: ok, I found cyclingnews.com, it's only few min short, better than nothing you can't expect much if you don't to pay. As much as I love cycling no way I'm going to pay to watch a bunch of cheaters (maybe not all, but probably most) riding bycicles, I still have too much bitterness after Armstrong cheated us all while the organizers deliberately turned two blind eyes.
ITV4 highlights 7 till 8pm
Marco,
it could well be that cycling has changed. I do't know. But if it has, I have not seen anything to indicate so. And in your post you are not pointing to any indications of it.
The 1999 Tour, the one after the Festina scandal, was nicknamed "the Tour of redemption". Go figure.
And once the Brits started to win, I was appalled by the mood in Britain "sure cycling must now be clean, the evidence of it is that the Brits, undoubtedly clean, used to be beaten and now start to win". This is only nationalism. Go Brexit!
Bunch sprint finish were always there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Are you maybe saying that the spread among the first riders now being smaller than years ago should indicate the sport is now clean? I don't find this argument convincing: those behind Armstrong 20yr ago doped as much as he, so we can't say the gap was big because "he" doped.:(
They cheated us and I'm unhappy and I feel very bitter.
Not a major summit and the race always gets lit up in the latter stages. I do think this year is one of the weakest years in terms of contenders. A long way from the heady days of Contador vs Schleck vs Nibali vs Evans vs everyone else etc
It’s thirty years next year since Abdoujaparov won his first green jersey
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/...failed-produce
I saw this article a week or so back. I was going to comment but resisted and comments seem to have been disabled for the article anyway.
Only one black rider in this years TdF and a general lack of BAME cyclists in the pro ranks which the writer sees as a failure of the sport.
That might be.
But the point I would have made was that when I started watching the TdF on C4 in the 80s, I only had Robert Miller and Sean Yates to support if I wanted to follow home riders (some of you experts might be able to name a few more, but they were thin on the ground for a country with lots of clubs. In fact Ireland used to often have more than GB in the pro peloton.
Despite our clubs and our infrastructure, we couldn't produce top class international cyclists.
It seemed to change with Obree and Boardman. All of a sudden young cyclists had some role models to aspire to.
Cycling News have a GB all time list and half of the top 20 are still racing which says something.
So how are African cyclists going to develop to the top level? They need infrastructure first and then they need role models.
Probably Froome is the best example of a cyclist who's development was in Africa, but he's not a typical case for sure.
The number of cyclists in the Far East is staggering, but do they see it as a way of getting from A to B or a competitive sport?
Why no Vietnamese in the pro peloton?
As well as infrastructure, culture is key.
There seem to be sports in westernised nations that appeal to BAME people. Here in the UK we have plenty playing football, rugby, athletics, boxing.... but rarely equestrianism, cycling, swimming.
Maybe time will change that.
I never linked drugs policy changes in cycling to the rise of the GB cyclist. I saw it as having some early role models to aspire to and investment in development of the Olympic squad via lottery, which produced results that propelled GB to a top tier cycling nation on track and road.
I know a guy from another (non-sporting) forum who could be classed as a lesser rider... he is of good standard, looking to get a contract with a professional team. He freely admits (under his pseudonym) that at that level "everybody is at it".... they consider doping as worth the risk at that level in order to grasp that chance at a pro contract... and in fact he says that it is so rife at that level, that you have to do it, just to keep up with the pack.
I don't know the guy personally, so it may not be quite true... but i've got no reason to doubt it either.
To give some balance, i also personally know a guy on the lap-racing circuit who is clean as a whistle and wouldn't dream of it...
Marco, I agree with everything you wrote but not with your conclusion that cycling is now cleaner than ever. Remember, Lance Armstrong "never failed a drug test". Now we know 1) he "never failed" because it was easy to cheat, and 2) he did fail at least one test and he just paid hard cash to keep it under the radar. The organizers wanted it that way. Marion Jones never failed a drug test. My take is: I used to accept the official "clean" results. Now I don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
I like to think most are clean.
But I'm so unsure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
I assume the vast majority are juiced
Cynical I thought
Then think Armstrong...
But still no discussion of this years tour? Just endless rehashing of the drugs in sport debate.
I concur.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Great days racing yesterday. I think Sagan really wants that Green Jersey. He messed up the final sprint though trying to lean on another rider and came off worst unbalancing himself.
I was a bit gutted for Eddie Boss. He's getting on a bit now and was so close.
Not sure how the Pyrenees will work out without an uphill finish on either day.
I've only been over once to watch the TdF in 2014. It doesn't seem like 6 years ago. I was lucky enough to watch them go over today's HC and then follow the race down to Bagneres.
I'm not a cyclist at all, but the descent of the Port de Bales was an unbelievable surface and I loved it.
Those guys made it look so easy going up the climb.
The Bales was a pristine surface and fast decent. I reckon the decent might break things up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Another good day racing, all very unpredictable and I certainly wouldn't want to put my money on who will be in yellow approaching Paris (not that I know much about them all). Good race and loads more to come, heaven knows what will hapen.
Good stage today.
Not as many in contention now and pre race favourite will be dropping out soon.
Do you mean Pinot? I doubt even the French had him as favourite :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
It was an odd one today. Roglic, Pogacar and Quintana got a gap and they dithered allowing the rest including Yates to get back in.
I know Pogacar went again, but Quintana has done this many times, looking like he could go, but not wanting to expose himself.
If he's ever going to win a TdF he really has to have a go on stages like today.
Roglic still looks like he has something in hand.
How do you follow it?
Back in the UK I used to watch the ITV highlights and it was great. But not reacheable here in Germany. The best I got (without paying, I'm cheap) is from 20min highlights from nbc
https://www.nbcsports.com/video/2020...lights-stage-6
could be better but not bad
My money would be on Pogacar to be wearing yellow in Paris.
I thought Yates had a good ride today especially as he was on his own and battled well to keep the yellow jersey.
I am afraid he will lose some admirers when he joins Ineos Grenadiers.
Having said that the Ineos Grenadier looks a nice motor.
Yes but Defenders have always been coolQuote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
Eurosport is what I watch. Live feed if I'm home. Highlights if not. Always record both and if I miss I watch the following morning when I get up and work through my orders - always hard work avoiding info :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Gambatte
Best days racing since last years Vuelta
Great sprint finish today
Will Segan survive?