This year's TdF.

Aggieboy

Leaving the finer details to the cognoscenti that frequent Pro Race, I'm finding this year's tour very exciting already. Obviously don't want to see riders injured, but all the odd and unexpected crashes this year certainly make good tv. Glad to see Boonen making the time after his crash.....




The sprints with late bends and uphill 'nips' have made a change to the usual bunch sprints and have caught a few riders out as well.

I'm shouting for Cadel Evans this year, just because he deserves it and is a nice bloke...

One Man And His Bike

I dislike Cadel, long story, but also after speaking with people who have met him they disagree with you, he's apparently a bit of a t1t and not exactly nice to his fans and people in general.

I do agree though that it's been a very good first week so far, some of the changes made are good yet it seems odd they made them for certain reasons only to nullify them with other things.

Crashes are part of the sport and so long as the stages are set out to try and keep them to a minimum I can't see the riders having a moan about them. The roads in Brittany are famed for their narrow and winding nature so any rider not doing their homework and getting caught out is on a learning curve.

Great to see Cav spank one out yesterday (take that as you will by all means, I need to fill my smut quota for the day) and in such a manner he goes to show those "He only wins because he has an 8 man lead out train) and seeing him earn his wins on a finish most people wrote him off for (Not I, I had him pegged for yesterdays win, hah!)

/slides Aggie a TDF branded beer

gmb

Aggieboy wrote:

I'm shouting for Cadel Evans this year, just because he deserves it and is a nice bloke...

Those are the very same reasons I'm wanting Evans to win too. That and the fact that he always looks one step away from a nervous breakdown...reminds me a bit of Charles Dreyfus, Inspector Clouseau's boss.

My wife, who is really not into cycling at all saw clips of Evans on You Tube (the infamous dog one and the boom mike on the shoulder one) and she is now rooting for him too. Nice to have a bit of an emotional character who is actually worth watching being interviewed...

alan_a

One Man And His Bike wrote:

I dislike Cadel, long story, but also after speaking with people who have met him they disagree with you, he's apparently a bit of a t1t and not exactly nice to his fans and people in general.

Not met him, however a bystanders view seems to be that the above used to be the case. After TdF 2009 he seems to have taken a chill pill, become a more relaxed chappie off the bike and a more aggressive rider on the bike. I used to think he was a d!ck however, along with my 15month old daughter who became and Aussie citizen on Monday, I'll be cheering him all the way to Paris where he will hopefully be in Yellow.

ollyridesfirst

Evans seems a very nervous person in general, and as stated quite emotional, so it might be that he just doesn't like crowds....unfortunate for his chosen profession I know! He certainly doesn't like to be touched :shock:

I'm awaiting judgement on him this year until the mountains kick in. He always seems to look good at the start, but then seems to collapse in the real hills!

On a side note....Thor is climbing quite well.......shouldn't be so surprised, but i am!

Aggieboy

One Man And His Bike wrote:

I dislike Cadel, long story, but also after speaking with people who have met him they disagree with you, he's apparently a bit of a t1t and not exactly nice to his fans and people in general.
I do agree though that it's been a very good first week so far, some of the changes made are good yet it seems odd they made them for certain reasons only to nullify them with other things.

Crashes are part of the sport and so long as the stages are set out to try and keep them to a minimum I can't see the riders having a moan about them. The roads in Brittany are famed for their narrow and winding nature so any rider not doing their homework and getting caught out is on a learning curve.

Great to see Cav spank one out yesterday (take that as you will by all means, I need to fill my smut quota for the day) and in such a manner he goes to show those "He only wins because he has an 8 man lead out train) and seeing him earn his wins on a finish most people wrote him off for (Not I, I had him pegged for yesterdays win, hah!)

/slides Aggie a TDF branded beer

Well, I haven't met him and like most sports people I back can only go by what I know/see. Cav, Wiggo, Millar (D), Armstrong et al have all been known to be/seen to be stroppy arseholes in the past, so I suppose on occasion it goes with the territory depending on your character. Whether he is as you suggest or not, I still feel he deserves it. Go Cadel!!!

Anywho, todays live instalment is very close :P My round!

Aggieboy

OllyRidesFirst wrote:

Evans seems a very nervous person in general, and as stated quite emotional, so it might be that he just doesn't like crowds....unfortunate for his chosen profession I know! He certainly doesn't like to be touched :shock: I'm awaiting judgement on him this year until the mountains kick in. He always seems to look good at the start, but then seems to collapse in the real hills!

On a side note....Thor is climbing quite well.......shouldn't be so surprised, but i am!

In fairness he had been riding with and hiding a broken collar bone though.

One Man And His Bike

Pint of Southern Comfort and Irn Bru for me then, cheers. :twisted:

thegreatdivide

These first stages have been great viewing and watching it in HD on Eurosport is a beautiful thing. Those French camera guys turn a sport into a work of art.

I'm routing for

Gilbert - nice bloke great riding style
Wiggins - by all accounts another really nice bloke and I hope he does a top job this year
Garmin Cervelo because after watching every episode of Beyond the Peloton you end up getting emotionaly attached to them
Lampre ISD because everyone hates Lampre ISD, Petacchi is a total nut job and I ride Wilier bikes

Couldn't give a flying fuxk about Cavendish though.

unixnerd

Was very impressed by Boonen after his crash yesterday, certainly earned a few MTFU points!

petemadoc

What's with the bad feeling towards Cavendish?

He seems a bit immature and arrogant to me but a great British athlete none the less.

I'm cheering on Geraint Thomas, this guy is at the front of every race up with the big boys. One for the future for sure!

rick_chasey

unixnerd wrote:

Was very impressed by Boonen after his crash yesterday, certainly earned a few MTFU points!

Should watch Boonen in his first ever Paris Roubaix as a 22 yr old. Was supposed to be riding for Hincape, but Hincape couldn't handle the pace or conditions.

Came 3rd to a juiced Johan Museeuw.

http://youtu.be/4hDpP-gWNHY?t=2m46s

After doing that you can never not be considered hard.

Bobbinogs

I think it has been great so far, although I am still trying to work out the Cav/Thor sprint thing from the other day. I'm all up for Cav and Wiggo, what's not to like?

At times it is just like a panto, you sense the whole world is booing and hissing when Contador comes on screen, heh heh. They should make him wear a daily black jersey

Madness yesterday but with 196 riders pegging it at 50kph down a narrow winding track it is just bound to happen (glad it doesn't happen to me though).

Cleat Eastwood

It's been a good tdf so far for 'honest riders'; evans, hushovd,gilbert,cav,voeckler,thomas and my hero mad johnny hoogerland.


Evans comes across as a decent chap, and I wouldnt mind a go on his missus either.

iainf72

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

It's been a good tdf so far for 'honest riders'; evans, hushovd,gilbert,cav,voeckler,thomas and my hero mad johnny hoogerland.

You're not putting him in the "honest" bracket, are you?

MattJPaul

First TDF I've watched though through prior knowledge I'm rooting for Garmin-Cervelo, Wiggins (out of faint patriotism than anything else) and Boonen yesterday was heroic. Thor gets major man up points, too.

Edit: First TDF question, no doubt: Why form a breakaway after 10k when you know full well you'll be swallowed by the peloton and spat out the other end?

thegreatdivide

MattJPaul wrote:

Why form a breakaway after 10k when you know full well you'll be swallowed by the peloton and spat out the other end?

One reason is the sponsors. You get more air time if you're at the front = happy sponsors.

CyclingBantam

thegreatdivide wrote:

These first stages have been great viewing and watching it in HD on Eurosport is a beautiful thing. Those French camera guys turn a sport into a work of art.

I'm routing for

Gilbert - nice bloke great riding style
Wiggins - by all accounts another really nice bloke and I hope he does a top job this year
Garmin Cervelo because after watching every episode of Beyond the Peloton you end up getting emotionaly attached to them
Lampre ISD because everyone hates Lampre ISD, Petacchi is a total nut job and I ride Wilier bikes

Couldn't give a flying fuxk about Cavendish though.

You see from what I have seen about 'Wiggo' he is a bit of a t1t. Still would like him to do well though.

Cav on the other hand seems to be honest and pretty grounded. He talks up what he can do but then he does it so i think that is absolutely fair enough.

I know who I would rather have a pint with given the choice.

CyclingBantam

iainf72 wrote:

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

It's been a good tdf so far for 'honest riders'; evans, hushovd,gilbert,cav,voeckler,thomas and my hero mad johnny hoogerland.

You're not putting him in the "honest" bracket, are you?

Beat me to it... admittedly by the best part of an hour but I was still going for it!

CyclingBantam

thegreatdivide wrote:

MattJPaul wrote:

Why form a breakaway after 10k when you know full well you'll be swallowed by the peloton and spat out the other end?

One reason is the sponsors. You get more air time if you're at the front = happy sponsors.

Other reason is simply because you might win. Each tour you will get one or two breaks that actually stay away. The riders who go for it often won't have any other roles that day so may as well have a go. It isn't often you get a chance of winning a stage of the tour.

Cleat Eastwood

iainf72 wrote:

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

It's been a good tdf so far for 'honest riders'; evans, hushovd,gilbert,cav,voeckler,thomas and my hero mad johnny hoogerland.

You're not putting him in the "honest" bracket, are you?

Ha ha no, hence the 'and', I just like him and mad attacks that never seem to work.

Paul_iow

You see from what I have seen about 'Wiggo' he is a bit of a t1t. Still would like him to do well though.

I met him on the first stage whilst standing outside the Sky Team bus, he popped his head out and asked if we wanted to come onboard and meet the team. He was a really nice guy and I hope he does well this year, a podium finish would be great.

Frank the tank

I'm really enjoying the tour this year, great stuff.

Martincan

I've certainly not been playing the live tdf tv coverage on my computor at work whilst 'working'.....

Steve_b77

It's been great so far, loads of action, tricky roads, rubbish and great weather, nasty ickle climbs in crazy places - can wait for them proper hill things down south :shock:

random man

I've enjoyed the coverage I've seen so far, but I still need Frank to explain the tactics :oops:

Aggieboy

random man wrote:

I've enjoyed the coverage I've seen so far, but I still need Frank to explain the tactics :oops:

Schleck?

brin

The tour has been good up til now, better next week when the real hard stuff starts, but why oh why do the producers spend so much time showing us the chateu's and the panoramic countryside views? we can visit a travel agents to see this stuff, and those bleeding adverts?? FFS!!!

Martincan

brin wrote:

The tour has been good up til now, better next week when the real hard stuff starts, but why oh why do the producers spend so much time showing us the chateu's and the panoramic countryside views? we can visit a travel agents to see this stuff, and those bleeding adverts?? FFS!!!

They certainly know their architecture.

Stewie Griffin

Am certainly enjoying seeing Bertie on the deck or having a mechanical every day. Am hoping he has a Menchov moment and falls over for no reason.

Cheer on all the Brits, boo all the cheats back from drug bans (please don't point out the white elephant, I know its there), glad Thor is showing a bit of pride in a jersey as he hasn't made the stripes look good all year, Gilbert is a God, Evans is funny as are the Brothers and hope a French rider gets a solo breakaway win.

One Man And His Bike

Stewie Griffin wrote:

Am certainly enjoying seeing Bertie on the deck or having a mechanical every day. Am hoping he has a Menchov moment and falls over for no reason.

You can have a beer also, I'm hoping the same, that and a nut buster Armstrong moment when someone hooks his handlebars and makes him go boggle eyed.

See him shoot his pistols after that huh!