LongJ0n
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Tour De FranceAnyone interested in this?
I see the Brit, Mark Cavendish, has just won stage 5. Fair play to the lad!
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newseeker
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Sure am interested. Not had chance to see today's stage yet. Will catch up tonight.
Glad he won today but a few more days before the race really take shape and the big boys flex their muscles in the mountains 
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geordie_racer
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don't we have someone near the fornt so far?
robert millar?
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jennywales
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I watched the Tour avidly when I was in Albania (because it was practically the only TV I could get that I even half understood!) I even posted for a while on a cycling forum, but I haven't kept up with things and didn't even realise that this year's Tour had started.
Will catch up and contribute, I hope!
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newseeker
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David Millar is 3rd at the moment.
Saw the sprint finish last night. Cavendish did the job nicely, even going away again in the final few metres.
A few nice climbs today should start to spread the field out. Hopefully my man can improve on his current 14th pos 
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LongJ0n
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On Pereiro then newseeker?
Got to admit I fancied Soler but now he's crashed out I'm really not sure who's going to win.
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newseeker
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Indeed I am. Got a few quid on at 140 / 1 on betfair. The only thing that worries me is Valverde. Provided he stays in with a shout my man may be asked to help his team leader out. That said, if Valverde falls behind then the team could be asked to help my boy out
He won it two years ago after landis was disqualified so has form. I just hope a couple of top names have off days.
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LongJ0n
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Yeah its always a worry with the so-called 'lesser' riders helping out their team leaders. For me, Pereiro needs another of these breakaway wins in the mountains again but its not beyond the realms of impossibility.
Did you see todays stage? The first real sortout for me.
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newseeker
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Yep. As they go through the mountains they will slowly sort the men from the boys.
Did you notice who was pulling them all along with1 km to go? Pereiro!
He has the legs he just needs a little bit of lady luck. Unfortunately he is always gonna ride for Valverde.
Still, I shall keep watching and hoping. I must say that Evans is looking good. Never doing much but always there in 4th or 5th.
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LongJ0n
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Evans is always so defensive though! Never see him attack but always see him there covering attacks.. This is proven by him never having won a stage at the tour.
On another note, that stage today was a gruelling one wasnt it? Your man Pereiro was in there again, but the wrong Caisse D'Epargne man pulled away! ;)
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RightJudgeIam
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first drug test failure today... and it was a Spaniard called Beltran riding for some Italian team... was already under suspicion and got kicked out today for EPO
probably not the last
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Jimbob
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I haven't been following the tour as closely as I normally do this year as have been insanely busy at work & moving house but fully intend to get up to speed over the next few days before they go into the Alps 
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LongJ0n
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Cavendish won the stage again yesterday. Cmon the brits!
Should start to get fun going into the mountains now..
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LongJ0n
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Its gonna get fun tomorrow. Two hors category climbs during the stage and we'll see whos gonna be challenging in the pyrenees and whos gonna be saving themselves for the alps. Intriguing
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LongJ0n
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Valverde looks out of it now!
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geordie_racer
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according to the BBC every time the tour has had a stage finishing at the hautacame, the leader afer that stage has won the Tour
(Indurain in 94, Riis in 96 and Armstrong 2004)
so the smart money might be on Cadel Evans now?
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Jimbob
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Did anyone hear Test Match Special a couple of days ago? I didn't hear this myself but i am told after they announced the winner of the stage of the Tour De France, Boycott turned round and said "Ay but you can't call it a sport can you? How many drugs are they on?". Now this is something Boycott may well say but if he did say it why hasn't he been punished? Especially as his sport is one of the most corrupt out there? 
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LongJ0n
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I'm inclined to say no. He only has a one second lead over Frank Schleck and wearing the yellow jersey has a much bigger pressure than not. Also, Evans has a much weaker team in Lotto than Schleck does in CSC. Having said that though, I'm sure Schleck is not the main CSC rider as the team leader is Carlos Sastre and I imagine he was pretty peeved today when his team-mate decided to break today.
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geordie_racer
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| Jimbob wrote: | | Did anyone hear Test Match Special a couple of days ago? I didn't hear this myself but i am told after they announced the winner of the stage of the Tour De France, Boycott turned round and said "Ay but you can't call it a sport can you? How many drugs are they on?". Now this is something Boycott may well say but if he did say it why hasn't he been punished? Especially as his sport is one of the most corrupt out there? |
but isnt he right?
it's as drug ridden as sprinting in athletics, and has been for years [tommy simpson rip]
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Jimbob
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| geordie_racer wrote: | | Jimbob wrote: | | Did anyone hear Test Match Special a couple of days ago? I didn't hear this myself but i am told after they announced the winner of the stage of the Tour De France, Boycott turned round and said "Ay but you can't call it a sport can you? How many drugs are they on?". Now this is something Boycott may well say but if he did say it why hasn't he been punished? Especially as his sport is one of the most corrupt out there? |
but isnt he right?
it's as drug ridden as sprinting in athletics, and has been for years [tommy simpson rip] |
As a long time cycling fan I am actually mildly offended by his comments. To say 'there is a big drugs problem in the sport of cycling and something needs to be done about it' is one thing. If he said that most, if not all cycling fans would agree with him. But to say 'you can't call it a sport' is ridiculous! All sports have problems of some sort or another. Cricket is one of the most corrupt sports(not for drugs but for betting fixes) out there so Mr. Boycott should take a long hard look at his own sport before criticising sports he knows little or nothing about!
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LongJ0n
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Christ, and theres another clocked with drugs..
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LongJ0n
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And theres a third. This is getting a disgrace.
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geordie_racer
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well maybe Geoff had a point then?
i see that cadel evans still holds the yellow jersey...maybe the record will hold?
and well done mark cavendish; this is an achievement which ought to be recognised widely and probably wont get much of a mention in a ntion besotted with non events like which colour underpants christiano ronaldo will want to wear if he oes to madrid
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LongJ0n
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And thats a fourth stage win to Cavendish. Boy can he sprint!
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geordie_racer
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| LongJ0n wrote: | | And thats a fourth stage win to Cavendish. Boy can he sprint! |
i think the record is 6 stages in one tour
is he on to break this????
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LongJ0n
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| geordie_racer wrote: | | LongJ0n wrote: | | And thats a fourth stage win to Cavendish. Boy can he sprint! |
i think the record is 6 stages in one tour
is he on to break this???? |
For me, no. The mountains kick in bigtime tomorrow and he won't see the end of them with the Olympics on the way. He's already said he was 'very tired' a couple of days ago..
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DunDoire
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| geordie_racer wrote: | | LongJ0n wrote: | | And thats a fourth stage win to Cavendish. Boy can he sprint! |
i think the record is 6 stages in one tour
is he on to break this???? |
I think its 8, taken from BBC:
"Belgian legend Eddie Merckx twice won eight stages, in 1970 and 1974, while Charles Pelissier (1930) and Freddy Maertens (1976) also secured eight stage victories in a single Tour."
DD.
PS - I hope it doesn't turn out that he's been drugged up......
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newseeker
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Nasty crash for my boy. Broken shoulder and broken femur. Lucky to get away with that I think.
Get well soon Oscar!
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LongJ0n
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What a stage that was!!
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LongJ0n
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This is Sastres race then. Told you Evans wouldnt win 
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