Tour de France 2018

Growler wrote:

Sluffy wrote:Alpe d'Huez tomorrow.

Should be fun!

It was fun for a time while the Dutchman had a realistic chance, but ultimately a dull ascent controlled by the Sky money.Sky's hired Colombian took them most of the way up the mountain, nullifying any chance of exciting breaks from the top men and without Thomas and Froome having to do the work. I was watching at work with the sound low, it seemed Thomas was jeered as he rode through the finish line.
I'm struggling to care which of the Sky team wins.Probably prefer Thomas although i didn't like his interview where he was acting as  if it was a huge shock for him to win the race.

I assumed the jeering was for Froome.

Not sure what you've got against Sky money - don't you think any team with the most money wouldn't hire the best cyclists?

The way Sky rode today is the same way the top teams have been riding since Armstrong and US Postal started the tactic nearly 25 years ago.

As for Thomas he clearly rode for Froome - he was acting as his domestic once Bernal blew - so clearly the plan was not for him to win.

Fair play to him doing so though once Froome couldn't.

As far as the race for the yellow jersey is concerned today was another boring day in the mountains controlled by Sky.The commentator said tomorrow's mountain stage is so difficult it is impossible for it to be neutralised by the Sky team, we'll see.

Bury lad Adam Yates will be sick, he was first up the final mountain with a 15 second lead but crashed  on the descent and finished 3rd.He wasn't the first leader to crash either, a Belgian chap did the same on the previous mountain descent.

Tear gassing the riders definitely adds an element of surprise to the race.

The Belgian's crash was a scary one, right over the wall but thankfully to a small drop and not his death.He got back on his bike and rejoined the race

https://twitter.com/koenbert/status/1021750917434155009

wanderlust wrote:Tear gassing the riders definitely adds an element of surprise to the race.

Well it certainly surprises me - seeing that it DIDN'T happen.

You certainly don't bother about any facts if they get in the way of whatever story you are making up.

If you bothered to do the most basic check you will see that what happened was that just a single policeman, attempting to stop a small protest squirt some pepper spray - but unfortunately into the wind and at the same time the riders were cycling past.

Bad timing for everyone involved but certainly no deliberate attempt to seriously disrupt the race.

Growler wrote:The Belgian's crash was a scary one, right over the wall but thankfully to a small drop and not his death.He got back on his bike and rejoined the race

https://twitter.com/koenbert/status/1021750917434155009

Spectacular crash indeed - Certainly worth a watch if you haven't seen it!

The rider was Philippe Gilbert and he's now abandoned the race.

He landed on a pile of rocks too, so it wasn't a soft landing either.

Growler wrote:As far as the race for the yellow jersey is concerned today was another boring day in the mountains controlled by Sky.The commentator said tomorrow's mountain stage is so difficult it is impossible for it to be neutralised by the Sky team, we'll see.

It was boring but I hardly think that was Sky's fault.

Quite often the following days race directly effects what happens on the day.

Tomorrows race is designed as an all out drag race, where the race is a 'sprint' and 'all out' from the start. As such no one was going to flog themselves on today's stage (second longest on this years Tour) and leave themselves drained for the big scramble tomorrow.

Tomorrows race is an innovation, just 65k long (today's was 218km for instance) and could shake everything up or just keep everything the same nobody knows for sure.

The day after (Thursday) is a sort of easy day and Friday the last big chance to do anything in the mountains. Saturday is the Individual Time Trial and Sunday the procession into Paris.

So with Thursday being easy, it hoped that everyone will go for it tomorrow.

If nothing changes much after tomorrow, then unless someone does a 'Froome' where he gambled everything and went on a successful individual attack (and the others for various reasons letting him go) in the Giro earlier this year - then it's all going to be down to Dumoulin to do something to win it - as it stands now nobody else is in with a chance of unseating Thomas from winning in Paris.

At least tomorrows stage is different - and should be fun.

Hope so anyway.

Sluffy,- sounds like you're giving up on Froome. I suspect that he's got something up his sleeve. My moneys still on him to lead the procession on Sunday

rammywhite wrote:Sluffy,- sounds like you're giving up on Froome. I suspect that he's got something up his sleeve. My moneys still on him to lead the procession on Sunday

I can't really see how Froome can win it now without Thomas having a bad day.

I think today's race is random, with anything happening but it really is going to take something special from those who are outside the top four to put over three and a half minutes into Thomas in just 65kms.

It wouldn't surprise me if say Bardet (French) made a big effort to try and get into the top three because he's no Time Trialist and all the current top four are much better than him at it.

It's up to Dumoulin to make a move to gain time back and the last thing Sky will want is for Froome to inadvertently help him in anyway, say by going on a break himself with Dumoulin sitting on his wheel.

Froome is in danger of being overtaken for second on the podium because Dumoulin could easily put 11 seconds or more into him at the Time Trial but I doubt he could put almost two minutes into Thomas.

So my thinking is that Froome, Thomas and Dumoulin will finish up in a group together today and on the 'easier' stage tomorrow and that depending on how others do in those two days it will mean that Dumoulin will attempt to break Thomas on Saturday's 'Queen' stage, with Froome riding defensively behind him.

IF it does play out something like that - and if Thomas did crack - then Froome could hopefully come over the tiring Dumoulin towards the close of Saturdays stage putting enough time into him to be able to hold him off sufficiently in the TT to win (the only worry being in Roglic tagged a long with them both and had gained a bit of time himself on todays stage as well, to put him close to Froome and Dumoulin to overtake them on GC in the TT).

After saying all that, I think Thomas is the strongest rider in the Tour so far and will not crack.  I think he will win in Paris.

I'm a big Froome fan and would dearly love him to be on the top step in Paris and be on five TdF wins with the other 'greats' but he won't attack Thomas and it's down to Dumoulin to do something to win back nearly two minutes to take the lead.

Then again this is cycling and anything could happen both on and off the bike!!!

Sluffy wrote:

Growler wrote:

Sluffy wrote:Alpe d'Huez tomorrow.

Should be fun!

It was fun for a time while the Dutchman had a realistic chance, but ultimately a dull ascent controlled by the Sky money.Sky's hired Colombian took them most of the way up the mountain, nullifying any chance of exciting breaks from the top men and without Thomas and Froome having to do the work. I was watching at work with the sound low, it seemed Thomas was jeered as he rode through the finish line.
I'm struggling to care which of the Sky team wins.Probably prefer Thomas although i didn't like his interview where he was acting as  if it was a huge shock for him to win the race.

I assumed the jeering was for Froome.

Not sure what you've got against Sky money - don't you think any team with the most money wouldn't hire the best cyclists?

The way Sky rode today is the same way the top teams have been riding since Armstrong and US Postal started the tactic nearly 25 years ago.

As for Thomas he clearly rode for Froome - he was acting as his domestic once Bernal blew - so clearly the plan was not for him to win.

Fair play to him doing so though once Froome couldn't.

True enough... though when Lemond defeated Fignon on the final day, it was an individual time trial and Lemond alone pedaled 58 seconds faster than Fignon to win by 8 seconds. 24.5 Km and 8 seconds separated the two of them... what a great race!  No one drafted in front of Lemond... sheer individual effort to wear the maillot jaune!!!

Hey, Sluffy!

Remember when I predicted that Thomas had the chops to become a GC rider a couple of years ago and you laughed at me and posted about 5000 words explaining why you were right and I was wrong?

Well who's wearing the maillot jaune aujord'hui?

Travelodge wrote:Hey, Sluffy!

Remember when I predicted that Thomas had the chops to become a GC rider a couple of years ago and you laughed at me and posted about 5000 words explaining why you were right and I was wrong?

Well who's wearing the maillot jaune aujord'hui?

Wait for it.........

I really shouldn't poke him, should I?

But it's fun....

Hope you're well. The email's the same if you fancy a chat cos I'm not hanging round here.

Travelodge wrote:

I really shouldn't poke him, should I?

But it's fun....

Hope you're well. The email's the same if you fancy a chat cos I'm not hanging round here.

I've been spending a great deal of time in the chilled section at Sainsbury's in recent days,due mainly to it being cheaper than getting air conditioning, but I've had very little going on in my sad excuse for a life.
I've somehow managed to reach the ripe old age of 65 though,which is quite a feat,given my record.
I'm doing a great deal of walking. Sometimes four or five hours a day,although it usually depends on when the cops bring me home.
I'll rummage through my in box and see if I can remember how emails work. Since I've retired and unsubscribed from what seems like the world and his wife,it's a pretty empty place.
Nice to see you on here though. Nat's thrown a wobbly and disappeared,but I bet she'll be back.

Travelodge wrote:Hey, Sluffy!

Remember when I predicted that Thomas had the chops to become a GC rider a couple of years ago and you laughed at me and posted about 5000 words explaining why you were right and I was wrong?

Well who's wearing the maillot jaune aujord'hui?

No I don't if I'm being honest when was that?

Thomas himself only believed he would be a GC contender from the 2016 season and even then only in the Giro or Vuelta.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/future-holds-geraint-thomas-132279

He's been Sky's GC in in the last couple of seasons without great success (although not always down to him - a policeman caused him to fall off his bike and injure himself at the Giro once!).

He's also perceived to have a weakness (which he admits to himself) in racing at the very highest peaks - this from yesterday -

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/tour-de-france/geraint-thomas-attacked-earlier-didnt-want-risk-anything-388109

He's without doubt the best rider in the Tour to date and hopefully will now win baring an accident or injury but luck as also played a part (just like it did with Wiggins) about being in the right place at the right time - namely being 'groomed' specifically for this race because of the very real doubts that Froome would not be allowed to ride because of salbutamol inhaler business, and also with Froome and key domestics like Poels riding the Giro just 5 weeks earlier (nobody as won back to back Giro and TdF in recent years).

His luck also held at the very beginning of this Tour too when he was more or less the only GC rider who didn't fall and lose time on the first stage and who was also part of a very strong Team Time Trailing squad for stage three - and thus put him out front of all the other GC riders without doing anything other than not fall off his bike!

If Froome had also not fallen and been on similar time with Thomas, there would be no doubt that it would have been Thomas burying himself as a domestic for Froome as per usual and not having the free role he's had because of it.

I do hope Thomas does win, I have nothing against him and at 32 he doesn't have many chances to win a further TdF if Froome targets them again (instead of collecting more Giro and Vuelta's).


Nice to see you're as obsessive compulsive as always and felt the need to tell the world - well Nuts anyway - that you were right and somebody else was wrong (although I don't believe I was as I would only have been saying what the facts of the matter were at that time).

No doubt you are out there somewhere telling countless other people that they are wrong about voting for Brexit, Trump or voting Conservative and no doubt countless other stuff - in that charming, totally unabusive way that you have(!) - and no doubt we will here from you again the next time you want to tell me you 'told me so' over something said in general conversation on an internet footy forum from a few years back.

See...?

Told you so.

Travelodge wrote:See...?

Told you so.

Can't help yourself can you - you have to be right all the time, even when it means fuck all to everyone else but you.

Obsessive behaviour.

And again....see?

Motivation is the key.

Travelodge wrote:And again....see?

I thought you said you weren’t hanging round here?