Tour de France 2017

jdrobbo · Post by **jdrobbo** » Sat Jul 08, 2017 9:36 pm

Really looking forward to tomorrow.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 12:04 am

Program starts earlier tomorrow on itv 4 (10:30) as the organisers believe this will be a very long day in the saddle - if it lives up to the hype of expectation it could be the best GC fight-out in years with just a handful left on the final climb. I certainly do not see Thomas in contention tomorrow night

karatekid · Post by **karatekid** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 12:06 pm

A bit of rain forecast for the descents could shake things up a bit.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 12:33 pm

2 out today already after crashing on the 1st descent and that was try - the last one on new tarmac will be lethal in the wet

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 1:23 pm

Geraint Thomas has a nasty fall - certainly out of the GC now - too many falls - at least 4 in the last week

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 1:28 pm

Confirmed that Thomas has broken his collarbone - out of race - Sky road train is severely weakened by this

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 1:28 pm

Chester Perry wrote:Geraint Thomas has a nasty fall - certainly out of the GC now - too many falls - at least 4 in the last week

Out the whole thing now. What a shame for him. He seems to crash a lot!

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 2:55 pm

So as we approach the final climb the excitement mounts - will Froome go for it or will someone else attack

Sky have done a great job in bring the time gap down

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:42 pm

Richie Porte with out with a nasty crash (shoulder injury - taking Martin out at the same time -

Martin gets up and then crashes again - if he is out then that is 3 of the top five crashed out of the race

piston broke · Post by **piston broke** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:42 pm

Thomas crashes out.
Porte crashes out.
Martin crashes twice.

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:42 pm

Two bad collision on the descent ... Frightening speeds!!!

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:47 pm

Martin back on the bike

piston broke · Post by **piston broke** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:51 pm

what a great days bike racing.
shame the crashes have so badly altered the gc.

piston broke · Post by **piston broke** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:04 pm

rigoberto uran riding sturmey archer gears. back derailleur locked.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:07 pm

what a day - froome gets 4 bonus seconds on aru at the line (I think)

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:10 pm

Dan Martin great recovery ...in the crash he appeared to come off worse ,went with a hell of a bang! Great racing.super athletes.

Cajun · Post by **Cajun** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:11 pm

Fantastic stage, really enjoyed watched last couple hours of that

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:11 pm

jdrobbo wrote:Really looking forward to tomorrow.

Good shout!

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:12 pm

Feel sorry for Dan - he would have won that sprint at the end - like Porte it just never quite seems to come off for him in the big races

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:21 pm

Dan Martin: "The organisers got what they wanted"

What did he mean by that? Was he still just a bit worked up?

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:27 pm

The fact that the last descent has been resurfaced in the last 3 weeks since the Dauphine made the road incredibly slippery as oil rises to the surface in the wet - Course announced last September - re-surfacing could have been done months ago and all the oil would have been washed away with use in that time

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:28 pm

looking forward to the fallout to Aru attacking Froome when he had a mechanical

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:32 pm

Ah right I get you.

Yep was a bit cheeky that.

john'sroseyspecs · Post by **john'sroseyspecs** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 6:42 pm

I watched it all, except for comfort breaks. Superb stage.

Stevie2112 · Post by **Stevie2112** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:01 pm

A great days racing.

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:19 pm

When I've watch,ed it again I dont agree that the Italian guy shouldn't have attacked.

These days they are in million pound teams with bikes worth thousands of pounds. IMO if they have a mechanical failure tough sh!t!

Would you expect Lewis Hamilton to wait if someone had gear box problems?

Stevie2112 · Post by **Stevie2112** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:20 pm

Not the done thing in cycling mate,Porte put him right on that point,IMO

jdrobbo · Post by **jdrobbo** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:23 pm

Absolutely awesome stage.

Amazing that so many of the big GC riders are already out of the Tour.

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:40 pm

Stevie2112 wrote:Not the done thing in cycling mate,Porte put him right on that point,IMO

So it's not the done thing to attack in cycling when the leader has mechanical failure or needs the toilet?

Stevie2112 · Post by **Stevie2112** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:46 pm

No it's not.

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:48 pm

Do you agree with that? I think it's outdated tbh

Stevie2112 · Post by **Stevie2112** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:05 pm

It's just the act of true sportsmanship,which is why you may find it outdated. I personally think it is the right way to go about things.

john'sroseyspecs · Post by **john'sroseyspecs** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:13 pm

Its honouring the tradition and ethos of the Tour. Even Italians have to respect it.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 9:08 pm

Remember Wiggins (closing the race down) doing something similar when he was in yellow and his fellow GC contenders got punctures after thousands of tacks were thrown on the road

Also think Lance Armstrong did it a few times

Interesting how the newcomers (Brits, Aussies, even Americans) enforce the traditions more than the traditional nations

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 9:19 pm

So adding aero bars, disk wheels and vortex skin suits is following the tradition of the tour but if your chain breaks EVERYBODY STOP! MAN DOWN MAN DOWN

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 9:36 pm

Winstonswhite wrote:So adding aero bars, disk wheels and vortex skin suits is following the tradition of the tour but if your chain breaks EVERYBODY STOP! MAN DOWN MAN DOWN

Imagine Ryan Moore in a race and his saddle slips? Whoooa neddy shout the other jockeys!!! Giving Ryan chance to recover and win the race. Perfectly reasonable IMO

Belgianclaret · Post by **Belgianclaret** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 9:51 pm

That's Froome's yellow jersey secured now

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:02 pm

Winstonswhite wrote:So adding aero bars, disk wheels and vortex skin suits is following the tradition of the tour but if your chain breaks EVERYBODY STOP! MAN DOWN MAN DOWN

It applied when they were all taking amphetemines and when Boardman used his Lotus bike in the prologues - technology has long played a role in the bike racing but they still have their codes like all other groups

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:41 pm

Richie Porte has broken his collarbone and Pelvis but is expected to be back racing in less than 2 months - wow

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/porte-s ... nce-crash/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:45 pm

Winston - here is an ex pro's view - from 11:20 in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05870b5#play" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 5:42 pm

CP I've just listened to the Rapha Podcast this afternoon and all three commentators (including a French dude whose been covering the TdF since the sixties) were in agreement with me.

http://pages.rapha.cc/morethanarace/podcast" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:21 pm

Just so you know the French really really really hate Sky and Chris Froome

Here's Adam Yates view -

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/simon-y ... rsey-lead/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

on a different note - Geriant Thomas still has his sense of humour

http://lebuzz.eurosport.co.uk/viral/sho ... hes-29872/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

jdrobbo · Post by **jdrobbo** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:27 pm

Flat stage tomorrow

Kittel to bag another win?

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:42 pm

you would think so jdrobbo - Griepel just off it and Bouhanni doesn't seem to get it together when it matters - no one else sees to be left though GB's McClay may move into contention with a bit of luck

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:11 pm

Chester Perry wrote:Just so you know the French really really really hate Sky and Chris Froome

Here's Adam Yates view -

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/simon-y ... rsey-lead/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

on a different note - Geriant Thomas still has his sense of humour

http://lebuzz.eurosport.co.uk/viral/sho ... hes-29872/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ha, I know they do but if you listen to it they actually argue about it far more eloquently than I ever could.

What they are saying is that the whole unwritten gentlemans agreement has always only applied to the long drawn out flat sections when nothing's really happening and no real need to attack. Somehow over the last last couple of decades it's morphed out of control.

What they go on to say is that if it happens at a crucial part of the stage like the sprint finish or (like yesterday) at the crucial 5km final climb of a critical stage, when riders will have planned to attack all day then it's fair game. And I agree. You obviously don't as a lot of people don't. But if you're bringing in riders' thoughts like Adam Yates, then I'll just point you in the direction of Eddie Merckx and see what he has to say on the subject...

TheFamilyCat · Post by **TheFamilyCat** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:14 pm

Anyone crashed out today? I know it's a rest day, but the way this tour has gone....

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:53 pm

Winston if Froome's problem had occurred while they were attacking each other i.e racing I would have no problem - they weren't - not one of the contenders was ready to attack at that point Sky were in train and still going hard so the race was not at the critical point

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:54 pm

TheFamilyCat wrote:Anyone crashed out today? I know it's a rest day, but the way this tour has gone....

yes actually the bloke who took out Thomas yesterday has retired from the race today as a result of the crash

Winstonswhite · Post by **Winstonswhite** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:01 pm

Chester Perry wrote:Winston if Froome's problem had occurred while they were attacking each other i.e racing I would have no problem - they weren't - not one of the contenders was ready to attack at that point Sky were in train and still going hard so the race was not at the critical point

I think we'll just agree to disagree!

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:30 pm

Far too easy for Kittel today - miles ahead in Sprint terms