Tour de France 2015

Yippee!!

Just started on ITV4

Jensie speaking now.

chapeau

your lad Quintana lost a fair bit already, TT

I think he'd be pretty pleased to only be a minute behind on his least favourite part.

Should be an absolute classic Tour this year with all the climbs.

Stage 2: Utrecht-New Zelande

beware the echelons!

will Cav get the breaks and have the legs?

stopping race for crashes, strange

It's already turning into a remarkable Tour after just 3 days.

Love it.

In a new office this year.  Boss man is nuts for the tour and watches the whole thing, not just highlights, when he gets home in the evenings fast forwarding to the bits that are interesting.  Must be a fine art.  Anyway, trouble is means we can't discuss it during the day.  Another mate in the office is well keen have to email each other with our thoughts during the day without giving anything away. 

Shaping up to be well interesting this year, Froome hasn't harmed his chances so far.  Well happy with my 35-1 bet on him for SPOTY.

jeez that was some climb at the end of today!

wet cobbles coming up

Couldn't watch it live today but saw the ITV4 highlights at 7pm.

Just brilliant stuff all round.

Really glad the Panzerwagen finally got his Yellow - and what a way to confirm he wasn't going to be deprived today!

This is a brilliant Tour.

So many fantastic displays all round from so many people it's hard to say which one I've preferred the best - but one thing's for sure; I really hope Geraint Evans is a number 1 one day and wins Le Tour.
Just the best 'domestique' there is.

By the way, there was a good programme 'Sports Life Stories' about Chris Froome this week.

For those who missed it and want to see it you can catch up with it here:

https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/sports-life-stories/series-3/episode-2-chris-froome

Just out of interest when was the last tour that wasn't largely decided before the final week?  This was all quite interesting but when Froome did them all in the last six km the other day it was effectively end of tour.

Not that long ago, Rob - 2010 when it was between Andy Schleck and Contador and Contador won.

I remember there was a brilliant bit of 'I dare you' on one of the climbs when both of them were standing on their pedals, playing cat and mouse with each other.

It must be on YouTube. I'll try to find it.

Can't find it (and knowing me it was probably the year before and  Frank Schleck!), plus having YouTube open with this poxy site is slowing everything down to sloth's pace so I'm not looking any more - but this was a bit of the battle between them that year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn2OMLCAnHw

Contador beat Andy by 39 seconds in 2010 - under very controversial circumstances.

Here's the top ten of closest finishes from Cycling Weekly:

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/the-closest-tours-in-history-94100

lol, just read that 10 closest tours article.  That 1989 with Greg LeMond sounds like a cracker.  Cant copy and paste but their phrase was"LeMond used tri bars and an aerodynamic helmet.  Frenchie wore his ponytail."  Le Mond beat him By a minute in the final TT.  Stupid tw@tty Frenchy.

hahaha!

Seriously this is over ain't it?  There are no more TTs iirc, barring a Froome fall/injury it is hard for him to lose.  There are mountainous stages to go but he has proven he has them all on toast.

I'd say so, Rob. Froome looks so strong I can't see anyone overhauling him unless he has an accident or is ill.
I thought Quintana might have been able to drag some time back the other day - but Froome's having none of it.
Too strong this year for the little Columbian and Quintana seems to have accepted it.

Still, anything can happen and might do yet - but it's just such a joy to watch anyway I don't care who wins.
I just can't believe how they get out there day after day and do what they do.
It really is the most remarkable race.

Relatively speaking, and I do mean relatively, it is easy just to sit there and plod along in the peloton it appears.  Even for 140 miles or so on flat stages.  I find that hard to understand let alone appreciate.  How else could a sprinter like Cav make it to the Champs Elyses.  By the way, odds on I shall be doing an Ironman in Vichy, France next August which apparently has a few climbs which attracts(and I use the term loosely) tdf style crowds.  Sounds like a right laugh.

Good luck to you with that Rob.
I think I'd be crying before I'd be laughing if I even thought about attempting it!

Geraint Evans - *Geraint Thomas

These bloody Welsh names are all the same to me!

Only today and tomorrow for any chance at all of anyone gaining on Froome - and they've already tried a couple of moves to drop him today which haven' paid off.
Fascinating stuff though.

Can Nairo come good a bit later?

Nairo having a go now.

Cracking stage.

Well done Nibali.

I always hate the Monday after three weeks of the TDF.
Cold turkey.

I know exactly what you mean Bix.
It's like "Er...where's The Tour?" come 1pm on the Monday and you feel a great sense of loss.

Such a great attempt by Quintana yesterday to try to reel Froome back, which ultimately failed, but what a great stage.
Such a shame the little Columbian couldn't have at least won the stage. He really deserved to.

As it all (ultimately) came down to the time he lost in the cross-winds on the second day because of poor race planning by Moviestar and Boardman confirmed yesterday that Nairo was the fastest over all the mountain stages if you put all the times and not points together, he's definitely a Tour winner in waiting (bar bad fortune).

I'll cheer the day that comes.

Anyone who can climb massive mountains like he's having a tootle out on a Derny deserves every accolade going.

Tommy, what was all this 'car crashing through the barriers' stuff on the 10-00 a.m. news?

I don't know, S&G, I've only heard the report of it on the radio and seen it on 'ceefax' - although on there it says they are not thinking it's terrorist related.

The Tour has got VERY nasty wouldn't you say?  One is beginning to wonder what is the point.

I don't think so so much, Alun.
Nasty stuff has always gone on throughout the years.
Remember, it was only a few years ago some idiot put tacks on one of the climbs that punctured a load of tyres - the main unfortunate recipient being the race leader Evans.

I reckon it's because it's Froome getting all the abuse this year it's being brought to attention moreso over here.

Cheers TT. You're probably right about the 'Froome factor'.

Can't believe many people have had to put up with being spat at though Tommy

I'd get off the bike and punch the coont.

Topshot, I hope not, but I doubt we'd have seen it before if it wasn't a UK rider.

The camera work is much more skilled these days and can isolate all sorts of things which would have gone unnoticed in the past.

It's kicking off !

Finishing sprint coming up !

Campest bell-ringer ever!

Since Everard !

A camp campanologist.

Will there be a pile up?

That would probably be taking it too far.

crash time