Tour de France 2016

littlegreenman

3 weeks of torture, 3,535 km, 9 mountain stages and plenty of drama ahead.

Will Cav and Froomey deliver Maillot Jaunes on the first and last days? Or will Greipel and Quintana spoil the party?

The first question will be answered tomorrow. The second? Well I'll be on the Champs Elysee's to see that

Allez, allez, allez!

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earwighoney

Really looking forward to the TdF this year.  

It'll be interesting to see how Team Sky with Froome at the helm will do without Richie Porte.  I really hope Geraint Thomas steps into make the kind of contribution Richie Porte did, Geraint Thomas is an immense rider. 

littlegreenman

Gee has been coming on in leaps and bounds as a Grand Tour rider the last few years so I'm hoping Team Death Star won't miss Richie too much.

littlegreenman

I definitely want Quintana to do well again though. Nibbles may not have the legs after his miraculous Giro win, and I can't help but not support Contador. Aru and the French duo of Bardet and Rolland should get a stage or two and challenge but top ten at best I think.

Ideal result? Froome - Quintana - Porte on the podium in Paris.

But it's going to be quite the journey regardless.

axisus

Id like Froome to win but I'd LOVE Geraint Thomas to win (unlikely!). Cav is past it, but might get a couple if lucky. He's one of the all time greats though, right up on the top shelf.

mudslide73

Looking forward to it as always. I'll start looking at road bikes on the Ribble and Planet X sites. I'll then plan up some big rides that'll never happen.

mgaw

highlight of the sporting calender i reckon...nowt better than sitting noodling away whilst watching the Tour....bliss

cj73

Interesting prologue and a finish on ventoux....

Vroom Froome

richh

My favourite sporting event of the year too!

For those old enough to remember a 1970s cartoon, it reminds me of 'Wacky Races' - with Alberto C as 'Dastardly' (chaingate, etc)

Great sport, fantastic camera shots of France and other countries, amusing commentary and things that just could not happen in any other kind of sport.  Things like a whole team on team time trial riding off into a cornfield right off the road one year, and stuff you couldn't even make up.  It is more than a sporting event, this is drama on a huge scale.

strtdv

Cavendish is going for stage wins and sprint points realistically rather than an overall win. He's not a climber and the mountain stages will work against him.

Thomas should do well in the mountains, could get a stage win if Team Sky allow it

StanleyAccrington

Quintana or Porte for me...although i'm not putting money on it.

littlegreenman

strtdv said:

Cavendish is going for stage wins and sprint points realistically rather than an overall win. He's not a climber and the mountain stages will work against him.

Obviously, but a stage win today is probably his last chance of ever donning the Golden Fleece.

littlegreenman

And there you go!

Cav in Yellow!!!!

Get in

littlegreenman

Beating Kittel, Sagan and Greipel! Just shows there's life in Mark yet.

Champagne is open, just waiting for the podium presentations now.

Been a whopper of a 24 hours, Wales last night and now this.

RocknRollDave

ANOTHER remix?! FFS talk about flogging a dead horse.......

littlegreenman

RocknRollDave said:

ANOTHER remix?! FFS talk about flogging a dead horse.......

Ha-ha!

littlegreenman

Not a bad day at the office

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richh

I missed the main coverage during the day, and attempted to watch the highlights at 7pm.  Are ITV4 not having commentary from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen any more?  I did like their double act, even when, and sometime because they occasionally talked complete bollocks.  I know they have been legends in places like the States for a long time.  Hopefully they are still going, or have I missed something?

littlegreenman

richh said:

I missed the main coverage during the day, and attempted to watch the highlights at 7pm.  Are ITV4 not having commentary from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen any more?  I did like their double act, even when, and sometime because they occasionally talked complete bollocks.  I know they have been legends in places like the States for a long time.  Hopefully they are still going, or have I missed something?

You'll have to find a NBC America (or SBS Australia) feed to hear Phil and Paul, they're still commentating but ITV aren't paying for it any more.

richh

Thanks for that info.  Glad to hear that Phil & Paul are still alive & kicking, will see if I have any access to those channels, otherwise I'll stick with ITV.  I do like the ITV presenters generally - Ned's book 'How I won the Yellow Jersey' is amusing and interesting BTW, if you haven't read it yet?

strtdv

I was working so had to make do with the live text updates.
Contador looks to have got a nasty knock, be a shame if he wasn't able to give it a decent run due to injury on the first day.