Le Tour De France

[starrymarkb]

So who will be watching?

Any thoughts on Mark Cavendish's chances of the Green Jersey or hopes for Team Sky?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It was quite a large scale pile-up that caused the collar bone injury to Bradley Wiggins that has led to his withdrawal from this year's race.

 

[starrymarkb]

I saw. Am wondering if it will be the Schleck's year...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stage 8.....Aigurande to Super-Bresse

Portugal's RUI COSTA held on to win this stage, which is in a hilly area.

THOR HUSHOVD still remains in the yellow-jersey position.

 

[Madge Wildfire]

So who will be watching?

Any thoughts on Mark Cavendish's chances of the Green Jersey or hopes for Team Sky?

I cant see Cavendish wearing the green jersey in Paris, because his chances of picking up many points in the Pyrenees and Alps are very slim.

Thor Hushovd may be a big contender, and Cadel Evans possibly for the Polka Dot. I am not sure if Cavendish will survive the whole 3 weeks, has he ever been up Alpe D'Huez in a competitive capacity?

Andy Schleck is going to have to have improved his form to prevent Alberto Contador taking time out of him on the biggest mountain stages, so although it would be nice to see him win overall, his best chance is that Contador will be banned following the doping enquiry in August.

 

[starrymarkb]

I think there is going to be a cull of the vehicles with a TV car wiping out half the breakaway in today's stage!

[youtube]tWT8yeHGA0U[/youtube]

 

[Minilad]

Is the Tour de France just like F1 ?
Basically most people watch in the hope of an almighty crash !!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I think there is going to be a cull of the vehicles with a TV car wiping out half the breakaway in today's stage!

Stage 9..... Massif Central

Leon Sanchez of Spain won the stage, but with Thomas Voeckler of France taking the second place, he now has the yellow jersey.

In the crash that was in the previous post, a rider ended up in a barbed wire fence.

 

[starrymarkb]

Stage 9..... Massif Central

Leon Sanchez of Spain won the stage, but with Thomas Voeckler of France taking the second place, he now has the yellow jersey.

In the crash that was in the previous post, a rider ended up in a barbed wire fence.

And in a previous stage one of the camera bikes clipped someone in the peloton causing another pileup.

The Attrition rate is very high this year and that is not good!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The event with the TV car hitting the riders was featured on the national TV news last night. You could really see the unfortunate rider being projected into the barbed wire fence....yet they bandaged him up and he still continued to race.

 

[Madge Wildfire]

Cyclists are hard buggers; you have to be to do that for a living. The idea that the car was a TV car might give the misleading impression that it was covering the race live for the TV.

From the information that I have, it was nothing of the sort. It was a corporate car that takes certain 'celebrities' (who cannot be expected to just stand and watch the race from the side of the road) around in air conditioned, champagne swilling comfort to see the competitors more closely and for longer.

As such it has no part in the race, and with standards of driving normally only displayed by white van and taxi drivers, it will have no further part in the race either.

Maybe Johnny Hoogerland's legs ripped to shreds by being catapulted into barbed wire at 50 km/hour might end this mobile junketing for the rich once and for all. As it is there are far too many press motorbikes following the race these days, without adding anything else.

Sorry - rant over.

 

[Pyreneenguy]

Cyclists are hard buggers; you have to be to do that for a living. The idea that the car was a TV car might give the misleading impression that it was covering the race live for the TV.

From the information that I have, it was nothing of the sort. It was a corporate car that takes certain 'celebrities' (who cannot be expected to just stand and watch the race from the side of the road) around in air conditioned, champagne swilling comfort to see the competitors more closely and for longer.

As such it has no part in the race, and with standards of driving normally only displayed by white van and taxi drivers, it will have no further part in the race either.

Maybe Johnny Hoogerland's legs ripped to shreds by being catapulted into barbed wire at 50 km/hour might end this mobile junketing for the rich once and for all. As it is there are far too many press motorbikes following the race these days, without adding anything else.

Sorry - rant over.

Apparently, most of the press-cars accompanying the race are driven by ex-Tour de France participants. As you quite rightly say, the offending vehicle no longer has a place in this years race !

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

NO REPORT TONIGHT AS IT IS A REST DAY

Don't forget that the mountain stages are to come that will see those specialists making their particular skills really tell.

Still waiting for news of the dope test.
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NEWS OF THE DOPE TEST

The 30 year old Russian rider, Alexandr Kolobnev had had the urine samples tested. There were traces of HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE found in his samples.

He has been sacked with immediate effect by the Katusha team

He deserves to be sacked for making me type such a long substance name in this report!!!

 

[Madge Wildfire]

Hydrochlorothiazide, abbreviated HCTZ, HCT, or HZT, is a first-line diuretic drug of the thiazide class that acts by inhibiting the kidneys' ability to retain water. This reduces the volume of the blood, decreasing blood return to the heart and thus cardiac output and, by other mechanisms, is believed to lower peripheral vascular resistance. Hydrochlorothiazide is a calcium-sparing diuretic, meaning it can help the body get rid of excess water while still keeping calcium. (from Wikipedia).


I'm not quite sure how this is going to help a cyclist, unless he likes to stop for a pee more times than the other riders.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stage 10.....Aurillac to Carmaux

Germany's Andre Greipel and Britain's Mark Cavendish are racing to the finish.


EDIT: Problem with my computer...text has been jumping around, so my son is here to fix it. A whole section about the green and yellow jerseys has been garbled, so my son will post it again.

 

[Dreadnought]

Stage 10.....Aurillac to Carmaux

In an exiting hillsprint, Germany's Andre Greipel beat Britain's Mark Cavendish to the finish. They are on different teams this year, but were both on the same team last year, when Cavendish was senior to Greipel.

The yellow jersey was retained by France's Phillippe Gilbert

Belgian Philippe Gilbert is in Green, whereas Frenchman Thomas Voeckler is wearing the yellow jersey!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stage 10.....Aurillac to Carmaux

In an exiting hillsprint, Germany's Andre Greipel beat Britain's Mark Cavendish to the finish. They are on different teams this year, but were both on the same team last year, when Cavendish was senior to Greipel.

The green jersey was retained by Belgium's Phillippe Gilbert and the yellow jersey was retained by Thomas Voeckler of France.

EDIT.....All corrections made thanks to Dreadnought in his posting above
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Stage 11.....Blaye-les-Mines to Lavaur


Mark Cavendish defied heavy rain and won this stage, beating Andre Greipel of Gernany to reverse the positions of the previous stage race. This was his third stage victory in this year's race and he now holds the green jersey.

Thomas Voeckler of France still retains the yellow jersey.
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Stage 12.....Cugnaux to Luz-Ardiden

Samuel Sanchez won the opening mountain stage of the race.

Thomas Voeckler of France did very well to still retain the yellow jersey, as he crashed on the descent of the first climb, but remounted and bravely carried on with the stage.

 

[Pyreneenguy]

Today is a Public-holiday here in France and as I wasn't feeling particularly 'active' I enjoyed watching the Tour ! It was , as the french would say ' un grand spectacle'. If Frank Schleck had accelerated just 500 m earlier he had enough in his legs to take the victory ! 'Chapeau' Thomas Voeckler, who managed to keep the yellow jersey !

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stage 13.....Pau to Lourdes.

Norwegian Thor Hushovd won the 162.5km stage today by a margin of 10 seconds from David Moncoutie of France.

Thomas Voeckler of France still retains the yellow jersey.

 

[starrymarkb]

I felt sorry for Roy being caught, but equally impressed by Thor catching him!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stage 14.....Saint-Gaudens to Plateau de Brille

Jelle Vandendert of Belgium took advantage of strategic moves amongst the race favourites to launch a sudden solo attack on the final climb to win the stage by 21 seconds from Samuel Sanchez of Spain.

Once again, Thomas Voeckler of France did enough in the race to ensure that he still retained the yellow jersey.

 

[newbie babs]

It`s been a fantastic Tour so far, I was working and watching on my PC when he won the stage and got his Green Jersey, tried not to shout too loud, my boss is in the office next to me.
my predictions are Andy Schleck to win, cav for Green probably Sanchez for Mountain although we are just getting into the mountains. Booked my teo days off Thursday and Friday, Alpe -D`HUEZ would not miss it

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stage 15.....Limoux to Montpellier

Mark Cavendish won the stage in a bunch sprint finish ahead of Tyler Farrar. This leaves him further ahead at the top of the green jersey standings.

Thomas Voeckler of France still retains the yellow jersey by 1 : 49.

The race will continue Stage 16 on Tuesday, giving the riders a well-earned rest, after three days in the mountains.
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Stage 16.....St.Paul-Trois-Chataux to Gap

Norwegian Thor Hushovd just beat his compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen to win this stage, after the break of the rest day yesterday. It was the first time in the history of the race that two riders from Norway had taken the first two places in a stage.

Thomas Voeckler of France still retains the yellow jersey by 1 : 45

Mark Cavendish is now 37 points clear in the green jersey position

 

[starrymarkb]

I was amused by Phil and Paul trying to describe a TER unit that was racing the peloton

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stage 17.....Gap to Pinerolo

Edvald Boasson-Hagen of Norway (who finished second on Stage 16 yesterday) won the stage from Bauke Mollema of Holland.

Thomas Voeckler of France still retains the yellow jersey by 1 : 18 from Cadel Evans of Australia.

Mark Cavendish is still 35 points clear in the green jersey position.
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Stage 18.....Pinerolo to Col du Galibier

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg beat his elder brother Frank Schlek to not only win the stage by 2 : 07, but also to narrow the gap in the yellow jersey position.

Thomas Voeckler of France still retained the yellow jersey, but now by only a margin of 15 seconds from Andy Schleck.

Mark Cavendish still retains the green jersey, but by a reduced margin of 15 points from Jose Joaquin Rojas of Spain.

 

[newbie babs]

Just to say 89 riders finished outside the time limit but because that`s half the peleton, the rules were bent so they were not disqualified.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stage 19.....Modane to L'Alpe d'Heuz

Pierre Rolland of France won the final mountain stage by 14 seconds from Samuel Sanchez from Spain. This was the first stage win by a French rider so far.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg now took over the yellow jersey and leads his elder brother Frank Schleck by 0 : 53.

Mark Cavendish still retains the green jersey by a margin of 15 points from Jose Joaquin Rojas of Spain (awaiting final confirmation of this )

 

[Madge Wildfire]

If you ask me, Cavendish winning the green jersey will just devalue its status.

How can anyone claim a green jersey when they have failed to finish two stages within the time limit and are only in the race at the ASO discretion?

Eric Zabel is a true green jersey wearer.

There should be green jersey points on the summits of certain climbs, not just flat sprints in the middle of stages.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

If you ask me, Cavendish winning the green jersey will just devalue its status.

How can anyone claim a green jersey when they have failed to finish two stages within the time limit and are only in the race at the ASO discretion?

Eric Zabel is a true green jersey wearer.

There should be green jersey points on the summits of certain climbs, not just flat sprints in the middle of stages.

I now have the points and riders names of the top six positions in the green jersey position, after stage 19:-

280...Mark Cavendish
265...Jose Joaquin Rojas
230...Phillipe Gilbert
195...Thor Hushovd
191...Cadel Evans
153...Edvald Boasson Hagen

Sorry for the delay...I lost my link. Now back to normal.
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Stage 20.....Grenoble circuit circular

Tony Martin of Germany won the penultimate stage by a margin of 7 seconds from Cadel Evans from Australia, in a stage that has implications for the yellow jersey title.

Cadel Evans of Austraiia is now the leader of the yellow jersey position by a margin of 1 : 14 from Andy Schleck of Luxembourg.

Mark Cavendish leads the green jersey standings from Jose Joaquin Rojas of Spain by a margin of 15 points.

 

[starrymarkb]

If you ask me, Cavendish winning the green jersey will just devalue its status.

How can anyone claim a green jersey when they have failed to finish two stages within the time limit and are only in the race at the ASO discretion?

Eric Zabel is a true green jersey wearer.

There should be green jersey points on the summits of certain climbs, not just flat sprints in the middle of stages.

Well he was penalised. The General Rule is that the elimination cutoff doesn't apply if more then 20% of the field are outside. Thursday it was over half the field in the Autobus and yesterday the Autobus of 69 riders was only seconds outside the elimination time. Rather then reduce the field and spectacle of the event the organisers apply a points penalty instead.. Similarly they overlooked Hoogerland being towed in by the Medical Bike over 30 mins down (though under much different circumstances)