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[Tarazet]

This weekend starts one of the world's greatest sporting events: over the course of three weeks, 200 men and machines pit themselves against 3,471 km of French countryside, mountains and boulevards. It's a bigger goal to a cyclist than the Olympics, more prestigious than the World Championships, and it dwarfs any other cycling event for viewership (15 million spectators plus 4 million TV viewers per day). So for these three weeks, you have almost all of the world's greatest cyclists doing their goddamned utmost every day.

What's interesting about this year:

- With only one relatively short individual time trial on Stage 20 right after the crushing effort of L'Alpe d'Huez, this is a race that will be decided by who climbs the best and recovers most effectively after three weeks of hard efforts.

- Alberto Contador hasn't raced much since winning the hardest Giro d'Italia in memory, but he showed decent form in the Spanish national championships. He has already showed that he's not concerned about the appeal of his doping acquittal: Contador is simply going about his business, winning race after race in spite of vicious scrutiny and greatly heightened doping controls. There are so many people that would kill to bring this guy down with another doping "positive," but in spite of the risks involved, he still just smashed the competition at the Giro. He's so utterly dominant, the only question is whether he left all his energy in Italy and won't have it in the third week in France. He has won the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana before in the same season, but they're much farther apart on the calendar.

The intermediate sprint points have been cut from 3 to 1, with a lot more points on offer for the first man across the line. This will result in a new dynamic between sprinter's teams, who will chase the prestigious green points jersey, and the opportunists who just want to get ahead of the group, show off their sponsor and have their day in the sun, and maybe chase that elusive stage victory which would crown their otherwise unremarkable careers.

The UCI has implemented a new no needle policy in order to level the playing field and discourage doping. Critics say that the emphasis on the new "biological passport" has resulted in fewer tests being evaluated for the presence of EPO, but overall it appears to have made the testing procedures - if not the legal fallout - more efficient and effective. I'm seeing much less of the maniacal peaks and catastrophic collapses in form that suggest doping and blood manipulation, and race speeds have been slowing down.

Stages to watch:

Stage 1 (July 2, 191 km Passage du Gois La Barre-de-Monts - Mont des Alouettes Les Herbiers) opens the race on the road rather than with the traditional short prologue warm-up. It has an uphill finish, too. It's not going to bring out the overall contenders for the Tour de France, but look for an opportunist like Philippe Gilbert or Damiano Cunego to light up the finish of this race.

Stage 8 (July 12, 189 km Aigurande-Super Besse) is the first major mountain stage and the first one that will cause significant time gaps to open up. It comes after a rest day, which means that it's going to be a lottery. Some riders come out of the rest day flying, while others you might expect to do well will fall on their faces. The finish is at a ski resort.

Stage 12 (July 14, 209 km Cugnaux - Luz-Ardiden) is the beginning of the Pyrenees. The Tour last finished here in 2003, a stage in which Lance Armstrong tangled with a flag, fell on Iban Mayo, then got up and blew past Jan Ullrich. This year, the narrow climb of the Hourquette d'Ancizan is included for the first time, followed by the Tourmalet before the finish on Luz-Ardiden. It's also Bastille Day, so look for the French riders to attack.

Stage 14 (July 16, 168 km Saint-Gaudens-Plateau de Beille) will be the biggest test for Contador. His team isn't as strong as the Leopard Trek team of Andy Schleck, so it's likely that by the end of the five climbs here, he'll be isolated and vulnerable. That said, Contador was the last winner here in 2007, and he went on to win the race overall.

Stage 19 (July 22, 109 km Modane - Alpe-d’Huez) - needs no introduction. Don't miss it. The climbing starts early in this short stage, with the early slopes of the Telegraphe coming at 26 km, followed immediately by the Galibier before a long descent which leads into the hairpins of L'Alpe d'Huez.

Stage 20 (July 23, 41 km Grenoble Time Trial) comes on the last day before the "parade" stage into Paris. If there are still people close together, this will be the deciding day. That said, typically time trials late in Grand Tours are about recovery, so the strongest in the mountains tend to be the strongest in these time trials.

Andy Schleck: The Tour starts at Luz Ardiden

 

[NihonTiger90]

Used to get up early and watch this before work. Good times. Should be an interesting race this year.

 

[Splinter]

I'll be watching for the scenery.

 

[purg3]

Really pulling for Andy Schleck, can't stand Contador.

 

[itwasTuesday]

I want more stats on the screen.

 

[Tarazet]

Really pulling for Andy Schleck, can't stand Contador.

He wasn't looking so hot at the Tour de Suisse, but I don't know who else can challenge Contador. Only Schleck was close last year. Maybe Contador having done the Giro will take the edge off him, but he's only done two days of racing since then so he should be rested.

 

[Tarazet]

Cyclingnews: TdF 2011: The top 10 contenders

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-2011-the-top-10-contenders

Contador the man to beat in July

With just days to the start of the Tour de France, Cyclingnews takes a look at the top ten contenders for overall glory in Paris.

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard)
He begins the 2011 Tour de France with last year’s race still unresolved, and even if he arrives in Paris in yellow again this year, his Tour will not be over until the Court of Arbitration for Sport hearings in August. Against such a backdrop, even Contador must know that nothing he does on the road this July can deflect the merest shard of attention from his positive test for Clenbuterol at last year’s Tour and the absurdly drawn-out process of establishing his level culpability or otherwise.

As the Giro d’Italia proved, however, Contador is more than equipped to withstand such intense scrutiny, much like his fellow countryman Pedro Delgado at the 1988 Tour. Contador was ominously dominant in Italy, dropping his rivals seemingly at will and ceding stage wins to his allies, and if he transfers that form to the Tour, it’s hard to envisage anybody coping with him. He appeared a little short of race rhythm at the Spanish championships, but then he was someway off his best at last year’s Tour, and still had the wherewithal to brush off Andy Schleck.

Not only does Contador climb faster, time trial better and recover quicker than most of his rivals, he has the instincts of a fighter and knows precisely when to land his killer blow. With Bjarne Riis behind the wheel of his team car, that tactical acumen has only been strengthened. During a lumpy first week, Contador could well decide to test Andy Schleck out early on, albeit in the knowledge that nothing he does will dilute attention from the impending CAS verdict.

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank Sungard) finishes the final stage time trial as Giro d'Italia champion.

Photo: Riccardo Scanferla

Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek)
Amid the furor over his slipped chain on the Port de Bales twelve months ago, it was initially overlooked that the 42 seconds Schleck lost to Contador in the prologue were even more costly to his Tour challenge. Similarly, when Contador appeared to be floundering on the slopes of Avoriaz at the end of week one, Schleck singularly failed to go for the jugular in spite of the apparent exhortations of Bjarne Riis, and wound up gaining just 10 seconds for his troubles.

While Schleck is a rider of undoubted talent, it is difficult to pinpoint where he can pick up time on an in-form Contador. Not only is the Spaniard comfortably stronger in the time trial, he has never been seriously discommoded by Schleck in the mountains, either. Schleck is bullish about the strength of his team compared to Contador’s, but there is also a sense that as an attacking duo, the Schleck brothers have never quite been the sum of their parts.

Schleck’s 2011 form has itself been something of an enigma. He coughed up almost quarter of an hour on one stage of the Tour de Suisse before recovering to shore up the mountains jersey the following day. His pedalling appeared laboured throughout, however, but he’ll be hoping that a late training camp in the Pyrenees has rectified matters.

Mountain classification leader Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) at the finish in Schaffhausen.

Photo: Sirotti

Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
Very much en vogue as a dark horse for the Tour, Sanchez has spent most of the spring telling anyone who will listen that a podium finish will be the limit of his ambitions and that even a repeat of last year’s fourth place would be a tall order. The Olympic champion was just squeezed out by Denis Menchov for the final spot on the podium then, and was also narrowly pipped for a stage win by Andy Schleck at Avoriaz, so he will be looking to rectify one or both of those near misses this time out.

Tellingly, Sanchez has tailored his preparation around the Tour this year. The punchy climber has all the attributes to shine in both the Tour of the Basque Country and the Ardennes Classics, but although he was in the mix in April, he left the distinct impression that he was holding something in reserve for later in the year.

3rd place at Flèche Wallonne was the standout performance of his spring, while he stayed out of trouble at the Dauphiné to finish 17th overall. The route of this year’s Tour should also be to his liking. Not only should he shine in the mountains, Sanchez has the nous not to get caught napping during the undulating opening week.

Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) counts up his wins.

Photo: Rafael Gómez Alonso

Cadel Evans (BMC)
The Australian made a conscious decision to race fewer days in the first half of the season in order to save himself for July, and the signs thus far have been very promising. Even with a limited diet of racing, there has been more feast than famine for Evans in 2011, with victories at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour de Romandie, and a solid second place at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné. As he pointed out in January, he was over 1:30 clear of Alberto Contador when a fractured elbow ruined his 2010 Tour, and he has done everything possible since to give himself a fighting chance this time around.

One of the few overall contenders who wouldn’t have minded a few extra time trialling kilometres, Evans is still a reliable performer in the mountains. In the wake of his 2009 world championship win, he shed himself of his reputation as a calculating rider, but he remains more aware than most of how to dose his effort over the course of a three-week race. How close that leaves him to Alberto Contador remains to be seen, but after two disappointing Tours, Evans is ready to challenge for a podium place again.

BMC's Cadel Evans ate up the competition in Macerata.

Photo: Sirotti

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
Given the melodrama of the Schleck-Contador battle of 2010, Van Den Broeck’s steady ride into 5th place was somewhat overlooked, but although the Belgian came in under the radar, there was nothing fortuitous about his final placing. When the heat was turned up on the final climb, Van Den Broeck was generally marked present and correct, and at 28 years of age, he should now be entering his prime.

But with Contador and Schleck still very much at the top of the pecking order, and with a cabal of solid grand tour riders of similar aptitudes vying for the third spot on the podium, Van Den Broeck will have to improve considerably to better last year’s showing. Encouragingly, he has shown some signs of doing so. A junior world time trial champion, he had neglected the discipline as a professional, but he has put in some solid displays against the watch this year.

He also took his first-ever professional victory at the Dauphiné and will surely enter the Tour with his confidence at an all-time high. That might well make all the difference – Van Den Broeck admitted to Procycling earlier this year that the pressure of carrying Belgian hopes at last year’s Tour had been something of a burden. A win for teammate Philippe Gilbert in the opening week might lighten that load.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto)

Photo: Roberto Bettini

Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
An explosive start to his season at the Tour of Oman was an early indication of Gesink’s aspirations for 2011, but in the weeks that followed, his spring fizzled out somewhat, rather like that of his Rabobank team as a whole. Lacklustre performances in the Ardennes classics appeared to signal a mild crisis and a slow start to the Dauphiné was a further cause for concern. Day by day, however, his form began to rise, and the Dutchman was one of the stars of the concluding weekend. His 2nd and 3rd place finishes on the final mountain stages were an important morale boost ahead of the Tour, and crucially, he still appeared to have considerable margin for improvement.

Much like Jurgen Van Den Broeck, however, Gesink knows that he will have to make a considerable leap in quality this July if he is to improve greatly on his 6th place finish of last year. Gesink is certainly not lacking in potential, and at just 25 years of age, he is still short of the peak of his career.

The white jersey and a top five placing will be the minimum expected return for the young talent, but it will be fascinating to see whether he is content to follow the lead group to consolidate that position, or go on the offensive to try and finish on the podium. An important Tour for the Dutchman, as he attempts to set the tone for the next five years of his career.

Robert Gesink (Rabobank) digs deep.

Photo: Rafael Gómez Alonso

Fränk Schleck (Leopard Trek)
Twice 5th overall and with a stage win atop l’Alpe d’Huez to his credit, Fränk Schleck enters this year’s Tour as the most deluxe of domestiques. Less capable in the mountains and no better against the watch than Andy, only extenuating circumstances will see Fränk step up to the role of leader of the strong Leopard Trek outfit, but the Luxembourger’s primary aim is to chaperone his younger brother to overall victory.

On paper, the Schlecks should be able to cause serious problems in the mountains, but tactically the duo have never been able to dovetail their efforts as smoothly as they would like. This is in part because they seem to prefer to go on the offensive as a pairing rather than taking it in turns to attack, and April’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège was a case in point.

While Philippe Gilbert was undoubtedly the strongest, the Schlecks’ two-up attacks were blunt and predictable, and they showed an alarming lack of imagination in the finale. The brothers will have to conjure up something a little more menacing if they are to put Contador on the back foot. In theory, the troika of Alpine stages should give them ample opportunity to try something, and it will be fascinating to see what kind of support Fränk can offer in the final week in particular.

The Team Leopard-Trek leaders: Fabian Cancellara, Frank Schleck and Andy Schleck

Photo: Roberto Bettini

Chris Horner (RadioShack)
In the post-Lance Armstrong era, Johan Bruyneel’s team enters the Tour de France without a single designated leader but with a triumvirate of veterans who have delivered a series of eyebrow-raising performances in 2011 to date. Levi Leipheimer carried off the Tour de Suisse and Andreas Klöden snaffled up the Tour of the Basque Country, but Chris Horner’s victory at the Tour of California was arguably the most remarkable. The American, who turns 40 in October, simply rode the likes of Andy Schleck off his wheel to take yellow at Sierra Road, before easing clear of the field on Mount Baldy in the company of Leipheimer three days later to seal a strikingly dominant victory.

In theory, Horner’s 10th place last time out should have been the crowning moment of his career, but in the midst of the RadioShack veteran trio’s astonishing spring form, Horner has remarkably even shown signs of further improvement. Leipheimer and Klöden are stronger against the watch, but the lack of time trial miles in this year’s Tour means that Horner could well be RadioShack’s leading light once again this July. Should that trio falter, Bruyneel also has Janez Brajkovic at his disposal, but in any case, he appears to have rediscovered something of the winning formula of years gone by.

Can Chris Horner (RadioShack) add the stars-and-stripes jersey to his impressive 2010 palmares?

Photo: Roberto Bettini

Bradley Wiggins (Sky)
Had Wiggins won the Dauphiné and the British road title twelve months ago, a sizeable section of the British cycling media might well have exploded. Instead, Sky’s ambitions have been prudently downplayed after the chastening experience of the 2010 Tour, and they approach this year’s race with cautious optimism rather than the bombast of a year ago. That said, Wiggins was a deserving and confident winner of the Dauphiné and at least from the outside, he appears to be in a far more relaxed frame of mind than he was this time last year.

Sensibly, Wiggins refuses to aim for a specific placing overall but claims to be focused on delivering the best performance possible. With so many variables and on such a mountainous route, Wiggins is aware that he could conceivably ride better than he did in 2009 and still not come close to matching that year’s fourth place finish.

Indeed, much will hinge on how controlled the race is – if Contador is as dominant as he was in 2009 and if his Saxo Bank squad keep things tight, then Wiggins’ chances of a high overall placing will increase accordingly. In an attacking and open race, the Englishman will have to work hard to make the top ten. In any case, Wiggins appears to be resolutely confident in his own capabilities, and that marks progress from 2010.

Bradley Wiggins kept his yellow jersey without incident.

Photo: Roberto Bettini

Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale)
When Basso divided up the calendar with Vincenzo Nibali at the Liquigas training camp last winter, he must surely have assumed that Contador was not going to be allowed to start the Tour when he opted to forgo the defence of his Giro crown. The protracted nature of the CAS appeals process means that his ambitions have since been subtly downgraded from overall victory to a podium place, but even that might prove to be a tall order for the 33-year-old.

Already suffering from fatigue at the end of April, a crash while training at Mount Etna in May threatened to derail his Tour preparation completely. A disastrous Dauphiné followed, although a training camp in the Dolomites may since have steadied the ship. Indeed, Basso has some previous in this regard. His form going into last year’s Giro was anything but scintillating, but he was the man with most left in the tank in the final week, even if he was a spent docket by July.

Severely limited against the watch and no longer able to make searing accelerations in the mountains since his return from his Operacion Puerto suspension, Basso will have to hope his diesel engine proves more reliable than some of his more explosive younger rivals.

Charcoal skies greeted Ivan Basso (Liquigas) on his first day back on the road.

Photo: Roberto Bettini

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Yes! Love Le Tour! Can't wait for Saturday.

 

[bjaelke]

My top seven/podium contenders:

1. Alberto Contador
2. Andy Schleck
3. Ivan Basso
4. Cadel Evans
5. Jurgen Van Den Broeck
6. Robert Gesink
7. Bradley Wiggins

While I support Contador, I'm really torn on his tour form coming out of the toughest Giro ever. Going to have to go with him on this one because of all the wheelsuckers.

 

[keyboardcat]

going to be a lot of booing and perhaps interference for Contador, not a popular man to start the tour.

I'm liking Wiggins' chances this year, several legs that would suit him and he's got a strong team to back him up.

 

[Adamm]

Watched this for the first time last year & really enjoyed it. (Was also in Paris the week before it finished)

Shall be watching again this year

 

[bjaelke]

Being there and watching the event is quite something. I have done it five times so far. This year I have to skip though, so I'm back to watching in on the TV...

 

[kottila]

The change in the point system for the green jersey should also be interesting. Alot more points up for grabs in the intermediate sprints. So even if there is a 8 person breakaway, there will be sprints in the main bunch. I guess they did this change to try to encourage viewers to not only watch the last 20km of flat stages.

 

[bobnowhere]

I'd love to see Evans win, but he has never been quite good enough in the mountains to compete day after day with Contador and the Schleks. He probably should have concentrated on the Giro and Vuelta as he could have won at least one of the those instead.

It's a bit strange Geox wasn't invited. Sastre won it only a few years ago and everyone will miss the comical bike handling of Denis Menchov. Though the association with Saunier Duval's constant drug cheats probably caught up with them.

 

[mf.luder]

I'm new to this but really want to watch. Where would I watch this in Ontario? Like what channel and around what time of the day?

 

[bjaelke]

I'm new to this but really want to watch. Where would I watch this in Ontario? Like what channel and around what time of the day?

Versus or Canal Evasion. It usually finished around 17:00 (5pm) GMT+1, so around 9pm US time.

 

[subrock]

Hyyyype!

 

[speedpop]

I hope Evans headbutts another camera.

 

[TheGoldenGunman]

Great first post , Tarazet. Thank you so much for your hard work.

I'm hoping that anyone other than Contador wins. There's too much smoke following him for their not be some truth to the doping allegations. Mind you cycling is rife with cheats in this day and age, and honestly it's hard to like the sport as a result.

The last great Tour I remember was back in the 90's when Romminger and Indurain duked it out in the mountains. Induarin ultimately showed why he will always be regarded as one of the all time greats, but boy did he have to work hard to do it!

 

[Tarazet]

There's always side stories in the Tour de France.. Beñat Intxausti had his teammate, Xavier Tondo, die in his arms earlier this year in a freak accident. In spite of that traumatizing event, Intxausti is still taking the start at the Tour de France, and wants to win the young rider's jersey in Tondo's honor.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/memory-of-tondo-spurs-intxausti-on

Movistar's Beñat Intxausti is going into his first Tour de France with his sights set on contending for the white jersey of best young rider and the aim of dedicating the title to his teammate Xavier Tondo, who died little more than a month ago.

"I would like to dedicate the white jersey to Xavi, who told me before he died that I could win it," Intxausti told El Correo. "Xavi and I went through the list of my possible rivals for the white jersey," Intxausti said, adding that Astana's Roman Kreuziger and Sky's Rigoberto Urán were two of those mentioned. "I'm not saying I'm going to win it, but I am going to contend for it."

Intxausti and Tondo were on a high-altitude training camp at Spain's Sierra Nevada resort in late May when Tondo was tragically killed when he became trapped between the door of an underground car park and his own vehicle. Intxausti was sitting inside the vehicle when the accident occurred. His teammate died in his arms.

The tragedy has affected him profoundly. "I wasn't able to train for several days. Going to his funeral helped me, as did being there with my teammates. I was able to say goodbye to him there," Intxausti said.

"I will be going to the Tour with a great deal of respect," said Intxausti, who had high hopes of producing a good performance at last year's Vuelta for his former Euskaltel team, but ended up quitting the race on stage 15. "I prepared for it well but it didn't go well for me at all. I want to do well in a Grand Tour, but I'm relaxed. I'm not obsessing about it."

The late Xavier Tondo

Beñat Intxausti

 

[bjaelke]

Team presentations are on today at 15:45 GMT+1. Always fun to watch but not for the right reasons. It's like the E3 of cycling but without any surprises/new announcements. Just cringe worthy. Still it marks the start of the Tour! Should be shown on Eurosport if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Tarazet]

Team presentations are on today at 15:45 GMT+1. Always fun to watch but not for the right reasons. It's like the E3 of cycling but without any surprises/new announcements. Just cringe worthy. Still it marks the start of the Tour! Should be shown on Eurosport if I'm not mistaken.

Arg. When I was in Israel, I was watching the Giro live every day in prime time. I hate being in the states with no Eurosport..

 

[speedpop]

Yeah I keep thinking to myself that the life in Europe or close to it would be nice due to better coverage of sports I enjoy.

Cycling is shown here every now and again but we only ever really get Tour de France live (and even then, it's the latter half of the stage).

 

[Chris R]

My dvr is set. Can't wait for it to start. Anyone happen to know if the tour will overlap at all with the LeMans track or are they just going to be close to it without actually using it like they did with Spa last year

 

[kottila]

Arg. When I was in Israel, I was watching the Giro live every day in prime time. I hate being in the states with no Eurosport..

impossible to stream eurosport in the states? they have something called eurosport player, but I don't know if it's region blockd. There are plenty of other streams to watch anyway..

 

[Kabouter]

Perhaps people here can help me, me and my father participate every year in a game the regional newspaper organizes around the Tour de France. You select 20 riders (as well as five reserves should anyone of them drop out before the start of the TdF), and gain points if any of them finish in the top 20 that day (30 for first, 26 for second etc.), you also get 10 points if you have the yellow jersey wearer that day. You lose 12 points if one of them gives up during the TdF (or is ejected for whatever reason). Lastly, you get points, twice as many as for a daily victory, on the final day for the final top 20 of the TdF. And you have to choose the final wearers of the three major jerseys, and get points for that as well.

So far I'm thinking this:
Alberto Contador
Andy Schleck
Fränk Schleck
Fabian Cancellara
Samuel Sánchez
Jurgen Vandenbroeck
Philippe Gilbert
André Greipel
Alexandre Vinokourov
Damiano Cunego
Alessandro Petacchi
Ivan Basso
Robert Gesink
Thor Hushovd
Levi Leipheimer
Bradley Wiggins
Ben Swift
Cadel Evans
Tony Martin
Mark Cavendish

Reserves not sure of yet
Yellow: Contador
Green: Cavendish
Polka dot: Contador

Any suggestions/changes you would make? Really want to beat my father for once, one time he finished 14th out of 12000 haha.

 

[bjaelke]

I'd probably go with Thomas Voeckler and Sylvian Chavanel. They're competent riders and often participate in breakaways + they're on home soil. I Wouldn't be surprised if they finished in the top 5 on several stages and maybe even bagged a stage victory or two. You could replace them with Tony Martin (will disappoint in the third week) and Ben Swift. Otherwise it looks like a solid list. Maybe a bit concerned about Cavendish finishing in green given the new points system.

 

[Tarazet]

My dvr is set. Can't wait for it to start. Anyone happen to know if the tour will overlap at all with the LeMans track or are they just going to be close to it without actually using it like they did with Spa last year

They are going to race on the Mulsanne straight.

 

[keyboardcat]

anyone have any idea on who might be streaming this in Europe?

 

[Data West]

anyone know what NA cable channels will air this?

 

[Broder Salsa]

The presentation of the teams was golden yesterday when they said Contadors name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwTYw3Bjgw0&t=0m13s

 

[legend166]

I was just in the south of France on a holiday, and was interested to see if they would go anywhere near where I was, but it doesn't look like it. I stayed in Saint-Remy-de-Provence and the closest they get is about 80km north in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux.

The route changes every year, right? Does anyone know if they've ever been through the road that goes from Saint Tropez, north west to the A8? We were driving that, and it reminded me of Le Tour.

 

[santi_yo]

The presentation of the teams was golden yesterday when they said Contadors name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwTYw3Bjgw0&t=0m13s

So sad.

 

[Tarazet]

I was just in the south of France on a holiday, and was interested to see if they would go anywhere near where I was, but it doesn't look like it. I stayed in Saint-Remy-de-Provence and the closest they get is about 80km north in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux.

The route changes every year, right? Does anyone know if they've ever been through the road that goes from Saint Tropez, north west to the A8? We were driving that, and it reminded me of Le Tour.

If they have, it has been decades. Paris-Nice visits St. Tropez a lot though.

 

[perryfarrell]

Can't wait! Nice job on the OP.

I'm bettin on Van den Broeck as a serious contender in the GC. It's about time a Belgian does well. Andy's not lookin too good at the moment; his bro might even be in better shape (but can Franck climb? It's a very hilly Tour).

Just signed up for the NBC All Access package. Only $30 and you get to watch everything live and on demand.

 

[perryfarrell]

Americans riders in this tour are too old. Do they even have riders under 45 this year? LOL jk

I'm also curious about the shape of Vinokourov, another old fart

 

[Tarazet]

Jurgen VDB is talented, but it was only this year he won his first pro victory. I'm sure the second won't be the Tour de France.

Tejay Van Garderen is a young American who could make an impression.

 

[Kabouter]

Saw this somewhere:

Anyone watching yet btw?

 

[Darth Sonik]

They are missing Ireland from the countries that hosted the start, but I'm not surprised 1998 has been wiped from memory/history.

 

[Dakota47]

Looking forward to this Tour. Here's hoping Gesink can make Alpe d'Huez a Dutch mountain again.

 

[Kabouter]

They are missing Ireland from the countries that hosted the start, but I'm not surprised 1998 has been wiped from memory/history.

Yes, and last year they started in the Netherlands.

 

[olore]

Here`s hoping Andy can realistically challenge Contador/Fingerbang, or failing that, Cadel Evans

 

[speedpop]

Coverage just started so I might pop out and grab a few drinks to celebrate at the fact that there is something worthwhile to watch every night for the next month.

 

[Animal]

anyone got a good livestream?

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Wow! Awesome sprinting already this morning. Cavendish let that one get away. Going to be a great finish this morning.

 

[Kabouter]

Wow! Awesome sprinting already this morning. Cavendish let that one get away. Going to be a great finish this morning.

Yeah, that was pretty awesome. And I'm already regretting not picking Tyler Farrar for the newspaper's game. Looks like he's in really great form. Doubt he'll be able to do too much at the finish today though, figure they'll probably focus on Hushovd here.

 

[kch]

Any Velogames mini league up?

I'm really hoping Andy and Evans can match Contador this Tour. Farrar can go ahead and win most of the sprints as well.

 

[perryfarrell]

I have a team on velogames. You can no longer make teams, but you can still join leagues.. if someone wants to start a GAF league, I'll put my team in.

 

[bjaelke]

25km to go. Lets hope we've seen the last crash of the day. This could be a very interesting finish!

 

[kch]

Alright, I created a league. The code is 02151451

Happy racing!