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[bjaelke]

Lance Armstrong: "The Tour de France? Impossible to win without doping" (exclusive interview, in French):

http://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2013/06/28/lance-armstrong-le-tour-de-france-impossible-de-gagner-sans-dopage_3438046_3242.html

I don't like to defend him but they misquoted him. He said it was impossible when he raced. He refused to comment on the present state.

 

[ComputerMKII]

I don't like to defend him but they misquoted him. He said it was impossible when he raced. He refused to comment on the present state.

He didn't make it sound like things had changed, though (due to the very nature of the Tour as an endurance race).

 

[Hawkie]

Quality view of the Tour:

 

[swordfishtrombones]

Dutch TV commenters just remarked that the finish arch collapsed due to a bus trying to pass, probably no one injured, but still somewhat inconvenient with 16 km to go.

Photo

Oh no, Hoogerland fell. Damn son, you just can't catch a break.

 

[bobnowhere]

Dutch TV commenters just remarked that the finish collapse due to a bus trying to pass, probably no one injured, but still somewhat inconvenient with 16 km to go.

Oh no, Hoogerland fell. Damn son, you just can't catch a break.

Realising Matt Goss really doesn't have any form, Orica wedge their bus under the Finish line in effort to stop Cav winning.

 

[bjaelke]

https://mobile.twitter.com/m_xl/status/350991121939316736/photos

If they move it the sign will fall down

 

[confuziz]

 

[Lach]

lol...just saw it....awesome!

finish line is now at the 3km mark...

 

[swordfishtrombones]

Finish line will be moved ahead 3 km. That's a lot and quite unique.

 

[Addnan]

Lol, how the hell did the bus get stuck.

 

[confuziz]

Lol, how the hell did the bus get stuck.

Too big.

 

[Tugatrix]

I don't think most of the runners know

 

[Kurtofan]

Ashamed as a Corsican.

 

[i_am_ben]

Never a dull moment

 

[bobnowhere]

The new finish line is 10m past a roundabout!

 

[bjaelke]

Big crash.

 

[Tugatrix]

that's a nasty accident

 

[Dead Man]

Why 3km?

Ugh, big tangle.

 

[Lach]

fuck what a crash!

Incredible confusion......is the old finish now back?

 

[bobnowhere]

Sagan down, cav delayed.

 

[i_am_ben]

well Sagan is screwed. looks pretty hurt.

 

[Hawkie]

New finish??:

 

[Tugatrix]

who survived for the sprint?

damn i had some bucks bet on sagan

 

[RivalCore]

Holy fuck, what a messy crash.

 

[bjaelke]

New finish??:

They went back to the original

 

[Hawkie]

Griepel out

 

[Griffevent]

Best first stage ever.

 

[Addnan]

3 big sprinters out.

Cav ;_;

 

[Lach]

This is such a huge mess.....

Would't be surprised if the bus is still in the middle of the street...lol..

 

[GimMick]

100th Tour starting with a bang :lol

 

[gregor7777]

Crazy.

 

[muu]

As much as I love cycling I can't get myself to sit down and watch these races.

Maybe I'm just bitter that we have virtually no TV coverage in the states...

 

[i_am_ben]

Not sure how I feel about everyone getting the same time

 

[bjaelke]

Not sure how I feel about everyone getting the same time

They crashed when the finish got moved up to the 3 km mark.

 

[Lach]

Not sure how I feel about everyone getting the same time

Is that confirmed?
I think it's the right choice. The crash was caused by some people thinking they're aproaching the finish line and others knowing that it's another 3km...

 

[MTE]

Crazy stuff. My first time watching the Tour, and what a way to start...

 

[i_am_ben]

Hopefully Contador isnt hurt too badly.

I really want this tour to be competitive unlike last year.

 

[LayLa]

what a farce. Kittel living up to the hype, would have liked to have seen him against the big 3 sprinters though

 

[kmag]

Should have neutralised the race. The notion that you can change the finish line with less than 10km to go, then change it back with 2km to go to the amended finish is fucking madness and given the nature of the course meant that that crash was always going to happen. Nevermind that the 3km point was completely unsafe for a sprint finish anyway.

If the greenedge bus is too tall then they should be flung out. What a clusterfuck and ruined what would have been a great sprint, and the only chance the leading sprinters in the world would ever have for yellow.

 

[JohnsonUT]

What happened? Normally the first stage is boring, so I didn't tune in.

 

[Zeekaas]

At least the bus made it all a bit more exciting. Kittel is a good winner. Also respect for van Poppel being the youngest person (19) ever in the tour and immediatly getting in 3rd place in his first tour de france.

 

[Lach]

What happened? Normally the first stage is boring, so I didn't tune in.

When there was about 10km left to go, a team bus was apparently to high for the finish line overhang. The feared it would collapse if the bus was removed. The changed the finish to 3km before the original finish line. Later (when there was 5km left (2km to the new finish line) they had managed to remove the bus and restored the finish line. There was a big crash (assumingly caused by some starting to sprint and others not).

 

[kmag]

At least the bus made it all a bit more exciting. Kittel is a good winner. Also respect for van Poppel being the youngest person (19) ever in the tour and immediatly getting in 3rd place in his first tour de france.

Exciting? It was set up for one of the best sprints in recent history as all the major contenders where there, fit and in good position, and all of them had the one in a lifetime carrot of the yellow jersey to go for. Instead we got a clusterfuck of second raters dribbling over the line because some bus driver can't count.

 

[Tugatrix]

Who was the lucky bastard who bet on Kittel?

 

[RivalCore]

What happened? Normally the first stage is boring, so I didn't tune in.

Team Bus got lodged at the finish line around 16km out,

They move the finish to the 3km mark (which looked like it was on a roundabout)

They get the bus moved and reinstate the finish line about 2km from the previous line.

Big crash (because of Greipel?) takes out Sagan and Cavendish. None of the big sprinters make it to the finish line.

 

[Chris R]

Crazy first stage, wondering how the banner fiasco even happened. Then the big crash due to the changing finishing lines. Less crazy but still as exciting tomorrow please!

 

[Minyobi]

As much as I love cycling I can't get myself to sit down and watch these races.

Maybe I'm just bitter that we have virtually no TV coverage in the states...

The United States?
It's on the NBC Sports Channel. I'm not sure how widespread that channel is, though.

 

[Lach]

Kittel didn't know about the changed finished line! WTF! This is so confusing!

 

[JohnsonUT]

When there was about 10km left to go, a team bus was apparently to high for the finish line overhang. The feared it would collapse if the bus was removed. The changed the finish to 3km before the original finish line. Later (when there was 5km left (2km to the new finish line) they had managed to remove the bus and restored the finish line. There was a big crash (assumingly caused by some starting to sprint and others not).

Team Bus got lodged at the finish line around 16km out,

They move the finish to the 3km mark (which looked like it was on a roundabout)

They get the bus moved and reinstate the finish line about 2km from the previous line.

Big crash (because of Greipel?) takes out Sagan and Cavendish. None of the big sprinters make it to the finish line.

Amazing. Someone in control of the race doesn't understand how important preparing for the final sprint is.

 

[bjaelke]

Crazy first stage, wondering how the banner fiasco even happened.

The press manager at Orica Greenedge said that their bus was told to drive through the finish line by ASO and that they knew the measurements of the bus beforehand.