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Author Topic: Le Tour 2018  (Read 8225 times)

Offline Jon Crofts

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Le Tour 2018
« on: July 08, 2018, 06:00:34 PM »
In all the excitement of the World Cup I forgot to start this years thread.

2 stages down, Sagan wins the sprint finish today and takes the yellow, a lot of heavy crashes today and riders suffering in the heat, Tony Martin suffered from dehydration yesterday.

Can’t see any further than asthma boy Froome in Paris in 3 weeks time.

Offline SteveN

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2018, 06:37:48 PM »
Uaual fraught start to the tour, plenty of falls and crashes on flat stages.
I'd like Yates to do well but can't see past Froome or Nibali.  Movistar's three leaders approach should be fun to watch.

Offline UK Redsox

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2018, 11:30:51 AM »
What's the chances of a French winner this year ?

Is it still just Bardet in contention ?

If so, he'd stand a better chance if Jon substituted for him in the Time Trials

Offline Jon Crofts

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2018, 04:50:40 PM »
What's the chances of a French winner this year ?

Is it still just Bardet in contention ?

If so, he'd stand a better chance if Jon substituted for him in the Time Trials

Not a chance, my PB for the 10 mile is 22:48, even the worst pro on the pro circuit will be sub 20 all day long and mine is on a course with 115m elevation.

Yellow jersey changes hands again after the team TT, now with BMCs Greg van Avermaet.

Offline Jon Crofts

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2018, 05:25:05 PM »
Sagan wins yesterdays Stage 5, Froome and Sky booed at the start and an incident involving Luke Rowe and a French fan holding an anti Sky banner.

Dan Martin wins today's Stage 6 with a perfectly judged attack about 1km from home, G goes with him and gets a bonus point to put him second in the GC.

A flat 231km stage tomorrow should see a few breakaways.

Offline luke:lamf

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2018, 07:55:17 PM »
Le Tour is heading through my town tomorrow. Despite living in France for the best part of 12 years, I've only ever seen the Tour in Paris. It is really impressive to see how the small villages / towns embrace it. The village where my kids go to school has had bunting / cycling paraphenalia on the main street for weeks. The only downside is I'll be at work when they swing through, which is a shame as they'll pass right underneath my apartment window and I'd have had an absolutely unbeatable view of it as they slow down to take a left-hand turn uphill. Always next year !

Offline Jon Crofts

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2018, 10:41:08 PM »
Well as soon as it passes through get out there and steal the Tour road signs and get them on eBay!

Offline Jon Crofts

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #7 on: July 13, 2018, 08:59:39 PM »
Longest stage of the tour done, Van Avermaet still in yellow, G 6 seconds behind.

Online TopDeck113

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #8 on: July 15, 2018, 11:03:08 AM »
Just managed to catch up with five days worth of highlights shows.  An interesting first week with a variety of stages.  It's good to see a few early stages not dominated by the pure sprinters.  I also enjoy the TTT as a measure of a team's strength in depth (one of Armstrong's other lasting impacts on the Tour was because US Postal were so dominant that the TTT got shorter and sometimes dropped altogether. A pity.)

Well done, Dan Martin, on a Stage win - although of course the Tour came back to bite him yesterday.  That's cycling.

Cav's looks like his leg's have finally gone.  Tactically he and his team are not been doing much wrong, but that blistering acceleration he once had in the last couple of hundred metres is not there.  I don't now think he'll achieve the most number of career Stage wins: there's too many new quick kids on the block. And of course Sagan for the more technical or uphill sprints.

I'm looking forward to today's Stage as a spectacle, but I think there is probably too much pave.  The Tour is not a one-day Classic.  A good Tour itinerary should offer something to every type of pro cyclist, but the cobbles are a lottery and could result in carnage. I don't think anyone's GC chances should be wiped out because of a serious crash, a mechanical where team back-up can't get there quickly. or simply being on the wrong side of a pile-up.  We shall see.

Offline SteveN

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2018, 02:39:59 PM »
Brutal stage so far, 28km to go looks like a shake up in the GC contenders is on the cards. 

Offline Jon Crofts

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #10 on: July 15, 2018, 03:14:13 PM »
Carnage on the cobbles, proper nails day.

Offline SteveN

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #11 on: July 15, 2018, 03:36:03 PM »
Not as much change to the GC contenders as you would have thought.  I guess they mainly had Classic riders providing support to them rather than going for the stage win.
How much bad luck can you have in one stage Bardet?  A tremendous ride from him.

Offline UK Redsox

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2018, 09:02:39 AM »
Porte didn't even make it to the first section of pave.

I didn't see an explanation as to why he went down. However, the post crash video showed a spectator also being treated. Was someone in the road or did the crashing riders fall into the crowd ?

Offline UK Redsox

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #13 on: July 16, 2018, 03:54:51 PM »
Beeb article on the lack of a Women's TdF

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/44831758

Offline Jon Crofts

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Re: Le Tour 2018
« Reply #14 on: July 16, 2018, 10:36:25 PM »
Beeb article on the lack of a Women's TdF

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/44831758

I haven’t read the article, but seriously a women’s TdF? The longest women’s stage race at present is about 4 stages and around 250 miles in total, I’m all for equality but the suggestion is ludicrous and poorly thought out.

 


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