OFFICIAL 2025 Tour de France thread

PJGirl321

Nobody beat Fabian in a TT!

But damn you Contador. I wanted to see Schlek take this tour.

norm

from andy schleck twitter:

looks like I finish again 2!well I'm pretty happy with my tour thanks4 all the support I got last weeks was amazing I be back4yellow!

Riverrunner

I like Andy Schleck, but I think I was for Contador. I'm still not sure about him and I think he made the wrong decision on "chaingate" but I feel sort of sorry for him. He had to go through hell last year when Lance went to war against him. Then he got a lot of shit about chaingate. He is sort of shy and reserved so people don't take to him like they do Andy. That being said I would not have been upset if Andy would have won, but I like Alberto too.

Fabian is the man!!! And what a man!!!!

I am also happy about Ryder's performance. The best placing North American this tour. He did a great job.

polaris_x

Riverrunner wrote:

I am also happy about Ryder's performance. The best placing North American this tour. He did a great job.

yess!! ... crazy cross-wind for the last riders today ... well done Ryder - 7th in the GC!

i find it absolutely crazy that Contador ends up winning by 31 seconds ... the exact same time Shleck had on AC before chaingate! ... in the end tho - i think Contador deserved it ...

if Shleck hadn't attacked yellow and AC on the crashes and punctures of the cobblestones - he wouldn't have had the chance to win ... it's clear they are equals on the mtns so it had to come down to the TT and AC beat Shleck in both the prologue and TT today so well earned winner ...

friend of mine says Cancellara can hold 600 w for over an hour ... he destroyed that TT today!!

edit: oh yeah ... great ride by menchov today also to claim a podium finish!

Wobbie

doesn't the fact that the final winning margin was < 1 minute make chaingate all the more relevant? :?

PJGirl321

imalive wrote:

doesn't the fact that the final winning margin was < 1 minute make chaingate all the more relevant? :?

Yes, I am convinced that Schlek would be at #1 and Contador #2 if not for chaingate. :problem:

On another note Fabian is a Force of Nature!

polaris_x

PJGirl321 wrote:

imalive wrote:

doesn't the fact that the final winning margin was < 1 minute make chaingate all the more relevant? :?

Yes, I am convinced that Schlek would be at #1 and Contador #2 if not for chaingate. :problem:

On another note Fabian is a Force of Nature!

but shleck attacked yellow when he had a mechanical ... and contador flatted on that stage too ... i have said that AC should have waited that day but if we are gonna judge - we should look at the entire race also ... like andy has been saying ... the loss of his brother was key to him not winning this year ... he's clearly not too distraught about chaingate and it's probably because of the reason i mentioned ...

they were equal in the mtns but andy couldn't keep up in the TT's

either way - great race ... can't wait for next year ...

Wobbie

polaris_x wrote:

either way - great race ... can't wait for next year ...

absolutely...can't wait
i'm not much of a "gun guy" and i find AC's finger shoot to be in kind of questionable taste. maybe i'm just too sensitive (something i've never been accused of)

polaris_x

imalive wrote:

absolutely...can't wait
i'm not much of a "gun guy" and i find AC's finger shoot to be in kind of questionable taste. maybe i'm just too sensitive (something i've never been accused of)

ditto ... not a gun guy either ...

on another note - it was funny to see contador and shleck having some fun yesterday early on ...

nuffingman

imalive wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

either way - great race ... can't wait for next year ...

absolutely...can't wait
i'm not much of a "gun guy" and i find AC's finger shoot to be in kind of questionable taste. maybe i'm just too sensitive (something i've never been accused of)

Me too, can't wait for next year, it seems a bit boring now with it's finished. The commentators were saying that they felt AC wasn't at his best this year but he still won. So we'll have to wait and see what happens next year.

The TV footage yesterday at the finish was outstanding. There we were watching these 2 guys battling it out and the Cavendish exocet flew past. Best bit of footage the whole tour.

The Tour of Spain is August 28. Think I'll give that a viewing.

PJGirl321

imalive wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

either way - great race ... can't wait for next year ...

absolutely...can't wait
i'm not much of a "gun guy" and i find AC's finger shoot to be in kind of questionable taste. maybe i'm just too sensitive (something i've never been accused of)

I can't wait either. Something about AC just annoyed me this year. Schlek is so young. I am sure he has a lot of TDFs ahead. It will be a different landscape next year as it sounds like the Schleks will leave Saxo to anchor a new team based in their home country of Luxembourg. It was great to see Radio Shack take 1st place in the team classification with two of their USA riders even being in the top 15 in individual classifications. :thumbup: It's a bit sad to see Lance leave, though.

But what the heck was Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz doing there??? :roll:
Did we really need to see them?? Who cares about their bad movie.

polaris_x

nuffingman wrote:

Me too, can't wait for next year, it seems a bit boring now with it's finished. The commentators were saying that they felt AC wasn't at his best this year but he still won. So we'll have to wait and see what happens next year.

he has been saying it's been a struggle both physically and mentally this year ... his inability to ride away from his key competition (mainly Andy) gave him considerable doubt on whether he could win ... but apparently, his wattage and key metrics are the same as last year ... just think Andy has gotten that much better ...

i don't know if it's a good idea for the shlecks to leave Saxo Bank ... i mean if there is a Team TT next year - that'll be huge ... it's tough getting the superdomestiques!! ...

PJGirl321

polaris_x wrote:

nuffingman wrote:

Me too, can't wait for next year, it seems a bit boring now with it's finished. The commentators were saying that they felt AC wasn't at his best this year but he still won. So we'll have to wait and see what happens next year.

he has been saying it's been a struggle both physically and mentally this year ... his inability to ride away from his key competition (mainly Andy) gave him considerable doubt on whether he could win ... but apparently, his wattage and key metrics are the same as last year ... just think Andy has gotten that much better ...

i don't know if it's a good idea for the shlecks to leave Saxo Bank ... i mean if there is a Team TT next year - that'll be huge ... it's tough getting the superdomestiques!! ...

I don't think they should mess with the current Saxo team either...they have a great chemistry and a lot of talent. But is sounds like someone may be stepping forward with big bucks. Money talks. I also heard Specialized may sponsor a team as well.

polaris_x

PJGirl321 wrote:

I don't think they should mess with the current Saxo team either...they have a great chemistry and a lot of talent. But is sounds like someone may be stepping forward with big bucks. Money talks. I also heard Specialized may sponsor a team as well.

yeah ... without Frank ... they suffered in the Team GC standings and they don't really have a sprinter on Saxo Bank but it's hard to be in it for everything ...

i personally think Andy should move from Specialized - he had the chain drop at a crucial time and he had a slight mechanical on his TT which probably cost him a couple of seconds ...

PJGirl321

polaris_x wrote:

PJGirl321 wrote:

I don't think they should mess with the current Saxo team either...they have a great chemistry and a lot of talent. But is sounds like someone may be stepping forward with big bucks. Money talks. I also heard Specialized may sponsor a team as well.

yeah ... without Frank ... they suffered in the Team GC standings and they don't really have a sprinter on Saxo Bank but it's hard to be in it for everything ...

i personally think Andy should move from Specialized - he had the chain drop at a crucial time and he had a slight mechanical on his TT which probably cost him a couple of seconds ...

Isn't it really whatever bike sponsors the team? I don't think the riders can pick. Overall I think Specializes performs pretty good in racing. I actually think Specialized makes a good product. Not that I ride like AS, but I finally moved to a Specialized Ruby after two Treks and I am much happier with Specialized.

Maybe Andy needs a new mechanic.

Riverrunner

Have you heard the big news? Alberto is moving to Saxo Bank. Apparently Saxo Bank looks better to AC than Astana.

As to whether AC would have won without chaingate, how much time did AS lose adjusting his chain? Did anyone ever calculate it?

polaris_x

Riverrunner wrote:

Have you heard the big news? Alberto is moving to Saxo Bank. Apparently Saxo Bank looks better to AC than Astana.

As to whether AC would have won without chaingate, how much time did AS lose adjusting his chain? Did anyone ever calculate it?

assuming AC and AS would not be able to lose each other on stage 15 - the time difference between what was lost on stage 15 to AS and what was gained by AC on the final TT is exactly the same. 39 seconds. So, they would have virtually tied.

Not totally surprised he's going to Saxo Bank although I thought he might jump ship to a Spanish team ... as for next year's tour tho - he will need support if he hopes to win again ... another year for Andy and Frank and they will be too much for AC to contend with ...

polaris_x

B
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food contamination!?? ... these guys come up with a new excuse every time ...

g under p

polaris_x wrote:

B
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food contamination!?? ... these guys come up with a new excuse every time ...

You beat me to it and after all this time still no positive tests for 7 time winner Lance Armstrong. BTW that IS a very weak excuse indeed. These athletes are extremely careful what they put in there bodies much less get their food (clenbuterol) contaminated with something else. These elite cyclists are catered to in every way.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/09/30 ... /?hpt=Sbin

Peace

polaris_x

g under p wrote:

You beat me to it and after all this time still no positive tests for 7 time winner Lance Armstrong. BTW that IS a very weak excuse indeed. These athletes are extremely careful what they put in there bodies much less get their food (clenbuterol) contaminated with something else. These elite cyclists are catered to in every way.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/09/30 ... /?hpt=Sbin

Peace

i'm pretty sure lance doped ... my theory is they only get caught when they do something stupid ... which is possible in this case because the race was soooo close ... it was on the second rest day and at that time - he knew he wouldn't be able to shake andy shleck in the mountains ...