OFFICIAL 2025 Tour de France thread

Riverrunner

imalive wrote:

Riverrunner wrote:

According to Velo News he was booted for the head butting.

that was some crazy shit! i've never seen anything like it :shock:

didn't read about today....haven't seen it yet and didn't want to spoil the suspense.

Sorry. Maybe SPOILER should be put in the thread title.

Wobbie

Riverrunner wrote:

imalive wrote:

Riverrunner wrote:

According to Velo News he was booted for the head butting.

that was some crazy shit! i've never seen anything like it :shock:

didn't read about today....haven't seen it yet and didn't want to spoil the suspense.

Sorry. Maybe SPOILER should be put in the thread title.

no worries....i stopped after the discussion about yesterday's sprint...added my 2 cents....and then watched today's stage. Man...that last hill...most of them looked to be in danger of falling over. :problem:

Wobbie

on a related note.... "the daily line" sucks.

Pats54

imalive wrote:

on a related note.... "the daily line" sucks.

Agreed that show is awful. PL quote of the day " There is radar on the road and these boys are going to blow the lightbulbs for sure"

Nice finish by Vino

Pats54

Cavendish is f'ing fast, that guy can fly when he is on.

Riverrunner

Congrats to Vino. He was on a mission today. Cav had something to prove today too - that he can win a sprint without Renshaw.

polaris_x

wow ... wanna hear what those 4 have to say about attacking Andy with a messed up chain?

polaris_x

was turning out to be a boring stage but some drama at the end ... hate to see andy lose yellow because of a chain ...

nice ride ryder!! ... you can crack the top 10!!

Riverrunner

Bad on Contador's part. I wouldn't want the yellow jersey under those circumstances. He didn't get it on performance, but due to a mechanical.

Riverrunner

Let me clarify. If the other two - Menchov and Sanchez - could have been convinced to wait then he should have waited. If they wouldn't then that would be tough to let them get away.

polaris_x

Riverrunner wrote:

Let me clarify. If the other two - Menchov and Sanchez - could have been convinced to wait then he should have waited. If they wouldn't then that would be tough to let them get away.

ya ... i'm torn on this ... he can't give time to menchov ... at least shleck is still only 8 seconds back ... and basically nothing changes in terms of things are gonna be decided on the tourmalet ... and the time trial ...

want to hear what contador has to say ... pretty sure menchov could care less ...

Pats54

polaris_x wrote:

Riverrunner wrote:

Let me clarify. If the other two - Menchov and Sanchez - could have been convinced to wait then he should have waited. If they wouldn't then that would be tough to let them get away.

ya ... i'm torn on this ... he can't give time to menchov ... at least shleck is still only 8 seconds back ... and basically nothing changes in terms of things are gonna be decided on the tourmalet ... and the time trial ...

want to hear what contador has to say ... pretty sure menchov could care less ...

I was following the live race feeds online as it was happening. Looks like AC really pick up time on the descent. Looked like they were only separated by about 10secs going over the top. Still strange tactics by AC. Glad I am not the one messing with karma.

polaris_x

Pats54 wrote:

I was following the live race feeds online as it was happening. Looks like AC really pick up time on the descent. Looked like they were only separated by about 10secs going over the top. Still strange tactics by AC. Glad I am not the one messing with karma.

the time gaps are often inaccurate based on the feeds ... in watching the broadcast ... it looked like to me it was somewhere around 23 seconds ... but i'm just speculating ...

in reviewing this and reading their comments ... these things stick out:

1. AC DEFINITELY knew that andy had a mechanical problem ... i don't believe him when he only found out after.
2. AC did wait for Andy when he crashed earlier in the tour
3. Andy took advantage of crashes, flats and such on the cobblestones to gain time on many GC guys
4. This is bike racing and his chain falling off is partly his fault for misgearing - should someone wait for you if you kind of mess up?

all in all ... i think AC should have waited but i don't think the tour will be decided by this incident ...

Riverrunner

The rider who probably got the worst deal from all this: Thomas Voekler. Poor guy rides tremendously, wins a tough stage, and all the talk is about whether Contador should have waited for Schleck.

Pats54

polaris_x wrote:

Pats54 wrote:

I was following the live race feeds online as it was happening. Looks like AC really pick up time on the descent. Looked like they were only separated by about 10secs going over the top. Still strange tactics by AC. Glad I am not the one messing with karma.

the time gaps are often inaccurate based on the feeds ... in watching the broadcast ... it looked like to me it was somewhere around 23 seconds ... but i'm just speculating ...

in reviewing this and reading their comments ... these things stick out:

1. AC DEFINITELY knew that andy had a mechanical problem ... i don't believe him when he only found out after.
2. AC did wait for Andy when he crashed earlier in the tour
3. Andy took advantage of crashes, flats and such on the cobblestones to gain time on many GC guys
4. This is bike racing and his chain falling off is partly his fault for misgearing - should someone wait for you if you kind of mess up?

all in all ... i think AC should have waited but i don't think the tour will be decided by this incident ...

The Tourmalet is going to be fun to watch. Yes it is a tough question to answer. They don't stop the clock on a time trial if you flat or loose your chain and liek you said on the cobbles no one waits. AC essentially grabbed seconds that he won't really need and in the process makes himself look like a jerk. He is a much better TT'er than AS.

Pats54

Riverrunner wrote:

The rider who probably got the worst deal from all this: Thomas Voekler. Poor guy rides tremendously, wins a tough stage, and all the talk is about whether Contador should have waited for Schleck.

Agreed

polaris_x

Pats54 wrote:

The Tourmalet is going to be fun to watch. Yes it is a tough question to answer. They don't stop the clock on a time trial if you flat or loose your chain and liek you said on the cobbles no one waits. AC essentially grabbed seconds that he won't really need and in the process makes himself look like a jerk. He is a much better TT'er than AS.

tomorrow will be devastation!

i'm not so certain AC didn't need these seconds on second thought ... if he thinks his form is not as good as Andy's - he may be scared of losing a minute or so on the tourmalet climbs tomorrow and thursday ... if Andy gets 90 seconds on AC - he just might be able to ride within that on the TT ... maybe AC didn't want to take that chance ...

Wobbie

in the end, the best guy is still going to win. who that is............i don't know.

Riverrunner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOJLuePexs

Contador's explanation with English subtitles. The translation is not so good. But I think this helps Bertie's cause. Your thoughts?

Wobbie

Share Updated: July 20, 2010, 7:56 AM ET

Contador apologizes to Schleck

MADRID -- Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador has apologized for the way he took over the lead in the Tour de France from rival Andy Schleck.

During Monday's stage, Schleck's chain came off and Contador kept riding, rather than waiting in accordance with race etiquette.

In a video posted on YouTube, Contador said: "Maybe I made a mistake. I'm sorry. I don't like things like what happened today, I'm not like that and I hope the relationship that I have with Andy can go back to being as good as it was before this happened."

Contador initially insisted he hadn't seen that Schleck had a problem.

The tour continues Tuesday with the 16th stage.



Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

can I get a grain of salt with that? :think: