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Le Tour 21


EtoileSportiveDeDerby

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6 hours ago, EtoileSportiveDeDerby said:

Starting today. That's the afternoon sorted, prologue then Euros

I know how you guys feel about 66, it is almost as long since a french rider won it,sigh...

Ineos, Slovakians, anybody can do it, well apart from us...

At least Alaphilippe has some elan.

2 massive pile ups on day one - 1st one a spectator, 2nd one looked like someone in the peleton touched wheels.

Anyway, start of the annual best advert for systematic sports doping . Inject that extra blood, gulp down your growth hormones and pedal. Love le tour.

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Fudge me, these guys are tough. What a 3 days already! 

Thomas - dislocated shoulder. Gets it popped back and cycles 100 miles on it. 

Roglic. Not much left of skin suit. More skin than suit showing. 

Caleb ewan straight to hospital with a broken collar bone. Still 18 stages left! 

Pogacar sitting pretty for yellow. 

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8 hours ago, oomarkwright said:

Fudge me, these guys are tough. What a 3 days already! 

Thomas - dislocated shoulder. Gets it popped back and cycles 100 miles on it. 

Roglic. Not much left of skin suit. More skin than suit showing. 

Caleb ewan straight to hospital with a broken collar bone. Still 18 stages left! 

Pogacar sitting pretty for yellow. 

Yep, Compare that to footballers who get cramps as soon as they get past 90 mins of play. 

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What a finish! Poor Brent van Moer is overhauled in the shadows of the line having ridden so hard for so long. Heartbreak then for van Moer, but ecstasy for a very emotional Manx Missile who bullets to the front to collect his first stage win since 2016 now needing only 3 stage wins short of Merckx's all time record. 

Chapeau Cav, chapeau! 

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16 hours ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

Meh....sprinters are good at what they do, and Cavendish is one of the greatest at at ever but I much prefer the mountain stages.

I agree with you, but Cavendish's achievement of 31 stage wins is truly phenomenal. The only stages he is, and was, ever going to win were sprints, so very limited opportunity. On some tours, they actually cut down the number of sprint stages - 'too boring'. Also, sprinting is the most hazardous of occupations, flat out speed, at the end of an energy sapping long stage, bikes wobbling all over the place, tight bends, all jockeying and jostling for position at tremendous speed, forced into barriers. Potential disaster. Not for the faint-hearted.

Eddy Merckx ('Half man, half bike', a great read), 34 wins, was arguably the greatest all-rounder ever. He was an excellent climber, could sprint and was an exceptional time-trialler. He often used to go on long solo rides, and stay the pace. He also excelled in very bad weather conditions. On one occasion, they came up with a TdF course that they thought would be less suited to his abilities (to give others a chance), but he still won. So, more opportunities. He was virtually unbeatable.

You can't really compare the two, but for me, Merckx was my childhood hero, but Cav's the man. And he's British!

If you're into cycling, a couple of good reads are 'Fallen Angel', Fausto Coppi, cycling (and Italian perceived morals) how it used to be, and 'The Secret Race', Tyler Hamilton's jaw-dropping expose of what squeaky clean Lance Armstrong was really like.

Edited by Phoenix
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On 29/06/2021 at 21:01, RadioactiveWaste said:

Meh....sprinters are good at what they do, and Cavendish is one of the greatest at at ever but I much prefer the mountain stages.

Wasn't your typical sprinter's stage though to be honest. Brent van Moer and one of the Cofidis team were clear for a long way before the former kicked off the front and the peloton were at full stretch for the last 3k to reel him in. It was a heroic effort, but also a beautifully timed and executed stage win by the Quick-Step team to delver Cav fast and late for the win.

No doubt that the mountains too provide a deal of drama, but the beauty of the Tour is surely that it offers something for all tastes. I even love the gut-busting, eye-popping balls to the wall time trials. Pog was sensational today, I thought.

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