Tour de France 2007 thread (2 Viewers)

[rettucs]

I won a sprint because I was using the STI shifters and the other lad was on old fashioned ones... wait wait wait, drops hand to change gear, -CHUNK-, later.
I dunno. I heard they would be using these shifters, Mavic had electric ones years ago but were a bit crap.
They probably work now, and weigh less than the STI guys.

The old trick was cruise past someone on a climb, and push their shifter all the way down so they change into the smallest sprocket.

That really hurts.

ow is right.

next think you know they'll have remote control shifters that the directeur sportif's will be controlling from the team cars!!

no sign of mcewen in the sprint today. Wonder whats up there. I'm off home to watch the video now.

 

[flashback]

ow is right.

next think you know they'll have remote control shifters that the directeur sportif's will be controlling from the team cars!!

no sign of mcewen in the sprint today. Wonder whats up there. I'm off home to watch the video now.

It will be all space age now...
What the fuck happened to ya in the Gallop ye bollix?
Duuuude, someone like totally hacked my shifters, I was like, in the little ring no matter what I did...
Motherfffuck... when I get my hands on that Bruyneel chap... JOHAN YE CUNT C'MERE.

 

[brianoak]

I won a sprint because I was using the STI shifters and the other lad was on old fashioned ones... wait wait wait, drops hand to change gear, -CHUNK-, later.
I dunno. I heard they would be using these shifters, Mavic had electric ones years ago but were a bit crap.
They probably work now, and weigh less than the STI guys.

The old trick was cruise past someone on a climb, and push their shifter all the way down so they change into the smallest sprocket.

That really hurts.

haha or pull their front brake.We used to do that a lot.

 

[flashback]

haha or pull their front brake.We used to do that a lot.

I took a more direct approach one time, I was in a bit of gallop with Willie Byrne (heh heh) and some lad... Dave Peelo I think, swerved to avoid something, and I moved to avoid Dave, and ended up hitting Willie, and my quick release went into his wheel and ripped out all his spokes.

Willie didnt look too pleased, as his bike collapsed. We were fairly shifting along at the time.

Sure enough I cracked up the road... Willie was given a new wheel, and he helped my back into the pack....so I could just about limp in at the back of the pack as usual.
Score.

I was a crap rider.

 

[rettucs]

It will be all space age now...
What the fuck happened to ya in the Gallop ye bollix?
Duuuude, someone like totally hacked my shifters, I was like, in the little ring no matter what I did...
Motherfffuck... when I get my hands on that Bruyneel chap... JOHAN YE CUNT C'MERE.

It was Bruyneel who took down Chris Boardman in wexford that time when he was in yellow when the tour de france came here (98). I never liked him cos he looked too much like that annoying bloke out of Bachelor's Walk (the TV series, not where you used to work!!).

 

[rettucs]

time for a bit of this again methinks;

 

[IFF]

STI shifters

sometimes there are unfortunate abbreviations

I wouldn't hold my breath on Boonen finishing. Once McEwen gets his teeth into that green jersey I can't see it moving again.

i'll assume that's towards me as my post is above it. it;'s actually steegmans that's in my lanterne rouge based on last year when he was last or 3rd last

i wouldn't have boonen in any fantasy team for the tour as i agree, i don't think he will be in paris on july 29th. well maybe he will but if so, i think that amy be in a car or in the stands or the vip area

anyway eurosports on soon for today's stage. should be interesting with the hill 14km from the end

 

[flashback]

That's Vinokourov and Kloden out of it now...

Vino looks bollixed, and Kloden has a broken tail bone.
Ghey.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6896034.stm

 

[flashback]

With around 70km to go, Lequatre came off heavily just after the feed zone. It looked like he’d got his musette (food bag) tangled up in his spokes.
...
The crowd had dwindled away and not many people were there to witness the single bravest moment of stage five, 44 minutes after stage winner Filippo Pozzato nosed across the line and 21 minutes after the penultimate finisher.

His face contorted with agony, shorts ripped to shreds, thigh looking like a side of meat, and fingertips all stripped of skin, Lequatre crossed the line and simply collapsed in tears. These are tough, tough boys here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A24731589

I'm sitting here, trying to think of a tougher sport.

 

[rettucs]

That's Vinokourov and Kloden out of it now...

Vino looks bollixed, and Kloden has a broken tail bone.
Ghey.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6896034.stm

jaysus, how dramatic was that stage yesterday. What should have been fairly routine turned into what could be one of the defining stages of the tour. Amazing to see both Kloden and Vino go down (they reckoned a motorbike took them out of it), and Kloden went straight for Vino's bike to check if it was ok.

Will be interesting to see if both start today. I expect Vino will, but Kloden may not.

And wasn't that pretty shit of CSC to start upping the pace in the group once the 2 lads crashed. I thought it was pretty lousy anyway, but they'll get away with it cos they'll claim they were controlling the group to protect the yellow jersey.

Cancellara is an animal. I've never seen as aggressive a yellow jersey wearer. He nearly came unstuck when he followed Popovych's line around a bend on the final descent.

 

[IFF]

And wasn't that pretty shit of CSC to start upping the pace in the group once the 2 lads crashed. I thought it was pretty lousy anyway, but they'll get away with it cos they'll claim they were controlling the group to protect the yellow jersey.

i agree there totally bnut like you said csc can say it was to control the peloton and then also it was a decisive moment

you said "motobike took them out of it". do you think the same motorbiker was invloved in both incidences?

just not fair to raise the pac e. even on euronews this morning, the voice over guy even said that csc raised the pace when vinokourov crashed

reminds me of what happened in 2004 when iban mayo and euskaltel crashed before a small cobbled section and discovery channel sent ekimov and hincapie to put up a ferocious pace in order to damage iban mayo and euskaltel even further

i think they came in at 5 minutes that day and spelled the end of any allusion mayo had to take the race ever. it hurt his confidsence badlyu i feel and made him the underperforming rider he is today. he's never quite reached his peak of 2003 since despite bright spots like taking the la trouseirre stage of last year's dauphine

although other, more cynical people have indicated that a change in doctor for euskaltel* at start of 2004 is another reason that the team didn#t perform well in the tour since then

* i am aware mayo is now with saunier duval

 

[flashback]

What are you on about at all there iff...

That post is more confusing than linear algebra.

 

[IFF]

What are you on about at all there iff...

That post is more confusing than linear algebra.

reading back over it, that's a good question you asked. i've no idea

 

[nuke terrorist]

I really enjoyed today - ' honest rider who says strong things afterwards wins mountain stage' shock.

the main peleton didn't ride full bolt and a group with some good , some poor but no outstanding climbers was able to hold them off (even weaker guys in the break only got caught near the top.) Gerderman is a promising rider but I wouldn't have thought he was about to do this.
hopefully there is more good stuff to come and not a winner who is going to get dragged into puerto or something that there wasn't time to take action against. I hope i'm not being naive in believing that this victory is a symbol that finally something is changing after years of trusting the winners of big races very rarely.


also has anyone got the Robert Millar biography? i haven't seen it yet but want to read it next.

 

[Eugene]

What are you on about at all there iff...

That post is more confusing than linear algebra.

I think Iff has said some stuff thats true there about Iban Mayo - that was the Basque rider that gave Armstrong some fierce trouble in june and july 2003, who never reached the same form in the Tour since,

(although a change of medical intervention could be the reason)

Read on cyclingnews that Valverde wants to drop Vino today which Id say could very well happen.

 

[IFF]

I really enjoyed today - ' honest rider who says strong things afterwards wins mountain stage' shock.

in his first 6 weeks as a pro, Gerdemann lead the 5 day 4 days of dunkirk and a stage of the tour of switzerland although according to soms (Bjarne Riis) he's difficult

he's also part of the fab four for this year for procycling magazine

also has anyone got the Robert Millar biography? i haven't seen it yet but want to read it next.

i've not read it but here's a uselss fact about robert millar:

in 1990, he did something that would be impossible for a rider today, he won the dauphine libere and came second in the tour of switzerland (to sean kelly)

 

[rettucs]

Rasmussen for the overall anyone? I know he can't TT for shit, but he could build up a serious lead in the hills. They were saying yesterday that he'll now be considered a danger man and won't be let away up the road by himself anymore? Who's gonna stop him though? I know yesterday's hills weren't the steepest in the world, but no one could live with his pace.

All he needs to do is stay with the overall contenders for the rest of the mountain stages, break in maybe one more and get a minute or 2 more, and he'll probably have enough to compensate for his bad Time Trialling to ride into Paris in yellow.

It was heartbreaking watching Micheal Rogers having to climb off yesterday. After T-Mobile's great day on saturday, it all went pear-shaped with 3 dropping out of the race on sunday. Rogers though was looking in top shape when he fell. Looked like the collar-bone is gone. A real shame he couldn't finish the stage as he'd have had today's rest day to try and get himself right (though if it is the collar-bone, he wouldn't have resumed tomorrow either way - unless he did a Tyler Hamilton on it!)

So no more Cavendish either. It was a bit of a baptism of fire for him. He'll have learned a lot from that experience - like life at the top ain't no bowl of cherries.

 

[nuke terrorist]

I'm still very worried about Valverde winning the race, Kloeden is far from out of it either.
very sad to hear about a fan being in a coma after colliding with Patrick Sinkewitz who was riding back to his hotel, he broke his nose.
I'm surprised these accidents don't happen more often. a girl was seriously injured when she was hit by a rider in Ireland in 1998. the guy quit a few days later and I don't think he rode after that year.

when Armstrong was riding he would attack near the base of the final climb and blow nearly everyone away immediately. but now it's completely different, the riders were in two large groups until the last few km and found it hard to drop anyone - the gaps between the top 10-15 and Mayo in third place are tiny. the racing is much better now - the dodgy geezers are gone.

don't think Rasmussen will win.

 

[flashback]

Very funny... this Hernandez guy who won today attacked so hard and early because no one told him how horrific these climbs were going to be.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6903012.stm


Reminds of that quote.. I forget who, "There are not really climbers and non climbers, there are just people who can suffer better than everyone else".

 

[rettucs]

Very funny... this Hernandez guy who won today attacked so hard and early because no one told him how horrific these climbs were going to be.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6903012.stm


Reminds of that quote.. I forget who, "There are not really climbers and non climbers, there are just people who can suffer better than everyone else".

he got a congratulatory call from the president of Colombia. Mad. I'd never even heard of the chap before.

Glad that dog was ok. Made out of strong stuff are those golden labradors.

It looks like Valverde is the man alright. Rasmussen really struggled to stay up with him, though did well to come in as soon after as he did. It does probably mean he won't be allowed get away again, which means his poor TT'ing is going to be decisive.

Roll on the pyrenees.