2008 Tour de France

[Jack]

Anyone else eagerly awaiting the start of the tour?

Hopefully the race is a bit less controversial than last years, which bordered on farcical at times. Contador won't be back to defend his title after joining the disgraced Astana team (who knows why), which means Valverde and Evans would have to be the favourites, with the two Schleck's and a bunch of others not far behind...although Evans appears to be quite the favourite from some of the betting companies, I think Valverde will give him a very strong run for his money (although hopefully Evans gets it by a nose :D).

[wayno]

Hope you enjoy it. I love it when they get to the mountains. My brother runs a chateau on the mountain stages and runs tours. I must get over there one year.
A great tribute to the chemists of the world these guys! :D

[Jack]

Hope you enjoy it. I love it when they get to the mountains. My brother runs a chateau on the mountain stages and runs tours. I must get over there one year.
A great tribute to the chemists of the world these guys! :D
Except Cadel ;). But yeah I've gotta say, I don't know if the tour can handle another year like the last. Sponsors already seem spooked, one more year might make quite a few more jump...

[wayno]

Must agree Cadel is a gun and I'll be cheering for him this year.

[GSXR1]

I'm also hanging out for the Tour - never really followed it previously but since buying myself a new bike at the start of the year I've been bitten by the cycling bug in a big way

However with the telecast not finishing til around 2.00am most nights it's definitely going to be a mission to get up at 6.00am each morning for work for the three weeks it's on though....

[david5]

The boss & I both like it, so we lock up at work, pour a few rums & fire up the big plasma & settle in.

Cheers David

[Maximus]

I usually just watch the highlights at 6pm for the best bits until the get into the hills.
Then it is late nights. :D

[james]

Hope you enjoy it. I love it when they get to the mountains. My brother runs a chateau on the mountain stages and runs tours. I must get over there one year.
A great tribute to the chemists of the world these guys! :D
Not to far in the future i hope,would love to go also.

[brchi17]

Cadel Evans has been given the #1 guernsey to wear for this years race, as last years winner is not competing, what an honor for the Aussie !!!

[GSXR1]

Cadel Evans has been given the #1 guernsey to wear for this years race, as last years winner is not competing, what an honor for the Aussie !!!
I'm not so sure about this - IMO, and in just about any form of motorsport that I can think of (with the exception of NASCAR and rallying from a few years back) you usually have to earn the right to carry the Number One.

Whilst his effort last year was awesome, and I'll be cheering him on just as much as the next person this year, I think it would have been more appropriate if he'd been assigned the #2

I have no problem with him wearing the #1 next year of course, after he's taken care of this year's race...;)

[MarkHM]

woohoo ...more steroids than the Bulgarian weightlifting team

[inter]

Anyone else eagerly awaiting the start of the tour?

Hopefully the race is a bit less controversial than last years, which bordered on farcical at times. Contador won't be back to defend his title after joining the disgraced Astana team (who knows why), which means Valverde and Evans would have to be the favourites, with the two Schleck's and a bunch of others not far behind...although Evans appears to be quite the favourite from some of the betting companies, I think Valverde will give him a very strong run for his money (although hopefully Evans gets it by a nose :D).


what is the start date?

[GSXR1]

what is the start date?Flick your TV over to SBS right now Inter - Stage 1 is on now! :cool: - at least it should be for you in the east - doesn't start for another 20 mins or so over here in the west....:rolleyes:

[inter]

Flick your TV over to SBS right now Inter - Stage 1 is on now! :cool: - at least it should be for you in the east - doesn't start for another 20 mins or so over here in the west....:rolleyes:

thanks

[GSXR1]

No worries - was hoping to reply to you in time for yesterday's first stage - tune in now for stage 2!

[MarkHM]

Question: Why is the tour leader's jersey yellow?

[GSXR1]

Question: Why is the tour leader's jersey yellow?
I'm a relative cycling noob so happy for someone to correct me if wrong, but I'm pretty sure I heard Phil Liggett say the other night it was because it reflected the colour of the newsprint of the race sponsoring newspaper many years ago, plus I think there was also no-one else wearing yellow so it was chosen to easily identify the leader

[brchi17]

I'm a relative cycling noob so happy for someone to correct me if wrong, but I'm pretty sure I heard Phil Liggett say the other night it was because it reflected the colour of the newsprint of the race sponsoring newspaper many years ago, plus I think there was also no-one else wearing yellow so it was chosen to easily identify the leader

absolutely correct ;) !!!

I can't remember the name of that paper, but it was defiantly yellow, so hence why it is today!

Also as an interesting side, LeTour is one of the very few races in the world where they actually allow teams to use the colour yellow. I've not seen a lot of this years race yet, but last year there was one team wearing yellow aside for the leader & it was a very big deal.

[MarkHM]

I heard on the radio today about an Illinois event called "Le Tour de donut". As the name suggests, entrants ride around on bikes and stop to eat donuts...brilliant

[Holdennumber1]

It's good to see an Aussie right up the top this year. Hopefully, Cadel can finish off strong and win the biggest cycling race in the world. GO YOU AUSSIES!!!

[GSXR1]

Also as an interesting side, LeTour is one of the very few races in the world where they actually allow teams to use the colour yellow. I've not seen a lot of this years race yet, but last year there was one team wearing yellow aside for the leader & it was a very big deal.
Saunier-Duval's colours are yellow and white - riders from this team (Ricco & Piepoli) have won three of the last five stages (all mountain stages)

[MarkHM]

God are they still cycling? Why don't they use cars? Theyd get to Paris faster than a Tiger tank!

[GSXR1]

Yep, still cycling....another week and a half to go yet...

Don't worry how quick they're going, they're getting along at a fair old clip. The stage the other night was relatively short (only 156km....) and included not one, but two long, steep mountain climbs, and the overall average speed for the stage winner was still up around 36kph....:eek:

I'd be stoked if I could maintain that speed on the flat for a short period, let alone over four hours of mountain climbing....;) :cool:

[GSXR1]

Also as an interesting side, LeTour is one of the very few races in the world where they actually allow teams to use the colour yellow. I've not seen a lot of this years race yet, but last year there was one team wearing yellow aside for the leader & it was a very big deal.

Saunier-Duval's colours are yellow and white - riders from this team (Ricco & Piepoli) have won three of the last five stages (all mountain stages)
Now no more yellow except for the leader - Saunier-Duval have withdrawn with immediate effect from this year's race after Ricco got busted for EPO....:mad:

He was one of the dark horses for this year's race, and had a bright future in front of him - not anymore - what a fool :rolleyes:

[MarkHM]

Has anyone won this yet?

[GSXR1]

Not yet, but the finishline is in sight now - final stage on Sunday night

Been very close so far, but it opened up last night - One of Cadel Evans biggest threats made a break at the start of the last climb and now has a minute and a half on him. It should come down to the time trial on Saturday which Evans is hot favourite for, but he's got to make up a bit of time

[beast]

there is one thing i like about watching the tour.

i get to see most of france without leaving the house.

[wayno]

They rode about 12 feet from my brothers front door last night. I was talking to him on the phone as they went past and could hear them.

[GSXR1]

there is one thing i like about watching the tour.

i get to see most of france without leaving the house.
There's some breathtakingly beautiful countryside they pedal through hey? :cool:

[brchi17]

A sad by joyous penultimate stage (the time trail) saw Cadel fall in what most expected him to win.....interesting that some are saying he had a bad day, but I guess 2nd in the worlds toughest cycle race is not as bad as they're making it to be at the moment. Yes it's sad that an Aussie won't win, but also awesome that we've got such a cycling superstar! Also proves that his 3rd (which should be been 2nd) was no fluke!

What I find extremely interesting/strange is that they don't fight for victory in the final stage into Paris, I know if I was Cadel, I'd be having a go, sure it might not be right int he scheme of things, but it would certainly make for spectacular viewing.

[GSXR1]

Yeah, disappointing result for Cadel last night but, despite all the hype in the media about how he was a shoo-in, personally I didn't think it was all that unexpected.

He has had virtually NO support from the rest of his team when he's needed it (mountain stages) against the might of the CSC steam-train, so has basically had to do it all himself. And I think he felt the effects of his crash halfway through the race more than he let on. So he didn't have the ideal preparation for the Time Trial last night, which was evident pretty early on. So to perform as well as he has is still as awesome effort though. :cool:

Kudos to CSC and Sastre though. They have had the strongest team by far. They have been the ones over the last week and a half who have always been at the front of the peleton, putting firstly Schleck and then Sastre in the perfect position to challenge for the lead, and then they have protected them very well.

Evans was actually second in his own right last year as well Brad, and by even less margin (23 seconds, which was the second closest in the history of the race) ;)

This race is full of traditions and gentlemans agreements - one of which is that no-one challenges the holder of the yellow jersey on the final stage into Paris. The entire peleton rides together up the Champs-Elysees as a group.

Even if he wanted to there is no way Evans would be able to bridge the gap to Sastre. He would need to break away early, and CSC, and the rest of the peleton, would not allow that to happen - he would be chased down without any shadow of a doubt. He would not be allowed to get away.

Now, for the first time in three weeks, I might actually be able to get a decent night's sleep....;) :D

[GSXR1]

And just to reinforce the unwritten rule regarding the last stage anyone watching right now will see how casual this one is - just a group of blokes out for a quiet Sunday ride with a bunch (150 or so) of their mates, lots of friendly chat amongst each other, posing for team photos, even pulling cameras out of their own pockets to take shots of each other and the camera bikes! :p

Even the team directors in the following cars are getting in on the act - Team CSC passing out glasses of champagne to other team cars as they're driving along...:eek:

Very relaxed atmosphere :cool:

[david5]

Does Cadel need to change teams to win this race ?

Cheers David

[GSXR1]

As the commentator on tonight's stage pondered earlier - would the result have been the same if roles were reversed, with Evans riding for CSC and Sastre for Silence-Lotto? I think not...

But if, buts and maybes mean nothing....

Basically Cadel got to where he is by himself, with minimal support from his teammates, and to go further he would need more support around him, so that would mean either leaving for a team that can & will provide that support, or build the current team into a better one.

The latter was what they tried this year, against Cadel's preference, by swapping out Horner and drafting in Popovych, but that has proven to be a dismal failure, with Popovych nowhere to be seen when needed most on most mountain stages except for one, when he left his team leader behind to try for a shot at personal glory...:confused: :rolleyes:

[ferrari fan]

Completely agree with all of the above, including the getting a decent night sleep part!
What an event.
Have been following it since the day's of Eddy Merkx and Joop Zoetemelk who was in a similar position as Cadell Evans.
Cadell is for me the moral winner anyway!

[GSXR1]

First one watched for me, but definitely won't be my last....I'm hooked on this event

[Holdennumber1]

I tuned in for 10 minutes last night and like mentioned above, the pack were going very slow. It would've be funny if Cadel broke away from the pack without being noticed and won the Tour by ten minutes as there is no rule saying you can't. You wouldn't make to many friends by doing that though.

[MarkHM]

I tuned in for 10 minutes last night and like mentioned above, the pack were going very slow. It would've be funny if Cadel broke away from the pack without being noticed and won the Tour by ten minutes as there is no rule saying you can't. You wouldn't make to many friends by doing that though.

Much like Schumi and Rubens at Indy?