The Tour de France

It looks like a couple of the cobbles sections have been cut out due to the weather. I bet that is a relief for some!
 
But not a relief for Froome, who has just abandoned a few hundred metres before the first pavé.
Shame, but plays into the hands of the "should've picked Bradley" brigade.
 
Very cool Wombcat I've been to the Vosges just a month ago but didn't have the opportunity to ride anything. Very pretty place. Climbs aren't too big yet but they sure are steep in the Vosges. Lots of really interesting stages left, and really not much for the sprinters.
 
One of the commentators said that it was a bad day for Contador; he went all out to drop Nibali and failed. Maybe the big mountains will tell a different story, Richie Porte seems confident that he will do better on the longer climbs so it could all get very interesting.
 
Contador didn't necessarily have a bad day, but just a disappointing result to only gain 3 seconds after all that work due to a very good ride from Nibali. Contador probably should have gone sooner though. And Porte does seem to be better on longer climbs, in the past he tended to get dropped by the group and then ride back up to them to help Froome! Those three are the only real GC contenders right now in my opinion. Maybe Valverde but we will see. Thibaut Pinot could get himself a few stage wins in my opinion, he's shown great promise in the past only to be set back by an injury last year, and looked good today.
 
think that the commentator meant that If Contador can only gain 3 seconds per day he will finish well behind Nibali. Today should really have suited his style. I did think that Yates might be in with a chance but he faded when the heat was put on.
 
It's a bit silly from the commentator to draw conclusions like that. Contadot attacked, and indeed only gained a few seconds. But there's two more weeks of riding and there's a lot more chances to attack.

Porte was only able to cling on, because Contador and Nibali were looking at each other instead of pedalling. Otherwise he would have been dropped further behind.
 
Porte's not good enough for this year as GC contender for Sky, Nibali was blowing out of his arse at the end of yesterday's stage while Contador wasn't. Contador is working on Nibali's head, he'll chip away and chip away over the next few lumpy stages then he'll pull the pin where he can take minutes on one stage and blow Nibali away.
 
Tony Martin is rather good isn't he!

I think that Porte may surprise, but I can't see further than the chap who shoul not be riding competitively.
 
No wonder team Sky are struggling this season
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Tony Martin with two insane days in the saddle, well deserved rest day coming up for him. Nibali the clear favorite here, its a shame that nobody left seems able to challenge him. I'm tipping a Nibali, Pinot, Porte podium. Valverde and van Garderen have a shot too, but where the hell did these AG2R boys come from?
 
soccerman17 said:
Interesting that Joaquim Rodriguez has already lost 14 minutes, as has Rafal Majka, who is not well known and has never ridden in the tour but finished 7th and 6th in the last two Giros. Should be interesting to see them in the mountains riding relatively unmarked.
Click to expand

Quoting myself from after stage 2. Hate to say I told you so.
 
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