The Tour de France

Well, the simple solution is to ban all the riders who actually do well, that way I think I may get a look in on the Tour next year.

The history of cycling is not a great one, however, the assertion that anyone who does well MUST be cheating is rather strong.

Does that apply to Olympic cyclists? Our womens pursuit team, must be on drugs. Sir Chris Hoy, yeah, him too. Laura Trott, Victoria Pendleton, clearly all doping. And while we're at it, Usain Bolt did rather well at the Olympics too, I wonder.

At the end of the day, you cannot accuse people of cheating, just because they do very well at something, otherwise, there is little point in ever trying.

Technology has moved on, understanding of the physical demands on a rider, and the training requirements to improve these, along with analysis tools and so many other aspects, the electronic shifting alone has to be worth a few seconds, Aerodynamic frames are equivalent to an increase in power of 22 watts (against an average of 375 ish on a climb) add weight reductions and stiffness improvements brought about by improvements in frame technology, and this all adds up.

An interesting article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/jul/10/tour-mountains-science-of-sport

And TDF times and speeds for comparison:

http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdfstats.html
 
Froome dominated Mont Ventoux, arguably the hardest most difficult stage to date, last man standing Quintana arrived 29s after. This guy is a monster, his achiles heel could be his team that looks diminished whereas Movistar looks in better shape
 
I thought the team did an excellent job to deliver him into a position from which he could make his move. Kennaugh and Porte produced some really great pacemaking which demolished the peloton, and protected Froome from any challenges from behind.

I think that even with 2 team members missing, the lead looks like a good amount of time to defend, and it will be tough for any of his competitors to make significant gains between now and the next mountain stage, which will be in a lot of peoples minds.
 
Yesterday's stage must have been pretty devastating to Froome's rivals, and particularly so to Rolland on Bastille Day. Rolland wasted a lot of energy trying to catch the early breakaway which would have done little for him anyway.

But there are still a lot of possible pitfalls before now and Paris.
 
I have no idea how they are going to get up Alp D'Huez twice. These guys are crazy :crazy:

Kennaugh when he finally pulled aside looked completely shot.
 
He did, as did Porte, but the work was done, and had the desired effect. They both finished within the allowed time, which was the potential pitfall.
 
jez101 said:
I have no idea how they are going to get up Alp D'Huez twice. These guys are crazy :crazy:
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This stage is not harder than any other mountain stage with 2 HC climbs. So that should not be the problem. The prolem is getting down from the col de Sarennes. Very difficult descent with a lot of gravel on the road.
 
The last person to win the [bg=#ffff00]general[/bg] and mountain classifications at the same Tour was Eddy Merckx in 1970.

Froome has a great chance...
 
I can guarantee that Froome won't get as much credit as Wiggins if he wins the tour though, despite arguably (potentially) winning it in a more courageous manner.
 
If you had been told before the race that one of the British riders would win three stages who would your money have been on? Froome has so far pulled out that little bit extra when the crunch has come. Hopefully he will continue to do so.
 
Epic ride from Van Garderen today. Nearly overcame a stuck chain. Frenchman Riblon got to the top first however.

I spotted this moment about 3/4 way up the mountain for the second time. You'd have to ask Riblon if this propelled him on to victory.

Maybe NSFW, Maybe not for those who are offended by a full moon.

photo.webp
 
Yes, teabagyokel but Froome has had even less support from his team on those stages than Cavendish in his victories.

In the past there were many climbers whose ambition every year was to win King of the Mountains. They normally were well down the classification so no problem to the riders after the Yellow Jersey. Hence if they went for the glory of the mountain top and took it easy during the descent they were allowed the freedom to do it. I seem to remember that Bahamontes stopped at the top of one climb to eat an ice cream whilst the rest of the field caught up.
 
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