The Tour (TDF) Live action/results. SPOILERS!!

[thirdcrank]

Tom Simpson rode in the days when the Tour's organisers were reluctantly changing the format from national to trade teams. He was Peugeot's top rider to the extent that a younger rider called Eddy Mercx moved elsewhere to get a team leader's job. The arrangement was that some TdeF's (every 4th year?) would revert to national teams and that's what happened in 1967. Although we thought of them as our star riders, some were out of their depth and certainly not up to the job of supporting a potential Tour winner. Anybody who has seen Death on the Mountain will have seen Jean Stablinski commenting on how weak the GB team was.

Be that as it may, the point I was trying to make about the anniversary of 13 July 1967 was that in another 45 years, no matter what the result of this race, nobody is going to be reminiscing about Sky being a weak team.

PS. Today is also the 15th anniversary of my retirement: time flies.

[DavidT]

I know David Millar is a controversial character, but I cheered when he won to-day’s stage.

+1 for me too. Respect to the guy. Delighted for him, and another British stage win.

[thirdcrank]

The point that "anything might happen" was demonstrated yesterday when Wiggins was singed by some sort of flare discharged by a roadside "enthusiast (AKA nutter.)

The final time trial is now an interesting prospect, since barring mishaps, Froome will be withing striking distance of the yellow jersey. Wiggins will start last, of course, and as they are in the same team, Froome will be started earlier than his second spot would normally dictate. On present form, the rider starting immediately before Wiggins, will have little hope of dislodging him and Wiggins need only keep things under control. But Froome is a strong TT rider and with the Tour almost over, he would have nothing to stop him riding at 110% and Wiggins will have to do the same, unless there's some agreement within the team.

So, I'd not fancy being whoever it is who starts in the last-but-one slot. I'd say they have a pretty good chance of being caught, as does the rider starting before them unless they ride really hard.

This may be putting the cart before the horse but the BBC is carrying an interview with Shane Sutton predicting a Wiggins Tour win.

[Edwards]

I am finding the ins and outs of the Sky team decisions fascinating and the history (Thanks TC).
It must be nice for them to have this problem though.

I do wonder if we will ever really know what is happening?

[Si]

Bit of a tacky stage that one! IGMC.

the lad Sagan continues to impress - he's going to be really good when he grows up!

[thirdcrank]

Among the French stereotyes of les anglais "Le fair play" looms large. I see it's already been mentioned by the race authorities and I think it will be prominent in the French media. It's often been a controversial issue, but I don't think that Wiggins or the rest of the Sky organisation have done themselves any harm.

[stuart davies]

TO sum up yesterdays stage for you to save you wasting 4 hours of your life on sky plus

[Edwards]

Cadel could not keep the pace yesterday and now Nibali would appear to be accepting 3rd. I wonder what Nibs will do today will he try again or just follow the Sky pair?

For me the star of this year has been Tommy, he has worked hard and the faces he makes are just simply fantastic. You can see he is trying and is taking the ride to the others, pure magic.

[Swallow]

Watched yesterdays stage, great excuse for doing nothing working this afternoon. Still can't believe that come Sunday we may well have two Brits on the podium including the winner, just doesn't seem real. Agree about Sagan, real star of the future

[Audax67]

Time for Froomie & Wiggie to swap numbers?

[thirdcrank]

A spokesman for the CTC Forum said Wiggins still had a lot of questions to answer. There were, for example, unconfimed reports that he had been seen riding at speed down the nearside of a lorry. "He says that as it's in France, overtaking lorries down that side is normal. Frankly, it's riding like that that gets the rest of us a bad name. There is no evidence to suggest that wearing bright yellow makes a rider any easier to see, especially in the middle of a field of oilseed rape. We are expecting an increase in the deaths of MAMIL's through copying this reckless riding....."

Whatever happens between now and Sunday, I'm enjoying the success.

[Si]

Time for Froomie & Wiggie to swap numbers?

If you mean in terms of who should win.....I'll hold judgement a bit..... it's all very well having a good couple of tours when you are just a (super) domestic and no one expects much of you in the overall, but when you are the favourite and you have all the extra pressure on you, plus all of the extra doping control and media stuff to handle every day, it's a whole different ball game. As much to do with the head as it is to do with the legs?

However, if you mean that they should swap roles in the next tour (Vuelta) so that Wiggo can pay him back, then yes, very much so.

Anyway - very good program on ITV4 about Wiggo this afternoon - much along the lines of the Pendleton one, although it was interesting to see how the same people on the team (Sutton, the shrink, etc) spoke of Wiggo compared to how they spoke about Viccy. Well worth watching if/when it's repeated or on the itv player if they have it.

[thirdcrank]

Barring terrorist attacks or massive eathquakes, the TT tomorrow could be unexpectedly interesting. A TT towards the end of the race may produce a Lemond / Fignon upset or at the other end of the scale, it can be just a formality. Unless Froome soft pedals - and if he does he risks his second spot - whoever is Wiggins' three minute man - presumably Niballi - is in for a hard time. His Nibs cannot hope to take much time out of Wiggins or Froome for that matter but if Wiggins is on a ride, he could well be caught. Humiliating in any circumstances, but his earlier comments about not rating Wiggins will be the caption in the media.
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IIRC, there was once a joke with the punchline Earwig "O", Earwig "O", Earwig "O"

[Si]

Jeez - that overhead shot of the finish today - I thought: whose let the motorcycle stay on the course - ah, no, it's Cav

OK, the people in the break were knackered when he past them, but where were the other sprinters - Sagan third but well out of the shot. Bodes well for Sunday.

[thirdcrank]

Something big must be happening: the BBC has started broadcasting stuff about the TdeF. Anybody know what's going on?