The Official Tour of Britain Thread

[Landslide]

Heh! Just came across this article.
Must be the first time a cyclist has fouled up a race by having the wrong car!

 

[CotterPin]

Heh! Just came across this article.
Must be the first time a cyclist has fouled up a race by having the wrong car!

I saw the Rock Racing car amongst all the other support cars on the London stage and wondered what it was doing as it didn't seem to be able to offer much in the way of support to the riders!!!

 

[Chuffy]

Heh! Just came across this article.
Must be the first time a cyclist has fouled up a race by having the wrong car!

Style over substance. What a bunch of prats.

Incidentally, I did enjoy this masterpiece of understatement from the article.

"The presence of Hamilton in the Tour of Britain has been widely criticised because he is implicated in the Spanish Operacion Puerto doping investigation."

And the rest! Cheating ratbag. I spoke to a hardened race whippet on the route and he was very unhappy at 'those druggies' being allowed in the race at all.

 

[Landslide]

I spoke to a hardened race whippet on the route and he was very unhappy at 'those druggies' being allowed in the race at all.

I'm wondering how long it is before a spectator puts a stick through a druggy's spokes...

 

[Skip Madness]

I enjoyed a nice afternoon on Cothelstone Hill today, which had some lovely steep sections towards the top in excess of 14%, and there was a good perspective down the hill so we caught plenty of action as they struggled past. After being updated by a race car on the state of the breakaway we decided to cheer for Gabriele Bosisio by name, figuring it would be nice for a foreigner to get some unexpected support (you could just about make out the "Venga Gabriele" shouts on the highlights). In the end I managed to pick out a fair few riders to support by name; Bosisio, Cummings, Stannard, Millar, Wiggins, Russell Downing, House and Sevilla altogether, I think. The weather more or less held off during our time on the climb before promptly bucketing down the minute we got driving on the M5.

All in all another fun day at the roadside. Now I am pissing off to Spain to watch from the Angliru, the Colladiella and the Somiedo. I'll be thinking of you all...

























































... well, probably not.

 

[mondobongo]

Mortiroloboy, Victor Hugo Pena finished last in stage 2 but was not disqualified and after stage 3 is in 88th position on the GC.

 

[Toshiba Boy]

Well, I was there (in Tiverton and Weddon Cross) and I have no idea! It was a grim day for the riders, rain, wind and gnarly terrain. As has been said before of race watching, they go by in a flash and that's yer lot. The organisation seemed pretty solid, although there were three stragglers at Weddon Cross having to thread their way through the traffic which had been released back onto the course...

Chuffy

I was at Cothelstone Hill, and the 3 riders were waaay off the back by that stage, in among "normal traffic. Having said this, they did have 2 motorbike stewards in front, and a support van behind. The broom wagon was a good 5 minutes behind them.

Wouldn't hold this against the organisers, I saw a rider struggling up against a wave of fans as we walked back down Alpe D'Huez a few years ago, he was completely on his own (although he did get a considerable number of pushes from the parting mulititude). Even the mighty TdF can get it wrong!

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Mortiroloboy, Victor Hugo Pena finished last in stage 2 but was not disqualified and after stage 3 is in 88th position on the GC.

Yes I saw him struggle in 13 minutes down, then disappear into the Deviation, only to be seen later sat outside the anti doping caravan. looks like the organisers took pity on crack rock racing and let him continue, maybe they thought they better had in case when they test Tyler Hamilton, Santiago Botero and Oscar Sevilla that they get busted, the team would then be wiped out.

I hope that none of them win a stage or even (perish the thought) the overall, or any Jersey, as it would just make a mockery of the whole race.

Why , Oh why did sweetspot/BC allow them to take part?

 

[mondobongo]

I read somewhere that it was purely to add some controversey to the race. The mind boggles.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Well, that's exactly the type of controversey cycling can do without

 

[primalcarl]

Some pics from Stage 3. Yep the weather was bad. WAs exciting seeing them come up Cothelstone Hill

Longdrag Hill, Tiverton

Cothelstone Hill

 

[ComedyPilot]

I'll be thinking of you all...... well, probably not.

.....Err...Who are you anyway?

 

[Will1962]

Some pictures taken at the top of the Cat 1 Mennock Pass (Stage 7). This was the first time I had been to the Tour - I'll definitely be back again next year.

The escape group approaches, led by Danilo Di Luca:

'Fast' Freddie Rodriguez (Rock Racing):

The peloton approaching the KOM at the top of the Mennock Pass:

The peloton crossing the KOM at Mennock Pass:

Bradley Wiggins (?)

Will

 

[mondobongo]

Went to see them off at the Promenade this morning, pictures were tricky due to strong early morning sun any way got a couple. Its a good job I love my missus she cut half of me off in a picture with Bradley Wiggins and then totally knacked the camera up when I had stopped David Millar for a piccie gutted about that one

Anyway heres Julian Dean just after signing on.

Tyler Hamilton gassing before the off.

Bradley Wiggins, Stuart O'Grady and David Millar at the back of the peloton for the start planning an attack for the day boys??

You know you have arrived when: