Tour de France 2015 - may contain nuts and SPOILERS

[Bollo]

They weren't when I looked.
Left the lens cap on, @Bollo

Great video highlights too, Robert, thank you. Geschke wins the day if not the Yellow.

Too much dizzy water last night 'Teef Hic! At least some French products are making it across the channel.

Linky fixed (I hope).

 

[Aperitif]

Too much dizzy water last night 'Teef Hic! At least some French products are making it across the channel.

Linky fixed (I hope).

Looks like every time you wanted to take a picture, Paul, an oaf on a bicycle got in the way. Interestingly, the 'auto shopping linky thing' that highlights random combos of text for sales purposes, fell upon your "1.5Kg 200mm" (Tamron probs. ) lens description. I clicked it and found found more muscles, cycling to entertain us spectators. Here.

 

[Bollo]

Looks like every time you wanted to take a picture, Paul, an oaf on a bicycle got in the way. Interestingly, the 'auto shopping linky thing' that highlights random combos of text for sales purposes, fell upon your "1.5Kg 200mm" (Tamron probs. ) lens description. I clicked it and found found more muscles, cycling to entertain us spectators. Here.

I'd try to beat your pun, but you've got me snookered!
Tamron Probs sounds like a villian in an Iain M Banks book.

 

[Cathryn]

Not sure if already posted, but the "Best Of" video from the Le Tour YT channel gives me goosebumps. Fantastic stuff. Highlights in six minutes why this is the best race on the planet. Absolutely loving it!

That was amazing!!!

 

[Aperitif]

Remember Daniel Tekleheimanot? Steve Cummings? a Post-script.

 

[coffeejo]

Well that sucks

 

[Berk on a Bike]

MTN Qhubeka were in talks with Dimension Data at the start of the Tour so hopefully that might bear fruit.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Idle speculation but from what other people have said about costs to run a team, $9.5 million over 8 years doesn't sound like a huge amount and it could be that they were looking to up that sort of commitment thanks to the increased exposure. I'd have thought they'd have found another sponsor from somewhere after the TV time in the Tour. Fingers crossed anyway, it does seem like a crazy choice by MTN if it really was just 'let's do something different'. A bit like building a bike and then selling it without ever riding it properly.

 

[mjr]

it does seem like a crazy choice by MTN

Yep, MTN have made a massive PR blunder out of a success and made themselves look like an evil moneygrubbing telco with one final step: sponsor a charity cycling team, cycling team has success, then while they're still in the public memory, abruptly cut off money to charity cycling team for fear they'll want to grow and ask for more sponsorship!

Even if they'd have kept quiet for another week or two and let it drift out as out-of-contract non-renewed MTN riders signed up elsewhere, people would have kept talking about Europcar's tightness for a while longer.

Will cyclists visiting South Africa this winter make a point of using Vodacom or whoever else instead?

 

[Bonus]

Here in SA MTN are getting roasted and praised in equal amounts.
They announced that they would not be renewing sponsorship quite a long time ago.

 

[mjr]

They announced that they would not be renewing sponsorship quite a long time ago.

Got a link for that? http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mtn-ends-qhubeka-team-sponsorship/ says MTN told the team on Sunday.

 

[Bonus]

It was discussed on Sport radio over here before that. Maybe it was then a rumour that came true.

 

[Hont]

Idle speculation but from what other people have said about costs to run a team, $9.5 million over 8 years doesn't sound like a huge amount and it could be that they were looking to up that sort of commitment thanks to the increased exposure.

Just for info Jonathan Vaughters tweeted that the bottom of World Tour Teams is about $14M a year. Garmin's is $17M (and Sky's $40M).

 

[HF2300]

MTN have a new CEO as of 2 weeks ago, have just been through a long strike and a cost cutting process, the group's been hit by currency weakness in their biggest markets, and they cited tough market conditions as a reason for withdrawing, so maybe the new CEO's put a hold on sponsorship.

 

[suzeworld]

He was unlucky and a little bit naieve on that stage maybe but the rest of the race i thought he was pretty much faultless, take away the time he lost on that stage and the team time trial and he won it. I claimed a moral victory for him in this house. My wife is acually getting quite jealous about my love for him. Would you like to adopt him with me and we'll live in a place with a big garden and he can just ride his bike around it all day long. Occasionally i shall rock him in my arms too.

Lets! Tho I think we need to get a garden with mountains in it ..

I totally agree with your analysis .. It was naivity on the whole team's part i the first week, I think

so ... he had the victory for me too, actually getting such good times in the last two days of the alps ... brilliant stuff ... tho my wife persists in being a Froome fan, which I just cant fathom cos the guy excites no emotional response in me at all ... Quintana's inscrutable expression is great ... then suddenly he can smile ... .

Roll on next year!