Tour de France 2018 **SPOILERS**

[rich p]

Time to start the speculation and soothsaying.

Is Bardet good enough to provide France with their first home winner since the Dark Ages?

Will Froomedawg be allowed to ride, keep his result, recover from the Giro?

Will Thomas and Bernal be Plan B and C?

Will Tom Dumoulin ride?

Will Valverde really ride for Quintana and Landa?

Can a 2 leader strategy ever work properly?

 

[Crackle]

There's a 35k TTT which is going to put Bardet and a few others 2 minutes down. Isn't the route in the Dauphine this year?

 

[Beebo]

There's a 35k TTT which is going to put Bardet and a few others 2 minutes down. Isn't the route in the Dauphine this year?

Not a big fan of TTT, they don't seem fair for the GC guys from smaller teams.

 

[rich p]

I don't like TTTs either.

The 20th and last meaningful stage is a 31 km ITT, featuring a few climbs and at km 27 has a 900m climb averaging 10% and maxing at 21%.
That should sort a few out.

I wonder if Warren Barguil is riding for a place or just for shíts and giggles and the odd stage win. Waste of his talent, if so.

 

[Crackle]

I like the TTT's ever since I stood in a village in France and watched them come through, re-forming after a corner and yelling at each other to close the gaps and get in line, the effort absolutely plain on their faces and then looking to see what the timing board said as they went through. It was pretty exciting which you don't quite quite get the flavour of on telly.

 

[Bollo]

I like the TTT's ever since I stood in a village in France and watched them come through, re-forming after a corner and yelling at each other to close the gaps and get in line, the effort absolutely plain on their faces and then looking to see what the timing board said as they went through. It was pretty exciting which you don't quite quite get the flavour of on telly.

I've never seen a TTT in the flesh to my shame, but the ITTs are good value for the spectator as they spread the racing time, rather than a "blink and you've missed it" view of the peloton flashing by. I managed to watch the TdF prologue in Utrecht a couple of years ago and the atmosphere was mental.
I recently watched a Velon clip of the end of a sprint stage for one of (I think) the GTs and was surprised how much verbal there was going on between the riders. I don't know why, as I've been on the receiving end of it a few times in my sorry-ass Cat 4 attempts at critérium racing.

 

[Adam4868]

Been to quite a few TT including giro this year,in the flesh so to speak there good to watch.Plenty of time to see riders ect.The team time trials are just as manic.Im not a massive fan on TV either.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I'm fairly sure* that when LA and his team were the best cheats in the peloton that some of the Tour TTTs didn't have real time gaps but applied time gaps based on positioning.

*I can't be arsed checking, and I may be making this up

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Here's a "special feature" for stage 17 of this year's Tour:

I can't help but think that falls into the "utterly pointless things to do" category. Or am I missing something?

 

[Adam4868]

Here's a "special feature" for stage 17 of this year's Tour:
View attachment 412351

I can't help but think that falls into the "utterly pointless things to do" category. Or am I missing something?

Lost me after first line....no wonder I was shite at sports day

 

[rich p]

Lost me after first line....no wonder I was shite at sports day

2nd from last in the sack race?

 

[rich p]

Here's a "special feature" for stage 17 of this year's Tour:
View attachment 412351

I can't help but think that falls into the "utterly pointless things to do" category. Or am I missing something?

WTF?

 

[Crackle]

Didn't they do that in the women's Le Tour. It was totally shite and a non event.

 

[Aravis]

What follows may be total sloblock.

Stage 17 is very short, about 40 miles, with severe climbs and a mountain top finish (I think I'm on safe ground there). They'll want the leaders to kick off from the start, so I think the arrangement is akin to the starting grid in motor racing, preventing a quick breakaway from low-ranking riders and clearing the way for one or more of the leaders to really go for it.

 

[FishFright]

What follows may be total sloblock.

Stage 17 is very short, about 40 miles, with severe climbs and a mountain top finish (I think I'm on safe ground there). They'll want the leaders to kick off from the start, so I think the arrangement is akin to the starting grid in motor racing, preventing a quick breakaway from low-ranking riders and clearing the way for one or more of the leaders to really go for it.

The coke* must have been amazing at that meeting !!

*You wouldn't get that nonsense with Pepsi