[Closed] Le Tour (may contain spoilers)

Reckon Sagan will be in with a shout of winning the prologue.

It's not far off...so they better fix the tunnel de Chambon quickly (once the rockfall into the reservoir has happened....) and they've agreed who is going to pay... Closed since April.

[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/tdf-course-change-galibier-out ]tunnel de Chambon news[/url]

I think they were looking at changing the route

G. Thomas for the Prologue. I think his track days still help him over that distance

Edit. Longer than I thought? Would probably suit a proper tester at 14km

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/galibier-cut-from-tour-de-france-stage-to-lalpe-dhuez

Cancellara must be odds on for the prologue but I fancy Chavanel as an outsider. It should be a cracking tour, four real GC contenders, the highest number in years and some really tough stages. That last week will be very punishing and I cant wait for all those mountains and this year we have time bonuses for the stage winners and a re-shuffled points jersey scoring system from 45-35-30 to 50-30-20

ah a July of late nights and tough mornings down under with that and the cricket it will be a good way to spend the cold month.
Sky FTW

I too will be watching from Aus, no idea how I am going to get to watch it though.

What times are the stages generally on? I'm in Sydney.

SBS have it live from about 9/10pm (Tas Central Time which I think is the same 😉 )depending on the route/action, there is also their app which does the live video and stats. If you drop off before the end then the 5-15min highlight vid over breakfast is good and there is a replay show normally up in time for breakfast.

Top tip is you can generally get an idea of which stages are going to be important/significant and decide if you are going to skip straight to the highlights.
I sat through all of Roubaix and some of the mountain stages last year till it got dull. Cricket on 9 WWOS too

Dont forget to subscribe to your Europsport Crowd pass TOMORROW so that the full month ends just after the Champs Elysee 🙂

£5.99

will miss the Real Man TdF posts 🙁

I'm going to have to watch it in Whistler

Has anyone set up a fantasy league yet?

stages usually start around 1100 local time and are usually about 5 and a half hours long.

Stages that could be interesting....
3 - some kicks in the last 30kms that could encourage attacking breaks, one big kick in the last 5kms
4 - 30 kms of pave over 6 sections
8 - first summit finish (though not a massive climb) could see GC contenders make early claim
9 - TTT - only 30kms long but GC contenders could lose a fair bit of time here
10 - Bastille day, first big summit finish after a rest day...
11 - Col de Tourmalet
12 - 3 big cat 1 climbs pretty much equally spaced throughoput the day, nearly 200kms long too....
17 - Another big mountain stage after a rest day so expect fireworks
18 - Col de Glandon, anyone suffering from yesterday will pay for it today and I suspect a few GC hopefuls will fade today
19 - Straight into a big climb from the off so there will be a break, then they summit Col de CdF so if the break stays clear it could really be interesting as they then summit La Toussaire...
20 - Col de Telegraphie, Galibier then Alpe d'Huez....

Thos last four stages will be epic, I think its the best finishing week to a tour in decades, do you go big early on 17 or 18 and hope to put time into your rivals and make them attack on the latter stages or do you just stick with them and hope you have something left for the final day?... of course that all depends on the whehter you have lost any time in the preceding two weeks....

Why? Wheres RealMan gone ?

Just read through the route and it does look an interesting one, not many sprint stages so the puncheurs should get in on the action early doors.
Some interesting summit finishes and that TTT could really shake things up.
The change to the Croix de Fer could actually be a good thing as that drag along the valley bottom caused a bit of intrigue a couple of years ago with Andy Schleck trying to get away and then seeing if he could hold on.

massivelymediocrerider was proposing Sagan to win stage 1 so I wondered if he was a realman sock puppet. I realize there could be someone else with a Sagan man crush but there are other riders I'd pick as likely winners of a 10 mile TT.

Try Steephill.tv for links to online coverage.

Tom Dumoulin for the first yellow.

RealMan hasn't been active for 3 months!
His daily TDF threads are legendary - wont be the same this year without them. hopefully he's just been saving himself

v disappointingly Kittel isn't fit enough for selection....

http://marcelkittel.de/en/

At least Greipel is in.

Stoner - Member

Dont forget to subscribe to your Europsport Crowd pass TOMORROW so that the full month ends just after the Champs Elysee

£5.99

the site tour suggested that you could, but Ive not subscribed before to find out.

EDIT

The "Videos" page http://www.eurosportplayer.co.uk/on-demand.shtml suggests that they hold footage for a while for on demand viewing.

MrNice,

I'm newish here, and I didn't realize there was an approved list of riders to speculate on if one wishes to avoid being labeled as a sockpuppet. If you would be good enough to list those riders I can safely choose from it will help me to help you avoid confusion in future.

MrNice,

I'm newish here, and I didn't realize there was an approved list of riders to speculate on if one wishes to avoid being labeled as a sockpuppet. If you would be good enough to list those riders I can safely choose from it will help me to help you avoid confusion in future.

That wasn't meant unkindly. RealMan posted quality day by day coverage here but hasn't been seen in a while, so I believe he was inferring you might be his alternate/new login.

Hope he does make a comeback.

Tom Dumoulin for the first yellow.

+1
He is racing isn't he?

Eurosport online is pretty good. They do on demand, usually available the next day. You can also do live pause and rewind. If on a PC you can also skip back a few hours of coverage too. Newly updated player does seem a little flakey though compared to the old one.

I recall RealMan said he was being all busy with RealLife, and wouldn't have much time for here, I really hope he does post though, top threads.

That wasn't meant unkindly. RealMan posted quality day by day coverage here [b]AND ALWAYS HAD A MASSIVE MAN-CRUSH ON SAGAN[/b] but hasn't been seen in a while, so I believe he was inferring you might be his alternate/new login.

So has anyone setup a fantasy league?

Newly updated [Eurosport] player does seem a little flakey though compared to the old one.

+1

Rubbish update. Interface is annoying and the pictures are dodgy. Bring back the old one!

Hmm, are we all ignoring the elephant then? The only important question is surely whether the winner will be clean?

Are ITV4 doing high-light shows each evening?

Hmm, are we all ignoring the elephant then? The only important question is surely whether the winner will be clean?

Obviously not, we all know in roadie land winner = doper, even when the 2 favourites crash out and this person wouldn't have been called a doper* if he'dgot 3rd.

*Not true 'cos Astana but what evaaaa...

Are ITV4 doing high-light shows each evening?

Yep, 7-8, with live coverage at the weekends too.

I believe standard practise re. doping is to make your accusations based almost exclusively on the team they ride for, so picking the 4 favourites:
Astana - Definitely doping
Saxo Tinkoff - Probably doping
Sky - Probably not doping
Moviestar - Probably not doping

Other World Tour teams also fall into these categories:
Orica Green Edge - Not doping
Katusha - Probably doping
FDJ - Not doping
Etixx Quickstep - Doping but it'll be recreational so that's OK.

Please tell me it's not Bill and Bob doing the commentary?! As annoying as Millar's voice is he's rather good!

I thought Sky were definitely doping (and doping the hardest) but only those that were true fans® of cycling since they were 6 could see it? Thus giving the real fans some doping conspiracy to froth over and sneer at the plebs who've only just started riding.

Whilst on the subject, first tour for a while without Riis. Shame he was just sacked by Oleg (probably along with a big bag of cash) and not flushed away by Denmark's doping agency like the stinking turd he was. Probably just preempting the report on him that has now been published.

Didn't see one so I set up a fantasy league

League Name: STW Fantasy League
League Code: 29092751

Can we have a le tour thread this year without endless pointless speculation about doping !!
Just one thread where the racing and drama of the most fantastic sporting event can be appreciated without the same boring haters going on and on and on............

Please tell me it's not Bill and Bob doing the commentary?! As annoying as Millar's voice is he's rather good!

Of course it is. It's been Liggett and Sherwen since about 1905, that's not gonna change!

My club are going out later this week to the start, then meeting up again on St3..

If I wasn't at work I'd be out there with them 😕

My Tip?

Bertie FTW.
Nibbles 2nd by 11 seconds.

Inclined to agree. Froome another DNF. Quintana probably rounding out the podium.

See Nibbles won the Italian champs again, mirroring last years build up.

I'm really hoping the Eurosport commentary will be Carlton Kirby and Brian Smith. Carlton getting excited at the finish and the nonsense is entertaining and I find Brian easier to listen to than Sean.

I'm also on the Contrador FTW, Nibbles on the podium and Froome to crash out in the 1st week.

Would love to see one of the Yates finish in the top 10.

Sky teams been announced.
http://www.teamsky.com/teamsky/home/article/55553#bkcKycDq73eyc2ql.97

Carlton Kirby has become the GoTo voice of Cycling on Eurosport. Once David Harmon left it was a no brainer really for them to choose Carlton.

Whilst in no way saying Carlton isn't good, David and Sean were the best by a long shot IMO. I really miss their rambling chats whilst the mikes were rolling and endless shots of flat lands covered in Sunflowers.

Brian Smith, Nah don't like him sorry. Would prefer Dan Lloyd or Dave Millar or Whatshisname Stephens off GCN (damn I can't think of his first name :roll:) He did the UK Nats yesterday and quite a few other Classics earlier, such a great voice, insight and humour.

As for Froome, ah yes a crash in the second week will bend Sky all out of shape. Hoping Kennagh gets in (can't open the link at work) and Kyri.

I'd really love Pinot to win, I so want a French Bloke to step up there and yet I think a top 5 is his limit, sorry b'out that. 😕

I'd much prefer to have David Harmon back commentating on Eurosport. All the excitableness of Carlton Kirby but he actually knew what he was on about and not frothing s**t out of his mouth

Got to have Sean Kelly, his Irish tones are part of the Tour for me, no-one else is close.

swavis - Member

I'm really hoping the Eurosport commentary will be Carlton Kirby and Brian Smith. Carlton getting excited at the finish and the nonsense is entertaining and I find Brian easier to listen to than Sean.

There seems to have been something gone wrong with the Harmon/Eurosport relationship, but I don't know what it is.

Slightly surprised that Sky have left out Bernie from their selection. I don't think that team looks all that TBH, probably great at putting out big numbers, but not much in the way of team leadership. I could be wrong mind.

Team Sky’s race leader Chris Froome said: "Last year’s disappointment is this year’s motivation for Team Sky. From the moment I crashed out in 2014 I’ve had the burning desire to get back to this year’s Tour in the best possible shape.

Didn't he say at one point that he was so unimpressed with the stages and relative lack of TT this year that he was considering just doing the Giro, and needed a reminder of his 'responsibilities' from management?

Joined the velogames fantasy league ... thanks Swavis.

And I set up a league on.... http://fantasy.road.cc/home ...

The Fantasy Road is more involving than the "purist" Velogames... you can make tranfers each day on Fantasy Road as opposed to Velogames where you pick a team and stick with it.

NB ... no need for league ID on Fantasy Road, just find STW in the league list.

Geraint Thomas will be the captain I would guess, though I guess Roche could do that job too. Very climber heavy team, that means a lot of responsibility on Thomas and Stannard on the flatter stages on the cobbles to keep Froome safe. I can't help but feel Kiryienka would have been useful pick for the flatter stages and the TTT, maybe in place of Rowe or Kennaugh.

Anyway, Bertie to win, Froome 2nd, Quintana 3rd, Nibbles to prove he only won last year and no-one else was there.

Yes bring back David Duffield 🙂

I can't see Froome having a good race. the other teams will pressure him heavily in the first week. more cobbles...

Contador for the win.

Stages that could be interesting...

you missed stage 2, where they're hoping cross winds will produce a another thriller like Saint Amand-Montrond in 2013 (where contador took back over a minute from froome on a pan-flat stage).

Please tell me it's not Bill and Bob doing the commentary?! As annoying as Millar's voice is he's rather good!

I pay for Eurosport so that I don't have to listen to the cliche-ridden drivel of Statler and Waldorf, who's commentary I can only assume is a compulsory part of the rights package that ITV4 have bought.

I will no doubt be watching whole stages live, and then watching the highlights in the evening in case I missed something.

Not interested in doping debates during the race, but having heroes and villains is part of what makes sport interesting. I hate Valverde despite his riding prowess as he is an unrepentant doper. I love Contador for his riding prowess despite being an unrepentant doper. Cycling's brilliant.

If you're on twitter and don't already, check out @ukcyclingexpert for some brilliant spoofing of newbie pseudo knowledge (like Cav rides for Essex Quick-Fit...).

Essex Quick-Fit

My dream team ... Cav, Dowsett, Stannard

Very confusing situation. Mark Cavendish is from the Isle of Skye but rides for Essex. Ian Standard rides for Team Sky but is from Essex!!

Quality 😆

I'm disappointed about Liggett and Sherwen, to be honest I don't mind any of the Eurosport commentators, they're all pretty good with their own styles. (I actually find Brian Smith quite funny when he gets a bit pappy about what teams are doing!) but Eurosport can be irritatingly unreliable when it comes to recording stuff and swapping channels last minute.

Bikebuoy - Pinot

This!! Boys got style and class, would love to see him take the win. He's probably this years TDF man crush...

Carlton Kirby - Listen out for how often he shoehorns the phrase "right now" into sentences, especially (but not exclusively) when he gets excited. When you notice, it becomes impossible to listen to him.

You're welcome.

Froome's comments were that it is unlikely we'll see a winner emerge in the first week but we may see a few people eliminated in crosswinds and on cobbles.

Not seen or heard much of Quintana this season. Froome seems to be riding well and Contador looked as strong as ever in the Giro, but will the effort cost him?

If they make it to the end I think a Froome/Contador battle. Quintana to round it off on the podium.

Should be a good year. I'm on holiday for the last two weeks of it so hopefully I'll still be able to see some of it.

I'm going with Froome for the win.

You can bet Sky have learned from last year and I'll be surprised if he has problems not looking where he is going like last year.

If Bertie wins he will be the first to do the Giro/Tour double since Pantanti. Just saying.

Froome out classed Nibbles in the Dauphine. Did Nibbles have a bad day? I don't think he can compete with Froome or Bertie.

Only leaves happy face Quintana. Bit of an unknown due to hiding down in Columbia. We'll see.

League Name: STW Fantasy League
League Code: 29092751

I'm in: [b]quintana llama farma drama[/b]

Bikebuoy - Pinot

And Bardet too, like his style. Think he'll be top Frenchie.

Apparently Sky have two blokes called Richie Porte riding for them. They have the one who's underperformed in grand tours for years and this one:

Richie Porte – age 30 – Australia
One of the finest and most feared climbers in the peloton

I'm glad they're bringing the feared climber rather than the bloke who is good in 1-week races but has been a disaster for quite some time in 3-week races.

I'd guess that Sky will have a much better race than last year. Froome was fairly convincing at the end of the Dauphine and unless he was playing mind games, Nibali was a bit of a mess. Contador is a bit of an unknown as is Quintana. Should be a good one if they can all get to the mountains intact; I don't recall such a large number of big-mountain experts in the Tour for a while.

And Bardet too, like his style. Think he'll be top Frenchie.

Shame Bouhanni seems to be day-to-day for the team after tearing intercostal muscles at the French national champs yesterday.

Don't forget Nibali came into the Tour last year having had a "nightmare" year, didn't win anything and looked rubbish right up until Nationals. I reckon he's going for the exact same trajectory.

ROFL @ Atlaz

jonba - Member
Froome's comments were that it is unlikely we'll see a winner emerge in the first week but we may see a few people eliminated in crosswinds and on cobbles.

Stage 6, Abbeville - Le Havre could be horrendous if it's windy. I was there a few weeks ago and every ride was a trial by combat with the wind. Some motorbikers who had ridden down from Calais were saying how they'd been leaning over for the whole ride.

1,2,3: Quintana, Froome, Nibali

Contador and half his team will feel the Giro on that last week in the Alps.

For the Bouhanni fappists...

http://twitter.com/BouhanniNacer/status/615190902986919938/photo/1

Just read the new piece over at [url= http://inrng.com/2015/06/tour-de-france-stars-aligned/ ]inrng[/url]. Getting excited 🙂

Bernie Eisel's Beard now in the Velogames league. Decided to go with no 2 riders from the same team.

I've dropped my team in. Not too happy with it, mainly because I've avoided putting two riders in who i don't want to jinx

Has RealMan turned up yet?

Rusty bolts in the fantasy league.

Interesting that Astana have left Aru at home to avoid any more issues with him out-riding Nibbles... personally I dont think Nibbles has enough support to go for GC, Fuglsang is the only rider who can last with the other GC riders as Scarponi is just too old. Boom will be looking forward to the first week.

Contador has a lot of support in comparison, Kreuziger, Majka, Rogers, similar situation for Froome and Quintana to be honest, I can just see those three teams really pushing Astana.

I'm a bit of a fan of the Slipstream team of old so will be rooting for Talansky and hoping the likes of Dan Martin and Van Barrle get some breakaways action going.

I still think this is the most open and exciting tour in years, as others have said it wont be won in the first week but the start of the third week will see only 3 or 4 left in it.

Brailsford's comments about the TTT were interesting, he was saying this year that its all about how quick your fifth man is rather than an ITT where its down to the GC guy to pull out the time and some teams will suffer badly

Team Pie have joined the fantasy league.