Tour de France 2007

yaaaay

I'm honestly wondering if my dad's going to watch this year. (And I never thought I'd be thinking that.)

does anyone in the uk know how to watch it on tv this year? ideally i'd watch it on eurosport uk, but there doesnt seem to be any way apart from paying hundreds of pounds to sky or for that laughable topuptv box. i assume itv has still got the terrestrial rights - will they bother showing more than 1 hour of highlights day at 1am (ie 15 minutes of the race, 45 minutes of "hey looks at teh cheeses from teh region" lifestyle bollox) like they usually do? as its starting in london i thought they'd make some sort of effort at the start, but surprise surprise the uk F1 race is the same weekend. le sigh.

Have they really still not decided what to do about Floyd Landis? That's crazy. Rubbing Barney Rice's name off isn't really going to solve anything much: realistically they probably ought to rub off nearly every name from the last 50 years.

From my other post coz I couldn't find this thread/didn't know it existed.

So, Vinokourov looks pretty good this year.

I'm personally hoping (v patriotically)that Cadel Evans goes well, he looks pretty fit. And McEwen for the green.

And Moreau! What a dude. But I tend to agree with Vino's recent call that Moreau's form is all downhill from here after he smashed up Ventoux in the Dauphine. Dude's pretty old and must have hurt himself in that race.

Goddamit Raggett, I was all ready to start a TdF 07 thread with a wacky line in the title...

Also Millar for teh prologue win

x-post -- Ya snooze ya lose

I would have stripped Pedro Delgado's "win" before Riis', but whateva.

So anyway, I hear Le Tour is departing this year from a small island off the northern coast of France. Hmmmm.

Vino and Team Uzbekistan are my faves since Vino is the only one of the main contenders not caught doping yet.

McEwen to punch and kick his way to another green, natch.

Yeah Astana look fucking strong. I think after about the first week it'll just be those dudes dragging the peleton around the whole race.

..That's if Vino, Kashechkin, or Kloden manage to get the yellow jersey early on.

There was a big promotion for it on Streatham Common this week! It's not even going through our neighbourhood!

I wish I knew who's going to win because I fear Vino will fuck it up, and that Cadel and Rodgers might not be good enough.

We need a new Indurian and for everyone to ignore all the drug taking. Le Tour is just getting far too exciting.

I've decided I'm going for CSC in GC with Sastre & Schleck, and O'Grady in some wrong breakaways.

I reckon the green jersey's going to be a complete shit fight this year. Loads of great sprinters. McEwan, Petacchi (probably), Boonen, Bennati, Cavendish, etc. Is Zabel riding?

Yeah I don't think Evans and Rodgers will win.

I'm gettin' pretty excited about it all.

Petacchi's definately out now.

And I've still got the chubb for Millar to win the prologue. He's such a bro.

i so so want one of the 'tour london' posters that are on all the bus shelters, to give my dad as a 'father of the bride' pressie. no info online, emailed ken's office, rien.

if anyone will steal an intact poster from a bus shelter, i will pay you for it. seriously. my dad is VERY hard to buy presents for.

10 minutes to go.

Evans for yellow, McEwen, O'Grady, Rogers to pick up multiple coloured jerseys.

Event renamed Le tour de Australie.

Guys guys guys, I'm here, I'm drunk and I'm watching Le Tour in London on the TV!

Stuey O'Grady crashed? Not cool, holmes.

And nobody got kicked out this morning for being on drugs? Good start!

On screen graphics say they're in some town called Londres??

The things you learn.

According to people in the know (Paul Sherwen), The Queen is on holiday yet she didn't rent out Buckingham Palace. Why? That's the best view on the course. She could have got $200 for the day.

Damnit, the tour is in my town and I am in a local TV news studio in Tampere, Finland.

Finns aren't what they should be.

I have to hurt you now.

Wait until I start the Uzbekistan jokes when Vino rolls out.

And before anyone says "you mean Kazakhstan jokes", I stay that it's the damn joke.

Ugh. I am drunk and I'm feeling like Tricky Dicky caught with a busload of EPO.

I have been here to 10 hours and I need a BEER.

No chateaus for Paul to talk about today; he's going off about the Eye and the Gherkin instead.

Looks like Cancellara has won this prologue. Good for him. I was worried for a few minutes that Kloden might have won it and got the first yellow, so it's all good.

Bloody good ride from Cancellara actually. Beat Kloden by 10 secs!

I was 'watching' from the side of the Serpentine in Hyde Park. The crowds were so big it was difficult to see anything and we had no idea who anyone was as they whizzed past. Had to queue for about half an hour to get onto a special footbridge out of the loop in the middle of the course.

Oh man! The commentary, and the pronunciation in particular, gets better with each passing year.

It's Millar (and a few other blokes) Time by 4'20" with 71km to go today in Kent.

No chateaus today for Phil and Paul, but plenty of castles!

I wonder if any of those wonderful people who performed for the environment at Live Earth in London last night have come down to Le Tour today to see the lads on their very environmentally-friendy bicycles?

...what do you mean they went to the British Grand Prix instead?

All but one of the breakaway caught; David "Sorry 'Bout The Drugs" Millar probably has the polka dots for tomorrow.

Yes, it's Col de Farthing Common!

Punctures for everyone! Well, for McEwen and Cavendish who have to chase now.

McEwen is back in the peleton BUT HAS HE SPENT ALL HIS ENERGY?? Tom Boonen might not need the happy pills today.

HOLY SHIT MCEWEN COMES OUTTA NOWHERE TO WIN THE STAGE!!

How the FUCK did he do that??

fuck yeah, I was asleep with the tv on but woke up just in time for the bunch sprint.

wow, McEwen, he's all heart. I hope his wrist isn't broked. ]:

I was watching on the big screen in Hyde Park and the crowd, whcih had been quiet up to that point, suddenly errupted in roars when McEwen's name was finally mentioned right on the line. That was brilliant sport.

If McEwen can win after getting to the back of the peleton at 7km, get through it and all with a bung wrist...then how the hell are the other sprinters going to beat him?

Today, we're back in France...and going to Belgium. Hmmm. I wonder if they like cycling there?

McEwen's like a ghost - nobody sees him until it's too late. Incredible ride today.

Yes, it's the Tour De France on SBS...and now it's time for a commercial break...oh look, a television commercial for erection problems!

You'd think they could draft in Mario Cippolini for those SBS erection problem commercials for the duration of the Tour.

I don't why Phil & Paul are still shocked that David Millar is allergic from the sun. HE'S SCOTTISH FOR FUCK'S SAKE.

OK, so he's a Scot that's never been to Scotland. He's still got the genes.

Can't wait until we find out who's telling the truth, Cassini or Rasmussen. There's bound to be a lot of clues (plane tickets, hotel reservations, bank card statements), or won't those be checked because it won't be turned into a police investigation?

I think Cadel Evans looks a bit like Spider Pig. I've lost track of who's in and who's out, it's like Project fecking Runway. Actually, if Heidi did the arsekicking, that'd be great.

"Can't wait until we find out who's telling the truth, Cassini or Rasmussen"

remember Rasmussen admitted he was in Italy.

Which he now denies as ever having said/confessed to de Rooij. Sounds like he's spun a web/dug a hole he can't get out of.
Oh, and to correct my own typo - the Italian rider's name is Cassani.

Duh - I checked this thread to see if it was cassini or cassani :-)

(Cassini is that space thing! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini-Huygens )

That's me, always with my head in the clouds.
But you're right Stan, all Rasmussen has to do to show he's really telling the truth is just come up with plane tickets, hotel bookings, bicycle repair bills et al. Hell, maybe he even kept his pharmacy receipts.

Rasmussen's parents in law confirm that he was indeed in Mexico in June.
But they don't know where he was on June 13th and 14th.

So this is how it's going to be played? He was in Mexico AND Italy in June, the rest was a misunderstanding?

Not the most objective of sources, surely...

Ah well, the gap between peleton and escapees only has to grow another ten minutes and Rabobank regains the yellow jersey.

Breaking News: software developers to create "Where In The World Is Michael Rasmussen?" game for the kids.

Alas, the Basque National Team is now trying to stop The Boogeyman from getting too far up in the GC.

Haha, Sandy Casar stole that one!

Nah, he did it very clever. He made perfect use of that particular turn of the road.
Too bad for Boogerd but his powers were pretty much drained when they came to the final 5 km.

Boogerd = Boogerd until his career is over. :)

(i.e. 2nd place til' I die.. wait 4th today right..)

If Rasmussen really was in Mexico when he should've been there, there should be some easy proof for him.. Which he obviously doesn't have, otherwise he would've come up with it during the press conference.)

Maybe something like a stamped passport? Somebody tell Chicken that, he'll be cleared and...oh, the phone's gone dead.

Today, Australia's Cadel Evans has the chance to win le Tour de France. Over a 55km TT, he needs to get about 1'50 back from Contador. You could say he's about to buy a lottery ticket for the yellow jersey jackpot...

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races07/tdf07/yellow-evans.jpg

What a wonderful picture.

http://fay.uw.hu/pics/tbmardi/defoe.jpg

The plot thickens!

Cadel Evans = Davide Cassani!

http://i10.tinypic.com/4qsfitu.jpg

Leipheimer is going nuts!!

I don't think 55km is long enough to get rid of Contador - he's losing seconds, but not enough

There's still a stage tomorrow, isn't there? Or do they HAVE to relax the final day?

There's still a stage tomorrow, isn't there? Or do they HAVE to relax the final day?

Well, it would be considered a bit of a breach of etiquette to try and steal the yellow jersey on the champs elysee, but that's kind of irrelevant, because the chances of the second-placed rider managing to break away from the bunch, open up a sufficient lead over the first-placed rider to become leader on the road, and then maintain that lead all the way to the finish along flat, straight roads in Paris while the yellow jersey's team combine with the teams of all the remaining sprinters to whip the bunch up into superfast speeds to chase them down... is approximately zero.

So they have this automatic anticlimax built in? Strange.

Well, it would be considered a bit of a breach of etiquette to try and steal the yellow jersey on the champs elysee, but that's kind of irrelevant

I rather believe LeMond took care of that consideration some two decades back, yes?

I rather believe LeMond took care of that consideration some two decades back, yes?

Yes, the decent thing would have been to pace his time trial effort so that he exactly matched Fignon's time.

Yeah, the built-in anticlimax is kind of lame. They should put the last time-trial back on the last day. But, time can be won tomorrow! Two intermediate sprints (6, 4 and 2 seconds for the first three) and 20, 12 and 8 seconds for the first three at the finish line.
Don't think Evans stands a chance. Would be fun if he tried, though.

x-post -- I still have fond memories of that day because, due to the tape delay of broadcasting and so forth, we actually knew the results before my dad did -- a friend of his and my mom called the house to say, "Wow LeMond won! Total surprise!" So my mom and I decided to keep quiet about this and sit with my dad to watch the broadcast just to gauge his reaction -- he was a bit downcast but wanted to see what the day would bring. Seeing his eyes almost pop out of his head and the grin on his face when he realized what was going to happen was utterly worth it.

Evans has announced he's going to win 3 sprints which brings him @ 5 or 6 seconds.. And then it's time for a Vinokourov win :)

And in the end, Contador by 23 seconds.

yeah no surprises..

fascinating Tour though. (confusing too)

The question will always be.. if Rasmussen wouldn't have lied about things.. would he have been the same rider and thus won anyway.. In that case he better be full of regret right now, instead of hating the world for stealing his victory.

"Sorry I didn't win it, I did my best. I did what I could, but it's only my third Tour so there's a few more good years left in me yet, and let's try again next year."

Isn't Cadel cute?

German doping investigator Werner Franke (or Francke)'s interview with German TV station ZDF is quoted in a couple of Belgian newspapers today, he's saying that Contador's win is the biggest fraud in the history of sports. He says he has proof that Contador's name was on more than one of Fuentes' lists and that UCI and Spanish justice dept. have cut a deal just before the tour to protect spanish cyclists from (further) punishments.

(for German readers: http://news.google.de/?ncl=1104944210&hl=de )

Iban Mayo caught using EPO during the Tour, sacked by his team.

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6815829,00.html

Dude h4kkt Rasmussen's email a/c.

Danish police in Copenhagen released a statement on Tuesday stating that a hacker had gained access to Michael Rasmussen's e-mail inbox. The hacker's intention was to gather information on the rider to hand it over to the press, according to the statement.

The Danish newspaper B.T. was contacted by the hacker, who admitted that he had gained access to sacked rider's email account. The hacker allegedly found an email from the Rabobank team informing the rider of his termination, Danish press agency Ritzau reported. There were also details surrounding the activities of the ex-mountain bike world champion during June, one month before the Tour.

The Danish paper emphasised that it hadn't intended to use the information. "We would never buy or use information that was obtained in an illegal manner," declared B.T.'s head of sport Peter Brüchmann.

The hacker has not contacted any other media outlets and his identity is not yet known by the police.

Theo De Rooij (Rabobank team manager) resigns.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/03/sports/EU-SPT-CYC-Rabobank-Resignation.php

Mike Turtur sez that a "HUGE HUGE HUGE RETIRED NAME" is going to turn up at the '08 TDU. Now everything will think Armstrong will be turning up. It'll be funny if Indurain turns up instead and says nothing. Or if Hinault turns up and mouths off at everyone. Or if Der Fattenkaiser (well, he is huge) turns up for a Pie Floater.

-- King Boy Pato, Friday, 13 July 2007 01:04 (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Link

IT IS GOING TO BE BIG MIG!!!!

Whose blood was found in Vino? Maybe Kash's:

Kashechkin positive:

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6835548,00.html

I always get a sinking feeling when this thread bumps up.

Yeah, looks like we won't have a lot of good news for a long time.

e.g.: Tour winner Contador under investigation by WADA, not wanted in German races, will make a statement repeating he's innocent (probably) on Friday

Fuck this shit.

Discovery are no more
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/6940614.stm

Bruyn33l's leaving is he? Good riddance. I bet we will hear his name soon, in a court room. (Mus33uw also stopped when the investigation into his doctor/veterinary drug dealer got a little too close)

I've seen more than one documentary on Belgian TV where Bruyn33l's been exposed as one of the legendary pharmacists in the peloton ever since he was still riding, but people seem to have short memories or are very forgiving in cycling. Eddy M3rckx has been caught more than once, for instance, but he was the 3rd Greatest Belgian in the TV show. Whatever.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/feb08/feb13news3

Astana (Contador's team) booted from 2008 Tour.
Evans ftw!

fyi This was an excellent revive

;__;

which drug cheat will step to cadel now??

astana have been booted off the Giro too - along with Team Hhigh road, which has right royally screwed Wiggins and Cavendish

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cycling/story/0,,2256258,00.html

Sounds like the Tour organisers are much more keen on cleaning things up than the UCI are

20 Euros says they'll ban all non-French teams from the TdF by July.