Belated 2012 Tour de France thread
Discussion
So the Grand Tour thread seems to have died, and it's far too eventful a race to not get the PH view...
So far, we've had crashes galore, BMC and Sky have done an excellent job of protecting thier GC riders, Sagan has burst onto the French scene and upset the old fogeys with his youthful exuberance, and Cav has had a very different time of it than usual.
Yesterday a huge crash (alledgedly caused by fannying with shoe covers) destroyed many team's hope for a GC contender, but who knows who could appear in the next week?
Today we hit the mountains, with a viscious final climb to really hit the peloton hard. Today, the s
ts gonna get real...
Personal thoughts.
Sagan will be a phenomenon, plus his tweets were good enough for me to sign up to twitter. Greipel is a bloody animal, contesting a sprint with seemingly pretty bad injuries (can't see him starting today). Wiggo is looking strong, but Cuddles looks very comfortable indeed. Those GC contenders who lost loads of time yesterday will be up for stage wins, I foresee a lot of punishing attacks from people with nothing to lose. This could well cause some to break. Not sure what's gonna happen with Sky - Froome has been caught up in a couple of crashes, so may not be able to protect Wiggo through the mountains as much as they'd like. Cav must be starting to think it's time to go, maybe a few more days, but he's not gonna be much use to Brad and has his eye on a different prize...
I think, although I don't like it, that it'll be another Cuddly year.
Viva le Tour!
(Oh, and for those like me that have avoided twitter like the plague, I really do urge you to sign up. The insight provided is bloody awesome, and Sagan is a guy I would have a very boozy night with!)
So far, we've had crashes galore, BMC and Sky have done an excellent job of protecting thier GC riders, Sagan has burst onto the French scene and upset the old fogeys with his youthful exuberance, and Cav has had a very different time of it than usual.
Yesterday a huge crash (alledgedly caused by fannying with shoe covers) destroyed many team's hope for a GC contender, but who knows who could appear in the next week?
Today we hit the mountains, with a viscious final climb to really hit the peloton hard. Today, the s
ts gonna get real...Personal thoughts.
Sagan will be a phenomenon, plus his tweets were good enough for me to sign up to twitter. Greipel is a bloody animal, contesting a sprint with seemingly pretty bad injuries (can't see him starting today). Wiggo is looking strong, but Cuddles looks very comfortable indeed. Those GC contenders who lost loads of time yesterday will be up for stage wins, I foresee a lot of punishing attacks from people with nothing to lose. This could well cause some to break. Not sure what's gonna happen with Sky - Froome has been caught up in a couple of crashes, so may not be able to protect Wiggo through the mountains as much as they'd like. Cav must be starting to think it's time to go, maybe a few more days, but he's not gonna be much use to Brad and has his eye on a different prize...
I think, although I don't like it, that it'll be another Cuddly year.
Viva le Tour!
(Oh, and for those like me that have avoided twitter like the plague, I really do urge you to sign up. The insight provided is bloody awesome, and Sagan is a guy I would have a very boozy night with!)
Oh, just read that the pressure seems to be getting to Brad.
Yesterday in the finish zone he yanked the camera off a cameraman trying to follow Sagan, and unleashed a torrent of abuse....
I wonder if the commisaires will take action. That's not exactly sportsmanlike nor professional behaviour, and I've just lost a big chunk of respect for him.
Summary from BlazingSaddles on ES:
"Coasting along in the finish zone, Wiggins's path was temporarily blocked by a French cameraman trying to run after the stage winner, Peter Sagan. Instead of moving slightly, Wiggins held his ground and then — in an act of outrageous petulance — seemed to deliberately knock the camera out of the man's grip. In the ensuing war of words, an irate Wiggins was hear shouting: "F***ing a***wipe. You f***ing wiped me out with a camera, you stupid c***." (And to think, if he wins the Tour he'll be up against Andy Murray for the BBC's Sporting Personality Of The Year award...) Granted, stress levels are high — and the cameraman was not looking where he was going. But there would have been no contact had Wiggins not reached out and pulled down on the (no doubt) expensive equipment."
Nibali seems to have noticed, and has gone for the jugular:
"I'm not impressed by Wiggins. In the mountains, I'm more concerned w/Evans who is also a good descender."
Think today could be make or break for the man with aero sideburns.
Yesterday in the finish zone he yanked the camera off a cameraman trying to follow Sagan, and unleashed a torrent of abuse....
I wonder if the commisaires will take action. That's not exactly sportsmanlike nor professional behaviour, and I've just lost a big chunk of respect for him.
Summary from BlazingSaddles on ES:
"Coasting along in the finish zone, Wiggins's path was temporarily blocked by a French cameraman trying to run after the stage winner, Peter Sagan. Instead of moving slightly, Wiggins held his ground and then — in an act of outrageous petulance — seemed to deliberately knock the camera out of the man's grip. In the ensuing war of words, an irate Wiggins was hear shouting: "F***ing a***wipe. You f***ing wiped me out with a camera, you stupid c***." (And to think, if he wins the Tour he'll be up against Andy Murray for the BBC's Sporting Personality Of The Year award...) Granted, stress levels are high — and the cameraman was not looking where he was going. But there would have been no contact had Wiggins not reached out and pulled down on the (no doubt) expensive equipment."
Nibali seems to have noticed, and has gone for the jugular:
"I'm not impressed by Wiggins. In the mountains, I'm more concerned w/Evans who is also a good descender."
Think today could be make or break for the man with aero sideburns.
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