Daideron

You guys are posting some amazing pictures of this years Tour. Thank you! I find this funny, TREK seem tonhave adopted a Bianchi'ish colour for their new bikes, and BELKIN's skinsuits were almost identical to Ullrichs old Bianchi team! And Vacansoliel team Bianchi bikes are black? I find this amusing. Am I the only one? I also enjoy the new tech that comes with the Tour. Anyone see the amazing Campagnolo "Bora" crankset used in the TT by a few guys? Bet that will cost a room at Nkandla! That Bolide of Froome's makes the Graal look dated beyond its 3years.

@ChunkyMunky Lite...glad someone agrees with me regarding Cavendish. Like I said I am his biggest fan. And personally I do know a thing or two about sprinting, having been schooled in the Jackie Lester school of hard knocks, I tend to see the srinting in this day and age as a lot more polite than it was 20 years ago. That said, I know the difference between drifting off a line and coming across a wheel accidently. And that was neither. Yes Cav was going for the wheel of Griepel, but he dipped his shoulder and leant into Veelers. You dont do that accidently. I dont think he intended to crash him, just in the heat of the moment thought he would bump him. You can see it dawn on Cav as Veelers goes down, he shakes his head and looks back, almost aware that somethings going to be said. If you look further down the line before the sprint, Sagan and an Orica rider are trading blows and yet nobody falls. Thats a fair tussle. But for what its worth (nothing clearly) I do not for one second believe that was a fair ruling. But I will be cheering for a Cavendish win today!

Martin is a machine. But so is Froome. That was a display of supremacy from Chris yesterday and it will have made the other contenders aware there is not much they can do against him. Personally I disagreed with the ruling in favour Cavendish from tuesday. I am a huge Cav fan, but dont think the ruling was right. However, throwing urine on someone is just disgraceful. It is just a sport, and whatever your feelings are towards an athlete, that just does not justify that kind of behaviour. Absolutely disgusting.

@ JCZA, I remember that Tour! Was a great race. And I must admit I used to dislike Voeckler simply because he seemed disliked by almost everyone else! (Most notably Paul Sherwen!) But I have grown to like him! His quirks and odd facial expressions are amusing. And he is not afraid to have a go at winning a race either! Deep in my heart I would have loved for a French rider to have won this centenary Tour. But I can see thats as likely as Armstrong, Hamilton and Landis teaming up for a comeback!

It is a disgrace that these ladies dont get more press coverage regarding their results. Actually let me rephrase that, it is a disgrace that there is no press coverage for these ladies. Well done there Mrs Pasio. Doing your country proud

That Quintana can climb. No doubt about it. There was a shot on the telly on saturday of the main pack as they ascended the second to last climb, and it looked like the road was near vertical in front of them as it zigzagged up through the trees and rocks. An incredible sight. The fact a guy like Quintana can zip up at the speed he did was incredible. My favourite moment was him passing Voeckler! Voeckler pounced on the wheel, managed a few turns of the pedal and was just as quickly shelled! Awesome to watch. As was Rollands heroic effort to catch Quintana only to be shelled as quickly as Voeckler! Would have been nice to see Quintana attack on the final climb instead of the former. Could have been interesting indeed.

And may I just add that if Sir Bradley was watching yesterday he probably spilled his tea! I am willing to believe he is happy that he didnt start the Tour! Because if he had, and he had exercised his right as top dog at SKY, he would have lost minutes on saturdays stage, and yesterday he would have been ridden out of the top 20. Another thing that I am enjoying is the aggresive nature of the boys from Orica. Clarke is a great talent, and he is not afraid to head the charge in his first Tour. I also enjoy the attitude of Garmin, divide and conquer! Are they going to win the Tour? No way! But they sure are shaping it! Although I do wish Hesjedal would wear some different sunglasses! And I am glad Froome swapped those glasses that make him look like Skeletor for some fancy yellow shades! Last year I was a big anti Sagan advocate. His yobbish behaviour just made me cringe. But, that young man is seriously strong. He is an unbelieveable talent. Cavendish stands no chance against him in the battle for green simply because Sagan is willing to go after every chance to grab points. As Cavendish sits and waits for finales, Sagan is solidifying his lead and I must say thats great racing. I do think Cavendish will win a couple more stages, and yes he threw a fit the other day. But he is a tough little guy. In the last few years I have lost count of the number of times he has hit the deck, but almost everytime he is up and fighting again the next day. That deserves credit in my opinion.

Personally I think Froome handled it well yesterday. The race lead was his to defend and he did just that. Alone. I am impressed that the other teams have taken the fight to SKY in the manner that they did. If anything, they have shown that they can break the dominance of SKY simply by not allowing SKY to dictate the race. Attacking early showed that SKY were not expecting any resistance to their setting the pace as per the usual. And thats what cost them their hiding yesterday! Froome had to cover some serious moves, in particular that tandem escape by Valverde and his teammate as they attempted to cross to the lead group. So well done Froome. I am shocked that Contador is riding so poorly. I was hoping he would have more in his legs and challenge more. Seems he is a spent force and a shadow of his former mountain goat self. I was glad to see Shleck up there. But I dont think he deserves all the adulations he is getting. He simply followed wheels. Phil and Paul make him sound like he is the huge threat. He simply followed wheels. Evans. What is up with Evans? Two years ago he showed such class and wisdom in the Tour, the past week he looked set to challenge. Saturday he got a proper hiding. Sunday he was lucky to be a passenger? The BELKIN boys are riding well, and it is great to see fresh faces. Quintana and Valverde are strong. Valverde seems to have the form of his life, but he is going to need to get away in the mountains to challenge Froome, as it is not going to happen in the TT. Quintana looks like a class rider and I wonder if he was allowed to race freely would we see a mountain battle between him and Froome? I feel sorry for Kennaugh, that was a nasty spill he took. But thats bike racing. Porte is a class rider, and in all honesty I am shocked that someone of his calibre was ridden off like that yesterday. He should have never have been dropped like that. That said in my eyes the peloton now know how to beat SKY, dont let them control and descend the race into chaos.

As I said, we almost seem more concerned with the downfall of someone than their success. If Froome tested positive, its his burden to bear. It would fall on him and he would look the fool. What happens in the future, none of us know. But right now, today, I am going to enjoy the racing. The Tour, Giro and the sport as a whole is bigger than any single rider. Lets just enjoy it.

Ok, Chris's ride yesterday was incredible. Nothing short of epic! Good luck to him and the SKY stormtroopers for the rest of the tour! They have done their homework and as always seem to be not one, two or even three steps ahead, but twenty steps ahead of everyone else! Froome's admission that they used the Vuelta to assess Contador must have left Berto reeling and wondering what else they have in their bag of tricks. They made it known that they know Berto better than he knows himself! Mind-job tactic unleashed and effective! A lot of people are casting doubt on Froome. And I understand given the recent scandals. But maybe lets enjoy the racing, and celebrate the achievements. We seem obsessed with people cheating, and almost wish their downfall. Why? In my eyes, Chris rode himself into history yesterday. His admissions to the press and statements of "I wont test positive 20/30 years from now" are bold, and he knows the scrutiny they are under, and the inevitable scientific advances that will come in years to come that will expose the drugs of today in the same way the EPO test came out to destroy Armstrong. That said, I believe him. And I will cheer him till the day he stops riding. I am going to choose to see the positive (no pun intended) in his and the teams ride.

Ok, Chris's ride yesterday was incredible. Nothing short of epic! Good luck to him and the SKY stormtroopers for the rest of the tour! They have done their homework and as always seem to be not one, two or even three steps ahead, but twenty steps ahead of everyone else! Froome's admission that they used the Vuelta to assess Contador must have left Berto reeling and wondering what else they have in their bag of tricks. They made it known that they know Berto better than he knows himself! Mind-job tactic unleashed and effective! A lot of people are casting doubt on Froome. And I understand given the recent scandals. But maybe lets enjoy the racing, and celebrate the achievements. We seem obsessed with people cheating, and almost wish their downfall. Why? In my eyes, Chris rode himself into history yesterday. His admissions to the press and statements of "I wont test positive 20/30 years from now" are bold, and he knows the scrutiny they are under, and the inevitable scientific advances that will come in years to come that will expose the drugs of today in the same way the EPO test came out to destroy Armstrong. That said, I believe him. And I will cheer him till the day he stops riding. I am going to choose to see the positive (no pun intended) in his and the teams ride.

Unreal...unreal...unreal. Congratulations Daryl. Unreal

And I suspect Bouhanni's teammates inflicted that beating on him, not the crash! I hear he is a diva, and seems his team could care less about him, seeing as he spent an age chasing back alone yesterday

Hesjedal has some serious injuries. But nothing compared to Hoogerland! How ever will he continue in such agony?!

Congrats Daryl. SA now has two TDF stage winners! Great day for SA cycling

I love it when the break succeeds like yesterday. Well ridden and even more deserved in my opinion. Froome's move initially had me a little confused, but after some thought it was probably wise to have a run down those twists alone. I love the guy, but his handling skills are a bit scary at times! So maybe this was his way of descending in peace. (Please dont view this comment as an attack on Froome. He is my hope for the win, & a more deserging winner you would be hard to find in my opinion) As a long time customer of Tony Impey, to see his son ride so well, it is simply mindblowing. Well done Daryl! I really do hope he gets a stage win in the Tour de France.

Watching that Tour documentary was eye opening. In a way it looked like a modern day MTB race with guys hammering along dirt roads and stopping at those feed tables. But I feel stupid saying I am a seasoned cyclist when those early tours saw the guys doing a stage of 470km in 18hours! And they had old basic bikes and their own spares on their backs! A stage from Briancon to Geneva in one day?!

Yes Kranswurm, thats in fact true. I remember trying to tighten the valve after a puncture and not being able to feel the valve or my fingers! Those were BIG rides in those days, we had about 1200 riders at most if memory serves me correctly.

Yip, that was the Star 100 that it hailed in!

Some say it is the biggest unreality show on tv. Personally I love the Tour. Pity the riders bugger it up! But I say, vive le tour!

It is amazing how much you remember from your cycling years. If someone asks me about work I did in 1988, my first point of reference for that year is The Star 100 and I figure out the memory from there. I have had over 30bikes in four decades of cycling and remember each one as fondly as the next. I am not a Tour de France champion, but I see myself as a champion for cycling. The second you sit on that saddle you are free to ride wherever your legs can take you. But what got me into cycling? Lets just say Eddy Merckx made it look really fun and easy!

You could not have said it better Kalahari! It does spoil the magic of it for me to be honest. I know the riders of old were questionable when it came to being clean or not, but watching Thierry Marie ride over 200km in a lone break to win the stage and reclaim the yellow jersey was good intense racing.

Yes WezO, that is a certain coronation for you! If you want to be crazy and make lots of friends on the Alpe, make your own sign and wave it at the cameras as they pass! Just dont take enough beer to make you strip down to your undies and run alongside Alberto. Ok maybe its ok to do it to Alberto!

Slowbee is correct. There is more than one road up the Alpe. I have heard of that crazy challenge, not sure I would be up for that. Just to clarify, did this guy complete this challenge? Or is he still missing and now presumed a mental patient?

Dangle, I agree with you! This team setting the pace all day so that their leaders can attack whoever is left with 1km to go is no fun to watch! Tours like '87,'89 where battles were waged far from the final climb were great to watch. It now almost feels too clinical, too rehearsed. WezO, thats the best idea yet! And if you take said mountain bike with enough to share in your cooler box, you will be the hero on the mountain that day! You will make many crazy and international friends!