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They need to do something fast..might be a bit early to call but it looks like Cav is just not great..either he has lost his edge or he is just unfit.

Yeah probably on paper but Sunweb much like Scott seem to love the TTT discipline and normaly punch above their weight. Not sure about this Sunweb team...think they might be a bit weak because of the Giro focus.

Yeah I agree...Movistar is a bit climber heavy so dont think they are going to have a great TTT..Froome,Porte and Yates will get time back on that day.But Tom will end up with a lead over all Gc guys.

Hoping Cav can pull off something..form book will say its highly unlikely but still hope to see him proof all wrong! Come on Cav!!!!! Then want to see Impey in top 10..I think he is in perfect form for a run at green but not sure if it will be allowed.

So did you pre-order? Out 4 Oct..will definitely be reading this one.

Great read but extremely sad that they have to do this!That is Sky and Froome IP that should never have to be shared.

Those "fans" will never be interested in the facts..they will jump on anything they can find.The facts are simple..the only way Salb can assist an athlete other than to alleviate asthma symptoms ..is if taken in huge quantities in tablet form for a prolonged period to assist with weight loss.Chris had 1 adverse level finding...3 days before the end of a Grand tour...you think a cyclist needs to loose weight 3weeks into a GT?? It all is extremely laughable.. I also believe we making progress and maybe the focus should be on drugs not listed that are being abused and has a real impact like strong painkillers. At the end of the day the focus should remain to protect the health of our Athletes?? Cycling struggling alot with its current business model and sponsorship is starting to be a real battle in current economic climate. We dont need this negativity at a massive level for something as insignificant as this.

I think this year it is going to be very close..its up to Movistar and BMC to make the racing.There is no doubt that Movistar has more watts per kg at their disposal than probably ever seen. I think they have 5 riders that have finished top 4 in Grand tours..if they dont win this thing with that lineup people should not blame Sky for its dominance, they should look to the other teams and their lack of tactics and aggression. This is most probably the most impressive lineup of Gc riders we have seen for a long time so let see.

You are the type of fan cycling needs more of!!!

There is a nice long climb here where I live..think I might do a test one day..go up timed..then come back down..take 10 or so puffs and race back up. Going by all the Doper squad attention this thing turned Froome into a superhuman somehow so might get me a KOM or 2? Just a question here to all the expert's that think dominating like Lance must equal doping. Do you know what Armstrongs bio passport would have looked like while winning all those years? He hardly passed the test during his comeback..now imagine what it looked like during the prime days. Do you even u understand performance physiology? Do you understand what the passport do and how it works. My opinion on this doping crap in cycling is it has gone way to far.We are way to focussed on petty stuff and it creates so much negativity.It really is not worth the damage... When was the last time a top rider has been bust for any really performance enhancing stuff?? So if someone can oparate within the passport parameters does it really matter? One guy uses an altitude tent..the other micro dosing..both get a 1% increase...??Both are operating within their OWN physiology..NOT some predefined limit.So both optimze on OWN God given parameters and the passport track and show any abnormal behavior. Only thing to me that is a bit contentious in endurance sport is the weight loss aids..that won't be managed via the passport and can be seen as creating an unfair advantage. Anyway Puff away Froome..you and Sky somehow managed to come up with "stuff" that the collective of all of the endurance world with all of their money and doctors and specialist has not been able to do.That is one hell of an acheivement!!! Or maybe that "stuff" is working on weaknesses like descending a bike really really fast and you work on it for years and years until your rider had mastered it or look into drag created when accelerating seated versus standing......

Think he is just testing the form..on a normal day Porte will out TT most of the Gc riders that can TT a bit and will probably smash a guy like Quintana Porte have been building up much more controlled this year with almost no early peaks. Normally he is winning all over the place..I think they decided to reduce the racing programme and focus on hitting form for the Tour. If he gets it right over 3 weeks I still beleive he is the only rider that can really match Froome on all terrain.. tactics aside he is the only one with the guns to match or even beat Froome

Hey Cav..no photo of Impey taking home Green? Great ride and amazing result!

Brilliant Mr Impey!! Will go nicely with the Tdf yellow in the showroom!! Would like to see him try and defend the green now.

Impey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Love the fact that he is getting more freedom now to go for wins.He has been up there in some big races this year. That Jersey looks sooooo gooodddd on him!Think that must be the biggest win for a SA jersey up to date??

I have to say that I am really a bit disappointed in Jacques and Van Zyl..only because I like them both and have had high hopes for them.Van Zyl was brilliant in 2016 but he is now sort of flying under the radar.Then Ryan also not going great and Rynardt struggling like hell to come back from injury.Only Jaco that is really showing himself. Not great right now from our SA boys..but will keep on backing them and hope for something big!

Thats sort of the point...Try and do what the best rider in the world is doing?? You will not find 1 other rider in the top 10 positions of all 3.Louis is probably never going to win a Grand tour..but with some time and the right support structure he can be a top 5 rider.And that will be amazing!

They have had loads of bad luck so lets just hope they pull it back between the tour and vuelta. Loosing O'Connor so close to the finish with him on a good day was just the Cherrie!! Meintjes also not at his best..I beleive he is going to be strong at Vuelta.Not so sure that it was the best plan to line him up for a 3rd straight grand tour at his age? How many gc riders did tdf,vuelta and then Giro?He did 8th then 12th and then had to refocus for Giro?We quick to criticize but in my view that is a big ask..

The wind has been really cold..how much colder will it be mid winter? I take it the big rain is still on its way..

Double post..

Howzit guys!So just a quick update...yesterday celebrated our first month in Nz!Been one hell of a ride so far but starting to settle in and really enjoying this amazing place!

For sure...going to be used for many a indoor trainer suffer sessions

Then the big thing is always the chase dynamics..especially with 2days to go..lots of podium infighting..TD has also said he made the mistake to wait on the descend.Thinking back to that attack by Andy in the tour..the biggest difference was the way Cadel chased..he took responsibility and ended up as a TT between 2 riders. Cadel won that tour because he did not allow the chase dynamics to get to him.Mostly it is a mess when Gc guys have to collaborate.

Feel sorry for Yates..but this race is hard as hell and he is still just 24..attacking like that every chance you get and sustaining it for 3 weeks is not something we will see much of in the new era. Great that he animated the race like that because if it was not for him Froome would most probably been in a much better place and that ride would not have been required. Very much like what happened to Cadel in his first Giro..in Pienk all the way till 3 days to go..then boom!

Good article..problem is most haters dont really care about the facts..most actually understand very little about cycling.I have tried my best to stay away from most social media after that win but ended up reading some twitter nonsense..what amazes me most is that thanks to Chris, Salbu has just been upgraded from no proof of any performance enhancing abilities to the strongest drug in the world!!Sales must be going through the roof!!

Unbelievable....Unbelievable..I ask for Froome to go ApeSh%$....so he goes GorillaS#$t!!! To be honest this is the character of the man..absolute refusal to go down without a fight.