Lucky Luke.

Thanks Marko, I'm keen and I will bring my daughter as well, depending on the day and time.

I can only assume that your wanking video (which I'm sadly unable to view) is a reference to your earlier speech about the poor taxi driver, how he hasn't adequately saved up to answer the legal repercussions of his lethally *** driving, and should be left alone by the baying media hounds etc etc ad nauseum. Did he ever send you a thank you note for the flowers?

Thanks Swiss, I'd really like to know how to more effectively give them hell, other than posting here.. it would be good to hear from Duane or someone else close to the case to find out if anything further will happen .. the complete lack of recourse that we as vulnerable road users have, through legal channels, is frankly very scary - this case has brought it home to me for the first time. Drivers will do as they please, safe in the knowledge that they will never have to stand trial, regardless of their actions.

One written on the road at the Red Hill KOM, fading a bit now, along with the NPA's credibility, public outrage and media coverage.

How does the thread overstate things? This guy killed Burry with his taxi, and he is now, as far as I know, walking around a free man. Seems pretty factual. Whether he did or did not kill him was never at issue - or did I completely misunderstand the turn of events?

Yes, I've found that once stopped, the driver of the truck becomes quite accessible. Most trucks, after trying to kill you, will stop somewhere nearby to make a delivery or buy a pie. I like to take this opportunity to have a chat with the driver face to face.

.. it's pretty important to know what level everybody's at - especially who the weaker riders are - and roughly what time / position the team is going for, what the strategy will be, and who is in charge - only one guy should wear that hat, and they should be ready and willing to call the shots whenever necessary have fun and watch out for the handbags!

Hard to say as the DC is twice as long, so you need a level of base / endurance that is a bit harder to establish than what you need for Funride WC. But if I had to hazard an estimate, I would say good conditions, sub-6.20 DC would probably be roughly equivalent to the level needed for Sub 3 Argus. Sub 6 DC, you would need to be someone who can do sub 2.50 maybe.. .. it's a bit apples and oranges though :/

You either need one or can save money when doing virtually anything in any of the SAN Parks administrated areas - walking dogs (Silvermine), riding mtb (Tokai), enter Cape Point - by bike or car, etc. Quite a long list.

+1 and optionally get a wild card and ride IN cape point - quieter roads and better views you will not find. Get the wild card though, because san parks are not messing around with the entry fees. And don't let them charge you for an mtb pass if you are riding a road bike.

Yes, Chris is winning because the other GC contenders waste too much energy contesting the sprints. No man! You are giving his trade secrets away. Why not just paste his power data here for all to see?

This has to be one of the dumbest threads of all time, which takes some doing around here.

Contador is digging deep and ready to try anything to claw back those minutes... and he has some good allies too, on his own team, and possibly on others as well. These next three stages should be good value.

- doping is a part of the culture in cycling - the media, team staff, riders and sports administrators all try to cover it up - for some people it's the subtext to the grand tour narrative that - perversely perhaps - makes things even more compelling, because it's the story nobody wants you to know, but a key part of the puzzle nonetheless - single-day non-endurance sports don't have the same storyline and buildup as a cycling grand tour, hence the doping narrative is not as interesting for the non-participant - yes, undoubtedly track and field is filthy and has been for years. look at all the womens records from the 70's that just cannot be broken.

I think we are on the same page - basically my opinion of wiggo is that he's cashed his chips in - keen to get out now while the going is good. And it's a smart move considering his age and abilities if you ask me. I think his anti-doping verve went down the toilet when he realised that he had one chance to win the tour and it required sacrificing those principles. He must have charged up big-time to lose all that weight whilst upping his power output. No doubt there was significant external pressure in the year of the London olympics, with his title sponsor being one of the world's biggest media companies with much to gain from his success. The UCI looked to be fully on board that bus as well. McQuaid basically announced Sky had won about half-way through the tour.

Sure but wiggins has been put out to pasture in my opinion. We will see very little from him from now on, apart from the odd charity appearance, maybe some BBC chat shows, perhaps celebrity survivor or a commentary gig. Not much tv time racing a bike I'm willing to bet.

Ok, I will deal with what I see as the issues one by one. 1. True or not, the story seems an obvious PR exercise to me, which is hard to deny given the timing. 29 August, Froomey takes the lead at the '11 Vuelta, and cycling pundits are shocked to see Wiggo's domestique, whose contract is likely not going to be renewed at Sky, winning this grand tour. The next day, surprise surprise, August 30 2011, is the day Sky PR breaks the story - the first time anybody in the public domain hears about the bilharzia - on the 29th, a google date range search shows absolutely no mention of it on the internet - only a lot of people asking 'is Chris Froome too good to be true??'. chris froome bilharzia - the day before the Vuelta lead chris froome bilharzia - the day after the Vuelta lead The day after, we are inundated with stories and media coverage of this miraculous story, of a guy with a debilitating disease, who overcomes the odds to rise to grand tour glory. Sound familiar at all? 2. The timing & origin of the diagnosis This story has been inconsistent. Some reports say a Sky blood screening picked it up, but Chris seems to say a Kenyan blood screening for the bio-passport was how he found out. Most reports say early December 2010. Late November 2010 - the 27th to be exact - is the day Chris rode for Daikin at the double century and they smashed the course record. I talked one of the Daikin guys that day and he looked ill, saying Chris sat on the front for most of the ride. They beat 2nd place Cape Town Market by 11 minutes. I've tried to piece this story together. Chris had come from Kenya earlier in the month where he'd been on his mtb doing a multi-day charity ride. It seems more likely to me - if he did get the disease - that he picked up Bilharzia in Kenya and it would take the disease at least 4-6 weeks to materialise. For there then to be a blood screening in Kenya in early December where Bilharzia was diagnosed, he would have to then travel back to Kenya from SA (apparently one of his brothers got married?) and be compelled to go for a UCI bio-passport screening. I'm not 100% sure how the bio-passport logistics work when in out of the way places. If anyone can tell me how the UCI would arrange a blood screening in Kenya for the bio-passport I'd be interested to know. I'd assume they wouldn't leave it up to the rider to pick a doctor and submit the results to them. Regardless of the accuracy of the Bilharzia story, if Chris only got Bilharzia late 2010, that still doesn't explain him struggling pre-late 2010, being DQ-ed from the Giro that year for hanging on to a car etc. All that said, I have to say he seems pretty likable, but this is pro cycling and the history of the sport compels me to challenge fairly outlandish stories that arise at very opportunistic moments.

I think this is more indicative of the rider salaries, which are not necessarily a function of the whole team budget. BMC has to pay for two world champs and an ex-tour winner. I would guess that where Sky racks up the expenditure - more than any other team - is on equipment, branding, logistics, training, R&D and doctors, although clearly they are paying the team well too, despite the fact that they don't have any grand tour winners or world champs yet.

Hard not to think this story is BS. I can list all of the inconsistencies and issues with the timing for you if you like, but I suspect nobody wants to hear them.

Froome and Porte motoring up Alpe d'Huez dropping all and sundry on ET bmxes. Whack an ET in Froome's front basket for max style points.

I am writing to Brailsfraud now. After today's stage, Froome must pedal round the earth backwards at light speed so that his age goes backwards. Then the door is open for him to win the best young rider jersey too.

Yes! Froome can win all the jersies clean, just like Jalabert did! The yellow jersey MUST win the final stage gallop of tour no. 100 on the Champs Elysee, or I want my ******* money back!

anyone notice that both Hesjedal and Van Gaarderen were bested up Ventoux by Andre Greipel? xD

I am writing to Brailsford now to suggest Chris trains his sprint. The fans deserve more!

Here's how Brailsford made use of Froome's 'natural talent' at the 2010 Giro. That's GC superstar Greg Henderson he has donated a wheel to. Even the guy's own mum voiced her doubts about his bike racing ability. http://cyclingweekly.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/11141/000003945/9868/giro-2010-st10-HENDERSON-FROOME.jpg At the end of the day I guess you have to smile a little for how he is showing everybody.