Sniffie

Go Majka! I need a lot more points.

If the Phil and Paul show are going to tell the Pinot story one more time... Getting more irritating than the dreaded mtn coffee advert.

Nibs is so strong! Well done and well done to Majka.

Hear hear!

I will have to agree with you on the bit in bold, but you have to look past the sensationalist journalism. Firstly the two chemicals mentioned in the article are both herbicides not pesticides. Secondly they state that the levels detected fell shy of the 'maximum residue level'. They didn't state how far shy. Was it just below or far below the MRL. I bet it was far below otherwise they would have made a strong point about it. The sad thing is you will have to look far and wide for organically produced wheat and maize in SA. (I don't think it exists.)

The organic virgin CO from crede oils has got quite a strong coconut flavour.

Not sure about other guys and gals, but I don't use coconut milk or cream at all, only the oil (organic virgin). Why do you want to use the milk instead of the oil?

Cavendish, Schleck, Froome, Contador, Cancellara.....Talansky as well. You are psychic right? Be brave now son and show us your team!

Nobody wants to take Sagan to the line in a sprint like today. He was isolated near the end and then he has no friends in the peleton. Whenever there's an attack near the end every one sits up and waits for Sagan to chase it down.

I don't buy the "bike fell of the roof rack" or "bike hit by another car" scenarios. JC pointed out the facts about the transponder, plus his race no can also be seen. The places and the way in which the frame snapped looks like typical damage what could be expected after a hard hit on the front wheel, like hitting a pothole or road debris at speed. I think the specialized guys are afraid that the public would think that Contador crashed because of a frame failure. In reality though the chance of crashing after hitting a pothole or similar at 70 km/h with one or most probably both hands of the handlebar must be very high indeed. Would he have crashed even if the frame didn't snap? Most probably yes.

What a stage!!! So much happening the entire day. I must say Nibs and Astana looking very strong, but I think the attacks are going to come thick and fast over the next 2 weeks. Contador's crash was a real pity, would have loved to see how he shaped up against Nibs today.

But not as good either.

Racing over the cobbles of Northern Europe is almost as old as bicycle racing itself. One only has to think of the rich history of races like Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne etc. For the route of the TdF to be representative of racing in France I feel that each edition should include at least one cobbled stage. What is more Nibali proved yesterday that it is possible for a tiny mountain goat like himself to hold their own and even excel on the cobbles against the strong men of the spring classics. I say HTFU!

I might eat humble pie Gen but beefy Bert looked like a beaten man, and what is more he was isolated on crucial times today. Saxo didn't look like the yellow jersey team today. On the other hand Astana was brilliant in how they planned and executed a plan on a very difficult day.

At least 2 of the top GC contenders lost the tour today...

Caught out on the flat roads.

Don't want to jinx him, but Nibali is handling the wet cobbles extremely good.

I am not sure who coined the phrase, but it was called: "The war to end all war" If the phrase is used nowadays I suppose it is with a rather cynical undertone.

Tomorrow is going to be a BIG day! Nobody's going to win the tour, but the big contenders need to be very vigilant... Easy to lose the tour on a stage like this.

Greipel hasn't been on song leading into TDF. Bad form continuing.

Whow! Did you notice how he handled his bike in that last kay through the turns to make sure he stays on Kittel's wheel. Squeezing through 2 or 3 half gaps, that was amazing skill and nerve.

Sagan has got bigger fish to fry. He can't match Kittel on an all out straight line flat sprint and he knows it. That is why I thought he played it brilliantly, he made sure of Kittel's wheel early on and was quite prepared to sit there for the entire sprint. By doing that he made sure of second place and another handful of points. His goal is green in Paris, and his method is consistency. He should win many sprinter's jerseys in the grand tours in the years to come. Even though he is not the fastest on a flat sprint, he is still young, he is canny, perhaps the best bike handler in the field and what's more he can out climb all the other sprinters to be in with a shout after a hilly stage.

I think you misunderstood my previous post. What you describe above is precisely what I was talking about. Putting up DANGER signs left right and centre where it is not really needed serves no purpose and can even be more dangerous. I did a race once where the longer distance joined up with the shorter distances towards the end. On this part of the route every 30 cm drop was marked with 3 down arrows and skull and cross bone signs erected for each slightly rocky section. Every one started ignoring the signs, but with about 5 km to go there was a real big drop off just after a corner. A lot of people went over the handle bars because they ignored the 3 arrow sign and carried to much speed into the obstacle.

This is very true, I have seen the above scenario on more than just a couple of occasions.

I have been mountainbiking for about 8 years and I think that the average Joe's skills and fitness have improved over time. I also enjoy the more technical stuff, never been to a skills clinic. Not because I don't think I will benefit from it, only because nothing available here in the platteland. I try to learn online and practice what I see on youtube. Luckily we have a few technical spots on our 2 River course here in Bothaville to try and stay sharp.