nickc

Rigoberto Uran has withdrawn from the 2018 Tour de France ahead of the start of stage 12 on Tuesday. The Colombian crashed heavily on Sunday’s Roubaix stage, resulting in pain his left leg and arm and compromising his ability to pedal. EF Education First – Drapac p/b Cannondale harbored hope for a rest day recovery, but the effects of the crash lingered. “Today I have to share some bad news,” said Uran. “I didn’t recover after the crash. Yesterday in the first real climb, all day, there was pain in my body.” “The most important thing is the rider’s health,” said head sport director Charly Wegelius. “Rigo hasn’t recovered from his crash on the cobbled stage, and his position on the bike is compromised and could create further issues down the line,” Wegelius said. “We along with Rigo felt it best to pull out of the Tour this morning so he can recover and look toward the remainder of the season. “Ultimately this decision comes down to the rider,” Wegelius added. “If a rider wants to continue the race, we look to ways to do that safely. If a rider feels it best to pull out, we do not push them to continue.” Prior to Uran’s crash, EF Education First – Drapac p/b Cannondale had enjoyed a strong first week in the Tour. Highlights included reaching the finish on the right side of several splits in the bunch throughout the opening week, exceeding expectations in the team time trial and a quick reaction to a mass pile-up in the closing kilometers of stage four. Uran had worked his way up to sixth overall ahead of stage nine before tumbling out of general classification contention following the crash. “It’s difficult for me and also for my team,” said Uran. “We prepared for this Tour, all season we were focused on the Tour. Sometimes this happens, and this time, I think it’s the best decision for me to recover and to recover well.” Uran’s exit signals a shift in tactics for #PinkArgyle. The team’s Tour squad had been built around Uran, who finished second in the 2017 Tour de France. The riders chosen to support Uran’s quest to win the Tour will now target stages in the 10 remaining stages. It’s a familiar approach for the American-registered squad. “We’ll miss Rigo of course – he’s a great leader and a wonderful presence to have on the bus and with the staff,” said team CEO Jonathan Vaughters. “We look forward to getting him back healthy for the rest of the season. The guys that remain are fighters, and we have some chances coming up in the mountains. For us, another Tour begins today.”

With both the Alps and the Pyrennees high mountains still to come a lot of the guys marking time or saving legs at this stage - will start to change today !!

The silent assasin has quietly moved up to 7th on GC !!

Not in the best of form and did the Giro de Italia earlier this year.

Post the race, Raikkonen's wife posted a message on her Instagram story: "If you cry like a girl when you lose, do ballet." Mercedes Pit after the F1 GP on Sunday:

Yip, EF say the TTT was a win for them as even with Craddock`s injuries they move Uran up the GC !!

Hamilton and Merc must put on their big girl panties and accept the second place - easy as that !!

Foome did not exactly receive a heroes welcome from the crowd at the team presentation !!

Lions forever !!!

Jy skreeu seker vir die Bullz !!

Blykbaar moet ek nie !!

I does, he removed the brakes and all associated hardware !!

Mmmmm - interesting reading, two new bikes on the scene I have never heard of: A Gaint and a Shitdale. Every day there seems to be more bikes on the market.

I had Arches for three years now on my Dale and have been bombproof - 82kg and hard riding !! Not sure how the new ones are though.

Two of my friends with the same wheelset have had them crack and replaced under warranty only to have them crack again. The end result one went with the new Stans Carbon rims and the other is looking at stronger options, maybe the Arches or something else. Unfortunately as you ride a Scalpel you will be going faster than most and by default punishing the rims more !!!

An unhappy Quintana has just been overheard saying "but then who am I going to follow around France for three weeks"

And Uran is looking in good form - going to be an interesting Tour !!!!

Keith Richards at 23 years old:

And England gave the Aussies a snotklap in cricket - strange how Aussie cricket has gone downhill now they are trying to play clean !!

Yay, Yay and Yay !!

Cannondale - far ahead of the others - no problem with parts !!

Now look at what you have done - at the next race every go fast wannabe pro will have this hairstyle in an effort to outdo the opposition !!

Froome fondly remembers the days when he was riding for Barloworld and they rode Cannondales - wishes Sky would ride them !!

So at the Spur event today in Vereeniging during the prize giving they asked for a show of hands all those who thought that home schoolers should be allowed to compete. I promptly put up my hand and according to the announcer there were three of us It was a large crowd at the prize giving so it was not an overwhelming show of support unfortuantly. They did however say they were inviting comments on it via their FB page and Website. Referring to my original post above the fact that they are inviting comments on the whole issue and that they referred to it during the post race event means that someone has sat up and taken note. I must also add to my original post that when they asked for a show of hands who thinks that Home Schoolers should not be allowed to compete there was also only a couple of hands. I would appear the fast majority are not worried about it either way. It is a massive series - in fact so big in Gauteng they have had to split it into different groups competing on different days to accommodate everyone. I am sure they can then find a way to accommodate the Home Schooling Contingent, especially as its been done in the other provinces. Given the level of enthusiasm amongst the hundreds of kids there and the massive input from Spur I would hate to see their sponsorship affected in any way.

So at the Spur event today in Vereeniging during the prize giving they asked for a show of hands all those who thought that home schoolers should be allowed to compete. I promptly put up my hand and according to the announcer there were three of us It was a large crowd at the prize giving so it was not an overwhelming show of support unfortuantly. They did however say they were inviting comments on it via their FB page and Website.