NGM

Thanks for all the input. The one and only time I traveled with a bike I was asked upon arrival in CT to prove that the bike was mine and purchased in RSA. It was and I could, so that was no hassle but that wont be the case this time around

Hi All, I'm in the UK currently and am looking to bring a bike frame and wheels home. I'd imagine it should be straightforward: I claim back the VAT on leaving the UK, and then on arrival in RSA, I declare the import at customs and pay VAT there. There should be no duties as bike parts don't incur duties, and yes I am prepared to argue the point that a frame and wheels does not make it a bike. A couple of questions though: 1. Has anyone done something similar - any pitfalls to be aware of? I'm going to make sure the retailer will list the items as bike parts on the receipt. 2. I may alternatively pick up a bike second hand over here. From reading around a bit I'm under the impression that there would be no import duty on a used (fully assembled) bike from UK to RSA. But I would still have to pay VAT on it - does that sound correct? Thanks

I think he's probably a nice dude and one hell of a rider, but based entirely on that documentary he came across as very emotionally immature and a bit scattershot/unfocussed in the interviews. Perhaps he was under quite a bit of stress, but because of that it's hard to picture him calmly marshaling his troupes for the next 2 weeks. I hope he proves me wrong. I would enjoy a beer with Pidcock about as much as I would David Warner.

I'm guessing they watched the TdF netflix documentary.

Can someone please write a TL/DR for this.

Oh right, is that tom boonen?

Viper is good. Wikipedia says "The Tornado" is one of his nicknames, also decent. He was like shark yesterday afternoon, just weaving along and picking people off. But I think Nibali has dibs on The Shark.

I thought he pulled back a few seconds (on the first mountain stage, 4 i think?) before losing time on the flat again. Either way - not going to happen now.

Controversial opinion but I wonder if Jonas would try to attack on one of the long descents and bridge across to Jorgenson. You just can't see him putting time into Pogacar on a climb and he's technically a very good descender. Unlikely but might be his only card left to play.

Rider 15 likes this...

Seen him suffer on so many breakaways. So happy for the guy.

This breakaway group is so big I wont be surprised if Abrahamsen tries to breakaway off the front of it.

You're quoting a guy who won the tour following a hunting accident that left him with more than 35 shotgun pellets still lodged in his body, some in the lining of his heart and some in lodged in his liver, and today is what you find unbelievable?

He also does seem like a guy with a lot of integrity who hasn't battled to say "I wasn't strong enough today" in the past. He hasn't looked for excuses. But ya, he has looked invincible for so long that it might be tempting to keep that aura by implying that the only reason he was vaguely beatable today was down to poor eating.

Did he though? Cynical I know, but he seemed to fish around in his pockets for ages. I couldn't work out if he was looking for a gel or an excuse. Whatever the case, these two are now going to knock the hell out of each other for the next week and a half. One a bit undercooked, one a bit overcooked.

The vinga-bus is coming.

Most likely outcome IMO.

Broken bike, broken ankle. No problems. Russians are tough man. They don't call him the cyborg from vyborg for nothing.

Hahahaha, took me a moment. But ya.. officially two separate climbs. But you get what I mean: there's a flat bit sort-of halfway between the bottom and the top.

The Cat 1 climb (pas de peyrol) has a plateau and a dip halfway up so would be very interesting to see if they attack before or after this. If UAE set a really hard pace up the climb, then riders that are still with them might get the chance to recover a bit halfway up, negating the some of the hard work. No idea how it will play out, very exciting stage.

I wonder if the top riders will let Derek "GeeCee" get too far down the road today. It seems like his sort of stage. He's not a true threat to the podium I don't think (happy to be proven wrong), but he's also only 4 minutes off the pace. I can't see Visma and UAE being too worried about him, but teams like Ineos, Soudal and Red Bull have a bit more to lose if he moves up a few more places.

Interesting info, but do you have a source for this? I could only find articles that mentioned Calories only (not per kilo) and there was no mention of Jonas' calorie consumption.

Ahhhh right, I'd forgotten about that! You have to think Van Der Poel will have had that one marked on his calendar too.

Hmmmm, good call. But tomorrow is flat, sunday "bumpy" but probably a breakaway vs peloton kinda day, and then monday is a rest. Remco must be the best TT'er of the GC guys and if he gets 2 sec/km on Pogacar he is in yellow. So my guess would be Remco to take the stage and MAYBE the yellow. But ya I like Kung and I'd rather see him win.

We mostly do. And I'm team MvDP. I really don't know any people who dislike Wout. He's a vintage belgian hardman (a flahute) and complains far too little when you consider how often he's scarified his insane talent for his team's ambitions. I'm sure there is adequate fiscal compensation, but money is temporary and glory is forever. One only needs to consider the 2021 TDF where he was let off the leash because the team's GC ambitions had gone down the toilet. He went on to win a mountain stage, a time trial and sprint. OK those come with a few caveats, but that puts him in some pretty elite company. Just my opinion.