Tag: Le Tour de France 2011

Duelling Trains

Duelling Trains. There's something about certain sporting moments when two competitors meet each other in their pomp and just go head to head. There's a minimum of tactics, and a maximum of fireworks, and we, the interested onlookers can only marvel at how good this is, and wonder who will crack first?

Ah, the First Time!

Ah, the First Time. Everyone remembers their first time. And after many years of flirtation and "everything but," last night was JV's. Garmin have finally managed to break their cherry to win a stage at the Tour. Now that the hoodoo has been cleared, I'm expecting multiple wins throughout the race, with Tyler Farrar being first cab off the rank tonight with the Stage 3 Bunch Sprint.

Our ’09 TdF Team Time Trial

So I'm back after a 2 night lay-off with a bit of a 'lergy-talk about bad timing! Last night sounded like a brilliant finale (although Gilbert winning is hardly a surprise). I can't wait to see what happens next in this race - the Team Time Trial is on tonight, and consequently there are a bunch of teams who are riding for a chance to hold the yellow jersey. Gilbert holding on by 3s over Cadel, and 6s over at least one bloke from every other team that can put together a decent TT means that the boys will be putting it all on the line in the hope of holding the yellow jersey at the end of the day.

The Dotty Jumper

The Dotty Jumper. Or the polka dot (climbers) jersey, or the king of the mountains. This is the jersey that is currently the least predictable of those up for grabs in the Tour, and also currently the least closely followed (this is perhaps untrue in non-Anglophone countries, but comparing the amount of coverage that Cav gets in his green jersey battles, as opposed to Anthony Charteau in his dotty battles, I don't think so).

Talking About The Green

Talking About The Green. We're into the final couple of days prior to the big show starting, and I reckon it's time to throw my two cents into the prediction ring. I'll start with the green (or points) jersey-a jersey that two of the boys from Garmin have worn in the past two seasons, but which neither actually held. Wiggo and Millar both rode in the green jersey the day after the Prologue, yet neither was leading the points competition, which was lead by Fabian Cancellara, who happened to also be holding the yellow jersey, and so of course wore that on the day.

Two Weeks Out

Two Weeks Out. If the energy was up a week ago, things have gotten even more hyped for all of the teams headed to le Tour now. Cyclists will have ridden themselves into or out of spots as the final places are essentially solidified based on a combination of form, usefulness to team goals and personality.

Three Weeks to Go

Three Weeks to Go. We're approaching mid-June, and the cycling world in Europe is building to a frenzy of anticipation: three weeks 'til the Tour! Most teams will have had five or six of their riders locked in as starters since before the season began, with only a badly-timed injury preventing big hitters like Thor Hushovd, Ryder Hesjedal and Christian Vande Velde from Garmin from starting.

At Random

The VV View: The Inequalities of Doping Sanctions

I had intended to start this piece on the subject of Mr. Dettori’s current woes by saying that Frankie seems like a cool guy to me; but then reminding us that so too did Tyler H. and Lance. But one of our readers has given me a better intro which underscores my point. Namely that it’s not just about Lance and ever stiffer penalties.

Le Tour de France 2015 – Stage 21; Sèvres – Paris Champs-Élysées

When we spoke to Cav's personal soigneur, Aldis half way through the stage we knew it wasn't to be; 'And Mark, today ?' Aldis screwed up his face; 'he's a little sick...' So 4:1 to Greipel - and the rumours about Cav having to learn to understand Brian Smith's accent at MTN get ever stronger. We changed our system and didn't drive race route for the last stage; instead we drove straight to the digs, got organised, had a shower and headed off across a wet Paris to the finish circuit.

Richard Bideau – Another record-breaking 100 Mile Time Trial, but again no certificate

Biggest news of the weekend? Spilak wins overall in Suisse - and the Russian team takes the GC at ZLM too with Goncalves; Dillier wins the Route du Sud for BMC or Cav shows form in Slovenia to get the Dimension Data management team off the Valliums? Nope - Richard Bideau. Adam Duggleby’s (Vive le Velo) 3:16:51 to break the British 100 mile time trial record on the e2/100, Newmarket course is the ride which has tongues wagging on this side of the Channel and North Sea. Peter Harrison (AS Test Team) 3:18:58 was also inside the old mark; as was the man we interviewed two years ago when we all thought he’d nabbed the record with his 3:18:54, reigning BBAR Richard Bideau – until the course was re-measured and found to be ‘short’ by 0.2 miles. We caught up with Bideau two days after his ride...

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Eleven, a Lap of Tobago

Much of the Trinidad & Tobago 'Soca' music is topical, dealing with social issues like drugs and gang violence; political, blaming the politicians for high prices and squandering public funds or be-rating certain ethnic groups - I'm not sure a lot of it would get played in the UK.

The Pizza Matrix Thwarted

The Pizza Matrix Thwarted. We have all been faced with, and stumped by, the eternal question when hosting a gathering: how many pizzas to order?

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 12: Postscript

Bonjour! Sorry I haven't drawn a line under my sojourn in France sooner, but the last few days have been a tad hectic getting back into the groove. Here are a few pictures taken on my last day...
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