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rusty

22nd July 2015, 17:27
Pigale, unless people here have Eurosport they won't see Greg LeMond. On ITV4 here we get the "legendary" Ned Boulting (famous for his book, "How I won the Yellow Jumper").

High time the contenders got stuck into Froome, if they are able.
If Sagan is loved as much as PouPou was, it will be a great achievement!
Sagan is more suited to the one day Classics, I think.
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rusty

22nd July 2015, 17:35
Jazzgirl,
G is in 4th spot on the GC.
Two and a half minutes behind Valverde, who is in third, and going very well.
Contador is 6 seconds behind G.
A podium finish is unlikely for Geraint.
He is Froome's wingman and his priority is to get Froome to Paris in yellow.
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pigale

22nd July 2015, 17:37
Yes Rusty, but Quintana looked quite dangerous towards the last part of today's stage, and in fact finished ahead of Froome (by an inch or so though). Still, he could start to be a threat to Froome if he gains time in the climbs- and there are plenty to come.

As for Voeckler, I have totally given up on him !
Sorry but never heard of Ned Boulting ! Must have been when I lived abroad and was busy working.

By the way, that steephill link also offers the possibility of watching a video of the 25 last kms of the race, as well as the 10 last kms or simply the last one only. Good to see if anyone want to see the descent.
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rusty

22nd July 2015, 17:50
Pigale, I was jesting about Ned!
He is a journalist, but can be very amusing.
He is fairly new to the bike game.
When he was first sent to cover Le Tour, he had not the faintest idea about the race.
Like all of us, very much on a learning curve!
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chrise

22nd July 2015, 17:58
The last time we were in the Vercors, we went up Alpe d'Huez (by car, of course). There was a race on, so we had to go up the back road (we came down the cycle route).

On the way up we pulled into a layby to admire the view. A large car pulled in front of us and another behind, and several swarthy men piled out. One said "We're Libyans". I said "That's OK; we don't like Margaret Thatcher either", and everything was fine.
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pigale

22nd July 2015, 18:01
Ah well, that could explain why I don't know him !

Do you think Quintana can be a threat to Froome ?
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rusty

22nd July 2015, 18:32
Pigale, no, I don't.
The Tour is Froome's to lose.
He still has good strong team mates to help him.
The terrain should not worry him too much, and there seems to be slight lack of quality in the other GC contenders.
But...things happen!
He can crash, take ill like Tejay van Garderen has done.
Who knows?
One thing which should be factored in is, the crowds on Alpe d'Huez on Saturday. He does not seem to be popular, and they may be hostile. I remember Eddy Merckx getting punched in the ribs on the mountain.
We shall see...!
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chrise

22nd July 2015, 18:48
To be fair, Tejay was ill, rather than a crash victim. Very hard to watch him struggling; abandoning seemed a sensible, though unfortunate, decision.
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rusty

22nd July 2015, 19:00
Yes, Tejay was ill. (Think I said that!)
Illness is part of the Tour every year.
Different hotels every night, different kitchens.
No time to recover from a tummy bug.
Three weeks is a long time to stay uninjured and healthy in a Grand Tour.

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chrise

22nd July 2015, 19:09
Sorry, rusty - misread yours.

Do the teams not take their own cooks around with them?
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