Tour de France 2017

[Magicscreen2]

We're to Stage 10 and I couldn't find a thread yet?

This has been quite a wild ride, thus far. Way too many broken bones.

If he can stay out of trouble, Froome certainly seems to be the one to beat. Though I'm surprised he wanted to pull on the yellow jersey as early in the race as he did.

Aru looks exceptionally strong, as well.

 

[Ms_Ann]

Lance Armstrong kinda pulled back the curtain and revealed what upper tier bicycling is all about. People ride by the house all the time and I wonder if they're blood doping.

 

[Magicscreen2]

I'm not sure Lance's lying and cheating have changed the Tour much -- save maybe Americans in the cult of Lance. There are always liars and cheaters.

Bit of a snoozer was Stage 10. Though, with all the carnage thus far, this isn't a bad thing. Kittel looks impressively strong -- without Sagan and Cavendish I'm not sure anyone will really challenge him for green -- even with those guys, for that matter. Pulling 40+ mph into the sprint is something to which I can't even relate.

The French countryside is just so gorgeous -- it's such a pleasure to watch the coverage for this if no other reason.

 

[Ms_Ann]

7 consecutive titles...voided. Unprecedented.

 

[cleaver]

it has been a good tour to wake with each day here...
the directors have sprint loaded it this year
(no doubt to cater to the cult of sagan...oops)
and kittel has truly shown up to reap at the party...

the gc is froome's to lose - looks so very strong
and the sky team - even sans thomas (poor thing) is very formidable

aru is capable... more so than ritchie porte would have been

and that quintana is not as 'all that' as once was touted is too bad...

i enjoy the grind of it...
the pace of it...
the commentary (at least in the us) that gets better and better each year...
it is a joy and a treat and somewhat under the radar and...
a new race each day...

brutal, the crashes...
porte especially
cavendish - as consequence for nearly accomplished bravado
(the sagan dsq was... i think a bit hasty... perhaps the picture misled more than it explained???)

a good tour thus far... and somewhat idiosynchratic...
we will see what the true mountains hold...

i'll be watching

 

[cleaver]

7 consecutive titles...voided. Unprecedented.

(the armstrong titles were not consecutive, rather cumulative)

and all the top tier riders with armstrong as well.
the sport could not come to grips with what it had...
/wink/ tolerated

no alternate winners... just a wiped slate
a lost generation of cycling due to widespread doping

but... what tours those were...
very exciting, appealing... lucrative to the sport....hmmm?

erasure after the fact may sustain in history,
but the money train those years unleashed.... ?

a relatively painle$$ sanitization...

 

[ryan8558]

I'm not sure Lance's lying and cheating has changed the Tour much -- save maybe Americans in the cult of Lance. There are always liars and cheaters.

Bit of a snoozer was Stage 10. Though, with all the carnage thus far, this isn't a bad thing. Kittel looks impressively strong -- without Sagan and Cavendish I'm not sure anyone will really challenge him for green -- even with those guys, for that matter. Pulling 40+ mph into the sprint is something to which I can't even relate.

The French countryside is just so gorgeous -- it's such a pleasure to watch the coverage for this if no other reason.

This!

 

[Magicscreen2]

Stage 11 was fairly staid, but who is going to break it out with the Pyrenees looming in their future?

Who except Maciej Bodnar! While it must be a bit demoralizing to slip from 1st to 54th in the space of a few hundred yards after leading for 100 miles, what a terrific effort he showed us, and so nearly stole the day.

Fairly nothing changed in the overall categories. Kittel maintains his absolute dominance in the sprints. Froome and Aru seem poised to duel it out in the mountains for the GC. Quintana continues to be a small box of not-very-much, and Contador continues to find the pavement, haunted by his lack of character first observed (at least by me...) in his 2010 move on poor Andy Schleck on the Port de Balès. As my friend said at the time "he has no honor."

What amazing natural beauty, with more and more to come!

 

[Magicscreen2]

Hats off to Bauke Mollema. When he took off I never thought he had a chance.

Dan Martin also looks very good. Had Richie Porte not knocked his wheels out from under him, he could very well be leading this.

They've all earned their rest day tomorrow.