Tour de France 2013

[Swain OHaw]

Likewise. Standing in front of/running alongside/obscuring the path with a shitting huge flag doesn't make you a cycling fan, it makes you an asshole trying to get your daft mug on TV ...

[CLP]

Likewise. Standing in front of/running alongside/obscuring the path with a shitting huge flag doesn't make you a cycling fan, it makes you an asshole trying to get your daft mug on TV ...

The only exception to that rule might be if they are carrying a Dirk Hofman Motorhomes sign

[CLP]

I've had a nutter run alongside me in that style.

that reminds me of a time when i was riding with Miss V along Linear Park on a day off .. came across a school group (probably junior primary..) had about 5-6 of them running along side me. .. wtf? apparently they start young

[norbs]

This is going to be a long day.

Expect some snark before breakfast.

[Swain OHaw]

I kind of remember this every time the Tour finishes but ... here's me at the Arc de Triomphe with a small, cheap botellin of beer and a slightly damp shirt having cycled there from London. Also, cycling round there when it's not closed to traffic is mental ...

[norbs]

Excellent tour. Best I have watched.

Now, bed.

[markus]

Excellent tour. Best I have watched.

Now, bed.

Imagine how much better it could've been without Valverde puncturing. Still, that was one of the best stages.

[Swain OHaw]

Awww, bless Quintana's little polka-dot socks ...

[norbs]

Excellent tour. Best I have watched.

Now, bed.

I missed the final stage - work beckons. I did try and watch some of that TDF through the years film that started at 11:00pm. That was good.

I'd love it if there was somewhere I could watch every stage of the tour full length to see the bits I missed.

http://cyclingtorrents.nl/browse.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[smithcorp]

I see Stu O'Grady has announced his retirement from professional racing; and Jens Voigt is saying on Twitter that this will most likely be his last year in the Tour.

Two classy riders. Others? I reckon Porte for sheer hard work and modesty, Kittel for style (and acceleration) and Matt Goss for being a hard man.

Agree with norbury, most enjoyable tour for a long time.

[pixelboy]

I really enjoyed it.. To see @theJensie get the most aggressive rider just blew me away. Massive respect to him and Stu!

O'Grady has been an awesome ambassador for Australian cycling!

Highlight: Quintana & @theJensie
Lowlight: All the "Froome must be a drug cheat" talk.

Yes I know that the sport has been rife with doping for decades but IMHO if we can't give riders an "innocent until proven guilty" benefit then I'm just going to have to stop reading anything whilst the tour is on. Or at least be a lot more selective in what I read.

[norbs]

I really enjoyed it.. To see @theJensie get the most aggressive rider just blew me away. Massive respect to him and Stu!

O'Grady has been an awesome ambassador for Australian cycling!

Highlight: Quintana & @theJensie
Lowlight: All the "Froome must be a drug cheat" talk.

Yes I know that the sport has been rife with doping for decades but IMHO if we can't give riders an "innocent until proven guilty" benefit then I'm just going to have to stop reading anything whilst the tour is on. Or at least be a lot more selective in what I read.

I hear what you are saying Pix, and I agree to a point (believe me, I was a barely raising an eyebrow compared to some of the people on cycling forums that were waving like the Team America secret signal!). It is just when you see guys doing things that are unbelievable, it is difficult not to be cynical. What made me really happy was the longer the tour went on, the harder it looked for all of them. Froome exploded up the road a few times, but it wasn't long before he sat back down and you could see he couldn't keep it up. It was a whole lot more believable. Seeing Contador not being able to hold a wheel was a revelation. So yes, in hindsight Pix, I was probably not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Probably too much history in my head filling me with doubt.

On to the race. There was talk as far back as the TDU that Jens would have a red hot go at the TdF, knowing full well it would be his last. The bloke is a machine.

Highlights for me : Quintana. Stage 9. GreenWedge bus. Gerrans in yellow. GreenEdge taking the TTT. Dan Martin's stage win. Kittel's sprinting. Froome's humility. No Wiggo! The wooden bike on wires. The Twitter engagement. Seeing a fan get stiff armed.
Lowlights : Cavendish's antics off the bike. The stage 1 finish line moving debacle. Tony Martin riding a day after a massive crash. Westra abandoning on the Champs. The 5 minutes of Phil and Paul's commentary I had to hear.

In my mind, the best Tour I have seen. Especially after last year.

[pixelboy]

GreenWedge bus. Gerrans in yellow. GreenEdge taking the TTT.

Dammit.. How could I forget. It seems so long ago already.. GreenEdge owned the first week.. Definitely a highlight..

And off course.. SBS. They have nurtured cycling in Australia and its great to see the success coming. The live streaming and HD broadcast is awesome!

I don't dislike Sherwin & Liggit as much as Norbs but I do prefer the early session with Keenan.

[norbs]

O'Grady has been an awesome ambassador for Australian cycling!

Fingers crossed his name doesn't come up in todays report out of France.

[Jamo]

EPO'Grady

[norbs]

O'Grady not confirmed as testing positive, but suspicious.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/french- ... -de-france" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[pixelboy]

1998? I'm surprised the whole field wasn't positive!

[norbs]

1998? I'm surprised the whole field wasn't positive!

Chatting to a few pundits on Twitter today, they were saying there were more clean riders back then than are given credit for. There were still some concerns for riders health with long term EPO use. Many didn't want to speak up for fear of their future in the sport. I can't imagine the balls it took from guys like Simeoni and Bassons, and for that matter Kimmage, who walked away from the sport as a rider, but tried to report on it.

[norbs]

I wonder who will be next? Mick Rogers?

[norbs]

O'Grady has been an awesome ambassador for Australian cycling!

I am curious Pix, does todays news change your opinion?

I had a chat with a few people this morning and they suggested the reason Jens, Stuey and Millar didn't get the Hincapie type ride down the Champs was because they knew what was ahead. Millar and Stuey are both known cheats now, imagine if it comes out that Voigt was too. Fark.

[norbs]

I honestly don't know what to believe anymore. Cadel's name has popped up on occasion, but I am really hoping it isn't so.

The fact that O'Grady announced his retirement after the Tour was the alarm bell for me. I didn't make more of it after the brouhaha when I questioned Froome the other day. Especially seeing as he is an Aussie.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ogrady- ... -an-option" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Have a read of that and you make up your own mind. He has denied numerous times, so how the fuck can any one believe he was clean for any race after that? Once again, a rider confesses AFTER the proof becomes evident.

Fuck this sport can give you a kicking.

[CLP]

I wonder who will be next? Mick Rogers?

What about Pat Jonker?
he's about the right era, and on a number of teams that were known to be involved with doping. (eg ONCE, Rabobank, US Postal)

[norbs]

I wonder who will be next? Mick Rogers?

What about Pat Jonker?
he's about the right era, and on a number of teams that were known to be involved with doping. (eg ONCE, Rabobank, US Postal)

For some reason I had in my head he had already been done. Good point Carl. Henk Vogels?

[Jamo]

It ain't cheating if they all do it as far as I'm concerned. And I'm convinced they all do it, always have and always will. I just do not think it possible to reach the higher echelons of this Sport without performance enhancement of one kind or another.

Even way back in the 19th century, sure back then it was Amphetamines and Blow but a spades a spade.

[smithcorp]

Bad news, norbs. I too found that O'Grady interview about doping allegations:

O'Grady is adamant that despite the stigma, he saw no evidence of a doping culture.

"I'm just very lucky, very fortunate that the teams I was involved in that it [doping] was never an option," the 39-year-old told Cyclingnews. "It was never on the table. I think that has a lot to do with the people around you and the team bosses - they had a very different mentality to some others."

O'Grady explained that the revelations of the past few months had left him with "mixed emotions" but he overwhelmingly felt "disappointed in the sport" thanks mainly to the scale of the anti-doping infractions.

He chose his words carefully. I get so angry at the whole "yes, I doped, in the year they have evidence for, but never before or since" bullshit. The whole pro sport is filthy.