Giro d'Italia / Tour de France

[Paddingtonwolf]

Looking at the times I think Dumoulin is going to be hard pressed to take enough time to overhaul Quintana. The parcours looks a little too easy to get a minute.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I take it back - he has got 30 seconds on Pinot in 8 km. That is mental.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I think Dumoulin is going to do it!!

 

[Johnny75]

He's done it now. Superb race from start to finish.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Chapeau Tom Dumoulin. What a deserving winner of a first grand tour.

 

[machin05]

Awesome stuff from Dumoulin. Glad he's won it, felt he was being ganged-up in the latter stages.

 

[Johnny75]

The warm up to Le Tour has kicked into life. Cracking ride from Porte, Froome and Vogelsang today on the hardest climb in France. Blitzed Valverde and Contador and set up a cracking last few days.

Looks like Froome and Porte could be the riders for Le Tour.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Not seen much dauphinee as I have been mental busy at work. Will watch it at 9 for sure on Eurosport

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

What a horror of a climb!

 

[Johnny75]

What a horror of a climb!

A proper beast wasn't it.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Please tell me this is in the tour parcours...

 

[Johnny75]

Don't know, would be great if it is though.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Since when did Chris Froome learn to descend like this?

Brilliant and fearless

 

[machin05]

Just watching it on ITV4 now. Fucking killer. Average of over 10% is absolutely brutal. Nearly as tough as the Birmingham New Road on a rainy, windy day...

 

[Johnny75]

It's the Alpe D'Huez today and a summit finish. Make or break and I think this is Froome's day today.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

You just said my third and fourth favourite cycling words (only behind Mont and Ventoux)

That's me watching Eurosport then (no doubt Eurosport 2 as the tennis will be on the main channel)

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Hang on - they are only doing the top couple of kilometres of the Alpe. Col De Sarenne is a beast though.

 

[Johnny75]

Hang on - they are only doing the top couple of kilometres of the Alpe. Col De Sarenne is a beast though.

Oops, yes it does seem that way (I was sold by the Eurosport comms). Still should be a great stage. Looked at the TDF route and there's only 5 mountain stages with only 2 in the Alps, lots of hills/ small climbs. Could be interesting and bring s lot of cyclists like Thomas, Fuglsang, Van Gaarderen and Contador into it. I wonder if we'll see some team dominance and break always on some of the flat stages to reduce the effect of the mountain stages.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Look out for Le Planche Des Belle Filles in week one. That climb is a brute.

And the Mont Du Chat is in! Stage 9 - Nantua to Chambery. Stage 9 is phenomenal. Made up perfectly for a lone break over the first Cat 2 and then trying to hold on over 3 Hors Categorie beasts from someone who wants an unassailable lead in the KOM stakes.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Fuglsang wins the final stage and the Dauphinee.

Froome a bit off the pace today.