TdF Stage 6: Aigurande - Super Besse (195.5km)

I made a little mistake yesterday saying that the stage finished on a hill but that it was a category four one. I got a little mixed up there, the stage in fact finished at the top of a category 2 climb, one that seperated the men from the boys for the first time in this Tour de France and seen the Yellow Jersey change hands in unfortunate circumstances. MORE »

TdF Stage 5: Cholet - Châteauroux (232km)

This is a moment young Mark Cavendish has been waiting for his entire career, a moment when he could throw his arms up upon crossing the line first in a race in the Tour de France, the biggest cycle race in the world. It happened today when Mark’s Columbia team, also taking their first Tour win in their first Tour, reeled in a break of three that had been up the road for most of the day. Mark went for the line and beat out such legendary sprinters as Oscar Freire, Erik Zabel and Thor Hushovd. MORE »

180 Men entered this years Tour de France and currently through four and a half days we are down to 177. Only three men have pulled out so far, all through injury. Herve Duclos-Lassalle fractured his left-wrist in stage one and abandoned, Angel Gomez pulled out during stage three after a crash and early today Jan Mauricio Soler Hernandez of Barloworld, who won last years polka-dot jersey, retired due to an injury he has been carrying since day one.

After the jump, a list of the 177 riders left, per nation, in the Tour: MORE »

TdF Stage 4: Cholet - Cholet (29.5km ITT)

The Tour de France got underway for real yesterday in many peoples eyes with the first individual time-trial, and stage that properly sorted out the GC. The winner of the stage though, and new yellow jersey leader, was a bit of a surprise — Stefan Schumacher — no relation to thee Schumacher (as far as I know) — who went round the 29.5km circuit in a very impressive 35′44. He was the only man to go under 36 minutes. MORE »

TdF Stage 3: Saint-Malo - Nantes (208km)

So the thin dream of seeing Valverde actually go from start to finish of the entire Tour in Yellow has died today. Quickly on that thought . . . has anyone actually done that? I cannot be bothered to do the research but I would very much doubt that it has happened? Anyway, it’s not happening this year thanks to a four man break that managed to last the distance and keep clear of the split peloton. The winner of the stage was Samuel Dumoulin of France and the yellow jersey taken by third place on the stage man, Romain Feillu, also of France. MORE »

TdF Stage 2: Auray - Saint-Brieuc (164.5km)

This stage is 33km shorter than yesterdays but it is already long underway. The coverage on TV here doesn’t start until a little later and with the F1 on but hopefully I can catch the end of the race. Hopefully it is a little dryer than the race here in Silverstone. It could be interesting today because after Valverde many riders have the same time so a decent attack today could see you carry the yellow jersey for a number of days.

THE STAGE
It is a very flat stage though their is a category three stage halfway through. It may help a break already away or spring a break to the finish. Still there is a long way to go after that climb and it is very flat so it could and probably should be a day for the big sprinters.

PREDICTION
Mark Cavendish. Any breaks will be realed in like yesterday but with a flatter finish I think it’ll suit the big Brit sprinter.

OUTCOME
A break of two early on later became a break of four but they never got a lead that lead you to believe the big sprinters wouldn’t reel them in by the end. In the end they were caught and it came down to the sprint finish. So much for my prediction however as Cavendish was nowhere leaving it to my prediction from yesterday, Thor Hushovd to take the win from Kim Kirchen and Gerald Ciolek on the line. MORE »

TDF Stage 1: Brest - Plumelec (197.5km)

So its July and it’s the Tour de France and the odd thing about this opening stage is that it is not a prologue. As long as I have been watching the Tour de France the opening stage has been a prologue time-trial so this will make for different but interesting viewing. Everyone will have a shot at Yellow today.

The winner of stage 1 was one of the pre-race favourites, Alejandro Valverde. The race opened with a race and not a prologue time-trial, and it worked. The race finished at the top of a 1.5km climb and it separated the men from the boys.

MORE »

If you have turned on the Tour de France today, liked what you see but are not to sure what is going on then worry not. The Guardian newspaper’s website has an excellent guide to the race for new comers. It has an interactive route guide, and guide to the tactics of the race and a section on how the teams are structured. The site also has regular race news and views as well as in the paper if you cannot get to the computer too often.

Take a look at it here.

Here are some facts, figures and information about the upcoming 95th edition of Le Tour de France starting tomorrow. MORE »

This weekend the world’s toughest sporting event, the Tour de France gets underway and as always I will be as hooked as ever.

Drug scandals year-after-year has put a lot of people off but although I often threaten it, I cannot help coming back for more in the hope that a clean race will put the spotlight on the great things about the event and that will save the sport in the eyes of the passive on looker.

The race is quite unique this year. There is no prologue time-trial to get the event underway, there is just the two time-trials and the Tour will go up a mountain pass that will take it higher than it has ever been before. The race starts in Bregagne, circles France in an anti-clockwise direction, goes through two mountain ranges, only leaves France when it dips into Italy for a day, and as always finishes up in the heart of Paris.

MORE »

It is the end of the line for Floyd Landis almost two years since his tainted Tour de France win. Floyd’s latest court case was at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, but the case was thrown out and now Landis has nowhere else to turn.

Landis was looking to get his 2006 Tour title back after being stripped of it after testing positive for testosterone following his Stage 17 win. The biggest disaster for Landis now is that he must repay $100,000 towards the legal fees of the USADA as well as his own legal fees. The total could top $2 million. Landis wont be eligible to race again until January 2009, if he does in fact chose to race again. MORE »

British Cycling’s top brass have today announced that they have plans in place to have an all British team entered into the Tour de France by 2010. Just as I thought my dreams of riding in the big time were gone, this little news article has seen them spring back to life like Floyd Landis in the 2006 Tour after he looked down and out. Dave Brailsford’s news is to me what that little shot of Testosterone (or a pint of beer) was to Floyd.

I guess within the article I can pin-point the very moment I felt I was back in with a chance: MORE »

It’s been kinda quiet in the cycling world so far into 2008 but here is one that’s going to have everyone talking.  It appears the Astana cycling team may not be invited to the 2008 Tour de France according to some breaking news I’ve been reading.  This means that reigning champion Alberto Contador could miss the chance to defend his title.  It also spells bad news for top riders like Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden.

“The damages that this team has done to the Tour de France and to cycling in general. The team Astana has betrayed the organizer’s confidence last year.”
– ASO Press Release, February 13, 2008

It’s nice to see them finally taking this kind of stance.  Some of these top guys shouldn’t have been so nieve when it came to signing on with teams with such tarnished names.  Hopefully this paves the ways for teams like Slipstream to make it into the the big race.