Le Tour 2011

cassidain

Senior Insider
Hope everyone has remembered that it's TdF time again. Off to a great start this year. The unflappable Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man won today's gritty sprint-finish stage. Announcers Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin are simply the best and make even least interesting stages a pleasure to watch.
Allez allez !
 
We DVR each episode and watch at night. We are totally addicted to the next 3 weeks!! Paul and Phil are so much fun to listen too. Damn...now I know who won :( Forget Andy vs Alberto for now, it's Tyler vs Mark.

C
 
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More carnage on the tour today as GC contender Bradley Wiggins crashes out with broken collar bone.
 
Radio Shack, my favorite team, is all but out of GC contention, and they had four really strong riders coming into this year's event. Andreas Kloden is now their highest placed guy. Having ridden in the rain in a large event just this past Sunday, I have great empathy for their situation.

At least, two of the American teams are doing great!
 
Good article! Watching the tour in France is at best a day of hard travels for a fleeting glance of the riders, sometimes not unlike a NASCAR race.
 
Cass

Could not agree more! Although I have no cycling expertise whatsoever, the TV coverage is an absolute treat. Three weeks of French scenery and quite a bit of broadcaster wit and charm to go along with . . .

The Giro and Vuelta are similar, for the scenery anyway. Just fun and suitable for tune in tune out as one wishes.

Exciting day today as well!
 
Horrible day in the Tour. A media car ran into one of the leaders and seriously injured two riders. New name - Le Tour de Crash. :(
 
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I think we may have a hero of the 2011 edition of Le Tour de France. Granted, we're only 2/3's thru the tour's 21 stages, but in a year where the GC contenders refuse to outshine their rivals, the impish Mark Cavendish and his 4 stage wins have been spectacular. Bravo, Manx Missile!
 
Unbelievable battle between Schleck and Evans in the Alps today! Two more days of racing to determine this year's winner.
 
A monumental day at Le Tour. The GC boys finally decided to race. Good thing we had the sprinters for the first 2 weeks to keep things interesting!
Two thoughts from yesterday's stage: there's a reason Lance didn't do the Giro; Voeckler, though he rode on Evans' wheel for a long time, showed his mettle as a real contender.
Look forward to more fireworks today.
Allez allez !
ps, what is it that turns me off about Alberto Contador, great champion that he is? I have no such negative feelings for the Schlecks, or Evans, or Voeckler or Basso.
 
PIERRE ROLLAND – “I COULD PUSH THE BIG CHAINRING EARLY ON THIS CLIMB...”

After three weeks of loyal service to his team leader, Pierre Rolland was given the chance to race for himself and he didn’t let anyone down. The 24-year-old is the first Frenchman to win on Alpe d’Huez since Bernard Hinault in 1986.

“I said I wanted to do everything possible to defend the yellow jersey of Thomas but on the climb of the Galibier, he told me, ‘Seize your chance, don’t worry about me’. This is also where I see that he is a great champion, one who was able to tell me to go at the right time. I immediately wanted to prepare myself for something by attacking in the valley. Still, this is a climb that I know very well one that I’ve reconnitoired more than a dozen times last year.
“When I found myself with two Spaniards, I knew they knew each other very well. So I told myself that I would not finish second, it was win or nothing. I knew at turn one, I could push the big chainring early on this climb at such a pace because I did it many times in training. This is a stage that I’ve watched dozens of times on video, with Armstrong, Pantani... I studied their cadence. And now it’s me who has won! It will take me a little time before I realize what I’ve done.
“As for the suggestions that I could win the Tour de France... well, we must not forget that I’m only 24, and I have 10 wonderful years. I know I’m going to train to be at the highest level, and not have regrets when my career is over.”
 
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