closing tag is in template navbar
timefactors watches



TZ-UK Fundraiser
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 50 of 124

Thread: Le Tour 2019

  1. #1
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1

    Le Tour 2019

    Yesterday we already had the first stage of the ´19 Tour de France.
    For a first day not bad with very pretty countrysides and with several surprises.
    The winner, Mike Theunissen, is a thouroughly níce guy and it was fun to see/hear his interview after the win.

    Also fun was the Spanish program as they had a guest cyclist who knew the Belgium countryside and culture very well. He explained about próper beer and próper fries; ´frietjes´. He even tought the comentators how to properly pronounce it.
    Highly entertaining.

    Today is a time trial. Onl7 some 27 kms. but quite crucial for how the teams, the favorites get to the first mountainous stage on day 5 already.

    That tells the story of this years route btw. The organisers have decide to visit FOUR mountianous regions, spread over the whole of the Tour. To add extra spice to this alreay hot curry, they put a tricky time trial in between two Pynenee stages.

    Finally, with Froome out of the runing, there is no real favorite nor is there a clear favorite team this year.
    Could be good racing: Very, véry tricky program, no clear favorites.

  2. #2
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1

    Oops

    Movistar dropped the ball there.

    The time by Jumbo-Visma is abit off the chart and to see where they are as a team the other teams best look at team Ineos but that does not change the distances of the GC riders to Steven Kruijswijk.
    The Movistar riders p.e. need to make up a minute fírst, beat Kruijswijk by a minute, to be at zero again.

    Tomorrow is a weird one. The profile looks reasonably flat but it most definitely is not; it is all either up or down getting worse towards the end. Maybe Sagan but the rest of the sprinters?? Unlikely. All in all looking to be a day with escape(s) as theme. Thomas de Ghent is one of my favorite riders and I hope he an pull one off tomorrow to win the stage.

    p.s. have not read it anywhere yet but to my reconing Jumbo-Visma now holds the Tout time trial average speed record. They beat the 2013 Orica record by 0.2 km/h.
    Last edited by Huertecilla; 7th July 2019 at 16:58.

  3. #3
    Master mondie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Llandudno (ex Oz)
    Posts
    3,655
    It is going to be a fascinating tour this year and appears wide open for a surprise.. I haven't been able to find any coverage in Montenegro which is a shame, I would rather be watching the cycling than sitting by the pool! Oh well, home Wednesday

  4. #4
    Master
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Yorkshireman at heart
    Posts
    3,131
    Blog Entries
    2
    Quote Originally Posted by Huertecilla View Post
    Yesterday we already had the first stage of the ´19 Tour de France.
    For a first day not bad with very pretty countrysides and with several surprises.
    The winner, Mike Theunissen, is a thouroughly níce guy and it was fun to see/hear his interview after the win.

    Also fun was the Spanish program as they had a guest cyclist who knew the Belgium countryside and culture very well. He explained about próper beer and próper fries; ´frietjes´. He even tought the comentators how to properly pronounce it.
    Highly entertaining.

    Today is a time trial. Onl7 some 27 kms. but quite crucial for how the teams, the favorites get to the first mountainous stage on day 5 already.

    That tells the story of this years route btw. The organisers have decide to visit FOUR mountianous regions, spread over the whole of the Tour. To add extra spice to this alreay hot curry, they put a tricky time trial in between two Pynenee stages.

    Finally, with Froome out of the runing, there is no real favorite nor is there a clear favorite team this year.
    Could be good racing: Very, véry tricky program, no clear favorites.
    Egan Bernal is my bet for this year's Tour but it's really wide open this year

  5. #5
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by trident-7 View Post
    Egan Bernal is my bet for this year's Tour but it's really wide open this year
    Today if anything highlighted how open it is this year.

    Felt réally sorry for Tim Wellens; having a flat at the last summit. No way Alaphilipe would have lost him from his wheel on the descend.

    Btw, I was surprised that Bernal did not even trý follow Alaphilipe.

    Anyway, interesting last part. Tomorrow a pure sprinters´ stage. Sagan is sofar not impressive and Groenewegen seems still below his water.

  6. #6
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Yorkshire
    Posts
    334
    Tickets booked to get out for the finish in Paris, so looking forward to that. And the race in between of course...

  7. #7
    Master Skier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Cheltenham, UK
    Posts
    2,938
    I'm not surprised Bernal didn't try to follow today; for Ineos it's the long game and that means the big mountain stages where minutes will be gained not a few seconds and possible stage wins. I think that Wednesday will give us a good indication of who is truly in contention for the Maillot Jaune.

  8. #8
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    Good points.

  9. #9
    They would have told him to hang fire. The final week is brutal and Grand Tours are all about pacing your energy expenditure - something he doesn't have too much experience at over three weeks.

    Look what happened to Simon Yates in the Giro last year, he jumped at every chance early one. Admittedly he needed to get some time back on Dumolin but he fell spectacular the last few days.

    Agree its a very open tour this year, I bet on Nibali a few months ago. He's very wily, experience and his attacking mentality could make quite a difference.



    Quote Originally Posted by Skier View Post
    I'm not surprised Bernal didn't try to follow today; for Ineos it's the long game and that means the big mountain stages where minutes will be gained not a few seconds and possible stage wins. I think that Wednesday will give us a good indication of who is truly in contention for the Maillot Jaune.

  10. #10
    Master
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    9,823
    I hope Lance goes well

  11. #11
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    I am glued to the TV for the next weeks as usual, but so far don't have a clue who's the potential GC winner. Big chances for the usual suspects this year. All will become clearer in the mountains.

  12. #12
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    Well, that was an F1 like day really. Not even the finish was thrilling.

    Tomorrow should be interesting.

  13. #13
    Master Skier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Cheltenham, UK
    Posts
    2,938
    Good to see Peter Sagan win a stage today. Bring on tomorrow - a 'challenging' stage almost from the start.

  14. #14
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    Yes, he gave a good performance.

    The stage may not have been the most exciting but the scenery made up for a lot.

    Looking forward to spectacle tomorrow.
    Only a first shake of the tree so the strongest will try not show their hand but on the óther hand, none of those with aspiration in the GC can afford to be left behind. The last climb to the finish has been extended with a seriously challenging stretch where holding back can cost almost as dearly as pushing too hard.



  15. #15
    Master MakeColdplayHistory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    5,870
    So... I've been away for a couple of weeks with no TV and very little WiFi (holiday in Turkey, not HMP before anyone asks)...
    I've been watching the cricket all day today.
    So assuming I know nothing about that's happened so far... If I just pick it up from today's highlights and watch from here, will I have missed anything important and/or spectacular?

  16. #16
    Master Skier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Cheltenham, UK
    Posts
    2,938
    Quote Originally Posted by MakeColdplayHistory View Post
    So... I've been away for a couple of weeks with no TV and very little WiFi (holiday in Turkey, not HMP before anyone asks)...
    I've been watching the cricket all day today.
    So assuming I know nothing about that's happened so far... If I just pick it up from today's highlights and watch from here, will I have missed anything important and/or spectacular?
    You'll be fine picking it up from today's stage which had a brutal last 400m or so. The overall standings until today have largely been dictated by the Team Time Trial.

  17. #17
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    Stage 7 today. 230km of utter rubbish. Laughable flat course.

    Two jokers off the front from the start and then held at around 2mins. The cruising pelaton, having a rolling rest day, simply breezed past them with 12km to go. What an utterly pointless 'breakaway'.

    May as well have had a 10k sprint and been done with it.

  18. #18
    Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    Surrey, U.K.
    Posts
    1,499
    This happens several times each and every year and is not worth getting het up about.

  19. #19
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    Quote Originally Posted by Bondurant View Post
    This happens several times each and every year and is not worth getting het up about.
    True. It just wound me up :-(

    I'll be ok once they get into the mountains again

  20. #20
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Mouse View Post
    True. It just wound me up :-(
    Best not get anywhere néar a tele with F1 on then.

    I decided to give the stage a miss and watch the last halfhour of the re-emision early this morning.

    The sprint and lead up to it were great to watch.
    The sprint steges are simply a different element of cycling.
    I lóve the sprint strategies since they were develop by Mario Cipollini. Today it is as interesting as ever with sevral véry well organised teams pulling their dedicated sprinter. The only ones disappointing in the execution sofar are Ineos with the well oiled machine of Deceunink-QuickStep shining.

  21. #21
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1

    Exclamation YESSSSS

    I so, só like Thomas De Ghent. 200 km. escape and no, the peloton did not catch him a km. before the finish.
    So much suspense that even the Spanish comentators were screaming, bégging for him to win.

    What a stage today. It had a lót.

    Impressive the level of organisation in the Ineos team and no time lost by either Berrnal or Thomas despite a ´team fall´ and frame broken in two for Thomas.
    Not so impressive again Movistar.

    After 8 stages still no clear favourite and all favorites but for Nibali still in the running.

    The only thing which seems set in stone is the green Jersey for Sagan.

    Tomorrow is a killer stage. Again a day the tour cannot be won but oh so easily lost.

    Anyway, great and ever só deserved win for a réally nice guy.

    A trivial bit about De Ghent. He and Tim Wellens are good friends with a personal challenge. Last year, after the Lombady giro, they cycled back to Belgium with a backpack. 100 kilometer just the two of them.
    This year they plan to cycle the ´forgotten mountains´ of Spain after La Vuelta. The two of them with a backpack...

  22. #22
    Master MakeColdplayHistory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    5,870
    Quote Originally Posted by Huertecilla View Post
    What a stage today. It had a lót.
    It certainly did. What a ride by De Gendt. Great work by Alaphilippe and Pinot too with a GC gain for the latter and Bastille Day in yellow for the former.

    Quote Originally Posted by Huertecilla View Post
    Tomorrow is a killer stage. Again a day the tour cannot be won but oh so easily lost.
    Tomorrow is also:
    Cricket World Cup Final - England's first in 27 years
    British Grand Prix
    Wimbledon Men's Final

    I'm out on the mountain bike in the morning (wearing a Seiko BFK on nato if anyone's interested in my choice of watch) then will be watching the cricket. I'll switch over for the F1 start then watch highlights (assuming there are any) later. I'll go back to the cricket but monitor the TdF online and switch over for the last few KM or earlier if it looks like it will be better watching than the cricket. Mrs MCH will be in the other room watching the tennis. The lad will be grumpy because he can't go on the PlayStation.
    Last edited by MakeColdplayHistory; 13th July 2019 at 18:58.

  23. #23
    Master Skier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Cheltenham, UK
    Posts
    2,938
    What a stage! Thomas de Gendt's ride was incredible as was that of Julian Alaphilippe for different reasons. Great for the French that they have a rider in yellow on Bastille Day. G's recovery following the crash shows that he's in great shape. It really is shaping up to be a great Tour.

  24. #24
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    GMT+1
    Posts
    11,749
    Blog Entries
    8
    Great achievement. The guys on the Flemish TV went crazy! That was fun as well.

  25. #25
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Belfast
    Posts
    722
    Terrific break, TdG=TGV!

  26. #26
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    Great race today. Much more exciting to watch. Superb ride by TDG. Not sure about Alaphilippe, he's doing well but it's not looking easy.

    A mechanical and a crash for GT tho. I still think (hope) he's going to win GC again.

  27. #27
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    GMT+1
    Posts
    11,749
    Blog Entries
    8
    TdG pumped out 311 Watt average during yesterday's stage. Wow.

    On today's stage: I didn't catch it exactly (I was in on a terrace on my way home from my own Sunday cycling trip and there was a TV screen inside, near the bar), but one the guys had a horrible accident just after the start. It didn't look good and he was take away in the ambulance. Any news on that?

    Menno

  28. #28
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    TdG pumped out 311 Watt average during yesterday's stage. Wow.

    On today's stage: I didn't catch it exactly (I was in on a terrace on my way home from my own Sunday cycling trip and there was a TV screen inside, near the bar), but one the guys had a horrible accident just after the start. It didn't look good and he was take away in the ambulance. Any news on that?

    Menno
    From TdF website:

    Alessandro De Marchi is forced to abandon the Tour de France after his crash.

    No other news at present. But it did look a nasty one :-(

  29. #29
    Master MakeColdplayHistory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    5,870
    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    TdG pumped out 311 Watt average during yesterday's stage. Wow.

    On today's stage: I didn't catch it exactly (I was in on a terrace on my way home from my own Sunday cycling trip and there was a TV screen inside, near the bar), but one the guys had a horrible accident just after the start. It didn't look good and he was take away in the ambulance. Any news on that?

    Menno
    I didn't see it but there are bare details on the TdF live feed. It's Alessandro De Marchi and he has crashed and retired.
    I wouldn't normally quote from The Sun but there are some (not very nice) photos here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/cycli...our-de-france/

  30. #30
    Master Skier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Cheltenham, UK
    Posts
    2,938
    Busy afternoon of sport.


  31. #31
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    Another enjoyable watch.
    Alaphilipe sure enjoyed being in the yellow on 14 July. Just all of the stage looked like a great party!
    I know he is not taken all that seriously for the GC, just like Pinot, but both coúld this year actually surprise.

    The three stongest teams seem to be Movistar, Ineos and Deceuninck.
    The first two seem to suffer from internal competion, the last two the best organised by far.

    Tomorrow a sprinter stage. That showed in the way the sprinters excerted themselves.
    Wednesday too.
    Despitye the stages themselves probably being not spectacular, will try not to miss the finishes.

    Then Thursday the réal Tour will start. No way anyone with GC ambition can hide coming weekend. The ITT in between is almost criminal intent from the organisers.

  32. #32
    Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    North Wales
    Posts
    4,072
    Quote Originally Posted by Skier View Post
    Busy afternoon of sport.

    Now that’s what I call split screen!

  33. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by Mouse View Post
    Stage 7 today. 230km of utter rubbish. Laughable flat course.

    Two jokers off the front from the start and then held at around 2mins. The cruising pelaton, having a rolling rest day, simply breezed past them with 12km to go. What an utterly pointless 'breakaway'.

    May as well have had a 10k sprint and been done with it.

    The breakaway is actually quite important... having a few inconsequential riders up the road allows the peloton to settle down and relax for the majority of the stage. They'll decide how long the piece of string is and when to reel it in.
    The peloton will also decide whether a break is allowable - if one of the GC contenders tried to get away they'd be chased down quickly and then a different break would go - repeat until the composition of the break is suitable.

    For those 2 jokers, I bet you'd have never heard of Wanty-Gobert if their riders didn't get in the break every day. Plenty of TV time for the sponsors.

  34. #34
    Master
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Yorkshireman at heart
    Posts
    3,131
    Blog Entries
    2
    There are no jokers riding in the Tour. You have to be in the absolute top echelons of the sport to get chosen for it.

  35. #35
    Master MakeColdplayHistory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    5,870
    Quote Originally Posted by trident-7 View Post
    There are no jokers riding in the Tour.
    Not since the late 80's anyway.

    (when the Lotto team had to change their name to Joker so they weren't confused with the French Loto)

  36. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by MakeColdplayHistory View Post
    Not since the late 80's anyway.

    (when the Lotto team had to change their name to Joker so they weren't confused with the French Loto)

    Full marks for a quality obscure tour fact!

    (there's also a Pro Conti 'Joker' team as well but I don't think they've ever ridden the Tour)

  37. #37
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    GMT+1
    Posts
    11,749
    Blog Entries
    8
    Our southern neighbours are doing great: the Belgian athletes are doing great!

    M

  38. #38
    Master MakeColdplayHistory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    5,870
    This year's (first?) gap jump...


  39. #39
    Master MakeColdplayHistory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    5,870
    1st proper mountain stage today but a relatively gentle one with only two Cat 1 climbs and a 30km coast to the finish.

    GC contenders to keep their powder dry today with the win coming from a breakaway?

  40. #40
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by MakeColdplayHistory View Post
    1st proper mountain stage today but a relatively gentle one with only two Cat 1 climbs and a 30km coast to the finish.

    GC contenders to keep their powder dry today with the win coming from a breakaway?
    Probably.
    It is a tricky one and the GC contenders can not win the Tour today but sure loose it, so the teams will be trying to keep the ones that count together.

  41. #41
    Master MakeColdplayHistory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    5,870
    Quote Originally Posted by Huertecilla View Post
    Probably.
    It is a tricky one and the GC contenders can not win the Tour today but sure loose it, so the teams will be trying to keep the ones that count together.
    Yeah, I think the only real chance of any GC action is if one of them looks to be struggling in which case the others will turn up the wick to put them out of contention.

  42. #42
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    As expected. Still an intersting effort fom the 40 strong escape. With the winning trio 10 minutes ahead of the peloton it was obviously a second rest day for the GC contenders preparing for tomorrow´s IIT.
    Little doubt that Thomas will get the Yellow jersey tomorrow. Thén we may see how Ineos performs.

  43. #43
    Master Skier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Cheltenham, UK
    Posts
    2,938
    What a ride by Julian Alaphilippe in today's Individual Time Trial; chapeau! This should make tomorrow's and subsequent mountain stages very interesting.

  44. #44
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    JA is riding very well indeed. To gap GT like that in the ITT was impressive, and caused surprise to many.

    He's been a rider of note in past years, but seems to be on another level so far this year.

    Tomorrow should be very interesting yes.
    Last edited by Mouse; 19th July 2019 at 17:14.

  45. #45
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Southern Spain
    Posts
    23,658
    Blog Entries
    1
    I found it highly ´entertaining´. Between brackets because the tension added by v. Aerts was phew.

    What a ride by De Ghent again. I think everybody rooted for him to wiin, unlikely as that was.

    JA was simply splendid. He should be renamen Alamarilla; yellowwing. He seems réally comfortable wearing the yellow giving him superpowers. Makes the coming stage interesting indeed.

    On the downside were Movistar and Bernal.

    Kruiswijk... don´t know. He is not out of it and is a good climber but his form remains to shine.

  46. #46
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    I wonder how much Ineos are suffering without Froome. Quite a bit I reckon. Anyhow GT was outdone again today by JA, who is now looking to be a serious contender for GC. A lot of climbing still to do though, so it's not over by a long way.

  47. #47
    Master Skier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Cheltenham, UK
    Posts
    2,938
    Quote Originally Posted by Mouse View Post
    I wonder how much Ineos are suffering without Froome. Quite a bit I reckon. Anyhow GT was outdone again today by JA, who is now looking to be a serious contender for GC. A lot of climbing still to do though, so it's not over by a long way.
    I don't think it's Froome's absence but Ineos as a team of riders would appear not to be up to the task of supporting GT in the mountains. Only Bernal is able to stay with the leaders in the important latter stages of the climbs. Let's hope Geraint Thomas feels better from here on in and is able to recover on Monday's rest day.

  48. #48
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    Quote Originally Posted by Skier View Post
    I don't think it's Froome's absence but Ineos as a team of riders would appear not to be up to the task of supporting GT in the mountains. Only Bernal is able to stay with the leaders in the important latter stages of the climbs. Let's hope Geraint Thomas feels better from here on in and is able to recover on Monday's rest day.
    From all I've ever learnt about Froome, it appears that he brought a cohesion to the team and was able to 'elevate' the other riders. But, still, something is not right this year and the other teams appear to know/sense that.

    It's a great tour to watch though, with many getting into the mix. Sagan 'amuses' me (in a good way)......for a rider typically associated with sprinting, he's everywhere this year!

  49. #49
    Master Skier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Cheltenham, UK
    Posts
    2,938
    It's a fascinating tour and if Geraint Thomas can't win it this year I'd be delighted to see Julian Alaphilippe in yellow in Paris. He's been absolutely incredible so far and it would be good for France to have a winner for the first time in a generation (I can't believe I just typed that!)

  50. #50
    Master Mouse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North by Northwest
    Posts
    3,119
    Quote Originally Posted by Skier View Post
    It's a fascinating tour and if Geraint Thomas can't win it this year I'd be delighted to see Julian Alaphilippe in yellow in Paris. He's been absolutely incredible so far and it would be good for France to have a winner for the first time in a generation (I can't believe I just typed that!)
    Great Britain (or rather Team Sky) has had a good run these past years. Things are probably due for a change and a new era to begin.

    I'd love GT to just nab a second GC though before that happens :-)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Do Not Sell My Personal Information