Off Topic Warning











Until recently we couldn't compete against Southern Hemisphere sides, but recently we have lost very narrowly and a few refereeing decisions have cost us, in the World Cup Semi Final and the last 2 tests away to Australia.
With fair refs we would have beaten France in the World Cup Semi and Australia in those games.
We have quite well getting Grand Slams recently, but do I think Wales are overrated, yes, Warren Gatland even more overrated.
Why rugby was brought into this thread in the first place, I don't know.

and Back to Cycling

I thought that Wiggins was fantastic today and proved his worthiness to get yellow.

The Vuelta starts on the 18th August, that's only about 4 weeks !

Be nice if we can keep the thread going as the 'annual' thread has tended to die a death after the Tour in previous years

Of course I'm not sure that ITV4 will be covering the Vuelta so maybe only the people with Eurosport will be able to wach it

Whilst we wait for the next Grand Tour ES are covering the Eneco Tour of the Low Countries - a week long race which starts 6th August............and also the one-day San Sebastion Classic which is probably next weekend

Lo i dont know how either , i dont think it was either of us who started it.

Fair points made.

I read somewhere that the Vuelta is getting shown on ITV4 but not as much coverage as the TDF, think ITV will start showing a lot more cycling now after this success , they should do anyway , wonder what the viewing figures have been for this ?

Surely theres a good chance Wiggins and Froome wont be riding it ?

It's almost certain that Brad won't be riding, I'd be amazed if he did as he's probably got a month of chat shows, public appearances, invition races etc..........

Froome might do the Vuelta. He's missed most of the season with illness so he's pretty fresh

Thanks


With a few gripes, most especially the adverts, the coverage of the tour has been great and have been getting much better since they cover every stage live and hopefully they will cover the Giro de Italia from next year. Does anyone know the cost of the coverage rights, as they may go up with "our " success.

What's up with the BBC Sport website? I know they don't have TV rights for the Tour, but come on! This is a momentous event in British sport, and it barely even features on the front page.

That time trial was pretty pleasant viewing (Evans aside), great to see Wiggins stamping his authority once more. And well done to Chris Froome too, showing how much he and Wiggins were a cut above the rest this year.


I don't think it's necessarily that bad for Froome - of course going near the end and knowing what you have to chase is an advantage in a way, but look at Sanchez today - he was finished before Wiggins was even warming up and he got 3rd place!

So I imagine he'll be running the Tour of Britain as a warm-up for the World Champs, then?

Would have thought Froome was nailed on to be doing the Vuelta and absolutely no chance of Wiggo riding it.

By the way there is another race going on else where. The Tour de Wallonie the riders for Team Sky are Davide Appollonio, Michael Barry, Juan Antonio Flecha, Jeremy Hunt, Salvatore Puccio, Luke Rowe, Chris Sutton, Xabier Zandio . the race is from 21st July- 25th July.

The prize money for the Tour is interesting..........

Everyone who finishes gets prize money but the guys that finish below 50th only get 400 euros which is about 100 pound a week for the 3 week race............

There are small prizes for everything, stage wins, intermediate sprints, days wearing a jersey, being first over climbs, team performances etc

Brad will get 450,000 as 'first prize' plus monies for each day he was in yellow, each stage win or place, each day the team was 'top team'............he'll probably end up with just under 500,000 Euros

The tradition is that the winner of the race donates his prize money to be shared amongst his team mates on the basis that he's going to malke millions from endorsements

You have to feel a little bit sorry for LL Sanchez.

He pulled out from Roche's wheel to see Cavendish whizz past him.

Today he was leading the Time Trial when the Froome/Wiggins show whizzed past.

Well he should have gone quicker really, I don't see why he deserves any sympathy, or any more than everyone else.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froo...d-year-running

Was a couple of days ago, Froome saying he'd like to do Vuelta, depends what his condition is after Olympics.

Someone else doing the Vuelta will be Contador of course, should be some epic contests in the mountains if Froome starts.

The Vuelta will be fantastic this year, Contador and Schleck, both probably. JRod, Poels, Gesink, Cunego, Sanchez if fit all with no tour or Olympic fatigue. Talansky at Garmin looks a decent rider for the future.

Sky could have anyone of three on the podium with Uran, Henoi and Froome and Flecha is a good stage racer.

Kittel, Boonen and Degenkolb should be there for the flat, Hushovd if he perks up plus anyone else in good nick from the tour.

I saw the trailer for the San Sebastian but with the road.race next Saturday morning, surely it must be the following weekend?

Tomorrow will be a procession into Paris, for Bradley to be crowned, and no real racing until the build up to the sprint.

EVERYONE has accepted that Bradley HAS ALREADY won. I was wondering, have there been any occasions where someone already in the yellow jersey has failed to win/finish, from this position? I'm not talking about the LeMond/Fignon finish where they were both still competing, I'm talking about a situation such as now, where convention means that nobody will challenge the yellow jersey. For example, maybe the yellow jersey fell and couldn't finish the stage, or the second placed rider ignored the convention and attacked, gaining enough time to win.

The problem with the money is in a GT, no rider beneath say 22nd or 23rd cares less where they are on the GC, half of them probably don't even know now what position they are in and probably went through the motions today.

Its a surprisingly low prize money, but then they'll have their team wages, bonuses and then the race bonuses are pretty good. Even leading over a cat 4 climb which.are.rarely contested.or even acknowledged.by the riders pays around 500 euros I think.

There should probably just be a identical payment for anyone 25th and down on the GC.

Would never happen. I don't actually like the final stage. The yellow jersey will always, but maybe not tomorrow be protected from all sides by his team. The second he crashed he'd be picked up and put on another bike. If he injured.himself I think convention would stop a GC contender taking any time.out of him.

Only a.few.years ago the top 3 were within 31 seconds and neither 2nd or 3rd even gave it a second thought - and Evans was one of those and at least capable of jumping off and doing a Vino.

Incidentally, I've a sneaky feeling someone Vino, Voeckler or Gilbert probably, will give that a go tomorrow and may have a chance.

Maybe in the olden days but not recently I don't think..........everyone seems to accept that the race finishes the day before the run into Paris

It was before I started watching but the Fignon-Lemond finishing stage was a time trial so entirely different..........I note that they haven't gone back to having a final day TT again !

I don't know what would happen if the gap was only a few seconds and it was the usual road stage.............

I'd be surprised if that happened

Over the last few years it seems to have become a tradition that the last stage is a non-racing procession into Paris then a race round the circuit for a sprint finish

I suppose that Tommy Voeckler with his 'nobody likes me but I don't care' attitude to the peloton might be tempted..........

I highly doubt it, Sky would chase to give Cavendish the lead-out on the Champs-Elysee - he'd be the most prolific sprinter in terms of stage wins in the Tour if he wins tomorrow, and that's certainly incentive not to let anyone get away. Sky have the strength to do that and look after Wiggins at the same time, and convention says they don't even need to look after him. All an attempted breakaway would do is deprive the peleton of longer time sipping champagne!

He has spent the last two and a half weeks riding with a broken bone in his hand...

Speaking of which, Chris Anker Sorensen will win the overall combativity prize in Paris tomorrow. That's 20,000 euro!