I'll put the spread-bet at 3 posts until the first drug reference but that aside anyone watching?

For those that will, it'll be unique this year, so many new innovations & long standing traditions & rules have been done away with ... (cue another doping insert).

Really open race too, anyone of 4 to win it for me (Evans, Valverde, Menchov & at a push Sastre) - count the rest out.

Only 2 & 1/2 Britons this year though, unlike last years' 5 - with the Olympics.

Beat me to starting this thread!


Must say I am pretty sceptical at the changes this year, not least doing away with the prologue, having a mini time-trial as early as stage four, and no further TT until the penultimate stage. When you think about it makes no sense. They've probably tried to put the emphasis on the mountain stages and the mountain stages alone really deciding the GC, then potentially undo that by persisting with the TT right at the end which could cause cavernous time gaps!

Anyway, I will of course be watching from start to finish. Menchov looks the most complete rider out there, I think he could take the honours

Opening stage goes to....Valverde?! Wouldn't have been my pick for a stage like this. Break timed to perfection

Didn't realise it started today.

:blink:

So, F1, Tennis and the Tour could all be on at the same time tomorrow!

That's going to take a bit of working out...

I reckon the bloke in the car will be fastest. ;)

Tomorrow's going to be hell. Today was worse though being an Essex lad & having the cricket on too.

I'm more concerned with all time bonuses being done away with this year - not only have the intermediate 6,4 & 2s gone but so have the 20,12 & 8.

Nobody I've heard seems to have an exact understanding of how the yellow jersey will work initially without them.

Stage 4 is a TT so lets assume stages 1-3 all had bunch finishes (I know Valverde took 1 second today) with 3 different stage winners. At the start of stage 4 they would all have the same time on GC - on the assumption they were all part of the first group in stages 1-3.

Still think it'll make for an interesting tour though - so open - although I can't see it going outside of Evans, Valverde, Sastre & Menchov - that'd be my top 4 in that order with Hushovdt & Soler for the other 2 jerseys.

Valverde was brilliant today - cut Kirchen's 40 yard lead in about 5 seconds. He was 5/2 favourite with the bookies to win it so they knew it wouldn't be a sprint. Miller was 11th.

They reckon it will tomorrow though, all the sprinters at the top, including Cav - hope he does it but I'd go fo someone like Pozzato, Cancellara or Gilbert.

:lol:


Also, are the highlights on ITV4 daily? Although, if they are, I suspect they will mess around with the times everyday.

<_<

Supposed to be at seven every day. We'll see about that!

Good win for Hushovd today..same kind of stage tomorrow I think it's safe to say

Ahh ok, will try and watch them at 7, although I doubt I will be able to today.

Dumolin wins in the four man breakaway, with fellow escapee Feillu doing enough to get the yellow jersey. Not often a break stays out as early as stage three..Crash caused a split in the peloton, which meant Menchov loses another 30seconds already

One of the best stages in years today. Only saw the 19:00-20:00 on ITV 4 (avoided the result all day - which is easier than football).

Chuffed the breakaway stayed clear - glad Feillu concentrated on putting as much time as possible between him and VV over the stage, and didn't go in for all that silly buggers at the end.

Wanted Feillu or Longho to win, not keen on Confidis after Moreni fcuked up Wiggins tour last year though and like Barloworld as a team and sort of British too.

I reckon Feillu could hold onto yellow for a while - only a 29.5K TT tomorrow so shouldn't lose 2 mins on VV - may do on Miller though - he has a sniff.

Good for the Tour of Britain too that the winner has yellow in the Tour.

Might lump a £5 on Cancellara tomorrow though can't see the odds being any more than 2/1.

They won't - done the 7-8pm show every day of the tour for about 4 years now - a great little package and all the bets bits put in. As with ITV a bit too many adverts & competitions but it never moves schedule. Eurosport 9-10pm too.

Dammit, I missed it.

:doh:

Amazing win for Schumacher - came out of nowhere that one, enough to put him in yellow. And as soon as he does, out come the stories about him and amphetaminezzzzzzz

Michael?

:unsure:

Just caught the highlights on ITV4 now - well done Cavendish.

:clap:

Also, loads of crashes today. :blink:

Four crashes today, and they're just the reported ones!

Great great win for Cavendish, he and his domestiques timed it to absolute perfection! Category2 mountain finish tomorrow, could mix things up a little bit

More crashes today I see!

Yep, including Schumacher deciding to ride into the back of Kirchen, knocking himself to the ground and giving him the yellow! What a benevolent chap.

Good stage win for Ricco, very clever riding today by Evans - did enough to show he was around without any stupid gut-busting

OH DEAR...IT BEGINS!!!


Spaniard Beltran tests positive

Spain's Manuel Beltran of the Liquigas team has tested positive for the banned blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) at the Tour de France.

After an anomaly in Beltran's pre-Tour blood test, the Spaniard was targeted by France's Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD).

And the 37-year-old was found to have EPO in his urine 'A' sample taken after the first stage on Saturday 5 July, from Brest to Plumelec.

"There are not just traces of EPO, there is EPO," said the head of AFLD.

Oh FFS.

When will they bloody learn?! (Not even announced on ITV that yet)

Good stage win for Sanchez today, especially as he was caught in the first breakaway

More crashes again! One having to retire having collapsed after the race, completely lost any energy and another having broken his wrist. :blink:

As for Beltran...why do they think they're going to get away with it?!

I don't think it's that significant - with Beltran being 37. Would've been a far bigger blow (maybe a fatal one) is he was 22 or 23 but he was riding when Lance was here & well before in an era when it was commonplace.

That said he should still go to jail no question.

While I dislike Riis, Heras, Miller, Ulrich, Basso (pretty much everyone from the pre 2005! races) there's at least a part of me that accepts it was endemic then, physio's, management, entire teams were all at it through everything down to freezers & massage oils & it was just part of the fabric of endurance cycling.

But those of the last two years, Moreni, Vino, Mayo & now Beltran (possibly Rasmussen though I'm not sure) are absolute scum. They've taken oaths, know the consequences, the police action, they've signed their promise to every assurance imaginable that they will stay clean. To go against that is a million times worse than 10 years ago.

If he is guilty, Beltran is down in the gutter with every lowlife & bit of scum in this world. As well as the stupidity & naivety for thinking he was going to get away with it - and why? He's well past it. Was never going to do anything in the GC - had little chance of a stage win. Just to be a domestique to one of the less good team captains in the tour.

All that said, it's not that much of a body blow. As I said, he's 37 for one, from that generation and

2) There was a huge amount of the peloton at it 10 years ago, quite a bit less five years ago, last year 3 failed + one or tow other rleated incidents. It was never going to go away in one year. I reckon this will be the only one - maybe one more. That's another step the right way.

They're doing all the right things, in 5 years time they'll be clean Tours.

That was Backstedt who lost his energy. Commentated on Eurosport last year for it. He's sort of half British too - Welsh mum. So now we're down to two (and one other half in Chris Froome) - and Cav will probably jack it in soon.

Another good stage too, been a cracking first week. Pity old man Beltran had to fcuk it up but it'll survive.

Cavendish wins again!

:D

Number two for Cavendish! Great lead out by Columbia for him, and his bike-handling in the last 100metres was superb.

He's not called The Cannonball for no reason...

He 's the best Sprinter in the World now....taking stages win in more than one of the tours.

He'll destroy the competition in the Olympics....We have a true star of Cycling now and hes from these shores.

Well done Mark.

So who's going to win

CADEL, ALEJANDRO OR OSCAR?

Watch tomorrow to see the other big contenders really test out how fit Evans is after his crash today...really could be very interesting.

Great burst by Ricco again to nab another stage win.

Aye they are up in the high, high Pyrenees tomorrow.

:clap:

Proof today that you really can't beat a good day in the Super Categories. Had it all! Piepoli and Cobo not falling out over which of them was getting the stage win, Valverde and Counego bowing out, and Frank missing out on yellow by a tyre-width!

I missed it today! Have to see if they put the highlights on the ITV website I guess.

Repeated at 0:05!

Failing that, will probably show a fair whack of it during tomorrow's rest day coverage at 7

I'll never stay awake for that! And ahh rest day tomorrow, aye I shall watch the coverage then if I can't watch any highlights programmes.

:D

Rest day highlights on now.

Well, not highlights OF the rest day, that wouldn't be the most edifying of viewing experiences...

:good:

Ta.

Another one bites the dust...I need to have a word with my Spanish Cyclling friends. It appears with Heras, Mayo etc...they are the biggest cheats in the Sport....

Spanish rider Moises Duenas Nevado has tested positive for EPO, according to the head of the French anti-doping agency, Pierre Bordry.

The Barloworld team cyclist was found to have used the banned blood booster during the Tour de France on 8 July.

"We have notified Moises Duenas Nevado that he had tested positive for EPO after the fourth stage," Bordry said.

Duenas Nevado has been detained by French police after he was questioned at his team's base in Tarbes.

A spokesman for Barloworld said the 27-year-old has pulled out of the race and was immediately suspended by the team.

He is the second Spanish rider to test positive for the drug this year after veteran Liquigas rider Manuel Beltran was sent home following a positive test after the first stage.

Nevado was sitting in 19th place overall in this year's Tour after the first 10 stages