Le Tour 2011

[Jeza23]

Won't be me.

As long as I beat Jez off then I'm happy.

That's what Rock said...

He loved it [icon_wink

 

[Clintos]

First stage tonight!

Who do we think will win it?

I'm going to go with Phillipe Gilbert. If it finishes in a sprint then I'll say Gossy or Thor.

 

[ningnangnong]

Wow, some big names losing a fair bit of time with that crash!

 

[Clintos]

Wow, some big names losing a fair bit of time with that crash!

Massive ride from Cadel.

Very smart to attack in that situation. He finds himself 1:14 ahead of the like of Contador and Sanchez. Crash rules allowed Schleck and Basso to stay close though.

A good performance in the TTT tomorrow could see him in yellow, but it's unlikely given some of the other names around him.

 

[Ari Gold]

Nice to see everyone just blindly copy who I put into my team!

 

[ningnangnong]

Funny, I selected my team for today's stage before you did...

It's pretty obvious who to choose anyway.

 

[Clintos]

I selected most of mine before you Ari!

Granted, you made my choice between Eddie and Boonen easier.

I like that we all have a unique rider though. Ning has Swift. Ari has Goss and I have Ventoso.

 

[ningnangnong]

Dudes, we are the top ranking mini-league in the fantasy comp!

 

[Ari Gold]

Dudes, we are the top ranking mini-league in the fantasy comp!

How embarrassing for everyone else!

 

[ningnangnong]

We still managed it even with Jeza and WayBDay dragging us down!

 

[Clintos]

Haha. Go team!

 

[ningnangnong]

Cadel. :rockon:

Hushovd did brilliantly to hold onto the maillot jaune. :nashy:

 

[Ari Gold]

Brilliant stage to watch!

 

[Clintos]

My wallet would have loved Vino to finish two places better - but it was a very exciting stage.

Congrats Cadel on your first actual stage win. He's looking the goods so far.

 

[ningnangnong]

Still equal first in the mini-league comp!

Clintos mate, you are slaying it. 10th overall. :rockon:

I accidentally dropped Cavendish from my team instead of another sprinter...that'll probably cost me over these next two stages. :duh:

 

[Meat77]

So help a cycling novice out here...having just read on Fox Sports what happened in the time trial last night is Cadel a realistic chance at winning the whole shebang or what?

 

[Ari Gold]

So help a cycling novice out here...having just read on Fox Sports what happened in the time trial last night is Cadel a realistic chance at winning the whole shebang or what?

There was no time trial last night. Just a stage with a descent finish where Cadel made some time on his rivals.

Basically, it's a race between two riders: Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador. Contador has had a lot of bad luck and injuries so far, so he's about 2mins behind Evans with 2 mountain stages and a Time Trial to go. If Cadel can lose no more than about 1min 30seconds in the two remaining mountain stages, he has an excellent chance of winning. Even if he goes into the time trial level he still has a shout.

That said, Alberto Contador is a superior climber. He's arguably a much better climber than Lance Armstrong ever was. So Evans has to ensure he doesn't lose too much time to Contador in those two mountain stages.

But as things stand, he definitely has a chance, and if he keeps up his form so far, then I'd say he's a slight favourite.

 

[Meat77]

I thought I read it was a time trial - shows how much I know!

I think as a typical ignorant cycling fan but all round sports nut it would be great to see Cadel win it - kinda like seeing an Aussie finally win the US Masters