Post 50 above.  Surprised you missed it as it didn’t require (much) reading.

Like a damn razor blade.

@WindDrifter

Race interview with Nibali:

Nibali added, “you always hurt yourself” in a crash, no matter how trivial it might appear. When asked if he would continue, he drew a loud round of laughter when he said, “We’re cyclists, not footballers.”

:-)

@Teocalli

@Matt

@WindDrifter

Race interview with Nibali:

When asked if he would continue, he drew a loud round of laughter when he said, “We’re cyclists, not footballers.”

If I didn’t have a crush on Nibbles before he dropped that line, I definitely do now.

Absolutely fucking gutted for Der Panzerwagen though. That broke my heart to watch.

You don’t suppose he is reading this and saw @barracuda‘s post?

I am certainly going to believe that he was browsing the V-Mobile site and saw said post.

What/where is said post?

Rugby – a sport designed for hooligans and played by gentlemen

Indeed. Drunk, pissing, raping, bashing gentlemen.

@Teocalli

@Matt

@WindDrifter

Race interview with Nibali:

When asked if he would continue, he drew a loud round of laughter when he said, “We’re cyclists, not footballers.”

If I didn’t have a crush on Nibbles before he dropped that line, I definitely do now.

Absolutely fucking gutted for Der Panzerwagen though. That broke my heart to watch.

You don’t suppose he is reading this and saw @barracuda‘s post?

I am certainly going to believe that he was browsing the V-Mobile site and saw said post.

This.

Indeed. Very, very cool moment! And he’s a tall fucker, too.

@AJ Well I figured the final was well set up for a Strade Bianche winner, just picked the wrong year!

Is is just me or has there been a lot of just looking around during final sprints? When der Panzerwagen took off everyone just looked around and waited for someone else to chase, he opened a gap to big to close down and won the stage. Same thing today, Stybar takes off, everyone looks around and by the time Sagan decides to chase its too late. Is this going to be a trend? Sprints in these opening stages have just been a clusterfuck.

@Matt

@WindDrifter

Race interview with Nibali:

When asked if he would continue, he drew a loud round of laughter when he said, “We’re cyclists, not footballers.”

If I didn’t have a crush on Nibbles before he dropped that line, I definitely do now.

Absolutely fucking gutted for Der Panzerwagen though. That broke my heart to watch.

You don’t suppose he is reading this and saw @barracuda‘s post?

I am certainly going to believe that he was browsing the V-Mobile site and saw said post.

@WindDrifter

Race interview with Nibali:

When asked if he would continue, he drew a loud round of laughter when he said, “We’re cyclists, not footballers.”

If I didn’t have a crush on Nibbles before he dropped that line, I definitely do now.

Absolutely fucking gutted for Der Panzerwagen though. That broke my heart to watch.

You don’t suppose he is reading this and saw @barracuda‘s post?

Race interview with Nibali:

When asked if he would continue, he drew a loud round of laughter when he said, “We’re cyclists, not footballers.”

If I didn’t have a crush on Nibbles before he dropped that line, I definitely do now.

Absolutely fucking gutted for Der Panzerwagen though. That broke my heart to watch.

I will say that I definitely didn’t think the winner would have been the winner. It was a passing thought, but I wouldn’t have bet on it.

Kwiatkowski would have to be a fair chance, but like Sagan has been spending some petrol tickets looking after teammates in the first week.

The only reason I can pick ok now is that there is nothing riding on it. My VSP picks will show that if there is something on the line I fail miserably. That’s not to say that if there was a Draft Kings style site for daily Le Tour picks I wouldn’t be betting on it, I just wouldn’t be betting much at all. I will also probably get every mountain stage wrong. That said….

I am rooting for Kristoff, but I think Degenkolb takes this one. Sagan could be a flyer, but I think he is burning too many matches having to work for Contador.

I will add that if “Bling” Matthews wasn’t so banged up, I would have picked him without a doubt. I think he is more mentally tough than the others.

@Jay

@AJ

@Jay

@AJ

@Mikael Liddy

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

Apparently you are clairvoyant.

Not at all. I am just a Tony Martin fan boy and really wanted to see him in yellow after being so close for 3 stages. Time bonuses have been his nemesis. But, lets see if my luck continues today… I would pick Andre

Two consecutive winners, who are you picking tomorrow?

Right, I’ve withdrawn all my pension savings and sold the house, who to back today?

The only reason I can pick ok now is that there is nothing riding on it. My VSP picks will show that if there is something on the line I fail miserably. That’s not to say that if there was a Draft Kings style site for daily Le Tour picks I wouldn’t be betting on it, I just wouldn’t be betting much at all. I will also probably get every mountain stage wrong. That said….

I am rooting for Kristoff, but I think Degenkolb takes this one. Sagan could be a flyer, but I think he is burning too many matches having to work for Contador.

@AJ

@Jay

@AJ

@Mikael Liddy

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

Apparently you are clairvoyant.

Not at all. I am just a Tony Martin fan boy and really wanted to see him in yellow after being so close for 3 stages. Time bonuses have been his nemesis. But, lets see if my luck continues today… I would pick Andre

Two consecutive winners, who are you picking tomorrow?

Right, I’ve withdrawn all my pension savings and sold the house, who to back today?

@Jay

@AJ

@Mikael Liddy

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

Apparently you are clairvoyant.

Not at all. I am just a Tony Martin fan boy and really wanted to see him in yellow after being so close for 3 stages. Time bonuses have been his nemesis. But, lets see if my luck continues today… I would pick Andre

Two consecutive winners, who are you picking tomorrow?

@1860

Tony Martin is awesome, you guys should write an article about him

Good idea, I’ll get on that shit.

See also, http://www.velominati.com/technique/look-pro-the-whale-shark/

@Jay

@AJ

@Mikael Liddy

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

Apparently you are clairvoyant.

Not at all. I am just a Tony Martin fan boy and really wanted to see him in yellow after being so close for 3 stages. Time bonuses have been his nemesis. But, lets see if my luck continues today… I would pick Andre Greipel

Holy fuck. I am putting my house on the next stage win you pick, no pressure!

…as some mad fool used to pave goes flat out for glory…

Doesn’t that describe most who are used to pavé?

You are clairvoyant!

…checks VSP picks, compares to own picks…2/5 ain’t bad.

@AJ

@Mikael Liddy

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

Apparently you are clairvoyant.

Not at all. I am just a Tony Martin fan boy and really wanted to see him in yellow after being so close for 3 stages. Time bonuses have been his nemesis. But, lets see if my luck continues today… I would pick Andre Greipel

Brilliant coverage of EQS support team as Panzer rolls to victory.

https://youtu.be/g7BCSpRasAU

Awesome. Love Tony Martin. Legend.

https://youtu.be/g7BCSpRasAU

Haha, I don’t know about that!

Talk about riding non-stop in the pain cave!

From GH’s FB

We can guess that rider’s contracts provide significant bonus provided completion of TdF or I’m guessing any major stage race. Little wonder they’d have to be peeled from their bikes. It’s a rough business and way to earn a buck that is for certain. Concussion, broken back, cracked ribs? I’d be on my sofa. Geraint Thomas fractures pelvis on stage 1 a few years back and races 2000+ miles to finish despite being lifted on to bike the next couple of stages? Didn’t Johnny Hoogerland finish the race after soaring in to barbed wire around stage 9 or so? Incredible.

I’m in London with family and after all the good tourist time with the missus and kiddos the past week, today I’m intending to watch a stage in a pub! Just have to find the right one. This is gonna be a good day. Cheers all.

He and Degs were having a good ol chin wag while Martin was steaming off at a rate of knots.

Any sign of a Deutsche deal between Panzer and Degs?

I believe the ‘Awesome German Guys’ post was a good start.

Yes I agree – Quintana is right on course by getting through the first 4 stages with no major catastrophes. He may have less legs than SpiderMonkey but he seems to just be sticking to his plan and not taking the bait IMO.

Interesting to see Valverde trying to stay in the front yesterday without making protection of Quintana a priority.

TTT could pull Nairo closer to Froome as well.

@Ron

I’ve been thinking about it since Sunday but not sure I’ve ever seen Cavendish beaten in such a fashion. I’ve seen him lose a sprint, but don’t recall seeing him have such a lead and simply get reeled back in. He’s normally gone with that much of a gap. And not sure at all why he sat up. He’s tempermental, but not a quitter. Martin can’t be too happy with that.

EQS were in full on 2015 Spring fuck up mode.

Martin drove the group far too hard. They wanted a gap to stop anyone else getting back, but a minute and a half was a luxury that only benefited the GC passengers of the group.

This then led into Renshaw running a foolishly early leadout. The wind was no longer on the tail, they didn’t have that benefit. So he blew early, leaving Cavendish going from too far out. And he’s never been much cop at the first sprint of the tour. He went anyway, but blew. You can almost see him cursing himself as he looks across and sees Spartacus nip in for 3rd and the bonus seconds

In all this, Lefervre was obviously fucking up too- to fuck up that well takes some special DS action.

Cavendish was partly to blame. But so was Martin, so was Renshaw. No-one covered themselves in glory.

But then again, boys did well today… Sky easing on the front, Giant-Alpecin expecting EQS to go for the Cavendish leadout (and I bet they were selling that as a plan for all it was worth with overly loud chat) and so not paying attention leaves the Panzerwagon to press the nitro button.

More ugly but effective riding from Froome, making a bit of a point after Nibbles had had a dig. How on earth he stays upright is beyond physics, but it works?

GC passengers? Like Uran?

And/or Gollum.

I’m constantly astonished just how bad he looks on a bike. Only rider I identify by his elbows.

Tony Martin is awesome, you guys should write an article about him

Good idea, I’ll get on that shit.

@Beers

Hey, if it was easy we’d all be doing it, am I right?

Of course, it’s fucking hard, that’s why we love making it sound easy on the internets. Hereabouts generalisations, minimisations and inaccurate summations pass for logic. It’s something I aspire to. You of course are here to provide a beacon of truth within the maelstrom of madness.

@Mikael Liddy

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

Apparently you are clairvoyant.

@WindDrifter

@GogglesPizano

and Spartacus rides in the last 59km of the stage with fucking a broken back!

this is why I love cycling and hate football(soccer).

Cyclist has a major crash, breaks some bones, rides 59 km to the finish.

Footballer stumbles on a stalk of grass, falls down on the soft nice field. Cries to mama for help and gets carried out on a stretcher. Weichei!

I too hate diving in professional soccer, but I still love the sport. And, I love good games without diving. I still play twice a week, some of the guys are in their 60s, with even a few in their early 70s. None of them fake a thing and some of them can run for a full 1.5 hours. I hope to age as well as they have!

But yes, I really, really want to see this part of the sport done away with. Coming from a background of soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse, I completely don’t understand the diving in soccer. In hockey and lacrosse you pretend NOT to be hurt, even when you are.

@Beers

Hey, if it was easy we’d all be doing it, am I right?

I prefer Beers summation. If it were easy we would be complaining about it.

Hey, if it was easy we’d all be doing it, am I right?

yeah, interestingly there seems to be a bit of Contador’s Giro about Froome’s early tour tactics. I think the competition is gonna be a little stronger here than it was in May.

@Ron

I’ve been thinking about it since Sunday but not sure I’ve ever seen Cavendish beaten in such a fashion. I’ve seen him lose a sprint, but don’t recall seeing him have such a lead and simply get reeled back in. He’s normally gone with that much of a gap. And not sure at all why he sat up. He’s tempermental, but not a quitter. Martin can’t be too happy with that.

EQS were in full on 2015 Spring fuck up mode.

Martin drove the group far too hard. They wanted a gap to stop anyone else getting back, but a minute and a half was a luxury that only benefited the GC passengers of the group.

This then led into Renshaw running a foolishly early leadout. The wind was no longer on the tail, they didn’t have that benefit. So he blew early, leaving Cavendish going from too far out. And he’s never been much cop at the first sprint of the tour. He went anyway, but blew. You can almost see him cursing himself as he looks across and sees Spartacus nip in for 3rd and the bonus seconds

In all this, Lefervre was obviously fucking up too- to fuck up that well takes some special DS action.

Cavendish was partly to blame. But so was Martin, so was Renshaw. No-one covered themselves in glory.

But then again, boys did well today… Sky easing on the front, Giant-Alpecin expecting EQS to go for the Cavendish leadout (and I bet they were selling that as a plan for all it was worth with overly loud chat) and so not paying attention leaves the Panzerwagon to press the nitro button.

More ugly but effective riding from Froome, making a bit of a point after Nibbles had had a dig. How on earth he stays upright is beyond physics, but it works?

I didn’t understand, if he was going 100m too early, if Cav feinted to the side like he was out of gas, and picked another wheel, he would have had time to wind up and roll over in the last few metres again. No one else had a paceline, so he could have just slowed down then hit the gas again.

I too think TaFroometula has been giving too much gas in the early stages. He was in the lead bunch on stage 2, hammered it on Huy, tried to make a break on 4 when Bertie was split off by a couple metres in the last 20k.

None of the others have given so much gas, and they may seem like it is because they haven’t the form, but really they are saving energy the whole time.

Smartest of all was Quintana on s4, he never hit the front, had no teammates, but still finished on the same time sucking wheels at the back of the front bunch, and thereby saving energy.

Froomedog was hammering himself on the front (goodness knows why he was dragging Thomas so often, should have been the other way around). He may say he is feeling good, but all the adrenaline and match burning will take it out of him before the real hard stuff starts.

So good to have the top GC contenders all so close, it will be a tale of who cracks first on the big threshold climbs, and attacking punctures (boooo)…

From GH’s FB

I know he’s not one of the “big four”, but TJ is doing a great job managing the early part of the race.  He is in a very good position to improve over his 5th of last year, and if something untoward happens to Froome, he will be right in the mix.

Yes, Tejay is what I’d say right now is sneaky strong. And yea, Froome is a spider monkey on a bike. Or maybe kinda looks like a squid falling out of a tree when he rides yes? Someone said it best earlier, it ain’t a figure skating contest. The only thing stopping the sky train, if anything does, is gonna be some bad luck.

@Ron

@WindDrifter

@GogglesPizano

and Spartacus rides in the last 59km of the stage with fucking a broken back!

this is why I love cycling and hate football(soccer).

Cyclist has a major crash, breaks some bones, rides 59 km to the finish.

Footballer stumbles on a stalk of grass, falls down on the soft nice field. Cries to mama for help and gets carried out on a stretcher. Weichei!

I too hate diving in professional soccer, but I still love the sport. And, I love good games without diving. I still play twice a week, some of the guys are in their 60s, with even a few in their early 70s. None of them fake a thing and some of them can run for a full 1.5 hours. I hope to age as well as they have!

But yes, I really, really want to see this part of the sport done away with. Coming from a background of soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse, I completely don’t understand the diving in soccer. In hockey and lacrosse you pretend NOT to be hurt, even when you are.

@Ron Hate is a strong word. maybe to strong. I don’t really hate it, I just despise the behaviour. I used to play football a lot as a kid. But were I come from ice hockey is by far the most important sport(next to cycling then, of course … ).

So, to me, football is just not very interesting, but I do watch WC sometimes. Also football seems to draw the attention of a lot of hooligans, this I have never understood. I used to play rugby in high school,that was cool, and I have never seen any hooligans on a rugby match.

Football – a sport designed for gentlemen and played by hooligans

Rugby – a sport designed for hooligans and played by gentlemen

@LeoTea

I agree – heroic but possibly stupid.

In Rugby now I think they have stricter protocols about assessing for concussion and keeping players off the pitch when at risk. Am I right in saying cycling has not reached that level of assessing and decision making?  Seems it would have been pretty obvious to keep Faboo off the bike given his symptoms.

At least Spartacus will remember his (possibly final) ride in the yellow jersey. Horner doesn’t even remember getting back on the bike and finishing the Stage 7 in 2011.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/07/news/horner-abandons-tour-team-defends-decision-to-let-him-finish-stage_182840

And yes, Froome knows how to win ugly. There should be some figure skating judges, deducting time for presentation.

But then again, boys did well today… Sky easing on the front, Giant-Alpecin expecting EQS to go for the Cavendish leadout (and I bet they were selling that as a plan for all it was worth with overly loud chat) and so not paying attention leaves the Panzerwagon to press the nitro button.

I’m not sure that they were trying to sell it too hard. Cav seems to have been doing some fairly big turns on the front, perhaps trying to redeem himself for mouthing of so readily when he was a culpable as any one else for the lead out fuck up.

I’ve been thinking about it since Sunday but not sure I’ve ever seen Cavendish beaten in such a fashion. I’ve seen him lose a sprint, but don’t recall seeing him have such a lead and simply get reeled back in. He’s normally gone with that much of a gap. And not sure at all why he sat up. He’s tempermental, but not a quitter. Martin can’t be too happy with that.

EQS were in full on 2015 Spring fuck up mode.

Martin drove the group far too hard. They wanted a gap to stop anyone else getting back, but a minute and a half was a luxury that only benefited the GC passengers of the group.

This then led into Renshaw running a foolishly early leadout. The wind was no longer on the tail, they didn’t have that benefit. So he blew early, leaving Cavendish going from too far out. And he’s never been much cop at the first sprint of the tour. He went anyway, but blew. You can almost see him cursing himself as he looks across and sees Spartacus nip in for 3rd and the bonus seconds

In all this, Lefervre was obviously fucking up too- to fuck up that well takes some special DS action.

Cavendish was partly to blame. But so was Martin, so was Renshaw. No-one covered themselves in glory.

But then again, boys did well today… Sky easing on the front, Giant-Alpecin expecting EQS to go for the Cavendish leadout (and I bet they were selling that as a plan for all it was worth with overly loud chat) and so not paying attention leaves the Panzerwagon to press the nitro button.

More ugly but effective riding from Froome, making a bit of a point after Nibbles had had a dig. How on earth he stays upright is beyond physics, but it works?

@WindDrifter

@GogglesPizano

and Spartacus rides in the last 59km of the stage with fucking a broken back!

this is why I love cycling and hate football(soccer).

Cyclist has a major crash, breaks some bones, rides 59 km to the finish.

Footballer stumbles on a stalk of grass, falls down on the soft nice field. Cries to mama for help and gets carried out on a stretcher. Weichei!

I too hate diving in professional soccer, but I still love the sport. And, I love good games without diving. I still play twice a week, some of the guys are in their 60s, with even a few in their early 70s. None of them fake a thing and some of them can run for a full 1.5 hours. I hope to age as well as they have!

But yes, I really, really want to see this part of the sport done away with. Coming from a background of soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse, I completely don’t understand the diving in soccer. In hockey and lacrosse you pretend NOT to be hurt, even when you are.

@Ron Hate is a strong word. maybe to strong. I don’t really hate it, I just despise the behaviour. I used to play football a lot as a kid. But were I come from ice hockey is by far the most important sport(next to cycling then, of course … ).

So, to me, football is just not very interesting, but I do watch WC sometimes. Also football seems to draw the attention of a lot of hooligans, this I have never understood. I used to play rugby in high school,that was cool, and I have never seen any hooligans on a rugby match.

@AJ

@Mikael Liddy

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

Not bad AJ – jagged this screen-shot of the spider monkey nearly ending up in the gutter

Thank you. I was breaking the rules and streaming it to my work computer just so I could properly watch it. Even after getting pushed into the gutter you think Froome would tuck those elbows in. Also, if I get in trouble for streaming today, it was totally worth it.

@Mikael Liddy

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

Not bad AJ – jagged this screen-shot of the spider monkey nearly ending up in the gutter

Also have to wonder if Cancellara’s first broken vertebrae made him more likely to do it again. Have to imagine that kind of trauma to the area destabilized and weakened his back.

@GogglesPizano

and Spartacus rides in the last 59km of the stage with fucking a broken back!

this is why I love cycling and hate football(soccer).

Cyclist has a major crash, breaks some bones, rides 59 km to the finish.

Footballer stumbles on a stalk of grass, falls down on the soft nice field. Cries to mama for help and gets carried out on a stretcher. Weichei!

I too hate diving in professional soccer, but I still love the sport. And, I love good games without diving. I still play twice a week, some of the guys are in their 60s, with even a few in their early 70s. None of them fake a thing and some of them can run for a full 1.5 hours. I hope to age as well as they have!

But yes, I really, really want to see this part of the sport done away with. Coming from a background of soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse, I completely don’t understand the diving in soccer. In hockey and lacrosse you pretend NOT to be hurt, even when you are.

Pinot bottle spilled in a proper French strop – should have gone TJ Hooker

Different mix of riders and feel to 1 day classic format.

Edgy, pacey, big bunches crowding together after pave sectors.

Wolf packs looking to shuttle the GC lads through.

WInd, dust, rain about to fall.

LUV IT

Hmmmm… I figured OGE would have had Australian mechanics.

Looking forward… My money is on Tony Martin grabbing the Yellow today. He is only one second back, and he is a stud. The uncoordinated spider monkey that is Froome won’t hold it today.

That vid was fascinating. Watched it last night as well as the Etixx on  bike cam, and seeing so much of the Tour from a completely different perspective really makes you appreciate it all the more!

I thought it was down to the fact that you’re an old git who gets grumpy when it’s sunny and would rather be out moaning about shit weather, wind and mud.

The crash was awful. Everything else was fucking brilliant over the opening three stages.

@brett

God the Tour always disappoints me. I mean, no-one is going to beat Froome now. Good as over. But what are these morons doing getting caught out in a split on Stage 2 FFS?

That’s my reverse psychology voodoo by the way…

What is done CAN be undone.  There’s many a kilometer to go yet.

God the Tour always disappoints me. I mean, no-one is going to beat Froome now. Good as over. But what are these morons doing getting caught out in a split on Stage 2 FFS?

That’s my reverse psychology voodoo by the way…

OGE had a go pro strapped to a mechanic’s head for their backstage pass, looking at the repairs he tries to do to Matthews’ helmet before getting him a new bike, then the “medical assessment” he gives him, the short answer is no.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/7raIxrzodt4″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

“as long as I have two arms and two legs it will be very difficult for them”

Fuck yes. That’s a competitor.

Also glad Andre the giant got up and is in green, couldn’t handle the frustration if Cav was there.  He’s acting like some of my tennis countrymen at Wimbledon.  Spoilt brats !

Another stat I couldn’t quite believe was that this is the first time the Gorilla has worn the Green Jersey at the Tour. I don’t think Cav can or will try to win the green – Sagan pretty much has it once the race gets bumpy, he’s so much quicker over the hills than the other sprinters – but he’s looking for stage wins.

And him and his team completely threw one away on Sunday.

I agree – heroic but possibly stupid.

In Rugby now I think they have stricter protocols about assessing for concussion and keeping players off the pitch when at risk. Am I right in saying cycling has not reached that level of assessing and decision making?  Seems it would have been pretty obvious to keep Faboo off the bike given his symptoms.

As much as I admire Faboo for the determination to continue with a knackered back, I’m a bit more reticent to cheer given that he seemed to have a concussion. I just might be a bit sensitive to it, as I’m a big fan of both American Football and Rugby, both of which are having to come to terms with concussion management. I had similar feelings in 2013 when Tony Martin continued on after a serious bang on the head.

If Cancellara had fallen off the bike again yesterday and hit his back, it probably would have just hurt him some more (I’m assuming that he had just fractured some of the tranverse processes, as opposed to a potentially more serious structural break to the core of the vertebra). But if he’d hit his head again, it could have killed him.

There’s 18 days of racing left. As much as I like Froome, I don’t think he’ll be able to go that hard all the way to Paris. Back in 2013 Quintana had the measure of him in the last week. Given the number of maountains in the back half of the race there’s a good chance that will happen again. And I think Froome doesn’t have the self control to not go hard in the Pyrenees. I could easily see him struggling up the Alpe while Quintana, Pinot et. al. are zooming up it.

God the Tour always disappoints me. I mean, no-one is going to beat Froome now. Good as over. But what are these morons doing getting caught out in a split on Stage 2 FFS?

So a young gun beats the old Lion and the World Champ on day one, Etixx and Tinkoff split the field and put time into two GC guys, and the Gorilla takes the brat on the line- he sits up and loses the yellow for his team mate, then the Lion hits the deck at 80 plus with a bunch of his mates, breaks his back for the SECOND time this year and rides it in, the main favourite puts time into all his rivals, (J-Rod is not a rival) and takes yellow by 1 sec to the cobbles today.

You’re disappointed?

Far from over, the fat lady hasn’t even seen the music sheet yet,18 stages to go, think it’s worth a watch.

Fantastic racing, fucking loving it.

I like to think the conversation at the hospital was;

“I’m right, I’ll keep going”

“Mr Spartacus, Cobbles tomorrow Sir.”

“Scheize! Ah, it will be ok, I’ll ride”

“And you lost the Malliot Jaune”

“No worries, I will ride”

“To Froome”

“Ach, I am too embarrassed to face the crowds, they will taunt me for losing the jersey to a rider with such poor style. I will rest, how will I face my family, my children will laugh in my face … ” (fade out muttering)

and Spartacus rides in the last 59km of the stage with fucking a broken back!

this is why I love cycling and hate football(soccer).

Cyclist has a major crash, breaks some bones, rides 59 km to the finish.

Footballer stumbles on a stalk of grass, falls down on the soft nice field. Cries to mama for help and gets carried out on a stretcher. Weichei!

Spartacus’ face was white as a sheet after the crash, vision impaired – goes on to finish the stage – epic!

Sorry we won’t see him in full fury today.

Sagan giving the final climb a go with GC lads was well impressive too.

Should have gone US instead of France and picked TJ Hooker over Pinot. His team is stronger too.

Did anyone sense a hint of schadenfreude when Degenkolb was interviewed by Lemond i.e. now that his GC leader is out he can go full gas on the cobbles?

Don’t think it’s over, by a long chalk.  Nibbles isn’t too far back; fatigue hasn’t yet begun to bite, and I sense that Quintana will let rip at some point, he just seems too relaxed not to.  Gallopin looked good – long shot for the top Frenchman?

Froomedog is going to crush it.

Dammit, you cut my lunch – I wanted to hassle Frank!

On another note, Simon Yates got a great result whilst being pretty banged up and J Rod turned the clock back with an awesome display. Bring on the cobbles, the race will likely be turned on its head again.