Sep Vanmarcke rides the cobbles Kelly-Style in the 2014 stage to Port du Hinault. Photo: Cycling Tips
Cobblestones make the race, I’m not ruining any fantasies telling you that. Wet cobblestones, well, those make a legend. Nibbles rose in my esteem considerably when he rode the wet cobbles as well as he rides any mountain descent or climb; that is a boy with some nerves and some mad bike handling skills.
Wet cobbles are scarier to ride that dry ones, but they aren’t really that much more difficult to ride; you’re still playing the lottery that your wheels keep pointing where your bike is trying to go. But wet stones are definitely more draining; the mud and silt you ride through make it like riding through molasses. Awesome molasses, but molasses nonetheless.
The cobbles are back this year, and hopefully so will the rain. Let us pray for rain, because last year’s stage made the race.
The Tour de France needs no introduction but the VSP prizes deserve a gentle reminder. This is a Grand Tour, people, lots of points at stake. And those points are going towards amazing prizes including a Jaegher frame and a Café Roubaix wheelset. There is plenty of time for you to Delgado this thing, too, if you wait around until the last minute. So my advice is that you avoid doing that.
Give yourself enough time to enter your picks so if something has gone amuck, you have time to hit “reload” or come back V minutes later to try again before the event closes. Remember, your procrastination in this matter will not result in our emergency to enter your picks for you. All that said, if you do encounter a problem, please be so kind as to take a screenshot and upload it because the descriptor “it didn’t work” or “hm, not working” doesn’t help us debug the problem. Also, Internet Explorer is not supported and apparently only shows one Pick Entry box, so use Chrome, Firefox, or Safari instead.
The scoring for the Grand Tours is a tad more involved than the one-day races and one-week Tours, so look the guidelines over before making your prognostications.
So get your picks in before the countdown clock goes to zero, hit the go button, and good luck.
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View Comments
Two options today, Sky either take control and Froome attacks at a suitable place, or they wait and see who else attacks and try to limit the damage.
The way Froome spoke yesterday was to suggest they might defend...but is that a bluff? Is he going to go against their normal strategy and put pressure on everyone else?
Going to be fascinating. Tour could be won today, I think.
@RobSandy
I reckon they'll attack. It's a flat stage all the way to a final climb. Right now there's 40km to go, and Sky have done very little at the front so far. I think we're going to see a repeat of Belles Filles in 2012 - Sky train going full pelt on the lower and middle slopes and then Froome pressing on solo.
@LeoTea
So much for that prediction - it's Movistar laying on the hurt. Nibbles and Jagger in trouble with 10km left.
Nibles going out of the back door early on.
Contador elastic also broke
TJ elastic ping
@Teocalli
Froome gone solo.
Froome from 5 Km out Q only one even close
Lexicon suggestion:
Snap, Crackle and Pop // The sound of pre race favourites going out the back on the first mountain day
Froome - Porte - Quintana
Clucking Bell, that was impressive.