Tour De France 2007

[Stumps]

Begins tomorrow (highlights on SBS @ 6 or 6.30pm)

Tomorrow's stage is a prologue which means not much happens- only 7.9km. They are starting this years tour in London, with tomorrows stage starting in whitehall on the banks of the thames, passing by big ben and westminster abbey , travelling through hyde park and finishing in st james' park. Should be a pretty spectacular beginning!!

The second stage travels from London to canterbury in englands south east. then its across to France for the remainder of the tour.

For the GC (General Classification) I think Vinokourov has what it takes and has some good recent form. His maing threats may come from Sastre, Menchov and Leipheimer. Aussies Cadel evans and Michael Rogers are both good chances of at least a top ten finish.

The Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains)- Rasmussen looks like a monty

The Green (Sprinters)- Mc Ewen should be too tough however Petacchi a danger (although he's under a drugs cloud- who isn't ). O'Grady should finish in the top 3 but wont win it IMHO. Zabels is going round again and is always dangerous.

I Cant wait!!
Il try and post results and information on coming stages throughout the tour if I can

[devilsadvocate]

I went to the tour prologue today, and have to say it was OUTSTANDING! Absolutely one of the best spectacles you will ever see. The London Landscape made the perfect backdrop for the event and the weather was perfect for the first time since I arrived 5 weeks ago!

The highlight for the day was definately Cancellara's sprint. It may sound cliche and obvious, but his performance makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. He finished 13 SECONDS (FULL SECONDS!!!) ahead of the rest and 23 seconds ahead of 3rd place. Phil Liggits commentary was priceless as always!

Another highlight was Quasi Brit (He's from Belgium FFS) finishing 4th. The brits really pile the pressure on, but he was very good.

PROLOGUE RESULTS
1.CANCELLARA F.CSC08' 50"
2.KLÖDEN A.AST00' 13"
3.HINCAPIE G.DSC00' 23"
4.WIGGINS B.COF00' 23"
5.GUSEV V.DSC00' 25"
6.KARPETS V.GCE00' 26"
7.VINOKOUROV A.AST00' 30"
8.DEKKER T.RAB00'
9.QUINZIATO M.LIQ00' 32"
10.VAUGRENARD B.FDJ00' 32"

For the Aussies, it was a mixed bag. Cadel Evans and Michael Rogers put in very competitive rides and certainly have good futures on the tour. Evans has to be a chance, but I agree with you Stumps, Vinokourov looks like the man to beat but we wont know until we hit the mountains mid next week.

All us Aussies over here were 100% shattered when Stu O'Grady came unstuck on the turn for home 1km from the line after postig the quickest halfway split at that stage. He was on track to post the first sub 9:20 time of the day which would have put him top 7. There's always tomorrow Stu! Chin up big fella!

Finally, Robbie Mc Ewan made a mockery of the whole event by waltzing through to conserve energy for tomorrow sprint. There's a lot of Leyton in Robbie, but for some reason I love the bloke! (unlike Leyton) Even though he just cruised around, he still put in a solid time. He was never going to win it, but geez the bloke can put the power down.

Best Aussies:

17. Cadel Evans
20. Michael Rogers
42. Brett Lancaster
138. Simon Gerrans
146. Robbie Mc Ewen
179. Stuart O'Grady

Until tomorrow, look out for a big Aussie flag and a Power Guernsey. Hopefully Les Murray can pull some strings and get his boys to show my big ugly mug on Aus's premier station!

DA

[Stumps]

great rap DA, looked like a lovely day for it..

None of the jerseys are ever won but they can be lost in the prologue- at least the aussie boys are still in the game..

Vinokourov looks fit and ready for a big tour- i like what i see..

Should be a good stage tonight with a 203km journey from London to Canterbury in Englands South east. Looks pretty flat and is set up for an aussie asssault at the finish line.

Cmon Stuey

[Stumps]

A typical mad rush to te finish for Stage 1 into the beutiful Canterbury.
MCEwen wins in one of the guttsiest comebacks you could possibly see, had a crash about 20km away from the finish and was well and truly left behind by the peleton- he fought hard to regain the peleton with 5km left- progressed through the 150 + riders then smashed em in the last 50 metres- the guy is as tough as nails and as quick as a cheetah- BRILLIANT

Cancellara still holds the yellow, Mcewen the green and david millar thepom the polka dot

How did you go DA? Would ave been another beauty for you today- you must be loving it!!

[devilsadvocate]

Well, after yesterday, today had a LOT to live up to. We were up bright and early and managed to secure an awesome spot on the Hungerford Bridge looking prefectly down Northumberland and Victoria Embankment for the pre-race procession. Got some cracking photos which I will try to upload soon.

London turned on the weather for the second day in a rowand watching the peleton stroll down Northumberland and south down the Embankment towards Big Ben was one of those priceless moments in sport.

It was great to see Stuart O’Grady up the front of the pack after yesterdays mishap!

I wont go over the race again – Good rundown Stumps! – but I will say Robbie Mc Ewen is an absolute inspiration. Phenomenal effort! The others looked like they were stationary as Robbie blew them away. Great performance!

Cancellara holds the yellow jersey into Belgium tomorrow and will probably retain it barring a total disaster. Robbie picked up the Green jersey for his brilliant finish.

Stage one Standings:
1. CANCELLARA Fabian 33 TEAM CSC 04:47:51
2. KLÖDEN Andréas 196 ASTANA 04:48:04 + 00:00:13
3. MILLAR David 201 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 04:48:12 + 00:00:21
4. HINCAPIE George 114 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 04:48:14 + 00:00:23
5. WIGGINS Bradley 149 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 04:48:14 + 00:00:23
6. GUSEV Vladimir 113 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 04:48:16 + 00:00:25
7. KARPETS Vladimir 15 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 04:48:17 + 00:00:26
8. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 04:48:20 + 00:00:29
9. VINOKOUROV Alexandre 191 ASTANA 04:48:21 + 00:00:30
10. DEKKER Thomas 54 RABOBANK 04:48:22 + 00:00:31

Best Aussies:
18. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 04:48:27 + 00:00:36
21. ROGERS Michael 21 T-MOBILE TEAM 04:48:28 + 00:00:37
55. MC EWEN Robbie 46 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 04:48:40 + 00:00:49
136. GERRANS Simon 67 AG2R PREVOYANCE 04:48:57 + 00:01:06
173. O’GRADY Stuart 35 TEAM CSC 04:49:14 + 00:01:23
182. LANCASTER Brett 186 TEAM MILRAM 04:50:06 + 00:02:15

Tough day for Lancaster. Will try to find out what happened there!
Hopefully O’Grady can make up a few more seconds tomorrow somehow!

I hate some of the faggy crap people say about some sporting events, but I'm going to be one now and say that it was a privilege to have witnessed the last two days. Fantastic!

[devilsadvocate]

OK, as promised, here are a few of my pics from todays TdF procession through central London just before stage 1 kicked off.

I'll try to hunt down a pic of two of the peleton crossing the Tower Bridge.

[smac]

They are outstanding photos DA, terrific colour.

Also reminds me of my time in London - I reckon I walked across that bridge you were standing on a few times.

[Stumps]

Brilliant photos DA- well played old son

[magpie in the 80's]

brilliant as usual DA. well done mate

[am Bays]

What a great event anfd a great sport a real test of enduracnce, speed and power...

What a pity such a great sport has been tainted by the scourge of drugs....

[Thiele]

brillant photos DA keep up the good work

[devilsadvocate]

Cheers lads. I'm not planning a trip to France in the next 3 weeks so won't have any more of my own pics. I'm as good as there for next year though!

Tassie...unfortunately, the cloud will forever remain IMO. Cancellara's performance on Sat was outstanding. For a race that was to be deceided by tenths or hundredths of a second to be won by 13 is phenomenal. Lets just hope for the credibility of the sport that he (and the rest of the peleton) is clean.

It's interesting to note the decision by officials not to award a no. 1 jersey this year as a result of last years race still going through arbetration. Usually the previous years winner wears no 1 with his team mates wearing 2-10. Oscar PEREIRO (last years runner-up-come-winner) is wearing 11. Another interesting fact I previously didn't know (because I'm an idiot) is that each teams leading rider wears the number 1 jersey of their allocated series. For example Cadel Evans wearing 41 for Team Predictor Lotto or Michael Rogers wearing 21 for team T Mobile.

Further to yesterdays post, Lancaster, Zandio, Moreni and Mercado were involved in a crash at 55km to go which accounts for Brett Lancasters slide in positioning.

Robbie Mc Ewen with his 12th stage victory in the Tour de France is now equal with Erik Zabel with the most wins in the race for any active rider. I'd be tipping him for 1 or 2 more stage wins this year simply because he fights like a bastard to beat everyone else! His modesty and accolades for his team mates on the podium was a welcome change too!

[Stumps]

Stage 2 sees a very flat 169 km travelling from Dunkerk through to Gent in Belgium.An early breakway has occurred with a group of 3 being tete de lacourse with the peleton being some 6 mins behind with 100km left. "the peleton will not be overly concerned yet" Phil comments-
Team CSC are driving the peleton and wont let their man Cancellara lose too much distance one would think...
Should be another "bunch sprint"-It will be ineresting how robbie mcewen pulls up after yesterday- he couldnt do it again..could he??

My moneys on Husovd from Boonen and Mcewen in a close one

[Stumps]

Stage 2, in at times torrential rain, has seen Belgian sprinter Gert Steegmans take the stage win from his countryman and teammate Tom Boonen (Quickstep) in another action filled stage. The final 2km saw a mass pile-up which split the peleton making life a little easier for those who got through.

According to SBS commentators "Boonen appeared to forego the glory of winning a stage on the world's biggest bike race" and it did appear this way effectively gifting Steegmans the stage. this is not an uncommon occurrence in cycling however.Filippo Pozzato of Liquigas was half a bike length behind .McEwen came in sixth

Fabian CANCELLARA (SUI) - CSC Holds the yellow
Tom BOONEN (BEL) - QSI The Green Jersey
David MILLAR (GBR) - SDV The polka Dot
Vladimir GUSEV (RUS ) The white


Overall best aussie standings- Rogers and Evans are exactly where they would want to be at the moment- there time will come .
20 Cadel EVANS 08:36:49.000
24 Michael ROGERS 08:36:50.000
56 Robbie MC EWEN 08:37:02.000
135 Simon GERRANS 08:37:19

The third stage sees a marathon 236km (the longest stage in the tour) ride from Waregem in belgium to Compiègne in norhte east France. There is a tricky little category 4 climb at the 200km mark which may hurt a bit i reckon!! Looks like a rainy day and could be a tough day in the saddle but an enjoyable night on the couch

STUMPS..

[devilsadvocate]

Well, stage 3 rolled into France for the first time in the 2007 tour. As Stumps noted, stage 3 is the longest of the tour. 5kms in a small breakaway left the peleton and stayed well out front until 500m from the line. With 5kms to go the peleton wasn't making up ground on the breakaway as fast as required to catch them before the line.

The finish in Compiègne saw cobbled roads and tight 90 degree corners. The peleton took the final 30sec gap from the breakaway within the last 500m and Cancellara pounced. It looked like he went a little too early at first, but his techniques puts the rest to shame. He just sat in and blitzed everyone. This bloke is AMAZING! How he fares in the mountains will be interesting.

Robbie was set to pounce at the line, but just as he charged Boonen got too close and put both of them out of contention.

Stage 3 result:
1. CANCELLARA Fabian 33 TEAM CSC 06:36:15
2. ZABEL Erik 181 TEAM MILRAM 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
3. NAPOLITANO Danilo 86 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
4. BOONEN Tom 171 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
5. HUNTER Robert 216 BARLOWORLD 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
6. FÖRSTER Robert 92 GEROLSTEINER 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
7. MC EWEN Robbie 46 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
8. EISEL Bernhard 24 T-MOBILE TEAM 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
9. CAVENDISH Mark 23 T-MOBILE TEAM 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
10. HAUSSLER Heinrich 94 GEROLSTEINER 06:36:15 + 00:00:00

Best Aussies:
50. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 06:36:15 + 00:00:00
52. ROGERS Michael 21 T-MOBILE TEAM 06:36:15 + 00:00:00

Jersey Holders:
Yellow: 33 CANCELLARA Fabian TEAM CSC 15:12:08
Green: 171 BOONEN Tom QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 80 pts
Polka Dot: 142 AUGE Stéphane COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 8 pts

Overall Standings:
1. CANCELLARA Fabian 33 TEAM CSC 15:12:08
2. KLÖDEN Andréas 196 ASTANA 15:12:41 + 00:00:33
3. MILLAR David 201 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 15:12:49 + 00:00:41
4. HINCAPIE George 114 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 15:12:51 + 00:00:43
5. WIGGINS Bradley 149 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 15:12:51 + 00:00:43
6. GUSEV Vladimir 113 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 15:12:53 + 00:00:45
7. BOONEN Tom 171 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 15:12:54 + 00:00:46
8. KARPETS Vladimir 15 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 15:12:54 + 00:00:46
9. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 15:12:57 + 00:00:49
10. ASTARLOZA Mikel 73 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 15:12:57 + 00:00:49

Aussies:
20. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 15:13:04 + 00:00:56
24. ROGERS Michael 21 T-MOBILE TEAM 15:13:05 + 00:00:57
56. MC EWEN Robbie 46 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 15:13:17 + 00:01:09
128. GERRANS Simon 67 AG2R PREVOYANCE 15:13:34 + 00:01:26
179. LANCASTER Brett 186 TEAM MILRAM 15:14:43 + 00:02:35
180. O’GRADY Stuart 35 TEAM CSC 15:14:48 + 00:02:40

[Stumps]

A Bloody good effort that was by Cancellara, I for one after yesterdays crash (where he continued to ride the final 2 km nursing what appeared to be a broken arm) thought he may struggle to continue. I think he may struggle a bit up the hills in the days to come but iv already made 1 bad prediction about him.
Mc Ewen is nursing a sore wrist but more troublesome is a bunged up knee (technical term) that is swollen and giving him some problems- i still would back him for the green, although Boonen is gonna be tough to displace.

I like Evans at the moment- no injuries and keeping out of trouble. He has improved his climbing and will be around the mark.

stage 4 sees a ride from Villers south to Cotterêts Joigny (193 km)- 4 catgeory four climbs are evenly spread along the journey- so still relatively flat- it could test a few out after a long day in the saddle yesterday.

It will be interesting to see if any of these breakaways will hold on to win in coming days...

[Stumps]

Hushovd did win (although a day later than i picked) In stage 4 of the Tour De France, he will be much indebted to his teammate, Kiwi Julian Dean who provided the perfect lead off to the sprint and from 500m out Hushovd looked a monty (with the aid of hindsight).

The aussies, apart from Brett lancaster (176th) had a pretty cruisy day in the saddle with all finishing with the same time a hushovd.Robbie McEwen came home in 16th place to be the best of his countrymen. Cadel Evans was 31st, Stuart O'Grady 35th, Michael Rogers 38th and Simon Gerrans 140th.

Earlier on at 30km a 5 man breakaway built up a good break (hovering at 3-4 minutes) and it was a tough job for the peleton to pull them back in with 7km remaining (thanks largely to team CSC who are doing heaps of the work at the front end currently).

The jerseys are
Yellow- Fabian CANCELLARA (SUI) - CSC
Green-Tom BOONEN (BEL) - QSI
Polka-Stéphane AUGE (FRA) - COF
White-Vladimir GUSEV (RUS) - DSC

Overall Aussies

21 Cadel EVANS 19:50:51.000
24 Michael ROGERS 19:50:52.000
58 Robbie MC EWEN 19:51:04.000
124 Simon GERRANS 19:51:21.000

Stage 5 tonight will be a beauty and will be another all nighter for stumps. It is a 182km trip from Chablis to Autun . This stage will start to shape predictions for the tour with a Category 2 climb 50km from the finish and another category 3 climb with 8 km to go. There are 8 categorised climbs over the stage.

It will be a real test of who has their "climbing legs" on and who is running out of steam. I predict a breakaway might just win this one , and Im still liking Evans, Leipheimer looks strong too. Im tipping one of those two.

Au Revoir, Stumps

[devilsadvocate]

Well done Stumps!

Unfortunately my train home was late yesterday meaning I only got to see the final 5 mins of the highlight show! (Frigging First Great Western rail!!) I was hoping for a good write-up so thanks for that mate!

The men will start to be sorted from the boys from here on. Hopefully Cadel can improve in last years performance!

[Squawk]

I'm enjoying the coverage - again. Not getting enough sleep tho!

Tonight's stage is looking very interesting - plenty of undulations and no flats to waltz along on.

As always Liggett and Sherwen are doing a great job with commentary but Gabriel Gate is a bit of a bore. I've noticed a few plugs coming through for the Tour Down Under.

If you know and understand cycling it is fascinating to sit through - akin to Test Cricket in many ways. It can be slow and all of a sudden something happens!

Waiting for Cadel to pop up. Lancaster has abandoned tonight. In the pre-race he mentioned sciatic pain in his back and left side but the reason given thus far is a stomach upset. O'Grady is hampered by his team protecting the Maillot Jeune but may have the opportunity in the next few days to sneak away for a stage win once CSC lose the yellow.

Also haven't seen Rogers yet - completely inconspicuous so far.

Chauvanel is looking good for KoM honours but may be tested in the Category 1 climbs - but isn't everyone?

The natural breaks are getting a lot of coverage this year - haven't ever really noticed them before this years race! Anyone else seen them before this year's telecast?

[Stumps]

Been a beauty of a stage so far, A few failed attempts at some early breaks but now Gilbert and Chavanel are out by 1"30 with 20km and a cat 3 climb left. Vinokourov has crashed with a motorbike and is 1"00 behind the lead- 5 teammates ave dropped back to lift him back up- that's love for you!!

The peleton has been absolutely flying today and they look like rounding up the breakaway pretty soon- gONNA BE A GREAT FINISH