2012 Tour de France

[maDKient]

I wanted to hate Wiggins (he wouldn't be there if it weren't for his two aussie workhorses!! etc etc) but after the sportsmanship he showed today I cant help but like him (sideburns and all ) and if he goes onto win this Tour then he is a worthy champion, fair play to you Bradley, fair play

QFT. Wiggins was classy there.

But he did know he was 3mins ahead of Cadel in the overall standings.

What would he do if the margin was shorter? Or if he was even behind??!!

Remember Contador and Schleck??!

[Fresh]

Cadel suggesting it was Spanish fans throwing tacks in order to see LLS win (as he was up front).

[r2160]

I am not a huge fan of Wiggins, however, this significantly changes my opinion of him. He obviously does have a big heart! And I think it was great that the peleton followed.

cheers
Glenn

[PawPaw]

absolute low life throwing tacks. but just another example of people who never got a line drawn they shouldn't cross for fear of having the living daylights beat out of them. end result, one stage of TdF trashed and one pro rider's tour ended with a broken collar bone. but at least we can say how tolerant and civilized a society we live in.

[familyguy]

Boguean?

Jim

[rpmspinman]

I too felt disgusted to see such a low act displayed by some spectators last night. If found, I hope the full force of the law catches up with them.

[ChainBreak]

Great show of sportsmanship from Wiggins, disgusted when I found out about the tack throwing. It just shouldn't happen!

[Peacewise]

Yeh, shame about those tacks. Must have really freaked out Cadel to be standing at the top of that climb with a rear wheel-less bike. Was that a smart move? I don't know I thought they kept riding in that situation till a wheel changer comes along.

Anyways, BIG KUDOS for Wiggins in holding up the peleton, that's a real classy move and one of the reasons why I enjoy watching the TDF.

[clackers]

So, do we know whether Rolland was aware of the full situation? Did he let himself get caught later on, since he seemed to look pensively at the other riders as he pulled over to the right?

[Parrott]

Good sportsmanship by Wiggins and his DS, Cadel waved his thanks to the Liquigas and Sky team cars as he passed them before rejoining the peleton.
Reafirms my opinion of Wiggo

Still hope Cadel can grab time back in the mountain stages to come, big ask but he'll have a crack.

[scotto]

Good sportsmanship by Wiggins and his DS, Cadel waved his thanks to the Liquigas and Sky team cars as he passed them before rejoining the peleton.
Reafirms my opinion of Wiggo

Still hope Cadel can grab time back in the mountain stages to come, big ask but he'll have a crack.

certainly makes me proud of my sport when even non-cycling work colleagues comment about it today. theres not a lot of professional sports that i can think of that would do that.

clearly we shouldnt judge wiggo purely on those sideburns ! and remember, when he wins next week it was a team effort, and theres a few aussies there doing more than their fair share to help him. kind of a win-win...

[rpmspinman]

definitely shows a class to the sport when a situation like that arises. Just goes to show there is more to those meat chops of Wiggo than meets the eye.

[Chuck]

Good sportsmanship by Wiggins and his DS, Cadel waved his thanks to the Liquigas and Sky team cars as he passed them before rejoining the peleton.
Reafirms my opinion of Wiggo

Still hope Cadel can grab time back in the mountain stages to come, big ask but he'll have a crack.

Chapeau Wiggins!

It's going to be tough for Cadel to pull time back on the remaining climbs because of the tempo Sky are setting on the front. Wiggins said the other day of Cadel's attack that he was confident it would be brought back because Cadel would have had to go seriously into the red to get off the front at the speed they were climbing. He seemed pretty sure that wasn't sustainable. Hope to see some cracks in Sky so that Cadel and Nibali can make this a race. They're not evident at the moment.

[wombatK]

If found, I hope the full force of the law catches up with them.

What's wrong with a public lynching ? There must have been other spectators around the scene where
this happened. Surely they could have jumped to the right conclusion and lynched them, or at least
beat the living daylights out of them

[RICHARDH]

Cadel suggesting it was Spanish fans throwing tacks in order to see LLS win (as he was up front).

Extremely unlikely as he has 15mins on the peloton wasn't going to bring them back, apparently the french govt. wants to reintroduce bears into that area and its not a popular decision so that's one of the theory's . Good thing Hinault didn't see them do it , he would have grabbed the nearest bike charged into them and commenced to lay waste to the sods.

[BRLVR.v2]

Cadel suggesting it was Spanish fans throwing tacks in order to see LLS win (as he was up front).

apparently the french govt. wants to reintroduce bears into that area and its not a popular decision so that's one of the theory's .

Those damn cycling bears!

[PawPaw]

I changed my mind about Wiggo too. Top bloke....must be the Aussie half of him that believes in "fair go".
Gee wouldn't it be great if cycling could transform from being the centre of the selfish doping narcissitic cheat, to the centre of true sportsmanship.

I must say, when I started racing and doing pack rides on the road, I was reminded that for some things, the power of many outweighs the power of one.
Cycling can epitomize the benefits of cooperation and team spirit, like nothing else. Where else does one man sacrifice his claim to glory, by being a leadout for a sprinter who has no chance on his own?

[Parrott]

Good thing Hinault didn't see them do it , he would have grabbed the nearest bike charged into them and commenced to lay waste to the sods.

absolutely

[DavidS]

I find Wiggo a bit unpersonable but you have to respect the performance he is putting in, and the fact that he has a great team around him is a major reason he is looking unbeatable at the moment. I just can't see how anyone can make up time when Sky can keep up the speed they do on the hills. The only thing I can think of is to try and do a Schleck and escape on an early mountain and try and win a stage from 2 mountains out. Didn't work for Schleck in the end but worth a try. Sitting behind the Sky train until the last mountain of the day just ain't going to make up the time needed. The only way I can see to make up time is to go off early and then set a very fast pace, given the pace Sky set this may not be possible, but given the pace Sky set and the strength of the team, it's time for different tactics.

One thing that does confuse me is how many minutes Cadel lost on the TT earlier. He almost won the TT last year, how come he is losing over a minute this year? I don't think his form is as good as last year, not as good preparation and slightly lower form is costing him I think. He should be much closer on the TT.

As for last night, it may be the expected behaviour to stop racing in that situation, but still, hats off to Sky and Wiggo for doing so. It would be easy to just keep going but they chose not to, good on them.

DS

[vander]

One thing that does confuse me is how many minutes Cadel lost on the TT earlier. He almost won the TT last year, how come he is losing over a minute this year? I don't think his form is as good as last year, not as good preparation and slightly lower form is costing him I think. He should be much closer on the TT.

Cadel was not far off Fabian or the good TTers of last year. Infact he beat most. It was only the 2 sky boys were too good.

[AUbicycles]

Jens Voigt tweeted

time to send a note of my deepest respect to Cadel Evans for not just giving up with 3sabotage punctures today and waiting forever for wheel

Yeah Wiggo tried to slow down the bunch but then one greendressed rider attacks on the descent, trying to profite from the misfortune...

[hiflange]

One thing that does confuse me is how many minutes Cadel lost on the TT earlier. He almost won the TT last year, how come he is losing over a minute this year? I don't think his form is as good as last year, not as good preparation and slightly lower form is costing him I think. He should be much closer on the TT

He a daddy now.

[BRLVR.v2]

I yawned and went to bed early last night. Boooring it's become.

[philip]

Jens Voigt tweeted

Yeah Wiggo tried to slow down the bunch but then one greendressed rider attacks on the descent, trying to profite from the misfortune...

This tweet from VDV made me laugh:

People standing in the Pierre Rolland complaint line.

I'm not entirely sure that Rolland knew what was going on and attacked deliberately because of it though there was chaos everywhere, possible he didn't know/see what was going on.

[brentono]

Rolland stated, his radio was out. Team acknowledged. Think it's been pretty well covered.
He should have known...
"You've almost got to be listening backwards. Like a horse. When their ears point backwards."
(thanks Paul)