Tour de France 2017

Marlys

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I was loving Matthews' fight for the green--it's deflating to have Kittel crash out and end the fun.

On the other hand, very cool to see Uran in 2nd place on GC now. Vaughters can be a dick sometimes, but I've been a fan of his team from the start.
 

robeiae

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Well, yesterday was exciting, if ultimately anti-climatic in the GC race. The Green and the Polka-dot are decided. The GC comes down to the time trial, but I can't see Froome giving up half a minute.
 

Enlightened

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I look forward to your 2018 Tour de France thread. Tour cycling is one of my top two sports to watch. I watched the Tour Down Under (Australia) this year. It looks like the gorilla is back to his old sprinting skill set.
 

Enlightened

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Tour de France, 2018, starts in two days. Is anyone going to start a 2018 thread?
 

Enlightened

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SPOILER....
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M

Froome crashed at 5 KM out. Lost 1:01 on day one, 81st place. Gaviria (Colombian sprinter) earned his first ToF stage victory (earlier this year, he won 2 of the 7 stages of the Tour of California).

Interesting Tour, so far.
 
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frimble3

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Apparently no-one is starting a 2018 thread, but I just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying watching the race.
(My sleep patterns are messed up, it's too hot to sleep, I know almost nothing about bicycle racing, except that winning 'the yellow jersey' is a big deal.)

However, the length of the race, broken into stages, is cool to watch. I like the way the commentators have time to explain stuff - racers' prior histories, who's injured, what techniques work, and what will get you penalized (drafting behind other racers - good strategy, drafting behind your team car to pull you ahead of the other racers - breaking the rules.) Unlike horse racing, it's not a big build-up then over in a couple of minutes.

There's time to enjoy the scenery of the backroads of France, the little towns where this is the event of the year. The mountains, the downhills, the vistas of farmland. The crowds of French people stationing themselves at strategic spots along the roads. Some with picnics, some with elaborate banners, and some crowds so thick on the actual route that I'm surprised the organizers don't have more of those barriers up. The fans who have written encouragement to the racers on the road itself. The little children running to keep up with the racers for a bit. The strain on the racer's faces, the hand reaching out for a bottle of water.
Unlike other sports, where one pitch is identical to the next.

And, Go, Wales, and Go, Poland! (I love being Canadian - no dog in the fight!)

Tomorrow, on to Paris!
 
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Enlightened

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It was a great race. Taylor Phinney (American) finished the last two days with a broken nose and a fractured occipital bone around his left eye. Froome should have won it, but he crashed on day one. He tried for his 4th grand (3 week) tour victory in 12 months (to be the second man to ever do it; amazing, because the Tour de France is 115 years old). He finished third. Amazing accomplishment.