Attention all Velominati. The Tour VSP is going on line and it should be a good one. Sure, between Froomy and Bertie a person could hedge their bets but Moviestar is all in for Valverde, BMC for TeeJay, Astana for the Shark and Garmin is finally committing to a team leader in Talansky. Some other teams (ahem…Trek Factory Racing for one) have resigned themselves to hunting stage wins. The Tour swings through the Yorkshire Dales, everyone but the riders can enjoy some excellent ales. As the Tour continues to Lille, Norther France and Belgium, the quality pints continue. Yes, it’s hot and the VSP generator has beer on its mind.
The route, the sprints, the climbing and even the final time trial should make this a decent Tour. Here is a start list. Everyone will have a vial in their jersey pocket, but don’t worry, it’s legal.
It is still not too late to win the overall 2014 VSP and we have made it worth your while.
Refer to the VSP page for details concerning scoring and rest day swaps. If you want to call yourself Pedro Delgado, you will only have yourself to blame. The VSP banner on the homepage has the countdown clock, refresh your browser and don’t be late. Good luck and good picking.
[vsp_results id=”30275″/]
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@Chris Disappointed the headline doesn't read "Boom shake the Froome"
There were a lot of strong performances out there but Nibali was in a different league today. To ride away from Sagan and Spartacus towards the end was amazing.
As much as I'm not a fan of Froome it was horrible watching him stand at the side of the road. He looked like he didn't really know which bit of his hurt more and needed holding. He looked in a proper shit state.
@strathlubnaig
He can't. That's fucking stupid. I think the first was him speaking his mind, today he is taking the team line.
@dyalander
Oh wow! That's a DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince reference! Now its a party!
@frank
Compare & contrast widdle TJ's cry with the reaction of one of his team mates...
As if we needed an excuse to love him any more!
@Chris
I felt the same way and I wanted him to lose but I didn't want him to quite without putting up a fight.
As the day has passed and I'm now also embittered by a cheap Dutch loss in the World Cup, I have realized that Merckx would have finished the stage at least. He stayed in the '75 Tour despite several physical ailments just to lend credibility to Thevenet's victory. That's class.
I totally get Froome quitting, he was fucked, but part of me wishes he'd at least have finished. I could see part of him just was tired of crashing and couldn't face going on and losing heaps of time. Lets remember, he's the only one who DNF'd today. It would have been class to let himself be beaten properly. But obviously if he couldn't go on, he couldn't go on.
And don't start me on TJ. Fucking bitching about the cobbles is one thing if you can ride them. If you can't, then you're just being a bitch. Hinault fucking bitched about them but he fucking won Roubaix, too. And he knew he had to win it to lend credibility to his bitching. And TJ fucking blaming his crash on not being used to riding low pressure tires? COME THE FUCK ON! Try training for what you know you will face in the race!! You've known since the Fall!!
JAYSUS. Doctor, where are my pills?
@Chris
Strong performances ?!? Did Boom just race 250 some km in 3 hrs 18 minutes across wet cobbles? On a skating rink? I'm trying to comprehend what these cats just did today. Do I have the #s correct? Looney tunes. Simply looney tunes. I can't imagine.
How fitting is it that Stage "V" was exactly that? When I saw the rain this morning this morning and heard it was 50 F there, I was sure that everyone would get throttled. I can't blame Froome for packing it in, most regular people want a day off after a failed unclip attempt (you know we've all done it, whether seen or not). 3 times in two days, ouch. I feel bad for whoever has to tangle with Cav and Chris once they are back to 100% and all this Tour jazz is over. Both of these guys will be on fire for the remainder of the season.
Like most professional sportsmen these guys needs a good dose of the V. Almost every sport these days the pros complain if the conditions are even mildly challenging. As a Pedalwan I've only been following for a few years but every tour they find a stage "too hard," last year it was a dangerous descent, this year cobbles.
The only issue I have is that the cobbles are too early. They should be the penultimate stage of the tour (or even reverse the Paris-Roubaix as the final stage if they ever decide to race it again ). Make the GC contenders really put it all on the line on the cobbles.
And throw in a mountain stage en grave (ascent and descent) as well as a tribute to the history of the sport, no support cars, tubulars round the shoulders, teams hammering the mountains in the dust. Great stuff for the spectators, hard work for the teams.
@Bianchi Denti
Yeah. Amazing race. I kind of wished they would shut TJ and Cancellara up. Sure, it as a butcher shop. But who said cycling was a walk in the park. I know that if it were, I wouldn't do it. Surprised that there wasn't a Boom interview at the end. Ya know, some thing where he says "I love the cobbles." Next thing you know, the organizers will have to stop using grades over 5 percent. And for days over 85 degrees, rest stops for the riders every 20 minutes.
@wilburrox Awesome day no matter what, but closer to 160 k