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2016 Tour de France

scott43

So much better than a pro
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So, first stage isn't even over yet and Contador has already hit the deck and is being patched up on the race doc.. He does have his problems, doesn't he?!
 

Tom K.

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The guy is somewhat cursed.

It was cool seeing a USA cyclist share the breakaway today for so long, even though we knew it couldn't last to the finish.

Not a bad start for his first T d'F!
 

Gaby

aka Noofus
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Best three weeks of the year! I am really happy to see Cav get his first ever Yellow Jersey.

Today's stage seems unusual. Been watching this 4-man break stay strong all day. I would have expected it to get reeled in long ago considering the relative lack of climbing.
 

Tom K.

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Heartbreaking break yesterday.

Even with race radio, the peloton almost let him finish them off!
 

SShore

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Got to see the first two stages in person, one more check off the bucket list. I have to say watching on TV is a much better way to see the race, but what a hoot it is to be a part of the pageant.

Watched the first stage from Gouville sure mer. Got to eat the incredible oysters and bulots cuits (sea snails) and drink Muscadet while waiting for the race to go by. Tried to make it to Utah Beach for the end of the race but the roads and traffic made impossible (I can see after being there why it took the US Army two months to break out from the beachheads during the Normandy Invasion!).
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Second day we went to the start in Saint Lo, stood in the rain watching the caravan depart and watched the peloton go by before they dropped the flag. The spectacle of it all is really amazing and tons of fun. I never appreciated until being there that the logistics behind putting on the race are mind boggling.
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We went to dinner in Cherbourg after the race and they already had a statue up of the race winner;)
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Gaby

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I am really happy to see BMC holding the yellow. Greg van Avermaet rode a brilliant ride today and has set his team up really nicely to Tejay to take the leadership. This was a great stage to watch at least after that first 160k was over. Once the climbing started it was quite exciting.
 

Blue Streak

I like snow.
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Today's stage showed us the most extraordinary scenery.
Road trip!!!!!
 

SShore

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Today's stage showed us the most extraordinary scenery.
Road trip!!!!!

It also helps to have lots of TIME. You don't get to see much of the really cool things in France driving on the A roads (freeways), but it takes far far longer getting from point A-B there if you drive the scenic backroads. The benefit of the backroads is that almost every little town or village you drive through has something historical or charming about it. Even in the middle of nowhere you run into interesting things. Driving through the Loire valley last week I stumbled on an old farm house that was built on to the remains of an old tower of some sorts that had to have been built in the Middle Ages. You just don't see that here in the US of A.
 

Eleeski

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Zoom Froome! No collapsing banners today. Yesterday's victim is in second but the race is far from decided. But no TV for me for a couple days more. It's hard to follow on a phone.

Reminisced about riding 4cm behind my cousin's wheel as a kid. How that made bike racing interesting to me. The Tour is fun.

Eric
 

Tom K.

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Yesterday was such a surprise. I think the comments from the team etc. that this wasn't planned in any way are a bit suspect.

You don't learn at the end of a stage how to sit on the top tube and pedal at 50 mph. That was clearly practiced.

No secret that this year Tour organizers did not want Froome to lock things up early, so added a couple of DH finishes to climbing stages. IMO, he and Skye looked at this, and said, hmmmm, we may have an idea here for a bit of a surprise.

In any regard, it made for some rare excitement. I personally LOVE that, for a change, time was gained in the GC ranks somewhere other than a climb or TT!
 

Tom K.

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Four big climbs today. Off the back on the second climb, then recovers to WIN THE STAGE!?!?

If there is any racer in you at all, you just have to bow down to Tom Dumoulin!
 
Thread Starter
TS
scott43

scott43

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Ventoux tomorrow..apaprently 100kmh winds are forecast. They may drop the finish down 7kms. Terrible..
 

Eleeski

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This has been an incredibly entertaining Tour. Lance's real crime was perfect planning and execution to assure victory - making the race kind of boring. Especially when every team adopted that technique.

Sagan has broken that model. He tries crazy things and makes them work. And it looks like Froome is using that craziness to his advantage as well. A wild descent first and now a successful breakaway on a sprint stage.

This has been a great tour to watch.

Eric
 

crgildart

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Do they do anything special for Bastille Day?
 

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