More moronic behaviour from French protesters in todays Tour de France stage. Several riders affected by tear gas, race had to be neutralised for 15 minutes whilst riders had treatment. Is there no limit of acceptable behaviour these scumbags won't drop to?
Awful - sadly David Brailsford predicted it. Shame for Adam Yates - slipped over when in front on the final decent.
Middlesex are looking for a new ground - I wonder if the MCC have had a "discussion" with the Middlesex hierarchy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/44929166 On the plus side, they beat Warwickshire by 18 runs today.
Brutal stage in the Tour today. Only 65 kms, but most of it was up very steep mountains. Thomas looks as if he could retain the yellow jersey to the end of the race, with Froome having a bad time on the final climb. He has now lost his 2nd overall, but could get it back in the time trial. All of the riders will be glad to see that there is a nice flat stage tomorrow before another hard day Friday.
Can Thomas beat his rivals in the time trial as Dumulion is pretty handy at those ? Read Gilbert rode 60km yesterday with a broken kneecap !!
I think that if things stay the same over the next couple of days, Thomas should have enough of an advantage to hold off Dumulion. I would have put Froome as a better rider against the clock, but he really struggled today. Gilbert was the one who went headfirst over the wall. Somehow as he entered the bend you could see that he wasn't going to get round, the line was slightly wrong and he was going too fast. Once he was hauled up to the road he gave the thumbs up to say all was well. Seeing a picture of his knee suggests that he doesn't feel pain like a normal human being.
As someone who enjoys winter sports, this is a tragedy: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...s-on-18th-birthday/ar-BBL6trM?ocid=spartandhp I'm guessing that from the last line of the article that it was suicide.
Another brilliant ride from Thomas to finish just behind the winner. An exhausting climbers route today, and even team Sky were struggling. Froome was dropped on the final climb, but somehow managed to get back with the leaders. Thomas looks very strong still and I would be surprised if he cannot hang on to his 2 minute lead in the time trial tomorrow.
Maybe the story of the day concerned Peter Sagan. He came off yesterday and could hardly get on his bike today. One side of him was covered in butchers stocking. He is not really at home in the mountains at the best of times, but as the wearer of the green jersey he was determined to somehow get to the finish within the time allowance. The pain was clear to see as he started on the first climb, and became worse the steeper the climbs. His team gathered round and helped him, and he made it to the finish. He described the experience as the worst day he had had in ten years as a pro cyclist, and seeing his agony you could well believe it.
Great pole by Hamilton in very tricky conditions. Superb ride by Thomas to win the Tour... and great ride by Froome to claw back third place...
Second all Ireland hurling semi final today beteeen Limerick and Cork. It will be tense watching at my mum's house as the family is Cork and my sister in law is from Limerick. Feel sorry for my niece's all of whom have decared they're just supporting whoever wins!
And back up by success for Hamilton today and of course Thomas confirming his win. Even the French gave him a cheer!
My first experiences of the Tour were 2001 when I had bought my cottage in France, but didn't live here full time. We didn't have TV, there was far too much to do to the place. One afternoon when it was very hot and I couldn't work, my neighbour invited me in to watch and supply some cold beers. I learnt a great deal about the different stages designed to test different riders, and how there were several competitions running in tandem with the main race. When it started to be shown live in the UK I followed it, and became familiar with the riders. This year has be great for me as it has been hot and I can happily sit indoors where it is cooler and watch the countryside roll by for several hours. There is far less talk this year about drugs, in fact I haven't seen a single storey. The only complaint is about the size of the Sky budget compared to others. Similar to comparing Man City with Burnley.
I have been an avid Tour de France watcher since it came through my Tarn village in the late 90's. The tv coverage is excellent as is the spectacular scenery. It really is up to the other teams to find the finance to compete with Sky. I enjoy a Brit winning almost every year, to the complete angst of the French, but it needs to be more competitive. The organisers also need to do more to protect the riders suffering abuse from sections of the crowd, especially in the mountains. The race director is required to do much more than describe some fans as 'immoral'.
Sam Curran given us a chance to win the Test v India with a great half century - hopefully Jimmy or Broad can produce one of their magic spells. Mind you it would paper over some rather large cracks!
