Was fascinating tussle between the main contenders yesterday, Sky certainly controlled things and Froome was well protected, Thomas and Porte were outstanding again.
Stage 14 the top 10 on the stage 1 Stephen Cummings (GBr) MTN - Qhubeka 4:23:43 2 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:00:02 3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:00 4 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step 0:00:20 5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:29 6 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:32 7 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Lampre-Merida 0:00:32 8 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:32 9 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:32 10 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge 0:00:33 The GC top 10 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 56:02:19 2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:10 3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:03:32 4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:02 5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:23 6 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:04:54 7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:06:23 8 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:08:17 9 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 0:08:23 10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing 0:08:53
Great ride by Steve Cummings, and dream win for MTN Qhubeka. Chris Froome and Sky had the stage well under control. Unsavoury incident whereby Froome got a cup of urine thrown in his face.
Makes me wonder if the result was fixed? Or at least not quite as contested as normal. Being Mandela day... And an African team.
If you missed the news yesterday, the reason Sky have chosen to take the step to surround themselves with the police this morning is after their leader Chris Froome was doused in urine by a spectator, while his teammates Richie Porte and Luke Rowe were apparently also spat on. http://live.cyclingnews.com/
Here is the top 10 from today's stage. 1 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 2 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - Qhubeka 6 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 7 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 8 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 9 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 10 Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement There were no changes in the overall classification with all the main contenders making it through safely. 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:10 3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:03:32 4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:02 5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:23 6 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:04:54 7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:06:23 8 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:08:17 9 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 0:08:23 10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing 0:08:53
This quote by Brailsford boiled my piss when I read it this morning. "It's like a football mob that we ride through every day." What a ****. It's **** all like a "football mob". What it is, is a crowd reacting to a sport that is riddled, at the top level, with drug cheats. Next time I hope it's boiled piss that that **** Froome gets in his face, with the message "you're all drug infused ****s & Brailsford is a stereotyping ignorant ****". http://www.skysports.com/cycling/ne...ave-brailsford-says-crowds-are-out-of-control
You ****in serious? Nothing has been proved that he's been taking drugs, & neither does he deserve the trial by media that's following him. That is until it has been proved. Does this country actually want our sportsmen to do well & succeed or do they want results like the England Cricket side got at Lord's today? As for Brailsord's comments- weldone fella. Froome & his side don't deserve piss being chucked at them. Innocent until proven guilty surely.
You've missed my point Hank, I don't give a **** about cycling, although "Tour De France" wanabes shooting around country lanes does irk me sometimes & middle aged pot bellied chubbies squeezing into lycra cycling tops & shorts makes me cringe a little. When did you last see a football mob throw piss in a players face? Spit on a player? I've never seen it. If Brailsford doesn't want them all stereotyped as druggie ****s then he shouldn't really be stereotyping an angry crowd as "a football mob", the ****. It's a crowd reacting to the cheating within it's own sport & he should shut the **** up likening it to a football mob. It's a cycling mob, live with it or deal with the issues it highlights. Froome's not British is he?
Froome is Kenyan, chose British nationality/registry. Probs the French misbehaving, cos there's no French rider doing owt.
Froome is actually more English than Wiggins, both his mother and father were English, but he was born In Kenya. Wiggo has an Australian father and English mother, and was born In Belgium.
Funny, I thought Wiggo was born in Derbyshire and played for Mansfield before he came to us? Sorry...
.....and moved back to England when he was two, was educated here, started his cycling career as a junior here and still lives in the UK. I read somewhere that Froome had actually only ever lived in GB for about six months , he now lives in Monaco.
Top 10 on stage 16 1 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Lampre-Merida 2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 3 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling 4 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 5 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing 6 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 7 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN - Qhubeka 8 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 9 Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 10 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
Thomas got knocked into a telephone pole... General classification after stage 16 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 64:47:16 2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:10 3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:03:32 4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:02 5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:23 6 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:05:32 7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:06:23 8 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:07:49 9 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing 0:08:53 10 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:11:03
Sagan was immense today. He's a sprinter not a climber they said. Everyone who made a move on the last climb he pulled them back. Apart from the last guy to go. Still made up about 30 seconds on him. Pity no one wanted to help him. He was awesome down the last descent. Thought G was a goner when his head hit that pole. He was more concerned with losing his out of production glasses. My two picks of today. Sagan and G. The green jersey must surely be his now. Hoping for Cav to win the last sprint in Paris.
They interviewed Tinkoff the owner of the team, and he said Sagan is the best overall rider in the tour this year, better than Froome, hard to disagree with him. I think his down fall is that he is good at all aspects but not the best in any particular one, hence why he can't actually win a stage.
Yes I saw that interview. Sagan is the best all rounder I agree. Still just a young un though at 23. Maybe if he worked more on the hills he'd win stages as no one touches him on a lot of the other aspects. He is carrying more weight this year they say. That helps on the downhills and the flat bit not hills. I love it when Sagan pops a cheeky wheelie. Such a show off