Stage 11: Albertville - La Toussuire (148kms) 1 x Cat 2,1 x Cat 1 and 2 x HC. A day for the 'Big Guns'! Wiggins will have a job holding on..... ...and we'll see the real GC contenders by the end of today. Here's a preview: http://www.steephill.tv/2012/tour-de-france/previews-results/stage-11/
Sad do for Froome! He'd have gone after Rolland and, if he hadn't managed to catch him, would likely have been in Yellow. But....orders came in: "Look after Wiggins". Result - he's now second behind Wiggers. ****ing Sky/Murdoch! In the old days, if your second man had a chance, you'd have let him go. Not now in the corporate crap days! Froome's my main man, by the way. Like Cav, he'll probably bail out of Sky after this - not prepared to give up his own chances for 'the one and only'.
Today is Stage 12: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Annonay (226km). 2 x Cat.1 and 1 x Cat.3, with a climb to the Finish. Even so, if the sprinters can make the climbs, there is an outside chance of a sprint finish.
was about to write something similar but you have covered the main points. The key thing is looking up the schedule so you know when they expect the riders to pass and get there early to stake your spot. we saw it a couple of years ago in the Loire Valley.
David Millar (Garmin-Sharp) wins the stage. Sky leading the peloton home, with Bradley Wiggins safely tucked inside the squad. He still leads the race.
Stage 13: Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Le Cap d'Agde (217km). Outside chance of a sprinters' day, but the climb of Mont-Saint-Clair (Cat.3) could produce splits and a breakaway.
Staqe 14: Limoux to Foix (191 km). A touch of the Pyrenees, with 1 x Cat.2 and 2 x Cat. 1. Probably won't make a lot of difference to the G.C., but could allow somebody to get away and open a gap (Voeckler?).
Interesting......Chris Froome has said he could win this Tour, but not with Sky. This is, obviously, because Sky want Wiggins to be Top Man. Froome says that, if the Yellow Jersey falters, he will go with 'the strongest' - Cadel Evans, Vincenzo Nibali, etc. In other words, he will ride for the victory, himself.
Sabotage on the last Col - the Mur de Peguere. Leading five got over and then punctures hit the peloton...Evans got 3; Wiggins got 1, as did Scarponi. Apparently, there were tacks on the road! Stage victory to Luis Leon Sanchez; Peter Sagan 2nd, Cazar 3rd, Gilbert 4th and Isaguirre 5th. Wiggins still in the lead overall; not sure if Evans lost any time on him as his team were about 20 secs down at one point.
The team leaders agreed to neutralised the race so nobody lost time. Tacks found on the road 28 from a box of 30 found so far. Respect to Sagan.
Cheers, mate - it was rumoured to be a possibility. glad it worked out that way, though. (But a damn shame some prat did what they did).
Report here: "The main drama of the day came at the top of the final climb, the category one Mur de Peguere. Cadel Evans of BMC punctured, and had to wait an agonizing 1:15 before help arrived. He had to not only stop again later to change bikes, but also subsequently had another puncture. Yellow jersey Bradley Wiggins tried to keep the tempo down to allow the defending champion to catch up, but himself suffered a rear flat on the way down. Reports of tacks being scattered on the road came from the Cofidis team car." http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-14/results
What good sportsmanship Bradley et al showed slowing the peloton down, after the tack incident to allow the affected riders time to get back.
Yep. But Pierre Rolland (Europcar) left the bunch and went after the leaders....for a while.....but it seems he was ordered to be 'caught' by the peloton, who had been waiting for Evans and the BMC riders.
Stage 15: Samatan to Pau (158.5km). Really just the edge of the Pyrenees - 2 x Cat.4 and 1 x Cat.3. Almost the last chance for the sprinters to make a mark. Matt Goss can both climb and sprint, so might have a chance of a stage win.
