Harsh on the line judge odddy, she isnt even looking and a ball hits her full on in the throat. He is absolutely in the wrong and should have taken more care when hitting the ball away. The only option was for them to disqualify him. I am sure it will be a lesson learned for him. It may be an accident but he was careless in his actions. Someone is going to be a lucky grand slam winner now.
Max Verstappen having a bad day at Monza. His car heating to the point of destruction as it sat on the grid for the restart.. They had to retire it from the race.
Fair do's - I didn't realise he had history on it and I also didn't know there were rules regarding that. He can therefore have no complaints. She did go down like a burning Messerschmitt though
Don’t you remember the golden boy of British tennis (no not Murray, the one before - and not the Canadian either) Henman getting disqualified at Wimbledon? Hilarious at the time if I recall.
I don't watch much tennis to be honest Nass. They all pale into insignificance compared to sexy Steffi Graf
I never watched the race live but I watched the highlights after I read that Hamilton had finished seventh. I bet he saved his expletives for when he got back in the pits. This is how to make F1 interesting – give Hamilton a ten second penalty for not seeing a warning sign on the other side of the track at 150mph, relegating him to last place so that all the no names can fight for all the places! The Ferraris both crashed out of their home race and Bottas was grumbling about his engine settings in a car that keeps winning for Hamilton. Hamilton got the fastest lap having to catch and pass all the tailenders just to finish in the points. What they should do next year is have a lottery before the season starts and draw three races (without revealing them) from the calendar. When each of those three races come around, they should then have a lottery drawing which driver drives which car. If you get lucky and draw your own team then you get to stick with it; otherwise, you could have Hamilton driving a Sauber and Ricciardo driving a Mercedes. Then you could gauge how good the drivers are and how much of it really is just the best car. I think half the drivers could win in Hamilton’s car but he could probably get a better finishing position out of some of theirs by setting them up better in practise and being more aggressive. The next race will be Ferrari’s 1000th Grand Prix. What chance either of them getting a podium finish? (or even a finish )
A day for the sprinters today, unless we get echelons (gusts up to 14 knots), expect Sagan and Bora to try and break the race open again, but this time it might cost them much more in effort for little reward. I am expecting a new green jersey wearer at the end of the day, but will it be Bennett winning the stage, or can Ewan get it together? The latter is the fastest rider in my opinion, but the lack of teammates and the need to pick the correct wheel to follow means that he is vulnerable. My prediction - Ewan Bennett Boll with Sagan fifth or sixth with Coquard finishing close to him. Let's see how wrong I can get it!!
Bold predictions Nass, onya mate. I've been reading about something called echelons. You probably know all about them, but for those who like me, had no idea, they are long lines that stretch out in length to combat cross winds. They can be quite dangerous as multi rider crashes are sometimes caused by the closeness of wheel to wheel racing. And splits can easily be formed. From what I've been reading, the place you really want to be is near the front of the race. As an Aussie, I'd like to see Ewan win, but have a soft spot for the wily Peter Sagan.
A very good day for me, with Sam Bennett winning the stage and taking back the green jersey. A day that could have proved very difficult for Sam turned into a very impressive victory, and to me he now is the premier sprinter in the race and should have so much confidence for tomorrow and the rest of the tour. He is now generally a 4/7 shot for the green jersey at the end of the race! Hopefully he cements his position further tomorrow. Cyc, funny we both mentioned echelons for today, if you get chance to watch some of the race then see how the pack split on the bridge with about 20km to go. It is a perfect example of how echelons work and the dangers of being caught the wrong side of it when a gap forms. The pace they were riding going into that section of the race was frenetic and those who couldn't get to the front of the race lost out massively. Tomorrow is another day for the sprinters, hopefully they get a kinder wind and don't have such a stressful day. You'd have to be siding with Bennett in a bunch sprint wouldn't you?
The big advantage for Bennett is that SUNWEB dont have a GC interest and therefore can ride the stages to try just to win one without worrying about where the rest of the team or team leader finishes. Hirschi nearly pinched a stage win for them and I wouldnt be at all surprised if they dont win a couple more on the way to Paris.
doh check facts before engaging mouth thats a strong team, am I right in saying Calebs crew is down to 5?
Yep 5 left. In a funny way that doesn’t impact on him that much as he’s one of those riders who picks a wheel and sticks. Cavendish like when it works. D QuickStep had an interesting day with Alaphilippe losing ten minutes and putting himself in a right old position to go for a stage win! They can also aim to send folk down the road to remove some of the intermediate sprint points if required later in the tour. I couldn’t believe Bennett was odds against this morning, bonkers.
I was meaning in the green jersey contest, the stage today was one I left alone (I can aftertime the other race) Roglic, Alaphilippe and Bennett. Obvious ones but I’d love to see Alaphilippe win another stage in a breakaway.
I watch the full race replay the next day Nass, but I make sure that I know nothing of the outcome. It's brilliant, no ads etc. Sam was brilliant and as you said, the green should be his after they've finished in Paris. I loved the after race interview with Bennett, it showed just how much the great race means to the riders. He'll go on to win plenty more stages during his career, but he'll never forget the day he won his first Le Tour stage.
