2012 Tour De France --Post Your Comments Here!

[burgdawg]

Stage 19: Bonneval to Chartres (July 21)

Time Trial

Gorgeous bicycles, I am foaming. Trim and aero everything. Massive downtubes, hidden brakes!

Scooped seat tube! Amazing wheels.

Made out of unobtanium. Anyone here have any experience riding such a fine craft?

Apparently, TourMania has gripped Norway en masse with many TV and camera crews filming all, plus

many of the bystanders from Norway.

There was a TV sidestory about "..why is Wiggins so wooden?" Aka "...why is watching Wiggins akin to watching paint dry?"

The news team commented at length about how impersonal Wiggins is......no eye contact, keeping to himself, closed body language.

Turns out this is all a strategy by his team's director to conserve energy...to stay within.

A Brit's cyclist team version of "greng jai" or เกรงใจ

TJ Van Garderen looking very hot out on the course now....

Wiggins at first check point is 11 seconds faster than Froome and scorching the field.

Looks like a 1-2 punch for Brit cycling at the Tour's finish tomorrow in Paris.

TJ Garderen who started 3 minutes behind Cadel Evans, catches him and passes Evans!

TJ could snare the 4th place finish in Paris, ahead of Evans.

Is Evans doing this on purpose?

Miguel Indurain---in one of his always classy moves---sent Bradley Wiggins a red scarf used in "Running of the Bulls" in Pamploma.

Wiggins was moved being honored by Indurain. Better than being Knighted! Wait, Indurain is Knighting Wiggins.

Wiggins is now 1:15 ahead of fellow team mate Froome.

Froome's fantastic Time Trial means he will be #2 on the podium in Paris WOW!

Wiggins win Stage and Tour de France as he punches the sky and finally shows some emotion.....

Helluva time trial, awesome effort by Wiggins. He beat Froome's amazing TT time by 1:16!

Congrats to Team SKY and the 1-2 podium finish by British Cyclists!

[downtown]

nearly had a tear in my eye as wiggo punched the air to confirm his victory. i see the wags are having their own tussle, as froome's missus has a pop at wiggo and wiggo's missus retaliates. ive stood twice on the champs elysees to watch the final stage and really wish i could be there tomorrow.

[flying]

Congrats Brits !

Robert Millar who I use to like watching climb in TDF's gone by

wrote a nice little piece

Robert Millar: Tommy Guns of the Tour de France

[flying]

Gorgeous bicycles, I am foaming. Trim and aero everything. Massive downtubes, hidden brakes!

Scooped seat tube! Amazing wheels.

Made out of unobtanium. Anyone here have any experience riding such a fine craft?

Yes I love the technology too.

while I have owned & ridden many beautiful bikes in my life...

Masi,Ciocc,Colnago,Cervelo,Look ( Look being my fav )

I have not ridden a pure time trial purposely built machine.

[burgdawg]

Stage 20: Rambouillet to Paris Champs-Elysees (July 22)

Final Stage. Easy pace as all the Riders salute themselves for a Tour well done.

Much reviewing of the 3 weeks past: Stage victories, crashes, leader changes.

The ebb and flow of a Toiur de France.

I wonder if radios will be used sparingly next year? Or will epic crashes that gut the peloton become a permanent fixture?

Fun thread, we'll all wake up tomorrow and no Tour!

We do have the Olympics to look forward to....

Tip of the bicycle helmet to T_Dog who shepherded last year's Tour.

Next year, T_Dog has promised a solar-powered 'Net connection, trading in his current coal-fired one....

Hope we all meet here next year, same time, same place.

Stage and Tour kinda anti-climatic. Tons of lousy commercials on the tube now, obscene.

Probably the only ad worth mentioning is the one by Specialized.

There is a 12 year old boy pedalling his heart out on a cobblestone section of road. His helmet is slighty ajar.

He keeps looking back to discover that the peloton is behind him and closing in at speed.

Strange Tour if the ads appeal over the race itself.

George Hincapie completes his 17th Tour. Jens Voigt is completing his 15th.

Thomas Voeckler wins the Polka Dot / Hillclimb Jersey.

Peter Sagan wins the Green jersey / sprint.

TJ Garderen wins White jersey, best young rider.

Golden day in the sun for British Cycling. Not only do they win their FIRST coveted yellow jersey, they take 1-2 in the standings overall.

Impressive.

[downtown]

wiggo makes us all proud and another brilliant win by Cav. happy and sad day for me, as i havent been able to cycle since 2007 because of a chronic ITB problem. for those of you who cycle, you are privileged