[Mr Bee]

Who will be watching it!
For one, me.

What about you?


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

[Augmented hippo]

Me too, Wiggins ftw!

[Mr Bee]

(Original post by Augmented hippo)
Me too, Wiggins ftw!

For sky, yeah. But, for HTC, Cavendish ftw!


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

[Augmented hippo]

Cavendish has moved to team sky now so both the top Brits are together.

[arnoob]

I used to be obsessed with it, I even went and watched the final leg of the race in 2005 when it finished in Paris, I remember seeing Lance Armstrong cycle past me I still have a Tour De France hat and T-shirt. I forgot to mention that I met Jan Ullrich in Hannover, still have images

[Good bloke]

There is no HTC team; it was disbanded.

Cavendish now has a reduced chance of winning the green jersey (and stage wins) as Sky will be putting a lot of effort into the chase for the yellow jersey, given that Wiggins is a genuine strong contender it this year.

[Good bloke]

(Original post by arnoob)
when it finished in Paris,

It has always finished in Paris (on the Champs-Elysees since 1975).

[unprinted]

Me.

Yep, when Cav decided he wanted to move to Sky, that was the end for (Columbia / HTC) Highroad - they couldn't get a sponsor without him. Will he get stage wins / be a green jersey contender? Yes: the stages for him are not the ones where Wiggins could gain or lose large amounts of time and winning stages is what Sky are paying for. He's proved he can do it without Mark Renshaw in the Giro and elsewhere.

It'll be interesting to see if Wiggins can get a podium place. My bet would be no, unless it's via a disqualification or two for drugs use.

[roh]

(Original post by Good bloke)
There is no HTC team; it was disbanded.

Cavendish now has a reduced chance of winning the green jersey (and stage wins) as Sky will be putting a lot of effort into the chase for the yellow jersey, given that Wiggins is a genuine strong contender it this year.

And Cav seems focussed on the Olympic road race so may just pack it in when it hits the mountains to rest for London.



Also, will be watching it. Be interesting without Schleck and Contador, hopefully should be close between a few until quite late on.

[Irishguy2K10]

Me
Theres no more HTC highroad team anymore, Cav moved to team sky which was unfortunate as I personally think Omega Pharma would have been a far better option with their stronger pack of riders. Without Cav or Wiggins, sky would not be a winning team. After Evans performance in the Dauphine this year, he looks strong to win it. The entire sky team will have to work for Wiggins, even Cav and therefore he wont be getting the green jersey again this year.

[Good bloke]

(Original post by Irishguy2K10)
After Evans performance in the Dauphine this year, he looks strong to win it.

Eh? If a strong performance in the D-L is a good indicator that someone might win the TdF, isn't Wiggins's win stronger than Evans's 2nd?

[Irishguy2K10]

(Original post by Good bloke)
Eh? If a strong performance in the D-L is a good indicator that someone might win the TdF, isn't Wiggins's win stronger than Evans's 2nd?

I didn't say Wiggins wouldn't win it did I ? Wiggins has the tt, that's his strong point, he will have to gain as much time over the likes of evans who is capable (as proven in the dauphine) of breaking of by himself or driving the pack on when mens legs are weak ( as once again shown in the dauphine). Evans is still very strong at time trials and is one of the more likely candidates to win the tdf. Wiggins just hangs on in the main bunch and doesn't make any win breaking moves, whereas Evans does

[py0alb]

One time when I was in Italy for a week's conference, Eurosport was the only channel in English, and I ended up watching quite a lot of the Tour de France. Jesus CHRIST its boring. I'd rather watch handball.

[Mr Bee]

(Original post by py0alb)
One time when I was in Italy for a week's conference, Eurosport was the only channel in English, and I ended up watching quite a lot of the Tour de France. Jesus CHRIST its boring. I'd rather watch handball.

Each to there own


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

[roh]

(Original post by py0alb)
One time when I was in Italy for a week's conference, Eurosport was the only channel in English, and I ended up watching quite a lot of the Tour de France. Jesus CHRIST its boring. I'd rather watch handball.

Yes, it's just lots of unnaturally skinny blokes riding around a giant TV advert for France Tourism whilst flogging themselves half to death in the name of such worthy causes as various continental banks and the French version of Ladbrokes, but once you get into the tactics and nuances it's brilliant.

[TheMagicRat]

(Original post by roh)
And Cav seems focussed on the Olympic road race so may just pack it in when it hits the mountains to rest for London.



Also, will be watching it. Be interesting without Schleck and Contador, hopefully should be close between a few until quite late on.

I would be amazed, and disappointed, if Cav packed it in. He said he's happy to put aside personal glory to help Wiggins and I don't see there being a problem with the Olympics. Other competitors will have raced in the Tour and they are all elite athletes.

[roh]

(Original post by TheMagicRat)
I would be amazed, and disappointed, if Cav packed it in. He said he's happy to put aside personal glory to help Wiggins and I don't see there being a problem with the Olympics. Other competitors will have raced in the Tour and they are all elite athletes.

Me too, and he seems to be saying different things which is annoying.

Here it seems to suggest the Olympics his priority but here it suggests he's treating them equally.

I suppose it's similar to tennis, where people debate whether Gold is equivalent, smaller than or bigger than a Grand Slam.

Cancellara clearly thinks it's pretty massive: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18582777

It's true they are elite athletes, but I do a lot of swimming and it has to be said tapering (the process of training targeted at one event and then resting up before it for the best period possible to maintain fitness but gain energy) does work well. I gather it's less important for endurance events but road sprinters are a kind of weird hybrid and it's hard to say which will work for them.

[JLXP]

YES! I shall be watching as much of it as i can. ITV4, right?

[TheMagicRat]

(Original post by roh)
Me too, and he seems to be saying different things which is annoying.

Here it seems to suggest the Olympics his priority but here it suggests he's treating them equally.

I suppose it's similar to tennis, where people debate whether Gold is equivalent, smaller than or bigger than a Grand Slam.

Cancellara clearly thinks it's pretty massive: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18582777

It's true they are elite athletes, but I do a lot of swimming and it has to be said tapering (the process of training targeted at one event and then resting up before it for the best period possible to maintain fitness but gain energy) does work well. I gather it's less important for endurance events but road sprinters are a kind of weird hybrid and it's hard to say which will work for them.

I'd say it's quite difficult to place the Olympics in terms of importance. For the casual fan or someone who doesn't watch cycling then it will rank highly. As a cycling fan I'm not too fussed about it. I, personally, value the Grand Tours over it. I guess the riders themselves make a decision on which they regard highly, as well as whether the course will suit their style. I mean Cunego isn't riding in the Tour because of a lack of summit finishes and he's focusing on the World Championships and Vuelta because he thinks they'll suit him more. I am a little disappointed he won't be in the Tour because I really like him.



I was just looking at the betting and it seems the bookmakers are convinced it's a two horse race between Evans and Wiggins. Third favourite is around 18/1 or 20/1.

[roh]

(Original post by TheMagicRat)
I'd say it's quite difficult to place the Olympics in terms of importance. For the casual fan or someone who doesn't watch cycling then it will rank highly. As a cycling fan I'm not too fussed about it. I, personally, value the Grand Tours over it. I guess the riders themselves make a decision on which they regard highly, as well as whether the course will suit their style. I mean Cunego isn't riding in the Tour because of a lack of summit finishes and he's focusing on the World Championships and Vuelta because he thinks they'll suit him more. I am a little disappointed he won't be in the Tour because I really like him.



I was just looking at the betting and it seems the bookmakers are convinced it's a two horse race between Evans and Wiggins. Third favourite is around 18/1 or 20/1.

I'd say it's relative rarity value, only every 4 years, makes it at least worth as much as a World Champs and more than the Classics, as I think being a one day race it's hard to compare to a Grand Tour. It's certainly not clear cut like it is in Athletics or Swimming where Olympic Gold is the ultimate prize or football where it's blatantly inferior to the World Cup.

Really?! That's an amazing bet. Given neither are amazing climbers I wouldn't mind a flutter on someone like Sami Sanchez at that price as he could make a lot of time in the mountains if he's on form, though there doesn't seem to be much in the way of mountain top finishes this year.