Le Tour 2018

[Manc in London]

If you can get past Carlton Kirby and his ramblings then Eurosport knock ten tons of shit out of ITV4 coverage wise and informed input with Kelly, Brian Smith and Flecha.

Made up for Froome grabbing a podium the guy is a class act with the utter crap that’s been hurled at him from the cheese eating surrender monkeys.

Got to admit, I prefer ITV4. Gary Imlach is an excellent presenter, David Millar, if you ignore him using the wrong words, is insightful, Daniel Friebe produces some good snippets and the interviews during the stages have been excellent. Chris Boardman generally makes a lot of good calls. Icam not so keen on Boulting.

Kelly, a brilliant rider, rambles too much, whilst Fletcha is difficult to understand. Kirby constantly gets riders names wrong, which irritates me.

 

[normskih]

A French farce, we all saw the times on the screen but all of a sudden Froome loses.

The French really do not like us.

I thought there was something not quite right there and wondered why Sky didn't question it? I thought it was a brilliant ride by Froome.

 

[Jazzman]

No the French time keepers knew a French man won ;-)

Dumoulin is dutch but otherwise you are correct. Something funny happened there.

 

[johnnytapia]

Dumoulin is dutch but otherwise you are correct. Something funny happened there.

Watch the footage, it's simple. Froome was not over the finish line when they posted his time. ITV clarified this yesterday. A policeman trod on the timing device, causing it to "trigger" early. Nothing sinister at all.

 

[johnnytapia]

Maybe, but itv coverage has overall been overwhelmingly positive.
In this sport, given its history, it would almost be bizarre if they didn't raise this even once, as we all know a sizeable number of the public will have this going through their minds.

To my eyes, the main "difference" in Thomas recently, apart from avoiding the awful crashes he's been dogged by for years, has been his new found ability not to get dropped at the top of major climbs, and even to find something left in the tank to put in an acceleration to the finish - that aspect has certainly changed, so if there is gonna be doubt it will be around that aspect...

And the reason he can do that is down mainly to weight loss. He's shed several kgs and kept the power.

 

[Jazzman]

Watch the footage, it's simple. Froome was not over the finish line when they posted his time. ITV clarified this yesterday. A policeman trod on the timing device, causing it to "trigger" early. Nothing sinister at all.

Thanks good to know. I didn't notice when I watched it live. Was happy for Dumoulin by the way, but I wanted it to be a real victory for him, not something questionable.

 

[johnnytapia]

Thanks good to know. I didn't notice when I watched it live. Was happy for Dumoulin by the way, but I wanted it to be a real victory for him, not something questionable.

Yep, he won it fair and square. And in a kit made for him that very morning! Several mentions of Etxeondo before and after the stage by Dumoulin. Froome rode a great TT, Thomas rode equally well and he's surpassed all expectations in this tour. But that Sky train is something else. They seem to produce one or twp absolute turbo-chargers for the mountains each year and no rider can match that level of support. Qintanna, Bardet, Martin et al are further away than ever. One bright light on the Sky dominance horizon is the age of Froome and G. Both in their thirties, so it could be time for a younger rider to take the mantle. Step forward (and sign a Sky contract) the Yates twins.

 

[Jazzman]

Yep, he won it fair and square. And in a kit made for him that very morning! Several mentions of Etxeondo before and after the stage by Dumoulin. Froome rode a great TT, Thomas rode equally well and he's surpassed all expectations in this tour. But that Sky train is something else. They seem to produce one or twp absolute turbo-chargers for the mountains each year and no rider can match that level of support. Qintanna, Bardet, Martin et al are further away than ever. One bright light on the Sky dominance horizon is the age of Froome and G. Both in their thirties, so it could be time for a younger rider to take the mantle. Step forward (and sign a Sky contract) the Yates twins.

I noticed the boss of Sky said he knew already with which team wants to win Le Tour in 3 years. Given their ages I presume it will neither be Froome or Thomas. The (German) Eurosport commentators suggested it would be Egan Gomez, who is already there.
I would love it if there was more competition for winning the race. This year Sky was (again) completely dominant, and nobody else had a serious chance. If find it noteworthy that when riders leave Team Sky they decline in quality. Last year Mikel Landa looked every bit as strong as Froome, but had to obey team order. This year riding for Movistar he is quite some distance back. Funny that.
I am hoping for Dumoulin, not because I am a particular Dutch fan, or a fan of his team, mainly because he looks to be the only one with a real chance.
Better for the race overall would probably be a French victory, but Bardet looked farther away this year than he has done for years.

 

[Gray]

Watch the footage, it's simple. Froome was not over the finish line when they posted his time. ITV clarified this yesterday. A policeman trod on the timing device, causing it to "trigger" early. Nothing sinister at all.

Are we sure the Gendarme didn't repeat his faux pas when Dumoulin arrived?

 

[johnnytapia]

Are we sure the Gendarme didn't repeat his faux pas when Dumoulin arrived?

Yes, have a look at the footage of both crossing the line. Froome's time is clearly taken before he crosses the line. Dumoulin's isn't.