Tour de France 09 (may contain spoilers)

[Seineseeker]

I thought he was off the back SO MANY times!  Well held that man.  Gritty performance.

Also: Awesome tour photos: 2009 Tour de France - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Awsome in deed great link thanks.

Fantastic thanks, I now have an appropriate desktop background (the sunflowers).

[border-rider]

Jeeez, how many bike lengths was that ?   

He could have freewheeled the last bit....

[ChrisO]

Hushovd lost it when he fell of Cav's wheel on that second-last turn, then got caught behind the Garmin riders - maybe he'll protest 

Fantastic leadout from Hincapie and Renshaw. Perfect line and pace.

Awesome finish though - Zabel obviously told Cav not to sit up before the line.

[David Martin]

Just how big a gap was that? Renshaw second - enogh space for a time gap. Definitely had someone bottle it on the last corner and block everyone else. I'd rekon cav would have got Mark to try that corner on every lap to get an idea of what speed it could be ridden at.

..d

[Naggers]

Just how big a gap was that? Renshaw second - enogh space for a time gap. Definitely had someone bottle it on the last corner and block everyone else. I'd rekon cav would have got Mark to try that corner on every lap to get an idea of what speed it could be ridden at.

..d

The Garmin rider certainly bottled it on that last corner. 
Nobody was gonna get close though. 



 

[border-rider]

Was that the world's most perfunctory handshake ?

Armstrong didn't even bother to look at Contador.

[border-rider]

Fine hat symbol action by Contador

[pcolbeck]

Well Cab has only another 26 stage wins to go to break the next record The rate he's going he might even do it !

[andrew_s]

Great stage !

I was amused when Phil & Paul reckoned the 22k climb would take an hour or so.  That being almost twice as long as it took me onna Brommie

Wow! Respect!
Ventoux from Bedoin in half an hour on a Brompton! 

That's 27mph up 9%.
Are you Team Sky's secret signing?

[border-rider]

Whoops

Perhaps that should be nearer 6 mph...

[nuttycyclist]

See what happens when people start trying to use these km thingies -> confusion 


Plz to be using miles in future.

[Moloko]

See what happens when people start trying to use these km thingies -> confusion  

They become Zod and we haz to kneel and stuff.  

[domesticated ape]

Great finish, I don't know how the other riders were given the same time as Cavendish either, the gap was huge! Just watched it a second time, and I reckon it was Hincapie's counter-attack just before the last couple of corners that did for Garmin, they seemed to panic and it allowed Renshaw to get the best line through the corner, and then it was game over!

This year is the first time I've really paid attention to the TDF (mainly due to accidentally catching Cavendish's win in Stage 2 on TV) and it's been great, I think I have finally been converted to being a bike racing fan.

[rdaviesb]

Big George's final pull did for the rest. Well 'ard. Especially as he's possibly bust his collar bone.

[Adam]

And it's all over........

Only 49 weeks to the next TdF.

[rdaviesb]

But not so long to the Vuelta 

[border-rider]

See what happens when people start trying to use these km thingies -> confusion  

erm, no

It's that I wrote twice when i should have written half.

2200 m in 22 k has a fearful symmetry...

[spesh]

Also: Awesome tour photos: 2009 Tour de France - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Picture 19 is the classic TdF shot, but I also like picture 4 - Egoi Martinez making like the Prodigy's Keith Flint.  

I must admit that after the doping scandals of the past few years, I wasn't all that bothered - until it got underway that is...

With Armstrong and Wiggins putting in better than expected performances, plus Columbia launching Cavendish to victory in nearly a third of the Tour's stages, it has - for me at least - been one of the more interesting Tours I've watched in some time.

Roll on next year!

[Moloko]

picture 4 - Egoi Martinez making like the Prodigy's Keith Flint.  

Do you reckon he started that bush fire by Ventoux? 

[spesh]

picture 4 - Egoi Martinez making like the Prodigy's Keith Flint.  

Do you reckon he started that bush fire by Ventoux? 

<Off Topic> If it wasn't him, it might have been the Foreign Legion.

Video: Hundreds flee as military drill sparks bushfire in Marseille -Times Online </Off Topic>

[ibrahim]

This year I finally made it to Paris to see the final stage. Couldn't see much detail as I was looking towards the Champs Elysees from the Tuilleries.

After the whole thing was over, I walked along the river and went up to the Champs and was surprised to see the teams doing the honours round more than an hour after the race had stopped. Magical atmosphere, particularly seeing Contador rolling up the road with the Astana team, so confident and happy. Like seeing a Roman emperor. 

Anyway, the comical moment was when they played the Danish national hymn when he was on the podium

[Thor]

...Contador rolling up the road with the Astana team, so confident and happy. Like seeing a Roman emperor. 

Like this? 

[ibrahim]

hehehe, perhaps with a tad more style

[clarion]

Scoop!  Will Fotheringham of the Observer managed to get Robert Millar to comment on Bradley's success in equalling his fourth in GC (though not, of course, his jersey).!

I guess this interview was done by the usual method of email.  I cannot imagine Millar speaking this much.

[Thor]

Millar was exchanging emails with David Harmon on Eurosport, during the Tour.  He seemed to be quite forthcoming, if only within the context of email.