Tour de France 2009

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:35 pm

Anyone been watching?

Much poorer form on my part than last year, don't think I've stayed up to watch more than one stage finish.

Probably because after the team time trial Cadel's chances were basicall over. Booo
Everyone's said it I know, but he needs a stronger team.
Astana's lineup is bloody ridiculous. Needs to be alliances against them.

And when Evans does attack everyone tells him to go back because the breakaway will get chased. Boohoo, sissies

Again I didn't stay up til the finish last night but saw the start of the big descent. Crazy that someone was clocked at 114km/hr down that last year, unbelievable, one loose pebble and you're dead at that speed...
Good to see the 2 leaders hold out, although Pelozotti was doing all the work when I was watching and prob deserved the stage win more.

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:46 pm

I've been watching every night. It's killing me on work days, but I'm a fanatic so for 3 wks its Tour first, work second.

It's been a pretty good first week of racing. Very interesting.

Of the Aussie's I'm most upset about Mick Rodger's back luck. He was looking in very good form until his slip on the wet road into Barcelona. Hang in there!

Also interesting is Heinrich Haussler's accent. He might sound German, and race as a German, but what an aussie accent LOL. Good on him. 2 crashes and he's still going along for Cervelo.

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:48 pm

May the competitor with the best chemical / pharmaceutical lab win.

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:53 pm

I was enjoying watching it in the first week but I'm one of those poor fuckers who hasn't got digital yet so now I'm stuck with the stupid Ashes. Fuck you SBS for teasing me

What a gib.

cammo · Post by **cammo** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:24 pm

digi set boxes are so cheap mixtress. well worth it for abc2, sbs2 n one hd. great night of telly with webber winning formula one then some tour de france
not happy evans is not up with the leaders but intresting to see if lance is gonna win it

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:41 pm

definately get yourself a set top box Mixy, as cammo says. It's great having access to ABC2, and SBS2. Now is the time.

Otherwise, watch the TdF online through the excellent Tour Tracker live streaming website.

http://tdf.sbs.com.au/tdf2009/tour-tracker

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:52 pm

sweet!

Been tossing up b/w buying a set top box or getting a TV with it onboard. Our telly's stuffed.

The landscapes are freaking amazing, I wanna go to France asap!

Amick · Post by **Amick** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:08 pm

Hardy wrote:May the competitor with the best chemical / pharmaceutical lab win.

I can't get into a 9 day bike race, I laughed when I was told by someone they watch it for the scenery...they probably watch Getaway too.

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:38 pm

it goes for more than 9 days. it goes for 3 weeks!
I watch it for the scenery, but then I am a Francophile, and I also like boys in lycra.

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:07 pm

No race radios allowed tonight, so the team director in the car will not be able to tell his riders what is happening up front or back and who is doing what on other teams. Let's see what that does to team tactics!

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:56 pm

yeah watching now.
was interesting hearing jens voight whinge about that, citing safety.
of course the likes of saxobank & astana are going to complain

but on such a flat stage i dont think itll make much difference, the riders can still go next to the team cars and find out how far ahead the breakaway is etc. right now the gap is getting cut to shreds already. bit boring.

bring on the alps

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:56 am

Kaiproject wrote:bring on the alps

Word! And thank God the Ashes is over, so now I'm back in the race

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 8:58 pm

good on heinrich haussler the german aussie, career high so far

awesome how he pulled away in the rain and beat the climbers by miles

good to hear he's changing to aus citizenship and training here soon etc

it was great cos sbs did a bio on him before the live coverage started last night, and when he was in the lead in the last 30km he could hear the sbs commentators and was giving them the thumbs up n stuff

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:54 am

Keep the updates coming...the stupid Ashes is back on SBS1 and I still don't have a set top box

quick · Post by **quick** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:45 am

ASHES IS NOT STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:31 pm

fight

quick · Post by **quick** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:14 pm

SHUT UP!!!!!!!

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:33 pm

Coco Grimes · Post by **Coco Grimes** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:27 pm

havent watched it since richard virenque retired... whos in polka dot these days?

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:08 am

Contador with 1.5km to go on the climb, 35 sec ahead of A.Shleck, 1min ahead of Armstrong and 1.30 on cadel & co.

Guy's a freak.

Finish update edit:

-Contador by miles: 5hr03'58

-A.Shleck 2nd -46sec

-Wiggins 5th, just over a minute- looking like possible podium spot getter (now 3rd overall 1min46 behind)

-Cadel 7th -1min 25 - looking a bit off the pace considering the amount of big climbs to come. Hope he canes the time trial and gets in the top5 or something...Wiggins could pull off a good result thanks to TT too

-Armstrong -1min 35 - now 1min37 overall behind Cont. Basically racing for 2nd now. Man the guy did well for 37y/o, awesome job he looked half dead when he crossed the line, and a bit disappointed. Not bad for a cancer survivor tho...

Pellizotti in the polkadot still, 109pts, ahead of Martinez on 101 so no clear standout really especially with the massive climbs still to come

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:55 am

thanks for the info

Armstrong's doing well for ANYONE, let alone a cancer survivor. Mad dog.

Go Cadel!

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 12:49 am

mixtress wrote: Go Cadel!

All over for him unfortunately

Been dropped off the back of the yellow jersey group the last couple mountain stages including today
Given up

Oh well, go anyone but the Astana machine. Maybe Wiggins...he's doing well, and he's a good timetrialer so he has a chance to take the lead tomorrow unless they crack him tonight

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:33 am

sorry4doublepost but updatE:

cadel now 37mins behind. ugh.

wiggins 5th, chance to get into podium spot in the timetrial thats on now.

cadel just started, will he save his legs to try and win the last mountain stage, or do well in the TT?

even for those disinterested in cycling here's one to wince at.

Watch the posted video on YouTube.

http://www.huliq.com/1/83836/jens-voigt ... es-serious

was probably going somewhere from 80-100km/h on the descent........

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:54 am

Poor Jens! Such a nasty crash for such a nice fella, but that is how it goes.

Thor Husovd's near crash last night was an amazing save!

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 1:20 am

That crash was gruesome. He skidded for fucking ages, can you imagine the cheese grater effect on his arms and legs

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 11:01 pm

3 nights left of the tour and 2 of them are big hilly stages. Make or break time!

Post by **fooishbar** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:58 am

brilliant finish, hincapie and columbia-htc reeling in all the breakaways to ride cavendish to the win ... mad scenery too. big up sbs for streaming the tour online.

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:56 pm

Another year of the Tour done. I am looking forward to going to bed at a normal time again

It was fantastic, especially the Tour Tracker website.

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:17 pm

Was good fun watching. Phil Liggett got all excited near the finish, it was cute as. Mad performance by Armstrong to finish 3rd. Good fun all round, will watch again.

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:02 am

Here is an amazing selection of photos from the tour....

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/0 ... rance.html

1 example....

witty_pseudonym · Post by **witty_pseudonym** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:16 am

wow...they're amazing PC!

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:21 am

mad pics, respect to the photogs

Post by **fooishbar** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:32 am

big picture is rarely short of fucking amazing.

Post by **lynt** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:14 pm

Amazing shots. I was blessed enough to be there on the final stage. I got a few photos worth mentioning, but it was super packed and I couldn't get close enough to the barriers...

Must got again next year, such an unreal experience!

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:09 pm

awesome.

i hope i can go and watch it live at least once in my lifetime

great finish by columbia indeed, lets not forget aussie mark renshaw 'best leadout man in the world' set it up!

cadel's a bit cryptic about his future in the interview on the sbs tdf site. sounds like he had some problems with his team (understandably, not up to scratch really) and might look to leave soon, 1yr before his contract is up. hope so

he might have 3-4 more good tours in him but for how long will be remain a serious yellow contender without a good team?

here's to haussler being the only stage winner (altho not technically) and being an aussie nxt year!

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 12:24 pm

After the press release of a "clean tour" comes the latest news that Mikel Astaloza has been done for EPO in the month before the TdF. Boo. I ride the same bike as him. Thought he was great to smash out those mountain climbs. shame shame shame.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-st ... oping-test

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 10:52 am

wish i had've stayed up to watch the cobbles last night! but had to watch the dutchies win and with 0 sleep today woulda been tough...

good result for cadel!! gained time overall, now 3rd. a minute over contador etc.
and pretty much all his own doing.

but with the likes of hincapie in his team he should give it a better shake this year. well let's hope

shit luck for adam hansen the other night breaking his collar...
frank schleck out too. crazy crashes...that pileup was insane on stage 2.

Charlie73 · Post by **Charlie73** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:28 pm

Yeah fell asleep b4 the MAJOR Cobble section, saw the first one...

Yeah Cadel got a result last night, he did well, yeah my heart broke for Hansen, such a shame.

Been a rough start this year for many, will be interesting to see the knock on effects of this....

This World Cup / Tour crossover is killing me! Thank goodness i work for a great company that understands when i am little zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. And ask the same thing 3 times....

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:10 pm

yeah my work is good like that too.

a lot of ppl in the same boat too i think

also a shame that german-aussie heinrich haussler missed the tour completely with a knee injury, he was good last year and he had some other good results after the 09 tour.

i wonder if he will still ride for australia at the UCI world champs out here later this year...probably not cos he'd have to change citizenship and wasn't keen on it i heard

Kaiproject · Post by **Kaiproject** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 4:12 pm

great sprint finish last night cav answering his critics!

Watch the posted video on YouTube.