Tour de France *** 2012 *** [LIVE THREAD]

Various ^ | TdF Starts June 30th!! | Varous

[Ready4Freddy]

The Tour starts next Saturday, June 30th!

Now I need to find my ping list & html templates!

[Red Badger]

Au revoir!................

[deport]

Thanks. Enjoyed the 12 Tour and if the Good Lord’s willing I’ll be here for the 13 Tour. Take care and a blessed year to all.

[West Texas Chuck]

I love Brad and his sideburns, and it really hurt me to watch Cadel going off the back a couple of days in a row, and I’m sorry the Americans didn’t have better luck, but out of the whole TdF I have to say my guy is Voeckler.

That little Frog just entertains me and makes me enjoy the spectacle. His goofy faces and his lion heart.

Vive la France! Talk to you kids next summer, until then stay hydrated and ride when you can, and spin hard.

[luv2ski]

I couldn't believe it when Phil said it was the Ambassador to France so I googled it, too. Turns out it was Maurice Greene who was an olympic track star at one point. That was in extremely poor taste. It was an embarrassment to the US. Ugh. A black T-shirt and shorts. He looked like he had just come from the grocery store.

[Mercat]

Here we have the most amazing individual sport in the world and an American on the podium and the US Embassy can only find a former track star in a t-shirt to show up. This country’s current administration is such an embarrassment.

[luv2ski]

Bay- thanks for all those great photos -except the last one ;-) haha.
R4F- it was awesome having the graphics up everyday to see what the riders faced. I referred back to them many times to remind myself of what climbs they had left. The TdF site was completely changed this year and although you can find the same stuff, it’s not nearly as user friendly as the old one was. Getting to your graphics, though, was easy.
It wasn’t as exciting of a Tour as we have had in previous years but we have a terrific winner that we can all be proud of. He is a class act and a great rider. Voeckler gets the award for the “Ministry of Funny Faces” according to Paul and deservedly so. He really turned himself inside out on some of those stages!
TeJay- an American hope for the future! Sagan- the green jersey in his first Tour? Wow. That is incredible.

We got to 2 stages of the Pro Cycling Challenge last year and hope to make at least that this year. It is amazing being that close to the riders that you have seen on TV all these years. Like movie stars I guess. Sigh.
Ping me if you’re watching the Pro Cycling Challenge!

[Sir_Ed]

I probably missed it, but will you be hosting an Olympics cycling thread?

I’d love to see the Manx Missile and Bradley Wiggins win gold!

Thanks,

Ed

[Baynative]

Bike Ping

Kazakh spoils British road race party

LONDON (Reuters) - Old school cycling prevailed on Saturday as Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov upset Britain's plan to set up a big sprint finish for world champion Mark Cavendish when he claimed the gold medal in the Olympic road race.

Colombian Rigoberto Uran took silver with Norway's Alexander Kristoff coming home third to win the bronze medal eight seconds behind.

A rider of instinct, Vinokourov had cleverly slipped into a 32-man group that the British team failed to rein in on the way back to central London from Box Hill.

Britain, brimming with confidence before the event, controlled the race all day but it proved too much of an effort for the four men who were looking to bring Cavendish home.

"Every other team was riding to slash our race. We just missed little bit of help," British road captain David Millar told reporters.

"Today it was the sprinters against the break away and the break away won," said Australian sprinter Matthew Goss.

The leading group took shape in the last of nine ascents of Box Hill and Britain did not have enough energy left to bring them back.

Tour de France runner-up Chris Froome dropped out with about 30 kilometers remaining, leaving Cavendish with only three team mates.

It was then Tour champion Bradley Wiggins' turn to drop out exhausted. David Millar took lengthy turns in front of the peloton as the gap to the leaders hovered at around a minute.

CANCELLARA CRASH

Cavendish finished in 28th position, 40 seconds behind Vinokourov.

Swiss Fabian Cancellara, one of the strong men in the leading group, missed a turn and crashed into the safety barriers.

He crossed the finish line five minutes and 43 seconds off the pace with an apparent wrist injury just four days before he attempts to defend his Olympic time trial title.

The crash split the group up and Uran and Vinokourov pulled away to contest a two-man sprint, which the Kazakh, who was suspended for two years in 2007 for blood doping, easily won.

Vinokourov announced he would quit professional cycling after crashing out of the Tour de France last year, but could not resist the urge to get back on the bike.

It was all about Cavendish on Saturday morning.

After being greeted by Prince Charles and Camilla, the Manx man was the first to roll off with Wiggins to raucous applause from the crowd.

A big black dog crossed the road in the opening kilometers but both the animal and the peloton escaped unhurt.

Britain were left to chase an early breakaway receiving virtually no help from other teams, who knew aiding them to bring Cavendish to a mass sprint would almost certainly deprive them from gold.

Germany, also looking for a mass sprint for Andre Greipel, were nowhere to be seen at the front of the peloton, prompting Millar to urge them to take their share of the work.

As a game of bluff and counter bluff unfolded, Britain briefly dropped from the front of the bunch. Froome and Wiggins, however, were back in control as the peloton tackled the first ascent to the top of Box Hill.

Germany only sporadically came to the rescue and the lack of cooperation eventually ruined all the sprinters' chances.

On the last climb to Box Hill, Vinokourov, but also danger men Luis Leon Sanchez and Alejandro Valverde of Spain, joined a strong group who was chasing Belgian Philippe Gilbert.

Gilbert was reeled in and Vinokourov, the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner, took his chance.

[dfwgator]

Great Success!

[patriotspride]

VivaVino.

Cagey vet schools medal wannabes.

He raced with heart and a goal to go out on top.

Well Done .... Proves some old dogs can still HUNT..... And brains can beat brawn.

The old turtle outfoxed the sleeker faster younger hares

[Baynative]

"He raced with heart and a goal to go out on top."

That's why he had such a close relationship with Lance. They both have the hearts of lions.

[Sir_Ed]

I like Wiggins and the Manx Missile, but man, it was cool seeing Vino win gold as he retires!!

Ed

[Ready4Freddy]

BREAKING NEWS: Lance Armstrong drops fight against US Anti-Doping Agency drug charges — AP

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48773712/ns/sports-cycling/

~~~~~
Can’t say as I blame him. It will never, ever, stop.

[Baynative]

I understand the fatigue that Lance is dealing with. But, I was really hoping to see him take down the people who keep pushing this issue.

I guess it's possible that they presented something during discovery that forced his decision. Still, the chance of losing his Tour wins is something that I can't imagine him risking without a defense.

[llevrok]

I smell a smear by a very politically and power motivated group.

These are socialists - economically and culturally. We are all equal and those who aren’t should either be brought up or down to an average level.

How dull their brave new world is

[Ms. AntiFeminazi]

Yep llevrok. Let’s hope the USA Pro Challenge doesn’t get ruined the same way those losers have ruined the Tour de France.

[CharlesWayneCT]

He couldn’t win an arbitration run by the same body that was illegally targeting him — a body that had no formal authority over a non-olympic athlete competing in a foreign race.

If arbitration went in his favor, it was clear the USADA would simply trump up more charges. They wouldn’t stop until they bought an arbitrator who would find him guilty of SOMETHING, anything, that would justify their existance.

Then he’d forever have people saying “well, he was found guilty”.

People who think he’s guilty will still think he’s guilty. People who thought he was innocent won’t think differently now, and nothing the USADA can do will change that.

Next will be the fight when USADA tries to pretend they have some authority to take away the recognition of wins in a foreign competition over which they have zero control.

[nutmeg]

Have you seen this? What the...?!

USADA to strip Lance Armstrong of 7 Tour titles (AP - Aug 24, 1:16 AM EDT)

[nutmeg]

Have you seen this?!

USADA to strip Lance Armstrong of 7 Tour titles (AP - Aug 24, 1:16 AM EDT)

[Vision]

Armstrong's story got me into the Tour. I'm grateful for that. But his actions here are an admission of guilt. It's a horribly tough pill to take.