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Rolling Hansie
And now this old man is going to bed ... welterusten

OK....talk to you later Hansie......but I just opened a beer... so...






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-07-20 02:53 by Max'sKansasCity.

If Contador wins there will be a Question Mark on his Yellow Back. Could he have won without making this move?

After Schelck had the mechanical incident, Contator attacked out of a sign of weakness. He is not as strong as he was last year and he knows it.

Saxo Bank is the stronger team so we can expect them to set a very fast pace tomorrow.

Now let's watch Sanchez & Menchov steal the show!!

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carlitosbaez
Please update your information about Contador, as Human he just apologies so now on, what are you gonna do, take him to the guillotine?
He apologies amigo, GAME OVER...
the video again



Carlitos
Tenerife

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Addicted
Yes, congrats to Voeckler and France. Shame on Astana and Contador. It doesn't help how much they tell lies. They have no honour whatsoever.

I can't withdraw the info in my post. It was right at the time, and I believe it still is. He's just seen how much everyone hated him for being so unfair. And then he started telling lies in addition and we hated him even more. I guess his sponsors told him they can't be seen with a non fair play contender and when money talks, people often draw new conclusions.
But he has ruined his reputation forever by what he and Astana did. Appoligizing afterwards makes it a tad bit better, but the general damage is done.

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Addicted

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carlitosbaez
Please update your information about Contador, as Human he just apologies so now on, what are you gonna do, take him to the guillotine?
He apologies amigo, GAME OVER...
the video again



Carlitos
Tenerife

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Addicted
Yes, congrats to Voeckler and France. Shame on Astana and Contador. It doesn't help how much they tell lies. They have no honour whatsoever.

I can't withdraw the info in my post. It was right at the time, and I believe it still is. He's just seen how much everyone hated him for being so unfair. And then he started telling lies in addition and we hated him even more. I guess his sponsors told him they can't be seen with a non fair play contender and when money talks, people often draw new conclusions.
But he has ruined his reputation forever by what he and Astana did. Appoligizing afterwards makes it a tad bit better, but the general damage is done.

I think you're right. I remember a similar situation from some years ago, Armstrong having material problems and Ullrich not stopping of course but waiting on him instead of breaking away at full speed

Yes, kleermaker, I remember that, too. Once Ullrich waited for Armstrong, and another time Armstrong waited for Ullrich. They both had technical problems while wearing the yellow jersey, and in the Tour, one never attacks the yellow jersey during technical problems. It's a gentlemen's agreement. It's good sportsmanship and fair play. That's what we want. The TdF audience are very updated on cycling and their booing yesterday when Contador put on the yellow jersey said it all. They turn their backs on people who don't accept the good behaviour code.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-07-21 17:43 by Addicted.

The question is not if Contador should have waited. The answer to that question is simply NO. It has always been that way and it will always be that way. He had every right to attack when Schleck had his technical problem. It is impossible in cycling to stop the race when somebody has a mechanical problem. Contador attacked when he saw his chance, so did the 4 that went with him. Nothing wrong with that. That's racing. It's a tough world.
What I said before and will repeat again and again if I have to is that I simply hate what Contador said after the finish, that he didn't see it. That was a blatant lie and a cheap and weak response. He saw what happened, so did the rest. All he had to say after the finish was that he saw what happened and took his chance. Then that would have been the end of it. Nobody in the cycling world would have blamed him then. Now he did it the wrong way. First saying "I didn't know" and then later apologize. That's weak. Contador's apologies change nothing to what happened.
I also did not attack Carlitos for being happy that a Spanish racer had won. In my initial post I simply asked him to show some courtesy, because it wasn't a great victory for Contador. And I still stick to that fact. Not an opinion but a fact.

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Rolling Hansie
And now this old man is going to bed ... welterusten

Hansie, don't say you're old please. I'm of the same age as you. Say this loudly three times at a row when you have your birthday: I AM NOT OLD YET, NOT BY A LONG WAY. Repeat it untill you're convinced!

From the official Tour de France website.
About today's stage:

The same sequence as for Merckx

We have been criticised because the Tourmalet pass (where the Jacques-Goddet memorial trophy will be awarded at the summit) is apparently too far from the finishing line. Some say that it will not bring anything to how the race develops. The only thing is neither Pau nor the Col du Tourmalet have changed place, and everything depends on the race. The riders will have to tackle Peyresourde from the start, Aspin, Tourmalet and Aubisque. Admittedly, the Aubisque pass is 60 kilometres from the finishing line, but it is followed by 30 kilometres of descent before getting to grips with the valley bottom. It is the same route (except that the stage finish was in Mourenx) as in 1969 when Eddy Merckx was victorious after a 180-kilometre breakaway. We wanted to make this stage a little tribute to him.

[www.letour.fr]

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kleermaker
Hansie, don't say you're old please.

LOL kleermaker, thanks for your concern, but don't you worry. I absolutely don't consider myself old. It was a touch of irony for the "youngsters" here to tell them that I lived and experienced "de Tour" much more and much longer than they did.

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Congratulations to Pierrick Fedrigo for winning today's stage.



But I feel so sorry for Carlos Barredo. I really wished he would have made it. What an exciting final. Barredo in the lead until the last kilometer.
But also a good day for Lance Armstrong finishing in 6th place.

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Rolling Hansie

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kleermaker
Hansie, don't say you're old please.

LOL kleermaker, thanks for your concern, but don't you worry. I absolutely don't consider myself old. It was a touch of irony for the "youngsters" here to tell them that I lived and experienced "de Tour" much more and much longer than they did.

I know Hansie. It's just this kind of humour that I like. I also often have to laugh about Max's comments. It makes these sports threads just fun.

As for the Tour: I'm sorry I had to miss the final of this stage, but I heard at a certain moment that Barredo was only 14 sec. ahead. Then I knew he wouldn't make it, but this time I'm really sorry I was right. It would be great if Barredo had won. But congrats to Fedrigo from here too. Well, Thursday must be Andy's day!

From the official Tour de France website.
Interview with Andy Schleck today.

Andy Schleck – “I just want to win this Tour de France.”

After the ‘Case of the Dropped Chain’, Alberto Contador issued an online statement apologizing for attacking Andy Schleck after the mechanical mishap. The rider in second overall appreciates the gesture but now he wants people to turn their attention to the race ahead, not the incident of stage 15…

"I had to be careful in the beginning of the stage so I stayed up near the yellow jersey and had a good look at what he was up to. It looked like he had a good team around him and I had Jakob Fuglsang with me the whole time and unfortately Jens crashed in the downhill so it was not a super day for the team. I heard that he is okay, so that’s some of the best news of the day.
“We had one scenario that we’d spoken about: if there was a group two or three minutes I would have attacked maybe on the col d’Aubisque and see how I went. But when we got there the escape was just too far ahead so there was no point in trying anything today because it would not have been successful.
“I’m still motivated but it’s not like it’s revenge. I just want to win this Tour – that’s my goal – and I know there’s only one chance left and that’s the Tourmalet [on Thursday]. I think I can do it. I hope I can do it.
“I haven’t seen the footage of Alberto’s apology but he came to me today and personally apologized and I appreciate that a lot. He knows that he did a mistake yesterday; he shouldn’t have done that, he knows it and, for me, that’s enough now. This case is closed and people should stop with it and move on. Nobody deserves to be chastised endlessly.”

[www.letour.fr]

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Tomorrow will be a resting day in the Tour. No stage. Time for all the riders to get ready for the killer stage on thursday.



This is the profile of the thursday stage



And here are the last kilometers



The Tour de France ain't over yet

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Tomorrow's (Wednesday's) Stage:

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Rolling Hansie
........get ready for the killer stage on thursday.

killer stage? ...ah that looks easy..I could win that stage with a beer in both hands while playing internet poker on my laptop, while looking for kewl videos on youtube ..... while talking complete BS about how I could do this stage so easy on IORR. sheeesssh...I got worn just typing that

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Rolling Hansie
........get ready for the killer stage on thursday.

I need to find a stock with a chart that looks like that...

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Max'sKansasCity

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Rolling Hansie
........get ready for the killer stage on thursday.

I need to find a stock with a chart that looks like that...

Turn it upside down and you will.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"

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sweetcharmedlife

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Max'sKansasCity
I need to find a stock with a chart that looks like that...

Turn it upside down and you will.

HEY!!!! stop looking at my stock porfolio

A piece of history from the official website of the Tour de France

The line between insanity and genius is said to be a fine one, and in early 20thcentury France, anyone envisaging a near-2,500-km-long cycle race across the country would have been widely viewed as unhinged. But that didn’t stop Géo Lefèvre, a journalist with L’Auto magazine at the time, from proceeding with his inspired plan. His editor, Henri Desgrange, was bold enough to believe in the idea and to throw his backing behind the Tour de France. And so it was that, on 1 July 1903, sixty pioneers set out on their bicycles from Montgeron. After six mammoth stages (Nantes - Paris, 471 km!), only 21 “routiers”, led by Maurice Garin, arrived at the end of this first epic.

Having provoked a mixture of astonishment and admiration, le Tour soon won over the sporting public and the roadside crowds swelled. The French people took to their hearts this unusual event which placed their towns, their countryside and, since 1910, even their mountains, in the spotlight.

Le Tour has always moved with the times. Like France as a whole, it benefited from the introduction of paid holidays from 1936; it has lived through wars, and then savoured the “trente glorieuses” period of economic prosperity while enjoying the heydays of Coppi, Bobet, Anquetil and Poulidor; it has opened itself up to foreign countries with the onset of globalisation, and now finds itself at the forefront of the debate on the malaise afflicting world sport in general. Over a hundred years after its inception, le Tour continues to gain strength from its experience.



[www.letour.fr]

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Statistics
Greatest number of wins

* 7: Lance Armstrong (Usa)
* 5: Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
* 5: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
* 5: Bernard Hinault (Fra)
* 5: Miguel Indurain (Esp)

Greatest number of days in yellow

* 111: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
* 83: Lance Armstrong (Usa)
* 79: Bernard Hinault (Fra)

Greatest number of stage wins

* 34: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
* 28: Bernard Hinault (Fra)
* 25: André Leducq (Fra)
on one tour

* 8: Charles Pélissier (Fra, 1930))
* 8: Eddy Merckx (Bel, 1970 et 1974)
* 8: Freddy Maertens (Bel, 1976)
* 6: Mark Cavendish (Gbr, 2009, records de sprints victorieux)

Greatest number of podiums

* 8: Raymond Poulidor (Fra)
* 8: Lance Armstrong (Usa)

Greatest number of participations

* 16: Joop Zoetemelk (Ned)

[www.letour.fr]

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1903 - Premier Tour de France

After having completed the event circuit at an average speed of 25 km/h, Maurice Garin was rewarded with prize money of 6,075 francs, a handsome purse for the era. But most importantly, he was the first in a long line of champions.



© [www.letour.fr]

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Hansie, for you no day of rest in the Tour. Thanks for the info. The very first stages through the mountains must have been unbelievably adventurous and dangerous. Even today there are some very dangerous moments that you hardly can believe they still exist, one of them being biking through unlighted tunnels. Can you imagine? Not only very scary but also very dangerous.

Btw: now it's clear why the Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx' nickname was 'the cannibal'.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-07-21 16:09 by kleermaker.

Good luck to Andy! I sincerely hope he's wearing the yellow jersey at the podium in Paris.
(and that Thor Hushovd's wearing the green jersey for the third time.)

Hansie, I could look it up...... but it is more fun to ask you,
and I will buy you a beer ...... What occured during the war years with the tour?

PS
I still have my old orange Schwinn Varsity in my basement : ) ...that is true.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-07-21 22:04 by Max'sKansasCity.

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Rolling Hansie

Greatest number of participations

* 16: Joop Zoetemelk (Ned)

Greatest number of 2nd overall result:

* 6: Joop Zoetemelk (Ned)

Saddest things of the tour - te doping problems:

1. Vinokurov kicked out together with Astana
2. Landis winnig the tour being on dope (said it was a glass of whisky) - later kicked out and loosing the No. 1. No. 2 won, but was alos tested positive - kept the yellow shirt!!
3. Basso kicked out
4. Ulrich kicked out
5. Rasmussen kicked out
6. Riis winning the tour being on dope - later admitting and saying sorry
7. Festina case - teaming being sent out
8. Pantani winning being on dope - later took an overdose of coke bec ause of !!!
9. Armstrong runnig like a forever young !!!

Etc, etc, etc.

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mtaylor
Saddest things of the tour - te doping problems:

1. Vinokurov kicked out together with Astana
2. Landis winnig the tour being on dope (said it was a glass of whisky) - later kicked out and loosing the No. 1. No. 2 won, but was alos tested positive - kept the yellow shirt!!
3. Basso kicked out
4. Ulrich kicked out
5. Rasmussen kicked out
6. Riis winning the tour being on dope - later admitting and saying sorry
7. Festina case - teaming being sent out
8. Pantani winning being on dope - later took an overdose of coke bec ause of !!!
9. Armstrong runnig like a forever young !!!

Etc, etc, etc.

And though ... Le Tour is still a monument and I like it this year.

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Rolling Hansie
Greatest number of participations

* 16: Joop Zoetemelk (Ned)

Not only that, but he made it to the finish line each and every one of those 16 times! That makes it doubly unique.

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Max'sKansasCity
What occured during the war years with the tour?

It was put on hold. Dunno exactly why. Maybe the Germans forbid it ?
And what is a Schwinn Varsity ????

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mtaylor
Saddest things of the tour - te doping problems:

1. Vinokurov kicked out together with Astana
2. Landis winnig the tour being on dope (said it was a glass of whisky) - later kicked out and loosing the No. 1. No. 2 won, but was alos tested positive - kept the yellow shirt!!
3. Basso kicked out
4. Ulrich kicked out
5. Rasmussen kicked out
6. Riis winning the tour being on dope - later admitting and saying sorry
7. Festina case - teaming being sent out
8. Pantani winning being on dope - later took an overdose of coke bec ause of !!!
9. Armstrong runnig like a forever young !!!

Etc, etc, etc.

And yet you are interested enough in the Tour to post in this thread. Great. Thanks very much for this positive contribution. Cool. Way to go.

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