Le Grand Boucle

[ChillDoubt]

As most of you know, unless you've been residing on Mars these past few months the Tour de France begins today in Yorkshire.
To all the good folk up there I say congratulations for gaining the prestige of starting the greatest show on earth, you did a magnificent job just getting the honour.
Secondly, thanks to each and every cycling fan from GB and elsewhere who will be there to see off the 22 teams in this years tour, you have done and will do us proud with your support and enthusiasm.
Sadly there's not as many Brits taking part as we would like but those who are will feel the weight of expectation upon their shoulders, though they'll be sent swiftly on their way with no little encouragement.
Hopefully, Cav will fulfil his dream and take le maillot jaune in the town where his mother hails from. He has a fantastically well-drilled lead out train in Team Omega Pharma Quick Step who will pedal for their lives to make it so and the fans at the roadside will be screaming him on.
To the riders(especially Foome, Team Sky and the legend that is Jens Voigt), bonne chance pour tout(to Geraint Thomas pob lwc!), chapeau and may your god be with you as you all make it safely to Paris.
Allez,allez mes amis!

[joeluke]

Good explanation chilldoubt but surely if all riders were able to ride all stages on merit the most deserving winner would be an all rounder who was good in the sprints, hill climbs, time trials etc?

The race wouldn't seem so contrived then

[Frank97]

I don't like the way he's holding that arm!

[ChillDoubt]

Not the fairy tale we were hoping for and Cav may have the classic cycling injury, the broken collar bone.
He may even have been at fault for the crash too....

[ChillDoubt]

Exactly joeluke, you've answered your own question and thus as Frank said, the best rider over the 3 weeks gets the GC title.

[ChillDoubt]

Great to Jens in polka dots and as ever he always gives a great interview. I fancy Cav will take no further part in this years race though.
Still waiting for confirmation on that collar bone.

[ChillDoubt]

Great to see Jens, rather....

[kawakiri]

Well, I left Froome and Cav out of my Velogames team needed the points elsewhere. Hope Cav can continue though, but it did look like the collarbone my have gone the way he was holding his arm.

[joeluke]

'Exactly joeluke, you've answered your own question and thus as Frank said, the best rider over the 3 weeks gets the GC title. '

Not really because not all riders are allowed to race on their own merits because team orders deem that a certain member of their team has to be the one with the chance of winning the race don't they?

[ChillDoubt]

But there's no point in going out on your own when you have no chance of winning the stage, that's why most are chosen either for their ability to protect the GC candidate in the team or to pace him up climbs, act as lead-out man in the sprint finish etc.

[Jomlett]

Provisional medical checks on Mark Cavendish indicate no fractures after he crashes heavily in stage one finale in Harrogate.

[joeluke]

It's just a team race, what's the point of most of the riders even taking part?

Might as well just let only the riders race which each team deem capable of winning the title

[Frank97]

I understand what you're saying, in fact there are one day races that are more like that, I suppose it's just the way the event has developed.
Was it all teams in the past?

[ChillDoubt]

But what happens if the team's GC contender falls and drops out in the first week?
Most teams have a plan B whereby another rider can go for GC, there are usually 3 or 4 in a team, they just have to decide if they're going to go for the Tour, the Giro or the Vuelta. Other specialise in the one day 'Classics' like Paris-Roubaix or Liege-Basogne-Liege.

[Frank97]

I see teams go right back to at least 1928, according to a quick google search, so must always have been a team event then.

[ichkeria]

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a purist in these matters. If I organised the Tour de France I'd make it do what it says on the tin: i.e. be an actual tour --- of France. This year's event is the tour of eastern England and eastern France, with a plane ride up to Paris to end with :-)

[joeluke]

'But what happens if the team's GC contender falls and drops out in the first week?'

Tough Luck?

Far less chance of falls and injuries if all the also-rans weren't taking part anyway

[ChillDoubt]

Apparently, Cav has dislocated his shoulder and has suffered ligament damage.
Looks like they'll see how he feels in the morning before making a decision about carrying on.

[Jomlett]

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team confirms that Mark Cavendish underwent further examination on his right shoulder after today's crash.

The imaging underlined ligament ruptures with an AC-joint dislocation, which causes him a lot of pain. A final decision on his participation in tomorrow's stage will be taken tomorrow morning.

"I'm gutted about the crash today" Cavendish said. "It was my fault. I'll personally apologise to Simon Gerrans as soon as I get the chance. In reality, I tried to find a gap that wasn't really there .I wanted to win today, I felt really strong and in a great position to contest the sprint thanks to the unbelievable efforts of my team. Sorry to all the fans that came out to support - it was truly incredible."

[ChillDoubt]

Stage 2 is underway, York to Sheffield. Special mention for yesterday's star - the crowd. They were fantastic yesterday and will undoubtedly be so today too.
Everyone knew it was going to be big, no one but no one realsied it was going to be so well attended.
Buttertubs yesterday was astonishing, Holme Moss today will be just as astounding, if not more so.
Christian Proudhomme would have noted that and it won't be long before le Tour will be back on UK soil.

[Khandro]

chillDoubt; //Special mention for yesterday's star - the crowd. They were fantastic yesterday and will undoubtedly be so today too.//
Sadly true, never have so many turned out to watch a club-run with a sprint finish.
They are covering today some of the terrain, Holme Moss etc. we used to race over in the early days of the BLRC, I'm sure our amateur races were much more exciting. --- Up the League!