...is about ready to start.

Nice aerial shot of Pointe du Hoc

That Katusha rider's wreck against the fence was nasty.

Didn't get to watch yet but I did see Cav pulled it out. Hate that cocky ******* but damn he is goooood

Didn't know they were starting the race where they did until I turned the TV on; I found the starting point interesting. Always wondered what it would be like to actually be there to watch and see in person.

Alpe D'Huez for me. Not necessarily in the throng of spectators in the crush along the roadway, but I wouldn't mind a vantage point where I could see them approaching the summit. Over the years, the most memorable moments watching have been on the mountain stages. However, I am full of phooey if I don't admit that anywhere along the route would be memorable. I do like how the organizers keep an eye to the past both with respect to the Tour's history as well as the world at large (with respect to France bien sur!).

Today's stage was quite fun. The history that gets told is always interesting and the views are just extraordinary. Sagan in the yellow is just well deserved.

Wasnt able to watch this AM, but will look tomorrow.

Cavendish for the win and photo finish.
Really slow today--breakaway caught per usual. Sometimes I wish it was every cyclist for himself instead of teams. Sagan would be one of my bets for overall but maybe it just wouldn't work in this era.

Contador looked a little cracked today. That crash on the first day looked harsh, and the longer hilly stages may begin to take their toll.
Quintana seems his usual stoic self. Froomie hung on thanks to his team, can't tell how much the heat has been getting to them. TJ and Co seemed capable and Team BMC had a nice boost by their rider taking the stage and moving into yellow.

Views of the mountains and the tree-lined roads and villages were spectacular.

I bet Contador doesn't make it out of the Pyrenees. He'll drop soon to heal and prepare for the Olympics if he's racing there or the Vuelta

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I bet Contador doesn't make it out of the Pyrenees. He'll drop soon to heal and prepare for the Olympics if he's racing there or the Vuelta

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I was thinking this, too. He just looks beaten so badly. That being said the teamwork today from Tinkoff was horrible. Majka didn't come back to help Contador at all. Was good to see Movi/Sky pushing the pace.

Yesterday was weird, what with the 1k balloon coming down prior to the peloton coming through. Hats off to Steve Cummings, brilliant ride and a big raspberry he sent to the GB Olympic selectors. Takes a certain amount of guts to snatch the opportunity and hang on til the end. If it works you are a champion, if not, well...

Wasn't able to watch much at all today, but caught the last two kilometers and enough replay to see Froome's move on Quintana. Didn't get to see how the teams looked overall w/respect to strength. Last year I thought Valverde and Quintana would be a formidable duo in the mountains, but Sky was able to neutralize them. Same this year as Movistar looks decent enough but there are many days to go.

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I bet Contador doesn't make it out of the Pyrenees. He'll drop soon to heal and prepare for the Olympics if he's racing there or the Vuelta

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You called it. He withdrew today. The stage began in the heat but at the higher elevations the weather got pretty crazy. Contador had stopped by then, but anyone who has ever had a fever (plus the crash injuries he suffered) would have been unbelievably tough to ride in the cold and damp. As much as athletes hate to quit, it was probably for the best as a professional.

It's funny, I love the cold, but apparently TJ Van Gaarderen (I never spell it right) hates it. He seemed a bit off today, but I don't know if that was it or he just doesn't have the moxie to keep up with it. Porte did but he is a solid mountain guy.

Froome did okay as did Quintana but the stage winner (from Giant) is a nice window into the future if he can continue to cycle as well as he has this year.

Wow! Yesterday's finish was EXCITING. Froome fighting off 5 attacks going up a zig zag climb in a hailstorm dodging idiot spectators in the road. Including a guy in a green blue man group suit.

Was expecting Nairo to attack yesterday but maybe Movi just wants to keep the gap to Froome where it is and hope Froome fades the last week? I didn't think that Dumoulin would stay away but what a hell of a ride by him.

Im thinking the risk reward didn't add up. Best case he gains 20 seconds. Risk is with the hail, steep up hill, and 6 other riders mixing it up he wrecks, gets hurt and is out of the tour.

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Wow! Yesterday's finish was EXCITING. Froome fighting off 5 attacks going up a zig zag climb in a hailstorm dodging idiot spectators in the road. Including a guy in a green blue man group suit.

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That was one of the more enjoyable stages in a long time I thought!

Today's ending was freaking crazy. Froome running without a bike will be shown every year from now on. Quintana has lost this thing already. Yates looking really good.

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Today's ending was freaking crazy. Froome running without a bike will be shown every year from now on. Quintana has lost this thing already. Yates looking really good.

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Looked like porte may have had a length or two on Froome when they crashed. He's looking amazing.

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Today's ending was freaking crazy. Froome running without a bike will be shown every year from now on. Quintana has lost this thing already. Yates looking really good.

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Looked like porte may have had a length or two on Froome when they crashed. He's looking amazing.

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Yes he is. His flat on the first or second day was absolutely unfortunate for him. If not for that he may be in second/third right now.

I think so. Hopefully for us Aussies he time trials tonight into contention again. Such an amazing race this is, so much has to go right for you that you can't control.

I have been travelling back and forth and so am getting Tour news in bits and pieces. Looks like I missed a heckuva stage ot two, plus the horrific tragedy in Nice.

Yes, Porte is amazing and it would be an interesting battle if instead of a duo it was a trio of Porte, Froome and Quintana. Quintana is either not able to keep up or is being very patient I guess. Since I have missed so much lately I can't tell. What do you think? Plus how about Yates?

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I have been travelling back and forth and so am getting Tour news in bits and pieces. Looks like I missed a heckuva stage ot two, plus the horrific tragedy in Nice.

Yes, Porte is amazing and it would be an interesting battle if instead of a duo it was a trio of Porte, Froome and Quintana. Quintana is either not able to keep up or is being very patient I guess. Since I have missed so much lately I can't tell. What do you think? Plus how about Yates?

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A few started to crack yesterday.

Quintana it seems does not have the legs, was dropped off the back of the pack chasing Froome and Porte, then when the crash happened was able to get back on and somehow managd to get the same time....Of course he could just had a bad day but he looked ordinary.

Yates is riding very well, but I think has benefited from circumstances all tour and will be hanging on a bit in the last week on those young legs.

In the end, the crash, and the 6km short ending saved a lot of the guys from glossing huge time to Froome, Porte and Mollema. Those three were pushing well ahead and looked at a different level. This next two hours is going to be epic. 50+ minutes on the TT, plenty of time for big changes!

Love how the TT throws everything around! Porte too aggressive early. Seems like conditions plenty harder as the day went on. Mollema was terrific, Froome averaging so much faster than everyone else this afternoon than anyone else it is not funny. Like a pro amongst amateurs

Was a great TT from Dumoulin but Froome just amazing. Quintana just doesn't look right for some reason. Maybe him concentrating on training rather than racing has come back to hurt him. Regardless, Froome is just on fire right now. If he goes out and gains more time tomorrow...I mean how inhuman is he?

Richie Porte is an amazing climber--had a very solid stage today and got some time back. Froome stuck onto his wheel and used him to get up the mountain on a day when he (Froome) looked vulnerable. TJ cracked and hopefully will regroup and support Porte.

Quintana didn't keep up when Froome went after Porte. Don't know that he has a lot of stages left to get back time unless he crushes the uphill time trial tomorrow.

How about that young Brit, Yates? He is having a great Tour.

Oh, Cavendish withdrew. He looked great early on though, but I suppose mountains aren't his bag really. Sagan has the green on lockdown.

Richie is an amazing form. Really hope he shows some dare over the two stages post time trial.

I think tonight is really going to show us who is tired and who just had a bad day yesterday. Yates was dropped, but finished the stage taking time back on Porte and Froome. Mollema on the other hand was still fading!

Cav was always withdrawing, he will ride on the track on Rio and has no Olympic gold on his CV. That is his priority, and was likely told he would not be picked if he rode the full tour by Team GB.

^^Thank you for the info on Cavendish. I am afraid the Tour de France is about all I keep up with in regards to cycling and even then, my attention is spotty so it is good to have info outside of one of the big three. It is an amazing race and sometimes I wish they had time to spend on the less well known riders. I know they try and fill in when they can--NBC did a nice story on Dimension Data and the bicycles they provide, and some of the other tidbits are informative, but I appreciate learning more about the riders paying their dues in the peloton for their team.

Post time trial Porte is looking good. Froome was smooooth. I am looking forward to tomorrow. Will be watching BMC to see what is what.

No problems. The commentators we have here are exceptional and have been reporting this may be the case since the first week.

I am very bias towards our boy Richie, but it'd be nice to see Froome drop some time tonight, make the next stage super interesting!

I really dislike Quintana. He's been a favorite for the past few years and I'm struggling to remember him making any sort of impression before he was virtually eliminated. Even today, after the yellow crashed, he didn't even make a move. All he does is respond.

Valverde shouldn't have sacrificed his chances for Quintana, he has been the better rider by a huge margin over his teammate.

I don't know, maybe he just doesn't have it this Tour, but you are right, why not have him help ValVerde who is apparently feeling a bit more shipshape? Quintana is apparently well-liked (according to the announcers) and in previous Tours he appeared to be a plucky sort, albeit slightly introverted. I admire the introverted champions who ride and race well but don't always get the adulation of the Peter Sagans. That is not a knock on Sagan, an incredible rider and charming, so of course he is likable.

Poor Porte though--dang those mechanical problems. Amazing effort to make it back. Think he still has a podium shot?

At first I was surprised Bardet attacked, but Froome crashed on his own so fair game and Bardet is a good climber w/o the warm temps so a Frenchman got a stage win at last and in the mountains. Froome managed to salvage what was lookin to be a spot of disaster for Team Sky. They regrouped nicely. All comes down to tomorrow I guess. Do you all think it will be for second and third or is Froome in danger?

Quintana has a lot of fans because he is the best Colombian. I remember when he broke out, I thought he was going to be phenomenal, but he hasn't really shown me anything since that breakout tour and Froom has appeared virtually unbeatable.

Everyone is racing for 2nd at this point. The only way anyone had a chance was to make up ~2 minutes today so they had a much more manageable margin tomorrow. With one mountain stage to go, no one is making up that kind of time gap. Even if Froom isn't on point, he has a massive lead and team Sky is just too strong and will lug him to the line. Only way the yellow changes hands is if he crashes out, imo. The only time I can remember a bigger single stage time deficit reduction than what would be required to win was when Floyd Landis absolutely destroyed stage 17 back in 2006. Was perhaps the most incredible solo ride I've ever seen (of course, we all know how it was possible...)

On one hand, it's crazy how good Froom and Sky are. On the other, it's quite boring so I usually root for the other GC guys lol.

I think Richie has an outside shot at the podium but today ended up working out very poorly for him in the end. Has to have a good stage tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow's stage, I wouldn't be surprised to see Tejay make an attempt at winning it. He obviously discussed it with his team when he decided to pack it in on the GC competition and has conserved energy the past two stages. Not sure if he'll be in the early break but I definitely think he's gone all in for this stage victory.



As for Sagan, I hope (selfishly) that he tries to mold himself into a GC contender over the next few years. He's not a terrible climber as is and could be a good one if he transitioned his body type a bit. He's a phenomenal descender though and I think would provide a great injection of life and drama into the GC category.

I remember when Quintana had a breakout ride at the Tour as well. In the back of my mind there is always the spectre of 'juice' timing, which is a real shame as to the effect it has on the sport. The history of the Tour always has and always will have that terrible aspect. However, he is somewhat young and may yet reach the promise he showed early on. He does usually finish near the top, and while that is small consolation to folks that believe first is the only acceptable outcome in sports, I say try it yourself and get back to me.

Or he may continue to have Tours like TJ, poor fellow. Don't know what is up with him. The mountains did not seem to agree with him this year. Actually, very little of the Tour seemed to agree with him this year. This is where I tend to forget that the riders are professionals who have many other races than the Tour de France and that cutting their losses is sometimes more prudent than gutting it out, but for me, this is the race to just lay it all out until you are a puddle. Never know if you will be back is my philosophy.

Even though I admit that the Tour didn't seem (on the surface) to be as exciting this year (for overall winner), it had some interesting highlights (running man Froome, Doumoulin showing himself to be Olympic fit til he broke his arm, Bardet salvaging some French honor in the mountains, Cavendish going for the line multiple times) and despite what I heard the announcers discuss about the course being designed to neutralize Froome, Team Sky managed to hold together and grab the yellow jersey and keep it (as the final stage is not finished as I type this, I am hopefully not jinxing it).

I have a lot of sympathy for Porte, though. I have no clue what bikes his team use or if it was just one of those things, but he seemed to have more mechanical issues as opposed to riding issues. That and his team selecting TJ to be the main guy. Is it because TJ is American and they are an American team? I am unfamiliar with team politics and the like, but Porte is a wonderful talent, and I really hope he gets a chance to show what he can do with the full support behind him (like Froome had).



Edit to add--Quintana may find that he has some competition for favorite Columbian. That Pantano showed a lot of moxie.