le tour de France

[DAZMCFC]

Question for you, Daz. Is Bradley good enough to win the tour in the future?

I am writing as Armstrong passes the 28k checkpoint, Wiggins is riding well.................

EDIT- bad run in for wiggins

i'm not to sure about that one GK. me personally NO. he just does not have the acceleration up the mountains like Contador and the Schlecks.


stage 18: Time Trial.

Alberto Contador extend his lead by actually winning the stage. in the last few years he has not be known for his time trialling, but has wored on it very hard. Bradley wiggins started off superbly, but faded near the end to finish 6th. he still gained time on Armstrong, Klodden and the Schlecks, but sadly not enough if they attack him on Saturday on Mont Ventoux the last mountain stage with the finish at the top.

a special mention to David Millar(GBr) who finished 5th.


1. A. Contador 48mins 30secs

2. F. Cancellara 48mins 33secs

3. M. Ignatiev 48mins 45secs

4. G. Larson 49mins 03secs

5. D. Millar 49mins 11secs

[DAZMCFC]

stage 19: another win for Mark Cavendish, who now breaks the British record for Le Tour stage wins with 9. this beats Barry hobans old record of 8. Cavendish's 9 has come in only 2 tours and is favourite to win the final stage today(which is live on TV now) on the Champs-Elysees.

this stage wasn't suppose to be a sprinters stage with a 2nd catergory mountain near the end of the stage, but Cavendish held on to the Peleton with the help of his team mates and won the final sprint.


stage 20: Mont Ventoux.

this is a monstrous mountain. the start of the climb is 21km from the top of the mountain. the Schleck brothers try their best to try and break Contador or Armstrong so they could both finish on the podium in Paris, but alas they failed to break either off them.

two men did manage to stay away from the main contenders and the winner was Jaun Manuel Garate(spa). with second place to Tony Martin(Ger) who was going for the best Young riders White jersey.

Bradley Wiggins just held on to his 4th spot by 3secs from Frank Schleck.

[DAZMCFC]

sorry for the delay to my devoted fans of this thread .


stage 21: Champs-Elysees.

the formalities over, the usual champagne in the hands of the winning team whilst riding along on the way to Paris. the posing for pictures and the usual talking to mates you might not be use to riding near(sprinters and climbers).


8 laps around the Champs-Elysees and surrounding area of 6.5km long(this does not include the 130 odd kms to get to the centre of Paris). the usual break away that fail in the end , with Mark Cavendish's team Columbia HTC(American team) pulling them back by leading from the front.


team Garmin Slipstream with David Millar leading off Tyler Farrar(USA) try to break Columbia's rythymn, but failed on the last corner to leave Mark Renshaw(Aus) to lead out Cavendish for his 6th stage win. he was not even contested by his fellow sprinters from the other teams and Mark Renshaw finished 2nd.


General Classification

1. Alberto Contador(Spa) Team Astana

2. Andy Schleck(Lux) Team Saxo Bank

3. Lance Armstrong(USA) Team Astana

4. Bradley Wiggins(GBr) Team Garmin Slipstream

5. Frank Schleck(Lux) Team Saxo Bank


Green Jersey winner:

Thor Hushovd(Nor)

White Jersey winner:

Andy Schleck(Lux)

Polka Dot Jersey winner:

Franco Pellizotti(Ita)



Bradley Wiggins finishing equalled the British record of Robert Millar in 1984. that year Millar won the Polka Dot Jersey and finished 4th.