It's all over but for the crying

Yep...it's all over...again. Boo HOO! July always goes by SO fast. It's no surprise to anybody that Froome is on top, but at least this year he showed some pizzazz! It was quite refreshing to see him do some BOLD moves, stuff you don't typically see a guy in yellow do (well, he actually wasn't wearing yellow when he attacked over the top of the climb...it was that move that GOT him yellow and he never relinquished it after that).


We did have some wonderful revelations this year...one was a Frenchman on the podium in Paris! Romain Bardet's bold move in the Alps put him solidly into 2nd. You want to win BIG, you have to gamble BIG. That was a very BIG and BOLD attack on his part, and he passed all the guys ahead of him who were content to hold wheels. I was really hoping Richie Porte would have a bog bold day and pass a few guys and end up in 3rd. I was quite disappointed w/ Quintana...he sat on Froome's wheel the entire Tour. Valverde would have likely made podium IF Movistar had protected him and not had him work for Q the entire tour...he was quite strong and worthy of a podium finish this year, where-as Q was not (IMO).

Adam Yates in the White jersey sitting in 4th...boy was HE a breath of fresh air! And one of the unforgettable moments of this years Grand Boucle was back in Stage 2 (I think) when the 1k Kite fell down literally microseconds in front of an attacking Yates...he was zooming along gapping the front-runners, and the next moment he's doing a superman over the deflated kite. Had you planned that event you'd never have timed it so perfectly to wipe out an unsuspecting rider. Watching him riding in to the finish dumbstruck w/ one of his teammates, bleeding from 2 nice cuts in his chin...it was simply an incredibly crazy incident that was just about as likely as a plane falling out of the sky.


And speaking of sky, TEAM Sky was once again quite invincible. They are surely the NY Yankees of the pro peleton. If you've got a big enough budget to keep that many of the best riders in the peloton happy, well...then you've got Sky. I just have to wonder how LONG they can keep that bunch of podium contenders working for Froome.

Richie Porte used to be one of them, and he showed his mettle and potential. Except for ONE STINKING FLAT back in Stage 2, he'd have been solidly in 2nd place, pushing Bardet down to 3rd.


I was sad that NBCSN chose to show NASCAR instead of all the aftermath...we never got to see the polka dot jersey being awarded, nor the Best Team presentation...cuz you know, NASCAR is so important that they couldn't have possibly delayed that a bit.

ANYWAY....here are 3 pics I got off of Velo News from the Ventoux stage...I posted one of them before, but here are the set of 3 in order, and I think they are pretty epic pictures! To be IN the crowd on this day.....

 Richie Porte leading Chris Froome and Bauke Mollema towards the summit

 Photo by Leon Van Bon / BrakeThrough Media

After the stopped moto incident, Froome running with his broken bike

 Photo by Leon Van Bon / BrakeThrough Media

Froome RUNNING up Ventoux sans bike. You'll likely NEVER see another pic like THIS again!

 Photo by Iri Greco / BrakeThrough Media

When I have a chance I plan to go back thur the stages and find more pics that I think are memorable...the stuff I WANT to remember the 2016 Tour for. There certainly were lots of moments, I just need to find the shots.


OK...what are some of your fav moments (Highlights and / or lowlights)? What will you remember in years to come from this years race? I think it was a pretty good race all in all. I'm only sad it's over...but as always, NOW I can get a bit more sleep.

And then there was one!

One what you might ask? Well...One week left in the 2016 TDF of course!

It's been a pretty good race too. Though once again Team Sky is just invincible thus far. I still find it hard to believe that all the other 'contenders' who have teams built around them giving them their best shot at winning The Tour have just fallen away, leaving MAYBE one guy with their leader, while Sky just drives the pace with 3 or 4 guys protecting Froome. How is it that NO OTHER TEAM can find guys to match Sky's guys? And this has been going on year after year. Does Sky have some magic scouting / recruiting scheme, able to let ONLY THEM find those guys who will still be at the front on the final climb of the day? I sure wish I knew how they do it, as I would guess all the other teams would like to know that secret too.

There's a few guys who are standout to me...I'd say that chief among them is the young Etix Quick-Step Julian Anaphillipe. That guy is really something! Today (stage 15) he was out in the lead group, had some unknown problem and fell back, then just blazed ahead of everybody almost all the way to the front (he didn't catch the 4 front-runners he was with, but he passed up everybody who passed him). And then at the finish he was blazing away. THAT kid is really going places. Another is Adam Yates...though he faltered today and wasn't able to challenge...he was just hanging on. And then how about that Columbian kid Pantano who WON today? Where on earth did HE come from? It's his first year as a pro, and his first Tour, and WOW! I was rooting for Majka after all his work, but on that final descent he was amazing! (and they say that Majka is a great descender). Even after Majka stopped working near the end and made Pantano do the work keeping them from getting caught by the chasing 2 riders, he STILL out-stprinted Majka for the stage win...MOST impressive!

And how about Richie Porte! He has been hanging with Froome day after day, while TJ falters day after day. If he hadn't had that ill-timed-flat on Stage 1 (or was it 2?), he'd be in 3rd place right now! As it is he is now ahead of TJ. Of course, we don't know how he will do in the Alps, but he's looking pretty good thus far. His TT lost him some more time, but even so he's getting close to a podium finish. Also there's Bauke Mollema to keep an eye on...he has come out of nowhere and is now sitting in 2nd, just ahead of Adam Yates (who is wearing the white jersey)! Quintana is still there, but unless he's really holding back, he just doesn't seem to have it this year. He's staying with Froome but totally unable to DO anything else. And speaking of doing anything else, you have to hand it to Astana today...THEY weren't afraid to challenge Sky! And even Valverde went out on an attack, which was fairly quickly reeled back in...but at least he went. He's sitting quite pretty right behind Quintana...much like last year when they finished 2/3 on the podium. This year we have new contenders for them to contend with...as it just seems NOBODY is going to dethrone Froome....at least not this year. Barring disaster (which could happen in an instant), he is looking pretty good.

Another contender I would have never placed high up is Romain Bardet....he's sitting just behind Valverde and has been looking pretty good. And both Dan Martin and Fabio Aru are both in the top-10 but have faltered when the going got tough. Will they be able to hold their top-10 positions thru the Alps? We will know soon enough. Time is running out for anybody to challenge Sky and Froome...but there is time to be had if they have the form....watching Astana challenge today took them down to just one guy with Froome briefly, but then their attack fizzled and Sky was able to regroup and soon enough there were a BUNCH of them, back in front and driving the pace.

One thing that's been unusual this year is the crashes. For WHATEVER reason, I'd say the crashes have been SUBSTANTIALLY less than in recent years. Yes there are some, but we haven't been witnessing the total carnage and abandons that had seemingly become the new norm. I think as of today the peleton is only down 14 riders, which is pretty impressive really!

Watching Cav win his FOURTH stage yesterday in Stage 14 was something....he soundly passed Kittel who then complained that he was hindered...but quite honestly, Kittel didn't have a chance. Cav pretty much SWOOPED by and then pulled in front...the judges have never been shy about relegating Cav in the past...and they didn't think anything of it....but Kittel wasn't happy. And poor Griepel...he's been totally skunked this year.

Team Tinkoff now has the Green AND Polka-Dot jerseys as of today, when Majka took the KOM's by being out front all day, winning nearly every mountain. Can he hold that thru the Alps tho...THAT is the big question.

The TT on stage 13 was a ho-hum affair (the only way a TT is exciting is in person...where you see every single rider go by...THAT is quite fun!) Watching a TT on TV is less than exciting tho...but I do enjoy the Team TT's... sadly no TTT this year. But we do have one more ITT...it's a mountain TT..which should be quite interesting. We will see who still has gas in their tank. Any TT is a diabolical race for most of the peleton, but a mountain TT is just plain cruel (to about 95% of the peleton). TO those 5% of the elite mountain-goats, it's a real chance to gain time on all non-goats. I'd think the true sprinters must HATE the mountain TT's. But it should prove interesting.

Anyway...that's my observations of the last few days...we still one more rest-day coming...and by next Sunday it will all be in the history books once again, and we will be left with the annual Post Tour Depression. I'm already getting sad...the final week is always so bitter-sweet.

But it's not over YET!!!

Game ON!


Update...thought I'd add this picture I saw on Velo News, photo taken by

Leon Van Bon / BrakeThrough Media | www.brakethroughmedia.com.

It's an AWESOME shot of the madness of Stage 12 just after the Porte/Froome/Yates crash into the camera-moto (just before the finishing barricades on Ventoux)...never quite seen anything quite like this crowd...it's just an amazing photo!

You can see Froome running, still with his bike at this moment, which he tossed aside (leaned against a camera moto) and continued running up the mountain, chasing all the guys who he WAS ahead of who had now passed him. You just don't see something like this every day.

Today they are in the Alps, and I HOPE we get to see some attacking...and NOT by Sky/Froome. We will know soon enough.

Game ON!

And then there was one!

One what you might ask? Well...One week left in the 2016 TDF of course!

It's been a pretty good race too. Though once again Team Sky is just invincible thus far. I still find it hard to believe that all the other 'contenders' who have teams built around them giving them their best shot at winning The Tour have just fallen away, leaving MAYBE one guy with their leader, while Sky just drives the pace with 3 or 4 guys protecting Froome. How is it that NO OTHER TEAM can find guys to match Sky's guys? And this has been going on year after year. Does Sky have some magic scouting / recruiting scheme, able to let ONLY THEM find those guys who will still be at the front on the final climb of the day? I sure wish I knew how they do it, as I would guess all the other teams would like to know that secret too.

There's a few guys who are standout to me...I'd say that chief among them is the young Etix Quick-Step Julian Anaphillipe. That guy is really something! Today (stage 15) he was out in the lead group, had some unknown problem and fell back, then just blazed ahead of everybody almost all the way to the front (he didn't catch the 4 front-runners he was with, but he passed up everybody who passed him). And then at the finish he was blazing away. THAT kid is really going places. Another is Adam Yates...though he faltered today and wasn't able to challenge...he was just hanging on. And then how about that Columbian kid Pantano who WON today? Where on earth did HE come from? It's his first year as a pro, and his first Tour, and WOW! I was rooting for Majka after all his work, but on that final descent he was amazing! (and they say that Majka is a great descender). Even after Majka stopped working near the end and made Pantano do the work keeping them from getting caught by the chasing 2 riders, he STILL out-stprinted Majka for the stage win...MOST impressive!

And how about Richie Porte! He has been hanging with Froome day after day, while TJ falters day after day. If he hadn't had that ill-timed-flat on Stage 1 (or was it 2?), he'd be in 3rd place right now! As it is he is now ahead of TJ. Of course, we don't know how he will do in the Alps, but he's looking pretty good thus far. His TT lost him some more time, but even so he's getting close to a podium finish. Also there's Bauke Mollema to keep an eye on...he has come out of nowhere and is now sitting in 2nd, just ahead of Adam Yates (who is wearing the white jersey)! Quintana is still there, but unless he's really holding back, he just doesn't seem to have it this year. He's staying with Froome but totally unable to DO anything else. And speaking of doing anything else, you have to hand it to Astana today...THEY weren't afraid to challenge Sky! And even Valverde went out on an attack, which was fairly quickly reeled back in...but at least he went. He's sitting quite pretty right behind Quintana...much like last year when they finished 2/3 on the podium. This year we have new contenders for them to contend with...as it just seems NOBODY is going to dethrone Froome....at least not this year. Barring disaster (which could happen in an instant), he is looking pretty good.

Another contender I would have never placed high up is Romain Bardet....he's sitting just behind Valverde and has been looking pretty good. And both Dan Martin and Fabio Aru are both in the top-10 but have faltered when the going got tough. Will they be able to hold their top-10 positions thru the Alps? We will know soon enough. Time is running out for anybody to challenge Sky and Froome...but there is time to be had if they have the form....watching Astana challenge today took them down to just one guy with Froome briefly, but then their attack fizzled and Sky was able to regroup and soon enough there were a BUNCH of them, back in front and driving the pace.

One thing that's been unusual this year is the crashes. For WHATEVER reason, I'd say the crashes have been SUBSTANTIALLY less than in recent years. Yes there are some, but we haven't been witnessing the total carnage and abandons that had seemingly become the new norm. I think as of today the peleton is only down 14 riders, which is pretty impressive really!

Watching Cav win his FOURTH stage yesterday in Stage 14 was something....he soundly passed Kittel who then complained that he was hindered...but quite honestly, Kittel didn't have a chance. Cav pretty much SWOOPED by and then pulled in front...the judges have never been shy about relegating Cav in the past...and they didn't think anything of it....but Kittel wasn't happy. And poor Griepel...he's been totally skunked this year.

Team Tinkoff now has the Green AND Polka-Dot jerseys as of today, when Majka took the KOM's by being out front all day, winning nearly every mountain. Can he hold that thru the Alps tho...THAT is the big question.

The TT on stage 13 was a ho-hum affair (the only way a TT is exciting is in person...where you see every single rider go by...THAT is quite fun!) Watching a TT on TV is less than exciting tho...but I do enjoy the Team TT's... sadly no TTT this year. But we do have one more ITT...it's a mountain TT..which should be quite interesting. We will see who still has gas in their tank. Any TT is a diabolical race for most of the peleton, but a mountain TT is just plain cruel (to about 95% of the peleton). TO those 5% of the elite mountain-goats, it's a real chance to gain time on all non-goats. I'd think the true sprinters must HATE the mountain TT's. But it should prove interesting.

Anyway...that's my observations of the last few days...we still one more rest-day coming...and by next Sunday it will all be in the history books once again, and we will be left with the annual Post Tour Depression. I'm already getting sad...the final week is always so bitter-sweet.

But it's not over YET!!!

Game ON!


Update...thought I'd add this picture I saw on Velo News, photo taken by

Leon Van Bon / BrakeThrough Media | www.brakethroughmedia.com.

It's an AWESOME shot of the madness of Stage 12 just after the Porte/Froome/Yates crash into the camera-moto (just before the finishing barricades on Ventoux)...never quite seen anything quite like this crowd...it's just an amazing photo!

You can see Froome running, still with his bike at this moment, which he tossed aside (leaned against a camera moto) and continued running up the mountain, chasing all the guys who he WAS ahead of who had now passed him. You just don't see something like this every day.

Today they are in the Alps, and I HOPE we get to see some attacking...and NOT by Sky/Froome. We will know soon enough.

Game ON!

Tour talk

As of this morning at the start of stage 7 history was made...ZERO RIDERS HAVE ABANDONED thus far!


I'll write that one more time, just because it's SO hard to believe:


ZERO RIDERS HAVE ABANDONED!


Can you believe it? The first week was (well, the first 6 stages) somehow completed with minimal carnage! It's never happened before in the history of le Tour that ALL the teams still have ALL their guys going into stage 7.


Not that there haven't been crashes...Contador's crash on stage 1 when he slid-out on that turn did take out a few others, but mostly the damage was to himself. Mr. Tinkoff himself mentioned after yesterdays stage (when he was on the set with Bobke and Christian) that Alberto is quite bruised up and in considerable pain, but he's pushing on the best he can. Today will be a big milestone, to see what he can do on a REAL climb. I'm hoping he survives with the GC guys, but I'd have to say after watching him the last few days that it's unlikely.


And then there was that crash at the end of Stage 1 when Michael Morkov caught a pedal on the STUPID barricade legs protruding out into the course, which caused him to veer into the speeding sprinters, only to bounce off them and go back into the barricades where his high rate of forward progress was stopped immediately when he re-hit the barricades. That took out a few others, but none so horrid as Morkov. That he wasn't killed or SERIOUSLY hurt was just a miracle. That he showed up for the start of stage 2 was superhuman. And the fact that he's STILL racing is beyond category.


We've had plenty of excitement in what is usually a ho-hum first week (other than the typical carnage). Cavendish won his THIRD stage yesterday on #6, putting him alone in the 2nd most Tour wins EVER list. Good for him, it's nice to see the Manx Missile BACK! I can remember his early days when he came out of nowhere and started winning...he certainly didn't endear himself to the fans. But he's a changed man the last many years, as he's learned that he doesn't win the sprints alone, and now sings the praise of the teams efforts on his behalf loud and clear.


It's funny how each year you never know what to expect in the sprinters...going into this years race I totally would have expected Kittel to be the man with 3 wins at this point. But he's only got the 1...and Griepel? ZIP! THAT is also history...in a sad way for he and his team. He just can't seem to get it done.


And so...what lies in store for us today? All I can say is that I hope it's a surprise, and I hope it's exciting, and I HOPE it doesn't involve riders getting hurt.


Game ON!