Tour de France 2012

[ravo]

Sky are an incredible team. It's the sort of dominance we saw from USPS in the early 00s - without the drugs!

Plus, they have the best sprinter in the world!

It will be really interesting to see if Froome will be tempted to lead another team and try and win the tour as the first African-born cyclist. He has all the attributes. His time trialling used to be non-existent, but has improved through the roof. It might sound weird, but for me, he has been the best rider in the tour.

I'd also love to see Porte given a shot.

 

[Col_M]

Chapeau Le Wiggins. Champion extrodinaire !

 

[AW?]

Congrats to Wiggo and what a win for Cav yesterday, that was awesome stuff.

Hopefully this along with Cavs achievement last year might encourage more people to become fans of such a brilliant sport.

 

[ravo]

After this Wiggins win, maybe the BBC will actually have a section of their site dedicated to cycling. UK seems to be the only European country without proper cycling coverage. Hope this changes.

 

[Misfit]

After this Wiggins win, maybe the BBC will actually have a section of their site dedicated to cycling. UK seems to be the only European country without proper cycling coverage. Hope this changes.

Maybe. I'm doubtful tbh. Cycling has a dedicated and loyal hardcore over here, not all that small either. Couple that with the last decade of solid improvement and stunning showing at the olympics last time, and still nothing. The TdF is a level even higher but I dunno. Migh take another Brtish winner, or even two, for the media to finally catch up.

 

[ravo]

Maybe. I'm doubtful tbh. Cycling has a dedicated and loyal hardcore over here, not all that small either. Couple that with the last decade of solid improvement and stunning showing at the olympics last time, and still nothing. The TdF is a level even higher but I dunno. Migh take another Brtish winner, or even two, for the media to finally catch up.

Oh well that's a little disappointing. When I was living in London, the best coverage was on Eurosport. Sean Kelly used to bore me to tears with his monotonal ramblings...

 

[nightgoat]

I've very much enjoyed ITV's coverage of the tour. At the beginning of today's time trial coverage Gary Imlach quipped something about how Bradley Wiggins was close to achieving his lifetime ambition; to get live cycling on ITV1.

 

[Misfit]

Perfect finish to a perfect TdF for Sky. Brilliant stuff from every single one of them. Massivley chuffed for Wiggo and really looking forward to the Olympics.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

What a finish from Mark Cavendish!

Well done to him and Wiggins and Froome are supreme.

The most exciting TdF ever.

 

[beats1]

The eurosport commentator was crying yesterday when wiggins won because there was going to be a british tour de france winner, great stuff from Wiggins

 

[llamafarmer]

YYEEEESSSSS!

What a finish to an amazing tour. History made. Well done Wiggo!

 

[Azazello]

Awesome, Wiggo! And the rest of Team SKY too. Just fantastic.

 

[nightgoat]

Haha, nice hustling Ned Boulting.

 

[llamafarmer]

Oh FFS Lesley Garrett, that was embarrassing!

 

[Col_M]

Just reading the BBC commentary has left me emotional and very proud.

 

[MightyModric]

Absolutely fantastic.

 

[ravo]

What a finish from Mark Cavendish!

Well done to him and Wiggins and Froome are supreme.

The most exciting TdF ever.

Certainly most exciting TdF for the UK. In terms of the actual race, it was far from some of the classics of the past 20 years... It was Sky dominance from the beginning. Not sure how that can make it the most exciting race ever!?! Take last year for example - so many lead changes and the race decided on the penultimate stage.

Great to see the UK get a first win and in Wiggo, a very deserved winner and all-round good bloke.

 

[nightgoat]

Only six days till the Olympic road race, too.

 

[Misfit]

Certainly most exciting TdF for the UK. In terms of the actual race, it was far from some of the classics of the past 20 years... It was Sky dominance from the beginning. Not sure how that can make it the most exciting race ever!?! Take last year for example - so many lead changes and the race decided on the penultimate stage.

Great to see the UK get a first win and in Wiggo, a very deserved winner and all-round good bloke.

Yes, I didn't want to say the same because, well, ya know, Wiggo and the boys did fantastically but as TdFs go this wasn't a classic. Looking forward to next yr already. The routes in Corsica look great and the entire route will much better thought out I think. Nice idea this yr but there wasn't one stage that really mixed things up. Everything went pretty much as most expected. Couple that with Sky being almost flawless every step of the way and the drama was minimal. Bloody good to watch for us in the UK though and Wiggo et al seem to have been given a very good reception by the French, which must be satisfying for them all.

 

[ravo]

Only six days till the Olympic road race, too.

Haven't seen the course, but I'm guessing it's flat for a sprint finish... Cav must be the hot favourite.