I know officially support Lars Boom.



LARS BOOM!

Wiggins is going to be furious.

I'm not sure roubaix comes into it. Where hes dropped because of froomes ego, but would have been plan B otherwise (Porte still stands a better chance than Wiggins as there's only the one TT but needs support and I think Wiggins would have been a pretty good domestique to porte) Brailsford has fucked up in that respect.

To survive the cobbles, Thomas and Wiggins have form, Froome doesn't.

I think the decision to only take Froome was the right one: Having a plan B sacrifices a roleur or a puncheur that might be needed in a bind, and a deputy might not work 100% for his leader as history has shown.

Today a mini paris-roubai.. watch out for our niki and lars boom! should be a great stage!

I mainly meant as picking a team based on a single stage is bold. If it wasn't raining, we don't know how froome would have dealt with the cobbles and he never got there anyway.

Do take your point on plan B giving compromises though.

General classification after stage 5

1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 20:26:46
2 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:00:02
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale 0:00:44
4 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:50
5 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing 0:01:17
6 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:01:45
7 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Belisol
8 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 0:01:54
9 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin Sharp 0:02:05
10 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:11

I'm not superstitious, but if there's a polka dot train, I'm not putting my money on it.

Got into work today, and two special DLR trains pulled in alongside each other. The Yellow jersey train, painted yellow with "Va Va Froome" written along the side. Also the Green train with "#Cavendish' written along it.

I'm not superstitious, but if there's a polka dot train, I'm not putting my money on it.

I know officially support Lars Boom.



LARS BOOM!

To survive the cobbles, Thomas and Wiggins have form, Froome doesn't.

I think the decision to only take Froome was the right one: Having a plan B sacrifices a roleur or a puncheur that might be needed in a bind, and a deputy might not work 100% for his leader as history has shown.

interesting to see how you both use the french words.. is this common among english cycling fans (proving that they are 'real' fans perhaps? ) ? i tend to use the italian ones (gregario = domestique) since my time there (and since i use the gazzetta as my main sports newspaper), or we use the flemish ones..(which are a bit different to the actual dutch) ones...There is a whole dutch/flemish cycling language, made popular by larger than life characters like Gerrie Kneteman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrie_Knetemann )...

Flat Stage, blah, blah, blah, 143 miles, sprinters, blah blah blah, Sagan to win today I think after second climb right at the end. He'll sneak away cheekily.

althoug wiggo surely feels weird now, i tend to agree with this.. even though i think seeing how froome gave uo and fell, and knowing his bad shape in the dauphiné, i think sky might have been to straightforward with trying to copy last year..

interesting to see how you both use the french words.. is this common among english cycling fans (proving that they are 'real' fans perhaps? ) ? i tend to use the italian ones (gregario = domestique) since my time there (and since i use the gazzetta as my main sports newspaper), or we use the flemish ones..(which are a bit different to the actual dutch) ones...There is a whole dutch/flemish cycling language, made popular by larger than life characters like Gerrie Kneteman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrie_Knetemann )...

You all went each way on Valverde, didn't you?

I think Sagan'll make tracks and burn the pure sprinters off to ensure he wins. ANyhoo, sprints are pretty dull, I much prefer it when the riders are scattered up the side of a mountain.

Today I expect attacks by the GC contenders. I fear mostly the riders from AG2R, Romain Bardet in particular, but the adversaries I have to control the most are Richie Porte and Alejandro Valverde. It's a long stage today. That will make the race very hard. But I expect my team to do a good work again. We'll try to keep the situation under control.

Today I expect attacks by the GC contenders. I fear mostly the riders from AG2R, Romain Bardet in particular, but the adversaries I have to control the most are Richie Porte and Alejandro Valverde. It's a long stage today. That will make the race very hard. But I expect my team to do a good work again. We'll try to keep the situation under control.