Tour de France 2018

[RomynPG]

I'm not a major cycling fan but love the Tour coverage - it's sucked me in over the last few years and now I have a big telly it's in a league of it's own.

3 weeks of stunning scenery, big crowds, big artworks and other quirky bits and bobs plus the cycling itself - fantastic

[forestfan]

Eventful first stage as well, crashes/incidents for Froome and a couple of the other contenders.

The first week’s largely about the sprinters but I think there’s some cobbles etc. to shake it up. Particularly looking forward to the Alpe d’Huez return, I know it’s not the purists’ choice but it’s fantastic theatre, the stage that first really got me hooked some years ago. It’s cycling’s Monaco and should be on the route every year I think.

[jimmy ching]

Got two stages passing within 10 km this year. Wednesday and Thursday. Been up and down most of the route they are doing. I hate it when the TV give publicity to short cuts.
For me and the kids, it should be fun.

[jimmy ching]

Eventful first stage as well, crashes/incidents for Froome and a couple of the other contenders.

The first week’s largely about the sprinters but I think there’s some cobbles etc. to shake it up. Particularly looking forward to the Alpe d’Huez return, I know it’s not the purists’ choice but it’s fantastic theatre, the stage that first really got me hooked some years ago. It’s cycling’s Monaco and should be on the route every year I think.

Our local Alpe d'Huez, is the Mur de Bretagne. I know, but it's got history. The Thursday finish should give some entertainment.

[jimmy ching]

Saw Chavanel lead the way today on Cote de Californ. Great fun and the party continues. I feel this is going to be a long day.

[jimmy ching]

I must say, the Project worked well. Pleased for my friends who managed to get on the LeTour photo site. They are the four on top of their Caravan.

https://www.letour.fr/fr/etape-5/galerie-image

[blahblah]

I do think they miss a trick having these Stages in the first week rather than the last.

While the "cheap" Yellow's would be gone, serious breakaways could happen, and with some echelons etc (oh wet cobbles ) the Yellow could be fun?

[RomynPG]

This thread seems to be missing someone...

tramp.jpg

[trampie]

Great win by Geraint Thomas, dominated the race from start to finish, the first British born winner of any male Grand Tour, a Welsh Lady holds the accolade of being the actual first British born winner of a Grand Tour.

[forestfan]

A story of persistence, in his first Tour 11 years ago he finished 140th of 141, after never believing he had a realistic chance of finishing at all. After all these years of working for the team, plus more than his fair share of crashes and bad luck, he has his big moment.

Will be interesting to see what his next move will be, not sure what he would gain by joining another team as undisputed leader. Certainly wouldn’t gain financially or in terms of the quality of support in the mountains. Froome will still want number 5 though if he stays at Sky... Thomas might decide on a new challenge, whether that is one of the other Grand Tours or something else.

[footy666]

Screw him for holding up the Welsh flag. If being British means nothing to you - don't represent Britain - don't race under the British flag. I don't give a crap if you hold up a Welsh flag, but hold up the British flag too. The British have supported you through the tour and then you go and shove a Welsh flag in their faces, nice move!

Many idiots on twitter saying they should have played the Welsh national anthem and that it's ridiculous that it wasn't played. Are they serious or are they dumb? I assume they don't usually follow sport, or at least don't follow cycling, so don't understand that he represents Great Britain. They probably just heard that a Welsh person won something and saw it on the news and were confused by Thomas holding up the Welsh flag with God Save the Queen playing.

[trampie]

Screw him for holding up the Welsh flag. If being British means nothing to you - don't represent Britain - don't race under the British flag. I don't give a crap if you hold up a Welsh flag, but hold up the British flag too. The British have supported you through the tour and then you go and shove a Welsh flag in their faces, nice move!

Many idiots on twitter saying they should have played the Welsh national anthem and that it's ridiculous that it wasn't played. Are they serious or are they dumb? I assume they don't usually follow sport, or at least don't follow cycling, so don't understand that he represents Great Britain. They probably just heard that a Welsh person won something and saw it on the news and were confused by Thomas holding up the Welsh flag with God Save the Queen playing.

Thomas is Welsh footy666, the Welsh are the oldest surviving indigenous peoples of these islands, being Welsh is synonymous with being an ancient Briton, like King Arthur and the boys and Boudicca and the girls, some in the Celtic countries see Britishness as a political synonym for Englishness which extends English culture over the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish.
Thomas's nation is Wales, with Wales being part of a union state, but he is still Welsh.
Incomers even if they have been here the best part of two thousand years need to respect the indigenous people, many comment that GSTQ should not have been played, an anthem about a Germanic royal family for a Welsh winner...………..hmm ?

[Striker]

Screw him for holding up the Welsh flag. If being British means nothing to you - don't represent Britain - don't race under the British flag. I don't give a crap if you hold up a Welsh flag, but hold up the British flag too. The British have supported you through the tour and then you go and shove a Welsh flag in their faces, nice move!

Many idiots on twitter saying they should have played the Welsh national anthem and that it's ridiculous that it wasn't played. Are they serious or are they dumb? I assume they don't usually follow sport, or at least don't follow cycling, so don't understand that he represents Great Britain. They probably just heard that a Welsh person won something and saw it on the news and were confused by Thomas holding up the Welsh flag with God Save the Queen playing.

You need to go for an injection of generosity of spirit.

[unc.si.]

Screw him for holding up the Welsh flag. If being British means nothing to you - don't represent Britain - don't race under the British flag. I don't give a crap if you hold up a Welsh flag, but hold up the British flag too. The British have supported you through the tour and then you go and shove a Welsh flag in their faces, nice move!

Many idiots on twitter saying they should have played the Welsh national anthem and that it's ridiculous that it wasn't played. Are they serious or are they dumb? I assume they don't usually follow sport, or at least don't follow cycling, so don't understand that he represents Great Britain. They probably just heard that a Welsh person won something and saw it on the news and were confused by Thomas holding up the Welsh flag with God Save the Queen playing.

Think you’ll find that when G has actually been representing GB then he’s been more than happy to ride round the Olympic Velodrome draped in the Union Flag.

In the TdF he’s representing his trade team, not GB. More than entitled to wear his Welsh flag with pride. I’d be a bit disappointed if he didn’t to be honest.

Know guys that have raced with G locally (he won a memorial race organised by one of my mates before he turned pro). From everything I’ve heard he’s a great guy.

Never really had him down as a GT winner tbh, and without the might of Sky he’d probably never have won (neither would Wiggins for that matter), but he was the strongest rider in the race and thoroughly deserved the win.

[jimmy ching]

Screw him for holding up the Welsh flag. If being British means nothing to you - don't represent Britain - don't race under the British flag. I don't give a crap if you hold up a Welsh flag, but hold up the British flag too. The British have supported you through the tour and then you go and shove a Welsh flag in their faces, nice move!

Many idiots on twitter saying they should have played the Welsh national anthem and that it's ridiculous that it wasn't played. Are they serious or are they dumb? I assume they don't usually follow sport, or at least don't follow cycling, so don't understand that he represents Great Britain. They probably just heard that a Welsh person won something and saw it on the news and were confused by Thomas holding up the Welsh flag with God Save the Queen playing.

[murf]

Screw him for holding up the Welsh flag. If being British means nothing to you - don't represent Britain - don't race under the British flag. I don't give a crap if you hold up a Welsh flag, but hold up the British flag too. The British have supported you through the tour and then you go and shove a Welsh flag in their faces, nice move!

Many idiots on twitter saying they should have played the Welsh national anthem and that it's ridiculous that it wasn't played. Are they serious or are they dumb? I assume they don't usually follow sport, or at least don't follow cycling, so don't understand that he represents Great Britain. They probably just heard that a Welsh person won something and saw it on the news and were confused by Thomas holding up the Welsh flag with God Save the Queen playing.

Think you’ll find that when G has actually been representing GB then he’s been more than happy to ride round the Olympic Velodrome draped in the Union Flag.

In the TdF he’s representing his trade team, not GB. More than entitled to wear his Welsh flag with pride. I’d be a bit disappointed if he didn’t to be honest.

Know guys that have raced with G locally (he won a memorial race organised by one of my mates before he turned pro). From everything I’ve heard he’s a great guy.

Never really had him down as a GT winner tbh, and without the might of Sky he’d probably never have won (neither would Wiggins for that matter), but he was the strongest rider in the race and thoroughly deserved the win.

Actually he has said in the past he was annoyed not to be allowed to wave the Welsh flag after a GB win due to Olympic rules.

Still happy for him to wave a Welsh one but would have been nice to see Union flag too this time. Hasn't said anything like as bad as Murray for example.