Le Tour de France

[marshall]

He's getting older, you know...

He's only 36 and I think he's still capable to win the Tour. A 8th win would be fantastic.

[noel]

He's getting older, you know...

yes, vuce... but, Champions like Lance do the impossible and our human spirits expand!

I wish him success, selfishly!

Noel

[noel]

Speaking of unselfishly... Lance may very well be coming back from retirement to help save the race he loved... lack of excitement, viewership and sponsors caused by his own absence plus the negative consequences from so many "positive" results... it may be the least he can do... to pay back!

Noel

[Wim]

No doubt he is a real champ with a tremendous character and I think winning the Tour is possible.
A solution however has to be found within the Astana team in order to avoid a negative rivalry between Armstrong and Contador.
The main reason for his come back seems to be the fact he wants the world to have more attention for cancer and so looking for solutions for this desease. I think he is honest when he says that but I m even more convinced he is not coming back just to ride the Tour as a tourist. He goes for an 8th victory no doubt about that.

[Wim]

Tour de France Edition 2010 - Lance Armstrong having a good start in the prologue leaving Contador behind him ...not very significant but from psychological point of view very interesting.

This thread and others like the Worldcup will not appear on the main pages I guess...which is very questionable as there is no snooker nowadays...I asked mod spike 'why ?' in some pm's but till now has refused answering me, so not a very democratic way of running a forum I guess

[hotpot]

Tour de France Edition 2010 - Lance Armstrong having a good start in the prologue leaving Contador behind him ...not very significant but from psychological point of view very interesting.

This thread and others like the Worldcup will not appear on the main pages I guess...which is very questionable as there is no snooker nowadays...I asked mod spike 'why ?' in some pm's but till now has refused answering me, so not a very democratic way of running a forum I guess

I totally agree Wim , all threads should appear on the main page . I ve said this more than once .

Pheraps we should start a poll and see if members prefer it like this or the way it was . Then pheraps the mods will take note .

[João]

I think Contador mainly avoided risks since the road was wet and he couldn't afford to lose the Tour on day 1.

Not a bad time for Armstrong, nevertheless.

[miscuehamburg]

I totally agree Wim , all threads should appear on the main page . I ve said this more than once .

Pheraps we should start a poll and see if members prefer it like this or the way it was . Then pheraps the mods will take note .

Le tour de doping it is But in earnest I don't like it either that the offtopics are ignored by the main page index. Get the poll going:snooker:

[Wim]

Le tour de doping it is But in earnest I don't like it either that the offtopics are ignored by the main page index. Get the poll going:snooker:

I just opened a thread about this topic, but after reading both your responses this is even a better idea - so feel free to launch the poll -

[hotpot]

I would Wim but not sure how to do it .

[mushka]

I would Wim but not sure how to do it .

To post a poll all you have to do is check the last option 'Yes, post a poll with this thread' in the new thread's post.

You will be asked to fill in the poll options after submitting the post.

Edit: I noticed too late that you had figured out how to post a poll by yourself.

[Wim]

A good idea to start the poll it seems...

Anyway today was a great day for Belgium, Antwerp and Brussels and... of course for Eddy Merckx who turned 65 years old last month. The Tour passed the town where he lives and there were a lot of festivities today to celebrate our greatest champion ever.

Here a picture from Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault taken today

http://www.sporza.be/polopoly_fs/1.8...1118152060.jpg

[Wim]

Cavendish is back ! Of course the Columbia team is very solid as could be seen yesterday again . With Monfort and certainly Renshaw he has 2 great teammates to control the final kilometers of the stage. But his sprint was superb.

Today we are heading for the Alps. Especially tomorrow on the hights of Morzine we will know more. But the real war is expected in the last week in the Pyrenees.

[Wim]

This is the end for Armstrong isn't it, nature did her job...anyway he will be remembered as the champ who won the Tour 7 times !!
Contador showing some weakness also yesterday at the end, not able to follow Andy Sleck in the last kilometer.

Very interesting stages coming on, tomorrow Col de la Madeleine, one of the most superb mountains in the Alps.

[Odrl]

I'm just glad that the media hype of a Contador against Armstrong battle is now behind us, as that was always a laughable proposition.

But the battle between genuine contenders could be a really interesting one in the coming days. Judging by Contador's failure to match Schleck's sprint yesterday, he will not be as dominant as he was last year. But he may not need to be, because it's Schleck that needs to increase his advantage before the final TT.

Looking beyond those two, there is the always resilient Evans who is always hard to shake, especially now that he is already the leader.

And then there is Menchov, who should perhaps have taken Armstrong's spot in the media hype. He is the only rider of this generation whose success in Grand Tours is comparable to Contador's, and he is clearly targeting the Tour this year.

Basso would have been one of the favourites on his Giro form, but back-to-back victories in these two events have proved impossible for over a decade. If he is not at his best, he should find himself in the service of Kreuziger for the remainder of the race.

There is also the likes of Sastre, Leipheimer and Wiggins, but they don't impress me particularly, so I would somewhat rule them out.

It should be a great two weeks, even though it's not my favourite race.