# Other Places Around The World > France Travel Forum >  >  Le Tour 2011

## cassidain

Hope everyone has remembered that it's TdF time again. Off to a great start this year. The unflappable Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man won today's gritty sprint-finish stage. Announcers Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin are simply the best and make even least interesting stages a pleasure to watch. 
Allez allez !

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## ccg

We DVR each episode and watch at night.  We are totally addicted to the next 3 weeks!!  Paul and Phil are so much fun to listen too.  Damn...now I know who won   :Frown:    Forget Andy vs Alberto for now, it's Tyler vs Mark.

C

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## JEK

A bloody day of crashes : http://trainright.com/2011-tdf-stage...y-and-bruised/

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## cassidain

More carnage on the tour today as GC contender Bradley Wiggins crashes out with broken collar bone.

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## amyb

Oh, that's definitely a bummer.

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## tim

Radio Shack, my favorite team, is all but out of GC contention, and they had four really strong riders coming into this year's event.  Andreas Kloden is now their highest placed guy.  Having ridden in the rain in a large event just this past Sunday, I have great empathy for their situation.

At least, two of the American teams are doing great!

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## JEK

Best Seat in the House, is in the House

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## tim

Good article!  Watching the tour in France is at best a day of hard travels for a fleeting glance of the riders, sometimes not unlike a NASCAR race.

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## DaveM

Cass

Could not agree more! Although I have no cycling expertise whatsoever, the TV coverage is an absolute treat. Three weeks of French scenery and quite a bit of broadcaster wit and charm to go along with . . . 

The Giro and Vuelta are similar, for the scenery anyway. Just fun and suitable for tune in tune out as one wishes.

Exciting day today as well!

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## tim

Horrible day in the Tour.  A media car ran into one of the leaders and seriously injured two riders.  New name - Le Tour de Crash.  :Frown:

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## amyb

Lots of injuries this year. A shame.

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## cassidain

I think we may have a hero of the 2011 edition of Le Tour de France. Granted, we're only 2/3's thru the tour's 21 stages, but in a year where the GC contenders refuse to outshine their rivals, the impish Mark Cavendish and his 4 stage wins have been spectacular. Bravo, Manx Missile!

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## amyb

He seems to have hero qualities-certainly cute.

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## tim

And he's on a US team!

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## tim

Unbelievable battle between Schleck and Evans in the Alps today!  Two more days of racing to determine this year's winner.

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## cassidain

A monumental day at Le Tour. The GC boys finally decided to race. Good thing we had the sprinters for the first 2 weeks to keep things interesting! 
Two thoughts from yesterday's stage: there's a reason Lance didn't do the Giro; Voeckler, though he rode on Evans' wheel for a long time, showed his mettle as a real contender.
Look forward to more fireworks today. 
Allez allez !
ps, what is it that turns me off about Alberto Contador, great champion that he is? I have no such negative feelings for the Schlecks, or Evans, or Voeckler or Basso.

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## JEK

AC is giving it a go today

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## JEK

What a stage! What a Tour!

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## JEK

PIERRE ROLLAND  I COULD PUSH THE BIG CHAINRING EARLY ON THIS CLIMB...

After three weeks of loyal service to his team leader, Pierre Rolland was given the chance to race for himself and he didnt let anyone down. The 24-year-old is the first Frenchman to win on Alpe dHuez since Bernard Hinault in 1986.

I said I wanted to do everything possible to defend the yellow jersey of Thomas but on the climb of the Galibier, he told me, Seize your chance, dont worry about me. This is also where I see that he is a great champion, one who was able to tell me to go at the right time. I immediately wanted to prepare myself for something by attacking in the valley. Still, this is a climb that I know very well one that Ive reconnitoired more than a dozen times last year.
When I found myself with two Spaniards, I knew they knew each other very well. So I told myself that I would not finish second, it was win or nothing. I knew at turn one, I could push the big chainring early on this climb at such a pace because I did it many times in training. This is a stage that Ive watched dozens of times on video, with Armstrong, Pantani... I studied their cadence. And now its me who has won! It will take me a little time before I realize what Ive done.
As for the suggestions that I could win the Tour de France... well, we must not forget that Im only 24, and I have 10 wonderful years. I know Im going to train to be at the highest level, and not have regrets when my career is over.

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## amyb

Mr Rolland sounds like a gentleman and an athlete. I wish him well.

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## cassidain

And it all comes down to tomorrow's individual time trial in Grenoble. A classic Tour. It's heartening to see the French making a good show this year. After all the doping scandals the fans haven't abandoned the Tour and are as numerous and rambunctious as ever. Vive Le Tour !

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## cassidain

Félicitations, Cadel !!!!!!
Formidable !!!!!!!!

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## JEK

He was on a mission the whole way. Amazing performance.

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## tim

YAAAAYYYYYYY, Cadel!!!!

After all my American GC contenders crashed, I chose the American team member as my new favorite.

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## JEK

Down in Oz, they don't know he was on an American team :)

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1226100566465

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## Petri

It would help if the team wasn't named after a swiss company :)

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## cassidain

And now, with the maillot jaune decided, it's time to start anticipating tomorrow's showdown for the green jersey and the glory of the stage win sur l'Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Allez, Cavendish !

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## tim

The TdF website calls BMC a US team, despite their ties to many other countries.  Why would that be?

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## JEK

Wiki

BMC Racing Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BMC Racing Team

BMC Racing Team riding the team time trial
stage of the 2009 Tour de Romandie.
Team information
UCI code	BMC
Based	 United States
Founded	2007
Status	UCI ProTeam
Key personnel
General manager	Gavin Chilcott
Directeur sportif	John Lelangue
Team name history
2007present	BMC Racing Team

 Current season
v · d · e
BMC Racing Team (UCI Team Code: BMC) is a UCI ProTeam title sponsored by BMC Racing, a Swiss-based bicycle frame manufacturer. The team is co-owned by American cycling legend Jim Ochowicz, who founded the legendary 7-Eleven Cycling Team, and is managed by Gavin Chilcott with assistance from directeur sportif John Lelangue.
The team signed a number of major international riders for the 2010 season, including 2009 World Champion, two-time Tour de France runner-up and 5th place in 2010 Giro d'Italia Cadel Evans, 2009 U.S. Road Race Champion George Hincapie, 2008 World Champion Alessandro Ballan, and Spring Classics specialists Karsten Kroon and Marcus Burghardt. In 2010 the team participated in their first Grand Tours, having been invited to compete in the 2010 Tour de France and the 2010 Giro d'Italia. In 2011, the team attained UCI ProTeam status, the most prestigious classification available.

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## tim

Four US teams in this years Tour: HTC Highroad, BMC, Radioshack, and Garmen Cervelo.  Radioshack came in with great expectations but was decimated by crashes.  The other three US teams had fabulous Tours.

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## tim

"The Tour de France is always won by the strongest rider in the race. Thats the primary consequence of making the race three weeks long. Over the course of 21 days of racing, everything adds up. Theres enough time that the law of averages tends to distribute misfortune and bad days pretty evenly, but theres also enough time to overcome misfortune. Theres enough time and variety for every man to have his chance to seal victory, but theres also so much time that you may eventually have to pay for your earlier efforts. This year the strongest rider in the race is Cadel Evans, who won not because others collapsed and failed, but because at his best  and at his teams best  he was stronger than Andy Schleck at his best."  By Chris Carmichael.

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## cassidain

> "The Tour de France is always won by the strongest rider in the race. This year the strongest rider in the race is Cadel Evans, who won not because others collapsed and failed, but because at his best  and at his teams best  he was stronger than Andy Schleck at his best."  By Chris Carmichael.



Interesting thought...I wonder if Evans was the "best" rider as well as the "strongest" rider in the race? I mean, was Evans stronger than Contador, who Phil and Paul refer to as the best stage racer in the world, because Contador raced the Giro and was weakened by the effort but not necessarily better than Contador? Might have to wait til next year to know for sure???

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## JEK

On any given day  . . . .

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## cassidain

Justement  :)

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