Posts from — July 2016

Montélimar to Villars-les-Dombes

Distance: 208.5 kilometers.

An officially flat stage that has three Cat 4 climbs in the first half. It is the last major stage for the sprinters.

It was Mark “SuperManx” Cavendish taking his fourth stage win of this Tour and his 30th lifetime. only two more stages to tie for first in lifetime stage wins with Eddy Merckx of Belgium.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 63h 46′ 40″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 340 points
Thomas De Gendt ( BEL – LTS – 163 ) [Polka Dot] 90 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 3 [White]

Team: BMC Racing Team ( BMC – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Mark Cavendish ( GBR – DDD – 101 ) [30th Tour stage]
Combative: Jérémy Roy ( FRA – FDL – 128 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 01′ 47″
3 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 02′ 45″
4 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 59″
5 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 03′ 17″
6 Tejay Van Garderen ( USA – BMC – 099 ) + 03′ 19″
7 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 04′ 04″
8 Richie Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 ) + 04′ 27″
9 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 05′ 03″
10 Fabio Aru ( ITA – AST – 021 ) + 05′ 16″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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The Turkish military stages coups on a regular basis to remind politicians that Turkey was founded as a secular country by Ataturk.

The current unrest could have been expected based on a number of things that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has done in the recent past. The ABC’s coverage, Gunfire, explosions as Turkish military attempts government takeover, features live updates.

Remember to assume that both sides are probably lying at this point, and both will attempt to block free and independent reporting.

Today’s front page on the Tour site.

Bourg-St-Andéol to La Caverne

Distance: 37.5 kilometers.

An individual time trial that is reportedly as close as possible to the Olympic course in Rio.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 58h 02′ 51″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 309 points
Thomas De Gendt ( BEL – LTS – 163 ) [Polka Dot] 89 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 3 [White]

Team: BMC Racing Team ( BMC – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Tom Dumoulin ( NED – TGA – 114 )

Top 30:
[Read more →]

So ABC News [the American ABC] says that a Republican snitch told them that Trump is picking Governor Pence of Indiana as his running mate, but Trump told Fox News that he hasn’t made his “final, final decision” and other Republican snitches are saying that Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich are still in the running.

With the death of approximately 75 people in Nice eating up all the time on the news channels, Drumpf isn’t going to announce anything.

Update: Drumpf “tweeted” Pence, so it’s official if it’s in a twit’s tweet…

Montpellier to Mont Ventoux

Distance: 184 kilometers.

The first two-thirds of this stage are totally flat, but then things get interesting. The first climb is the Cat 4 Côte de Gordes followed quickly by the Cat 3 Col de Trois Termes, then a short bit of level ground before the HC climb to a summit finish on Mont Ventoux.

Race officials have announced a change: “Due to the weather conditions forecasted by Météo France atop the Mont Ventoux with gusts of wind likely to exceed 100km/h, Tour de France organizers have decided to modify the finale of stage 12 in order to guarantee optimal safety conditions.”

Thomas De Gendt had a good day: he won the stage, the Polka Dots, and the Red Numbers.

Chris Frome did not: “What a final. In the final kilometre, the moto braked suddenly in front of us, and Richie [Porte ( AUS – BMC – 091 )], Bauke [Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 )] and I crashed into it, and then the moto behind me ran over my bike and broke it,” Froome said. “I said to myself ‘I have no bike’. And I knew the car with my bike was 5 minutes behind on the road, so I need to run.”

The decision of the race officials was to award the riders their time before the accident, which kept Frome in Yellow. The fans are causing a lot of chaos this year.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 57h 11′ 33″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 309 points
Thomas De Gendt ( BEL – LTS – 163 ) [Polka Dot] 89 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 2 [White]

Team: BMC Racing Team ( BMC – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Thomas De Gendt ( BEL – LTS – 163 )
Combative: Thomas De Gendt ( BEL – LTS – 163 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 00′ 47″
3 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 00′ 54″
4 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 00′ 56″
5 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 01′ 15″
6 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 01′ 32″
7 Tejay Van Garderen ( USA – BMC – 099 ) + 01′ 32″
8 Fabio Aru ( ITA – AST – 021 ) + 01′ 54″
9 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 01′ 56″
10 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( ESP – KAT – 141 ) + 02′ 11″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Mrs. May started out so well leaving Larry in charge of rodent control for Number 10, then she pisses off every government in the EU by appointing Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary.

La Fête Nationale
Bastille Day

Thank you for the help with the Revolution.

Some background.

Carcassonne to Montpellier

Distance: 162.5 kilometers.

A mostly flat stage with a pair of Cat 4 climbs at the beginning. The problems can arise from high temperatures and crosswinds.

The finish turned out to be a sprint between Peter Sagan and Chris Frome. Peter won, but Chris added to his overall lead. This is the second time in this race that Chris has done the unexpected. The other contenders are getting nervous.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 52h 34′ 37″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 309 points
Thibaut Pinot ( FRA – FDL – 121 ) [Polka Dot] 80 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 2 [White]

Team: BMC Racing Team ( BMC – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 )
Combative: Arthur Vichot ( FRA – FDL – 129 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 00′ 28″
3 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 00′ 31″
4 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 00′ 35″
5 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 00′ 56″
6 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 00′ 56″
7 Sergio Luis Henao ( COL – SKY – 002 ) + 00′ 56″
8 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 01′ 13″
9 Tejay Van Garderen ( USA – BMC – 099 ) + 01′ 13″
10 Roman Kreuziger ( CZE – TNK – 036 ) + 01′ 28″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

The CBC notes that Theresa May is the new Prime Minister of the UK and Teresa May is a lingerie model.

The Guardian reports that Larry, the rodent control officer for Number 10 Downing Street, has voted to remain despite the change of Prime Ministers.

The Guardian also looks at the rise of ‘truthiness’ in politics and the media.

According to multiple sources because of the freefall of the Pound, the value of Serena Williams’s win at Wimbledon was reduced by $380,000 by Brexit.

Escaldes-Engordany to Revel

Distance: 197 kilometers.

A transition stage that crosses the border back into France. It starts with a Cat 1 climb over the highest point in this year’s Tour, the 2408 meter Port d’Envalirat. Near the end of the stage is the Cat 3 Côte de Saint-Ferréol. The rest day won’t help a lot.

Australian Michael Matthews won his first TDF stage as team mates set him to beat Peter Sagan in the sprint at the end. If you see a few of these endings you get a feeling for the work of lead off riders to set up their sprinter to take and hold the lead.

Sebastian Langeveld had to give up. While they haven’t all been as spectacular as the fall of the inflatable arch on Stage 7, there have been crashes on every stage that left riders hurting. I thought the climb at the start would have taken out more riders.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 49h 08′ 20″
Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Green] 242 points
Thibaut Pinot ( FRA – FDL – 121 ) [Polka Dot] 80 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 2 [White]

Team: BMC Racing Team ( BMC – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Michael Matthews ( AUS – OBE – 207 )
Combative: Peter Sagan ( SVK – TNK – 032 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 00′ 16″
3 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 00′ 19″
4 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 00′ 23″
5 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( ESP – KAT – 141 ) + 00′ 37″
6 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 00′ 44″
7 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 00′ 44″
8 Sergio Luis Henao ( COL – SKY – 002 ) + 00′ 44″
9 Louis Meintjes ( RSA – LAM – 157 ) + 00′ 55″
10 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 01′ 01″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

The BBC reports that the Bahamas has issued a US travel advisory over racial tensions. Apparently the Bahamian government is having “the talk”, the one that Black parents give their sons, about interacting with the police.

Mustang Bobby looks at reports that ‘The Donald’ will select Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana as his running mate. Booman thinks it makes no sense, I agree that it makes no sense… so it is obviously what Drumpf will do.

Looking at all of the current wellness trends based on the habits of our ancestors The Guardian thinks we should live authentically like our ancestors until we die like our ancestors at 37.

Badtux is a bit annoyed at the quality of the media reporting surrounding the Dallas shooting. Just today the Dallas Police Chief had to correct the reporting on the 14 casualties, excluding the shooter. The five dead and 9 wounded were all police officers. There were no civilian casualties.

The Guardian discusses the use of a drone by the Dallas Police to bomb the shooter. There is no justification. The shooter was contained; he had no targets, no supply lines. Lay siege, play disco, bubblegum, Gilbert & Sullivan and wait him out. Odds are he would have committed suicide.

It may have been a land-based remote-controlled vehicle instead of air-borne and a block of C4 instead of a Hellfire missile, but the technique is the same. I don’t understand the claimed justification for the act. Who was in imminent danger from the use of deadly physical force by the shooter?

The police seem to have all of the military crap but can’t get their hands on a decent deer rifle and someone who can use it.

Vielha Val D’Aran to Arcalís

Distance: 184.5 kilometers.

A mountain stage that crosses the border into Andorra for the last three climbs and the summit finish: Cat 1 Port de la Bonalgua, Cat 1 Port del Cantó, Cat 2 Côte de la Comella, Cat 1 Col de Belxalis, and the Hors Catégorie finish in Arcalis.

The four withdrawals are the result of earlier injuries catching up with people on a stage with some long climbs, high temperatures that finished in a deluge. Alberto Contador took a spill on the first stage and has been coming back very slowly.

This was Tom Dumoulin’s first stage win on the Tour.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 44h 36′ 03″
Mark Cavendish ( GBR – DDD – 101 ) [Green] 204 points
Thibaut Pinot ( FRA – FDL – 121 ) [Polka Dot] 80 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 2 [White]

Team: Movistar Team ( MOV – 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Tom Dumoulin ( NED – TGA – 114 )
Combative: Tom Dumoulin ( NED – TGA – 114 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 00′ 16″
3 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 00′ 19″
4 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 00′ 23″
5 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( ESP – KAT – 141 ) + 00′ 37″
6 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 00′ 44″
7 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 00′ 44″
8 Sergio Luis Henao ( COL – SKY – 002 ) + 00′ 44″
9 Louis Meintjes ( RSA – LAM – 157 ) + 00′ 55″
10 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 01′ 01″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]

Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon

Distance: 184 kilometers.

This is a real mountain stage with the Hors Catégorie, literally “without category”, Col du Tourmalet, Cat 2 Hourquette d”Ancizan, Cat 1 Col de Val Louron-Azet, and Cat 1 Col de Peyresourde. Lots of Polka Dot points available.

Chris Froome won the stage and the Yellow Jersey in a very unusual fashion for him – going downhill. Normally Chris breaks away on the climb, but a win is a win.

Michael Morkov had to withdraw from the race. He got banged up in a stage one crash and the mountains finished him off. He is the first rider out of this years race, which is very unusual. Normally several riders would have been lost by Stage 8.

Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 39h 13′ 04″
Mark Cavendish ( GBR – DDD – 101 ) [Green] 204 points
Rafal Majka ( POL – TNK – 037 ) [Polka Dot] 31 points
Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) 2 [White]

Team: BMC Racing Team ( BMC – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
Combative: Thibaut Pinot ( FRA – FDL – 121 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GBR – SKY – 001 )
2 Adam Yates ( GBR – OBE – 209 ) + 00′ 16″
3 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( ESP – KAT – 141 ) + 00′ 16″
4 Daniel Martin ( IRL – EQS – 184 ) + 00′ 17″
5 Alejandro Valverde ( ESP – MOV – 012 ) + 00′ 19″
6 Nairo Quintana ( COL – MOV – 011 ) + 00′ 23″
7 Fabio Aru ( ITA – AST – 021 ) + 00′ 23″
8 Tejay Van Garderen ( USA – BMC – 099 ) + 00′ 23″
9 Romain Bardet ( FRA – ALM – 041 ) + 00′ 23″
10 Bauke Mollema ( NED – TFS – 061 ) + 00′ 23″

The Rest of the Top 30:
[Read more →]