Tour De France 2013

News & General
1

Well its starting again tomorrow 29 June.. Lots of late nights I suppose for some
Dont follow bike riding in anyway but never miss this as it is a game of tactics and a good watch

All the best to the Aussies AUSSIES

Simon Gerrans, Matthew Goss, Stuart O’Grady, Simon Clarke, Brett Lancaster, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEDGE), Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp), Cadel Evans (BMC), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol), Richie Porte (Sky), Michael Rogers (Saxo-Tinkoff).

Have a couple of links here if your interested SBS is of course the best but interesting article for the arm chair watcher from Perth Now. Will most probably be in the Sunday times as well.

Perth now guide to race
Everything you need to know about the 100th Tour de France

Sky’s Richie Porte is a better chance of Aussie glory at the Tour de France than Cadel Evans, according to the bookies. Source: AFP

https://ozfooty.net/media/kunena/attachments/859/034027-richie-porte.jpg

2

Last night was the first Leg of the Tour.. Sprinters stage.
The race started in Corsica and as per usual the commentary was brilliant along with the scenery.

Argos Shimano won the first leg and gets to wear the Yellow Gurnsey.
It was a Chaotic start with the Green Edge Bus (AUST TEAM) Getting stuck under the Finish banner. This caused major problems and the Finish line was going to be changed to the 3 km mark but they ended up getting the bus out.

At least 3 major pile ups that knocked a few of the favourites out of the Sprint finish. Advertising banners on the side of the road caused a couple of accidents due to them being to close to the road!!! … The good news is none of the riders will be penalised time due to it being beyond their control.

A brilliant night of viewing and 3 weeks to go. Some pics

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Argos Shimano winner of first leg

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3

Stage 2. Pretty uneventful stage with a few climbs. A Dog decided to join in and could of caused a bit of strife.. He must of thought all his Christmas’s had come a once with so many bikes :slight_smile:

Jan Bakelants held off a fast charging peloton to win a punchy second stage of the Tour de France by a single second, giving him the overall lead.

It is so incredible for me to take this jersey, to give something back to the team after all this misery I had this year. When I crossed the finish line I was overwhelmed with joy.
Jan Bakelants, Radioshack Leopard

The Radioshack Leopard rider finished ahead of Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) at the end of the 154km stage from Bastia to Ajaccio.

The 27-year-old Bakelants, who has been a pro since 2009 but has not won a race in that time, took the yellow jersey of the general classification leader from Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) who finished well off the pace.

STAGE 3 1 July

Couple of climbs and the first one looks like a beauty

https://ozfooty.net/media/kunena/attachments/859/Stage3.jpg

Teams Cadel Evans is with Team BMC.. Easy to spot in the Black and red
Evans declared himself satisfied with his performance in Sunday’s second stage of the Tour de France after coming home just a second adrift of surprise stage winner Jan Bakelants

Evans is feeling his way into the 100th Tour having taken a break after coming third at last month’s Giro d’Italia, although he was comfortable on a short but tricky 156-kilometre ride from Bastia to Ajaccio that featured four testing climbs.

Indeed, the 36-year-old, who won the yellow jersey in 2011 and is looking to become the oldest ever winner of the sport’s greatest race this year, was among the first riders to reach the top of the final climb, the third-category Cote du Salario, 12 kilometres from the finish.

https://ozfooty.net/media/kunena/attachments/859/CadelEvansBMC.jpg

The Aussies have a team in being GREEN EDGE. Best of luck to them.

GreenEdge GEC
Brett Lancaster AUS
Cameron Meyer AUS
Daryl Impey RSA
Matthew Goss AUS
Michael Albasini SUI
Simon Clarke AUS
Simon Gerrans AUS
Stuart O’Grady AUS
Svein Tuft CAN

FULL TEAM LISTS

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/tour-de-france-2013/teams-riders

4

Watching the Fox show they said that Grieppel was the reason the big pile up happened.It sure took a toll on the peleton.

5

Your right there one error and the whole group goes to shit. Part of the fun I suppose.. I think from what I heard on SBS the field has been cut down already.
SBS has hightlight every morning and afternoon around 7pm I think.
Must admit it is a brilliant live call by the commentators and we get a Travel Doco as well..

Froome is the favourite at the moment to win. Bookies have him under $3 so must be a chance but as they say in Footy - still a long , long way to go over 3 weeks.

Broadcast times and highlight packages SBS CLICK ON PIC

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6

I have watched the Fox show prologue tot he tour at night.It is a bit of light fun.
Have not watched any of the race so far but will get into it tonight I think.

7

Short stage brings down Tour s Corsica stint

AFP © Short stage brings down Tour’s Corsica stint

AJACCIO, France (AFP) - The Tour de France completes its historic passage through Corsica on Monday with a short 145-kilometre third stage from Napoleon Bonaparte’s birthplace in Ajaccio up the island’s west coast to Calvi, where the explorer Christopher Columbus is said to have been born.

After arriving in Calvi, the Tour will move to mainland France for the first time, with the fourth stage, a team time-trial, taking place in Nice on Tuesday.

8

Tuesday 2 July

Go Aussies Great win to Gerrans over Peter Sagan.. Green Edge is the Aussie team and a huge victory for them.

https://ozfooty.net/media/kunena/attachments/859/SimonGerrans.jpg

Stage 4 is a time trial being held tonight.. on SBS around 8pm I think

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9

Oge seem to be making a big splash for such a young and inexperienced team.Great to see.

10

Yep agree.. Few surprises to come I would say. Would be nice if the Aussies could win the Time trail but I dont think so.
The guy I was riding with last night Simon Clark (Green Edge) who was in the breakaway at the start and they led for over 134 kms.. He only had to get over the last climb to the the King of the Mountains guernsey.. Hey would of got 5 points as well to give him a good lead.. Didnt think they would catch him but they did unfortunately.
Really felt for him after such a hard ride. All he had to do was get over that mountain and the go back to the Peleton for a easy ride home and a guernsey.

No problems though Gerrans made up for it with the overall win but no Yellow. :frowning:
Great start for Green edge though considering only 2nd year in

Simon Clarke

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ORICA-GreenEDGE is thrilled to announce that Simon Clarke has extended his contract with the team. On top of his original two-year deal, the 2012 Vuelta a España mountain classification winner has extended his contract by two years, through 2015.

“Being Aussie in an Aussie team is a dream come true,” said Clarke. “I think I made a big step up this year, and in part, that’s because of the support I’ve received from this team. To have the chance to stay here for at least another three years is perfect for me.”

Clarke won the fourth stage of the Vuelta and a hard-fought battle for the climber’s jersey. In addition to his Grand Tour success, Clarke finished on the podium in the Rogaland GP, the second stage of Vuelta a Burgos, two stages of the Tour of Norway and finished second in the Tour of Norway general classification.

Orica GreenEdge website

http://www.greenedgecycling.com/

11

Well Fark B) What can you say… OGE or Orica Green Edge won the Team time trail tonight BY LESS THAN A SECOND. Shit how good is that for a Aussie team and everyone should be proud of the achievement.

Gerry Ryan the owner an Aussie as well very happy. Owner of Jayco and King Kong and other Aussie companies.. I encourage you to read this article as he is certainly a promoter of Aussie sport.. Orica are an interesting Sponser but I am sure they have a few spare dollars.. eg Orica is a multinational corporation that provides commercial blasting systems, mining and tunneling support systems, and various chemical products. The company operates in more than 50 countries worldwide and serves customers in more than 100.

http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/06/04/belkin-saves-blanco-but-can-australian-cycling-live-without-gerry-ryan/

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12

Now back to the race…We are lucky in the West as we dont have to stay up all night like over east.. Usually on around 8pm but check your guides

Stage 5 comming up and back into the real race
228km and a couple of small climbs.. The big climbs come later

https://ozfooty.net/media/kunena/attachments/859/Stage5TDF.jpg

I suspect a couple of the bigger teams are starting to worry about the OGE team :slight_smile:

All the info at http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/

13

Heres the individual standing.. All other standings e.g team,points etc are at

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/tour-de-france-2013/standings

Click to enlarge For individual standings

https://ozfooty.net/media/kunena/attachments/859/Standingsindividual.jpg

Orica Green Edge winning the time trail

https://ozfooty.net/media/kunena/attachments/859/OGEWINNING.jpg

14

Have just heard the news this morning.What an awesome performance.I wonder how long they can hold onto it for.
A magnificent achievement really.

15

Heres a handy App or bring it up on you computer. It gives live pic and a tracker as to positions etc etc etc..
Looks good if you want the race live..

http://media.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/tourtracker/

16

Stage 5 2nd longest leg but certainly not he hardest..OGE still looking good

The second longest stage of the 2013 Tour de France ended with a sprint victory for Omega Pharma QuickStep’s Mark Cavendish and Australia’s Simon Gerrans spending another day in yellow.

The lumpy 228.5km stage from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille was always destined as one for the sprinters, but an early break came close to staying away before losing its lead with 4km left to race.

Cavendish stayed ahead of a crash in the finale to finish ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) and Peter Sagan (Cannondale) for his first stage victory of this year’s Tour.

Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE), who placed 15th on the stage, continues to lead the general classification with team mates Daryl Impey and Michael Albasini second and third.

https://ozfooty.net/media/kunena/attachments/859/Cavendishwin.jpg

So the old legend has won this one for the Poms. lets hope the Lions dont take heart in it and win the Rugby on Saturday :slight_smile:

Gerrans still holds Yellow though with 2 other Aussies holding 2nd and 3RD

What gets me going is the Breakaways and it was a good one tonight. Just couldnt hold out..

Cadel is still in it as a long way to go and patience is the key

I would like to win the race just to kiss those lovely leggy girls who give out the Guernseys

So nice..

Ok some pics

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17

STAGE 5

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OVERALL LEADERS - CLICK ON IMAGE FOR BETTER VIEW

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18

To enjoy this sport you must understand the Jerseys so here is a bit more on what each one means.. I must admit when I first started watching this sport I was totally confused.. What really pissed me off was the last leg where no one can advance and the winner is already decided by Gentlemans agreement.. Cant see the point but you will see what I mean when it happens

Jerseys and their meanings

Here’s a breakdown of what each of the Tour’s jerseys stands for, and what a rider has to do throughout the course of the race to wear it.

Yellow jersey- is worn by the rider who leads the general classification. It is awarded to the rider with the fastest overall time in Paris.

Green jersey- is worn by the rider who accumulates the most points in the race and is usually won by the race’s most consistent sprinter. Points can be won at intermediate sprints although most are won at the stage finish line.

Polka dot jersey- also known as the King of the Mountains, it is worn by the rider who tops the climbing classification. The competition comes into its own once the race heads into the mountain stages where most points are on offer.

White jersey- is worn by the best placed rider in the general classification who is 25 years old or under in the year of the race.

For a better description of the Jerseys read the below article

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0709/Tour-de-France-101-What-do-different-color-jerseys-mean

19

Now another thing that came to mind what do these guys get for the agony they must go thru???

1 Euro equals
1.43 Australian Dollars

2012 prize money of course just winning would be reward enough :slight_smile:

Stage victories [Powerbar]

The 21 stages of Le Tour 2013 are divided up as follows: 7 flat stages, 5 hilly stages, 6 mountain stages with 4 high-altitude finishes, 2 individual time-trial stages and 1 team time-trial stage.
Prize money: € 22,500 per stage (€ 475,000 in total) and € 25,000 for the team time-trial stage.
The stage victory has been sponsored by Powerbar.
The Yellow Jersey [LCL]

It is worn by the leader of the general individual time classification.
Prize money: € 450,000 for the overall winner (€ 1,009,000 in total).
The Yellow Jersey has been sponsored by LCL since 1987.
The Green Jersey [PMU]

It is worn by the leader of the points classification. The points are won on the intermediate sprints and at the stage.
Prize money: € 25,000 for the overall winner (€ 125,000 in total).
The Green Jersey has been sponsored by PMU since 1992.
The Red Polka Dot Jersey [Carrefour]

It is worn by the best climber. Points for the best climber classification are awarded at the top of any classified slope. The prize money is doubled on the four stage finishes that will take place at the summit of climbs.
Prize money: € 25,000 for the overall winner (€ 110,000 in total).
The Polka Dot Jersey has been sponsored by Carrefour.
The White Jersey [Škoda]

It is worn by the best young rider aged 25 years old or less in the general individual time classification.
Prize money: € 20,000 for the overall winner (€ 66,500 in total).
The White Jersey has been sponsored by Škoda since 2004.
The Combativity Award [Brandt]

This distinction is awarded at the end of each stage by a jury made up of eight cycling specialists. An overall winner is designated after the last stage of Le Tour.
Prize money: € 20,000 for the overall winner (€ 54,000 in total).
The Most aggressive rider Prize has been sponsored by Brandt since 2005

More at

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/racing/article/tour-de-france-jersey-colours-and-prize-money-explained-37732/

20

WA RIDER CAMERON Meyer

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/17860287/wa-cyclist-is-the-wheel-deal/

When Helena Valley boy Cameron Meyer was handed a free pass to the Perth SpeedDome as a 12-year-old, he thought the least he could do was give cycling a crack.

On Tuesday, what began with a 10-minute drive to the Midvale track culminated in a feat no West Australian has achieved before, a stage win at the Tour de France.

Meyer, 25, was part of the Orica-GreenEDGE team which stunned the peloton with a record-breaking victory in stage four’s 25km team time trial on the streets of Nice.

It was the second victory in as many days for the Australian-owned team and propelled Melbourne-born Simon Gerrans into the yellow leader’s jersey.

Speaking to _The West Australian _from the team bus yesterday, Meyer said the feeling of winning a stage of the iconic race was hard to put into words.

“It was one of the happiest moments for all the guys on the team and especially me in my first Tour de France,” he said. “It’s a bit of a dream come true and a bit of a whirlwind at the moment.”

Meyer is the second WA rider to compete in the Tour de France after Henk Vogels, who rode the race in 1997 and 1999 with French team GAN.

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