Just wondering is anyone planning a trip down to the big city to watch the Grand Depart of the 2007 TDF.

I'd like to go, I'm going to have a look to see much it would cost me to get down to London as money is tight next month. With holidays coming up over the next couple of months. I might have to get that cheap bus down, you know that blue and yellow one that takes about 14 hrs to get to london....... should be fun, not.

Does anyone know what time the stage is due to start? Just wondering for what time to get down there for.

Ta

Does anyone know what time the stage is due to start? Just wondering for what time to get down there for.

Ta

The following link below should give you all the info you need, just click on time schedule for full timings of saturday stage.


http://www.letour.com/2007/TDF/COURSE/us/etape_par_etape_0.html

WHSmith have the official guide for £4.99, well worth it! Got the maps, teams and riders all reviewed etc! Love the tour...watched it when I was about 8 and not missed one ever since!!

I'm going down on the m'bike on Saturday morning..Me and a mate or leaving Sheff at 06:30hrs.!..May stay the night and watch them leave on Sunday.!

Otherwise..coming back Saturday night.!

My tip for this year....It's got to be Vina...the only guy with the balls to attack when all other's are watching each other.!

Reminds me of Chiapuchi(spelt wrong)..who's tactic was simple...attack attack attack.!

Unfortunatly for him..that tactick cost him the tour at least twice.!

jt

I'm looking forward to the start! Really fancied going down but didn't get a train ticket in time and really skint at the moment so guess the TV will have to do! Just have to hope that this year's race is drug free!!!

Unfortunatly Andrew....I don't think any sport is drug free...It's just that cycling seems to be the easiest target to hit.!

You have to let the aurthorities know where you are, when you'll be there etc..No other sport has to do that as far as i'm aware.

infact footballers know when they are gonna be tested..hence why few are found out.!

Also the drug tester's in cycling can turn up at any time day or night and demand a urine and blood test..Failure to comply means a 2 year ban.!

Think i'm kidding..Let me give you an example.

When Lance Armstrongs wife was leaving the house to go and have her children...She was actually in labour as well...

The tester's knocked on Lance's door just as the ambulance arrived.!
They didn't seem to be bothered that his wife was just about to give birth..
He had to give a urine test there and then...Otherwise it would hve been deamed a test failure..and he would have been banned for 2 years.!

Know wonder the guy has issues with the wadda.....

jt

If other sports did the this sort of thing..you would be surprise at how many so called clean athleates would not be so clean...

I got my train tickets earlier this week they wer £41 first class return which isn't too bad in my opinion. Though this is because were leaving at 6;16am and coming back pretty late but that's fine with me. Should be good get a few hours kip on the train, find somewhere nice for breakfast they go see the start. I reckon like Jt Vinokourov will emerge as teh yellow one in paris though it would be nice and likely to have a British rider in yellow by the prologue.

Hmm...watched Eurosport's presentation of the teams before and their coverage was awful!!

Has it now been changed to a drug relay, only over here to get new supplies and smuggle them back inside their bilke frames.

Well what a fantastic day.!..Got there about 10:30am all parked up top of Hide Park.
Walked down the road to B'palace..up the mall to where the teams where parked.!

Then walked round to the start ramp.!.got a good view and emcamped there.!
Watched most of the rider's depart, then watched what was a massive screen which was about 20 meter's away the rest of the action.!

Then walked back to Hide Park which was full of fans watching the tour,the roads where 4/5 deep..couldn't move...really good to see this.!

Watched Brad Wiggins, and David Miller do there stuff...then decided to get back to the m'bikes and come back to Sheff.!

All in all a great day...well organised, but did get a bit miffed at seing can's of coke on sale for £2:00..

Got back to home to Sheff just after 10pm.!
London was a nightmare to get out of...thank god for satnav.!

jt

Has it now been changed to a drug relay, only over here to get new supplies and smuggle them back inside their bilke frames.

Change the record.!

This is a pro tour thread...If you want an anti tour thread..go and start one.!

jt

The 2007 Grand Depart was a great day out in London. What other major sporting event can you go and watch for free. Got there for around 10.30am and watched the race mainly around the Buckingham Palace / Consitution Hill / Hyde park Corner Area. Although i will have to say it did lack a bit of atmosphere at times, just didnt quite have the same feel about it when compared to the stages of the tour ive seen over in mainland Europe.

A few pics i took

Fabian Cancellara - http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb312/granddepart/101_0164.jpg

Tom Boonen - http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb312/granddepart/101_0150.jpg

Levi Leipheimer - http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb312/granddepart/101_0156.jpg

http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/bb312/granddepart/?action=view&current=001-001.flv

Fantastic to see the tour in this country and looks like it was a huge success even the weather was good!

This sort of thing is great publicity for London and the UK.

Great pics Rob

Wow I wish I'd have gone now :( Anyone been watching it on ITV4? Got to love Liggett and Sherwen as commentators,.....10x better than the Eurosport lot!!!

Ahhhhhh..but eurosport cover the whole stage..not just the high lights.!!

yesterday's stage was great..where did Robbie come from..20k from the end he was dead and burried.!

terrible crash near the end though..luckily no serious injuries.!

Watched today's stage on eurosprot..and another great finish.!
Mind you it will soon be the mountain's,Alp's 1st..Think then the real contender's will come to the front..Vino, kloden, Sastre...Valverde.!

think it's the most open and hopefully clean tour in years.!

jt

Not exactly on topic for this year's Tour, but I thought if fanatical cyclists were watching this thread one of them could answer me this question that's been bugging a few of us at work.

Can anyone name the (I think) Italian cyclist that joined a breakaway on a flat stage early on in a Tour a few years ago (maybe 90's) and made something like a 20min gain on the favourites. I seem to recall he was a 'known' face and the favourites should never have let him develop such a breakaway.

It should have been a nothing stage, just a tootle through the flatlands with a sprint finish, but he pulled off this dramatic stage result (not sure he won the stage) and held the Maillot Jaune for a number of days before he was eventually hauled back.

Don't think it was Pantani. Thought it was Cipollini, but can't find any reference to it for him. Help.....

Wasn't following it all that closely back then as was only young. Pantani would be the obvious one for a well-known Italian though he was more of a mountains guy.

Great ride from Gerdemann today - hopefully as the guys on ITV said the new "whiter than white" T-Mobile team will keep it up. Have to wonder why guys like Kloeden and Vino left mind?

Vino wanted to be the dedicated team leader for the tour, and was never gonna happen while Big Jan was there.!

Aint hind sight a great thing.!

Think Kloden's time was up at t mobile, bit like Zabel..so moved on..again he was never gonna be No!1 with Jan.!

Yeah was a great ride bythe young German, how many times did he go on the rostrum.? stage winner, yellow jersey,most agrresive, young rider.!

Bet he wont forget that day in a hurry.!..really tough today though think the big gun's will come out to play to day.!

My tip for today....Sastre (csc),or levi liepamer (dis)..Big George just looked too comfortable for me at the end of yesterday's stage..Keeping his powder dry for today to help Levi in the alps.!

jt

Not exactly on topic for this year's Tour, but I thought if fanatical cyclists were watching this thread one of them could answer me this question that's been bugging a few of us at work.

Can anyone name the (I think) Italian cyclist that joined a breakaway on a flat stage early on in a Tour a few years ago (maybe 90's) and made something like a 20min gain on the favourites. I seem to recall he was a 'known' face and the favourites should never have let him develop such a breakaway.

It should have been a nothing stage, just a tootle through the flatlands with a sprint finish, but he pulled off this dramatic stage result (not sure he won the stage) and held the Maillot Jaune for a number of days before he was eventually hauled back.

Don't think it was Pantani. Thought it was Cipollini, but can't find any reference to it for him. Help.....

Been the bit of a Tour de France anorak that i am, does this answer your question.

The only 2 times i can remember a breakaway getting such a large lead and winning a stage are

1990 - Stage 1 was won by 10mins and 35secs with 4 riders in a breakaway, stage winner was Dutchman Frans Maassen but the 4 man breakaway did have Italian Claudio Chippucci in it.

Although the Yellow Jersey after that stage was worn by Canadian Steve Bauer

Chippucci won the Yellow Jersey on stage 12 but lost it on stage 20 to overall winning American Greg Lemond.


2001 - Armstrong let a breakway group get a lead of over 30mins on stage 8. Stage was won by Dutchman Erik Dekker and the Yellow Jersey taken over by Aussie Stuart O Grady. Armstrong got the Yellow Jersey on stage 13 and kept it all the way to Paris.

Must admit Chippuchi was one of my all time favorite rider's.!

The trouble was, he never had any real tactic's except..attack attack attack.! Unfortunaltly this cost him the tour at least twice...

Last i read he was doing some kinda sporting tour trips to Majorca and the likes.! Remember seeing a picture of him nottoo long back in either cycling weekly or sport.! of him on the Colobra in Majorca.!

Just watched today' stage..Forgot all about Rassmuson, what a ride and definaltly deserved his stage win..most combatant as well, as well as the yellow jersey.!..What a great day for him.

If he can make time in the mountain he must be concidered a good choice for overall in Paris.!

The tour has come alive............

jt

....1990 - Stage 1 was won by 10mins and 35secs with 4 riders in a breakaway, stage winner was Dutchman Frans Maassen but the 4 man breakaway did have Italian Claudio Chippucci in it.

Although the Yellow Jersey after that stage was worn by Canadian Steve Bauer

Chippucci won the Yellow Jersey on stage 12 but lost it on stage 20 to overall winning American Greg Lemond..
That'd be it... :clap:

From the history section of www.letour.fr.....
After an early breakaway gained nearly a 10-minute advantage, the 1990 Tour took on another dimension. Defending champion Greg LeMond spent much of the three-weeks chasing the little-known Italian Claudio Chiappucci. He only finally wrestled the yellow jersey from Chiappucci's shoulders in the final time trial around Lac de Vassivière. Although he only wore the jersey for a day, it was on the final day, and LeMond inked his name in the record books as a three-time Tour winner.

Funny how time plays tricks on you. I recalled the breakaway gaining more than 10 minutes at the end, (although I guess it got a lot higher during the stage and that's what i actually probably recall...).

I also thought the rider in question gained the yellow from that stage, but apparently not.

Thanks for scratching that itch though.

Sort of remember the stage,Stage eneded at sky station of Luz Ard de den.!

Chiapuchii escaped over the Col de Aspan,and then took further time out of Lemond over the Col de tormala.

After a dramatic decent by lemond and co, Chiapuchi was caught at the start of the final accent of Luz.!

A french rider made an attack and Chiapuchi couldn't responde.!

How ever Lemond could,also another as yet unheard of rider went with him acertain..Migual Indurane.!

Lemond let from the bottom of the climb and not once did Mig help him out.!

About 200meter's from the finish line Mig excellerated past lemond to take the stage...Lemond was about 25 sec's down.!

Chiapuchi came in some 2:30 sec's down...but kept hold of the yellow jersey by 5 seconds from Lemond, who gained that time plus some more on the time trail to win the tour that year..i have that stage i described on dvd.....

Fantastic

jt

I did more or less the same stage as this in the 2001 adition of the Etap de Tour.!

Amazing tour so far and the coverage on itv4 is the best I have ever seen.

Also forgot to add...the stage i discribed, was also the same stage where Armstrong fell off on the final ascent of Luz, where his handle bar got cought in a spectator's musset.

This was when Armstrong won his straight 5th tour...2003.!
best tour of recent years,when Jan Ulrich got to with in 6 sec's of Armstrong..Then Jan fell in the time trail..on a roundabout a couple of days before the run in to Paris.!

The next day's stage was won by Tyler Hamilton (csc) on a lone escape into Bayonne.!

jt

Amazing tour so far and the coverage on itv4 is the best I have ever seen.

agreed apart from the adverts:roll:

Interesting how the tdf has gone from top bbc headline (because it's in london..) to the "other sport" in ceefax in a week...

Bloody rest day. It has been pretty good up to now. I've been impressed with the young British riders, Cavendish looks a good prospect and he has the right attitude of being ****** off because he hasn't won a stage rather than taking the plaudits of a good start to his tour career.

After seeing that Elvis was alive and well near the top of the Col De La Colombiere on Saturday. But the highlight of the TDF so far must be this guy
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/315/astanalz9.jpg halfway up the Cormet De Roselend yesterday afternoon.

.

LOL...yeah, i watching the tour live on Eurosport and i saw that guy running along side the pelaton.!

But did you notice, the commentater's on Eurosport never said a word.!

It did make me laugh though.!

jt

Sorry about this...but i did this climb on the 2002 etap de tour.! from the other side though...it finished Clunes..Can't think of the name of the gut who won the actual stage, except he was italian.!!

It'll come to me.!!!!!!!!!

Plans for team GB. http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tourdefrance2007/story/0,,2128075,00.html

What a great stage yesterday..the guy thoroughly deserved his stage win.

the way Contador excelerated up the Galibier..bloody amazing...

but Rassmuson did well to contain his lead.! The rider for me yesterday though was Christophe Moreau, dropped on the climb up the Galib. caught up on the decent. Then just about hung on to the finish in Briancon.!

jt

Sorry about this...I did the telegragh,then the Galibier when i went on holiday to the alps.!
I was cycle touring at the time..i then rode over the Col de Que de fuex..(spelt wrong) then down to Bourg en baison to the watch Lance desimate the entire tour on the alp du heuze time trial...
Happy times..

What a great tour finish...Contador thoroughly deserving his win in Paris.!

good to see Lance there in the background giving him advice etc.!

And by the looks of it we are finally getting there with the drug culture as well.

Well done Rabobank...firstly by sacking there team leader who was in yellow with a few days to go.

And secondly for not pulling the team out as well...So bogart got to finish his final tour.
i was really pleased for him..The back bone of the Rabobank team.!

jt