| Le Cav est en feu 09:25 - Jul 3 with 15913 views | 18StoneOfHoop |
Nice start to Le Tour.
Some more flowers for his wee daughter Delilah. 
Experts please tell me: is it just between Froome and Quintana again?
Also where's Sir Brad The Mod gone and more importantly has he lost the two-bob generic beard but kept some distinctive 60's style muttonchops? [Post edited 3 Jul 2016 15:39]
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| 'I'm 18 with a bullet.Got my finger on the trigger,I'm gonna pull it.."
Love,Peace and Fook Chelski!
More like 20StoneOfHoop now.
Let's face it I'm not getting any thinner.
Pass the cake and pies please. |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 11:03 - Jul 3 with 11551 views | hopphoops |
Hi 18, It was good wasn't it? Good to have David Millar commentating as well, he knows his onions.
It's Froome or Quintana if nothing goes wrong but lots can go wrong especially with so many teams having a shout for the sprints. Lots of fast fast run-ins with five or six teams competing to lead out, rain and some wind in the mix, all means that every rider can expect to go down in the first week - it's just a matter of how badly. Contador's lost a fair bit of skin already.
If you want a dark horse bet, try Mikel Landa. If Froome goes out he's the form Sky climber.
PS We bought a bolt-hole in Savoie this spring, watch out for QPR flags on stages 18,19 and 20... |  |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 19:58 - Jul 3 with 11430 views | derbyhoop |
Probably between Froome and Quintana. Outside chances for Thibaut Pinot and Fabio Aru. I'd say Contador is out of it after 2 stages.
I'll be at Lathus on Tuesday (stage 4). Nice fast descent, speed bump and then a sharp left hand bend. It's 86km from the stage finish in Limoges. |  |
| "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop and now on Bluesky |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 06:09 - Jul 4 with 11368 views | distortR |
| Le Cav est en feu on 11:03 - Jul 3 by hopphoops |
Hi 18, It was good wasn't it? Good to have David Millar commentating as well, he knows his onions.
It's Froome or Quintana if nothing goes wrong but lots can go wrong especially with so many teams having a shout for the sprints. Lots of fast fast run-ins with five or six teams competing to lead out, rain and some wind in the mix, all means that every rider can expect to go down in the first week - it's just a matter of how badly. Contador's lost a fair bit of skin already.
If you want a dark horse bet, try Mikel Landa. If Froome goes out he's the form Sky climber.
PS We bought a bolt-hole in Savoie this spring, watch out for QPR flags on stages 18,19 and 20... |
I imagine that when you aren't in your bolt-hole, you'll want it lived in for security purposes, keep the grass cut, aired etc.
Well, out of the goodness of my heart, let me be the first to put my name forward.... |  | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 09:17 - Jul 4 with 11320 views | hopphoops |
| Le Cav est en feu on 06:09 - Jul 4 by distortR |
I imagine that when you aren't in your bolt-hole, you'll want it lived in for security purposes, keep the grass cut, aired etc.
Well, out of the goodness of my heart, let me be the first to put my name forward.... |
Well you never know, special LFW rates may be upcoming, just use the code bobmalcolm.
And as it happens the grass does need cutting and i've got new filament for the strimmer...
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| Le Cav est en feu on 14:14 - Jul 4 with 11286 views | Lofthope |
| Le Cav est en feu on 11:03 - Jul 3 by hopphoops |
Hi 18, It was good wasn't it? Good to have David Millar commentating as well, he knows his onions.
It's Froome or Quintana if nothing goes wrong but lots can go wrong especially with so many teams having a shout for the sprints. Lots of fast fast run-ins with five or six teams competing to lead out, rain and some wind in the mix, all means that every rider can expect to go down in the first week - it's just a matter of how badly. Contador's lost a fair bit of skin already.
If you want a dark horse bet, try Mikel Landa. If Froome goes out he's the form Sky climber.
PS We bought a bolt-hole in Savoie this spring, watch out for QPR flags on stages 18,19 and 20... |
I shall be riding Stage 20 this Sunday in L'Etape du Tour. Did Paris - Roubaix the day before the pros this year too. That's it for this year, unless you count Ride London as doing a sportive version of a pro race before the pros of course....which I suppose it is.
My money's on Quintana for the TdF. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 16:12 - Jul 4 with 11259 views | Lofthope |
Gutted, due to a rockfall Col de la Ramaz has been taken out of the L'Etape course, I guess they'll have enough time to clear it in time for stage 20. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 16:14 - Jul 4 with 11259 views | hopphoops |
| Le Cav est en feu on 14:14 - Jul 4 by Lofthope |
I shall be riding Stage 20 this Sunday in L'Etape du Tour. Did Paris - Roubaix the day before the pros this year too. That's it for this year, unless you count Ride London as doing a sportive version of a pro race before the pros of course....which I suppose it is.
My money's on Quintana for the TdF. |
Good luck and respect for that. Where are you staying?
If after the first 10km you realize it's all complete madness, stop in Flumet and i'll get you a pint. | |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 00:24 - Jul 5 with 11210 views | SydneyRs |
Cavendish gets another one and is now joint second in all time stage wins on 28. Brilliant achievement. | | | |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 01:05 - Jul 5 with 11197 views | bob566 |
| Le Cav est en feu on 00:24 - Jul 5 by SydneyRs |
Cavendish gets another one and is now joint second in all time stage wins on 28. Brilliant achievement. |
It's brilliant and I don't want to deter from that but how many mountain stages has he won. Segun will beat his stage victories over time. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 01:16 - Jul 5 with 11195 views | SydneyRs |
| Le Cav est en feu on 01:05 - Jul 5 by bob566 |
It's brilliant and I don't want to deter from that but how many mountain stages has he won. Segun will beat his stage victories over time. |
Zero and it will stay that way. Same as your Andy Schlecks would never win a sprint finish or a time trial. The mountain stages do sort out the men from the boys in terms of the GC though and the most gruelling ones are the best stages to watch for me. I find the flat stages very dull viewing, apart from the scenery.
Still a fantastic achievement to have won so many stages as a sprint specialist. Plenty of others competing for the same stages and sprint points. We will see if anyone overtakes him as only one person in history has more stage wins than Cavendish and the nearest current riders are a long way back. [Post edited 5 Jul 2016 7:25]
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| Le Cav est en feu on 07:20 - Jul 5 with 11162 views | Lofthope |
| Le Cav est en feu on 16:14 - Jul 4 by hopphoops |
Good luck and respect for that. Where are you staying?
If after the first 10km you realize it's all complete madness, stop in Flumet and i'll get you a pint. |
Staying in Megeve, would love to take up that beer offer but 10k in is probably too early in the day for me.
Will be my 5th Etape, so am reasonably confident of finishing, and with the climbing down to 2,800 metres with the withdrawal of Ramaz it's not looking too onerous apart from the slog up Joux Plane. It will be very different to the 3,200 metres climbing I did in the Chilterns a week ago though!
Apparently, a decision on whether to include Ramaz for Stage 20 will be taken 24 hours before the stage. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 08:27 - Jul 5 with 11146 views | hopphoops |
| Le Cav est en feu on 07:20 - Jul 5 by Lofthope |
Staying in Megeve, would love to take up that beer offer but 10k in is probably too early in the day for me.
Will be my 5th Etape, so am reasonably confident of finishing, and with the climbing down to 2,800 metres with the withdrawal of Ramaz it's not looking too onerous apart from the slog up Joux Plane. It will be very different to the 3,200 metres climbing I did in the Chilterns a week ago though!
Apparently, a decision on whether to include Ramaz for Stage 20 will be taken 24 hours before the stage. |
I kind of see that's a shame, cuttting the Col de Ramaz takes the sting out of the Joux Plane I imagine. It'll make for interesting racing at the front though, with a flat out run from the top of the Colombiere to the bottom of the Joux Plane.
Hopefully it will open again for the Tour itself... | |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 12:33 - Jul 5 with 11117 views | hopphoops |
| Le Cav est en feu on 19:58 - Jul 3 by derbyhoop |
Probably between Froome and Quintana. Outside chances for Thibaut Pinot and Fabio Aru. I'd say Contador is out of it after 2 stages.
I'll be at Lathus on Tuesday (stage 4). Nice fast descent, speed bump and then a sharp left hand bend. It's 86km from the stage finish in Limoges. |
I'll be watching out for you today Derby on the live stream. | |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 12:37 - Jul 5 with 11108 views | bob566 |
| Le Cav est en feu on 01:16 - Jul 5 by SydneyRs |
Zero and it will stay that way. Same as your Andy Schlecks would never win a sprint finish or a time trial. The mountain stages do sort out the men from the boys in terms of the GC though and the most gruelling ones are the best stages to watch for me. I find the flat stages very dull viewing, apart from the scenery.
Still a fantastic achievement to have won so many stages as a sprint specialist. Plenty of others competing for the same stages and sprint points. We will see if anyone overtakes him as only one person in history has more stage wins than Cavendish and the nearest current riders are a long way back. [Post edited 5 Jul 2016 7:25]
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couldn't agree more. A little unfair of me to compare him to the climbers but like you said that's where the overall winner will inevitably come from. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 17:49 - Jul 5 with 11056 views | Lofthope |
| Le Cav est en feu on 12:37 - Jul 5 by bob566 |
couldn't agree more. A little unfair of me to compare him to the climbers but like you said that's where the overall winner will inevitably come from. |
I see Le tour as several competitions in one, in fact across cycling there are all sorts of events and disciplines that require different attributes to win them. So, whilst the mountains and time trials may determine the GC in Le Tour, could Froome or Quintana win a spring Classic like Paris- Roubaix?
And the Green Jersey competition allows Peter Sagan to keep us entertained in my view.
So, I'll accept it as it is, a series of contests of which the GC is only one, but of course it's not like the old days when an Eddie Mercx could win Tours and Classics! | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 19:43 - Jul 5 with 11030 views | hovehoop |
That's a fair point whether the TdF GC winner could win a spring classic or not. The race is fashioned for the best climbers. Was reading that Quintana is about 5 foot 4 and only 9 stone so has hardly anyweight to pull uphill. The downside tho is seemingly he's not the best time trialer presumably because his low weight limits his power output. I love the TdF tho it's very controlled and obviously suits the strongest team. I like Peter Sagan and even ian Stanard and hope the latter continues to improve in the northern classics. Good luck in LEtape. I am supposed to be racing up Alpe D'Huez on 29 July in a triathlon tho it looks like a prolapsed disc has put pay to that this summer. A bit like you, I was doing a lot of climbing, tho in Sussex and doing repeats up Ditchling Beacon. I will get to France though and fancy a crack at The Marmotte. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 08:18 - Jul 6 with 10980 views | Lofthope |
| Le Cav est en feu on 19:43 - Jul 5 by hovehoop |
That's a fair point whether the TdF GC winner could win a spring classic or not. The race is fashioned for the best climbers. Was reading that Quintana is about 5 foot 4 and only 9 stone so has hardly anyweight to pull uphill. The downside tho is seemingly he's not the best time trialer presumably because his low weight limits his power output. I love the TdF tho it's very controlled and obviously suits the strongest team. I like Peter Sagan and even ian Stanard and hope the latter continues to improve in the northern classics. Good luck in LEtape. I am supposed to be racing up Alpe D'Huez on 29 July in a triathlon tho it looks like a prolapsed disc has put pay to that this summer. A bit like you, I was doing a lot of climbing, tho in Sussex and doing repeats up Ditchling Beacon. I will get to France though and fancy a crack at The Marmotte. |
Sorry to hear that your Alpe d'Huez adventure may not happen.
I've done the Alpe twice, once in The Marmotte, and the relentless afternoon heat at the end of the ride can make it tougher than it would otherwise be in my opinion. Meanwhile, in relation to the Marmotte, the Telegraph and Gallibier in quick succession seems like one very long climb but from the top of Galibier to the foot of Alpe d'Huez is probably the best descent ever......but take care in the tunnels.
If you are looking for a really good European Sportive/Gran Fondo, the Maratona dles Dolomites is the one I'd recommend. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 15:29 - Jul 6 with 10956 views | hovehoop |
Thanks. I definitely won't be competing tho I'm hoping to be fit enough to make the trip and watch my son. So I'll set my sights on other events when well. Shame cos I got a cracking new road bike that massively helps with climbing. My old one had a 53/39 lowest gear and I didn't feel that would be low enough for the Alps. Did a quick recce on the Dolomites course. Did you do the short, medium or long options? Also the climb gradients look reasonably ok ish with mention of only one 9 per cent gradient. So was it and out and out slog or something you could really enjoy? | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 16:48 - Jul 6 with 10930 views | dolcelatte |
| Le Cav est en feu on 16:12 - Jul 4 by Lofthope |
Gutted, due to a rockfall Col de la Ramaz has been taken out of the L'Etape course, I guess they'll have enough time to clear it in time for stage 20. |
Good luck with the Etape - now that climb is out more of a hard training ride so go for it more on the other hills. Did the last 3 but thought I'd a swerve it this year - glad I did.
Also did P-R in April - doing the Rapha Manchester to London on Sunday 4th September - 220 miles in a day should be a bit of a challenge - all in aid of Ambitious About Autism - so is anyone wants to sponsor me then PM for details of link etc.
Sounds like we should organise a R's supporters ride... |  |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 17:09 - Jul 6 with 10921 views | Lofthope |
Hovehoop - I did the long Maratona route.
Dolcelatte - I know that this will sound obvious, but IMO the real key to distance riding is getting the nutrition right. I know this from the bitter experience of getting it wrong so many times! Good luck with the London - Manchester thing, I reckon that will be a good event.
I do a lot of Audaxing, so rides of 300k, 400k and 600k are done each year for my SR series. I also did Paris - Brest - Paris last year (1200km), which was a whole new level for me. Am planning on doing London - Edinburgh - London in 2017.
Talking of an Rs ride, anyone considering the Dunwich Dynamo this year? I'm planning on turning up and doing it and then riding back in the morning. I'm not sure if it's too late to book the coaches home. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 05:14 - Jul 7 with 10861 views | dolcelatte |
| Le Cav est en feu on 17:09 - Jul 6 by Lofthope |
Hovehoop - I did the long Maratona route.
Dolcelatte - I know that this will sound obvious, but IMO the real key to distance riding is getting the nutrition right. I know this from the bitter experience of getting it wrong so many times! Good luck with the London - Manchester thing, I reckon that will be a good event.
I do a lot of Audaxing, so rides of 300k, 400k and 600k are done each year for my SR series. I also did Paris - Brest - Paris last year (1200km), which was a whole new level for me. Am planning on doing London - Edinburgh - London in 2017.
Talking of an Rs ride, anyone considering the Dunwich Dynamo this year? I'm planning on turning up and doing it and then riding back in the morning. I'm not sure if it's too late to book the coaches home. |
PBP - chapeau Sir.
I'm doing Dunwich with my club - mind you our kit is mostly black so maybe not easy to spot. Also riding to/from the smash fest of ride london - sure the ride home will be fun after going all in on that one.
Agree re nutrition. My job is involved in that area and often preach to anyone that will listen the benefits of real food over gels etc on endurance events. | |
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| Le Cav est en feu on 09:34 - Jul 7 with 10834 views | Lofthope |
| Le Cav est en feu on 05:14 - Jul 7 by dolcelatte |
PBP - chapeau Sir.
I'm doing Dunwich with my club - mind you our kit is mostly black so maybe not easy to spot. Also riding to/from the smash fest of ride london - sure the ride home will be fun after going all in on that one.
Agree re nutrition. My job is involved in that area and often preach to anyone that will listen the benefits of real food over gels etc on endurance events. |
Have you done Dunwich before? Will be my first one, any tips welcome.....I'm used to night riding, more about the event itself.
Which club? Black kit sounds like Audax Club Hackney but I suspect that's not yours! If I wear my club kit it will be the Purple/White/Black of Westerley CC (West London) but I tend to opt for fluo kit on night rides. Having said that, I doubt fluo is as important when there are so many other riders around. I will probably be on a red Condor with leather Brooks saddle, chunky unaerodynamic Carradice bag, hub dynamo and mudguards.....so won't be at the pointy end!
Yes, I agree with your Ride London strategy although I do get a lift to Old Street and cycle to the start from there (6.30 start this year), but I do ride all the way home afterwards!
Well chuffed to have my 'amateur' nutrition theory endorsed by a professional  | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 14:33 - Jul 7 with 10807 views | W14Hoop |
| Le Cav est en feu on 09:34 - Jul 7 by Lofthope |
Have you done Dunwich before? Will be my first one, any tips welcome.....I'm used to night riding, more about the event itself.
Which club? Black kit sounds like Audax Club Hackney but I suspect that's not yours! If I wear my club kit it will be the Purple/White/Black of Westerley CC (West London) but I tend to opt for fluo kit on night rides. Having said that, I doubt fluo is as important when there are so many other riders around. I will probably be on a red Condor with leather Brooks saddle, chunky unaerodynamic Carradice bag, hub dynamo and mudguards.....so won't be at the pointy end!
Yes, I agree with your Ride London strategy although I do get a lift to Old Street and cycle to the start from there (6.30 start this year), but I do ride all the way home afterwards!
Well chuffed to have my 'amateur' nutrition theory endorsed by a professional |
Chapeau to you fellas for the serious mileage you’re covering, sounds insane.
I was going to ask what keeps you fuelled for such long rides. What real food keeps you going for such distances though and are you eating every 30-45 mins?
On Cav, I was really happy he won that first day, and had further success since, also hoping Adam Yates can do something good when the race starts to go uphill again.
I missed out on the RideLondon 100 but got into the sister event the 46 — start time around 9.30 that Sunday, just trying to figure out the plan to get to Stratford in the morning. |  | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 18:43 - Jul 7 with 10778 views | hovehoop |
| Le Cav est en feu on 14:33 - Jul 7 by W14Hoop |
Chapeau to you fellas for the serious mileage you’re covering, sounds insane.
I was going to ask what keeps you fuelled for such long rides. What real food keeps you going for such distances though and are you eating every 30-45 mins?
On Cav, I was really happy he won that first day, and had further success since, also hoping Adam Yates can do something good when the race starts to go uphill again.
I missed out on the RideLondon 100 but got into the sister event the 46 — start time around 9.30 that Sunday, just trying to figure out the plan to get to Stratford in the morning. |
Agree with the importance of correct fuelling. I returned to road cycling this year, after a long lay off. Though I've been mountain biking regularly since 2014 when we did a coast to coast by trail from Aberdeen to Fort William. We did it in 4 days, about 80km per day which, depending on the terrain and mechanicalls, meant cycling between 8 to 10 hours per day. Though on one day my friends hub broke so we had to drag him along remote terrain, and that day we spent 12 hours in the saddle. Beforehand, and by way of practice, we rode increasingly longer sections of the South Downs Way until we could spend 8 hours in the saddle. In training, we all screwed up, at some stage or other with nutrition and hydration. If you let dehydration go too far, you're stuffed and will be lucky to limp home. With the food, I quickly became sick of gels and I don't really like energy bars also. Though a peanut butter Cliff Bar could be the exception. The trick is finding something that gives the energy boost immediately when you need it. I found that sandwiches with processed meats were no good on the move cos they took too long to digest. The best food I found, which looks disgusting, was brown bread with peanut butter and jam. Easily digested and I was told it's a favourite for people that hang off mountains! Also, I worked to a rule of eat when you're not hungry and drink when you're not thirsty. So, it meant topping up constantly.
In Scotland, when we did our coast to coast, which was remote and beautiful by the way, I reckon we were spending between 5 and 6k calories a day. We weren't massively scientific. We just made sure we ate a lot of anything whenever the chance emerged. This also meant crossing Scotland with loaves of brown bread and jars of peanut butter and jam. On that trip, I recall only one of our three ran out of fuel once. We were in some remote place and he basically ground to a halt. We had to give him all of our food so he could keep going and allow us to catch our train home. | | | |
| Le Cav est en feu on 20:33 - Jul 7 with 10756 views | Lofthope |
| Le Cav est en feu on 18:43 - Jul 7 by hovehoop |
Agree with the importance of correct fuelling. I returned to road cycling this year, after a long lay off. Though I've been mountain biking regularly since 2014 when we did a coast to coast by trail from Aberdeen to Fort William. We did it in 4 days, about 80km per day which, depending on the terrain and mechanicalls, meant cycling between 8 to 10 hours per day. Though on one day my friends hub broke so we had to drag him along remote terrain, and that day we spent 12 hours in the saddle. Beforehand, and by way of practice, we rode increasingly longer sections of the South Downs Way until we could spend 8 hours in the saddle. In training, we all screwed up, at some stage or other with nutrition and hydration. If you let dehydration go too far, you're stuffed and will be lucky to limp home. With the food, I quickly became sick of gels and I don't really like energy bars also. Though a peanut butter Cliff Bar could be the exception. The trick is finding something that gives the energy boost immediately when you need it. I found that sandwiches with processed meats were no good on the move cos they took too long to digest. The best food I found, which looks disgusting, was brown bread with peanut butter and jam. Easily digested and I was told it's a favourite for people that hang off mountains! Also, I worked to a rule of eat when you're not hungry and drink when you're not thirsty. So, it meant topping up constantly.
In Scotland, when we did our coast to coast, which was remote and beautiful by the way, I reckon we were spending between 5 and 6k calories a day. We weren't massively scientific. We just made sure we ate a lot of anything whenever the chance emerged. This also meant crossing Scotland with loaves of brown bread and jars of peanut butter and jam. On that trip, I recall only one of our three ran out of fuel once. We were in some remote place and he basically ground to a halt. We had to give him all of our food so he could keep going and allow us to catch our train home. |
That mountain bike ride sounds excellent, well done.
With Audaxes, one can, usually, stop and buy food so I don't really carry a lot of stuff, just a few bars, maybe the odd gel and energy drink in my bottles. Bakers shops and cafes, coffee and milkshake seem to work for me, but I expect I could be a lot better at nutrition than I am.
for shorter events like sportives I just carry a couple of bars and a couple of gels, two water bottles with energy drink and usually finish with stuff left over without stopping......but I don't think I'm very typical in that and should probably consume more! | | | |
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