Even with the top lopped off I am looking forward to the stage tonight. All the French teams will be trying absolutely everything to put one of their riders across the line first. The GCs will want it too, but will need to keep something in reserve for the Time Trail tomorrow. My money is on Martin to try to take it which will mess the rest of the GCs minds given he is now such a genuine contender
Pinot trotted on yesterday, finishing 126th, Rolland, Vockler, Gallopin, Delaplace, Perichon, Barguil, Bardet, and Gougeard all have French pride on their shoulders and a sniff at the stage win. Finishing prior to the last 6km, by all accounts, will make for an even better stage than was on the cards in the first place.
Screen caps of a guy in the crowd trying to take down Adam Yates.
See the guy on the right in white reaching out.
Grabs onto Adam's arm.
Momentum breaks the hold, but
AY is left unstable and nearly comes off.
I cannot tell for sure if that guy was wearing a belt, but there is no evidence he wasn't wearing a belt.
6km of extra fans squeezed down the road, things were bound to go wrong.
When I was in France last year I went to watch it. Near me was a group of 8 or 9 youths. They got to their spot at least two hours before the riders were due to appear, just like I did, but they went down to a nearby stream and played in the water and drank a fair bit of alcohol. I went down to the bridge they were at to take some photos of the approach the riders would take and see what the ASBOs were up to.
As the caravan began to pass us they came back up to the road and started daring each other to touch the passing cars. This turned into trying to knock wing mirrors off each vehicle. One team car came to a halt just after they had smacked the passenger side mirror almost clean off, and berated them. They apologised and then carried on doing it again as soon as the team car drove off. They were in very high spirits and having a great time. When the peloton came closer I couldn't see what they got up to nor was I interested, really.
I just imagine that times a hundred or a thousand in mountain top finishes. What I witnessed was a few km up the penultimate climb of the day on the Queen stage and it was fairly sparsely populated where I was. These were local kids out for a laugh. Hardened drinkers with a passion for cycling or some nationalistic fever would be frighteningly unruly and unimaginably carried away in the midst of some most primal exhibitions of mob mentality.
I recently read a warning to cyclists in Manchester warning of gangs hanging out under bridges in the Fallowfield, Levenshulme, Chorlton area. Chris Froome would deck the lot of them.
-punched a fan
-descended like a man with nothing left to live for
-caught up with Sagan at max whack on the flat
-put Quintana firmly in his place
-decked it into the back of a motorbike, had his bike snapped, dumped it and continued by just legging it on foot in a bid to get to the destination no matter what
Can only agree, I have never been a Froome fan, never rooted for him, but he has definitely change my opinion on him this tour... Still would like to see Adam Yates win but, I won't be disappointed if Froome pulls this off in the end.
Agreed. How he stayed calm enough to manage to do what he did, is testament to his professionalism. Gained huge respect in my eyes for his athletic achievements this tour and for his calmness in these situations.... and for punching the idiot beside him!
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