So Barry, would you put yourself in the brilliantly informed or the 'I've been on a bike once 20 years ago and that involved going over the handlebars' type of cycling commentator," asks Stu Bulloch. "I for one can't wait for the mountains to start on Sunday and the bunch finishes to cease. Cancellara's actions on Stage 3 were reprehensible. Keep up the good work." I can't remember the last time I rode a bicycle, Stu and I don't know what actions of Cancellara's you're alluding to - please elaborate. His actions just now were pretty reprehensible - he's just taken a food-bag, removed an energy bar, looked down his nose at it and thrown it in a ditch. If ZipVit Sport are looking after the Saxo Bank team's nutritional requirements, Simon Burch will need his best game-face on to sort out that PR gaffe.
1.53pm: The Saxo Bank team of Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellaras, Stuart O'Grady, among others are taking turns to tow the peloton along with Mark Cavendish's HTC-Columbia team. The gap between them and the breakaway is down to 5min 43sec, about the time it takes to ruin a boiled egg.
1.48pm: Perhaps he was examining his helmet, wondering why it was covered in Simon Burch's fingerprints. Incidentally, rather than me name-checking Eurosport every time I steal some of their commentary and pass it off as my own, it would probably be easier if you just assume that anything I write that sounds even remotely knowledgable comes from them.
1.47pm: Speaking of the delighfully charming man that is Lance Armstrong, on Eurosport somebody was telling the stroy of how yesterday, reigning Tour champion Alberto Contador knocked on the Tour of the RadioShack team bus and was admitted to make a presentation of a watch to somebody-or-other for something-or-other. While he was very warmly received by most of the occupants, it's said that Lance sat in the back sulking and didn't say a word.
1.45pm: My gratitude to Simon Burch, who has kindly written in to point out that I made a complete dog's breakfast of my "previously on the Tour" bit, which has now been fixed. "I did the PR for Cervelo's nutritional suppliers ZipVit Sport - and so am following the Tour avidly," he writes. "We also supply Team RadioShack with nutrition this season. I attended their training camp in Calpe earlier this season, but sadly I didn't meet their star rider, a certain seven-time TDF winner. I was there on the day their protective headgear was delivered, though - so took the opportunity to hold Lance Armstrong's helmet with both hands. I can reveal that it is very light and has holes in it for ventilation."
How they stand on the road: With 122.5km to go in today's stage, a three-man breakaway comprised of Sebastian Lang (Omega Pharma-Lotto) , Mathieu Perget (Caisse d'Epargne) and Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel) have opened a gap of 6min 25sec on a peloton who couldn't be more indifferent and hasn't mounted any kind of response yet.
1.34pm: On Eurosport, we're informed that today's stage is not classically one for the sprinters, as it "goes up and down quite a bit", with a 23km downhill finish coming off the final climb, so expect a fast one.
1.30pm: The riders are already out on the road, even if Eurosport's live coverage, fronted by our own James Richardson, has yet to begin. At the moment they're showing an interview with Katusha's Australian rider Robbie McEwen, who looks terrible and says he's suffering from a fever that almost forced him to abandon the race yesterday. He traces his illness back to the trauma his body suffered in a crash during an earlier stage and the anti-tet jab he got afterwards, the evidence which can be seen from the bandages covering the road-rash on his arm. Rather him than me. I feel a bit queasy just listening to him.
Today's stage: This afternoon the riders will pedal the 227.5km from Montargis to Gueugnon, taking in St-Frageau, Côte De Bouhy, Côte de la Cahepll St-Andre, Moulins Engilbert, Côte des Montaron and Côte de la Croix de l'Arbre. It's the day last opportunity for the sprinters to win a stage before the climbing starts, so if all goes according to HTC Columbia's plan, expect to see them reeling in any breakaway riders with three or four kilometres to go, before their train steams into Gueugnon at the head of the peloton, uncoupling Mark Cavendish from their train with 200m or so to the line.
Some house-keeping before we get on with the fun: For the latest standings in this year's tour, click here. To see the official Tour de France 2010 website, click here. To see the annual labour of love that is Guardian graphics genius Paddy Allen's Interactive Guide To The Tour de France, click here.
Good afternoon everybody, and welcome to the first of this year's annual sporadic-depending-on-who-happens-to-be-in-the-office, probably not brilliantly informed but quite literally rolling report on the Tour De France.
The story so far: This year's Tour kicked off in Rotterdam last Saturday, with a short prologue won by powerful pedalling's Fabian Cancellara from Switzerland, who went into Sunday's first official stage wearing the yellow jersey. Run over 223.5km from Rotterdam to Brussels, this instalment of the race ended in chaos, with Italian veteran Alessandro Petacchi managing to avoid Foinavon style carnage to win it in a sprint.
Stage two saw an angry peloton wind its way from Brussels to Spa, refusing to race in protest at the conditions of the previous day and allowing breakaway rider Sylvain Chavanel to win courtesy of a heroic solo effort and take the yellow jersey.
The third stage, over 153.5km from Cambrai to Reims, took in the teeth-jarring cobbles of the famous Hell of the North, the Paris-Roubaix classic, which did for Tour contender Frank "Brother of Andy" Schleck, who shattered his collarbone in a horrible spill on the the Sars-et-Rosières sector 25km from the finish. Thor Hushovd was first past the post and went back into yellow after Sylvain Chavanel, according to the Guardian's excellent Tim Lewis, "punctured twice and then threw his bike in the ditch". Sky's British rider Geraint Thomas finished a highly commendable second in a tricky stage, earning himself the white jersey for leading young rider.
The business end of the general classification remained unaltered in the wake of stages four (153.5km from Cambri to Reims) and five (187.5km from Epernais to Montargis), which ended in sprints won by Petacchi and confident Manx speed-merchant Mark Cavendish respectively.
Yes, that Mark Cavendish, who we knew when he barely had an arse in his Lycra shorts.
1.53pm: The Saxo Bank team of Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellaras, Stuart O'Grady, among others are taking turns to tow the peloton along with Mark Cavendish's HTC-Columbia team. The gap between them and the breakaway is down to 5min 43sec, about the time it takes to ruin a boiled egg.
1.48pm: Perhaps he was examining his helmet, wondering why it was covered in Simon Burch's fingerprints. Incidentally, rather than me name-checking Eurosport every time I steal some of their commentary and pass it off as my own, it would probably be easier if you just assume that anything I write that sounds even remotely knowledgable comes from them.
1.47pm: Speaking of the delighfully charming man that is Lance Armstrong, on Eurosport somebody was telling the stroy of how yesterday, reigning Tour champion Alberto Contador knocked on the Tour of the RadioShack team bus and was admitted to make a presentation of a watch to somebody-or-other for something-or-other. While he was very warmly received by most of the occupants, it's said that Lance sat in the back sulking and didn't say a word.
1.45pm: My gratitude to Simon Burch, who has kindly written in to point out that I made a complete dog's breakfast of my "previously on the Tour" bit, which has now been fixed. "I did the PR for Cervelo's nutritional suppliers ZipVit Sport - and so am following the Tour avidly," he writes. "We also supply Team RadioShack with nutrition this season. I attended their training camp in Calpe earlier this season, but sadly I didn't meet their star rider, a certain seven-time TDF winner. I was there on the day their protective headgear was delivered, though - so took the opportunity to hold Lance Armstrong's helmet with both hands. I can reveal that it is very light and has holes in it for ventilation."
How they stand on the road: With 122.5km to go in today's stage, a three-man breakaway comprised of Sebastian Lang (Omega Pharma-Lotto) , Mathieu Perget (Caisse d'Epargne) and Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel) have opened a gap of 6min 25sec on a peloton who couldn't be more indifferent and hasn't mounted any kind of response yet.
1.34pm: On Eurosport, we're informed that today's stage is not classically one for the sprinters, as it "goes up and down quite a bit", with a 23km downhill finish coming off the final climb, so expect a fast one.
1.30pm: The riders are already out on the road, even if Eurosport's live coverage, fronted by our own James Richardson, has yet to begin. At the moment they're showing an interview with Katusha's Australian rider Robbie McEwen, who looks terrible and says he's suffering from a fever that almost forced him to abandon the race yesterday. He traces his illness back to the trauma his body suffered in a crash during an earlier stage and the anti-tet jab he got afterwards, the evidence which can be seen from the bandages covering the road-rash on his arm. Rather him than me. I feel a bit queasy just listening to him.
Today's stage: This afternoon the riders will pedal the 227.5km from Montargis to Gueugnon, taking in St-Frageau, Côte De Bouhy, Côte de la Cahepll St-Andre, Moulins Engilbert, Côte des Montaron and Côte de la Croix de l'Arbre. It's the day last opportunity for the sprinters to win a stage before the climbing starts, so if all goes according to HTC Columbia's plan, expect to see them reeling in any breakaway riders with three or four kilometres to go, before their train steams into Gueugnon at the head of the peloton, uncoupling Mark Cavendish from their train with 200m or so to the line.
Some house-keeping before we get on with the fun: For the latest standings in this year's tour, click here. To see the official Tour de France 2010 website, click here. To see the annual labour of love that is Guardian graphics genius Paddy Allen's Interactive Guide To The Tour de France, click here.
Good afternoon everybody, and welcome to the first of this year's annual sporadic-depending-on-who-happens-to-be-in-the-office, probably not brilliantly informed but quite literally rolling report on the Tour De France.
The story so far: This year's Tour kicked off in Rotterdam last Saturday, with a short prologue won by powerful pedalling's Fabian Cancellara from Switzerland, who went into Sunday's first official stage wearing the yellow jersey. Run over 223.5km from Rotterdam to Brussels, this instalment of the race ended in chaos, with Italian veteran Alessandro Petacchi managing to avoid Foinavon style carnage to win it in a sprint.
Stage two saw an angry peloton wind its way from Brussels to Spa, refusing to race in protest at the conditions of the previous day and allowing breakaway rider Sylvain Chavanel to win courtesy of a heroic solo effort and take the yellow jersey.
The third stage, over 153.5km from Cambrai to Reims, took in the teeth-jarring cobbles of the famous Hell of the North, the Paris-Roubaix classic, which did for Tour contender Frank "Brother of Andy" Schleck, who shattered his collarbone in a horrible spill on the the Sars-et-Rosières sector 25km from the finish. Thor Hushovd was first past the post and went back into yellow after Sylvain Chavanel, according to the Guardian's excellent Tim Lewis, "punctured twice and then threw his bike in the ditch". Sky's British rider Geraint Thomas finished a highly commendable second in a tricky stage, earning himself the white jersey for leading young rider.
The business end of the general classification remained unaltered in the wake of stages four (153.5km from Cambri to Reims) and five (187.5km from Epernais to Montargis), which ended in sprints won by Petacchi and confident Manx speed-merchant Mark Cavendish respectively.
Yes, that Mark Cavendish, who we knew when he barely had an arse in his Lycra shorts.
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