Tour de France 2009

gallsman · July 15, 2009, 05:07:47 PM

Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on July 15, 2009, 04:51:41 PM
Cavendish is some sprinter, though it seems that the only people he is popular with is the English.

Comes across as cocky. Able to back it up though.

MacCruiskeen · July 16, 2009, 08:26:05 AM

Mark Cavendish. Cheeky Dub? He's from the IoM more or less within the Pale.

maddog · July 16, 2009, 08:52:37 AM

Quote from: gallsman on July 15, 2009, 05:07:47 PM
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on July 15, 2009, 04:51:41 PM
Cavendish is some sprinter, though it seems that the only people he is popular with is the English.

Comes across as cocky. Able to back it up though.

Cocky or confident ? He's at the top of his game so every right to be confident. In his interview last night he praised his opponents and more or less said it was his team that was getting him the victories. Didnt smack of arrogance to me.

ONeill · July 16, 2009, 09:49:52 AM

Manx magician Mark Cavendish equalled his tally of four wins in a Tour de France on a day that he was accused of being a racist bully.

Just like the radio ban, this one had Blazin' Saddles flummoxed. If anyone should be accused as having something against this race, it is lanterne rouge Kenny van Hummel, dribbling in at almost two hours off the pace.

Cav has just won his second double of the Tour and equalled the British record for wins in France - this is no hollow cause, it's a race he clearly loves. Such is his dominance, we could start calling him Master Race, but surely not racist?

In earnest, the claims came after an unnamed French rider supposedly went running to the press with the shocking revelation that: "Cavendish is racist, he's anti-French."

Breezing over the fact he had possibly confused xenophobia for racism - have you ever heard of the French race? - the rider warned: "He should be careful. We're not going to put up with his attitude much longer."

What are they going to do? Go on a breakaway and deprive him of another stage victory? Steal those green sunglasses of his? Come up with a more infuriating celebration than him? Punch him in the kidneys, a la Piet Rooijakkers?

BS wonders what Cav could have said to ruffle so many Gallic plumes? Maybe he called Sammy Dumoulin a frog? Hardly honorary KKK stuff though, is it?

Rumours now emerge that in fact it all stemmed from the rest day when, waiting for the delayed plane, Cav was overheard saying: "F****** Frenchies". (This, of course, is something BS never says - just does... especially when in France working on the Tour.)

Cav, of course, denied the whole charade, claiming he had even started learning French so he could give post-victory interviews. "I love to be here and race," he clarified. And there you have it: how can a guy who loves race be a racist?

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/16072009/58/tour-de-france-blazin-saddles-supreme.html

Billys Boots · July 16, 2009, 11:31:07 AM

I see Eurosport reckon Nicholas Roche doesn't have a nationality.

maddog · July 16, 2009, 12:45:02 PM

Did any of you see the "english speaking team" of all time on itv4 last night. I only caught a little bit of it but they had managed to pick from memory (Armstrong, Lemond, Sean Yates, robert Millar, Sean Kelly, Mark Cavendish, Phil Anderson, Bradley Wiggins and i think Boardman)
No Roche

maybe Dublinese isn't considered English

Billys Boots · July 16, 2009, 01:18:25 PM

They must have been looking for a climber, no other reason to have Millar there before Roche. He should be ahead of Yates, Boardman and Wiggins too.

orangeman · July 18, 2009, 10:13:07 AM

It was confirmed yesterday that that two competitors were shot at. Pellet from an irgun were taken from them.

There might have been something to that story about Nicholas Roche after all.

gerry · July 18, 2009, 10:41:05 AM

anyway he had another good day yesterday

Aerlik · July 19, 2009, 08:41:15 AM

Quote from: maddog on July 15, 2009, 10:57:59 AM
Quote from: Aerlik on July 15, 2009, 10:19:24 AM
There used to be a red jersey in the Tour. What was that for, does anyone remember?

it was for the intermediate sprints along the road. A town or village would put up a few grand as prize money and the winner through a particular point would scoop the money. There also used to be a combined jersey which was for the rider that was highest average in all competitions. The intermediate sprints along the road now count towards the green jersey.

Thanks Maddog. Never understood that 'til now.

Quote from: maddog on July 16, 2009, 12:45:02 PM
Did any of you see the "english speaking team" of all time on itv4 last night. I only caught a little bit of it but they had managed to pick from memory (Armstrong, Lemond, Sean Yates, robert Millar, Sean Kelly, Mark Cavendish, Phil Anderson, Bradley Wiggins and i think Boardman)
No Roche maybe Dublinese isn't considered English

I well remember Phil Liggett commenting on Stephen Roche (and I paraphrase for the benefit of the "i-dotters" and "t-crossers") after his historic win in 1987: Stephen Roche, the first English-speaking rider to win the tour and the Giro d'Italia in the same year

FFS, couldn't he just have rightfully acknowledged Roche as the first IRISHman to win the race, in other words winning something before an Englishman did? No, of course not.

SBS 1 in Oz is showing the debacle at Lords as opposed to the drama of the tour this year. Thank goodness there's no TV licence in Oz.

Has anyone else been to any tour stages? I went in 1988 to see the one which passed through Valenciennes where I was studying at the time. It was over in about 5 minutes. The entourage took longer. In 1989 I waited for over three hours on a fence at the end of the stage in Montpellier. The next day I got Sean Kelly's photo. A few days later a mate and I headed to the Alp D'Huez. We decided to try to cycle to the summit starting very early. Needless to say we only made it about a third of the way up before we nearly collapsed. It was sensational watching the riders go by. We had bother walking up the hill yet they were zipping past us.

orangeman · July 19, 2009, 10:01:54 AM

Cavendish disqualified yesterday and placed last for trying to ram one of the other riders into a wall at the last sprint.

gallsman · July 19, 2009, 09:23:02 PM

Quote from: Aerlik on July 19, 2009, 08:41:15 AM

I well remember Phil Liggett commenting on Stephen Roche (and I paraphrase for the benefit of the "i-dotters" and "t-crossers") after his historic win in 1987: Stephen Roche, the first English-speaking rider to win the tour.

You sure? 'Cos LeMond won it the year before...

gerry · July 20, 2009, 01:33:07 AM

Quote from: orangeman on July 19, 2009, 10:01:54 AM
Cavendish disqualified yesterday and placed last for trying to ram one of the other riders into a wall at the last sprint.

just seen highlights of that tonight, seems a bit harsh and has killed of the battle of the green jersey which is a pity

Aerlik · July 20, 2009, 05:42:07 AM

Quote from: gallsman on July 19, 2009, 09:23:02 PM
Quote from: Aerlik on July 19, 2009, 08:41:15 AM

I well remember Phil Liggett commenting on Stephen Roche (and I paraphrase for the benefit of the "i-dotters" and "t-crossers") after his historic win in 1987: Stephen Roche, the first English-speaking rider to win the tour.

You sure? 'Cos LeMond won it the year before...

Whaow, you beat the usual typo-police to it, Gallsman. I included the bit about the Giro, post your reply.

maddog · July 20, 2009, 09:12:15 AM

Quote from: gerry on July 20, 2009, 01:33:07 AM
Quote from: orangeman on July 19, 2009, 10:01:54 AM
Cavendish disqualified yesterday and placed last for trying to ram one of the other riders into a wall at the last sprint.

just seen highlights of that tonight, seems a bit harsh and has killed of the battle of the green jersey which is a pity

Cavendish was very harsly done by there. The road narrowed. Ive seen over the years guys head butting punching and trying to knock each other off and nothing was ever done, to put in GAA perspective this was the cycling equivelant of a 3 month ban for a push in the back.