Winnersaint

Fantastic. Just been chatting to neighbour about the next trip. They stayed in Huez village half way up just on the end of the balcony road that goes to Villard-Reculas. Looking at staying in the L'Arc valley in future mainly because of uncertainty over Chambon Tunnel on D1091. Opens up a whole new playground.

Where abouts are you going?

Teacher. As of last week retired, or at least semi retired as daughter still got two ears at Uni. Going back on a different contract in September three days a week. Liking the sound of 4 day weekends.

Me also. I don't mind either Gary Imlach or Chris Boardman on ITV4 but I'm afraid I much prefer the excitable drivel of Carlton Kirby to the partonising utter ****** that come with the two Ps, even if it does come with Sean Kelly constantly referring to Ulrika Greenedge!

Well that's essentially it. 49 weeks of anticipation and it's done and dusted. Fantastic stuff. In some ways I think this rates better than Froome's 2013 win. Movistar were clearly the strongest in the Alps with Valverde, Ancona and Herrada all climbing better than Poels, Porte and Thomas. Shame G went backwards in the last couple of days, but he stuck it out well into the third week. Great stuff for a rider not rated as a grand tour contender. His time may never come unfortunately unless he team leads in the Vuelta or Giro. Was chatting to my mate next door who was in the Bourg d'Oisans area in June and did the Glandon/Croix de Fer from Allemond up and down as well as doing La Marmotte in 2013 so knows the Glandon well reckons its a far harder climb than the Telegraphe/Galibier and a more dangerous ascent either way. Chapeau to all the pro's, they make it look so easy. It always inspires as it is such a hard sport as VFTT can attest. My aims now are to do the Alps, particularly the Alpe, Glandon/CDF and Lacets de Montvernier before I'm 60.

Good one! Hope your recovery continues quickly. You thought about TT's. looks a bit safer than racing to me.

The Clinic is vehemently anti English speaking cycling because the 'nutters' that post there feel that there is an attitude amongst the Brits, Americans and to some extent the Aussies that it's only 'other Europeans'/South Americans who dope. Bearing in mind systematic doping was taken to its highest level of perfection by a US team headed by Lance Armstrong you can understand the cynicism it portrays if not the mania. My personal view is that Sky have simply got best use out of their marginal gains in terms of training and strategy. I simply cannot see Dave Brailsford allowing, not just Sky, but the whole of British Cycling for the last decade be discredited in this way. He and others have too much to lose. You only have to look at Saints and see how we use a different approach to punch above our weight and not merely be another WHU, Newcastle, Stoke etc. Getting it right in terms of science, health, nutrition, training and recruitment has given us an marginal edge at present, and I believe this is where Sky as a team maintain an edge over other teams. The difference between us and them is that we probably equate to someone like Orica Greenedge while they have a relative funding level of a Chelsea/Man City/Barca/Real Madrid and can basically buy the best.

Froome full retard! If you want a laugh go to this site to see what the barking mad think of it all. http://forum.cyclingnews.com/viewforum.php?f=20 The Clinic is such a source of entertainment.

Yeah but look on the bright side at least you don't have to go that smelly ****hole and run the risk of being mugged for your Merckx by some scumbags who cant spell./

Best of luck to both of you Look forward to seeing how you progress if you are able to upload to Strava.

My preview of Stage 7. I've heard of most of the places the tour has been going to and from apart from today's depart, Livarot. Cue the interweb! So, it is in Normandy and is famous for a soft cheese by the same name. On the surface of it Fougeres could be just as obscure to me if wasn't for the fact I've actually been there, albeit a long time ago. I recall a castle and something about it being a centre for shoe making in the past, something like a Breton, Northampton, then. Anyway back to cycling, this stage could be either the easiest or the most problematic of the tour so far. A chance for the peloton to relax after the crosswinds, cobbles, and super steep finishes in the first week it could either be totally uneventful or could be plagued by even more crashes. Yesterday was a classic example of this. A low key day which ended up in chaos 600 metres from the line with the maillot jeune down and out, three main contenders on the deck and a fourth narrowly missing out on that dubious pleasure. It should be bunch sprint into Fougeres with Cav remembering how to sprint once more.....Hopefully!

FWIW This is my take on today's stage. Stage 6 from Abbeville will involve a break with the usual suspects but it won’t last and it won’t be a day for the really fast men. The uphill finish in Le Havre isn’t quite the Mur de Huy being both shorter and not as steep. I initially fancied Gerrans or Matthews to bring it home for OGE, but with the former out and the latter riding with two broken ribs that isn't going to happen. With much of the route hugging the Normandy coast the wind could once again come into play leading to splits and potential time losses. Ultimately I think it's a case of Degenkolb or Sagan for the win.

Felt that what you say was exactly what went on last summer and to some extent this summer as well. 'Sky Six' don't want to allow us to invade the party. Get used to it. If we are a mid-table Championship club or worse in five years time the doom mongers will be proven correct, if not we'll have had an interesting ride. FWIW, money aside, the Vertonghen factor and next year's Euro Championships will have been a factor as well. I am not a great one for conspiracies but I am rather dubious of the role that Hodgson played last summer and former French manager Domenech is doing this summer with Schneiderlin. The same may have happened with TA. Who knows!

What about 'taters' also?

Thanks WG. To be honest it's only partial retirement. With a daughter still at Uni and still being only 57 there'll be a few more years of work in me yet. I've got a contract to return part-time in September as a cover supervisor (basically an in house supply teacher) 3 days a week, so it'll be three days on four off. Plenty of time to get out on the bike!

As I am winding down towards retirement at the end of term, most of my jobs have been passed over to others who will pick them up in September, so I am left with baby-sitting the naughty kids and having plenty of work time to spend pondering this year's tour. Here is my take on it. Stage 1 is an odd one, longer than a normal prologue, but nothing like a standard ITT, so may not favour Tony Martin or Alex Dowsett. Fancy Tom Demoulin for this one. A Dutch TT specialist in yellow seems rather fitting in Utrecht. Stage 2 looks like a sprint stage on the surface. I think the elevation difference along the route is + or - 6 metres so flatter than flat. Looks essentially like a drag race between the fast men, but there is a fly in the ointment. The last 50K are for the best part parallel to the North Sea coast of Zeeland, and it brings with it the prospect of crosswinds, echelons and splits in the peloton. If it stays together it should be one for Cav or if possibly Kristoff . Stage 3 to the Mur de Huy is a mini Fleche Wallone so Valverde is the obvious choice for this. Its shorter than the spring classic but has the same finale, so looking beyond the obvious, how about Dan Martin or even one of the explosive climber among the GC boys? Stage 4 will be a test of bike handling as it includes pave on the way from Seraing to Cambrai. Like last year's cobbled stage it could be where the tour is lost rather than won. Nibali showed last year the he wasn't averse to them and he could again put time into the other GC contenders. Sky have got Thomas, Rowe and Stannard to help Froome, but he has got to stay upright. If it rains again it could be carnage as the tour peloton consists of far fewer specialists than Paris-Roubaix. Fancy an out and out specialist so, Sepp Vanmarcke. That's all for this post. I'll post again shortly.

RIP Chris Squire. Saw them at the Winter Gardens in 1973. A bit of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and some Close to the Edge stuff, but mainly Tales from Topographic Oceans. I remember it was a long but brilliant gig. Was always struck by the clarity of Jon Anderson's vocals.

Campbell Forsyth was Saints keeper in the promotion season in 1966 and in the early months in Division 1 (Premier League now) He broke his leg against Liverpool following a collision with I think Ian Callaghan. I was there. The other references are not about him, merely that I was at Wembley for the Cup Final and Charity Shield in 76 and the League Cup Final in 79. BTW it's worth looking into the history!

I think quite of few are able to separate the emotional tug of SFC and see it for what it is with regards for the player. I don't think that anyone in their right mind in whatever field they are employed in would baulk at new challenge along with a substantial pay hike. It's the way of the world. I don't want to patronise but but fair play for coming on here again. Apologies if that's not towing the party line but that's how I feel. If anyone doubts my credentials as a Saints fan I saw my first game against Leeds at the Dell aged 5 in October 1963 sat on my dad's shoulders on Archers Road. I saw Mick Channon make his league debut and Campbell Forsyth break his leg was at Wembley twice in 76 and again in 79. Maybe it's time to stop going on this site!

Yes but don't you know we the supporters think we own him. We're emotionally unequipped to cope with the rejection. He's ours, I tell you, he's ours!

Me too. I thoroughly enjoyed the series. At present I've got A long Walk to Freedom on the go. After 20 odd years of no apartheid and the 'Rainbow Nation' it has a timely reminder of the gross injustice, and immorality of a regime based on racism.

That just doesn't bear thinking about.

Me neither. Mind you Caitlin Stark was supposed to be resurrected by now as Lady Stoneheart. Seems like she was but came back in the wrong programme according to my wife who watches all manner of TV guff such as this. http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/game-of-thrones-actress-michelle-fairley-joins-abcs-resurrection-1201267806/

Planet X Pro Carbon review here. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/bike-blog/2014/jul/06/planet-x-pro-carbon-bike-review Video review here. Hope this helps. Have used Planet X often with no problems, not for bikes, but their service is very good. Ribble much less so.

Well that's three hours plus I'll never get back. Did a mate a favour by getting him round the Three Counties Cycle Ride, but boy was it frustrating at times. Anytime the road pointed even slightly upwards I was having to knock it back and if I didn't I ended up waiting. Don't mind riding at a leisurely pace but this was a pace with no consistency whatsoever.