We thought that with the Tour de France going on at the moment, who better to talk about the race so far than our own cyclist Mr Andy Phillips. Andy's a Cat 2 cyclist whose progress we have followed on the blog since the start of this year.Andrew: I live on a road with two other houses. My neighbours are French and I don't see a lot of them during the month of July. I think they are glued to their TVs watching the tour. In fact Bernard's garden which is normally in tip top condition looks more than a little untidy after 3weeks.
This year everyone is very happy at the moment. A Frenchman has been in yellow twice . Not only that but a Frenchman from this region. Yes Chavanel is from the Poitou Charentes. I think he comes from a big cycling family and one of the guys from our club has been in a team either with him or one of his brothers. In fact I have been in a race with his dad. Small world hey?
I was pleased to see Chavanel back in yellow. It was a pity he lost it over
the cobbles. Normally the early stages are flattish and set up for the sprinters and he had quite a good lead which would have meant he should have stayed in yellow for a few days but the cobbles this year set the cat amongst the pigeons. I think he had two punctures. I am not sure what I feel about the cobble sections this year.
Good for the spectators yes, but not when as a result of punctures or crashes favourites could lose so much time that they could lose the Tour. But there again with the team back-up radio, communication between team cars and riders etc perhaps the Tour needs something like the cobble section to bring some excitement back. It has in some respects become all so predictable.
It is a pity that Frank Schleck crashed and has withdrawn from the Tour as a result of the cobbles. But that is cycle racing which is more than can be said for the stage prior to that which was closed down by Cancellara. What a nonsense that was.
Ok, might be able to understand that it was right for the peleton to wait but once it was all back together again they should have raced and there should have been a sprint. A lot of people took a day off work to go and watch the stage and many may have lost money. I would have been well cheesed off if I had waited hours at the finish line to see that. It was bad enough watching it on the telly. Was not impressed with Cancellara, but what can you do.
Team Sky are doing well. And I believe that at one point on Saturday's stage Geraint Thomas was in virtual yellow. I am also pleased to see that Mark Cavendish is back to his winning ways. A couple of really good stage wins. A lot of that is down to his team and his lead out men. But it was good to see him cry and it was good to see him thank his team. Perhaps he has been humbled! My opinion of him has changed a bit, perhaps the same can be said for other cycling fans as well.
Obviously I want Bradley Wiggins to win the tour but there is a rider I respect very much. He is as tough as nails and gives it 100% all the time and fights and fights untill the last. I generally don't like Australians but Cadel Evens is a worthy world champion. He is currently winning the Tour at the moment and I would love to see him win the Tour. I read somewhere that he's the first World Champion to lead the Tour de France in 20 years. It would be great for Cadel to win it as he was unlucky not to win in 2008 when Carlos Sastre suprisingly won after a tremendous time trial before the Champs-Élysées. Hopefully this time Cadel can do better, but it's still a long way to go yet.
Well I have not had a great deal of time to follow the Tour as much as I would like this year. Family, work, training, guests and life getting in the way. Is going to be interesting now we are in the mountains. I might just go and check on the nieghbours to make sure they are still alive.
Right that is it from me at this stage. Remember you can follow me on facebook by becoming a fan of ‘The English Cyclist In France’ or just join the facebook group ‘Help me Win in France’. I can also be found on Twitter @cyclistinfrance, where you're more than welcome to chat to me about all things cycling.
This year everyone is very happy at the moment. A Frenchman has been in yellow twice . Not only that but a Frenchman from this region. Yes Chavanel is from the Poitou Charentes. I think he comes from a big cycling family and one of the guys from our club has been in a team either with him or one of his brothers. In fact I have been in a race with his dad. Small world hey?
I was pleased to see Chavanel back in yellow. It was a pity he lost it over
the cobbles. Normally the early stages are flattish and set up for the sprinters and he had quite a good lead which would have meant he should have stayed in yellow for a few days but the cobbles this year set the cat amongst the pigeons. I think he had two punctures. I am not sure what I feel about the cobble sections this year.
Good for the spectators yes, but not when as a result of punctures or crashes favourites could lose so much time that they could lose the Tour. But there again with the team back-up radio, communication between team cars and riders etc perhaps the Tour needs something like the cobble section to bring some excitement back. It has in some respects become all so predictable.
It is a pity that Frank Schleck crashed and has withdrawn from the Tour as a result of the cobbles. But that is cycle racing which is more than can be said for the stage prior to that which was closed down by Cancellara. What a nonsense that was.
Ok, might be able to understand that it was right for the peleton to wait but once it was all back together again they should have raced and there should have been a sprint. A lot of people took a day off work to go and watch the stage and many may have lost money. I would have been well cheesed off if I had waited hours at the finish line to see that. It was bad enough watching it on the telly. Was not impressed with Cancellara, but what can you do.
Team Sky are doing well. And I believe that at one point on Saturday's stage Geraint Thomas was in virtual yellow. I am also pleased to see that Mark Cavendish is back to his winning ways. A couple of really good stage wins. A lot of that is down to his team and his lead out men. But it was good to see him cry and it was good to see him thank his team. Perhaps he has been humbled! My opinion of him has changed a bit, perhaps the same can be said for other cycling fans as well.
Obviously I want Bradley Wiggins to win the tour but there is a rider I respect very much. He is as tough as nails and gives it 100% all the time and fights and fights untill the last. I generally don't like Australians but Cadel Evens is a worthy world champion. He is currently winning the Tour at the moment and I would love to see him win the Tour. I read somewhere that he's the first World Champion to lead the Tour de France in 20 years. It would be great for Cadel to win it as he was unlucky not to win in 2008 when Carlos Sastre suprisingly won after a tremendous time trial before the Champs-Élysées. Hopefully this time Cadel can do better, but it's still a long way to go yet.
Well I have not had a great deal of time to follow the Tour as much as I would like this year. Family, work, training, guests and life getting in the way. Is going to be interesting now we are in the mountains. I might just go and check on the nieghbours to make sure they are still alive.
Right that is it from me at this stage. Remember you can follow me on facebook by becoming a fan of ‘The English Cyclist In France’ or just join the facebook group ‘Help me Win in France’. I can also be found on Twitter @cyclistinfrance, where you're more than welcome to chat to me about all things cycling.
Aye, it's been interesting forsure.
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