It's been turned into a duel.

Thoughts on the poodle haired pr*ck yesterday......

So the whole peloton attacked after Valverde hit the deck did they?

Or..........and I'm 99% certain that this is what I saw.

Crosswinds hit at a time when the peloton realised it was now or never to catch the breakaway. Sky went to the front with BMC to drive the peloton along and Valverde found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a 'racing' accident and not a mechanical failure.

So should the peloton stop when the race leader has an accident down to his own bike handling skills? Sky did not attack after he went down. Valverde fell down because Sky attacked. In this case I don't think Sky should have stopped. I'm damn sure it was Movistar I saw attacking the day Cadel Evans had his punctures. I'm also pretty sure Movistar did something similar in Paris-Nice.

It's OK to occupy the high moral ground Movistar if you occupy it all the time and not just when it suits.

Valverde would not know high moral ground if it came up and smacked him in his dirty unrepentant dopers mouth!

There is no way I can believe that Flecha took a whole group down in the cynical fashion Movistar are suggesting. Also, I think it's indicative of the regard that Valverde is held in that the rest of the peloton decided to carry on as well - not just Sky, but BMC and Katusha too. I particularly liked the way Philippe Gilbert told the Movistar team car to sod off. Should Movistar decide to get some sort of payback or revenge, I doubt they'll find too many willing allies.

Quite glad Rodriguez got back with the Froome/C*ntador group before the end yesterday. Just hope they can drop C*ntador at some point soon - again, someone I don't think will find too many friends in the peloton if things start going wrong for him.

Noddy stage today.

Agreed John - All that Flecha and Stannard did was attack. They didn't take Valverde down - Valverde hit the deck because he couldn't handle his bike. Crosswinds meant it was the northern european style hard men who could drive the peloton, form the echelons that you might see in some of the classics.

All that might happen is that the Spanish fans might be showering Froome with a few spits over the next few weeks.

I'm conflicted when it comes to bad Bertie. I like what he does to bring a race to life. You have to admit that Monday was superb with his 6 attacks? I still think he is a dirty unrepentant doper but I like him a bit more than Valverde.

Today I'm going for a Ben Swift win.

Same as Valverde for me. And for all his attacking, Froome just kept turning those pedals over and never let him get away. And then did him at the finish anyway.

What's troubled me so far is that Froome seems to be alone very early in these climbs. I'm not expecting Flecha and Stannard (northern European-style hard men - a term I'll be using more often in future, thanks) to be with him there, but the two little Colombian mountain goats. Where have Henao and Urán been?

This is what seems to happen:

1. Contador accelerates.
2. J Rod and a few others seem to be able to match it. Froome is gapped.
3. Contador either runs out of puff or he doesn't have those efforts in his body anymore (read into that what you will) or he is being beautifully clever. What I mean by this is that he is checkign everyones routines so that when he chooses his moment (if he indeed still does have it in his legs) it will be timed to perfection for maximum impact.
4. Froome turns on the diesel engine and closes the gap.
5. One of his Columbian mountain goats gets back in front of Froome and turns on the effort.

Uran and Henao are both up there on GC so they are quite clearly very close by. The issue for Froome is that he doesn't have a 'Froome' to do what he did for Wiggins. Seeing Froome up close and exposed I think is also revealing that maybe he isn't that much better a climber than Wiggins.

As for Contador and Valverde being the same. Yes I kind of have to and should really ought to agree but I just love Contador and his panache. The way he lights up a race makes it exciting. Unfortunately the last statement seems to be linked to cyclings doping past which does make me feel uncomfortable.

I would imagine we will see more of Uran and Henao as the race goes on, may even see a couple of mountain stage wins for sky. It is still early but is already looking good for sky, Froome only one second off the lead already is no bad thing (if he doesn't burn out too soon!!).

Would it be wrong of me to will C*ntador to fall off his bike at every opportunity?

That's sort of what I was driving at.


Not in the slightest. When he got shoved off his bike early in the 2011 Tour, I cheered.

Sounds like fun on the last climb today. Shame bloody Liverpool mean that highlights aren't until 10pm. Bah.

Oh hello. Froome and J-Rod are away. C*ntador and Valverde dropped.

looked a gruelling stage today - well done CF for the final push

cracking Vuelta so far for me

I would echo these thoughts as they would be perfect for you. The other option would be.to ride over to Paul Hewitt in Preston who.has a great reputation with his own brand tourers. He'll give you a bike fit to make sure it fits right as well.

Oh and I can't believe I forgot all about the Planet x Uncle John. Which is a fantastic bike which can accomodate both skinny 23mm up to 34mm tyres.

It's been alright so far, though my fantasy team tells a different story...
Jens Voigt's superb solo effort in the USA Challenge was pretty bloody spectacular as well. Wonder how many times he had to tell his legs to shut up.




Oh hang on, there appears to be a large pachyderm in the corner there.

Armstrong. There, I said it. He didn't, but it's pretty clear what he meant. Well done Wiggo on being third in 2009 and who the hell won in 2003? Can't give it to Ullrich, Vino or Hamilton. Zubeldia maybe? Question marks over Mayo, Basso and Sastre in that top 10 as well. Oh what a mess. What an unholy mess.

Looks like Good 'ol Lance will be stripped of his 7 tour wins and given a life time ban by the anti-doping agency, after ending his legal battle with them.

quite right too - cheating yank

does this now mean that the winners are officially Jan Ullrich (3 times) & co ?

Ullrich is also a proven cheat so is that whole T de F period one big farce ?