tour news

ever get annoyed with the people running at the side of the bike race? watch the guy on blue. and down he goes. that's never getting old!

so what else is new? orica green edge win a stage at last which is notable because simon gerrans is a) tiny and b) sounds like he's been inhaling helium. speculation abounds that green edge might put the first african in the yellow jersey. i thought chris froome... oh no, wait he's english now...

but it's good to see everyone performing so well. as surely everybody knows allergies confine themselves to the month of may so it's great to see that contador, valverde et al have 'recovered' and seem back to their time trialling 'best'. expect to see 'great things' from the spanish contingent come the itt. and bet against a non-team orders all spanish finish? i wouldn't.

and then cavendish, fighting off the effects of 'antibiotics' (is this a pro cyclist euphemism? i can't tell any more), gets his first win. great lead out and a great second place for ebh. sagan's a nap for the green jersey so he didn't really need the sulky face and i;d like to see greipel getting at least a stage.

i do like cav tho, not least because watching him getting interviewed the other day he looks freakishly as if he could be my younger brother, but also because he's eschewed the green edge baseball cap for a proper cycling cap. this is not motogp, f1 or any of those things, it's not downhill with their gooner headwear. it's road cycling and the cycling cap should be retained. cav is correct, gerrans should sort himself out.

all this is in sharp contrast to pierre rolland. now maybe it's just me, and i'm not about to admit that if i'd got the polka dot jersey for being first up a couple of minor climbs in the first week i wouldn't be super happy about it, but really wtf is he wearing. there is no need for the whole polkadot combo at this stage. worse than that it's not even matched up properly at the back so that the rear view of roland resembles a row of bifurcated pac men.

and talking of rolland with all the crashes folk are going down quicker than rolland's cortisol levels. hard man awards to tony martin for cycling on from his did he/didn't he concussions and various abrasions but especially to geraint thomas with his cracked pelvis..

as for me, inspired by all the above i hopped out for a cheeky wee fifty yesterday post all the wedding fatness. legs popped good and proper around the forty three mile mark. what's all that about!! so a curtailed version of today's planned climbing epic as i attempt to lose some kilos in order to gain some seconds. downhilling still a bit ginger post the accident but, at the end of the day, it's all okay because no-one, least of all me, wants to see a middle aged fat man in a tree