Victory at Verbier - Bertie blasts to victory

As widely predicted, Verbier would be the stage where the GC boys strutted their stuff. At the foot of the climb the lead of the breakaway was all but extinguished and the front pack was quickly reduced to only a dozen riders this split further before Bertie launched himself up the climb, followed by Andy Schleck.

Bertie held on to win and take the Maillot Jaune, with Lance hanging on for 2nd place despite finishing down the field. Schleck moves into the white Jersey and Wiggo is up to 3rd! (does someone need to remind him he is British anytime soon?).

Astana still look strong, and Johan will be planning the tactics for the next few days over the rest day.

As for Cav's disqualification in Saturdays Sprint, someone neds to remind Hushovd and the race commissaires that sprinting is a man's game and yes you might experience a bit of bumping and barging. Suffice to say that even with the green jersey looking unlikely Cav IS the best sprinter in the TDF and the world and he will be a very popular winner on the Champs Elysses next weekend!

As for me i almost managed a whole weeks cycling even if the mileage was decidedly average - but the leg held out. The aforementioned Lowestoft to Land's End ride is firmly pencilled in for next Easter (April 2010) which should avoid me getting fat this winter for a change. - Targets on mileage and fat reduction etc will be posted soon. Also looking at the Brighton 50/100 as a possibility at end of Sept.

Communication to resume after the Rest Day...

Columbia and Cav get 4th Stage

So lightning obviously does strike in the same place a minimum of 4 times then?

And maybe number 5 today too?

On the verge of becoming the greatest british sprinter in terms of stage wins and back in Green - its all good

Cav makes it 3!

3 stage wins thus far, and allegedly a further 4 targetted and to win at least 2 of them including the Champs Elysses.


Just for the rest of the peleton, i have reproduced a picture of him as all everybody normally sees is his rear view disappearing in a cloud of dust as opposed to his face!

TDF - Reflection on week one

Never before has there been so much going on in the first week of a TDF.

A Brit in Green, (Cav) a Brit in the top 10 on GC (Wiggo), a leadership contest dreamt up by the media (Astana) and i hope you are all sitting down... Cadel Evans attacks, not once but twice!

GC looks pretty much a who's who of Astana, and with the Aspin and Tourmalet today albeit ollowed by yet another massive downhill, could see a few more moves by some of the big boys, early on, but i reckon it will be another breakaway win, and i don't think AG2R will keep the jersey - but who knows what Bruyneel is thinking? Relatively easy to defend the jersey as we travel across to the alps, but more Kudos if it is seized once we get there?

20 years ago was the epic LeMond / Fignon tour with 8 seconds between them - this year is equally exciting at the moment - Vive le Tour!!!

Stage 5 Report

Ok ok, pride before a fall i know, but still Cav came in 3rd - leading the bunch in so i nearly got it right (Didn't I?)

Stage 6 Girona to Barcelona gonna be a breakaway i think so who knows who will win - how about Jens Voigt - there said it no idea if i will be right but hey.

Stage 7 to Arcalis got to be a mountain goat as winner - i would love it to be Contador or A N Other Astana rider obviously and i think he will be in the mix but could easily be another GC Contender (oh yeah that is the Astana team!!!!) but i don't think there will be much between the big boys - although some of the teams may be re- assessing their leadership come Friday as i definately believe that a lot of people's tour could be all but over by then.

Personally my bike is ready and so will collect tomorrow, just need my muscle to repair and then i can get back on it!

New cycling pundit? - pick me!

On a roll - I know i hedged my bets with a double guess but as my two names came in 1st/2nd i reckon i deserve the points anyway!

Prediction: Garmin or Astana, Actual Astana- 1st, Garmin 2nd

Astana were awesome - who said anything about a team split? Lance millimetres off yellow - it's all good. Garmin were still pretty hot, with only 5 team members staying together, Columbia off the pace after their big pulls yesterday maybe.

To sound like a cracked record i am going to stay with the manx missile and predict a hat trick for Cav tomorrow in stage 5, although surely one of the other sprinters will put up a bit of a fight, sometime soon?

Predictions running at 75% success - move over Sherwen, Liggett, Duffield, Kelly et al - you have been warned!

2 out of 3 on a crazy day

Ha ha! Bring it on I say. 3 stage predictions 2 out of 3 correct:

Stage 3 Prediction - Cavendish, Actual Cavendish.

Columbia blew the peleton away in the last 30km and got a break. Plus best of all Lance is up to 3rd on GC after spotting the move.

The TTT is going to be a race for a new man in yellow - could be a number of riders in the mix. Full marks to the tour organisation for the race so far. - Is it really only 3 days in?

Crystal Ball, running at 50%

Predicting a future event is always tricky - ask a weatherman, but i reckon that 1 out of 2 predictions (so far) is pretty good though isn't it:

TDF Stage 1
Prediction Contador, Actual Cancellera (Contador in 2nd though)

TDF Stage 2
Prediction Cavendish, Actual Cavendish.

Prediction for Stage 3 - Cavendish (again)
Prediction for Stage 4 (TTT) - Garmin-Slipstream or Astana (slight revision on previous prediction)

Watch this space....

As for me - still feel like an old crock. shoulder still painful, and calf muscle very sore.

Bike is in for a repair to the rear axle, although think it is only a matter of time before i will need a new set of wheels.

More later in the week

Another slack week?

Must be getting old - left leg not working properly - think is probably a dead leg so have now strapped it up and applying copious amounts of deep heat to it, plus elevating when given a chance etc. - therefore no real mileage to speak of for the past week.

Have also managed to twist my left shoulder over night which is literally a real pain - creak creak...snap!

C2C Sponsor money is creeping towards £900 which is excellent and a planning meeting is set for the "its the width that counts" ride this weekend.

anyway onto other news and unless you live your life in a vacuum, you will know that the TDF starts on Saturday, with a hilly prologue around Monaco, - great chance for the GC contenders to flex their muscles from the off.
As for a prediction, I will go for Contador to take the stage on Saturday, and also for the Yellow Jersey overall, as for the other two podium places to be Andy Schleck and "a n other" from Astana. Astana will take the team prize and again Schleck for the White Jersey. Green Jersey has to be Cav. For the team time trial i am going to plump for Garmin-Slipstream, to avenge their defeat by Columbioa in the Giro - but it will be desperately close between those two. Other predictions for the ITT and Mont Ventoux stage to be announced once the race is under way.

My heart would love to see LA do it for an unprecedented 8th time, and there is no way he can be ruled out - expect a few non-pc attacks and a stage win or two if nothing else.

Coverage begins 4.30pm ITV4 and then its on every evening for three weeks - can life get any better?

A new challenge...

What is it about cycling challenges? - You know when someone idly mentions an (invariably stupid) idea along the lines of "Hey - let's cycle from A to B" (A & B usually being either distant from each other/seperated by crazy terrain or both!), Well there i was minding my own, when my mate Simon suggests that we do another Coast to Coast - but this time from the most westerly point to the most easterly point of england i.e. Lands End, Cornwall to Ness Point in Lowestoft or LENP for short.

In under 24 hours we had both independently scoped out a rough idea of a route and attempted to assign a number of days to it all - 430 - 460miles ish so between 5 & 7 days i reckon? Just need to book it in the diary then and decide which way we want to travel!

The other alternative is that seeing as we will be in the area anyway, is to incorporate the most southerly point - Lizard Point in Cornwall which from a mnemonic point of view makes it LELPNP or a working title for now could be"Coast to Coast via all points South of North" - ok not really snappy but as i say it is a working title.

As for the Huff and Puff - see below, still deciding whether to do it or not as although i am back on the bike with avengeance (140miles last week) have a sore muscle behind my left knee which admittedly whilst cycling feels ok but don't really want to aggravate it un-necessarily - so do you follow your head or your heart - answers on a postcard please...