Bonjour mes amis! I am un peu en retard, but it is better than being un Retard, non? July 7, 2012
Posted by John Frederick Ashburne in Tour de France 2012.Tags: Alexander Vinokourov, André Greipel, Bernie Eisel, Bradley Wiggins, Cadel Evans, Cancellara, Edvald Boasson Hagen, FDJ, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Kristijan Koren, Levi Leipheimer, Mark Cavendish, Nicolas Roche, Romain Zingle, Thomas Voeckler, Wiggins
add a comment
Sorry it has taken so long, but that awful thing known as La Vie Hebdomadaire has been getting in the way of my TdF-ing. Well, bougre that, and off we go. I was a tad concerned if we could get enough punters together this year, at such short notice, and in the wake of Euro 2012 footie sweepstakes fatigue. I need not have fretted. My half of the trans-global sweepie sold out in about, er, 4 minutes. Glad to know there are so many amis sypatiques out there. Joe B is gathering the bretheren in England as I type, and we can expect to kick off with our small bagatelle on the morrow.
This is how I have constructed the sweepstakes this time around.
Every punter gets a star; a dark horse; two trusted lieutenants; and five or so warriors-in-the-saddle. I have created a system (see above pic) that uses random numeric sequence generating software to try and ensure that every punter has an equal shot at winning a bottle of cheap rotgut. FYI, I used a more primitive system for the recent Euro football and… it failed dismally. I was stuffed thanks to two favourites exiting early (France and Holland). Which simply serves to remind that it is all a bit of a bleedin’ lottery, innit mate?
There will be no cash prizes this time, just wine. Lots of it, and of a quality hitherto unimagined. Say no more. I need to consult with my Man Overseas, monsieur Banerjee, on how precisely we are going to rig, er, I mean construct the prize formats but I am thinking of trying to be even more egalitarian/Maoist than usual. That means no Cavendish-style sprinter green jersey concentration of winnings this year. I wish to award domestiques, and super-domestiques this time. I am even so passionate/biased as to have considered awarding a bottle of Cotes du Stiquey-riche Luberon ’55 to the oldest rider to complete the course. (Hint: he’s likely to be German. Terrifying. God-like. The road is scared of him). Any creative prize category suggestions highly welcomed.
Anyway. Here are the randomly generated Punter allotments. Later today you’ll know who got whom.
Just fyi, the huge crash on Stage 6 played havoc with the GC standings, and my seedings, so I rejigged them this morning to be as fair as possible.
Punter A
● John A
Your Star Rider:
● Philippe Gilbert (BMC) S40
Your Dark Horse:
● David Moncoutie (COF) S63 FRA
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Richie Porte (Sky) S196
● Pierrick Federigo (FDJ) S77 FRA
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Rafael Valls (Vacansoleil) S99
● Stuart O’Grady (ORI-GRE) S128
● Mikael Cherel (AG2R) S141 FRA
● Yuriy Krivtsov (Lampre) S169
Your Favoured Team:
● FDJ BigMat
Punter B
● Mike D
Your Star Rider:
● Andre Greipel (Lotto) S6
Your Dark Horse:
● Robert Gesink (RABO) S28
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) S68
● Kevin de Weert (Omega) S83
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Marcus Burghardt (BMC) S113
● Yann Huguet (Argos) S115 FRA
● Nicolas Edet (COF) S151 FRA
● Marco Marzano (Lampre) S170
● Pieter Weening (ORI-GRE) S195
Your Favoured Team:
● Saur Sojasun
—————————————————————————-
Punter C
● Cathy
Your Star Rider:
● Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) S18
Your Dark Horse:
● Tejay van Garderen (BMC) S31
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Yaroslav Popovych (RNT) S67
● Matthew Lloyd (Lampre) S81
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur) S101 FRA
● Dries Devenyns (Omega) S133
● Roy Curvers (Argos) S158
● Vladimir Gusev (KAT) S166
● Rob Ruigh (Vacansoleil) S193
Your Favoured Team:
● Garmin-Barracuda
—————————————————————————-
Punter D
● Riki’s Tim
Your Star Rider:
● Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto) S12
Your Dark Horse:
● Rui Costa (Movistar) S32
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) S60 FRA
● Remy di Gregorio (COF) S73 FRA
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Jurgen Roelands (Lotto) S109
● Anders Lund (SAXO) S130
● Jan Ghyselinck (COF) S153
● Francis de Greef (Lotto) S177
● Daryl Impey (ORI-GRE) S185
Your Favoured Team:
● Europcar
—————————————————————————-
Punter E
● Colin D
Your Star Rider:
● Denis Menchov (KAT) S4
Your Dark Horse:
● Steven Krujswijk (RABO) S37
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Kenny van Hummel (Vacansoleil) S47
● Romain Zingle (COF) S74
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana) S93
● Maxime Bouet (AG2R) S116 FRA
● Patrick Gretsch (ARGO) S156
● Jelle Vanendert (Lotto) S181
Your Favoured Team:
● Lampre
—————————————————————————-
Punter F
● Joe B
Your Star Rider:
● Edvald Boasson Hagen (SKY) S9
Your Dark Horse:
● Jerome Pineau (Omega) S56 FRA
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● David Millar (GAR) S78
● Anthony Roux (FDJ) S95 FRA
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Andriy Grivko (Astana) S124
● Fredrik Kessiakov (Astana) S160
● Yohann Gene (Europcar) S163 FRA
● Ruben Plaza (Movistar) S182
Your Favoured Team:
● Katusha
—————————————————————————-
Punter G
● Topher W
Your Star Rider:
● Cadel Evans (BMC) S2
Your Dark Horse:
● Nicolas Roche (AG2R) S48
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Bert Grabsch (Omega) S88
● Christian Knees (SKY) S103
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Christian Knees (SKY) S103
● Yauheni Hutarovich (FDJ) S120
● Jorge Soto Azanza (EUSK) S149
● Giovanni Bernaudeau (Europcar) S162 FRA
Your Favoured Team:
● Saxo Bank
—————————————————————————-
Punter H
● Wil F
Your Star Rider:
● Bradley Wiggins (SKY) S1
Your Dark Horse:
● Levi Leipheimer (Omega) S36
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Christophe Kern (Europcar) S51
● Brett Lancaster (ORI-GRE) S85
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Baden Cooke (ORI-GRE) S106
● Arthur Vichot (FDJ) S121 FRA
● Biel Kadri (AG2R) S143 FRA
● Kristijan Koren (Liquigas) S173
Your Favoured Team:
● Argos-Shimano
—————————————————————————-
Punter I
● Gail
Your Star Rider:
● Samuel Sanchez (EUSK) S14
Your Dark Horse:
● Chris Horner (RNT) S35
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Samuel Dumoulin (COF) S61 FRA
● David Zabriskie (GAR) S79
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Luis Leon Sanchez (RABO) S105
● Matthieu Ladagnou (FDJ) S150 FRA
● Aliaksandr Kuchynski (KAT) S168
●Laurens ten Dam (RABO) S186
Your Favoured Team:
● Omega Pharma Quick Step
—————————————————————————-
Punter J
● Sasha A
Your Star Rider:
● Tyler Farrar (GAR) S16
Your Dark Horse:
● Christian Vande Velde (GAR) S41
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Jerome Coppell (Saur) S46 FRA
● Sergio Paulinho (SAXO) S91
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Jens Voigt (RNT) S104
● Pablo Perez Urtasun (EUSK) S127
● Gorka Izagirre (EUSK) S148
● Adam Hansen (Lotto) S179
● Guillaume Levarlet (Saur) S189 FRA
Your Favoured Team:
● BMC Racing
—————————————————————————-
Punter K
● DJ
Your Star Rider:
● Jani Brajkovic (Astana) S21
Your Dark Horse:
● Mark Renshaw (RABO) S23
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
●Michael Rogers (SKY) S55
● Lars Bak (Lotto) S64
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Dimitry Fofonov (Astana) S71
● Ruben Perez (EUSK) S76
● Bram Tankink (RABO) S110
● Cyril Gautier (Europcar) S125 FRA
● Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil) S139
Your Favoured Team:
● RadioShack Nissan Trek
—————————————————————————-
Punter L
● Tomas S
Your Star Rider:
● Chris Froome (SKY) S17
Your Dark Horse:
● Peter Vellits (Omega) S26
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Tom Veelers (ARGOS) S49
● Vladimir Karpets (Movistar) S87
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar) S118
● Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R) S144 FRA
● Robert Kiserlovski (Astana) S161
● Juan Jose Haedo (SAXO) S190
Your Favoured Team:
● Astana
—————————————————————————-
Punter M
● Sanborn B
Your Star Rider:
● Andreas Kloden (RNT) S30
Your Dark Horse:
● Rein Taaramae (COF) S38
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Christophe Riblon (AG2R) S59 FRA
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Luca Paolini (KAT) S97
● Borut Bozic (Astana) S117
● Michael Schar (BMC) S147
● Giampaolo Caruso (KAT) S165
● Jean-Marc Marino (Saur) S187 FRA
Your Favoured Team:
● Vacansoleil-DCM
—————————————————————————-
Punter N
● Kevin R
Your Star Rider:
● Dan Martin (GAR) S20
Your Dark Horse:
● Steve Cummings (BMC) S43
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Egoi Martinez (EUSK) S58
● Juanjo Cobo (Movistar) S82
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Daniel Oss (Liquigas) S98
● Sebastian Langeveld (ORI-GRE) S137
● Sebastien Hinault (AG2R) S145
● Davide Malacarne (Europcar) S164 FRA
● Alessandro Vanotti (Liquigas) S174
Your Favoured Team:
● Rabobank
—————————————————————————-
Punter O
● Riki
Your Star Rider:
● Pierre Rolland (Europcar) S19 FRA
Your Dark Horse:
● Michele Scarponi (Lampre) S34
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Michael Albassini (ORI-GRE) S54
● Tony Gallopin (RNT) S69 FRA
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● George Hincapie (BMC) S114
● Bernhard Eisel (SKY) S131
● Koen de Kort (Argos) S157
● Joan Horrach (KAT) S167
● Jonathan Cantwell (SAXO) S191
Your Favoured Team:
● Movistar
—————————————————————————-
Punter P
● Fusao
Your Star Rider:
● Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) S15 FRA
Your Dark Horse:
● Frank Schleck (RNT) S25
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Grega Bole (Lampre) S53
● Gorka Verdugo (EUSK) S75
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Johan Vansummeren (GAR)S94
● Greg Henderson (Lotto) S134
● Gustav larsson (Vacansoleil) S140
● Julien Fouchard S152 (COF) FRA
● Simone Stortoni (Lampre) S171
Your Favoured Team:
● AG2R La Mondiale
—————————————————————————-
Punter Q
● John B
Your Star Rider:
● Fabian Cancellara (RNT) S13
Your Dark Horse:
● Ivan Basso (Liquigas) S27
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) S50
● Sebastien Minard (AG2R) S70 FRA
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Simon Gerrans (ORI-GRE) S111
● Manuel Quinziato (BMC) S146
● Federico Canuti (Liquigas) S175
Your Favoured Team:
● Liquigas Cannondale
—————————————————————————-
Punter R
● Steve A
Your Star Rider:
● Peter Sagan (Liquigas) S22
Your Dark Horse:
● Tony Martin (Omega) S29
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Vincent Jerome (Europcar) S62 FRA
● Sylwester Szmyd (Liquigas) S80
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Haimar Zubeldia (RNT) S107
● Cyril Lemoine (Saur) S136 FRA
● Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) S159
Your Favoured Team:
● Team Sky
—————————————————————————-
Punter S
● Jack H
Your Star Rider:
● Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) S10
Your Dark Horse:
● Bauke Mollema S33
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Yuri Trofimov (KAT) S66
● Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) S84
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Brice Feillu (Saur) S100 FRA
● Nick Nuyens (SAXO) S135
● Johannes Frohlinger (ARGOS) S155
● Eduard Vorganov (KAT) S178
● Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoleil) S194
Your Favoured Team:
● Euskaltel Euskadi
—————————————————————————-
Punter T
● Paris B
Your Star Rider:
● Mark Cavendish (SKY) S7
Your Dark Horse:
● Sylvain Chavanel (Omega) S44
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Jeremy Roy (FDJ) S52 FRA
● Karsten Kroon (SAXO) S90
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Matthieu Sprick (ARGOS) S92
● Cedric Pinneau (FDJ) S122 FRA
● Martin Velits (Omega) S138
● Dominik Nerz (Liquigas) S176
● Michael Morkov (SAXO) S192
Your Favoured Team:
● Cofidis le credit en ligne
—————————————————————————-
Punter U
● Aaron C
Your Star Rider:
● Matt Goss (ORI-GRE) S8
Your Dark Horse:
● Nicki Sorensen (SAXO) S45
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Danilo Hondo (Lampre) S65
● Maxime Monfort (RNT) S89
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Fabrice Jeandesboz (Saur) S129 FRA
● Marcel Sieberg (Lotto) S180
● Julien Simon (Saur) S188 FRA
Your Favoured Team:
● Lotto Belisol
—————————————————————————-
Punter V
● Paul W
Your Star Rider:
● Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) S3
Your Dark Horse:
● Sandy Casar (FDJ) S42 FRA
Your Trusty Lieutenants:
● Amael Moinard (BMC) S72 FRA
● Chris Anker Sorensen (SAXO) S108
Your Warriors in the Saddle:
● Albert Timmer (ARGOS) S123
● Luis Angel Mate (COF) S154
● Vasil Kiryienka (Movistar) S183
Your Favoured Team:
● Orica GreenEdge
—————————————————————————-
Garmin-Cervelo take the TTT as Thor Thunders to Yellow; Today the Sprinters Get it on in Redon July 4, 2011
Posted by atomicsaddles2011 in Tour De France 2011.Tags: Bernie Eisel, Cadel Evans, Garmin-Cervelo, Geraint Thomas, Mark Cavendish, Nicolas Roche, Sky Procycling, Thor Hushovd
add a comment
Bonjour mes amis de velo.
Yesterday’s team time trial saw Team ‘always the bridesmaid but never the bride’ Garmin-Cervelo finally make it to the TdF altar as they powered to the slimmest of victories over rivals Leopard-Trek, Sky, BMC and HTC-High Road on the pancake-flat 23km course in Les Esarts. The US outfit covered the course in 24 minutes and 48 seconds at an average speed of 55.6kmph which is about the same as Atomic Saddles’ Honda deux chevaux on a good day with a tailwind. As Atomic Saddles predicted, bébé!
David Millar, currently lying in second place overall, spoke to the Grauniad wot wrote: “Emotionally and physically, David Millar has been through the mill in his chequered 14-year cycling career and this team time trial was no exception. On his bike, he “suffered like a pig”. The outcome was something new for him: shared joy when his Garmin-Cervélo team took their first Tour stage win, after a host of near-misses.
They were seeded midway down the field (Not be me, alors! Zut! Egad Moriarty! etc – AS), and had a long wait before the win was confirmed, which meant, said the Scot, the day felt unlike any other win in his career, which has included three solo stage wins in the Tour.
“It’s not like winning an individual time trial, when you go through all the emotions on your own. This was a team experience, the tension was high, emotions were running. I love it. I’ve won plenty of time trials in my career but this was a whole different ball-game. (What did I say just hier soir, mes amis? did I not write ‘today’s TTT is a whole different kettle of pommes de terre.’? Whatever that means -Ed).
Thus World Champion Thor Hushovd wears yellow. It was incongruous seeing the giant Norwegian sprinter squeezed into a polka dot King of the Mountains jersey yesterday, a garment usually reserved for pipe-cleaner thin stick-insect lokalike grimpeurs. I wonder if his mum, Flora Hushovd, had to knit it for him specially?
Cadel Evans’s BMC team, the Schleck brothers’ Leopard-Trek squad, and those splendid British chappies of Sky Procycling gave the Garmin boys a run for their yankee dollar yesterday. Rod Stewart Wiggins (as Mrs Saddles has christened him), and the flying Welsh youth Geraint Thomas looked impressive in huge turns on the front of the Sky Procycling train. The Boyo from the Valleys who carries daffodils with him at all times and sings rugby songs on the team bus was rewarded with the white jersey for his pains (I for one would be delighted to see him retain it all the way to Paris, but I think he must surely get sunk by Monsieur Gesink). had the Skyboys flown just a wee bit faster, Geraint (below) would have woken up this morning as the first Welshman ever to wear the Maillot Jaune.
Also missing out on yellow by the smallest of margins was the Cadel guy, BMC’s Monsieur Evans, though his third place in the GC will be some consolation. One gets the feeling that if Evans doesn’t win it this year, he might as well go back to his former trade as cornflake quality controller in Gooliebongee, NSW. If the man with ‘the personality of an outback dunny’ doesn’t parlay his minute+ advantage over the Cobra into victory this time, one senses he never will. (He has twice stood on the second step of the podium in Paris – losing to the Cobra in 2007 by a mere 23 seconds, and by 58 seconds to Carlos Sastre in 2008).
Though Atomic never misses the opportunity to have an anti-Cavendish rant (readers will not be disappointed; see below), I must confess to feeling a little sorry for HTC- High Road and Bernie Eisel. It was a shame to see the Austrian sliding down the road arse first after he lost a wheel on a corner just several meters into the course – a shame not only because BE is one of the most personable blokes in the Peleton, but also because for the briefest of moments Atomic Saddles thought it was Mark Cavendish who was being treated to an asphalt enema. Herr Eisel was being treated to a nasty case of shadenfreude having predicted his own crash (and others’) prior to the stage. From Cycling News:
Did Bernie psych himself out?
Bernhard Eisel issued a public apology to his HTC-Highroad teammates after he crashed during Sunday’s team time trial, a day which the Austrian road captain described as “the worst day” of his career. “The boys did a great ride!” he said on his facebook page. “They didn’t expect too much from me today, I just had to stay upright and help them a lil, but I crashed in the first real corner and nearly tooked [sic] out 3 teammates. The team lost because of me today and I didn’t hear any bad word from them. Thanks boys, but I know that I fu…. it up! No excuses, it was my fault!” The statement was all the more pertinent after Australian broadcaster SBS showed footage of the HTC-Highroad team having what could almost be described as a heated argument, over what to do if Eisel were to crash as he was suggesting. Mark Cavendish and Matt Goss differed in their opinion over whether to attempt to hold Eisel up, with Mark Renshaw asserting it was best just not to crash in the first place.
Quel surprise, Cavendish vociferously expressing an opinion (I would like to see the no-nonsense Tasmanian Matt Goss clock him one).
Today’s 198km stage from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon is tailor-made for the fast men, and has Blabbermouth written all over it. Indeed it is one of the stages ‘targeted’ by the Manxman in his pursuit of the Green Jersey. However, all may not be well in the Cavendish universe. He was outwitted (does outwitting a half-wit really count, AS wonders?) in the intermediate sprint on Saturday by Tyler Farrar, and though in the brilliant Mark Renshaw he undoubtedly has the best lead-out man in the business, Cav rivals –Petacchi, Boonen, Farrar – are no pushovers. Farrar will be catapulted towards the chequered flag by the mighty Norwegian in yellow. Watch out too for the new Yorkshireman sur le block, Sky’s appropriately monickered Ben Swift (pictured here).
BTW, If anyone doubts the Flying Dolt’s asinine nature, witness Cavendish’s cultured and critical evaluation of Philippe Gilbert’s Stage 1 victory, recorded for posterity on Twitter: “Just saw todays last kilometre. Gilbert humbled everyone with the equivalence of pulling down his pants to reveal a 13 incher. #YIKES”.
Classy.
And anyway, any fule kno that the most spectacular downtube in the Peleton must belong Paolo Longo Borghini.
Et finalement mes amis, may I recommend Nicolas Roche’s writing from the Tour that runs daily in the Irish Independent. Roche may not be the cycling giant that his father was, but like his dad he is clearly a top feller, and his insider writing often throws up some gems. It is his birthday today – Bonne fête, Nico.
Overall standings
1) Thor Hushovd (Norway/Garmin) 5hr 06min 25sec
2) David Millar (Britain/Garmin) same time
3) Cadel Evans (Australia/BMC Racing) +1sec
4) Geraint Thomas (Britain/Team Sky) +4
5) Linus Gerdemann (Germany/Leopard)
6) Frank Schleck (Luxembourg/Leopard)
7) Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland/Leopard)
8) Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway/Team Sky)
9) Manuel Quinziato (Italy/BMC Racing)
10) Andy Schleck (Luxembourg/Leopard)
Atomic Saddles’ prediction for today’s stage. Grudgingly:
1 Cavendish (Punter#6: Charlie R)
2 Petacchi (Punter#4: Mitsumi S)
3 Farrar (Punter#17: Joe B)
BTW, sorry the updates are taking so long to put up. Atomic is a bit busy these days.
Atomic Saddles' Tour de France 2012 Blog 