The Tour de France starts a week on Saturday (30th June) and for the first time ever the favourite is a Brit!! Bradley Wiggins has had a great start to the season, but has in the past failed to put in any sort of attack in the tour mountain stages. This years route however could be good for him.

We also have Cavendish looking to repeat his Green jersey sucess of last year.

Anyone thinking of buying one of the many guides littering the newsagents shelf my advice is to get this weeks cycling weekly. It has by far the most comprehensive and up to date guides. The other guides, including the official ones, are expensive and weeks out of date.

I can't wait for this to start!

I'm going over to France on the 2nd July and following a couple stages. Have tickets for a grandstand in Rouen at the finish on the 4th

Hope Cav is in the bunch for the sprint!

Wiggo for GC but I reckon Cav will struggle to take the Green Jersey,

Not coming through England again then?

Not this year... there would be pressure if a Brit won it though for next year. Yorkshire is considering a bid.

I'm loving the ITV4 coverage at 7pm every evening.
Better than F1.

Bradley Wiggins' quote this evening was a classic. "It is so easy in the Peleton I'm doing nothing. I'm almost detraining at the moment".

I am enjoying it very much. Watched it live for the past two days.
Cavendish was not on form today.
Really hard lines for the breakaway four today as they nearly surprised the peleton .
Great part of France also,alot of the area is of the beaten track.

I don't remember seeing so many crashes in previous years. It seems odd that they happen about 2.9 km from the end every time.

Agreed on the breakaway 4 today. It seems like the sprinters from the front of the Peleton are twice as fast and even then it seemed impossible that they would be caught.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there is a TDF rider, Samuel Dumoulin, who at 159cm in height is actually shorter than me. Good to know that one can be a midget and still ride a bike as fast as those guys. I will keep at it.

I had Tuesday and Wednesday in France following the tour, it was an amazing experience.

The whole 'show' is unbelievable, right from the Caravanne before the riders come past, to the Meat wagon at the end.

Tuesday we were on one of the climbs (Cote de Mont Lambert) and it was like an Alpine stage with the crowds surrounding the riders. The riders were so close I could have touched them! Brad looked as cool as a cucumber, Cav very focused and poor old Tommy Voeckler looked in a lot of pain

Wednesday we were at the Depart in Abbeville and if you're a bike nut then like me, you'd be in seventh heaven!

We then bombed across country to watch the Sprint at Fecamp. It was the first time I'd seen a sprint and the speed was unbelievable! Cav who was probably motoring at 40+mph even had time to give a fellow rider a mouthful as he crossed the line!

We then managed to get to Rouen in time to take our 'seats' to watch Mr Sagan coast across the line. Really wanted to see a proper bunch sprint but he was too far ahead. We saw a very dejected looking Cav cross the line, he looked a right mess

To top it all, Dave Millar signed my copy of his book

Nice one Bezzer. It is very exciting so far. I know a guy that is carting all the VIP,s about in his luxury coach from each stage. He has to have a co driver due to the driving hours through the night etc. He has beds in the coach so they can sleep.
The coach has been vynil wrapped in the Vittel water advertising logo,s etc.
Vittel are stumping up alot of dosh and have a big say in the tour.

A bit of a thriller today. Shame that Cavendish lost time.

Here's the crash aftermath...

http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/news/stage-6-crash/

Well it did take the Giro winner out of the GC. Down to Wiggo to dominate Cadel now. By the end of the TT on Monday we should know where we stand.

Love the Tour.......... I followed it around in '94 when Boardman was riding.....SuperHuman athletes

Last 15km uphill on ITV4 now. Should see a leader emerge in the next half hour...

What a fantastic result for British cycling!!!!

I'd prefer a more neutral yellow if it was me.
Maybe more like this?

And a nice guy with a mega-dry SOH

He took WR/CR on the L1015 Levens '10' in 2006 when riding for Cofides with 17-58. I did 21-18 and had a passing chat with Wiggo on Leasgill Hill (my claim to fame).

The TT's to come will clinch the Maillot Jeune for Wiggo, with thorough Sky back-up demanded by Dave B.

One thing I don't understand...
Yesterday Cadel Evans used Team Sky for a tow up to the finish.
Can a rider be selective about who gets in their tow? How do team Sky stay together?
Presumably there are plenty of individual riders who'd love to get in that pack?

They form a unit before they get to the front and then pull as one unit and distance the rest of the pack very quickly, then as they ease back a bit only the strongest of the bunch will get back to them. Takes a lot of planning and organising, Cadel has to go when sky go, Wiggins can go when he feels good, that's why a decent well organised team is so valuable.

Flippin' eck Rob - you mean you kept up with him!

Unfortunately, he put 3-20 into me in that Time Trial to take Competition Record.
The difference is 20 years, Olympic Medals, Worlds Golds and World Records in his favour.
Go Wiggo.
Hey, I had a snuggle with Rebecca Romero last year when she put a minute into me in a '10' on the same course in 'Stans-land' ...

Wiggins has just left the start house, he was the last to leave, for a 25 mile time trial that could see him take a decent lead in the tour, it also could see a few shake ups too.

Go Brad - he's Up!

Brilliant Brits

Fantastic!
That's over 30 mph average...

Hopefully an indication that Bradley's been looking after his condition rather than showboating.

Wiggins first and Frome second top work.

Very hard work by the Brits, well done to them both ,very enjoyable.

Froome will be a GC contender when allowed to be.

He's already too good to be Brad's domstique.

Great ride by both the Sky guys.

If you want an idea of how Bradley does not bow to the media monosylabic interview have a read of the transcript from Saturdays written press conference .

And rfor once this is the Daily Mail underplaying the story

Yesterdays stage was pretty much as expeted, a breakaway group of riders out of contention go on to win. Although there was one almighty climb it was too far from the finish to casue breaks with the main contenders, there were some digs from Nibali though.

Today has massiv potential. It could be a deciding stage or it could be one where the contenders just watch each other till close the the finish and gain secons over the line.

Very tempted to take the afternoon off

I'm "working" from home

Fixed the typo for you Bezzer

And so am I now ;

sat about eating cheese hey you skivers

I'm getting wound up by comments like this on the BBC live feed.

Marcus from London, debating Wiggins' strength via text on 81111: "There's a big question to be asked, where Wiggins would be without his unbelievable team... Is he as talented as Evans and Nibali? And past champions Contador and Schleck? Or is it the remarkable team he rides with?"

Marcus from London, via text on 81111: "I appreciate the need for a strong team, but to prove to everyone he is a top class rider I'd like to see Wiggo take a mountain stage with his own two hands, i.e Evans leading the peloton in the Alps last year."

Why the need to take away from Bradley's achievements?

Because Marcus clearly cannot understand the team 'bit', and is probably not a competitive cyclist either.
Best just not read crap posted by dickheads then it won't get on your tits.

This is interspersed with the proper commentary. It would be good if there was an option to turn it off. It doesn't seem to be properly vetted before it goes on there, and I agree, it would be best not to read it.

The Eurosport website coverage is far better

Today is the ultimate stage of this years tour. It is a high mountain stage in the pyrenees with a summit finish. It is the last stage that threatens Bradley Wiggins lead. He can afford to lose up to 4 minutes to his main rival, but the fly in the ointment could be his own team mate Fromme!

Stage will be shown live on Eurosport and ITV 4.

I admire Wiggins - he's doing just enough to stay in the lead. Why do more? Keep it in the tank for when you might really need it. A British 1-2 would be brilliant.

Don't they have "team orders" John as per our F1 heroes?

Indeed they do, but if Wiggins is starting to lose big amounts if time today, Sky would send Froome down the road to rescue the day for the team, it would need Wiggins to collapse big time though.

Although this is not unheard off. At this stage in the race you need to get nutrition and hydration sorted perfectly. If you get hungry or thirsty on the last time you can lose 10 minutes very easily.

In the past I have seen Landis, Indurain and even Lemond get it wrong.

It is the attention to detail that the Sky team are very good at so it should not be an issue. But then again in three weeks of racing anyone can have an off day!

Collapse BIG time.

Only Nibali is a threat and yesterday Sky showed they're more than equal to anything he can throw at them.

Lot's of speculation in the press and cycling forums that both Cav and Froome will quit Sky at the end of the year. Can't say I blame them, especially Cav.

I know I shouldn't read the Twitter but....



I don't know if it is tempting fate to start them off tomorrow?

The Cavendish finish from today is a total stunner.
http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=321861
It is at 35 minutes on ITV player.
At one point his back wheel comes off the ground.

Yup, almost to the point of being amusing.

Just realised I know Dave Brailsford. Well, a bit, anyway... He and I lived near each other in North Wales when his dad and mine both worked in outdoor pursuits. Met him a few times and always thought he was a really nice lad. I remember being surprised how quickly he could get around Snowdonia on a bike, even aged 10...

In an epic tour yesterdays finish was just amazing. I can't stop replaying it.

Although this comes close. Watch at 24 seconds when he comes past some of the best sprinters as if they were standing still.

Arise, Sir Bradley

Wiggins should light the Olympic flame in my opinion, that was an amazing achievement. Redgrave? 5 golds yes but he's had his accolades, Beckham? didn't win anything.
I doubt the organisers will do it but if there is anyone more deserving I would like to know who.
Legend!

How's about Sir Roger Bannister?

But seriously, amazing achievement from Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Team Sky. They just dominated the tour.

Here's hoping they can cap it all off with a Cavendish win on the Champs-Élysées.

Well done Wiggins and Cavendish, brilliant finish to an intriguing 3 weeks - Sports Personality of The Year stuff right there, so far

certainly the best bet so far but a little 2 week event coming soon might just change the odds a wee bit....

I don't know if anyone's been watching Froome's progress in the Vuelta a Espana.

I was a little surprised by his initial good performance, given that he must've been exhausted by the TDF and the Olympics.

It is more surprising that he's dropped back a bit on these recent hilly stages.

Does he have much support from Team Sky on this event or is he on his own?

Also there doesn't seem to be much in the way of analysis on the BBC site. Is there anywhere else to look?

His support team is not up the the standards Wiggo enjoyed in the tour. More to the point though is Contador loves his steak and Spain is a blood doping haven. You won't catch a non Spanish rider winning the Vuelta until they are tested as they would be in France.

Such cynicism, in one so young...

a) And that won't happen as there seems to be indifference to such abuses.

b) And there will be indifference for so long as Spanish riders keep doing well.

You see the problem

Well my hope is that the current doping exposé will force change at the UCI and local federations are tasked with cleaning up their act.

So in effect Froome has been sent out to compete in a race he can't win. He must be feeling a little fed up right now.

Roll on the Tour of Britain.

I don't think we should hold our breath...........