#got julian alaphilippe

[sportsallover]

I love watching racers going down slopes, but Julian after his fall was terrifying

#he almost got hit by cars a couple of times #brrr #cycling #road cycling #Julian Alaphilippe #Milan San Remo 23 #Milan San Remo

[bakurasilver]

hello I am so curious about all of the WIPs but I'd love to hear more about Wout and About - being bratty on the bus <3

Sooooo way back when I was the world's most devoted shipper of Julian Alaphilippe/Tim Declercq (which I still am, even though they're on different teams now. There are like ten or so pictures of them where neither of them Julian is making a face.) but this was obviously not going to be a pairing which Took Off 😭. Reading other people's work (back when we had at most one fic a month) got me vaguely into the possibility of Wout/Mathieu, and I had a tentative go at writing them as the B Couple in a Julian/Tim fic (one of the others on the list), but then I saw them actually racing, and how could anyone not love Wout!! And despite how much this season is affecting their rivalry (also the media being constantly all, Wout Is So Useless), he and Mathieu will be linked forever in rl, let alone in fanfiction land. And whilst I think real Mathieu is way more 'no thoughts head empty' than my version of him, he's just so narratively honed that it's almost unrealistic he actually exists. He's just the perfect shape to project almost anything onto.

Then I had a just super pornographic dream about them, and thought, well, I don't even have to edit this, beyond removing Guillaume Martin (who was wandering around entirely bored by sub!Wout kissing dom!Mathieu's feet... I keep writing GM into the corners of things I shall never publish, knowing this will make no one laugh but me, but whatever shenanigans are going on with the main couple, he'll just be around and so wearily disinterested in their love life.)

But in this random bit of porn they were using hand gestures to continuously convey consent, and I couldn't help but wonder why. So I started a prequel to answer a question no one but me had, which is what Feeling bratty on the bus is.

The plot, such as it is, is Wout is grumbling on the team bus that sometimes he wants to push back against what Mathieu tells him to do for a while but does still ultimately want to be obedient, only Mathieu always halts procedings because he doesn't want to do anything Wout's not enthusiastically consenting to. Sepp Kuss (That's me, putting the dom into domestique! which I still think is one of the funniest lines I have ever written) then gives him a lecture about how it's okay to be a bratty sub, but Wout needs to explain this to Mathieu, as clearly neither of them have done any research. He attempts to give some examples from his own entirely offscreen relationship with Brandon McNulty (I'm still convinced this is a ship which has potential, but I do Not know enough about either of them to write it), but Wout is Inspired, and runs off to message Mathieu.

Mathieu does some research before the bus gets to the hotel (why is he there? Reasons! Why is he suddenly such a fast reader? Well he can read, he just doesn't!) and they go up to the hotel room, where Wout freaks out at being emotionally vulnerable. Mathieu tells him it'll be fine, even if Wout doesn't know how to say any of the above out loud, and that all Wout needs to do is find a way to let him know he's still super into what they're doing. Hence, the hand gestures. They then cuddle, and Wout takes a nap, exhausted by Having Had Feelings.

It's basically done, but also probably the least sexy BDSM-adjacent fic ever written (I don't think they even talk about sex, apart from in the vaguest terms). So I'm just not sure the world has any need for it, but sometimes I have an urgent need to read, Wout Was Having A Difficult Moment But Then Cuddles, hence why it's still sat there <3

#interdisciplinary-disaster #fanfiction

[friedricenietzsche]

who are your fav pro cyclists?

top-tier question omg. restricting this to road cyclists because i'm still getting into track cycling lol

for the boys: marcel kittel, julian alaphilippe, jonas vingegaard, tadej pogacar, bauke mollema, richard carapaz and niki terpstra are some of my currently-competing faves; ordinarily wout van aert would also be on this list but he is currently in my doghouse for a recent interview lmao. if we're talking all-time then i'd also add jens voigt to this list ✨

for the girlies: extremely basic choice but marianne vos the goatiest goat to ever goat (other faves include lizzie deignan, pauline ferrand-prévot, and annemiek van vleuten). also i know she's amateur and not pro atm but i became a big anna kiesenhofer fan after her gold medal at the last olympics — very gutsy ride from her, plus we've got that cambridge alumna stem girlie solidarity 😌

#anon #ask

[smthngabouteverything]

#cycling #brabantse pijl 2020 #julian alaphilippe #mathieu van der poel #benoit cosnefroy #oh look who didn't learn shit after Liege disaster but got lucky this time #when sprinting against MVDP no less #destiny won't give you many presents like this Juju #so remember: 1) cross the line; 2) celebrate #not the other way around

[thewordwideweb]

Polka dots. Why "polka?"

Polka dots. I get the “dots” part, but why “polka” dots? (Heavy sigh…) I guess we’re gonna have to make “polka dots” the Word of the Day.

As I said, the “dot” part is easy. It’s from the Old English “dott,” meaning a speck or (Warning: if you’re eating anything right now, skip to the next paragraph) “the head of a boil.” Ugh.

You would think the “polka” part has something to do with the lively Bohemian peasant dance. And for once in your sorry life, you’d be right! Polka-mania swept Europe in the 1830’s, 40’s and 50’s, and lots of everyday items got named after it. There was polka pudding, polka hats, polka jackets, and of course, polka dots. (“Polka,” by the way, is the Polish word for a Polish woman.) Only the dots withstood the test of time.

Music mania is a powerful force. Think of it this way: If the fabric with a uniform pattern of same-sized spots had been named for a dance craze of the 1920’s, it would have been called “Charleston dots.” In 1960, Chubby Checker's fans would have worn “Twist dots.” And if it were in 1996, we might all be sporting (heaven forfend), “Macarena dots.”  I think we can agree we all dodged a bullet there.

For what it’s worth, polka dots – or any dots on clothing - were definitely not a preferred fashion choice during the Middle Ages. They reminded people of diseases that were ravaging the population, like bubonic plague and smallpox.

Finally, I’m sure my wife and daughter would never forgive me if I failed to point out that the polka dot jersey – awarded to the “King of the Mountains” in the Tour de France – for the past two years was won by Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia (and their French heartthrob, Julian Alaphilippe, wore it in 2018).

And, as the old Yiddish lady said, “dot’s dot.”

#word of the day #words #language #humor #polka dots #fashion #tour de france

[inanimatetffantasies]

Hi, I have an idea for you: This year, the Tour de France is passing in my city. On this occasion, I'm going to see the riders at the start and I had the chance to meet Julian Alaphilippe. He suggested me to visit the bus of his team. On the bus, there was nobody else but the two of us. The other riders were already on the starting line. and that's when Julian turns me into his yellow jersey. He wore me all the way through the stage and even won that stage and decided to keep me.

You were so excited to finally get to see a Tour de France event. At long last the event finally caught to your city this year. Usually you were busy with something else but this year you finally got to see the cyclists in action. You decided to head out early and snag a front row view of the race.

You were walking down the road when you saw him. Julian was there, topless, warming up for the race. He turns to see you and smiles. You get a bit starstruck so he jogs over to you with a warm smile. “Hey, you here for the race, buddy?” he asks you, only to met by blushing. “Haha no need to be so formal, i'm just a cyclist, i won’t bite!” he lets out a chuckle before asking you a question “You’re a fan right, tell you what? Come to my teams bus for a while” You were not about to throw away this opportunity and agreed happily.

Julian walked in, and beckoned for you to follow. He quickly closed the doors behind you, and locked them. “Gotta lock the door incase some crazy fans saw us” he laughed as brought you to the back of his bus. You could see his gear lined out ready to be worn for the race. All gear except the jersey. You turn to see Julian smirking “Hope you don’t mind, buddy, ut I love wearing fans like you when I race, you all just make too damn comfy gear!” you try to back up but he snaps his fingers and makes you into his yellow jersey.

He gets changed into his gear, before sliding you over his sweaty chest. He rubs his chest through you before heading out. You can’t movem, being forced to drink his sweat and watch as he gets his bike and start at the race. He cycles hard and long, every second sending more salty putrid drops of his sweat into your tight fabric. By the time he finishes all you know is serving him. Its all you want to do, all you ever did. Any other memory melted away with his sweat and musk. He rubs you again “Damn i won, looks like i gotta keep you haha, you’re my good luck charm!”...

#inanimate tf #sport tf #jersey tf

[pcwt]

Le TOUR’19 Stage 9: Impey Wins on Bastille Day! Pt.2

There was no fairytale for France as South Africa's Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) won the ninth stage of the Tour de France in Brioude on Sunday - Bastille Day. After more than 170 kilometres, the South African was the best of a big break of the day. In a two-man sprint, Impey beat Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) after the two broke away from their fellow escapees on the final climb of the day. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) finish with the peloton, 16 minutes down, to keep his overall lead. Stage winner, Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott): "Pretty much, for me, from a Tour de France perspective, a stage win was something really missing. I made quite a few breakaways in the past few years and finally, today, I got the win on Bastille Day. It’s fantastic! It’s a dream come true. It’s so difficult to win at this level. I kind of marked this stage. I was kind of lucky to find the right move. We worked all well together. I’m glad the legs were there at the end to beat Tiesj Benoot. I haven’t been emotional like that for a long time. I think the last South African to win a Tour de France stage was Robert Hunter in 2007… it’s a magic victory."

Tour de France Stage 9 Result: 1. Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott in 4:03:12 2. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 3. Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida at 0:10 4. Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R-La Mondiale 5. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo

Tour de France Overall After Stage 9: 1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step in 38:37:36 2. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 0:23 3. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:53 4. George Bennett (NZ) Jumbo-Visma at 1:10 5. Geraint Thomas (GB) Ineos at 1:12

[apisonadora60]

Julian Alaphilippe's got skills… 📷: Quick-Step Floors Cycling Team  /  via Cycling Pulse

[anisanews]

Tour de France 2021: Fan with sign causes major crash; what does ‘allez opi-omi’ mean?

The Tour de France is no stranger to massive crashes, and on Saturday a major crash happened early in Stage 1. 

A massive pile-up of cyclists occurred near the beginning of the stage when a spectator held a cardboard sign too far out into the road and hit Tony Martin, causing him to fall off his bike and knock over a large swath of riders behind him. 

A huge crash at #TDF2021 this morning was caused when a spectator held out a sign and struck a rider.

Jasha Sütterlin was forced to withdraw from the race due to an injury sustained in the crash, according to @LeTour. pic.twitter.com/XCcEjHRAGp

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 26, 2021

Many riders avoided the crash and kept heading out, including Julian Alaphilippe, who ultimately won Stage 1.

MORE: Tour de France schedule, 2021 route, TV channels

Here’s what you need to know about the sign and other major crashes in Tour de France history. 

What does ‘allez opi-omi’ mean? 

The sign is a combination of two languages, French and German. “Allez” means “go” in French, according to Google Translate, while “opi” and “omi” are German terms for “grandpa” and “grandma,” according to Dict.cc. So the sign would translate to “Go grandpa-grandma.”

Most riders were able to continue on after the sign incident, but Jasha Sutterlin had to leave the race because of the crash, according to NBC Sports. 

The Tour de France tweeted later that while it is happy to have spectators on hand to take in the race, it wanted fans to “respect the safety of the riders” and not to “risk everything for a photo or to get on television.”

We’re glad to have the public on the side of the road on the #TDF2021.

But for the Tour to be a success, respect the safety of the riders!

Don’t risk everything for a photo or to get on television! pic.twitter.com/eA6nnhRhWv

— Tour de France

(@LeTour) June 26, 2021

This might be a case where that fan will hope their grandparents did not see them on TV. 

Other major Tour de France crashes

The crash was one of two on the day, with some calling it one of the worst crashes in race history. 

Another crash occurred with less than 10 kilometers remaining in the stage. It took out former champion Chris Froome and dozens of other riders. 

MORE: 13 worst crashes in Tour de France history

Plenty of Tour crashes have resulted in major pile-ups or come at the hands of non-riders. 

In 1999, Giuseppe Guerini crashed into a photographer when nearing the top of the Alpe d’Huez, though he was able to get up and win the stage. Bernard Hinault was leading the 1985 tour when he got into a crash with five other bikers that resulted in Hinault breaking his nose. He did cross the finish line of the stage, however, and ultimately won that year’s race. 

Saturday’s pile-up was not the only major crash to happen in the first stage of the Tour de France, either. In 1994, a police officer trying to get a photo of the race was hit by Willfried Nelissen, causing a number of other riders to collide.

from Anisa News https://ift.tt/2UC4iU9

#breaking news today breaking news headlines breaking news headlines today chicago breaking news usa

[blogfernsonthayassslove]

Fan with sign causes massive wreck during first stage of 2021 Tour de France

เกมส์สล็อตทดลองเล่นฟรี The 2021 Tour de France got off to a crash-filled start Saturday. Cyclist Tony Martin collided with a fan holding a cardboard sign Saturday during the first stage, which began in Brest, France. The fan, who appeared to be trying to get on TV, was in the road and took out nearly an entire peloton of riders. "It was stressful," said former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas, via The Associated Press. "I was just concentrating on staying on my bike, basically. Happy to get through it."It was the first of two pileups in the stage. The Tour de France's official Twitter account later cautioned fans to protect the cyclists while enjoying the event. "Don't risk everything for a photo or to get on television!" the tweet said. Former world champion Julian Alaphilippe was involved in the first crash but stayed on his bike and went on to win the stage.ST. LOUIS -- Brody Malone grew up in northwest Georgia and spent part of his childhood tinkering around as a rodeo rider before finally committing full time to gymnastics. It's a decision that has carried him all the way to the Olympics. The 20-year-old locked down a spot on the U.S. Olympic men's gymnastics team on Saturday, earning an automatic berth on the five-man team by capturing the Olympic trials with a two-day all-around total of 171.600.

[weshipyourride]

Official Route of the 2021 Tour de France Unveiled

The Tour de France held its annual presentation, virtually, to announce the next year’s official route over the weekend. The 108th edition is already being touted as one that will create lots of suspense on what many are considering to be a more traditional route. As the official bike shipping service of the Tour de France, BikeFlights.com got the inside scoop on what next year’s route has in store for the peloton.  

Photo by Alex Broadway and courtesy of Amaury Sport Organisation.

Working around the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games, organizers scheduled the Tour from June 26 to July 18, 2021. The opening week plans a Grand Départ in northern France with finishes that will behoove the likes of riders such as Julian Alaphilippe, Peter Sagan or Wout van Aert. In addition, the opening week will host the first of two individual time trials. Later in the Tour and for the first time in history, the peloton will climb the infamous Mount Ventoux not once, but twice, in a single stage. Climbers and descenders alike will have their opportunity to gain time on their competition. The fate of the yellow jersey will likely be decided in the Pyrenees Mountains of southwestern France with five high mountain stages while the green jersey contenders will have the chance to earn points throughout the entire race with at least seven sprint finishes. On paper, the 2021 Tour de France seems sure to excite and create the drama that spectators crave throughout its 21 days of racing.

Route of the 2021 Tour de France:

Stage 1, June 26 : Brest – Landerneau, 187km

Stage 2, June 27 : Perros Guirrec – Mur de Bretagne Guerledan, 182km

Stage 3, June 28 : Lorient – Pontivy, 182km

Stage 4, June 29 : Redon – Fougeres, 152km

Stage 5, June 30: Change – Laval, 27km (individual time trial)

Stage 6, July 1: Tours – Chateauroux, 144km

Stage 7, July 2: Vierzon – Le Creusot, 248km

Stage 8, July 3: Oyonnax – Le Grand Bornand, 151km

Stage 9, July 4: Cluses – Tignes, 145km

Rest day, July 5: Tignes

Stage 10, July 6: Albertville – Valence, 186km

Stage 11, July 7: Sorgues – Malaucene, 199km

Stage 12, July 8: Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux – Nimes, 161km

Stage 13, July 9: Nimes – Carcassonne, 220km

Stage 14, July 10: Carcassonne – Quillan, 184km

Stage 15, July 11: Ceret – Andorra la Vella, 192km

Rest day, July 12: Andorra

Stage 16, July 13: Pas de la Casa – Saint-Gaudens, 169km

Stage 17, July 14: Muret – Saint-Lary-Soulan (Col du Portet), 178km

Stage 18, July 15: Pau – Luz Ardiden, 130km

Stage 19, July 16: Mourenx – Libourne, 203km

Stage 20, July 17: Libourne – Saint-Emilion 31km, (individual time trial)

Stage 21, July 18: Chatou – Paris 112km

Total: 3,383km

#bikeflights #tdf2021 #letour #tourdefrance #packshipride #shipyourwhip

[pcwt]

Le TOUR’19 Stage 7: Growling Groenewegen Gets It! Pt.3

The longest stage of the 2019 Tour de France came down to a bunch sprint in Chalon-Sur-Saône. All the fast-finishers were present for the final battle after 6 hours in the saddle. In a close call, the powerful Dutchman, Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) got the nod from the judges just ahead of Lotto Soudal’s Caleb Ewan and points leader, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe). Trek-Segafredo’s young Italian, Giulio Ciccone, held his overall lead.

Tour de France Stage 7 Result: 1. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma in 6:02:44 2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 3. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 4. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 5. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates

Tour de France Overall After Stage 7: 1. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 29:17:39 2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step at 0:06 3. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida at 0:32 4. George Bennett (NZ) Jumbo-Visma at 0:47 5. Geraint Thomas (GB) Ineos at 0:49

[apisonadora60]

Peloton Magazine

Bennett...With A Little Help From His Friend Peter Sagan!

Irishman Sam Bennett grabbed the honors of the final stage victory in the Vuelta San Juan as he won the field sprint in front of crowds estimated at over 100,000 in downtown San Juan, Argentina. Unlike stage six, which saw a breakaway of Argentinian riders upstage the World Tour teams, there was little room to mavoeuver as the sprint teams controlled the day. Such a situation was ideal for Movistar's Winner Anacona, who easily cruised to overall victory. And the situation worked out just fine for Bennett as well. Bennett got a dream-like leadout from three-time world champion Peter Sagan, who sent his Bora-Hansgrohe teammate flying towards the line. "It gives me a lot of confidence to have a world champion like Peter Sagan leading me out because he does not have to do it. But it also gives me responsibility because I cannot fail and you know you have to finish," Bennett said afterwards. "Today has been very nice and the atmosphere of the race has been incredible, with people showing us their warmth as if it were the Tour or the Giro."

Photo: Ilario Biondi/Roberto Bettini - Prensa Vuelta a San Juan Stage Seven: 1. Sam Bennett (Bora Hansgrohe) 2:54:26 2. Alvaro Hodeg (Deceuninck - Quick Step) s.t. 3. Erik Baska ((Bora Hansgrohe) s.t.

Final General Classification 1. Winner Anacona (Movistar) 22:09:21 2. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick Step) +35" 3. Oscar Sevilla (Medellin) +57''

[junker-town]

The Tour de France is canceled and I’m sad

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

The Tour de France was set to begin June 27 in Nice. It was coming off one of its best years ever.

In inevitable news, the 2020 Tour de France as scheduled has officially been called off by race organizers. Discussions are reportedly taking place between Amaury Sport Organisation, the organization that puts on the Tour every year, and the International Cycling Union to decide whether the race may be held at a later date.

The Tour de France has been an annual fixture in the sporting landscape since its first edition in 1903, 116 years ago. Until now, it has only been canceled for world wars, skipping 1915-1918 and 1940-1946.

The news hits particularly hard since 2019 was one of the most thrilling Tours in years. Egan Bernal won the 2019 Tour at just 22 years old, taking hold of the yellow jersey on Stage 19 when a freak snowstorm forced a neutralization. He held the jersey through Paris, and positioned himself as perhaps the next great grand tour racer of his generation.

But before Bernal’s moment on the Col d’Iseran, the Tour de France belonged to Julian Alaphilippe, a swashbuckling French rider who injected spontaneity and spirit into a race that had felt staid at times because of Team Sky’s (now Team Ineos’) stranglehold on the Maillot Jaune. Alaphilippe — who had established himself as one of cycling’s great stage racers, but was not considered a contender for the yellow jersey — held the Maillot Jaune for 14 stages, and inspired faint hope that a French rider might win the Tour for the first time since Bernard Hinault in 1985.

Not only would the 2020 Tour de France have been another chance to revisit the 2019’s character dynamics, it was set to tackle a fascinating route. The Tour was scheduled to start in Nice, along the French Riviera, on June 27, then zig-zag up the country towards Paris. Though it was light on iconic climbs, like Alpe d’Huez or Mont Ventoux, four-time Tour winner Chris Froome called the route the hardest he’d seen “in the last few years” due to new, inspired climbs through locales like the Massif Central, and a dearth of flat stages. A time trial on the penultimate stage finishing atop the grueling La Planche des Belles Filles in northeast France was engineered with pyrotechnics in mind.

The coronavirus pandemic made hosting the Tour untenable, however. The Tour de France likes to bill itself as the world’s biggest annual sporting event, thanks to the hundreds of thousands of people who line its more than 2,000 kilometers of course every year. Keeping crowds away from the race would have been a logistical nightmare. Never mind getting 160-some cyclists from all over the world to form a peloton that maintained best social distancing practices.

Earlier this year, the cycling world got a taste of just how bad it might be to host a grand tour during a global pandemic. The 2020 UAE Tour in late February was cancelled after the fifth stage when two Italian staffers tested positive for Covid-19. Every team was immediately quarantined, and many had to stay in their hotels for even longer than they had been racing.

A canceled Tour de France is particularly difficult blow to a sport like cycling, which relies heavily on sponsorship and the event’s outsized influence. Though stopping the Tour is the correct decision, the impact will be harsh for such a fragile sport.

[thisdaynews]

Watch: Road World Championships - Men's Road Race

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/watch-road-world-championships-mens-road-race/

Watch: Road World Championships - Men's Road Race

Men’s Road Race – uninterrupted coverageBBC Sport

Got a TV Licence?

You need one to watch live TV on any channel or device, and BBC programmes on iPlayer. It’s the law.

Find out more

Live Reporting

By Jack Skelton

All times stated are UK

Posted at 9:089:08

Post update

Britain’s Adam Yates is often happy to drift around at the back of the pack but is back in the convoy at the moment.

He must have had to stop and is just pacing himself back on now.

Posted at 9:079:07

Post update

And former Giro and Vuelta champion Nairo Quintana is attacking alongside Primoz Roglic.

Remarkable. Huge names trying to get in the breakaway.

Posted at 9:059:05

Post update

Primoz Roglic is now leading a chasing group trying to bridge across from the peloton to the Richard Carapaz group.

That means we have two of this year’s Grand Tour winners on the attack early on in the world championships, something you never see.

Posted at 9:039:03

Post update

Giro d’Italia champion Richard Carapaz of Ecuador is on the attack with Slovenia’s Jan Polanc and Germany’s Jonah Koch.

They have a small lead of 10 seconds or so over the peloton.

Posted at 8:598:59

Post update

The front of the peloton has got across to the Jan Polanc leading group.

But the pace is stringing it out and the bunch looks to have split in two.

Philippe Gilbert is still off the back following his wheel change.

Posted at 8:568:56

Post update

Team Ineos’ Gianni Moscon has made it across to the leading group alongside Josef Cerny of the Czech Republic.

It looks like the peloton are closing on the break anyway though.

Posted at 8:558:55

Post update

Several riders have got across to Jan Polanc and formed a breakaway group. Will the move stick though?

Julian Alaphilippe, who lit up this year’s Tour de France with two stage wins and finishing fifth overall, is back in the pack.

But he still clearly doesn’t rate his bike, bouncing that front wheel to test it out again.

Posted at 8:538:53

Post update

Julian Alaphilippe, another favourite for victory, is back at the France team car discussing a possible mechanical issue with DS Thomas Voeckler.

Alaphilippe is wiggling and bouncing his front wheel around, clearly not happy with his bike.

Voeckler seems to be telling him to just get on with it for now.

Posted at 8:518:51

Post update

Slovenia’s Jan Polanc has attacked solo off the front.

Slovenia very active in the early stages after Primoz Roglic’s attack too.

Posted at 8:518:51

Gilbert puncture

Former world champion Philippe Gilbert, a contender for victory today, sustains a front wheel puncture.

A quick change and he’s off again.

There weren’t many punctures in the sunny conditions for the women’s race yesterday but there were loads in the wetter weather for the junior and under-23 races earlier in the week.

Posted at 8:488:48

250km to go

Posted at 8:438:43

Post update

A group of seven riders are out front and the peloton are strung out chasing them down.

No chance they are letting Dan Martin and Primoz Roglic cruise away up the road.

Posted at 8:408:40

Post update

Vuelta a Espana champion Primoz Roglic has bridged across to Dan Martin.

Some big names on the attack early on here, riders you don’t usually see trying to get in breakaways.

Posted at 8:388:38

Post update

Martin has got a gap and a group of riders are having to dig really deep to try and bring him back.

Posted at 8:378:37

Post update

Ireland’s Dan Martin is on the attack.

His team-mate Sam Bennett has been in fine form this year and is one rider whose chances have been boosted by the removal of those two big climbs.

Martin is trying to make the race as tough as possible from the off here.

Posted at 8:358:35

Post update

Posted at 8:348:34

Allez, allez, allez

Soler rejoins the pack and instantly the white flag is waved to signal the start of the racing proper.

Attacks from the gun as various riders try to establish an early breakaway.

Posted at 8:328:32

Post update

Spain’s Marc Soler has a mechanical issue and is having to pace back on.

It means the neutralised section has been extended to let him catch the peloton.

Posted at 8:288:28

Post update

After the glorious sunshine that greeted the women’s race yesterday, it’s a foul day in Yorkshire, grey and very wet.

This is going to be a brutal contest. But one that should suit the likes of Belgium and Netherlands, whose riders thrive in the classics.

The peloton are approaching the end of the neutral start now.

Posted at 8:198:19

Post update

First shot of Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet.

The Belgian is one of the favourites for victory today and has a fine pedigree racing in Yorkshire…

Read More

#Championships #men's

[bloginstahiphop-blog]

Egan Bernal set to win from Geraint Thomas

Egan Bernal is poised to become the first Colombian to win the Tour de France after finishing Saturday's penultimate stage in the yellow jersey. Tradition dictates that the race leader is not challenged on Sunday's largely processional final stage to Paris. Bernal, 22, will become the youngest Tour winner for 110 years, with Ineos team-mate Geraint Thomas in second. Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk moved up to third as Julian Alaphilippe faded on an Alpine stage won by Vincenzo Nibali. Italian Nibali, winner of the Tour de France in 2014, was in the day's break and attacked again on the climb to the finish at Val Thorens, winning by 10 seconds from Spain's Alejandro Valverde. Bernal and Thomas, who won last year's Tour, finished stage 20 a few seconds later, crossing the line arm-in-arm, with huge grins on their faces. They came into the race as joint leaders for Ineos and, providing they both reach the finish in Paris on Sunday, will end it first and second in the general classification. "We're now close to making it official," said Bernal. "There's one stage left but, normally, if everything goes well, I can say that I've won my first Tour. "It's incredible. I just want to get to the finish line in Paris and after I'll be calmer. "Colombia is on the verge of winning its first Tour, We already had won the Giro d'Italia and La Vuelta a Espana, but the Tour was missing and it's a great honour to think that I'm the one achieving this." Welshman Thomas, who ended the stage trailing in the overall standings by one minute, 11 seconds, wrote on Twitter: "Congrats Egan Bernal. What a rider. The first of many." Bernal, who will also collect the white jersey as the best young rider in the race, will put to an end a run of four successive British winners - Chris Froome winning three of his four titles from 2015 and Thomas triumphing last year. Listen: BeSpoke at the Tour: Stage 20 - Bernal victorious Tour 'night and day' compared to 2018 - Thomas Joint team leadership 'worked to perfection' Three-time world champin Sagan pulls a trademark wheelie as he crosses the finish line on stage 20 The green points jersey classification will be won for a record seventh time by Slovakian Peter Sagan, who pulled a wheelie as he rode over the finish line several minutes after the stage winner, while the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey will go to Frenchman Romain Bardet. That will be some consolation for the French supporters who had been hoping to see a home victory for the first time since Bernhard Hinault won his record-equalling fifth Tour in 1985. Alaphilippe, the world's number one-ranked male cyclist, had led the race for 14 days, and after holding the yellow jersey through the Pyrenees in week two also retained it after the first day in the Alps. However, he finally cracked on Friday's storm-shortened 19th stage and he again fell away on Saturday's final climb of the three-week race. He is set to finish fifth overall. France's other big hope, Thibaut Pinot, had also looked strong in the Pyrenees, but a freak injury, caused when his thigh hit his handlebar on stage 17, saw him eventually abandon the race from fifth place during stage 19. How stage 20 unfolded Saturday's stage was reduced by 71km to just 59.5km, with one major climb - the 19.9km ascent of the Cormet de Roselend - chopped from the race because a landslide, caused by stormy weather in the Alps, had blocked the road. That left the riders facing an unusual race along a dual carriageway across the valley from Albertville to the bottom of the day's solitary 33km climb to the ski resort of Val Thorens. More than 20 broke clear and opened a lead of around two minutes, 30 seconds as they reached the ascent but with the race for the overall title happening in the peloton behind them, their lead was gradually eroded. The Jumbo-Visma team of Kruijswijk, who started the stage in fourth, 88 seconds adrift of Bernal, set a furious pace from the bottom of the ascent. Kruijswijk started the day just 12 seconds behind third-placed Thomas and 40 behind Alaphilippe and his team's efforts were rewarded when Alaphilippe cracked with around 13km of the race remaining. However, Kruijswijk was unable to break the Ineos riders with Thomas and Bernal content to sit and ride tempo all the way to the finish line, Dutch rider Kruijswijk eventually finished eight seconds behind Thomas to cement third place overall, one minute, 31 seconds behind Bernal. Why the Bernal win will not be a surprise Bernal (right) was a key domestique for Thomas when he won his Tour title last year The climbing specialist, who was born on 13 January, 1997 in Colombia's capital city Bogota at an altitude of 2,600m, showed his potential at last year's Tour, when he rode as a domestique to Thomas and four-time champion Chris Froome. After pacing Thomas to victory on Alpe d'Huez and ultimately the overall title, Froome said: "He's got an amazing engine. You only have to look at what he did on Alpe d'Huez, for a 21-year-old, that's amazing. "There is a lot in Egan that reminds me of myself when I was younger. It's great having him on the team and he brings a lot of young, new energy to the group." He joined Team Sky for the 2018 season, after winning the prestigious Tour de l'Avenir - a stage race for under-23 riders that has seen many of its winners go on to Tour de France success. He won the Tour Colombia and Tour of California last year before making his Tour de France debut as a domestique to Thomas and four-time winner Chris Froome. This year, three crashes helped Bernal arrive at the Tour as joint leader of the Ineos team. The first was his own, on a training ride in Andorra, and it ruled him out of May's Giro d'Italia, where he had been due to lead the team for the first time in a Grand Tour. Froome's season-ending crash at June's Criterium du Dauphine then pushed Bernal up the Ineos pecking order for the Tour de France, while Thomas' spill at the Tour de Suisse later that month saw Bernal take over as the sole leader of that team and he went on to win the race. And he twice rode away from Thomas in the Alps this week to position himself as Ineos' strongest rider at the Tour and secure his first Grand Tour win in only his second attempt. Bernal will become the third youngest winner of the Tour. The youngest is France's Henri Cornet, who was 19 when he was controversially awarded victory in the second edition of the race in 1904, while Luxembourg's Francois Faber was a few days younger than Bernal when he took the 1909 title. Overall standings after stage 20: 1. Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos) 79hrs 52mins 52secs 2. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos) +1min 11secs 3. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned/Jumbo-Visma) +1min 31secs 4. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger/Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 56secs 5. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/ Deceuninck-Quick Step) +3mins 45secs 6. Mikel Landa (Spa/Movistar) +4mins 23secs 7. Rigoberto Uran (Col/EF Education First) +5mins 15secs 8. Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) +5mins 30secs 9. Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +6mins 12secs 10. Warren Barguil (Fra/Arkea-Samsic) +7mins 32secs Stage 20 result: 1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Bahrain-Merida) 1hrs 51mins 53secs 2. Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +10secs 3. Mikel Landa (Spa/Movistar) +14secs 4. Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos) +17secs 5. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos) Same time 6. Rigoberto Uran (Col/EF Education First) +23secs 7. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger/Bora-Hansgrohe) Same time 8. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned/Jumbo-Visma) +25secs 9. Wout Poels (Ned/Ineos) +30secs 10. Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) Same time   SOURCE:https://www.bbc.com/ Read the full article