Froome is smashing this right now. Great work. Tomorrow is massive though, he falls to pieces if he falls off his bike and there is no where he's more likely to do so than a cobbles stage.
Yeah today was a lot more exciting than I'd expected.
I'm not sure if Froome meant to put down a statement like that but he took that climb a lot better than I thought he would. I thought it would suit Contador and Quintana better and he'd be hanging on, maybe lose a second or three.
Contador is tired, Quintana is a worse climber than Froome (we knew that already from '13, obviously nothing has changed from then), those two make sense... but what is up with Nibali?
Could be. I'm trying to be not so naive that I deny the possibility and not so jaded that I assume anyone who wins is a cheat.
Thing is, I'd be massively surprised if someone like Geraint Thomas was cheating (he's always been within the UK system and I can't buy this doping conspiracy within Sky thing, that hasn't existed for ages, you just need to read Hamilton's book to see how doping practices changed from the institutionalised to the individual) and if you compare G's performance with Froome's Froome's performance really doesn't seem as impressive. It's only people comparing Froome with the other main contenders (who ALL underperformed with the possible exception of Quintana) that is causing people to say he's doping.
Nibali is riding for Astana, who's riders have been dropping like flies after failing tests, (UCI even tried to ban them) and have Vino at the helm.
Contador has failed a drugs test.
Valverde is a cheat.
And yet it's Sky getting all the blame basically due to a few surface level similarities with US Postal, some extremely dodgy reporting of power output, which a few folk actually qualified to talk about are debunking left, right and centre on the internet and similar times up climbs to the Armstrong era (ignoring the context of the stage overall).
They might still be doping but they're getting disgraceful treatment on the road (Froome had urine thrown on him today and Porte was punched the other day) and in the press when there is no actual evidence; meanwhile all these people who have demonstrably cheated are getting a free ride.
Does anyone have much experience in taking bikes on planes?
I'm cycling from Hamburg to Copenhagen with some friends in a couple of weeks, and not 100% sure of my best option here.
I'm booked onto BA flights, so bikes should be able to go on as my carry on for free.
I'm a bit torn between bike bags or bike boxes though.
I've read a lot of things suggesting bags are better (with a bit of padding). But I don;t think you can add much other stuff in than the bike and I am going to have a few tools, and d-lock etc that I'm unsure if i would be allowed to take in my carry on luggage.
Box seems like a reasonable idea, as you can get one at Heathrow. But then I'm not sure If I'll then be able to get another one when I'm coming back from Copenhagen airport.
The bag at least seems lightweight enough that I would be able to take it with me in my bag and use for both flights.
Sorry if that was all a bit rambling! Any help much appreciated though.
I've been Mtn Biking in the Alps twice and The Alpujurras in Spain and I've taken a bike bag every time. But mine had to be quite big and bulky as I had a full suss bike but had wheels to make it easier to carry on the Base, loads of pockets inside and wheel bags.
For me if a bags lightweight, I wouldn't think it would protect it enough. Even though my bike was good, every piece of the frame was covered by pipe insulation.
Whatever you decide it's going to be a problem not flying from the same place and not being able to store your box/bag there. Maybe you could google to see if you get a box at Copenhagen airport .
Hope this helps
Wii U Themagickman - PSN - Themagickman Xboxlive - Themagickman
The look of it doesn't really fill me with confidence, but I think with a roll of bubble wrap in the mix it could be ok. There's a lot of people in the reviews and on forums I've found who seem to have used it or similar without issue.
At least then it should be small enough to carry with me and use again to come home.
It's only a tenner so probably worth a punt, then I can still bottle it and buy a box at Gatwick if need be.