Le Tour 2010

It's one part of France that I haven't driven in yet. On my last trip to France I made it down as far as Grenoble. But the RN85 seems like one I should add to the "to do" list. But I have others on this list as well. The old car passed it's MOT last week but I think it'll be the last year so I have to plan a special send off. I was thinking of driving to Kiev or Moscow. I was planning to drive to Amman once overland. Inspired in the main by seeing a Dutch Motorhome in the car park in Wadi Rum. On the face of it there was only one slightly dodgy country to pass through, Syria. If she broke down on the road to Damascus then it would be a fitting end eh? I'll certainly take some converting.

I think they may have from time to time but the hills and roads around La Turbie and Menton seem to be used an awful lot. The Autoroute from Nice into Italy is quite some feat of engineering. I lost count of how many bridges, viaducts and tunnels there are on that section. It's all the more hairy for the number of 40 ton lorries stradling both lanes inside the tunnels.

I didn't think that the D418 "route des cols" in the Pyrenees wasn't that bad but I have to say that the scariest road I've ever been on is the Bealach Na Ba (Pass of the Cattle) in Scotland. Thick fog, 5-10 metres visibility and single track with narrow passing passes. It's not as high as the French mountain passes but it does go from 0 metres to 624 metres, but because it's single track I rate it as much more dangerous. The only saving grace of the thick fog is that I couldn't see just how far the drops were on either side. It was like driving on top of a cloud. Very strange indeed.

Thanks to Top Gear I really quite fancy the Stelvio Pass and Ceaucescu's Folly, the Transfăgărăşan (try saying that with a Dutch accent!), which was built in 1970-1974 in response to the 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia. Ceaucescu wanted a way to move his troops North of the Carpathians in case the Soviets decided to oust him in the same way they did with Alexander Dubček. Apparently they used over 6 million tons of dynamite to create it.

Having watched most of the live coverage of this stage, I was then forced to miss the end as I had to get Anthony to football and as I read your post before I watched the Ch4 resume this evening......................thanks for spoiling it Chris!

So no sanction against Julian Dean who began the contre temps by "leaning in" on Renshaw? and apart from the time honoured sprinters/Belgian road scrapper's tactic of "Elbows Out" what else could Renshaw have done? However, his second transgression, that of trying to close out another opponent into the crash barriers on the left were what probably sealed his fate.

As you say, a "track tactic" and in reality most of the best "lead out men" are track stars in their own right. Yes, it will be very hard for Cav now without his minder and lead out man.

That section down through "The Drome" after the major climb of the day is one of the most stunning places on earth what with the contortions of the limestone rock stacks adding to the already spectacular gorges of The Ardeche ~ a stunning example of the power of the elements of wind, ice and water over millions of years.......................God was it really over a quarter of a century since I was in those places? I get so wound up by 'er indoors who has a contemptuous disinterest in such scenery ~ "if you can't shop there, it isn't worth visiting" in her eyes. We're currently in a World War 3 battle over my intention to take the kids for a little bit of camping experience.......................just for a couple of days. You'd think I wanted to take little Calvin crocodile hunting ~ la vache stupide

Blimey, Andy Schleck's a vicious thug on a bike, isn't he? He'll inflict all sorts of pain and damage on anyone who gets in his way, sort of a two-wheeled version of Alien.

But off it, he's a mild-mannered, polite and good-natured boy.

I know an Uffington near the Berkshire downs (just north of Lambourn) but we'll be heading to the Surrey Hills and a rendezvous with my eldest daughter, my son in law and three of my grandchildren......................and Anthony's taking his crocodile bait!

I've never been up into the Tarne ~ more a stage of the Tour for the "rolleur" rather than the out and and out climber though I would guess.

What I do know about this area is that it is that from which the Jalabert Bros come from and also that anywhere just east of the Pyrenees will suffer from melting tar at this time of the year. Indeed the road surfaces where I have been in that part of France are not exactly condusive to easy pedalling as they seem to use very large chippings in the tarmacadam make up ~ perhaps deliberately to counter the melting factor, I don't know. The effect that it has if of appearing to be cycling "uphill" when you are on the flat and "on the flat" when on a slight decline...................all very taxing on the mental strength of the tired rider twelve stages or more into the Tour.

I think Schleck will need to get at least two minutes ahead of Contadour before that time trial on the penaltimate day and the Pyrenees is his big chance. Contadour will wipe the floor with him in that time trial and in last year's event he returned a time 1 minute, 45 seconds better than the Luxembourger.

I missed a lot of today's scenery as I was pre-occupied taking Calvin's first tricycle apart that his mum had impatiently put together "all wrong" whilst I was out last night and then had to cope with him insisting on "helping daddy" put it all back together properly and safe to ride on at every opportunity today!

I couldn't even draw any inspiration from those mad mechanics who hang out of the service car windows and carry out running adjustments to the bikes as they roll along.....................a great career for a three fingered Janner don't you think? After all, not that many of them can count on retiring with many more digits than that surely!

I think you are spot on about Schleck's needs for the Pyrenees, but I would reckon he might even require more - something like three minutes. I know he is Luxembourg time-trial champion this year but that is only because he and brother Frank share the prizes between them and Frank won the road-race this time around.

Third and fourth were a 75-year-old monk and Miss Luxembourg, who failed a stringent sex test after the race.

I always find the Pyrenees stages much more interesting because of the toughness of the climbs - they are probably not as long or twisty but they are a lot sharper and more suited to someone with a turn of foot like Senor Contador, who IMO will be very difficult to beat from this point on. Just a little chink in Schleck's armour today will have been enough to spur him on, and with that horrid little rotter Vinokourov to back him up, I think he might have too much for the Saxo Bank men.

Be a shame because I would like Schleck to win one of these Grand Tours one day, but it's a tough time to be going for one when the competition is so fierce.