Anyone watching the Tour de France this year?
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@Brian said in Anyone watching the Tour de France this year?:
Can’t wait for it to start
Always go to each stage of the TDU here as it’s local
The scenery is almost as good as Phil liggets voiceWe visited friends in Adelaide a few years back and went out and watched a stage of the TDU that was just south of the city. Beautiful scenery.
On the TDF, we've watched it every year for 15 years or so. Pretty impartial on who wins, but if it's the usual suspects I'd prefer to see Vingegaard win over Pogacar.
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I’ll be watching…can’t see anyone getting close to Pog, but every other team in the peloton will be trying to outwit him and his team.
Don’t recall if I’ve mentioned this previously, but I was a ‘Games Maker’ for the road cycling events at the London Olympics back in 2012 - that was such an awesome experience. Still got the dumb ass uniform packed away in the garage.
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I’ll be watching. Being a Dane I’ll be rooting for the Danes, especially Vingegaard.
Pogacar is of course a massive favorite. I’ve been watching cycling, especially the Tour, since about 1989, and he is the most complete rider I’ve ever seen. That’s including Armstrong, who I really liked in the beginning of his career.
Apart from the Danes I have a very soft spot for Wout van Aert. He has so much talent - winning a stage crossing Ventoux, a time trail and Champs Elysees in he same tour (21) is a magnificent achievement. And he is also an amazing supporting rider. In the tour in 22 for Vingegaard, and just recently in the Giro for Yates. After leading out for Koij he is a huge part of Yates winning. In a very unselfish effort - just a great rider.
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Agreed @TeflonDon … there’s something very appealing about Wout and the way he approaches cycling. Chapeau!
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I’ll definitely be watching…one of the highlights of the year. The Giro and the Dauphine were excellent warm up acts, but you cant beat the TDF for the sheer majesty.
Hard to see anyone beating Pog… Ive got nothing against him. Seems like a classy rider, but it’d be great to see him pushed.
On a slightly different note, I was once lucky as a kid to meet the great Eddy Merckx at a Kelloggs Criterium in Manchester back in the eighties. Now that was a classy rider! -
The ongoing rivalry between Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard is shaping up to be one of the most thrilling chapters in Tour de France history. If both riders stay healthy and avoid crashes this year, we’re in for an absolutely epic battle. What’s truly incredible is how evenly matched they’ve been — over the course of the last four Tours, where they’ve traded victories (two apiece), the total time difference between them is just 1 minute and 25 seconds. Less than 90 seconds over four grueling three-week races — that’s virtually nothing in a sport where one bad day or tactical error can decide everything. It’s a testament to just how elite both riders are, and how deeply they’ve pushed each other to their limits.
My wife and I are also huge Wout van Aert fans. He’s one of the most versatile riders of this generation — a true all-terrain machine who can sprint, climb, time trial, and support his teammates without ego. But more than just his talent, it’s his attitude and humility that make him such an easy rider to root for. He races with grit and grace, and he always seems to leave it all out there.
I’ve been a lifelong cycling fan — it all started back in the days of Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault. That era had it all: drama, grit, and larger-than-life personalities. Then came the reign of Miguel Indurain, whose quiet dominance and time trialing power defined the early ’90s. Every generation since has had its heroes, but there’s something particularly special about this current one — the sheer unpredictability, the attacking style, and the depth of talent across teams.
As for Lance Armstrong, I could never quite get behind him. Beyond the doping, which obviously casts a shadow, it was always his arrogance and “holier-than-thou” demeanor that put me off. He rode with a chip on his shoulder and often treated teammates and rivals with disdain — it made it hard to admire his accomplishments, even before everything unraveled.
But the sport has come a long way. With riders like Pogačar, Vingegaard, van der Poel, Evenepoel, and van Aert lighting up every race they enter, cycling feels more alive and competitive than ever. If this year’s Tour plays out the way we hope, it could go down as one of the greatest editions in history.
