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Saturday, April 27, 2024

Tag: Le Tour de France 2006

Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 12: Postscript

Bonjour! Sorry I haven't drawn a line under my sojourn in France sooner, but the last few days have been a tad hectic getting back into the groove. Here are a few pictures taken on my last day...
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 11: Stage 8, Saint-Méen-le-Grand – Lorient

Heading to Lorient today... There's a great old 70's film called, 'The Omega Man'. To cut a long story short, Charlton Heston is the last man left alive (by day anyway) in a post-viral world. He roams this completely deserted US city with not another living thing in sight.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 10: Stage 7, Saint-Grégoire – Rennes (ITT)

How could I ignore my hero Serhiy here in Saint-Grégoire? If I’d had a proper thinking-head on when I did the revue of the course yesterday I would have mentioned him; ‘a strong man’s course’ I said and who’s stronger than the man who rides 56 x 11? Isn’t it a joy to see him forcing that ‘death gear’ along the road, none of that embarrassing high-revving nonsense; face a mask of pain, giving his all — awesome.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 9: Stage 6, Lisieux – Vitré

Much of the cynicism I have built-up about the commercialism and rampant ‘janitor-mentality’ of many of the officials on Le Tour de France 2006 evaporated on Friday as we drove the full race route from Lisieux to Vitré.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 8: Stage 5, Beauvais – Caen

I said this morning that I would talk to you from Caen; well it’s actually Lisieux, around 50 kilometres east of Caen, here on Le Tour de France 2006. It took the usual hour to get to the start this morning. Beauvais was ‘en fete’ for le Tour - not the grotty part of Beauvais you encounter en route to Ryanair’s tent at the airport but the nice, old part complete with Gothic cathedral.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 7: Stage 4, Huy (Belgium) – Saint-Quentin

We were spoiled at Strasbourg those first two days of Le Tour de France 2006 with the hotel just a couple of minutes from the press room and the action all within easy reach until the start on Monday. The driving is a killer now en route Saint-Quentin, not just because it’s boring and tiring but because of the time you waste. If I do a Grand Tour again, I’ll definitely organise a driver so as I can write as I travel.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 6: Stage 3, Esch-sur-Alzette – Valkenburg

I'm on Le Tour de France 2006 heading to Valkenburg. You know you’re in Luxembourg when the sanitary ware in the public toilets is by up-market ceramics company Villeroy & Boch.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 5: Stage 2, Obernai – Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg)

At Le Tour de France 2006 I was involved with TV - no, no, not like that, cycling dot TV - the Internet TV guys. I met their guy, Steve Masters in the press room yesterday and he scrounged a lift off me to the start at Obernai with his camera man, James.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 4: Stage 1, Strasbourg – Strasbourg

Sunday in Strasbourg, stage one-a day for the sprinters. It was quite late when I got to sleep, I had a coffee in the hotel after I came in from my pizza place, it was too strong for a wimp like me late at night and my efforts to nod-off were also seriously hampered by demented French men driving around Strasbourg blowing their car horns all night.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 3: Strasbourg Prologue

Another good sleep, alarm at 06:00 and straight into the shower, shave, jump into shorts and a T-shirt then down to the car and haul the bike out, stick the wheels in, blow the tyres up, run over it with a baby wipe [they work great] and we’re off to the Strasbourg Prologue.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 2: Prologue Parcours Recce, Strasbourg

I walked in to the press room this morning and one of the guys from French radio told me that Ulrich and Sevilla were gone - sent home by T-Mobile due to their involvement in Operacion Puerto, the Spanish drugs bust. Le Tour de France 2006.
Diaries

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 1: The Operation Puerto Bombshell!

The Operation Puerto bombshell has gone off - we just received a communiqué -Tour organisers defy Court of Arbitration in Sport and Astana Wurth DO NOT start 2006 Tour de France! If you are ever asked at a pub quiz how far it is from Kirkcaldy to Strasbourg, the answer is 915 miles -- if you go via Calais, Reims and Metz that is.I left Kirkcaldy at 7.30 pm last night and was waiting to board my ferry out of Dover exactly eight hours and 527 miles later.
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At Random

Interviews

Stuart Travis – on Smashing the National 30 Mile TT Record with 53:44

The 30 Mile TT Record was held by Michael (Doctor Hutch) Hutchison with 55:39 but was smashed recently in the Leo Road Club event by Stuart Travis, with 53:44. The record actually fell before the Team Bottrill man finished with Gary Chambers (NOPINZ) clocking 55:09 before Travis depth charged that with his 53 minute ride. Travis also led his team to a new team record by a remarkable 10 minutes. Here’s what Mr. Travis had to say to VeloVeritas a day or two after he put his name on the same page in the CTT record book as some of the greatest short distance time trial riders the sport has ever known.
Nuggets

A Good La Vuelta a Espana?

Barring accidents or a dreadful time trial on Saturday it looks like Alejandro Valverde has stitched up his first Grand Tour (at last!). At the end of all of the big stage races we need to ask some questions and La Vuelta a España throws up some thought-provokers!
Team Wiggins Pro Dan Patten

Mixing it with some Kermis Kings

Kermis Kings... Perhaps a combination of Mallorca, having a hectic time before getting out to Belgium, and a bit of illness and settling down in Belgium, but for the first few weeks certainly I have been feeling rather lethargic.
Garmin Physio Toby Watson

Consistent Aggression (Tour of Britain 2010)

Consistent Aggression. I'm in Ipswich, southeast England, and have finally found time to get finger to keyboard (what is the modern equivalent of "pen to paper"?) to scribble (again-what's the digital version of scribbling?-such important questions on this blog!) down a little of what's been going on.
Interviews

Dave Gardiner – a trip down Memory Lane with the 1960’s Kirkcaldy & Dist. CC

It was 1971 when I first joined a cycling club; Kirkcaldy & District CC with their red, yellow and black strip. One of the coolest guys in the club was Dave Gardiner, a signwriter to trade so whilst we rode somewhat mundane Mercians, Robertsons, Andy McNeils and Flying Scots his bike would be liveried up in proper red and white Faema trim, a la Merckx, right down to the little Duomo motif on the head tube.
Interviews

Davie Lines – A New Team for 2014: Starley Primal

VeloVeritas has just about caught up with merry-go-round of new teams and transfers for 2014 – and one of the rotations we noticed is that former Scottish Criterium Champion, Davie Lines moves from the baby blue of MG Maxifuel Pro Cycling to the more aggressive red and black of Starley Primal Pro Cycling. Here’s what he had to say to VeloVeritas just the other day...
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