Tour of Britain 2011- 11th-18th September

[auscyclefan94]

Tiernan Locke deserves a pro contract. He's been super strong and has impressed me a fair bit. Supposedly he has been doing quite well in the British domestic circuit.

 

[Andy99]

Ian Wilkinson, Wouter Sybrandy, Richard Handley, Mathieu Claude, Stijn Neirynck & Gediminas Bagdonas 6m30 up on the bunch.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Ian Wilkinson, Wouter Sybrandy, Richard Handley, Mathieu Claude, Stijn Neirynck & Gediminas Bagdonas 6m30 up on the bunch.

well over an hour ago - wonder how they're doing now - great coverage today...

 

[Andy99]

well over an hour ago - wonder how they're doing now - great coverage today...

Probably finished now then!


Also an hour or so ago....'A level crossing has closed in between the break and the the peloton. Could get interesting'

 

[LugHugger]

Just back from the enjoying today's start at Bury St Edmunds courtesy of a VIP package won from the very kind people at Adnams Brewery (love you guys!!!). A really good turn out with the market square being pretty packed. Inevitably, Cav got the biggest cheer but Thor was a very close second. Great to see his stripes being acknowledged. Caught the race at the second 'KOM' (stop s******ing at the back) and the bunch was together with the Rabo boys at the front just tapping it out. It's pretty blustery out there today but the first half of the race has been dry.

Looking forward to seeing tonight's highlights. My money's on a sprint and Cav taking the win.

 

[LugHugger]

Probably finished now then!


Also an hour or so ago....'A level crossing has closed in between the break and the the peloton. Could get interesting'

Approaching 20 miles to go, break still has a minute or two on Boom group with the peloton a couple of minutes back if you believe the tracking on the ToB website.

 

[roundabout]

http://twitter.com/#!/SkodaUKCycling

4min with 28k to go

 

[auscyclefan94]

http://twitter.com/#!/SkodaUKCycling

4min with 28k to go

Breakway looks like it will survive. Anyone of significance who is challenging for the overall in the break?

 

[Moondance]

Breakway looks like it will survive. Anyone of significance who is challenging for the overall in the break?

Nah. Best placed in the break is 6+ minutes down.

 

[theyoungest]

Breakway looks like it will survive. Anyone of significance who is challenging for the overall in the break?

It won't.

blablabla

 

[Dancing On The Pedals]

It won't.

blablabla

HTC will want to go out with a bang, both today and tomorrow.

 

[LugHugger]

Looks like the lead is down to a couple of hundred meters at most. 10k to the line.

Edit: Bah! I've given up trying to read the live tracking. Congrats to whoever wins!

 

[Andy99]

10km to go - 3-00 is the gap. Pick a winner from the break

Three riders from domestic continental teams in the break.....could be their first stage win. I'll go for Ian Wilkinson

Winner from;

Ian Wilkinson - Endura
Wouter Sybrandy - Sigma Sport Specialized
Richard Handley - Team Raleigh
Mathieu Claude - Europcar
Stijn Neirynck - Topsport Vlaanderen
Gediminas Bagdonas -AN Post

 

[Andy99]

2'40" @5km. Should be a fun few k's in the break

Can Wouter pull it off and give us another Dutchie win??

 

[sublimit]

10km to go - 3-00 is the gap. Pick a winner from the break

Three riders from domestic continental teams in the break.....could be their first stage win. I'll go for Ian Wilkinson

Winner from;

Ian Wilkinson - Endura
Wouter Sybrandy - Sigma Sport Specialized
Richard Handley - Team Raleigh
Mathieu Claude - Europcar
Stijn Neirynck - Topsport Vlaanderen
Gediminas Bagdonas -AN Post

Dont know much about the other riders apart from Wilkinson to make a proper prediction.

Probably Wilkinson because he has some sort of sprint I think.

 

[Frosty]

Bagdonas of An Post won apparently

http://twitter.com/#!/raphacondor

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

bagdonas excellent season

 

[sublimit]

bagdonas excellent season

Yes, He's the kind of rider HTC would pick up and turn into a strong rider.
I dont know what his status is at An Post but he could do a job at a bigger team I suspect.

 

[Sum_of_Marc]

Yes, He's the kind of rider HTC would pick up and turn into a strong rider.
I dont know what his status is at An Post but he could do a job at a bigger team I suspect.

I suspect it will be something like, they'd be happy to keep him, but won't stand in his way if an offer comes in.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

bagdonas excellent season

Yes, it really is.

After not even having a Conti team last year, he's taken his opportunity this year incredibly well. He won his national TT championship, the overall and stages at both the Ras and the Ronde de l'Oise and now a stage at the Tour of Britain. He's a really strong, versatile rider. He's good at time trials, can work like a beast on the front, can win from breakaways and can even win bunch sprints.

In fact, I'm really surprised that a bigger team hasn't grabbed him. He has a bunch of those weird World Tour status points too. Andy Fenn was the biggest name of the riders An Post signed at the start of the year, and Fenn has had an excellent season, but Bagdonas has overshadowed all of them.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Interesting article about Bagdonas:
http://www.velochrono.fr/actu/2011/qui-est-gediminas-bagdonas/

 

[maltiv]

So sky will most likely go through their home race without a single stage win. Steve Cummings will most likely go up to 3rd overall but that's it. The ITT will be won by Boom.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Just seen the highlights. Bagdonas really wanted to be in the break today. He started a break, got caught and then started another one. He smashed the rest in the sprint, but celebrated a bit early and might have got caught.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Even the highlights were to boring to watch.
FF'd through to the finish of a stage that was flat in every sense.
Bagdonas deserved it for being first up the road.

 

[greenedge]

Sky have handed it to Boom on a platter. Stage 6 showed Geraint could not even handle the rollers, but Sky rode for him. Worrying for Copenhagen