Tour De France 2019

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Get used to 'sportswashing' as a concept - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...team-being-used-to-sportswash-campaigners-say - F1 fans might already be up to speed.

Big GC contenders - Froome, Dumoulin, Roglic, victims of the Giro - gone.

Very open, much wow.

Teams restricted to eight, less room for lead out men, even less in it for the sprinters?

Sagan in Green, Allaphillipe in Polka Dots, but who in Yellow?

Sneaky bet on His Nibs to take it all, Thomas to crash out spectacularly in the second week while in Yellow ; Bernal to start well, take Thomas's Yellow, but fade woefully in the final week?

Side bet on Pinot to deliver a countrywide orgasm by taking Yellow in the last week and desperately holding on to it to Paris.

Allez!
 

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So Luke Rowe and Tony Martin have been DQ'd for an altercation that was settled equitably and personally between them, before either of them crossed the actual line, the finish line upon which there was no movement in the GC race whatsoever.

Ineos and Jumbo thus each lose one of their massively influential players as we head into the hills.

Ineos and Jumbo. That have between them three serious contenders for the Yellow Jersey.

Three serious contenders for the Yellow Jersey, only none of which are French.

Some might say it was ultimately quite a harsh penalty, but others might think it worth it if we could engineer a French victory on the back of it.

Like if you were French, and a Frenchman hadn't won the Tour since the 80's, that sort of thing.
 

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Mother Nature hates the French.

I love the French - Pinot's tears ate into me, Allaphillipe seeing the gig is up ate into me, Bardet might wear polka dots - that's all we have left.

1.30 BST kick off

Tune in - ITV4, Freeview 24

It will be immense.

There is only so much road left.
 

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Well that was fun.

Sagan is a legend, was it ever in doubt?

It could be argued, could it not, that Alaphilippe would have worn polka dots in Paris if he hadn't spent all that time in yellow, but i very much doubt he'll worry too much about that - combativité the very least he deserved, feckin' chapeau, man, he lit the Tour up like a candle.

Bardet in polka dots - possibly the least deserving in living memory but at least the Frogs get a proper jersey out of it.

Bernal - well we all saw it coming, where will it end? But bear in mind he can ship a minute or two in an ITT - so there is that.

Some interesting races ahead methinks.
 
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