Tour a blog Day 17 & 18 & 19

A triple day no less! Avid fans, I bet you cannot wait.

So, time trial review and then the big one. A proper big one. The double accent of Alpe d’huez. So good they rode it twice. And finally a mountainous monster with a descent. Froome beware.

First the time trial. A very good example of how pre riding a stage can influence a win. In the Armstrong era, he talked about preparation being everything. Little did we know this referred to whacking EPO into himself, but what he also did was recce every important stage meticulously. Team Sky have taken this on and the time trial was a great example. I’m sure a few people questioned the bike change, but sky had obviously done this before and knew the advantages. Another Froome win.

The alpe stage again proved to be the crown jewel of the tour, with drama and finally a French win. It’s only fair in their home tour. Froome proved to be human for once and took the time penalty for an illegal feed. 20 seconds is a small price to pay compared to a full on blow up.

And then to a fairly neutral day out for the overall. Froome was bound to mark out his rivals – there is no need to worry now, Paris is so close.

The most impressive performance for me is Richie Porte – shows what a good team mate can do.

And finally seems the doping question has gone away. I hope so. I still find I can’t quiet believe, been let down too many times now. But on balance it’s a good thing for the sport if he is clean.