Tour de France Stage 21 2013

Tonight's final stage

reports I peruse

including the Guardian

and Cycling News 

Featuring beaux Parisian views 

And a final sprint which Cav did lose

Marcel Kittel took the stage

A studly sprint after scenic parade

Chris Froome in Yellow

Celebrates on the Champs

Consolidating Sky's victory dance

Le Tour one oh oh is now part of history

How the riders survived it

is still quite a mystery

Tour de France Stage 20 2013

Tour de France Stage 20 2013

This Saturday in Annecy

The weather is sunny

Also dispositions

jockeying for podium position

in the final minutes of the final stage

(Jens Voigt simply won't act his age)

Pierre Rolland craves the Polka Dots

Talansky wants to show what he's got

Quintano waiting in the wings

Alberto C--one of those things. . .

78 miles of Alpine climbs

The finish is uphill

These steep and final inclines

Are sure to give a thrill

Who will taste of victory

 and who a bitter pill?

On whom will Lady Luck confer

that extra bit of will?

Second to fifth place

are in dispute

Who will go to Paris

having earned winners' repute?

Five brutal climbs put all to the test

But Truth won't be told 'til the final minutes

Movistar are motivated

Both for Quintana and the team

Tinkoff-Saxo disagrees

they'd like to spoil that dream

Jens Voigt all natures' laws defying

Pulls away--he's flying

Up the heights of Mont Revard

Zoot Alors! He's riding hard!

TeJay and Gilbert take a try

Voigt is still the leading guy

by more than 3 minutes half-way up

Mont Revard

It's hard to believe he has come so far

With brains and brawn belying his age

he could actually win this stage

He takes points at the top

Why the heck not?

Chis Froome looks strong 

As he powers along

Contador loses ground

Rodriguez looks for third

Quintana two

Andrew Talansky 

Sacre blu!

The crowd is a zoo!

Froome and Quintana

battle it out

Nairo knows what he's about

Taking KOM as well as the stage

A veterans' run at a rookies age

He wins the White jersey and podiums two

Rodriguez takes three

We're proud of you!

All the top ten have earned their oats

The GC also fulfills our hopes

100th  edition of Le Tour

in hearts and minds will long endure!

Tour de France Stage 19 2013

Tour de France Stage 19 2013

Right out of the gate

is Hesjedal, Ryder

and also Izaguirre

'tho mighty peaks await them

which must engender fear

It's three AM in Cali

and I am on the case

my inner alarm clock

has adjusted to this race

All eyes are on the yellow 

Is Chris a tired fellow?

Five brutal climbs ahead

Does he wish he'd stayed in bed?

Rain ramps up the dread

Skies overhead are lead

The Col de Madeline

Humbling to all men

Looms like a giant 

stunning but malevolent

Bob Dole says he's never seen

a race so hard by increment

Ryder and Rolland take the peak

with mutual compliment 

Team Sky has unzipped their kit

Yumminess you must admit

30 KM of descent

Challenges with no relent

Sieberg faces abandonment

A flat for Rolland, Pierre

with chase group on his derrière

Ryder is left in his dust

Has his brave ride become a bust?

Rolland tops le Col de Tamie

He looks like a winner today

11 minutes on the peloton

Hesjedal remains long gone ;0(

Chasers are gaining on Pierre

It's tough to be a solitaire

Saxo-Tinkoff leads the main group

hoping to give Sky the boot

and help their chances of Best Team

as they climb the Col de l'Epine

Rolland gets closer to mountain king

Wonder what he must be thinking?

Storm clouds gather with thunder

Will rain decide the race,

I wonder?

The final climb Col de la Croix Fry

Is known for being grizzly

Navarro attacks 

Nieve as well

Costa is there

Rolland's in hell

The rain pours down 

A total bummer

Bad luck for these Lads of

Summer

Rui Costa rides alone

I'm chilled to the bone

watching them struggle home

Rodriguez attacks

Froome fights back

Costa wins the stage

Kloden two despite his age

Bakelants is third

Radio-Shacks' bright bird

All tour leaders finish as One

Stage 19 was too much fun!

Tour de France Stage 18 2013

TeJay van Garderen with Moser

and Christophe Riblon

has merrily been rolling along

until his gears go out of whack

Leaving him open to attack

Riblon goes off  into a ditch

The Col de Serenne is a bitch

Moser regains his spot in the lead

TeJay is back on the road

contending with a heavy load

Contador attacks on the descent

a champion spoiler is a compliment

Working with Kreuziger his teammate

 rough roads and rain complicate

Sky must wait out this move by Tinkoff- Saxo

having  l'Alpe d'Huez times two to go

The Sky team holds pat

Taking the risk 

That Contador can't continue like this

The lead group of three

Re-forms with TeJay

Who's having a wonderful ride today

Sky muscles on 

At the end there will be a weighing of bikes

Disqualifying those that are too light 

Scrambling for Quintano is Movistar

Hoping he can go be the new star

No more Mr Nice Guy

TeJay looks a brute

He could win this stage

Wouldn't that be cute?

Riche Porte is on fire

Is Chris Froome tired  ?

Five miles straight up

TeJay tries his luck

Nairo follows Chris

Seeks podium bliss

Quintana hangs tough

Can Chris do enough?

Contador runs out of gas

The crowd shows its' ass

Literally, in fact

We've had quite enough of that!!!!

Richie Porte revivified 

 Froomes' Sherpa guide

TeJay holds his line in

mob madness 

Shows one and all he is a badass

Chris is in trouble

Porte feeds him like a bird

Quintana takes his chance to be heard

Riblon fights hard for the French

He passes TeJay-- a Gallic mench

100 years of history

A hungry French crowd goes crazy!!!

TJ comes two in a valiant ride

Did his mechanical turn the tide?

Chris and Rich try to limit their loses

Contador fate once again crosses

A dejected TeJay so near but so far

Chris hits the wall

But Richie took the hit

You want to see teamwork :

This is it

Chris increases his lead

Something he'll need

Riblon wins the ride

What joy for French pride

Tour de France Stage 17 2013--ITT

Le Tour golden boy Chris Froome

Eclipsed Alberto

Perhaps it was the bike change ?

Tour de France Stage 16 2013

A big, brawny breakaway

dominates the stage today

Although Sky team leads the pack

They're more than twelve minutes back

Not trying to the break attack

As it races to the town of Gap

In front group is Philippe G

Ridin for Team BMC

He wants to win

As World Champion

You know my heart goes out to him

The Col de Manse a cat 2 climb

begins the bells of pain to chime

for twenty plus escapees

like tired mouses chasing cheese

Contador wants to gain some time

Rui Costa leads the climb

A dizzying descent for the Portuge

at speeds above KM fifty

He wins the stage handily

A second race for the GC

Is fought with Froome and Albert C

Chris aided by stalwart Richie P

Ends the day quite happily

Before tomorrow's TT

Tour de France Stage 15 2013

Today the climb of Mont Ventoux

makes veterans and neophytes

tremble in their boots collective

A brutish climb from base to tip

All tremble at the sight of it

A terrible objective

Of anguish non-selective

Inspiring extreme invective

of fear and loathing reflective

Mont Ventoux Provenc-ial Beast

Just tap away and grit your teeth

The first three hours of the race

have been run at a ripping pace

of thirty miles P H

Where peloton its' fate will face

on rocky crags which give no grace

Thirteen hard miles the will erase

for cowardice there is no place

Mont Ventoux--the cyclists' grail

Each one prays that he won't fail

A high profile breakaway

Would like to win this Bastille Day

Including Roy and Chavanel

A Gallic victory would be swell

Spoil the lad and spare the rod

In territoire of Marquis de Sade

MoviStar has lead the charge

Hopes Quintana will live large

21 KM of straight up pain

The victors will have earned their fame

On Green Pete S keeps his grip

With this sprint he may have clinched it

Anticipation makes me weak

Empathy from a non-athelete 

In a plot line straight from

Marquis de Sade

This is the Charge of the Light Brigade

Sky leads the pack

Will Contador attack?

Valverde is alive

Schleck has imploded

Bakelants survives

Quintana exploded with 7 miles to climb

He'd like to take 5 mins of time

Sky sneaks a meal in the final ten

There will be fines for them

Kennaugh cracks after giving his all

The harder they climb

The further they fall

Quintana moves like an Aztec eagle

Richie Porte plays a role regal

Protecting rule of king Froome 

Chris is free! He starts to zoom

Alberto cracked

Quint has yellow at his back!

It's Nairo and Chris amazingly

Dueling up the grade

This is the sort of moment

Where history is made

Chris dominates

Mont Ventoux

A textbook ride

Respect to you!!!

Sky's hand is shown

The penny dropped 

Chris Froome is 

the man on top!

Tour de France Stage 14 2013

Tour de France Stage 14 2013

A power break eighteen men strong

Sets a scorching pace from opening gong

Jen Voight is there and Albasini

The ETA  thirty minutes early!

The peloton is keeping close tabs

The breakaway is breaking bad

Le Tour one oh oh is fulfilling its' promise

A rollicking free-for-all is upon us

The sprinters are seeking a last chance for gloire

Saxo-Tinkoff sees an open door

For their wily climber Albert Contador

A good yesterday makes them hungry for more

Sky seems fragile with two men gone

The super break just keeps flying along

Van Garderen is there for BMC

with fellow Yank Andrew Talansky

Rojas takes the sprint and the cash prize

a bit of redemption for Movistar guys

Expect the unexpected seems this year's motto

Betting the outcome like playing the Lotto

Hoogerland and Cunego break out from the pack

Chasing the break it's not courage they lack

Thirty eight miles to go today

Still lots of juice in the breakaway

And just in case I forgot

to mention

Oh La La!  A testosterone  convention

Andrew Talansky is doing fine

A champ in the making he's biding his time

The break splinters to  goals individual 

Gone are the miles of tapping convivial 

A Frenchman Julian Simon

would love a win in Lyon

But in the end it's Mateo Trentin

an Italian on Quick Step

We'll hear much from this lad yet

Ditto Talansky, A

He moves up to 12th Place today!

And don't forget van G,Tejay

He well repped the USA

Tour de France Stage 13 Post Script

It is très très sweet

From a view psychologique

To watch Mark C

Come back to earth 

On his own two feet

He started believing

His own publicity

How nice to see

A return to simplicity 

He took his win with sincere gratitude

Nice to see he's adjusted his attitude

Tour de France Stage 13 2013

Crosswinds and Ingenuity 

Split the pack

Apparently 

Kittel in the latter group

Finds his smile begin to droop

OPQS spotted an opp

To keep their guy on top

They tacked smartly towards the wind

Using brains to help them win

A bold move echelons created

OPQS must not be underrated

Now their will is concentrated

On keeping Cav 

In the running

Argos-Shimano must be bumming

Phil puts it down to inattention

Also, necessity, I would mention 

I guess everyone is aware

Of which way the wind is blowing

But how to turn that to a plan

Is something well worth knowing

Will echelon two close the gap?

Valverde flats and struggles back

 Never regained the leading pack

Saxo-Tinkoff  grabs the slack

Alberto perks up and leads

Belkin shows surprising speed

Sagan and Cav remain in front

They are gonna have to thump

Saxo speeds in a muscular manner

Carrying Albertos' banner

Valverde's race is deflated

Froome's position complicated

Chris struggles in a box

Sky just can't pull up their socks

Crumbling under heavy tolls

Towards the finish  

Marky rolls

To road victory two-five

Our golden lad is still alive

Marky rebounds from diva rumbles 

For this win he's truly humble

Doubtless Peta read the riot act

In any case, we're glad Mark's back

Chris loses a minute nine

Much for Sky to bear in mind

Tour de France Stage 12 2013

A fast first hour of Stage 12

Quick Step works like Santa's elves

A five man break of non-contenders

a romance language win

would be drought-ender

Not Italy, nor France, nor Spain

has won a stage

We feel their pain

In spirit of complete reporting:

German riders four wins sporting

Drying out from fan attack

Mark will want his innings back

Chris Froome proudly wearing Yellow

proves he is a winning fellow

Half the race is history

The end result a mystery

Sagan keeps his grip on Green

Every result remains to be seen

Kwaitkowski and Quintana vie for White

two talented youngsters with lots of fight

A tailwind helps the pace stay high

At 45 plus KM they fly

Their ETA ahead of schedule

The peloton reveals its' mettle

Cav takes points in sprint intermediate

Just in case he might be needing it

10 miles to go

I'm fading fast

A latish night

Takes me to task

A nasty crash

Kittel takes it by a hair

Giving Cav his derrière 

Yikes! Real life, not a 

rehearsal 

Are we watching fortunes' reversal? 

Tour de France Stage 11 2013

Time Trials

Tony Martin flies through the time trial

He'll be hard to beat

Even Mercury himself

Is not so fleet

Tony's time 36:29

He flew across the finish line

Mark Cavendish, on the other hand,

raised the ire of a fan

Who showered him with urine

"to take the piss out of him", I reckon

Or some other form of perverted fandom

Sadly, it does not sound random

Now Cav really has reason to fuss

As he returns to the tour bus

Who could blame him for being pissed

Le Tour one oh oh shouldn't be like this

So far to comment Mark's refused

I'm sure he must feel quite abused

Usually l'homme of the hour

 target now of golden shower

Spectators, please, 

limit your commentary

to civilized means 

for this centenary !

Now awaiting the ride of Froome

I'm totally cozy in my room

Sagan does well

At Mont-Saint-Michel

The bwoy's just begun to bloom

Ditto Andrew Talansky

This young yank caught my fancy

in Cali Tour two years ago

He's got lots of skills on show

The winds may have changed

They have for Cav

Adoring fans now breaking bad

The fickle finger of fame beckons

his heroic status questioned

by some naysayers rude and loud

Bad behavior from the crowd

Officials have not censured him

some fans have their own opinion

Chris Froome zooms through check one

Hoping to win stage one one

Tony M sits in the hot seat

Will he win or know defeat?

Contador, Cadel, and Schleck fall behind

Can anyone beat Chris Froomes' time?

Flying like a bird of prey

Skys' bright boy does well today

padding his place in the GC

Tony Martin wins TT

For him the day ends happily

Tour de France Stage 10 2013

In the rolling hills of 

Northwest France

Andre G performs his  prance

Takes the sprint  intermede

Making a great show of speed

Pete and Cav pick up points, too

Under kite flying skies of blue

The wind picks up at 60 K

Complicating things today

A race for the sprinters

The last 'til Paris

Lotto and Quick Step OP

Hold the front of the Peloton

Hoping their lads can get it on

Compared to stage 9

Today is a cakewalk 

But Westra causes a bit of talk 

Sensing weakness in the breakaway 

It seems he'd like to spoil the day

For several super hungry sprinters

As winds tear the bunch to splinters

The lightweight lads who climb like goats

May wish for heavy overcoats

Or Velcro to keep them on their bikes

As  crosswinds create a new fight

Sky must defend their man in yellow 

A nervous day for Team Sky fellows

Everyone wants a place at the front

As coastal winds begin to taunt

Andre and Kittel are tapping big gears

Trying to counter crosswind fears

Lotto fancies an ape with wings

Wearing the jersey which winning brings

At 23 K the group turns a gauche

Which teams' dreams will blow to toast?

Battered on the Emerald coast

Break earns the right to boast

A collective Don Quixote

Brave lads all

( and you can quote me)

Kittel  takes  it by a whisker 

Argos-Shimano's winning risker

He sprints to take a stage times two

With such results you can't argue

Cav takes three

and cheekily

stares down a reporter

Come now, bwoy

it's nice to win

but in losing well don't falter