Tour de France 2014 Stage 21

Driving to Monterey

For Laura B's birthday

Took my eyes off the

Champs Élysée

Péraud took a tumble

Dang!! What a shame

So much can go wrong

In the racing game 

But ultimately Kittel

made it home free

As did Tour Champion

Nibali

The shark of Messina,

a Scorpio

Rode like a virtuoso

On the mountains

and on Pave

He really never had a bad day

Calm and serene

he inspired his team

through cloudbursts and crashes

and heat

I suspect if the top men had been there

He 'd still be hard to beat

Péraud and Pinot came deux et trois

And Bardet rode so well for what

almost was

Finally France had it's day in soliel

And the sun sets sweetly on the

Champs Élysée 

Tour de France 2014 Stage 20

Tony Martin wins the TT

Coming fourth is Nibali

Peraud came second

Heroic I reckon

Sixth place belongs to Van Garderen, T

He'll move up a spot in the GC

And  ends his race happily

A study in serenity

Romain Bardet flats and loses a place

It will take a while 'till 

his smile is replaced

Thibault Pinot does a great job

His third place in Paris makes him gallic god

Special mention to König, L

He moves up two spots by TT-ing well 

Tour de France 2014 Stage 19

A fast first hour

A five man break

At Bergerac

mauvais il fait

A sprinters' finish

in bad conditions

as  fast men 

struggle for position

But right now on the

open road

Cannon and Giant

pull the load

It's still bad out there on the route

80 miles to finish cute

A nasty hill quite near the end

Looks like a chance for Peter Sagan

Il pleut a verse

Rain torrential

     The fear factor exponential

 So much suffering 

So much pain

Now we have horrendous rain

The roads begin to undulate

Fingers crossed for safety's sake

The peloton moves like a giant snake

Garmin riders raise the stakes

Navardauskas huge risks takes

All eyes on the Lithuanian

A breakaway win?

This is insane, man!

A big pile up!

 Sagan! Bardet! Andre is down!

Navardauskas wins for Garmin Sharp

He rode with skill, guts, and heart

Pete S ages before our eyes 

another stage win fate denies

Tour de France 2014 Stage 18

Today it's about the Tourmalet

Then 69th time for this climb

Blel Kadri and Nieve lead the way

On the  climb of the Tourmalet

Nieve wants to win for Sky

They'd have one stage at least

First climbed in 1910

Tourmalet is still a beast

On the descent

Valverde appears and

opens a gap

This is his tactic

That's that about that

MoviStar has men down the line

Second place he says

Is mine! mine! mine!!

On the Hautacam

Chris Horner attacks

Nibali effortlessly reacts

It's Vicenzos' Tour

Phil says that's a fact

Every other hard man is at his back

9 climbing KMs with no respite

Nibali shows that might is right

He passes Nieve like he was standing still

An extraordinary show of will

Valverde in trouble--sorry chum

Pinot has him on the run

And also TeJay Van Garderen

5 KM Nibali is flying

Majka wants two

But the French lads say

'Phooey to you'

Pinot strives to take place two

Nibali wins with a seven min lead

Pinot in second 

Majka takes third and KOM

He's pleased to be first of the mountain men

The Polka Dots are his this year

In future all riders will have him to fear

Van Garderen still has skin in the race

But right now he's in 6th place

The Time Trials still stand ahead

But Nibali has put this year's Tour to bed

Tour de France 2014 Stage 17

Four tough climbs in the last fifty miles

Pain upon pain this stage piles

Referred to as the ring of fire

Queen Stage stakes could not be higher

The finish point at Pla d'Adet

Is a lofty goal for all today

After TeJay's post rest bad stage

A good mind set he must engage

For us mortals on the sidelines

this is the best and worst of times

Katusha rides hard for Purito

Polka Dots would be so sweet--oh!

The break of eight includes Voigt, J

Could they possibly stay away?

Kiriyenka pounces in a solo attack

Rodriguez takes points behind his back

Nibali descends breezily

But the next climb won't come easily

The toughest climb of Le Tour this year

Gives each rider something to fear

Bardet bounces back gaining time

And Valverde seems to have something in mind

Roche and Visconti both excell

Majka seems to be doing well

Ag2r shines as a team

50 points for first over the top

Nibali moves fast he's so hard to stop

TeJay hangs in rejeuvinated

T, Pinot goes on unabated 

Majka winks as he takes the 50

A Polish youth who'll go down in history

Tinkoff Saxe takes a stage times three

Another great ride for Nibali !

Valverde managed to come in 10th

Succeeding in what he meant

Fantastic work by all of the faves

This was another wonderful stage

Tour de France 2014 Stage 16

Mark showed up for the mussels meal

His team has inked a new deal--they

became  Etixx-Omega Pharm

As Mark is rehabbing his wounded arm

Tony Martin signs up for two years

Filling the OP gang with cheers

Quite sheer and sexy is next years' kit

I wonder if the lads are feeling it?

Three more days in the Pyrenees

Hopefully healed hurt hands and knees

Every team has taken their bumps

As they now approach some mighty lumps

Out with pneumonia is Costa, Rui

A total disappointment for he

Simon Yates sent home today

To save him for another day

The KOM is highly contested

And all participants are rested

Finalement a 21 man break

All teams have so much at stake

The most to gain has Kwiatkowski, M

Who could move closer to the top ten

In this this crowd Frenchman Tommy V

Looking towards a stage victory 

It would be his third at Bagnères-de-Luchon

So Tommy is saying "Allons" "Allons"!!

At the top of the Porte D'Aspet

 A ten minute lead in the breakaway

This longest stage Bob Roll says

Is about energy conservation 

With rough mountain days ahead 

And TT altercation 

The Peloton lurches forward

There's a twelve minute gap

Poor Jack Bauer struggling

Off the back

The long descent of the Porte d' Balès

raises hopes in the breakaway

Just to remind you--it's hors catégorie

Thin air adds to the GC story

They're dropping like flies

On the Porte d'Bales

Tommy V keeps attacking

Palmeres he's packing

Mike Rogers moves well

TeJay is dropped -mon deux!

Bardet struggles too--sorry for you

We're watching climbing hell

The descent is on 

Nibali holds tight

Europcar has the fight

MovieStar is lurking

But Rogers plan is working 

Tenth try is a charm

Mike raises his arm

Sorry TeJay

This wasn't your day

Pinot soldiers on

Tinkoff's Australian

Shows jubilation

Finally a win!

After so much effort

We're so proud of him!

Tour de France 2014 Rest Day 2

Revue Jour de repos

1.

 A jolly German giant Kittel, Marcel

Has a coiffure which suits him well

Movie star locks and a mighty stroke

Marcel knows his swag is swell

He is also in on the joke

As at his hair we all fun poke

Marcel's  strength makes him a brute

And yet his hairdo is so cute!

A man who proudly displays gel products

Can be excused for strength of ox

2.

Finally Le Tour de France

has some Frenchmen extant

Excellent work from Gallic born

shows France coming into form

Tony Gallopin of Belisol

wins stage 11 and thrills us all

He wore yellow on Bastille jour

Tony is having a merveilleux Tour

Ditto Pinot for FDJ.fr

Young Thibaut has come a long way

Strong in the mountains

an improving descender

He's proved to be an aggressive stage ender

He's always quick to come out and play

Especially with fellow Frenchman Bardet

They duel for supremacy day by day

He is known for a strong TT

Will he battle it out with BMC?

Romain Bardet, 23 

A natural rival for Pinot, T

Both are French, fast and young

as they strive for the podium

Let's not forget Jean Christophe Peraud

Sixth overall--On dit Chapeau!

Always working-- Pierre Rolland

For years he's been Frances' go to homme

For 25 plus years the French failed to score

But these young lads have success in store

The drought is broken for La Belle France

Our gracious hostess gets her chance

3.  

With no Berto, Cav, Froomie, (nor Brad)

Some felt Le Tour was going to be sad

Now as  3lèm semaine starts

We've surely had a change of heart

Just as the weather

Each stage hard to predict

And yet a great contest has ended it

So many heroes emerging from Chaos

All the top riders are not such a loss

Not that we don't love them still

But this year's Tour has been a thrill

Tour de France 2014 Stage 15

Eminger, M and Jack Bauer

Make an early escape

But the fin at NÎmes

could ruin their dream

if crosswinds show their power

It's a stage for the sprinters

unless the wind splinters

Pete Sagan would love to win

Cannon has worked so hard for him

Ditto Giant's Kittel, Marcel

Who's  been sprinting very well

The wind picks up

The skies turn black

 Sprinters salivate

As the course is flat

The weather is already nasty In NÎmes 

A drama filled finish remains to be seen

Encore Mère Nature in all her glory

puts her mark on the Tour de France story

Les Parapluies de Nîmes have all risen

broadcasting bad weather on television

At Cavaillon we await the crosswinds

Weather may decide who wins

Winds whip up on a long flat road

A dramatic stage end they bode

The final 10 K is the danger zone

As the strong men lunge for home

Will the lovely town of NÎmes

be the grave of broken dreams?

In the front Rui, C

Astana and BMC

The rain buckets down

No shelter is found

It's just real wet and sticky

We're looking at lead outs

And protecting contenders 

A nervous stage with dueling agendas

Roundabouts and slippery roads

Makes the fin a horny toad

Giant leads under a cloudburst

Only lightning could make this worse

12 miles to go a peak of sun

La Mère Nature will have her fun

The break is intact

The sun on their backs

Kristoff takes the stage 

By a hairs breath 

For poor jack Bauer 

Sudden death 

Disappointment for Garmin Sharp

When Jack rode with so much heart

He weeps like a babe 

His dream unmade

Katusha 's Norwegian wood

Kristoff, A

Wins the day

Just like he said he would

Tour de France 2014 Stage 14

A ripping start to stage 14

Sagan takes the sprint clean

part of a break of seventeen

Astana leads bunch lean and mean

The long hard climb of the Lautaret

Is not the worst they'll do today

The Col d'Iozard beyond category 

is the peak which brings the glory

Also a hefty prize in euros

for the man who can endure-oh!

In the break De Marchi, Allesandro

showing lots of get-up-and-go

Best placed in the break is Geraint, T.

But he's no threat to the GC

I want to mention Nibali, V

who quipped quite humorously

the mother of the imbecile is always pregnant'

 (latter day dopers is whom he meant)

Who knew Vincenzo was so witty

this Yellow clad son of Sicily?

In Italian it sounds even better

"La madre degli imbecili/cretini/stronzi e sempre incinta"

Purito takes KOM points on Lautaret

Not contesting is De Marchi, A

Astana descends like a flock of blue birds

Hoping to swoop over Col d'Iozard

A peak elite for those who race hard

Whose Tour hopes will it retard?

Nibali's' team remains on guard

Net Ap strains for Konig, L

Another who is climbing well

Col d'Iozard of unrelenting grade

An Alp where riders' reps are made

27.7 miles of climbing hell

KOM points and cash go to Purito

Joquim Rodriguez--Chapeau!

Ditto descender Fuglsang , J

He 's lived to ride another day

A cheeky attack by R Bardet--

An anxious moment for TeJay

A lot of work remains today

Risoul awaits "Allez" "Allez"!!

An 8 mile climb until the top

Romain Bardet can not be stopped

De Marchi rides with urgency

Majka R continues to flee

A stage is a possibility

An outrageous ride for Tinkoff Sax

Nibali makes a huge attack!

He looks quite  calm and collected

Majka wins-- so unexpected!!!

Nibali's two extends his lead

The next three spots held by the French

For future Tours a consequence

A stage of super strong results

Frank Schleck should do some somersaults 

TeJay rode well once more

Podium Paris an open door  

For Majka a great victory

And a very good day for Nibali

Tour de France 2014 Stage 13

Tour de France 2014 Stage 13

Garmin Sharp loses Acevedo

Their best climber has to go

Joining Vichot and Navarro

The toll of crashes and cold

Is starting to show

The pace is fast

Towards the Col de Paraquit

It's a hard fought ascent

De Marchi prevails

But J Fuglsang crashes

Foiled by a stray bottle

He 's Nibali's man

This could be trouble

De Marchi descends

Followed by Bakelants

They pass through Grenoble

With two men in the front

Astana 's Fuglsang took a hard bump

The sprint points are taken by

De Marchi

But all eyes are on Fuglsang

How is he really? 

Jakob is seen as essential to Nibali

He 's riding back slowly

Hanging out with Visconti

Before all now looms the final climb

Can they make it at all

Or will some be left behind?

Chamrousse a beast Alpine

At eighteen K an awful climb

FDJ works for Pinot, T

Marching onward A De Marchi

The pace of the race

Has been so high

The non-climbers might be excused 

For wanting to die

Astana is shredded

Richie Porte holds his place

Many fall victim to the stage's hot pace

TeJay is there

But this climb is a bear

Another half hour of uphill hell

Leopold Konig is riding well

Riche Porte starts to crack

With Nieve at his back

Valverde attacks

Nibali at his back

TeJay takes a try

He's a marked guy

Chris Horner helps Rui

A big move by Nibali

Together Bardet and TeJay

But moving well is Valverde

As is young Frenchman Bardet

But Nibali powers in the lead

His yellow jersey hopes to feed

He seems so calm

He seems so cool

This year's Tour he seems to rule

He zips up his jersey

Sits up straight

What a win to celebrate!

Tour de France 2014 Stage 12

Andrew Talansky had to quit

His battered body couldn't take it

He needs time to heal and rest

Hope he feels he passed his test

He showed bravery and nerve

For him it is a learning curve

Ditto darling Pete Sagan

vexed he was an also ran

to the ground his bike he threw

Oh, come on, Pete

that's not like you!

Although these lads are cream of crop

They've much to learn to  reach the top

Le Tour is a demanding mistress

Leaving strong men in distress

There is a break of five today

They've managed to remain away

No one too high in the GC

Nothing to fear for Nibali

Giant Shimano taps speedily

For John Degenkolb most probably

The stage route winds through Beaujolais

A cloudless sky brings heat today

De la Cruz in the break took full points 

on climbs one and two 

Sadly, he crashes and must leave the race

"Dommage, David " to you

In the final KMs of the stage

The break is down to two

Simon Clarke and Langeveld

Can their lead be held?

The Cote de Grammond

Simon Clarke shines in the sun

The pace is blistering, too

Cannondale is nowhere to be found 

Is our green team feeling blue?

Europcar leads the pack

But Giant is ready to rumble

John Degenkolb  is their guy

I hope he doesn't 't stumble

Five miles to go

The sprinters mass

Clark's adventure could not last

Kristoff takes it

Two Sagan

A sun struck fin in Saint-Ettiene

Rest well all you tired men

Tour de France 2014 Stage 11

Tour de France 2014 Stage 11

Andre Greipel takes the intermediate 
sprint
Marcel Kittel came two
Pete Sagan does not contest 
Going for the stage win is my guess
Andrew Talansky struggles at the rear
He's in a world of hurt I fear
He took too many heavy falls
It's just not his year
That is all
The hard part of the stage is ahead
Should poor Andy have stayed in bed?
Cannondale works hard for Pete
A win at Oyonnax would be sweet
The crucial climb is upon the bunch
The break surely feels the crunch
Nicolas Roche makes a gap
Der Panzerwagen brings him back
Nibali ready to attack
Sagan speeds down at 50 mp
Still ahead Gallopin, T
He takes the stage courageously 
A brilliant win for Lotto Bell
John Degenkolb takes two quite well
Sagan gets skunked 
A Slovakian slump
And Andy continues in hell
Fighting back from elimination
His pluck invites congratulation
The media is seduced by this
Podium presence is eclipsed 
If you get a lemon make lemonade
Andrew Talanskys'rep is made
A bombastic pit bull at the start
He's learning how to race with heart

Heart, teamwork, and well timed attacks

Mark the stage fin at Oyonnax

Tour de France 2014 Stage 10

Tour de France 2014 Stage 10

Today is a gnarly day in the Vosges

A day of climbing with seven peaks

Everyone has to shoulder the load

Their GC position to keep

Tinkoff is a danger team

Working for Alberto's dream

Purito and Sagan join the break

KOM points they would like to take

The weather sucks

Il pleut à verse

It's cold as well

Could it be worse?

Phil says ' these are flood conditions '

Will wet upset GC positions?

Peter S solos on the descent

Going for the intermediate sprint 

Adding 20 points to his haul

For sprints Sagan lays down the law

Alberto falls and loses time 

Astana hurries towards the line

Kwaitkowski is a big fave

It looks like Alberto is done for the race

We didn't 't get to see him crash

But his Tour flame has turned to ash

He abandoned his team

Wishing them well

We are watching a moment of cycling hell

Tony Martin and Kwaitkowski

play a game of cat and mouse-ie

Putting Astana on the defense

This is a bummer--no arguments

Team tactics usually made by committee 

Are up in the air now

This isn't pretty

Tony Martin again at the front

Rodriguez persists his KOM bump

So now Le Tour is 52 card pick-up

Der Panzerwagon refuses to stop

Tony G. may retain yellow

But Lotto B is far from mellow

One thing we've learned today

That best laid plans can go astray

No amount of training or pluck

Can keep you astride when you 

run out of luck

Tommy V loses the KOM to Purito

But there's still a lot of race to go

Astana and Nibali take the climb

It's short but steep Tony bonked

Not a fun time

His sacrifice for his young mate

Shows us Tony is truly great

Rodriguez lunges ahead of K

He thinks he can take the stage today

La Planche des Belles Filles looms ahead

Nibali thinks he can put it to bed

Nibali takes off  

Chasing Purito 

He takes the win

Astanas' hero

Andrew Talansky loses ten minutes

All you can say is that he's still in it

TJ does well 

he ends up seventh

For him a rest day is 

looking like heaven

The loss of Berto

Scars the proceedings

Le Tour could use a psychic reading

Nibali now looks the straight out star

Again wearing yellow, he will go far

Congrats to Vincenzo and Astana

Hope you get your rest mañana !

Tour de France 2014 Stage 9

The end of stage 8

showed the GC

Has a lot of energy

Alberto and Nibali

Dueled for a while

As did Porte and Valverde

Talansky went down

TJ recouped

All in all

A mighty group

Today's stage has ranked climbs six

Perhaps wet weather in the mix

Peter Sagan is first out the gate!

For his first stage win

He just can't wait

Much for us to contemplate

Today could be one for the break

Lots of high energy guys at the head

Tony Martin and De Marchi, A

Lead several parts of the breakaway

Tony Martin stays in front 

Takes the intermediate sprint

The rain starts to fall 

Soaking one and all

A sweet Sunday outing this isn't 

50 KM to the finish in Mulhouse

It's Tony Martins' race to lose

Purito takes a point for the KOM

But Tony Martin takes that too

Leaping up Le Grand Ballon

OP Martin descends like a hawk

A Panzerwagen with wings--real talk!

T. Gallopin puts down the gas

Dreams of jeune make his go fast

Tony Martin flies at 50 km per hour

A man of legendary power

Today two Tonys create the wind

Martin TTs for the stage

Yellow for Tony Gallopin

15 KM to go to the end

Bastille Day! How great for a yellow clad Frenchman

Panzerwagen marches on with aplomb

Tony Martin -- you are the bomb !

He wins!  And Gallopin takes yellow

That's a pair of happy fellows

Cancellara takes two

Three Van Avermaet

I'm pretty thrilled by all of that!