it's nearly here! on Saturday 198 riders will roll out of Mont-St-Michel and into 3519km of a light bicycle ride through the French countryside

yeah, right. this year there are 7 HC climbs, 13 category 1 climbs, and a whole heap of humps and bumps. there are two time trials, one being a Dauphine-style (if less severe) mountain climb. and there are 7 flat stages, ostensibly "for" the sprinters, but with enough lumpy bits that it opens up to a whole heap of riders who might not normally have a chance. and there'll be breakaways, crashes, nutter fans with punchable faces, all that!

let's all chat a bit in the comments, but a quick public service TV Guide. this refers only to Eurosport so far:
most stage broadcasts start at 1pm UK time in the first week, 12:45 thereafter. a few are also broadcast in full, from 10:45 (or 11:45 in the case of stage one, and like 3pm for the final stage). those are Stage 1 (this Saturday), Stage 9 (Sunday 10th), Stage 15 (Sunday 17th), Stage 19 (Friday 22nd), Stage 20 (Saturday 23rd), Stage 21 (Sunday 24th)

so! who's going to win yellow/green/polka/white? who's going to lose? who'll be the chump who gets caught behind a split for no good reason? when will Nibali and Aru have a mid-stage punchup?

commence CHAT