Aussie rules!

So it was Cadel Evans who won the Tour de France this year, the first Australian to win the tour, with the Schleck brothers 2nd and 3rd (the first time two brothers have been on the podium together.)Evans has been second twice before and it's a testament to his determination to keep on trying that he has won this year. At 34 lesser men might have given up, but not him. He's the oldest winner since WW2.

Mark Cavendish won the green jersey for sprinting, winning the last stage on the Champs Elysees to seal his victory. This was his 20th stage win in his career, his 5th this Tour, and he's the first British cyclist to win the green jersey. (He's from the Isle of Man, which still counts!)

Geraint Thomas wore the white jersey (best young rider) for 6 days and finished 31st overall and is one to watch. It was a shame that Brad Wiggins was injured in the first week as he would probably have been in the top 5. Hopefully he'll be fighting fit for next year.

The Schleck brothers are future contenders, as is Pierre Rolland who won best young rider.

Garmin Cervelo was the winning team.

It has been fab to watch and I've made more progress on Viktor, now at the gusset stage.

I'll have to get my sport fix from watching the cricket until the football season starts again (13th August).

maillot jaune et chaussette rouge

Andy Schleck

 I've been gripped by the coverage of the Tour de France 2011 as the cyclists take on the French Alps.

Yesterday there was the dramatic breakaway by Andy Schleck as he broke away from the pack with 2 hours of riding to go to the Col du Golibier, won the stage and cut Voeckler's lead to 15 seconds. Today Albert Contador (last year's winner) broke away with 3 hours of cycling left to do, but he was caught by Pierre Rolland who won the stage on L'Alpe d'Huez (and was the first Frenchman to win a stage this year). However Andy Schleck has the maillot jaune and is ahead by 53 seconds of his brother Frank! So it's all to ride for tomorrow.

Cavendish still has the green jersey for sprinting and Samuel Sanchez is the King of the Mountains

It's been good TV knitting too even though I've had to put the needles down when the cyclists were on the downhill stretches to Pinerolo(stage 17), that was eyepopping! A couple of riders ended offroad and in someone's carport- it was just as well they'd left the gates open or it could have been horrendous. The first Viktor sock is finished and second cast on. I've made it a little longer than in the photo on the pattern to suit how I like my socks.

I'm enjoying the TV coverage but I am a little envious of my in-laws who took their campervan to L'Alpe D'Huez to watch the race today and will now be heading to Paris for Sunday. I'm not sure if they're off to Grenoble tomorrow. Wish I was!

one city, two different views

This week we've watched two very different stories set in London.

Luther is a dark, uncompromising fast paced crime story showing the seedier side of London. D doesn't usually watch crime drama with me, unless it's European and subtitled, but he was engrossed by this one too and made a point of watching the three hour long episodes. John Luther is the troubled cop played by Idris Elba, who is very smart, very energetic and totally focused on his job. We didn't see the first series so we're going to have to track it down. It was difficult to knit along to though as the plot moves so fast! Still, it was well worth watching if you have a strong stomach!

Then we watched Another Year a low key film by Mike Leigh. It charts the highs and lows of a group of middle-aged people. It is very understated and very moving. Geographically it's set about 5 miles away from the carnage in Luther, and emotionally it's on a different planet altogether.
This was better to knit along to and I didn't jump out of my seat either! I like Mike Leigh's films very much, the acting is always top notch (Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville in particular) and I can relate to the characters.    Well worth watching, four stars ★★★★

There's been some top notch sprinting from Mark Cavendish in France this week as he won his second stage in Chateauroux today.
But his delight was tempered when he was told that Bradley Wiggins had crashed out of the race with a suspected fractured collarbone. Owwww!
The TdF is good to knit along to, the rhythm of the peloton can be really helpful as long as I put down my needles for the last km!
I've turned the heel on Viktor and am now working on the leg until I get fed up with it, or it reaches a suitable length! The premiere of HP7 part 2 was shown in London's Leicester Sq last night so I'd better crack on if I want to wear these when we go to see the final part at the cinema!