Almost every year since we have been together myself and Mrs Rouleur (no I am not calling her fat!) have had a mini Tour De France contest that has become more competitive and complicated with each passing year. As for the points allocation, well they are something that even ASO would be proud of and have been changed almost as much as those for the Green Jersey!!

The basic principle is this, simply pick a team of 9 riders, 1 rider for each of the four jerseys and then a further five riders to make up the team. Finally, for a few added bonus points pick a team for the race duration. The only rules are;

1) you can only have 1 of the four main contenders in your team (no Froome, Nibali, Quintana overloading)

2) a rider can’t be on both teams (this causes tension and glares aplenty!)

The prize, apart from bragging rights for a year, is a three course meal of your choosing cooked by the loser, so frankly a very big deal.

Every year I can almost taste the 10oz rib eye steak cooked rare and every year (Well almost every year) Mrs Rouleur somehow picks up the victory. But not this year, this year the prize is mine; my team is incredible! Quintana, Cav, G and Bardet to name but 4, whilst she has Thibaut Pinot pppffffff he is over 6 minutes back already!!

Two of Mrs Rouleurs rejected riders

But wait I am losing by ten points already!! How does this happen?? I read a ridiculous amount of cycling news and magazines and consider myself to have some knowledge of who is in form in the peloton, whilst all my wife does is try to filter out my inane ramblings. By rights I should walk this contest,

But tonight I have realised something, year in year out my wife somehow ends up with one man in her selection…………….. Peter Sagan, the same Peter Sagan who has walked the Green jersey contest for the last 3 years, the bunny hoping, wheelie pulling Slovakian champion. The same Peter Sagan who has already contributed almost 2/3rds of Mrs Rouleurs points this year. Its early days of course but my confidence has already been dented.

I will keep you posted on how the contest goes, but until then I am off to find my Gordon Ramsay cookbook………..