Fantasy Cycling: week 2 round-up & week 3 spot prizes!

Another week of racing done, and who would have though that Tommy Voeckler would be resplendent in yellow even after the pain of the Pyrenees? That's what we've got though, and he's a breath of fresh air, for sure. In the road.cc and Evans Cycles Fantasy Tour de France it's just as tight as it is out on the road; here's the current lie of the land.

Those of you with good memories – or still with a vested interest in the top of the table – might recall that Mal71 was top of the pile on the first rest day with their team Mighty Bulls. The Aussie outfit is still right up there in second place but the current number one couldn't be a lot farther away geographically speaking; currently wearing fantasy yellow is team Redbone, the squad of Long Island-based scorekeeper . They've amassed 1,456 points over the 15 completed stages which is a batting average of 97.1, impressive stuff!

This one's not over yet though, not by a long shot. The three teams occupying second to fourth are all within 50 points of the lead, and there's twelve teams less than a hundred points off the lead. A couple of inspired/lucky picks in the mountains and you could easily make that back; A lone break in the mountains can be worth a whole heap of score, and there's plenty of mountains between here and Paris.

Here's our top ten. Chances are that unless someone a bit lower down pulls out all the stops it'll be one of these teams walking off with a fancy pants Trek Madone 5.2 worth £2,800. Good luck for week 3...

And where does that leave the rest of us? Well, it leaves us stroking our chins to work out how we can get one over on our mates or work colleagues in the final week. But there's still stuff to win too, in the form of spot prizes!

Trek Madone 5.2 Road Bike Reviews

I have a 2006 Madone 5.2 and was in a position to purchase a 2011 Madone 5.2 through the Trek friends and family deal a friend of mine gets for racing for a trek sponsored team. Even though the 2011 is made in Taiwan and not OCLV the difference in technology of the frame design is incredible. I'm 6'2 weigh 185 and the 2011 is stiffer than the 2006. The bottom bracket is 90mm and extremely stiff. I notice zero flex in the frame. The bike is 3/4 pounds lighter and screams down the descents. I think Trek makes the best bike for the masses and this one is a home run.

Strengths: !!!!HEY!!!!! Madone owners are you feeling like your crank isn't quite as stiff as it once was? Well your not alone!!!

That's because Trek has a design and or manufacturing flaw with the 2008/09 madones where the carbon fiber bottom bracket socket that holds the bearings wears out and the bearings are no longer able to seat snugly. Trek's fix is to hammer a over-sized bearing "known as the V2 bearing". Their is a whole forum post on this site that goes into why this is a crappy fix "I use the term fix loosely as this is really a patch" as I guess they are hoping you will crash or sell the bike in the time it takes to wear the socket out again.

Strengths: Drop down wouldn't allow 2011 in model year. This review is for a 2011 Madone 5.2.

After significant hassle with the manufacturer trying to get a replacement for a failed steerer tube (and subsequent, ugly crash), they finally relented and did the right thing. They didn't have another 2009 4.7, so they offered a 2011 5.2. After the year this mess took, I was ready to sue. I picked up the 5.2 replacement yesterday. After 1 mile on this bike, all was forgiven. I love the bike. The ride is crisp and peppy. You push the pedals and there's no bs from the bike. It goes. Moreover, it's comfortable, even without a professional setup. This may be the first bike I've owned where I am truly the limiting factor in the whole setup. I think it's faster than I am or will ever be. This was going to be my backup bike to my S-Works SL2 Roubaix. I'm afraid S-Works will become the backup. Today, I went my standard 38 mile loop in about my usual time (2.5 hours), but my average heartrate was about 3 points lower than normal...All else equal, I can only attribute it to the bike. It really does make the road eaiser to pedal on.

Strengths: 2008 Trek Madone 5.2: Purchased at Providence Cycles in E.

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