Tour De France stage 3

jackhammer111 - banned

Kléber wrote:

The reference to Paris-Nice is not out of context, it simply mentions he lost a minute during the race before finishing fourth overall. Knowing he's already been caught out by this sort of team tactics just four months ago is highly relevant.

As for L'Equipe it has a great website, a big roster of staff and is often first with the news. It's essential reading during July.

That minute is not why he lost. For them to imply it was is incorrect. Plus, we don't know that this is a tactical error. Johan played both sides of the bet.

Being owned by ASO I don't have to point out the conflict of interest. They can hardly be expected to espouse any point of view that might be contradictory to that of "The Tour".

Because of that I don't believe anything coming from there until it has another source.

But that's just me.

pedalpower

Doobz wrote:

just watched the replay when the break happened. Contador does indeed sit up and pull off leaving someone else to chase the break and causing the gap to form. I cant understand why he just sits up and peels off..
..

Because, I suppose, he naively thought they were loyal teamates in the break and could be trusted after he proved on day one that he should be the undisuputed leader.
For those who will say Lance never got caught out like this in his day - that's at least partly because he always had a team 100% loyal. Poor old Contador can't even trust his DS. Least of all his DS

jackhammer111 - banned

Doobz wrote:

just watched the replay when the break happened. Contador does indeed sit up and pull off leaving someone else to chase the break and causing the gap to form. I cant understand why he just sits up and peels off..

He also has another astana rider with him who does the same..

He didn't ease up. Columbia floored it.

Find the Hincapie interview.

jackhammer111 - banned

Philip S wrote:

OffTheBackAdam wrote:

Great exciting finish. Glad I recorded and watched Eurosport, rather than bothering with Phil and Paul's w*nkfest. Hope that shakes a few GC attacks out on Friday...

Say what you want about them but what you missed was Paul and Phil repeatedly predicting a spit would happen as it got more windy.

Kléber

jackhammer111 wrote:

That minute is not why he lost. For them to imply it was is incorrect.

I didn't read the same implication as you, just a reminder that he's been caught out by crosswinds before.

But for what it's worth Contador later said his mistake not eating in Paris-Nice was partly because of a week of hard riding, he'd been riding very hard for several stages.

thamacdaddy

jackhammer111 wrote:

Philip S wrote:

OffTheBackAdam wrote:

Great exciting finish. Glad I recorded and watched Eurosport, rather than bothering with Phil and Paul's w*nkfest. Hope that shakes a few GC attacks out on Friday...

Say what you want about them but what you missed was Paul and Phil repeatedly predicting a spit would happen as it got more windy.

totally agree with this. I prefer paul and phil on ITV4 to the eurosport coverage though at least its not duffers.

I saw someone else earlier slagging them for keep mentioning armstrong could get yellow if the gap gets to around 40secs, but thats a very good bet, especially if you saw verse coverage earlier. They interviewed bob stapleton who said if anyone out there didn't bet on astana winning the TTT given the results from the individual they need to think about it some more. He might be playing games, playing down columbia's chances but he seemed pretty geniune tipping them for top spot tomorrow.

I find the ITV coverage often far less of a farce than the majority of europsort throughout the year but each to their own.

Also great stage today on what would normally be a pretty boring stage....hope the rest of the tour is this exciting. Great show by the Columbia lads especially amused by cav post race havigna tongue in cheek dig at Garmin having to expend some of the energy he said they were saving for tomorrow towards the end.

afx237vi

thamacdaddy wrote:

totally agree with this. I prefer paul and phil on ITV4 to the eurosport coverage though at least its not duffers.

I saw someone else earlier slagging them for keep mentioning armstrong could get yellow if the gap gets to around 40secs, but thats a very good bet, especially if you saw verse coverage earlier. They interviewed bob stapleton who said if anyone out there didn't bet on astana winning the TTT given the results from the individual they need to think about it some more. He might be playing games, playing down columbia's chances but he seemed pretty geniune tipping them for top spot tomorrow.

I find the ITV coverage often far less of a farce than the majority of europsort throughout the year but each to their own.

Also great stage today on what would normally be a pretty boring stage....hope the rest of the tour is this exciting. Great show by the Columbia lads especially amused by cav post race havigna tongue in cheek dig at Garmin having to expend some of the energy he said they were saving for tomorrow towards the end.

You mean like today when the ITV red button live coverage cut out with less than a kilometre to go?

dennisn

While sitting at my favorite Mexican resturant, in the middle of a few too many margaritas,
watching(sort of) ESPN, did I see Lance follow that break and turn around and signal "c'mon" to some one behind him? Or was it not really what I saw?

RichN95.

dennisn wrote:

While sitting at my favorite Mexican resturant, in the middle of a few too many margaritas,
watching(sort of) ESPN, did I see Lance follow that break and turn around and signal "c'mon" to some one behind him? Or was it not really what I saw?

No, that was Popovych - they were more or less exactly the same kit, so can look quite similar on the bike - I've made the same mistake myself.

Unless, of course you saw something I missed

dennisn

RichN95 wrote:

dennisn wrote:

While sitting at my favorite Mexican resturant, in the middle of a few too many margaritas,
watching(sort of) ESPN, did I see Lance follow that break and turn around and signal "c'mon" to some one behind him? Or was it not really what I saw?

No, that was Popovych - they were more or less exactly the same kit, so can look quite similar on the bike - I've made the same mistake myself.

Unless, of course you saw something I missed

Well, depending on how much you had to drink I'd say anythings possible.

jackhammer111 - banned

dennisn wrote:

While sitting at my favorite Mexican resturant, in the middle of a few too many margaritas,
watching(sort of) ESPN, did I see Lance follow that break and turn around and signal "c'mon" to some one behind him? Or was it not really what I saw?

You may have.

Johan said: "It was thirty seconds then it came down to eighteen and at that moment I was convinced the peloton was going to come back. So at that moment, with 10km to go, we decided it was a good moment for Popovych and Zubeldia to help at the front, first of all to make it hard on the other teams, and also, strategically for us, it would be a good situation if tomorrow, after the team time trial, Cancellara could stay in the jersey. That would help us a lot in the days after the team time trial."

I'm a little sick of the tour being an all Astana show but what's happened so far is incredible.

If you eliminate the riders that have little realistic chance in GC this is what you are left with.


3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:00:40
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:00:59
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:01:03
8 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 0:01:04
10 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana

Assume Astana will "manage" keeping Cancellar in yellow and blow evans out the back tomorrow and you have Lance, AC, Kloden, and levi 2nd thru 5th all the way to stage 7 where Cancellera gets blown out the back. I don't see how they stay out of yellow then.

I'm assuming Johan won't have such a team next year.

NervexProf

The broadsheet take on Stage 3

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 34454.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... stage.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 653551.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/ju ... -de-france

disgruntledgoat

Cycling Fans has Popo saying Bruyneel told them to work with Columbia as it was certain the others would come back and he wanted to make it as difficult as possible...

Contador's read? "I didn't hear that on my radio"