Tour presentation next week

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  • suspectdevice
    suspectdevice Posts: 263
    Come on guys, your bursting my bubble here.

    I went to watch the tour for the first time 2 years ago, stayed out all night on the Ventoux ( and biked it as well) only to see what was in effect a neutralised stage.

    I hope it doesn't happen this time round on the Alpe cos i'll be there again next year for this stage.

    I hope something happens in the previous days that mean they will give it some real effort.

    Selfish or what???????
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Getty
    83e73eafb963148b08ae3c2ed391988c-getty-cycling-fra-tour-2011.jpg
    d8631488ecf616b73ba57fe6abb7083e-getty-cycling-fra-tour-2011.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Remembered his suit!
    _
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    You'd think that with all the GC contenders as better climbers than TTers, a TT heavy tour would be more interesting.
    I’d say they’ve intentionally reduced the TT side of things, so they don’t drift back towards Indurain days (Armstrong days to some extent, too), and to open up the race more, so helping AS against AC.
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    FJS wrote:
    inkyfingers wrote:
    Pokerface wrote:
    "For the 2011 points classification, Prudhomme announced one single intermediate sprint per stage, awarded half the points of the stage finish…."
    Just trying to think how this will affect things.... If the sprints are at the halfway point in the stage or earlier then it would still give breakaways a chance to try their luck afterwards.
    It could also make it a competition for another category of rider, like happened with the mountain jersey. Second-level (French?) sprinters could consistently try to get in breaks and pick points at the finish too, riders like Fedrigo, Bonnet, Seb Hinault, Romain Feillu...
    Should suit Hushovd.

    Or a chance for Chavanel, Casar or Flecha to get to wear a jersey rather than just a red number?
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    69353_443802148508_604488508_5435374_2685604_n.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Vino looks like a grad at his first job in the City.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    edited October 2010
    Cyclingnews analysis: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2011-to ... ns-learned
    There are also some loud echoes of 2008 in the 2011 route - some welcome; some less so. No prologue time trial and a first road stage with a sticky little uphill finish? Perfect for a rider like Alejandro Valverde, who will return from his two-year ban in May, 2011 and who won a similar opening stage in Brittany in 2008.
    A first summit finish at Super-Besse in the Massif Central? Ideal for an explosive climber like Riccardo Ricco, who won here in 2008.
    More palatable is the repeat visit for the finish of stage five to Châteauroux, where Mark Cavendish first tasted victory at the Tour, on his way to four stage wins in 2008.
    :?: So because some dopers once won some stages similar to two interesting uphill finishes (also ideal for say Hushovd and Gilbert) those are not good, and probably the dullest flattest stage of the first week is great, because Cavendish has won there? Who writes this stuff? :?
  • shinyhelmut
    shinyhelmut Posts: 1,364
    They would be a little limited if they tried to avoid stage finishes that had in the past been won by a doper.
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    ShinyHelmut wrote:
    They would be a little limited if they tried to avoid stage finishes that had in the past been won by a doper.

    I'd go further and say that they'd need to hold the whole event outside of France, or even outside of Europe!
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • Philip S
    Philip S Posts: 398
    I suspect the concern is more that these stages look ideal for returning dodgy-dopers, Valverde and Ricco, to take wins on; which is likely to leave a bad taste in the mouth.

    Then again, if we only had stages that dopers were unlikely to win on there wouldn't be much in the way of hills in the race...

    Here's hoping for lots of Philippe Gilbert in the first week next year.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Philip S wrote:
    I suspect the concern is more that these stages look ideal for returning dodgy-dopers, Valverde and Ricco, to take wins on; which is likely to leave a bad taste in the mouth.

    Then again, if we only had stages that dopers were unlikely to win on there wouldn't be much in the way of hills in the race...

    Here's hoping for lots of Philippe Gilbert in the first week next year.
    Pip doesn't race the Tour.

    S'why he's got so much in the tank come September.
    _
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Pip doesn't race the Tour.

    S'why he's got so much in the tank come September.

    Apparently Sergeant wants him in the TdF next year. In a way a logical year for Gilbert to do the Tour, with the Worlds parcours in Copenhagen not really his cup of tea - so no need for the Vuelta either, which all leaves more room than in other years for a rider like him to do the TdF.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    FJS wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Pip doesn't race the Tour.

    S'why he's got so much in the tank come September.

    Apparently Sergeant wants him in the TdF next year. In a way a logical year for Gilbert to do the Tour, with the Worlds parcours in Copenhagen not really his cup of tea - so no need for the Vuelta either, which all leaves more room than in other years for a rider like him to do the TdF.

    Do you think that's a smart move for Pip? I'm not sure it is.
    _
  • patchy
    patchy Posts: 779
    frenchfighter wrote:
    69353_443802148508_604488508_5435374_2685604_n.jpg

    could he be... nooo..

    barney_8091.jpg

    Ave LEGENDARY calves!
    point your handlebars towards the heavens and sweat like you're in hell
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    FJS wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Pip doesn't race the Tour.

    S'why he's got so much in the tank come September.

    Apparently Sergeant wants him in the TdF next year. In a way a logical year for Gilbert to do the Tour, with the Worlds parcours in Copenhagen not really his cup of tea - so no need for the Vuelta either, which all leaves more room than in other years for a rider like him to do the TdF.

    Do you think that's a smart move for Pip? I'm not sure it is.

    I think it might be next year. He is not going to win the worlds on a flat parcours in Copenhagen; he doesn't have anything to prove anymore in Lombardia, Paris-Tours or any other Autumn race so not focusing so much on them or even skipping them for one year is no disaster; it would give him a chance to put San Sebastian and/or Vattenfal on his palmares; and it could give him an extra long period of rest to work towards an even more intense spring classics campaign in 2012. If he's going to do the TdF for stage wins it's not a bad year to do it. in 2012 with Valkenburg and 2013 Florence he'll have much more reason for an Autumn focus again.
  • Cumulonimbus
    Cumulonimbus Posts: 1,730
    Could be stage win and yellow jersey on the first stage although i cant find a profile of the climb on climbbybike. If he did win the first then he would struggle to hold it in the TTT IMO - although with Gilbert, greipel, lead-out men, vandenbroucke i think they could do a decent time.

    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van-den ... -for-lotto
  • avoidingmyphd
    avoidingmyphd Posts: 1,154
    Cumulonimbus wrote:
    i cant find a profile of the climb on climbbybike
    It's not climby enough to feature on there, much smaller. Think Barcelona in 2009 (hushovd) or Plumelec in 2008 (Valverde, Gilbert 2nd).
  • Cumulonimbus
    Cumulonimbus Posts: 1,730
    avoidingmyphd wrote:
    Cumulonimbus wrote:
    i cant find a profile of the climb on climbbybike
    It's not climby enough to feature on there, much smaller. Think Barcelona in 2009 (hushovd) or Plumelec in 2008 (Valverde, Gilbert 2nd).

    Climbbybike does have some small climbs. Clicking on the first one in the Netherlands gives a slope of 5% over 700 metres. Ok, so that is the Netherlands but i was hoping to find a profile of this climb so i could see how it looks. Will probably have to wait for the letour site to provide the final km closer to the time. At the moment we dont know who won the tour this year so its probably a bit silly of me to be thinking who the finish of a stage next year favours.
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    Cumulonimbus wrote:
    avoidingmyphd wrote:
    Cumulonimbus wrote:
    i cant find a profile of the climb on climbbybike
    It's not climby enough to feature on there, much smaller. Think Barcelona in 2009 (hushovd) or Plumelec in 2008 (Valverde, Gilbert 2nd).

    Climbbybike does have some small climbs. Clicking on the first one in the Netherlands gives a slope of 5% over 700 metres. Ok, so that is the Netherlands but i was hoping to find a profile of this climb so i could see how it looks. Will probably have to wait for the letour site to provide the final km closer to the time. At the moment we dont know who won the tour this year so its probably a bit silly of me to be thinking who the finish of a stage next year favours.

    There's always bikehike, mapmyride, etc. Not accurate in detail, but gives an idea. From the outskirts of Les Herbiers to the summit where the windmill is, and supposedly the finish, it's 2.3 kms, climbing from 115m to 230m, so exactly 5 % average over just over 2 kms. According to mapmyride it peaks at 8% just before the summit. So, a little bit longer/steeper than the Barcelona finish, and a bit less steep than Plumelec.

    Mur-de-Bretagne two days later is much more significant - bits of 15%
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    tdf_octobre_2010_3.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • DaveyL
    DaveyL Posts: 5,167
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Philip S wrote:
    I suspect the concern is more that these stages look ideal for returning dodgy-dopers, Valverde and Ricco, to take wins on; which is likely to leave a bad taste in the mouth.

    Then again, if we only had stages that dopers were unlikely to win on there wouldn't be much in the way of hills in the race...

    Here's hoping for lots of Philippe Gilbert in the first week next year.
    Pip doesn't race the Tour.

    S'why he's got so much in the tank come September.

    Pretty sure he did in 2006. IIRC he was in the break that FLandis hoovered up on the road to Morzine.
    Le Blaireau (1)

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