Tour de France Stage 15 *SPOILER*

takethehighroad

The TDF goes all Vuelta today and goes up and down without really gaining or losing height.

Sprint point 46k from the finish.

Break of five 2.28 ahead with 124 km to go

mroli

Been fettling my bike for a ride, but it has just started BUCKETING it down. Looks like an afternoon in front of Eurosport for me...

takethehighroad

It's a similar stage to the one in 2007 won by Robbie Hunter where Astana drilled it through a feed zone in the wind and dropped Christophe Moreau

rick_chasey

Yeah, here's hoping for some cross winds.

Looks pretty still so far.

rick_chasey

Apparently Rabobank and Saxo bank are flying in steaks, each with their own receipt and cow history so if there are any problems they can pinpoint precisely which steak.

They're also leaving a little steak off for testing in case it comes to that too.

jerry3571

Looks like Europecar, BMC and Leeeeeeeeeeooooooooopaaaaaard Shrek are blocking the front with all thier riders. Why the hell do they need to take up the whole road with thier Presendential Cavalcade. Give Shreks, Voeckler and Cuddles a couple of riders and let the rest of thier Team mill about. Again it casues too much pressure to be at the front which previoulsy lad to too many crashes. Seems a bit more chilled at the mo though. :?

-Jerry

rick_chasey

jerry3571 wrote:

Looks like BMC and Leeeeeeeeeeooooooooopaaaaaard Shrek are blocking the front with all thier riders. Why the hell do they need to take up the whole road with thier Presendential Cavalcade. Give Shreks and Cuddles a couple of riders and let the rest of thier Team mill about. Again it casues too much pressure to be at the front which previoulsy lad to too many crashes. Seems a bit more chilled at the mo though. :?

-Jerry

Presumably that's in case a team decides to rip it up in the cross wind (if it ever decides to blow)

jerry3571

If there was enough space for the Top riders to stay at the front then they would all be in place for any crosswind action. It used to be if you weren't a big cheese or not helping the pace then you shouldn't be near the front of the race. Those common words in road racing of "If you're not going to work then f*** off!!"

Different times I guess.

-Jerry

pottssteve

Cavendish takes 10 points in the sprint, Rojas 9, Gilbert 8.

takethehighroad

Looked to be a bit tough for Cav in that sprint, uphill a bit

inseine

The new sprint points system has really livened up the intermediates. I love it! Top three going shoulder to shoulder with no one else about.

afx237vi

Phil Gil is officially off his nut.

afx237vi

Rojas way off. All Cav has to do now is not fall off.

ddraver

Easy! Easy! Easy! Easy!

Pokerface

37 point lead in the Green jersey comp now I think

Pross

Nice attempt by Gilbert but the usual control by HTC and decent finish by Cav. Next two stages are critical as Gilbert could get points and possibly even Rojas. Cav needs to hang on for the intermediate points.

blazing_saddles

'A Sunday in Hell'..........the Prudhomme cut. :oops:

dennisn

Another fine day of racing. I for one am really enjoying the whole thing so far.

frenchfighter

One page for a spoiler!

Thought HTC did a super job riding for last 100km solo. Cav saying he wonders why the other teams pay for sprinters. Some serious engines in that team and they are so professional it is great to watch. Nice win by Cav.

Ignatyev's positioning is unreal and the way he can ride away from them...seated...so impressive.

frenchfighter

Alberto Contador gave a positive review of his performance in the Tour today, since even though he didn’t manage to take back time on his rivals, he neutralized all attacks and got some precious recovery time for the Alps, even though he didn’t ride with his characteristic attack style. “I don’t like riding like that at all, it’s a totally different type of cycling than mine, but due to one thing and another, things are not going the way I’d like,” said the leader of Saxo Bank-SunGard after crossing the finish line.

“Today I didn’t have a bad day, I was fine and I hope to get better as days go by. In the Alps I’m confident I’ll be completely recovered and able to take back time,” said Contador, satisfied with having come in with the favorites. “Physically, I’m not feeling great, but I’m sticking with them. Today I didn’t have too many difficulties and that’s encouraging for the stages that are coming up.”

Alberto said that the others have had “a calmer beginning to the Tour, without accidents, while I’ve had a lot of problems, not forgetting that my schedule has not been ideal for tackling the Tour de France. That’s why I’m happy, and now I’ve got to take advantage of every minute to recover, thinking about the stages that are left.”

Asked if the Schleck brothers could lose the Tour if the race continues going as is, Contador responded that, at the very least, “every day that goes by without gaining time on riders like Cadel Evans makes a win more difficult.” About Voeckler, he said that he’s a “tough rider, who’s holding on tight, but the day that he cracks, if he ever does crack, he’ll lose a lot of time, even though he’s incredible right now.”

Alberto said that today he had “better pedaling than yesterday. Every day I’m getting better, although I really don’t like riding the way it was ridden today, but I have to adapt to how my legs are doing and how I feel physically.” And he said that the Alps will favor him because “people will be more physically spent and the climbs are at higher altitude, which works out well for me. There’s still a lot of Tour left,” he said optimistically.

dennisn

frenchfighter wrote:

......... “people will be more physically spent and the climbs are at higher altitude, which works out well for me. There’s still a lot of Tour left,” he said optimistically. [/i]

Couldn't agree more with the "....lot of Tour left." statement. From my viewpoint I kind of get the feeling that the big guns have yet to really start to play, or suffer, as the case may be.

inkyfingers

Cav and HTC their usual brilliant selves. I know people get bored of how much they win but it's the fault of the other teams who are simply not well organised, talented or fast enough to beat him.

In my opinion the new green jersey points system is great in that it forces the big guns to show themselves more than just once in a race. Cav is a deserved leader in my opinion and will carry it to Paris, but the fact that he's won four stages but not sealed the jersey yet is a sign that it's a good, well balanced competition.

I know that Gilbert's attacking is exciting, but tactically it's stupid. Today he needed to limit his losses before the two upcoming hilly stages that he has a fair chance of winning. Instead he's allowed Cav to widen his lead to such an extent that unless he finishes outside the time limit in the Alps he should win the jersey. I could understand if Gilbert was just trying to win the stage today but the fact that he sprints for the intermediates shows that he's still thinking about green.

rick_chasey

Don't agree with you about GIlbert Inky.

timoid.

Pip still has a chance. The next two stages he can finish in the top few and Cav might end up with nothing. Agreed Cav is massive favourite though.

inkyfingers

Rick Chasey wrote:

Don't agree with you about GIlbert Inky.

Out of interest, which bit?

I know he's a strong rider, but on this type of finish with the HTC train in good shape his chances of riding away from the peloton were tiny whereas his chances of sprinting to a top 10 position were fairly good.

It reminded me of the kind of silly move that Thomas Voeckler used to pull before he became a GC contender....

rick_chasey

inkyfingers wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Don't agree with you about GIlbert Inky.

Out of interest, which bit?

I know he's a strong rider, but on this type of finish with the HTC train in good shape his chances of riding away from the peloton were tiny whereas his chances of sprinting to a top 10 position were fairly good.

It reminded me of the kind of silly move that Thomas Voeckler used to pull before he became a GC contender....

I think Gilbert has as much chance staying away as making the top 10. To be honest, the fact he's still in the hunt is amazing enough.

RichN95.

Rick Chasey wrote:

I think Gilbert has as much chance staying away as making the top 10. To be honest, the fact he's still in the hunt is amazing enough.

I agree, plus it had a chance unsettling HTC, possibly causing Cav to get less points.

inkyfingers

Rick Chasey wrote:

inkyfingers wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Don't agree with you about GIlbert Inky.

Out of interest, which bit?

I know he's a strong rider, but on this type of finish with the HTC train in good shape his chances of riding away from the peloton were tiny whereas his chances of sprinting to a top 10 position were fairly good.

It reminded me of the kind of silly move that Thomas Voeckler used to pull before he became a GC contender....

I think Gilbert has as much chance staying away as making the top 10. To be honest, the fact he's still in the hunt is amazing enough.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that. Agree about Gilbert generally though, he's really added another dimension to the green jersey and in my opinion he's actually added value to the jersey as maybe it won't just be seen as the "sprinters" jersey. If Cav wasn't so far ahead of all the other sprinters I genuinely think Gilbert would win green. He really is forcing himself into pretty elite company now.

RonB

Anyone know if ten Dam completed the stage?

graeme_s-2

RonB wrote:

Anyone know if ten Dam completed the stage?

He finished 151st, 3:16 down

timoid.

inkyfingers wrote:

If Cav wasn't so far ahead of all the other sprinters I genuinely think Gilbert would win green. He really is forcing himself into pretty elite company now.

Who? The most prolific sprinter the tour has ever seen or the best classics rider (IMHO best rider) on the planet?

I think both have been elite for some time now.