TDU Stage 5 *spoiler*

ilm_zero7

looks like EBH could be in line for today's stage

ilm_zero7

Valverde wins by half a wheel from Gerans - a great last 15 kms

ilm_zero7

Valverde wins by half a wheel from Gerans - a great last 15 kms

Alejandro Valverde (ESP) - MOV beats Simon Gerrans (AUS) - GEC by centimetres as Michael Rogers (AUS) - SKY made a late charge but couldn't keep pace and unofficially finished 3rd.

frenchfighter

Haha. Hahaha.

As predicted it would be Gerrans and Valverde and as predicted Valverde would turn up and clean up just as before. Even on the hardest stage in TdU's history and with a pumped Gerrans and his first race since being off the race scene for son long. Excellent stuff; looking good for racing this year.

Great effort by Movistar team taking control.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... HrifkVP4_4

Getty

Merckx has been looking rather happy in Aus!


Final selection. Lloyd wasnt there, tired from his efforts regaining peloton after being caught out in the split from crosswinds.

Dennis (UniSA-Australia), Machado (RadioShack-Nissan), Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Movistar Team), Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge Cycling Team), Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Nissan), Michael Rogers (Sky Procycling), Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Movistar Team), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling), Bernard Sulzberger (Team UniSA-Australia), Danny Pate (Sky Procycling),
José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Movistar Team), Michael Matthews (Rabobank Cycling Team), Martin Kohler (BMC Racing Team), Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Movistar Team), Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing Team), Geraint Thomas, Moreno (Movistar), and Bauer (Garmin-Barracuda), Ciolek (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Gerdemann (Radioshack-Nissan)

Stage 5 results
1 Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) 3:45:48
2 Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE)
3 Tiago Machado (RadioShack-Nissan) + 0:02
4 Michael Rogers (Sky) + 0:04
5 Rohan Dennis (UniSA) + 0:07
6 Edvald Boassonn Hagen (Sky) + 0:12
7 Javier Moreno (Sky) + 0:14
8 Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Nissan)
9 Jack Bauer (Garmin-Barracuda) + 0:26
10 Eduard Vorganov (Katusha)

General classification after stage 5
1 Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE) 18:49:24
2 Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team)
3 Tiago Machado (RadioShack-Nissan) + 0:08
4 Michael Rogers (Sky) + 0:14
5 Rohan Dennis (UniSA)
6 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) + 0:18
7 Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Nissan) + 0:20
8 Javier Moreno (Movistar Team) + 0:24
9 Michael Matthews (Rabobank) + 0:30
10 Eduard Vorganov (Katusha) + 0:32

The 2nd GE rider was 54th, 6.5 mins back.

frenchfighter

Those commentators doubting Valverde right to the last moment. "He wont catch Gerrans...he might actually..."

"I gave it absolutely everything I had, but unfortunately Valverde had that inside line and he caught up," - Gerrans.
Actually Valverde had to come round the OUTSIDE, so in fact had to travel further than Gerrans...

frenchfighter

http://cyclingiq.com/2012/01/11/is-tour ... ders-rise/

frenchfighter

Getty

Tom BB

Right I think that I've got the gist of this thread.....Piti beat Gerrans....

Cumulonimbus

Yeah, good performance by Valverde. Difficult to know how much to read into results as people dont normally aim to peak for this time of year, with the ozzies likely to be closest to their top form, especially those who race domestically over there. That said maybe this indicates Valverde is going to carry on where he left off before his ban. We'll see. Quite impressed with Michael Matthews' placing. Then again he only just beat Ciolek which maybe says something about the standard here - i imagine Matthews has this as one of his season's aims whereas i wouldnt have thought Ciolek has.

frenchfighter

Great comments:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gutierr ... ck-victory

“For me, Alejandro is an exceptional sportsman,” Gutierrez told Cyclingnews in Adelaide a couple of hours later. “I know him very well. The day I heard the news of his ban, I was very sad. In my 13-year long career, I’ve had the pleasure of rooming to with the likes of Laurent Jalabert, Abraham Olano and Jose Maria Jimenez, but I can’t look at all those great champions with as much fascination as I do for Valverde. He was born only for cycling. Today, the sport of cycling has recovered a true champion.”

calvjones

“For me, Alejandro is an exceptional sportsman,” Gutierrez told Cyclingnews in Adelaide a couple of hours later. “I know him very well. The day I heard the news of his ban, I was very sad. In my 13-year long career, I’ve had the pleasure of rooming to with the likes of Laurent Jalabert, Abraham Olano and Jose Maria Jimenez, but I can’t look at all those great champions with as much fascination as I do for Valverde. He was born only for cycling. Today, the sport of cycling has recovered a champion.”[/quote]

“In a one-on-one sprint, Alejandro would beat Gerrans, as he would beat Petacchi, Freire, Boonen etc. Probably the only one he wouldn’t beat is Cavendish.'

These boys shouldn't do interviews until the adrenalin has subsided

ilm_zero7

all down to the last stage - not so hilly, Gerans could shade it - and i still feel EBH wants a stage and will split the two

Crankbrother

Decent win by Valverde, even wanted him to win just to piss GreenEDGE off ...

The coverage on Sky was p!ss poor tho ... especially Wiggins talkingabout Sky's great year last year ... Take the GB (that's GB, not Sky as they would have you believe) win out of the equation and 2nd and 3rd in the Vuelta bekhind a 'surprise' winner on a duff team and a couple of who cares wins in the Tour is hardly a huge success for the money and infrastructure in place ...

blazing_saddles

Valverde back from suspension, just as Contador is about to start his.
Nice kind of symmetry to Frenchie's love life.

cogidubnus

Any highlights of this stage?

Good to see Valverde back in winning form. Bodes well for some exciting racing as the season progresses

frosty99

Crankbrother wrote:

Decent win by Valverde, even wanted him to win just to wee-wee GreenEDGE off ...

The coverage on Sky was p!ss poor tho ... especially Wiggins talkingabout Sky's great year last year ... Take the GB (that's GB, not Sky as they would have you believe) win out of the equation and 2nd and 3rd in the Vuelta bekhind a 'surprise' winner on a duff team and a couple of who cares wins in the Tour is hardly a huge success for the money and infrastructure in place ...

Personally I'm sure a couple of wins at the tour is ever 'who cares'. Dauphine was a pretty big win as well IMO.

Yes I agree the win was for GB but I think that at the moment GB and Sky are intertwined, the people orchestrating it were essentially Sky (bar captain Millar), and with Cav there now itts why they have effectively taken ownership of the win in copenhagen.

smithy21

Crankbrother wrote:

Decent win by Valverde, even wanted him to win just to wee-wee GreenEDGE off ...

The coverage on Sky was p!ss poor tho ... especially Wiggins talkingabout Sky's great year last year ... Take the GB (that's GB, not Sky as they would have you believe) win out of the equation and 2nd and 3rd in the Vuelta bekhind a 'surprise' winner on a duff team and a couple of who cares wins in the Tour is hardly a huge success for the money and infrastructure in place ...

WUM

dougzz

frenchfighter wrote:

Great comments:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gutierr ... ck-victory

“For me, Alejandro is an exceptional sportsman,” Gutierrez told Cyclingnews in Adelaide a couple of hours later. “I know him very well. The day I heard the news of his ban, I was very sad. In my 13-year long career, I’ve had the pleasure of rooming to with the likes of Laurent Jalabert, Abraham Olano and Jose Maria Jimenez, but I can’t look at all those great champions with as much fascination as I do for Valverde. He was born only for cycling. Today, the sport of cycling has recovered a true champion.”

RichN95.

I see there's no surprise with this thread, with FrenchFighter glorifying a cheat. How stupid is FF? Does he really think that there's no connection between cheating and attacking riding?

I'm not sure where we stand here. It's like Santa Claus. Are we allowed to tell FF his heroes don't exist, or do we have to play along?

frenchfighter

takethehighroad

RichN95 wrote:

I see there's no surprise with this thread, with FrenchFighter glorifying a cheat. How stupid is FF? Does he really think that there's no connection between cheating and attacking riding?

I'm not sure where we stand here. It's like Santa Claus. Are we allowed to tell FF his heroes don't exist, or do we have to play along?

I'm not the first to defend FF but can we not appreciate Valverde now he's back?

OK he served his ban without penitence but isn't that what the great saint Millar did? He served his ban, then came back and denounced doping, no?

Valv has done his crime, we all knew it while he was winning, now he's done his time. Can we not support him now he's come back?

LeicesterLad

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

I see there's no surprise with this thread, with FrenchFighter glorifying a cheat. How stupid is FF? Does he really think that there's no connection between cheating and attacking riding?

I'm not sure where we stand here. It's like Santa Claus. Are we allowed to tell FF his heroes don't exist, or do we have to play along?

I'm not the first to defend FF but can we not appreciate Valverde now he's back?

OK he served his ban without penitence but isn't that what the great saint Millar did? He served his ban, then came back and denounced doping, no?

Valv has done his crime, we all knew it while he was winning, now he's done his time. Can we not support him now he's come back?

Think Rich may have had a little to drink. (he's been known to be a bit snappy/talk his own mind when he's had a few... )

iainf72

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

OK he served his ban without penitence but isn't that what the great saint Millar did? He served his ban, then came back and denounced doping, no?

Only if you're trying to create a strawman that says Valverde is ok.

The guy refuses to admit any wrong doing, not even a half measure, and the team around him act as if it was a massive injustice. Sorry, the guy might be an exciting rider but he's a pox on the sport.

ddraver

As above! Theo total lack of contrition is what saddens me. Millar confessed all, apologised and is now working to eradicate drugs from the sport. I would trust him to be clean now.

If valverde doped before, then there is nothing about his actions for the past few years that suggests he won't/isn't doing it again!

LeicesterLad

iainf72 wrote:

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

OK he served his ban without penitence but isn't that what the great saint Millar did? He served his ban, then came back and denounced doping, no?

Only if you're trying to create a strawman that says Valverde is ok.

The guy refuses to admit any wrong doing, not even a half measure, and the team around him act as if it was a massive injustice. Sorry, the guy might be an exciting rider but he's a pox on the sport.

Amen to that!

RichN95.

LeicesterLad wrote:

Think Rich may have had a little to drink. (he's been known to be a bit snappy/talk his own mind when he's had a few... )

Ha! You assume correctly. I still don't like Valverde though. I didn't even before Puerto.

LeicesterLad

RichN95 wrote:

LeicesterLad wrote:

Think Rich may have had a little to drink. (he's been known to be a bit snappy/talk his own mind when he's had a few... )

Ha! You assume correctly. I still don't like Valverde though. I didn't even before Puerto.

Agree with you and others sentiments on Valverde though, Scumbag.

cogidubnus

If Valverde is now riding clean (and this I wait to see) then I shall be supporting him.

iainf72

Cogidubnus wrote:

If Valverde is now riding clean (and this I wait to see) then I shall be supporting him.

How will you be able to tell?

cogidubnus

Well hopefully the UCI and WADA will be doing that for me through testing and his biological passport. Stage winners get tested automatically do they not? So in a few weeks we will get the TdU results. Admittedly though he never tested positive before though right? and was implicated because of bloodbags?

So obviously there could be a flaw in my reliance on the authorities

LeicesterLad

Cogidubnus wrote:

Well hopefully the UCI and WADA will be doing that for me through testing and his biological passport. Stage winners get tested automatically do they not? So in a few weeks we will get the TdU results. Admittedly though he never tested positive before though right? and was implicated because of bloodbags?

So obviously there could be a flaw in my reliance on the authorities

Could be Worse - He could be Cat 3 (really?) and been court with a pharmacy in his blood...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/french-rider-positive-for-12-substances