Tour de Romandie "Spoiler"

jibberjim

LangerDan wrote:

Wind is playing havoc with the ToR. Average speeds for the TT are currently under 33 km/h

Thomas De Gendt is currently the fastest with Gustav Larsson second

You don't think the 4.5km at 10% has any impact on the speed?

LangerDan

jibberjim wrote:

LangerDan wrote:

Wind is playing havoc with the ToR. Average speeds for the TT are currently under 33 km/h

Thomas De Gendt is currently the fastest with Gustav Larsson second

You don't think the 4.5km at 10% has any impact on the speed?

Its the organisers own live updates that are saying the wind is keeping speeds down. Plus the route book shows they are expecting speeds to be in the 36 - 40 km/h range

jibberjim

Porte 29:13 to be a long way ahead of current 2nd place.

EKIMIKE

Did Kreuziger crash/have a mechanical or did he choose the road bike without even tri-bar extensions?

If he crashed or had a mechanical then that is a seriously good effort!

graeme_s-2

Love the woman at the intermediate check point who seems to be standing next to the camera, who you can hear going "Allez, Allez, Allez, Allez, Allez, Allez, Allez, Allez..." every time a rider comes through

Tom BB

Dropped chain for Wiggo

Tom BB

Wiggo 55 seconds up on LLS at the intermediate check :shock:

dsoutar

LLS dropped a shed load @ intermediate. It's Wiggins race to lose now

Can't see it somehow though good effort by Talansky

Beatmaker

I just hope that chain doesn't drop again.

fleshtuxedo

Wiggins 40 secs in lead at intermediate.

smithy21

Watching LLS ride this is painful.

MSByrne

Wiggins wins the stage and the Tour!

inkyfingers

Surprised at how badly LL Sanchez did there, didn't think he'd win but thought he would have been closer.

Good ride from Wiggins, clearly gave it absolutely everything. Good to see him going for it in the early season and getting some big results. Wouldn't like to be his mechanic though...

Impressive ride from Talansky.

t.m.h.n.e.t

LLS didn't look comfortable, Wiggo takes another one 8) Wonder will he re-evaluate using eliptical rings

Good allround result for SKY, 3 in the top 10

Tom BB

Wiggo wins the TT by .7 of a second from Talansky. He put 1 min 23 into LLS!!

He also takes the overall from Talansky and has to be favourite for the Tour doesn't he? Parcours that suits him, and definitelt the man in form. Will he be able to hold his form into July?

MSByrne

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

LLS didn't look comfortable, Wiggo takes another one 8) Wonder will he re-evaluate using eliptical rings

Good allround result for SKY, 3 in the top 10

And three stages won out of six.

t.m.h.n.e.t

MSByrne wrote:

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

LLS didn't look comfortable, Wiggo takes another one 8) Wonder will he re-evaluate using eliptical rings

Good allround result for SKY, 3 in the top 10

And three stages won out of six.

Ahh yes,neglected to mention that

greasedscotsman

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Wonder will he re-evaluate using eliptical rings

Don't think he'll want to change them this close to the Tour.

phreak

Outstanding by Wiggins. Great to see him getting some results now. Roll on the Tour. Sky look really strong as well so should give him good support, especially if Froome can get back to form.

smithy21

Absolutely dominant from Sky although they did pretty much have the TdF squad riding.

Wiggins would clearly have destroyed the field there in the TT barring the mechanical.

greasedscotsman

phreak wrote:

Outstanding by Wiggins. Great to see him getting some results now.

Needs a haircut though...

dsoutar

If that's Wiggins "absolutely delighted", I'd hate to see him really fed up

frenchfighter

The guy is an absolute monster in the TT. Puts some serious speed in for someone with such skinny legs.......

Very nice to see a GT contender performing well every race and giving it his all. Unlike almost all other candidates who have been appaling apart from nibs. Just the sort of thing Contador would do - turn up, Race hard, win and show monster talent.

Good luck to Wigo at the Tour, I hope this year it is talent not luck that makes the podium. Either way Giro all day every day, and of course Le Vuelta where el pistelero will ride with a vengeance.

Need to create a couple of avatars for wiggins.

tremayne

Absolutely outstanding effort from Worzel. The genuine definition of dominant. Even a sprint win to cap things off. I also suspect that he might have taken the first stage if the weather hadn't been against him.

Looking good for TDF?

A genuine question (viz a viz TDF 2012); could the year have gone any better than it has for Brad? He seems to be in the form of his life right now, he's chilled a little, his team are stronger than ever. Give the lad a haircut and I think he might just win it.

tailwindhome

Tom BB wrote:

has to be favourite for the Tour doesn't he? Parcours that suits him, and definitelt the man in form. Will he be able to hold his form into July?

Don't know that he'll be favourite for the tour (perhaps in British bookmakers).

I would agree with the poster after Paris Nice who suggested that he could build up an impressive palamares by focusing on week long stage races which seem to suit him to a tee

Tom BB

Last year, I would have shared your scepticism TWH and I'm really not a huge Wiggo fan tbh, but this year the parcours really suits him, we saw how well that he can climb in a 3 week GT at last years Vuelta and he is in stunning form in the races that he has done.

Who else is going to be up there in the Tour do we think? I can't see Wiggo climbing to the same level as Andy Schleck, but is he really going to even be top 5 given the amount of TTing? Evans will be up there I would imagine and will probably be the favourite but hasn't shown the same form as last year. Plenty of other names, but will any of them take the time they need in the hills to stop Brad in the TT (I think that we'll see a few stages where Brad TT's most off his wheel in the mountains too)

Christ I sound like a fanboi!

mroli

Re the Wiggins haircut - I read somewhere that he gets it shorn for the tour as kind of part of his preparation - get in shape, get your haircut, get serious type thing.

I disagree with everyone who says the tour is going to be boring - we saw a massively "boring" Giro last year as it was so brutal that no-one wanted to risk anything. I think the Tour is interesting this year because it says "right, there are lots of TT miles - Wiggins is clearly the best GC TTer out there. You want to beat him, you have to attack his weakness - which is explosiveness on the mountains."

Fewer opportunities to attack means that people will be more willing to chance their arm, knowing that opportunities will be few and far between. I'm massively looking forward to it - because baring accidents (and this is the Tour), Wiggins will win or there will be some great attacking riding....

Turfle

What he's proving is he can build up an excellent palmares of week long stage races without focusing his whole season on them. He's good enough to win them as part of his preparation.

After his awful 2010, who would have predicted Wiggins would have won Dauphine, Paris-Nice, Romandie? Not me.

inkyfingers

Turfle wrote:

After his awful 2010, who would have predicted Wiggins would have won Dauphine, Paris-Nice, Romandie? Not me.

It's a credit to him and Sky that after his disastrous 2010 they learnt the lessons, not just in his physical preparation but also that it's daft to put all your eggs in one basket. In 2010 he was riding races he could of done well in but only going at 75% to save himself for the tour. He was in the top 10 of the Giro after that big break got away, but sat up as soon as he got to the big climbs.

They are now getting the reward and he is building up a very respectable palmares, plus if he gets to the tour and either crashes or gets sick, then he will still have something to show for his season.

Good on him, he's gone up in my estimation in the last 18 months. Particularly his increased maturity, he said it himself after the race today, if that mechanical had happened two years ago he'd have chucked the bike into the barriers instead he kept a cool head and got on with the job, that's an important trait for a top cyclist.

rick_chasey

Wiggins need to sort his TT kit out.

Happens too often to him.

Can't they add a chain catcher? Will cost him lest time than dropped chain.