Tour de France Stage 10 *Spoiler*

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Comments

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    If I was sky I'd give scarpo yellow... Just.
    _
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    emadden wrote:
    So, if you were Evans' director sportive at this point in the stage what would be your tactics?

    Here's mine:

    BMC to sit in and offer no help. Sky need to chase and will burn some guys. Leave them lead up the Colombiere.

    The break will splinter on Colombiere. We will do a deal with Garmin/Europcar so that one of the riders in the break drops back to provide help when Cadel jumps at 2/3 of the way up...

    Even if Bradley comes it wont matter. Cut the brake cables on the descent and on start of Richmond attack again at 100%... Keep attacking until you drop Wiggins or crack... whichever comes first...

    :lol::lol:

    Bit early for death or glory?
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • patchy
    patchy Posts: 779
    step-hent wrote:
    BigMat wrote:
    step-hent wrote:
    dsoutar wrote:
    patchy wrote:
    Gerrans and Goss (OGE)

    could also be handy for Evans up the road...

    Eh ?? In that case Wiggins will be delighted that Cummings and Millar are in the break.

    Sorry, but I'm afraid that's nonsense

    It's not that far fetched that OGE could help Evans - they don't have a competing GC interest and Evans will probably be working for Goss in the Olympics. Whereas Cummings has his team leader in direct competition with Wiggins for GC. Not saying that it's a definite that OGE would help Evans, but there's a reasonable chance they'd co-operate in the right circumstances.

    Its irrelevant - Goss would be less than useless to Evans on a HC climb, Gerrans might be able to pass him a bottle I suppose!
    Agreed - but it depends when they hook up. Isn't there a large amount of flat towards the end? If the break stays out that long, they could help him along the flat run in.

    Fair enough, reading that back it sounds a bit far-fetched!

    Yeah alright, maybe a bit far fetched :) all the 'Aussie Aussie Aussie' propaganda is clearly getting to me.
    point your handlebars towards the heavens and sweat like you're in hell
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    The Mad Rapper wrote:
    Yellow Peril wrote:
    Maybe not, Evans and Nibs are not that break and they is surely the GC contenders even though they may have team mates ahead. It could be a mexican stand off but I can't see either the boys in green or red allowing the break to go too far. Their men ahead may end up sandbagging on the break.

    This.

    As long as the GC contenders aren't in the break then within reason it doesn't matter who wins. There's no need for SKY to chase at all IMHO - call their bluff.

    Problem is that if guys 10 minutes down like Scarponi are given 5 minutes by the end, then they have become another potential threat to have to be managed. If the big boys are going to let the break stick, the gap won't be allow to be more than perhaps two minutes by the finish.
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    Way too many riders under threat by Scarponi for him to be allowed leeway, he becomes a threat to all the others at least 2 minutes before Wiggins. Even if he did make the time up Wiggins and Evans should be able to attack him on the MTF tomorrow and put time back into him in the final TT, he needs to gain 12 or 13 minutes to be a real threat.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Pross wrote:
    Way too many riders under threat by Scarponi for him to be allowed leeway, he becomes a threat to all the others at least 2 minutes before Wiggins. Even if he did make the time up Wiggins and Evans should be able to attack him on the MTF tomorrow and put time back into him in the final TT, he needs to gain 12 or 13 minutes to be a real threat.

    Exactly.

    So play poker and don't chase hard.

    Let him have 10 minutes.
    _
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    LangerDan wrote:
    Problem is that if guys 10 minutes down like Scarponi are given 5 minutes by the end, then they have become another potential threat to have to be managed. If the big boys are going to let the break stick, the gap won't be allow to be more than perhaps two minutes by the finish.

    I take the point, but it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing to have someone else in Yellow for a while, as long as they are kept on a short leash. Unless things go seriously wrong, Wiggins & Froome are on a different planet to everyone else in the TdF - no danger to step off the gas a little. IMHO of course ;)
  • emadden
    emadden Posts: 2,431
    disgruntledgoat wrote:

    Bit early for death or glory?

    Im a director sportive who has a secret wager with Betfair that Cadel will take yellow and I bet the family home on it :lol:

    Bah, if Cadel cracks on Richmond, he probably wouldnt lose too much in light of its length (i suspect)
    **************************************************
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  • rebs
    rebs Posts: 891
    Why do Sky even need to chase this breakaway?

    Other teams have a much more vested interest to chase it. They jsut cant seem to do it when the gradient kicks in. Scarponi going in Yellow would not be a bad thing for Sky....
  • islwyn
    islwyn Posts: 650
    Afternoon guys, just joined... Can someone please tell me whether or not Evans is in that 25 breakaway?
  • rebs
    rebs Posts: 891
    he is not. no way would it had become a breakaway if he tried to.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Islwyn wrote:
    Afternoon guys, just joined... Can someone please tell me whether or not Evans is in that 25 breakaway?

    No, because it would've never got away
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • islwyn
    islwyn Posts: 650
    Ok cheers, caught a climps of 2 BMC riders climbing and then it went to a ad break before I could see who it was.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Interesting start to the climb
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • rebs
    rebs Posts: 891
    wow I posted a reply before Iain... maybe I'm devloping new found vodoo forum powers! :P

    For my next trick I'll start saying chipper! :P
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    #PostBelge?
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • pitchshifter
    pitchshifter Posts: 1,476
    Are the two BMC guys working with the break? Are they there for the stage win or to help Evans get up the last climb? I expect they latter so they can attack a thinned out Sky squad..
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    I'd let the breakaway gain quite a bit of time. The gaps needs to be big enough that no-one can attack and bridge up to the break. Who cares if Scaponi gains seven minutes. If he was a genuine threat on this race, he wouldn't have been ten minutes down.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • bigmat
    bigmat Posts: 5,134
    pitchshifter wrote:
    Are the two BMC guys working with the break? Are they there for the stage win or to help Evans get up the last climb? I expect they latter so they can attack a thinned out Sky squad..

    If you need 7 minute start to guarantee being around when things get interesting, chances are you're not going to be much use anyway.

    As for Evans being in the breakaway, the poor guy wasn't allowed in the breakaway even when he was nowhere on GC! (2009?)
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/41991871@N ... otostream/
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    Scarponi's off!
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • smithy21
    smithy21 Posts: 2,204
    pitchshifter wrote:
    Are the two BMC guys working with the break? Are they there for the stage win or to help Evans get up the last climb? I expect they latter so they can attack a thinned out Sky squad..

    Does this tactic ever work?
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    What a beautiful climb!
  • alan_a
    alan_a Posts: 1,587
    OMFG those switchbacks on the ridge look awesome.
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  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    smithy21 wrote:
    pitchshifter wrote:
    Are the two BMC guys working with the break? Are they there for the stage win or to help Evans get up the last climb? I expect they latter so they can attack a thinned out Sky squad..

    Does this tactic ever work?

    It does from time to time yep
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • alwaystoohot
    alwaystoohot Posts: 252
    15:34

    Five Sky riders up front
    The peloton is led by Boasson Hagen, then comes Porte and Rogers, followed by Wiggins and Froome. There are three Lotto-Belisol riders to their right and Evans is also near the front as is Schleck and Nibali.
    'I started with nothing and still have most of it left.'
  • smithy21
    smithy21 Posts: 2,204
    FWIW I think Sky are doing the right thing today.

    I think tomorrow is going to be mano a mano among the GC riders and will come down to Wiggins/Froome v Nibs v Evans. As its straight out of Albertville and up Madeleine followed by Glandon/Croix de Fer I suspect Cav, Eisel and Knees are going to be of little value.
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    Alan A wrote:
    OMFG those switchbacks on the ridge look awesome.

    Schlanger! :)
  • Rundfahrt
    Rundfahrt Posts: 551
    smithy21 wrote:
    pitchshifter wrote:
    Are the two BMC guys working with the break? Are they there for the stage win or to help Evans get up the last climb? I expect they latter so they can attack a thinned out Sky squad..

    Does this tactic ever work?

    Andy Schleck used it last year on his epic stage.
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    There's a lot of people doing calculations according to Kelly.
  • Rundfahrt
    Rundfahrt Posts: 551
    The Mad Rapper wrote:
    There's a lot of people doing calculations according to Kelly.

    Do you ever think about what comments of sports commentators would look like if you took them literally?

    I imagine a lot of riders whipping out their calculators pencils and paper! :lol:

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