TDF Stage 17 *spoiler*
Comments
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opps :oops: The past few years have been a blur for megattocattivo wrote:rebs wrote:Remember in 2009 Sky tried this tactic on the first hill and it went bad... very very quickly.
Yeah, but it's always a nightmare trying to lead up a climb when your team is still a year away from being formed and is still just a rumour.
2010!
2010!
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i think a lot of people need to get some perspective. Froome has now proved twice that he's good enough to win a GT. Brad's best chance was this year with this Parcour. Thats what the team have worked 2 years towards. Froome is younger, has many more chances to come. If he needs to move on then so be it.
Funny about his Mrs though. Surely she wouldn't be spouting all this drivel if he didn't feel the same, right? If he's in team mode however he really should be telling her to wind it in...0 -
Has to be said, for a track pursuiter and time trialler, Wiggins has built himself into a formidable climber and all rounder.
He has been nothing short of brilliant on the Tour. Just the TT now for Wiggins to stamp his authority on this tour and bring home the yellow in style.
Then it's all about Cav for a couple of weeks. What a great time to be a GB cycling fan!You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.0 -
gattocattivo wrote:
Froome (when asked about the same): we weren't here for the stage, we were here to win yellowKeyser__Soze wrote:What was said in the interviews with Brad/Brailsford/Yates/Froome etc? Lost feed just after the finish.
Which is what is confusing when you see what his mrs is saying:michellecound: I know how much Chris wanted to win that stage, so disagree with me as much as you like.. #whatever
Just furthers my thoughts he is being a bit petulant or needs to tell his mrs to stop embarrassing him.
EDIT: Sorry Moomaloid you said the same thing
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That was a quality win by Valverde.
Just like Voeckler yesterday - went in the first break from way out, made the next selection by driving it, dropped those guys bridging to Costa, then going again, soloing the last 35km.
Re Froome, either he is being an idiot and trying to show he 'could' go but isnt because they have made a fuss of him not, or he hasnt got the legs.
I'm pretty sure Wiggins would have been happy for him to try take the stage, today and yesterday.
Froome to get crushed in the Vuelta by Contador, bringing him back to his home.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Difficult to tell, but from the interviews it seemed that they had decided to break Nibali, when that was done Wiggins realised the enormity and lost focus. Froome then did his job and brought him back round when Nibali started to come back. Seems a bit unlikely that they'd have reeled Valverde back anyway with a couple of km to go. Looking forward to Froome taking over the mantle over the next couple of years and proving to be a consistent rider.
Nevermind Froome's relationship with Wiggins; I'm not sure that his relationship with his girlfriend will last much longer.0 -
The Tour woke up no man. Mother Froome is looking well?Rick Chasey wrote:The famous dutch phrase : De Tour wacht op niemand.............Maar Froome gelukkig wel.
Courtesey of Michiel ElijzenTwitter: @RichN950 -
From a few days back
And today
Contador is the Greatest0 -
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I'd like to think there is a Stalinist crackdown by Brailsford going on behind closed doors or the inner chimps will start to run amok.0
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There may always be next year for Froome, but who knows he may get shot by his brother-in-law when out hunting, a new young superstar such as Pinot or Van Garderen may get it together, or the old stars like Contador and Schleck may come back. One thing is for sure though, when he sits back in his rocking chair he will wonder what would have happened if he had competed properly in this year's tour, and he'll be just like all those before him: Lemond, Indurain etc.0
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frenchfighter wrote:From a few days back
WTF0 -
frenchfighter wrote:
Most undeserving winner this year of a stage.0 -
OK I'm going to say it.
I don't like sky or Wiggins.
Too unsexy. There's riding conservatively, like, Indurain or Armstrong or any others, which is fine, but the way sky go about it is super unsexy.
On the road, they just do tactics that work for them (bar Froome which I'll get onto), fine, but it's how that combines with the whole "We've trained for this" shtick. It's unsexy, and unromantic.
I've been banging the Froome drum mainly because I feel he's the one to break that lock, to make sky thrilling, exciting. He shows emotions on the road, however passive aggressive, in a way the others don't - bar Cav (but he's not really part of the GC team).
Their discussions of numbers and plans, it's so dull and boring. Wiggins. He gets a lot of plaudits from journos for interesting interviews, but all i hear is a grumpy man in a pub who can cycle a bit, and suddenly, inbetween rancidly dull discussions of numbers and training for everything (which already takes the romanticism out of the tour a bit), he gets all sentimental.
I don't like it.
I'm willing to put my bottom dollar that Tom Boonen or Cancellara use power metres just as much as sky do, and train just as thoroughly for their disciplines. It's the way you go about it.0 -
frenchfighter wrote:
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here's a thought... whilst i know it did look like Froome was telling Brad to the hurry up, maybe he was actually just shouting and gesturing him to sort it out. Going on Brad's comments like.... or maybe not
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From the BBC:
Seems like Brad's head finally cracked today rather than his body. Not too surprising really given his is on the verge of something astonishing.It was left to Froome and Wiggins to try to chase down Valverde and, despite Froome trying to urge his team-mate on, it was the Spaniard who crossed the line first, 19 seconds ahead of the Team Sky duo.
Nibali is now two minutes and 41 seconds adrift of Wiggins, who admitted afterwards he lost concentration in the final section of the stage.
"We were talking about Nibali," said Wiggins.
"We knew he was on his limit. The moment we crossed the Peyresourde, I allowed myself to drift and that was the first time I thought maybe I've won the Tour today.
"All the way up that last climb my concentration had gone, everything about performance had gone.
"Chris was egging me on to take more time and I was in another world, really."You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.0 -
RichN95 wrote:
The Tour woke up no man. Mother Froome is looking well?Rick Chasey wrote:The famous dutch phrase : De Tour wacht op niemand.............Maar Froome gelukkig wel.
Courtesey of Michiel Elijzen
The Tour waits for no-one....Luckily, Froome does. 0 -
I suppose Wiggins should return the favour and 'wait' for Froome in the TT? :?Rick Chasey wrote:The Tour waits for no-one....Luckily, Froome does.
You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:OK I'm going to say it.
I don't like sky or Wiggins.
Too unsexy. There's riding conservatively, like, Indurain or Armstrong or any others, which is fine, but the way sky go about it is super unsexy.
On the road, they just do tactics that work for them (bar Froome which I'll get onto), fine, but it's how that combines with the whole "We've trained for this" shtick. It's unsexy, and unromantic.
I've been banging the Froome drum mainly because I feel he's the one to break that lock, to make sky thrilling, exciting. He shows emotions on the road, however passive aggressive, in a way the others don't - bar Cav (but he's not really part of the GC team).
Their discussions of numbers and plans, it's so dull and boring. Wiggins. He gets a lot of plaudits from journos for interesting interviews, but all i hear is a grumpy man in a pub who can cycle a bit, and suddenly, inbetween rancidly dull discussions of numbers and training for everything (which already takes the romanticism out of the tour a bit), he gets all sentimental.
I don't like it.
I'm willing to put my bottom dollar that Tom Boonen or Cancellara use power metres just as much as sky do, and train just as thoroughly for their disciplines. It's the way you go about it.
I hear what you're saying Rick but remember Britain does not border the Mediterranean, Brits wear pyjamas in bed and Brits always queue. We aren't a sexy nation, we are a nanny nation that does the right thing when the world is at war or broke countries need some money. We work and play by numbers, anyone British even remotely sexy in their approach to sport will most probably be mentally unhinged and be sure to end up an alcoholic cut short in their prime and thereafter considered a "flawed genius".0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:OK I'm going to say it.
I don't like sky or Wiggins.
On the road, they just do tactics that work for them .
Sorry, am I missing something? I thought I was on the Pro Race forum. 0 -
Sky are here to do one thing and that is to win the race. They have a team built around a specifc challenger and he's been there lead rider at every single point in the race. All these folks that are saying Froome should be racing Wiggins are living in cloud cuckoo land, as doing it would significantly risk the overall win and they'd be mad to do that. Especially mad when their team leader is already 2 minutes up.
Yes Froome has looked fresher and faster a couple of times and (presumably because he's a bit of a pr1ck) has chosen those times to make a silly point about it. There have also been times when Wiggins has clearly been fresher but he's made no attempt to demonstrate the fact. He was also very signficantly faster in both time trials and there is absolutely no doubt by a bigger margin than the odd few seconds Froome maybe could have gained in a stage or two.
I think Froome is a great rider but I've had a lot more respect for him if he'd stick to doing his job (as Cavendish is doing) and stop trying to tell the world how wonderful he occasionally is. There is no mistaking the fact he's over two minutes down and, given how badly he was beaten by Wiggins in the last time trial, I can't see any chance that he'd have made that time back plus say another minute or so.0 -
Brits can be sexy, ask my mum, she married one.
This was their chance to come over all cool and continental. Brits showing the guys back at home how it should be done, with a deep mahogony tan and a continental ease.
Instead you get this management-esq business studies style case example of how to 'maximise your opportunities' and deep infrastructure to 'prepare and train for every eventually' to harness the bloody inner chimp.
Ggggaaaarh
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Wiggins was clearly telling Froome "go, go" but Froome thought he was saying "slow, slow."0
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Winning first, flair later 0
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Brilliant isn't it!Rick Chasey wrote:Instead you get this management-esq business studies style case example of how to 'maximise your opportunities' and deep infrastructure to 'prepare and train for every eventually' to harness the bloody inner chimp. [/img]
Can't wait now for Team GB to start smashing up the velodrome as well using this exact same approach. Going to be the greatest year of British cycling in history! 8)You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.0 -
I think people's perceptions of the 'go for the win' have been made in the heat of the moment while it went on.
Hearing Wiggins, its quite possible that Froome and Wiggins weren't aware of the possibility of a Froome win. The pair of them could have been lost in the emotion that they've come through the final mountain stage on top and Froome whilst maybe being a bit stronger at the end was enjoying the 'come on let's go' of the final couple of k.
Perhaps it was more 'camaraderie and fun' and not 'debating if Froome should go' ...I don't know.
As for people saying Froome should have gone for it in any of this tour, or even speculating he should lead, well, would Sky's management really have looked at Froome's Angrilu performance in the Vuelta and said 'right, we're swapping, Froome's now our main man'. No.
Fact is Froome has proved himself well through this tour and Sky or not, he's a prospect.
But, at the end of the day if anyone thinks Froome should have attacked Wiggins at any point or jossled for team leadership take-over then they are probably either 14, or just don't understand how pro cycling works.
Sky have done what they have set out to do, Froome's played his role, just the same as Porte, EBH, and the rest of them.
As for the tour's dullness... well, its as simple as there hasn't been much between the main GC guys on the climbs we have had, a few others have underperformed. Nobody's shot up the road like a juiced up Pecker.
Only thing about today is its a shame a doper like Valverde has won when he nearly didn't. The cheating smackhead side of his career (and how he's dealt with it) show him as a complete Pecker, and undeserved of such a high profile, highly watched day in any sport.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:This was their chance to come over all cool and continental. Brits showing the guys back at home how it should be done, with a deep mahogony tan and a continental ease.
Go get your bike out. You need some fresh air. :shock:0 -
Liquigas hit the front today: oh my god this is exciting. why didn't they do it earlier?
Sky hit the front: god this is tedious.0 -
Rick - given that winning the first British yellow jersey was their objective, and given that they've smashed everyone bar none over all the mountains, and destroyed everyone in the time trial, and have got first and second place sewn up, could you explain why you would prefer Sky to use tactics that don't suit them?0
