Tour of Britain Stage 5 *spoiler*

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Comments

  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Dorset Boy wrote:
    So three stage wins and a second place out of 5 stages says they don't care?

    For all we know, Cav wasn't well at all today - either dodgy pub grub, or caught something in yesterday's terrible weather, or worse, in Blackpool! The team nursed him to the line coz he's got three more days left in the bands.

    He's got 3 more days in the jersey whether Wiggins is there to nanny him or not. It was a tactical cock-up - deliberate or otherwise, it doesn't matter.
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Everyone said before the race that Knees was there for the overall. Rowe has done a day, Cav has done a day, they had an odd day today, but have been bossing (a weak field) up to today, I don't think they'll be unhappy with how things have gone.
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    afx237vi wrote:
    It was a tactical cock-up - deliberate or otherwise, it doesn't matter.

    I doubt it was a c*ck up. It's a chipper, they probably couldn't give a sh*t about it. I'm sure they'd much rather be on a beach some where with their feet up. They've won a couple of stages, so the sponsor is happy. They've done the 'mingle with the fans' thing. Not sure what more can be expected.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    The Mad Rapper wrote:
    afx237vi wrote:
    It was a tactical cock-up - deliberate or otherwise, it doesn't matter.

    I doubt it was a c*ck up. It's a chipper, they probably couldn't give a sh*t about it. I'm sure they'd much rather be on a beach some where with their feet up. They've won a couple of stages, so the sponsor is happy. They've done the 'mingle with the fans' thing. Not sure what more can be expected.

    Fair enough, but I think Ned Boulting is right: "Incoherent and uncompetitive race tactics just confuse people who are new to the sport."

    It's not a good look if Britain's biggest rider doesn't give a crap about Britain's biggest race, is it? Tactical ineptitude or apathy... it's bad either way.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    So this stage is worth watching then?
    _
  • nweststeyn
    nweststeyn Posts: 1,574
    ^^ i DO agree with that...
  • thegibdog
    thegibdog Posts: 2,106
    knedlicky wrote:
    Someone parked badly on the descent there, on the inside of a left-turning bend, blocking half the road!
    (Like saunaboy pointed out in the 'enjoying the TOB' thread, the roads could have been better cleared of parked cars)
    The parking on Gun Hill gets worse every year, people could easily park off the course and have less than a miles walk to the summit but would rather park on the descent! It's not as if you get off the hill any quicker anyway.

    They should put some signs up at the bottom of the descent saying something like "It's two-thirds of a mile to the summit of Gun Hill, if you can walk please stop being so lazy and park off the course!"
    https://gibworth.mypixieset.com
  • clanton
    clanton Posts: 1,289
    afx237vi wrote:
    It's not a good look if Britain's biggest rider doesn't give a crap about Britain's biggest race, is it? Tactical ineptitude or apathy... it's bad either way.

    I'm not so sure - if the whole of Sky had abandoned Cav - the world champion AND current race leader - that wouldn't have gone down too wwll either. I think they were a bit caught between tryi gn to show their support of cav and going for the overall - made worse by underestimating their opposition.
  • nickel
    nickel Posts: 476
    My god Hugh Porter is such a f***ing idiot 'they've climbed 5090 metres so far, thats higher than mount blanc' no Hugh, they've climbed 5000 feet, which is nowhere near the height of mount blanc.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Nickel wrote:
    My god Hugh Porter is such a f***ing idiot 'they've climbed 5090 metres so far, thats higher than mount blanc' no Hugh, they've climbed 5000 feet, which is nowhere near the height of mount blanc.


    Metres, schmetres, hey its all insignificant detail...in her intro to the live coverage on ITV4 last Sunday Jill Douglas said that the riders would be riding 2000km in Sunday's stage...
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    Nickel wrote:
    My god Hugh Porter is such a f***ing idiot 'they've climbed 5090 metres so far, thats higher than mount blanc' no Hugh, they've climbed 5000 feet, which is nowhere near the height of mount blanc.


    Metres, schmetres, hey its all insignificant detail...in her intro to the live coverage on ITV4 last Sunday Jill Douglas said that the riders would be riding 2000km in Sunday's stage...


    So really Ned Boulting might want to consider the role and resulting success of his fellow commentators and presenters in making things comprehensible to those new to the sport...
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,181
    Good day of racing and nice to see Basso put on a bit of a show. Utterly bizarre from Sky and risk p***ing off the organiser and sponsors let alone the fans by apparently treating the race with disdain with Cav seemingly determined to get back in the WC jersey at all costs. I'm not even sure how he got dropped as I'm sure he was near the front when the sprint went for the 2nd KOM points. Why send Wiggins, who was up there on GC himself, back when there were 3 other team riders between the front group and Cav? Seeing the races biggest name laughing and joking as he comes to a complete standstill is hardly a good way to get new sponsors or keep existing ones.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Neither Basso or Sanchez finished in the top group.

    Wiggins and Cav rolled in over 11mins down. There was a v large group that came in before them.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Maybe Wiggins wants a stage win. And to do that he might need to lose some time. He may also be sorry for Cav's situation and Sky so rolled with him for solidarity sake.

    With the year he has had I think you can let him off. It would have been nice for the fans to put in a show for your home Tour. However as he was going slower today I guess it gave them more opportunity to see him as he came past.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    When Knees was interviewed a couple of days ago he did comment that since the Tour and all the work he did there, that he's had a lot of support from British fans. So perhaps this was planned as a thank you to him from the team. He's only 24 seconds back on GC so is still very much in with a shout. Although I'm not sure this was how they planned to lose time for the other riders!

    Now you have every other Sky rider well down it at least makes it obvious as to who their main man will be and who they'll work for. I think we'll see some different tactics from Sky tomorrow (i.e. try and ride everyone else into the ground to set Knees up). Or maybe let someone like Rowe go in a break.

    Regardless, it's seems a pretty strange race overall. How many one week races have only 8 riders in contention with 5 stages gone, and the toughest stages still to come?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Basso solo attack, Sky taking it easy?

    Must be a chipper ;).
    _
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    looks like 90% of the field are taking it easy! http://www.tourofbritain.com/_ns_results/default.asp?stage=5&page=5
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,241
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Basso solo attack, Sky taking it easy?

    Must be a chipper ;).
    Or the 2010 Giro d'Italia
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    RichN95 wrote:
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Basso solo attack, Sky taking it easy?

    Must be a chipper ;).
    Or the 2010 Giro d'Italia

    Yeah.













    chipper.
    _
  • nweststeyn
    nweststeyn Posts: 1,574
    Jack Bobridge at 44(!!!!!) minutes???!!!

    Cripes.
  • nweststeyn
    nweststeyn Posts: 1,574
    Oh... im a twat... I thought that was the stage times!
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    nweststeyn wrote:
    Oh... im a fool... I thought that was the stage times!

    Even so 44 mins over 5 stages of what should be a relatively easy course is still a huge amount for someone like Bobridge.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,241
    hammerite wrote:
    nweststeyn wrote:
    Oh... im a fool... I thought that was the stage times!

    Even so 44 mins over 5 stages of what should be a relatively easy course is still a huge amount for someone like Bobridge.

    It's Bobridge. He probably stopped for a pint somewhere.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 19,609
    frenchfighter wrote:
    Maybe Wiggins wants a stage win.
    Two years ago when I went to Peak Hill in Devon to watch the first Devon stage of the ToB, Wiggins was at the back of the large group a good 20 minutes behind the leaders (most of the spectators had gone by then), and they only just make the cut-off. The next day he came second.
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,314
    Marc De Maar after his win today:
    " I didn’t know you guys had that amount of climbs over here, and someone told me there are more to come. I’ve only ever been to Heathrow Airport before! I’ve never been into this country, so I am surprised, it’s a nice country."

    That "someone" needs to warn him a bit more than that, for f#ck's sake... There is no more perplexing comedy (on so many levels) than the sight of a foreign pro zig-zagging up a proper b@stard British hill in a 21 sprocket because the DS and mechanic looked briefly at the course profile and reckoned that he'd be alright with that ("but that guy was 3rd over the Galibier and in the top ten on Alpe D'Huez during the Tour...!?!" you exclaim)

    I find it's a strange mix of national pride (that they should find our silly little roads a challenge) and the endlessly inconclusive attempt to compare our roads/races to those of the races for the bigger boys that generally capture out imagination... I.e Vattenfall Classic.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,181
    frenchfighter wrote:
    Maybe Wiggins wants a stage win. And to do that he might need to lose some time. He may also be sorry for Cav's situation and Sky so rolled with him for solidarity sake.

    With the year he has had I think you can let him off. It would have been nice for the fans to put in a show for your home Tour. However as he was going slower today I guess it gave them more opportunity to see him as he came past.

    If he wanted a stage victory yesterday would have been a great chance. There weren't any teams with strength in depth in that front group, he could have done what the winner did.
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    I watched the start at Trentham with my mate yesterday, then cycled out to Oakamoor and up the KoM climb there. Then watched the race come through again (got to see Basso in the break which was very exciting). Then cycled back into Stoke for the finish.

    As we got near the finish we passed a couple of disinterested marshals and then noticed that we were inside the barriers for the finish. We rode past some more marshals and a few police officers who showed no interest in us at all and noticed the crowds starting to thicken, and people started to cheer us, ring the occasional bell, bang on the hoardings and shout "go on Wiggo".

    We then rode all the way up to virtually the finish line where a marshal directed us through the opening in the barriers that the team cars use into a cordoned off area for the teams! It was at this point we discovered that the front of the race was only 6km out! Not something we'd have tried to do deliberately, but it was quite a lot of fun. Amazed at how lax the security/marshalling was though.

    Had a great day out all-in-all. Loads of cyclists about, particularly between Trentham and Oakamoor in the morning. At one point we ended up in a sportive-sized pack that built up at a level crossing and then broke up when we came into Cheedle.
  • BelgianBeerGeek
    BelgianBeerGeek Posts: 5,226
    Watched on ITV. Nice to see a whole stage in Britain' s best county. One of the missus' friends posted pics on face ache from the bottom of the mother in law's road! I could have wandered down with a brew in me slippers and watched the procession! Also good to see Basso having a go. Seems Wiggo is nadged without race radio...wtf?
    All in all, VG. I' m glad everyone had a good time.
    Ecrasez l’infame

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