Dauphine - Stage 5 *Spoiler*

goonz

RichN95 wrote:

philbar72 wrote:

a cycling equivalent of Paula Radcliffe....

Will he stop for a crap in the middle of the Champs Elysees?

frenchfighter

smithy21 wrote:

This. We should be on the "peaking too early" debate at the moment shouldnt we.....or has that one been put to bed now?

I mentioned in the Tour of Oman that I thought he looked ridiculously ripped and on top form then and he would have difficulty maintaining it.

So far he has been able to manage top form at every race as well as a below normal skininess. Not sure how this is possible...not normal.

Sky have advanced techniques but they arent that supreme (at least the ones we know of...). I have no idea how these riders are so much better than every other rider in the peloton. Even Sky`s third tier domestiques are better than most. And many of these riders I have hardly heard of and they were pretty middle of the pack before joining.

Hopefully Froome will have got it wrong and he suffers at the Tour.

These other contenders have been around the block many times and know whats what and put the performances in when it matters. Being top at the Dauphine is not what matters - Contador has never won this race but is the best stage racer of the past decade.

oneof1982

frenchfighter wrote:

Hopefully Froome will have got it wrong and he suffers at the Tour.

quote]

Here's to a great race then

TMR

OnYourRight wrote:

Wiggins got sick the moment he got wet in the Giro, probably in large part because he’s far too thin.

Having a low % BF is not indicative of poor health or susceptibility to illness. There are far more influencing factors.

There’s no guarantee at all that Froome can stay healthy and on top form for another six weeks.

There's no guarantee anyone in the World can stay healthy and on top form for the next six weeks, but that doesn't mean it's an impossibility.

Crankbrother

Turfle wrote:

And if he didn't win [Froome], Contador would have; why on earth would Froome want that?

AC had sat on once he was reeled in and realised there was no stage glory to be had ... and with no bonus seconds to be had for a win (and none at the TdF) there was not really anything to be gained by bullying the win from the sole breakaway survivor ... If Froome wins the overall then no-one will remember him beating AC by 4 seconds, but RLT will (and with Jens driving the front, or Andy Schleck aiding an AC attack when Sky/Froome are in difficulty it's a silly win to take from a team/riders in need of points/sponsor) ...

inkyfingers

frenchfighter wrote:

smithy21 wrote:

This. We should be on the "peaking too early" debate at the moment shouldnt we.....or has that one been put to bed now?

I mentioned in the Tour of Oman that I thought he looked ridiculously ripped and on top form then and he would have difficulty maintaining it.

So far he has been able to manage top form at every race as well as a below normal skininess. Not sure how this is possible...not normal.

Sky have advanced techniques but they arent that supreme (at least the ones we know of...). I have no idea how these riders are so much better than every other rider in the peloton. Even Sky`s third tier domestiques are better than most. And many of these riders I have hardly heard of and they were pretty middle of the pack before joining.

Hopefully Froome will have got it wrong and he suffers at the Tour.

These other contenders have been around the block many times and know whats what and put the performances in when it matters. Being top at the Dauphine is not what matters - Contador has never won this race but is the best stage racer of the past decade.

When Contador was at his best he used to race consistently well through the first half of the season, picking up regular wins and high placings; much as Froome is doing now, Wiggins did last year and Evans did in 2011.

oneof1982

Crankbrother wrote:

AC had sat on once he was reeled in and realised there was no stage glory to be had ... and with no bonus seconds to be had for a win (and none at the TdF) there was not really anything to be gained by bullying the win from the sole breakaway survivor ... If Froome wins the overall then no-one will remember him beating AC by 4 seconds, but RLT will (and with Jens driving the front, or Andy Schleck aiding an AC attack when Sky/Froome are in difficulty it's a silly win to take from a team/riders in need of points/sponsor) ...

Ehm, Contador passed Busche to take second. At what point was Froome to sit up? When Contador attacked him for a second time? Don't think so.

frenchfighter

Crankbrother wrote:

Turfle wrote:

And if he didn't win [Froome], Contador would have; why on earth would Froome want that?

AC had sat on once he was reeled in and realised there was no stage glory to be had ... and with no bonus seconds to be had for a win (and none at the TdF) there was not really anything to be gained by bullying the win from the sole breakaway survivor ... If Froome wins the overall then no-one will remember him beating AC by 4 seconds, but RLT will (and with Jens driving the front, or Andy Schleck aiding an AC attack when Sky/Froome are in difficulty it's a silly win to take from a team/riders in need of points/sponsor) ...

I saw it noted by someone (of repute) recently that Froome in particular has no friends in the peloton. Big boost to the ego when things go right. Not so much when you need a tow or even a bottle.

above_the_cows

Crankbrother wrote:

Turfle wrote:

And if he didn't win [Froome], Contador would have; why on earth would Froome want that?

AC had sat on once he was reeled in and realised there was no stage glory to be had ... and with no bonus seconds to be had for a win (and none at the TdF) there was not really anything to be gained by bullying the win from the sole breakaway survivor ... If Froome wins the overall then no-one will remember him beating AC by 4 seconds, but RLT will (and with Jens driving the front, or Andy Schleck aiding an AC attack when Sky/Froome are in difficulty it's a silly win to take from a team/riders in need of points/sponsor) ...

Jesus, Sky just can't win can they even when they do win? :shock:

They either win in a boring way by just diesel training it up a climb or when they do cover an attack and go mano-o-mano and win they still did wrong because they in fact shouldn't win and their job is now to gift stage wins and be concerned about other teams rankings and or sponsorship situation.

I realise that making friends with other teams in the peloton is important and I'm sure Froome was thinking twenty steps ahead, I know I find it really easy to make those kind of strategic decisions when my heart rate's at 190 and I'm about to cough my lungs out. :roll:

Equally it is as important a strategic move to put the willies into Contador by such a show of strength.

And how do you know Busche and RLT would have been happy about being gifted the win? For all you know Busche may have found the whole thing utterly patronising.

Crozza

this thread sucks big ones

shame, as the racing itself sounds to have been quite good

frenchfighter

oneof1982 wrote:

Crankbrother wrote:

AC had sat on once he was reeled in and realised there was no stage glory to be had ... and with no bonus seconds to be had for a win (and none at the TdF) there was not really anything to be gained by bullying the win from the sole breakaway survivor ... If Froome wins the overall then no-one will remember him beating AC by 4 seconds, but RLT will (and with Jens driving the front, or Andy Schleck aiding an AC attack when Sky/Froome are in difficulty it's a silly win to take from a team/riders in need of points/sponsor) ...

Ehm, Contador passed Busche to take second. At what point was Froome to sit up? When Contador attacked him for a second time? Don't think so.

One example and there are others.


Which in turn led to a good amount of work for Contador even when he was on another team in THAT stage of the Vuelta. Contador is a legend in every aspect.

piedwagtail

frenchfighter wrote:

smithy21 wrote:

This. We should be on the "peaking too early" debate at the moment shouldnt we.....or has that one been put to bed now?

I mentioned in the Tour of Oman that I thought he looked ridiculously ripped and on top form then and he would have difficulty maintaining it.

So far he has been able to manage top form at every race as well as a below normal skininess. Not sure how this is possible...not normal.

Sky have advanced techniques but they arent that supreme (at least the ones we know of...). I have no idea how these riders are so much better than every other rider in the peloton. Even Sky`s third tier domestiques are better than most. And many of these riders I have hardly heard of and they were pretty middle of the pack before joining.

Hopefully Froome will have got it wrong and he suffers at the Tour.

These other contenders have been around the block many times and know whats what and put the performances in when it matters. Being top at the Dauphine is not what matters - Contador has never won this race but is the best stage racer of the past decade.

Is this not because they're domestiques would be leaders on most other teams?? Not that it matters really, I'm sure this arguments been done on here before...

Over...
And over...
And over...

Crankbrother

Just think it was a silly move by Sky/Froome who can't gaurantee the TdF win this time round ...

Don't get me wrong, I want Froome to win the Tour, if only to belittle Sir Wiggle's win ... Even better if Porte can snatch it the next ...

frenchfighter

Glad you guys enjoyed `wheelsucker` Valverde trying to go for it from distance.

inkyfingers wrote:

When Contador was at his best he used to race consistently well through the first half of the season, picking up regular wins and high placings; much as Froome is doing now, Wiggins did last year and Evans did in 2011.

The thing was though that he didn`t crush them and have his team ride almost all riders out of contention in any case before attacking with 1km to race.

blazing_saddles

Now, without reading the rest of the thread, I expect a few people on here who found the Giro boring, found that exciting.
Trackie convert, Rohan Dennis eventually succumbed to death by a thousand pedal strokes.
A whopping 1 km of action, for a couple of seconds, on a HC climb.
Effective, but so, apparently is a coffee enema.

frenchfighter

"There's not much else to say other than I was close. I was within 200 meters of victory and that hurts,"

oneof1982

frenchfighter wrote:

oneof1982 wrote:

Crankbrother wrote:

AC had sat on once he was reeled in and realised there was no stage glory to be had ... and with no bonus seconds to be had for a win (and none at the TdF) there was not really anything to be gained by bullying the win from the sole breakaway survivor ... If Froome wins the overall then no-one will remember him beating AC by 4 seconds, but RLT will (and with Jens driving the front, or Andy Schleck aiding an AC attack when Sky/Froome are in difficulty it's a silly win to take from a team/riders in need of points/sponsor) ...

Ehm, Contador passed Busche to take second. At what point was Froome to sit up? When Contador attacked him for a second time? Don't think so.

One example and there are others.


Which in turn led to a good amount of work for Contador even when he was on another team in THAT stage of the Vuelta. Contador is a legend in every aspect.

You clearly like the fella. I might too if I hadn't ridden half way up the tourmalet in the pssn rain to watch him only to find him disqualified retrospectively for a drugs offence.

Turning back to today, had there only been two at the finish, Busche and Froome, there may have been a case for a gallant act, but in this case there were three, and it is inconceivable that Froome would have/should have sat up. If so why did Contador pass Bushce on the line?

TMR

oneof1982 wrote:

I might too if I hadn't ridden half way up the tourmalet in the pssn rain to watch him only to find him disqualified retrospectively for a drugs offence.

Why didn't you ride all the way to the top you fanny? :P

frenchfighter

@michellecound
As @albertocontador said "the dauphine is the dauphine, and the TDF is the TDF", bad day but no doubt he'll bounce back…

oneof1982

The Mad Rapper wrote:

oneof1982 wrote:

I might too if I hadn't ridden half way up the tourmalet in the pssn rain to watch him only to find him disqualified retrospectively for a drugs offence.

Why didn't you ride all the way to the top you fanny? :P

As it happened the road closed early because the French president was coming up in car. Sat in a Hotel in Bareges and watched the stage on the telly, and went outside to see then going past!

Been up a couple of time since though!

frenchfighter

oneof1982 wrote:

You clearly like the fella. I might too if I hadn't ridden half way up the tourmalet in the pssn rain to watch him only to find him disqualified retrospectively for a drugs offence.

Turning back to today, had there only been two at the finish, Busche and Froome, there may have been a case for a gallant act, but in this case there were three, and it is inconceivable that Froome would have/should have sat up. If so why did Contador pass Bushce on the line?

That must have been really cool to be on the Tourmalet that day. The Contador Schleck duel was the stuff of true cycling stories.

The win was clearly on for Froome and Contador could see that. There wasn`t much benefit to Contador holding back so Busche could take 2nd.

I agree in general though that in this scenario Froome was more or less fine however he could have held off. I would say though that had Froome been within even 20m of the line when he caught Busche and Contador was no where near, he would still have taken the win from him. Great ride by Busche today. Nice long anaerobic explosion and ego display by Froome today.

nevman

frenchfighter wrote:

As @albertocontador said "the dauphine is the dauphine, and the TDF is the TDF", bad day but no doubt he'll bounce back…

Slippery unintelligible foreign visitor.
And the dolphin.

thamacdaddy

I am a sky fan, but I am not a massive fan of froome. He has everything you might want, he can attack with some style, he can hurt people on the climbs exploding out of the peloton and he can time trial but as much as I enjoyed him putting the hurt on Contador I too am in the camp he could have at least tried to let bushe have it.

Had contador attacked him towards the line he could have taken it but to do that to a breakaway rider who didn't have a team giving him an easy ride all day until the last climb feels really harsh.

Its the cold dead-eye killer part of his personality that I don't like. I didn't like it last year when he tried to make a mockery of wiggins signalling to him to speed up etc and it's the part I think that doesn't earn him too many friends in the peloton. He isn't a true team player to me at all - seems riders like Uran agree. Some people love that in their athletes, it's a sport after all, but I think one day this red mist thing he seems to have about him is going to lose him a race.

knedlicky

Crozza wrote:

this thread sucks big ones
shame, as the racing itself sounds to have been quite good

Perhaps as diversion from the Fro-Con discussion and …

curium wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

if the Tour coverage is like last year's we'll have Carlton popping in to tell us all about the cassoulet he had the night before and the type of tiles he's bought for his farm renovations. I for one enjoy this randomness,

Me too! The TdF is about more than cycling.

… because several posters in another thread evidently miss Duffer’s contributions, I’d like to say that at Valmorel, today’s stage finish, there is a wonderful baker's-cake shop called Maryan, which as well as a wide variety of delicious breads and cakes, small (e.g. brioche st.genix) and large (e.g. galette savoyarde), they make their own candied citrus fruit, chocolate and delicious myrtille (bilberry) water ice/sorbet.

rick_chasey

Has it finished already? ???

Ffs.

Macaloon

thamacdaddy wrote:

Its the cold dead-eye killer part of his personality that I don't like.

[Not mocking a thoroughly well-argued post, but the juxtaposition was too good to pass up.]

above_the_cows

knedlicky wrote:

… because several posters in another thread evidently miss Duffer’s contributions, I’d like to say that at Valmorel, today’s stage finish, there is a wonderful baker's-cake shop called Maryan, which as well as a wide variety of delicious breads and cakes, small (e.g. brioche st.genix) and large (e.g. galette savoyarde), they make their own candied citrus fruit, chocolate and delicious myrtille (bilberry) water ice/sorbet.

Yummy. I've always wanted to set up a bakery on the Madeleine, that sells nothing but madeleines, is decorated with pictures of Proust and plays this all day long on the stereo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEIHIsIhx6o

frenchfighter

This Sky kit is appalling. Looks like he is wearing a bin liner.

frenchfighter

Macaloon wrote:

thamacdaddy wrote:

Its the cold dead-eye killer part of his personality that I don't like.

[Not mocking a thoroughly well-argued post, but the juxtaposition was too good to pass up.]

Ah but you should see the follow up photo...

oneof1982

frenchfighter wrote:

This Sky kit is appalling. Looks like he is wearing a bin liner.

You'll really hate this, (and I think I do to) but the reason the kit is the way it is, and the reason that so many footall teams where black "away" kits, is that it shows up the sponsors logo more clearly on tv and in the papers.

(Wife used to work in sports sponsorship)