TDF 2013: Stage 7 *SPOILERS* Montpellier - Albi

joelsim

Blazing Saddles wrote:

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

bazbadger wrote:

Well done Sky, that was a great sprint effort, being on the front for so much of the day too.

Ah, hold on a minute.

What happened to Sky?

Don't you worry, expect to see them on the lower slopes of the final climb tomorrow.

I doubt it, after the Col de Pailhères.
5 would be good.

What's the point if they don't need to? They are playing one game and that is Froome (or maybe Porte). No energy expended unless absolutely necessary.

Whether you like Sky or not, you have to admire Brailsford, a great strategist, forward thinker and tactician.

Now, hopefully Froome will crash at some point so my little wagers have a better chance of ripening.

blazing_saddles

All that, from 2 very brief sentences?
July is the minefield month around here.

TMR

frenchfighter wrote:

Sagan came from behind Degenkolb and still put this much space into him. Wow.

I'm pleased that Sagan won Frenchie, but I personally don't think it's a surprise by how much. Degenkolb is not a sprinter and Sagan is so stupidly talented it should be illegal

TheBigBean

I'm not sure when Sir Dave got a reputation as a tactical genius. He's a good talent spotter and has built a strong team, but I'm not sure at all about his tactical nous.

Riis on the other hand... loathe him or loathe him you have to admire his race tactics.

RichN95.

TheBigBean wrote:

I'm not sure when Sir Dave got a reputation as a tactical genius.

I doubt he's made a tactical decision this season. That's what Ellingworth, Knaven & Portal are for.

TheBigBean

frenchfighter wrote:

Sagan came from behind Degenkolb and still put this much space into him. Wow.

Degenkolb went way to early and Bennati too late. Not sure they would have won, but it would have been a bit closer if their timing wasn't quite so bad.

Gerrans you'll be pleased to hear didn't even contest it.

Pross

bazbadger wrote:

Well done Sky, that was a great sprint effort, being on the front for so much of the day too.

Ah, hold on a minute.

What happened to Sky?

Why would you expect Sky to put in a sprint effort? They have no sprinter so why waste energy when they have some big days over the weekend. It's bizarre the lengths some people go to in order to criticise Sky :?

DeadCalm

Pross wrote:

bazbadger wrote:

Well done Sky, that was a great sprint effort, being on the front for so much of the day too.

Ah, hold on a minute.

What happened to Sky?

Why would you expect Sky to put in a sprint effort? They have no sprinter so why waste energy when they have some big days over the weekend. It's bizarre the lengths some people go to in order to criticise Sky :?

In fairness, the Chuckle Brothers seemed to spend most of the final two hours of the race suggesting that Sky were likely to organise themselves to lead out EBH and that therefore he had to be considered the favourite for the win.

Pross

Really enjoyed that stage. Not sure if it was raised earlier in the thread but can anyone recall several sprinters teams working together like that to close a gap? Made great viewing whilst it lasted especially the two arch enemy Belgian squads. Great work by Cannondale to be fair, thought Degenkolb was going to mug them at the end but went too early.

People talking about Porte or Froome being in yellow tomorrow - I think Kwiatowski could surprise them. Maybe he's the new Sagan (but a better climber and TTer ).

DeadCalm

Pross wrote:

Really enjoyed that stage. Not sure if it was raised earlier in the thread but can anyone recall several sprinters teams working together like that to close a gap? Made great viewing whilst it lasted especially the two arch enemy Belgian squads. Great work by Cannondale to be fair, thought Degenkolb was going to mug them at the end but went too early.

Agreed. Lots to like there. I was watching the Moto 3 feed on French TV which was showing the chase group and the chain gang they had going was something to behold. For a while I actually began to believe they might do it. Then the road went uphill and it all got a little ragged.

Loved the marking of Rolland by Bardet to ensure Kadri got the polka jersey.

And every year at the Tour I acquire one or two new favourite riders. I think Bakelants could well be one from this Tour.

People talking about Porte or Froome being in yellow tomorrow - I think Kwiatowski could surprise them. Maybe he's the new Sagan (but a better climber and TTer ).

Kwiatkowski is looking very strong but I wouldn't be surprised if one or two riders who are still close on GC but aren't considered an overall threat are allowed to pinch a few seconds whilst the favourites watch each other. Amador or Niemiec maybe?

Lightning

DeadCalm wrote:

Kwiatkowski is looking very strong but I wouldn't be surprised if one or two riders who are still close on GC but aren't considered an overall threat are allowed to pinch a few seconds whilst the favourites watch each other. Amador or Niemiec maybe?

I might be wrong, but I don't think Froome is going to be watching anyone. I really think he just likes to go for it, whether he's feeling well or not. Considering his random attack this week, I'll be surprised if he doesn't attack like it's the last stage of the tdf tomorrow.

mididoctors

TheBigBean wrote:

I'm not sure when Sir Dave got a reputation as a tactical genius. He's a good talent spotter and has built a strong team, but I'm not sure at all about his tactical nous.

Riis on the other hand... loathe him or loathe him you have to admire his race tactics.

[troll]I am not buying this all conquering super tactician Riis thing


Sure he made some moves as a DS and a rider at times but he blew a fair few as well..some real school boy errors


1997 losing his podium place in the tour by getting isolated by a counter attack on the rolling roads of the Jura by Banesto dragging Olano up the gc along with pantani. Banesto paypack for the dauphine (might as been the midi?) who had telekom's udo bolts attacking olano who had a mechanical while in the jersey... or the countless years of underperforming CSC time trials using that 1980's constant through and off tt formation... never worked and the team constantly underperformed given the size of the engines on the squad.

2008 tour? well luigi just towed everyone across two mountain ranges with evans limping in behind with crash damage. the best of the rest was on his squad with andy and frank.[/troll]

goonz

Not sure whether this has been mentioned but did anyone see a brake on Jens Voigt rear wheel?

alihisgreat

goonz wrote:

Not sure whether this has been mentioned but did anyone see a brake on Jens Voigt rear wheel?

Its mounted under the BB on the Trek Madone.

bazbadger

Pross wrote:

bazbadger wrote:

Well done Sky, that was a great sprint effort, being on the front for so much of the day too.

Ah, hold on a minute.

What happened to Sky?

Why would you expect Sky to put in a sprint effort? They have no sprinter so why waste energy when they have some big days over the weekend. It's bizarre the lengths some people go to in order to criticise Sky :?

...because they had EBH up there and were near the front the whole day. I suppose we have to remember that EBH is not handy in a sprint at all :roll:

above_the_cows

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

goonz wrote:

Not sure whether this has been mentioned but did anyone see a brake on Jens Voigt rear wheel?

Its mounted under the BB on the Trek Madone.

And yet they still pull the magic spanner trick. Makes me laugh every time. "Oh we're just adjusting the breaks after replacing the wheel Monsieur Race Commisaire, here I am adjusting the breaks..."

Watch for it, it's hilarious, one of the little things that keeps a stage interesting. Hmmmm perhaps I'll develop an I Spy game... There's a thought.

Pross

bazbadger wrote:

Pross wrote:

bazbadger wrote:

Well done Sky, that was a great sprint effort, being on the front for so much of the day too.

Ah, hold on a minute.

What happened to Sky?

Why would you expect Sky to put in a sprint effort? They have no sprinter so why waste energy when they have some big days over the weekend. It's bizarre the lengths some people go to in order to criticise Sky :?

...because they had EBH up there and were near the front the whole day. I suppose we have to remember that EBH is not handy in a sprint at all :roll:

You wouldn't use up energy leading out a part time sprinter like EBH when you have the first two big GC days coming up. In fact the only team with a sprint train was Cannondale. Sky rode near the front to keep Froome safe and then eased up once inside the final KM. By your rationale Bertie, Mick and Roche should have been leading out Benatti as if anything he is a better sprinter than EBH. Sky learned last year that you concentrate your efforts on the big picture otherwise they would have kept the fastest sprinter out there on their team.

bazbadger

Pross wrote:

bazbadger wrote:

Pross wrote:

bazbadger wrote:

Well done Sky, that was a great sprint effort, being on the front for so much of the day too.

Ah, hold on a minute.

What happened to Sky?

Why would you expect Sky to put in a sprint effort? They have no sprinter so why waste energy when they have some big days over the weekend. It's bizarre the lengths some people go to in order to criticise Sky :?

...because they had EBH up there and were near the front the whole day. I suppose we have to remember that EBH is not handy in a sprint at all :roll:

You wouldn't use up energy leading out a part time sprinter like EBH when you have the first two big GC days coming up. In fact the only team with a sprint train was Cannondale. Sky rode near the front to keep Froome safe and then eased up once inside the final KM. By your rationale Bertie, Mick and Roche should have been leading out Benatti as if anything he is a better sprinter than EBH. Sky learned last year that you concentrate your efforts on the big picture otherwise they would have kept the fastest sprinter out there on their team.

You may be right.

frenchfighter

"Kind of knew what Cannondale would do today, but no way to prevent it. They rode faultlessly. Congratulations to @petosagan. #machine"

ddraver

You seem to be avoiding today's thread Frenchie?

frenchfighter

“I made an error of judgment; I stopped for a pee just before that team went ballistic. Luckily the whole Movistar team had also stopped,” Dan Martin wrote in his online diary for the Irish Times. “We got moving again, riding very fast up the climb, but we were not getting any closer to the peloton. We were looking at each other wondering what the heck was going on.

“Fortunately I was with two strong riders, Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana, and we were able to get back up. I think we were the only ones to do so out of the 15 guys who had stopped.”

Read more: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/14931 ... z2YHbwm0AQ

chrisday

frenchfighter wrote:

chrisday wrote:

That TT you're using, FF?

TT?

Trading Technologies - X-somethingorother? Just trying to guess your trading software from the pic

Pross

So Cannondale put the pressure on when a load of riders including some favourites were taking a toilet break? Some teams might get a bit of stick if they did that.