Tour of California 2014 **Spoilers**

Daz555

Crankbrother wrote:

Well that was DULL ...

Wiggins rode hard but I didn't see anyone pedalling with any great difficulty in that final group ...

Yates went too early, again ... But nice to see another animator emerging ...

Stong riders are not going to struggle to stay with pace like that on those sort of slopes because there is still significant aero benefit. Wiggo on front for almost 7km has done far more work than anyone else on that climb. He had no choice given he had no support.

Looks very very strong. If Froome can be convinced that Wiggo will ride for him then the riding Wiggo showed today is exactly what Froome will be needing.

Daz555

ThomThom wrote:

As soon as this became a climb he was off. Couldn't have done it differently.

To be fair as soon as it became a sprint he was off. Not quite the same thing, but I know what you are saying.

Crankbrother

Daz555 wrote:

Crankbrother wrote:

Well that was DULL ...

Wiggins rode hard but I didn't see anyone pedalling with any great difficulty in that final group ...

Yates went too early, again ... But nice to see another animator emerging ...

Stong riders are not going to struggle to stay with pace like that on those sort of slopes because there is still significant aero benefit. Wiggo on front for almost 7km has done far more work than anyone else on that climb. He had no choice given he had no support.

Looks very very strong. If Froome can be convinced that Wiggo will ride for him then the riding Wiggo showed today is exactly what Froome will be needing.

I agree BW done all the work ... But tbh it didn't pay dividends as the only guy capable of putting pressure on his lead did just that as he could sit in tne group that had formed behind Wiggins ...

It certainly wasn't the display that Matt Stephens was commentating on ...

Glad BW is in the mix, otherwise there would be no race already ...

joelsim

Wiggo looked great until the very end.

And it's great to see Adam Yates do well after his Turkey escapade, and following his brother's exploits earlier in the season. I like those boys. Not as much as that podium girl though Pross.

mfin

He did fine seeing as his team had the duty to chase down the break. If not, he would have had more of a train on the climb, then could have really raised the pace at the end. Instead, he was out front for however long it was and he was a one man (fast) train for the others.

Anyway, bit of a boring race but nice to see a relatively on form and happy Wiggins.

Macaloon

Dropped-off earlier than the rest of Brad's team. Reading the comments it's a pity that there was no serious mountain competition to Wiggo in 2012. It would be an interesting race with the 2014 Quintana and Contador on the 2012 parcours: could they take enough time to cover TT deficits?

Pross

Hard to tell with the relatively limited field but Dennis really does look a huge prospect for GTs. The future is looking bright.

milton50

Don't understand why Wiggins decided to sit on the front for so long.

He's certainly making it harder and harder to omit him from the Tour squad though.

Daz555

Milton50 wrote:

Don't understand why Wiggins decided to sit on the front for so long.

He's certainly making it harder and harder to omit him from the Tour squad though.

I think the second part of your post answers the first. That 6km odd stint on the front was partly all he could do after being left alone by his team way too early and part willy waving for Sir David.

If the climb had been a few % steeper Wiggo being forced to the front would have had a different outcome. With the form he showed he'd have cracked far more of the field. Maybe all of them.

The two riders Wiggo saved for the climb didn't seem last very long. That was his biggest problem.

Daz555

Macaloon wrote:

Dropped-off earlier than the rest of Brad's team. Reading the comments it's a pity that there was no serious mountain competition to Wiggo in 2012. It would be an interesting race with the 2014 Quintana and Contador on the 2012 parcours: could they take enough time to cover TT deficits?

There was nothing really steep enough. The parcours in 2012 really suited Wiggo climbing strengths. Wiggos TT form in 2012 would have put him 6 mins clear of the likes of Quintana.

TimB34

I didn't see the build-up but caught the last 5km - really impressive seeing Wiggins sitting rock solid on the front trying to crack a whole peloton.

As others have said I don't really see how he could have done differently, he controlled everything up to the last 500m.

Also impressive win by Dennis, well timed and powerful. But it's worth noting that on the TV footage afterwards RD looked wrecked, but BW was last seen calmly chatting before heading off with the chaperones. He looks like he knows what he's doing.

blazing_saddles

Daz555 wrote:

Milton50 wrote:

Don't understand why Wiggins decided to sit on the front for so long.

He's certainly making it harder and harder to omit him from the Tour squad though.

I think the second part of your post answers the first. That 6km odd stint on the front was partly all he could do after being left alone by his team way too early and part willy waving for Sir David.

If the climb had been a few % steeper Wiggo being forced to the front would have had a different outcome. With the form he showed he'd have cracked far more of the field. Maybe all of them.

The two riders Wiggo saved for the climb didn't seem last very long. That was his biggest problem.

Given what happened when it did, I'm not sure that would have been the case.
Pretty much what we saw from Wiggins in Trentino: Good, does a lot of damage to the bunch,
but climbers and GC contenders able to follow.
I'd put him at up before a fit and in form Porte in the tour train line, conflict aside.

milton50

Daz555 wrote:

Milton50 wrote:

Don't understand why Wiggins decided to sit on the front for so long.

He's certainly making it harder and harder to omit him from the Tour squad though.

part willy waving for Sir David.

If that's the case then that's up to him, but I don't think it was tactically the best option.

Macaloon

[That 2012 Tour parcours was a lifetime supply of Wonka bars for Wiggo]

Is Taylor Phinished yet?

+18:26 Meh... Like.... Whevs... Thought I'd adjusted to the burden of the @PaulKimmage #LoveyouPol Lifetime Legend award. :roll:

slim_boy_fat

Milton50 wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

Milton50 wrote:

Don't understand why Wiggins decided to sit on the front for so long.

He's certainly making it harder and harder to omit him from the Tour squad though.

part willy waving for Sir David.

If that's the case then that's up to him, but I don't think it was tactically the best option.

What else could he have done. His strength on climbs is setting a very strong relentless pace to try and ride everyone off his wheel. If he hadn't ridden such a hard pace those behind would have hard far more energy to attack earlier and harder. Wiggins just can match that sort of riding, he doesn't have the ability to do it, so potentially could have lost more time to attacks. What let him down yesterday was not having any team mates to do some of the hard work on the earlier part of the climb.

above_the_cows

I didn't watch the stage, too late for me, but top marks for a funny thread folks.



Anyway Tour selection a la Sky is getting interesting.

frenchfighter

How many riders were together in the peloton at the base of the climb?
How many Sky teammates did Wiggins have on the last climb?


Wiggins did the right thing imo and did it very well. There is no need for him to attack but he did a job his domestiques should be doing and kept the pace high enough that those that were a GC threat thought twice about attacking. He did that right up to where they started taking their small km flyers which are not dangerous. If they want to win GC then they dont win by attacking that late - so either Wiggins crushed them into submission or they have no flair.

Surprised Rohan Dennis was the winner even if he is clearly a decent rider. Would have been nice to zip up his jersey but every second counts. Congratulations.

frenchfighter wrote:

Hmm I quite like the look of this start list. Hopefully the guys on the front will be Chaves, Yates, Acevedo, Tao and Machado. I wonder if Lloyd will try and show some of his climbing prowess of the past...

If it is super hot like it has been then cant see past Acevedo on the climbs who is supposedly especially good in extreme heat.

frenchfighter wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

Yeah, but Wiggins will just time trial up the mountain with team support and they will struggle to take much time out of him. I don't see anyone other than Machado troubling him.

Agreed re Machado...was happy to see he was up there as otherwise it would be a foregone conclusion for the GC unless Wiggins didnt care to try

Respect to Yates and Chaves - check out where they finished. And nice job to Accevedo as well. Machado continues to perform well and deserves a bigger team (for the salary not necessarily the opportunities other than GTs).


Respect to Craddock as well and respect to neo pro Nathan Brown - 3rd and 17th respectively.

frenchfighter wrote:

Dombrowski has done 2 days racing this year. Theoretically he should get dropped on every climb if it is ridden at proper speed.

42 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Team Sky 0:08:51

Reasonable performance all things considered. Turns out he has one leg shorter than the other and so they just adjusted that and viola. Shame the Sky boffins did not find this sooner.


1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin Sharp 4:56:02
2 Tiago Machado (Por) Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:06
3 Lawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-Shimano 0:00:08
4 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge 0:00:11
5 Javier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Garmin Sharp
6 Carter Jones (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:00:14
7 Peter Stetina (USA) BMC Racing Team
8 Johan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Orica GreenEdge
9 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:20
10 Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:29
11 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
12 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:55
13 Lucas Euser (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:01:16
14 George Bennett (NZl) Cannondale 0:01:21
15 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Giant-Shimano 0:01:23
16 Damien Howson (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 0:01:29
17 Nathan Brown (USA) Garmin Sharp 0:02:01
18 Daan Olivier (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano 0:02:19
19 David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team NetApp-Endura 0:02:28
20 Daniel Jaramillo Díez (Col) Jamis - Hagens Berman 0:02:34
21 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin Sharp

Impressed by the breakaway riders - good job them.

Shame not to see Konig in there but then...yet again...cyclingnews error and he is not even racing. Tour of Cali has him on their startlist though.


60 Phillip Gaimon (USA) Garmin Sharp 0:18:57
70 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis --- FROMER GIRO MOUNTAIN JERSEY WINNER :roll:
Over 20mins
84 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
92 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Bissell Development Team

Daz555

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

Milton50 wrote:

Don't understand why Wiggins decided to sit on the front for so long.

He's certainly making it harder and harder to omit him from the Tour squad though.

I think the second part of your post answers the first. That 6km odd stint on the front was partly all he could do after being left alone by his team way too early and part willy waving for Sir David.

If the climb had been a few % steeper Wiggo being forced to the front would have had a different outcome. With the form he showed he'd have cracked far more of the field. Maybe all of them.

The two riders Wiggo saved for the climb didn't seem last very long. That was his biggest problem.

Given what happened when it did, I'm not sure that would have been the case.

I meant a few % more, not ramping up to 15% and higher. Wiggo was forced to the front but the speed of climbing at 5% makes it tricky to cause any real damage as there is so much benefit to sitting in the wheel.

Macaloon

frenchfighter wrote:

42 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Team Sky 0:08:51

Reasonable performance all things considered. Turns out he has one leg shorter than the other and so they just adjusted that and viola. Shame the Sky boffins did not find this sooner.

Did they make one longer, or shave a little off the bottom of the other?

And Adam Yates with yet more priceless experience. Looks like we have ourselves a racer.

frenchfighter

Glad Wiggins changed his glasses. He needs to get rid of that tat tho.

okgo

Quite cringey reading these posts.

Do you not think he knew what he was doing?

And to the bloke who said nobody was struggling, the group was 25 riders at one point, it looked like there were under 10 left by the time Yates attacked. I think Wiggins played it the best he could, he dropped most of the would be attackers, rode down two others, likely tired the rest out saving him losing more time if Dennis had attacked earlier than he was forced to, and finished pretty close to the front. 20 secs wasn't ideal, but I don't think he could have done anything more, as Christian VDV was saying, the pace he was setting deterred so many attacks and the two that did come made it nowhere. There will likely also be an aspect of him wanting to stretch his legs.

Macaloon

What's with the gaping maws? It's only a matter of time before sponsors put rider's tonsils under contract. Quite surprised no corporates have jumped on Voeckler's tongue.

fleshtuxedo

Macaloon wrote:

Quite surprised no corporates have jumped on Voeckler's tongue.

I think quite a lot of people have wanted to do that

tom3

There was actually one or two punchy seated climbing accelerations if you look carefully.

One to shut down the Garmin rider, the other to shut down last years KOM winner.

The bigger picture has always been that he would drop porte and froome off at the steep stuff after softening the bunch at the base of the climbs.

The most versatile rider of his generation is a diesel engine with a bit more torque this year.

joelsim

One thing's for sure. The Sky domestiques are nowhere near as good as they were a couple of years ago.

RichN95.

Joelsim wrote:

One thing's for sure. The Sky domestiques are nowhere near as good as they were a couple of years ago.

A couple of years ago four or five of those domestiques weren't even pros.

frenchfighter

RichN95 wrote:

Joelsim wrote:

One thing's for sure. The Sky domestiques are nowhere near as good as they were a couple of years ago.

A couple of years ago four or five of those domestiques weren't even pros.

There are plenty neo pros and young pros on other teams who are doing just fine.

RichN95.

frenchfighter wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

Joelsim wrote:

One thing's for sure. The Sky domestiques are nowhere near as good as they were a couple of years ago.

A couple of years ago four or five of those domestiques weren't even pros.

There are plenty neo pros and young pros on other teams who are doing just fine.

Good for them. But when someone starts comparing them to a Tour de France winning time then that will be an equally as moronic point.

I'd worry about Contador's team if I were you. Hansen, Kolar, Poljanski, Valgren, McCarthy... Not as good as last year's Tour team, that's for sure. And don't say they're neo Pros who won't make the Tour team, as you're arguing against that point.

Paul 8v

I think Wiggins played this as well as he could have, he shelled out a lot of riders with that performance, it's possible he would have lost more time to people attacking if he didn't keep the pace as high. When he is on form mentally he is a great rider, shame he is retiring from the road as there really is no need when you can put in a performance like that.

If he does ride for Froome (If Mrs Wiggins and Cound can resist killing each other) in the Tour de France Froome will be a real problem, Wiggins chipping away the field leaving Froome to attack at the end. Both have great TTs too.

I can also see a Lemond/Hinault situation arising, which although would be a royal pain in the backside for sir Dave would be great to watch!

frenchfighter

RichN95 wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

Joelsim wrote:

One thing's for sure. The Sky domestiques are nowhere near as good as they were a couple of years ago.

A couple of years ago four or five of those domestiques weren't even pros.

There are plenty neo pros and young pros on other teams who are doing just fine.

Good for them. But when someone starts comparing them to a Tour de France winning time then that will be an equally as moronic point.

I'd worry about Contador's team if I were you. Hansen, Kolar, Poljanski, Valgren, McCarthy... Not as good as last year's Tour team, that's for sure. And don't say they're neo Pros who won't make the Tour team, as you're arguing against that point.

I'm not arguing that they should be a par am I?
I was also one of the few to be on Wiggins side.