Dauphine *spoilers*
Comments
-
'If he won neither the stage not any time overall, Alberto Contador has won at least lovers of cycling. About thirty kilometers from the finish, he demonstrated once again that he is not frightened of taking risks and going on the attack. In the descent of the Col de la Morte, Contador decided to shake things up a bit. Chris Froome admitted after the finish that he had asked his teammates not to take risks, and that seeing that Contador has decided to accelerate.
"The pace was not very high on the descent and I saw that Sky had some difficulties to control the race. So I told Sergio Paulinho to accelerate the pace. We are here to prepare for the Tour de France. Then we can try things and see the strengths of other teams. I'm here without pressure for the win. My goal is in 22 days ... Now the important thing is to recover and we will see this weekend what we can do. "'0 -
^ Salivating: like Ten Dam up an hors cat.
The best racer vs the best engine?...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
Froome:
“Sometimes it’s the days that don’t look so hard on paper that turn out to be the really tough ones and today was non-stop. It took 85km for the breakaway to form and then Contador went up the road to put us under pressure. I still had four team-mates at that point though which meant I could stay calm in the knowledge they would pull him back.
"All of them did well and Richie Porte stepped up really well today. Personally I'm feeling pretty good on the bike. We also had to chase Kelderman at the end because anyone up there on GC is a rival to us. But it's going to be another race on Saturday in the big mountains.
“I’m hugely proud of the guys today, they did such a massive job and it gives us a lot of confidence moving forward.
“I’m feeling tired right now but I’m sure everyone will be tired after the day we’ve had. The team is coming together really well this week and they all stepped up again today.”
He added: “Either Alberto’s not so confident about the weekend, or he feels very confident and is able to attack anywhere. That’s what I respect about him; he does make the race entertaining and is prepared to take it up on the climbs and the descents.
“We didn’t expect him to attack, we were expecting him to save it for Saturday, and the climbs on that day will be a lot more telling. I didn’t have to do a lot today because of how my team rode, and that will serve me well for the weekend.
“I won’t be holding anything back there in the fear of going too deep before the Tour [de France]. Any big efforts this week are only going to help in preparation for the Tour, and the Dauphine is the perfect opportunity to test our legs and try some big moves.”
Contador:
“We are here to train so we can try to put the other teams under pressure, especially Sky, and change the script a bit," Contador said. "In this race I can afford it as I don't have the pressure to win.
"Itwas not planned at all. I saw we were going very slowly and had a teammate in front. I quickly saw that I opened a gap and decided to go forward.
"[I knew] it was very difficult. There were 20 flat kilometres and I would only have had a chance if I had reached the front of the race. I could see that the escapees were far away and didn't catch them so it was impossible to make it to the finish.
“I had fun, the stage has been interesting and that is good for everyone. We started the descent in front, we have seen that many precautions were taken and we were not going fast. That's why I told Sergio Paulinho to go forward and I also decided to go.
"I did not see [any kind of weakness from Sky or Froome]. I only saw that it was a tough day for everyone, also for Sky who controlled the race so I decided to give it ago. When there are attacks, it is also more interesting.
"Now it is important to recover for the weekend. I have said that I take it day by day. My goal is 22 days away. Here I will do what I can but I recognize that Froome was the strongest in the two important stages, the time trial and the summit finish, so a lot has to change for the weekend."
Maduit:
"Alberto's attack was a bit of a surprise for the fans, for the field and for us as well," sports director Philippe Mauduit said. "But I think it was a really nice surprise and a good sign of Alberto's form and will to win. At the same time, it was a test of Chris Froome and his teammates who had to work hard to bring him back.
"Unfortunately, Rory Sutherland was in a crash and injured his left hand but he's being examined as we speak. Tomorrow, I expect a tough finish and the sprinters will have to dig deep in order to make it to the finish."
Orica:
“We know some of our fans had some questions about why Daryl sprinted for fourth when he had a teammate just up the road,” said Wilson. “Daryl only sprinted from 200 metres to go. Had he not done so, it would have been someone else who would have been doing it.”
Wilco:
“Why should I always follow? That way I’ll never win.”
“If the peloton would have hesitated, Yates and I could’ve easily taken ten extra seconds.”
“Things are going my way, but that doesn’t mean anything,” said Kelderman. “Today wasn’t difficult enough, it wasn’t an uphill finish. Every day is different. I expect the other guys to be better in the tough final few days than they were last weekend.
“At the end of the day, it's an excellent stage for me. But sometimes it's been very difficult too. When Team Sky accelerated to chase Contador down, it was hard to keep up. In the downhills, it was very tense too.
"In the finale, everyone was riding strongly but I've seen Adam Yates attacking so I followed him and we kept a bit of an advantage. It means it's possible to attack Froome and Contador, providing that a situation is favourable.
"I'm not sure if it'll be the case again by the end of the week and if I can hope for a better result than where I stand now. If I manage to stay there, it'll be beautiful. Had I been told before the Dauphiné that I'd be in the same second as Contador, I would have signed up for it.”
Sports Director, Merijn Zeeman:
“This is his style and it’s one to enjoy, just wonderful,” said Zeeman. “He saw a chance and went for it. That’s exactly how we want to race as a team. Normally, it’s great if you can follow the best riders in the world, but Wilco is in the shape of his life and is even able to attack them.”Contador is the Greatest0 -
Contador is the Greatest0 -
Off the back of some decidedly over excited posting on yesterdays stage I managed to watch the last 30km this morning.
Some very good racing by the top 3 GC guys who all animated things with attacks (AC), solid defending (Sky) and a canny dig off the front for bonus seconds (Wilko).
I haven't watched the Dauphine in years (since Valverde won) but it was good value.Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it.0 -
Bertie in Grenoble this morning, having trouble negociating the crowds to reach the startBASI Nordic Ski Instructor
Instagramme0 -
-
Bertie spots a gap between the lardie ginger bird in hotpants and the team bus and goes for it.BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
Instagramme0 -
-
and they're off, stage start in Grenoble and already the thermometer is in the upper 20sBASI Nordic Ski Instructor
Instagramme0 -
Thanks for all the photos.Contador is the Greatest0
-
Bert looks pretty good in yellow and green - can we start a "Contador to Orica" rumour?0
-
'Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo combined forces to put Sky and race leader Chris Froome under pressure in today's stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné. Even though the pair aren't allies, Astana rider Andrey Zeits says that they aren't enemies either.
Today's stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné was expected to be a calm affair for the GC riders but it turned out to be completely different. Alberto Contador kicked off the action when he launched a surprise attack on a descent and he put the Sky team of race leader Chris Froome under pressure.
While Contador was up the road, the Astana team of Vincenzo Nibali could safely hide itself in the peloton. Teammates Jakob Fuglsang, Tanel Kangert and Nibali, together with Andrey Zeits, all went up the penultimate climb together, following a very fast pace set by the team of race leader Chris Froome to catch Alberto Contador.
Once Contador was caught, first Kangert, then Fuglsang and finally Nibali himself all went on the attack, placing further pressure on Froome to chase. In the end there was little change to the Top-10, with Astana still the best team on General Classification and three hot, hard and exhausting stages to go.
The stage proved that Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo can put Sky under pressure if the combine forces and Zeits admits that the two teams aren't exactly riding against each other.
“Against Froome it’s Contador and Nibali," he said. "They aren’t allies, but they aren’t enemies and they both want the only first place available."'0 -
Very nice interactive ticker on letour site if you haven't got access to it live;
http://www.letour.fr/criterium-du-dauph ... irect/aso/
16 riders at 5 minutes, including Bakelants who is only a minute off virtual yellow, also Stybar and Voigt, who is really trying to do something this year. 85k to go.0 -
FDJ working on the front of the peloton, not got anyone in the break - presumably hoping to bring it back for Demare. 4'10 with 29km to go.0
-
Katusha working on the front now, they haven't got anyone in the break either. Break 21km / 3'42 but attacking each other now.0
-
Ooo the Bodacious Bakelants in a three man attack from the break.
Come on Jan.Correlation is not causation.0 -
That's some serious spin from Astana! Basically, Nibali is struggling so they did nothing to chase Contador and I didn't see Astana put Sky under any pressure once they caught Bertie :?0
-
I was thinking that, it was totally different to the race I was watching yesterday.
Today: Bakelandts, Ligtard and Westra at 3'30 with 13km, couple of people trying to bridge from the breakaway remnants. Sky on the front of the peloton.0 -
Above The Cows wrote:Ooo the Bodacious Bakelants in a three man attack from the break.
Come on Jan.
3rd time's the charm? Nobody from Katusha to spoil it for him today at least!0 -
Westra attacks, Bakelandts follows, Ligtard gone backwards.0
-
Froome down, bike change and Thomas towing back. Front of peloton relatively chilled.0
-
-
Go Westra!Contador is the Greatest0
-
Ouchy for Froome.Correlation is not causation.0
-
Damn Froome smashed up. Hang in there big man.Contador is the Greatest0
-
What happened to Froome? Did he manage to crash on his own?0
-
Contador is the Greatest0
