Dauphine *spoilers*

inseine

tim000

wasn`t it contador who crashed in the tour last year? trying to drop froome on a decent. not only did froome keep up , but had the bike handling skills to avoid bertie whilst he was doing his sleeping policeman impression.

thomthom

All the pundits were desperate last year to keep their product interesting so this cartel was created where everyone agreed to hype Froome's - or lack of - descending skills and technical abilities to keep the race open..

dsoutar

^^^ Sorry but I don't think Contador, Nibali or Froome will be loosing too much sleep over the prospect of Ryder and TeeJay threatening the GC

Vino'sGhost

froome just seems so ar ahead of everyone, it reminds of of the good old days. With no actual evidence, i think he's on the juice. Im just cynical from years of the same.

inseine

Vino'sGhost wrote:

froome just seems so ar ahead of everyone, it reminds of of the good old days. With no actual evidence, i think he's on the juice. Im just cynical from years of the same.

I've decided to follow the races without trying to second guess if and who's on the juice. You might as well stop watching if you feel like 'cos it's just as likely to be someone you never expected.

RichN95.

Vino'sGhost wrote:

froome just seems so ar ahead of everyone, it reminds of of the good old days. With no actual evidence, i think he's on the juice. Im just cynical from years of the same.

In most walks of life (both sport and beyond) there have frequently been individuals who have been far ahead of the others. In itself, that's not suspicious.

frenchfighter

I agree with Rich...wow...Contador definitely wasn't going all out and was all over the bike whereas Froome looked like he was giving his all for the love of Wiggins. He did really well to place where he did all things considered. Contador has been at altitude so will take him some days to adjust...ditto Nibs...Froome has been riding flat land for a good few days.

Anyone thinking Contador is not flying this year obviously doesn't watch much racing.

inseine

frenchfighter wrote:

I agree with Rich...wow...Contador definitely wasn't going all out and was all over the bike whereas Froome looked like he was giving his all for the love of Wiggins. He did really well to place where he did all things considered. Contador has been at altitude so will take him some days to adjust...ditto Nibs...Froome has been riding flat land for a good few days.

Anyone thinking Contador is not flying this year obviously doesn't watch much racing.

But you can't be flying all year. Going well or badly, it'll all be for nothing if these guys don't perform on the big stage. Contador said he was a bit concerned about the decent after a motorbike had crashed.

ddraver

frenchfighter wrote:

Anyone thinking Contador is not flying this year obviously doesn't watch much racing.

The question is how high is he flying

frenchfighter

^^Yeah he took the descent easy and still managed second. He is flying and has been all year. Flying with style too. Joy.

ddraver

Yes frenchie - but how high

frenchfighter

ddraver wrote:

Yes frenchie - but how high

Very high. Enough to win this year several times with panache, to reach 4th in the rankings and to be the most points efficient rider. 3rd is my man Kwiatek, 2nd is my man Valverde and 1st is my man Quintana. Proper racers.

ddraver

Well we ll see won't we - pointless discussion but it's a lazy sunday afternoon...

Turfle

It was a moral victory for Contador, if not a real one.

joelsim

Turfle wrote:

It was a moral victory for Contador, if not a real one.

Not entirely sure I agree with that. Froome has put down a marker which says he is better than ever.

frenchfighter

I really like the TdS startlist - interesting, balanced and strong.

inseine

frenchfighter wrote:

ddraver wrote:

Yes frenchie - but how high

Very high. Enough to win this year several times with panache, to reach 4th in the rankings and to be the most points efficient rider. 3rd is my man Kwiatek, 2nd is my man Valverde and 1st is my man Quintana. Proper racers.

It would be nice to stay a little bit on topic instead of embarking on a one man rant against the world. There are others on here who like 'your men' too, though I know you want to claim them all for yourself.

Anyway only two off them are actually riding and they finished 2nd and 20th. Not bad.

tailwindhome

...

adr82

inseine wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

ddraver wrote:

Yes frenchie - but how high

Very high. Enough to win this year several times with panache, to reach 4th in the rankings and to be the most points efficient rider. 3rd is my man Kwiatek, 2nd is my man Valverde and 1st is my man Quintana. Proper racers.

It would be nice to stay a little bit on topic instead of embarking on a one man rant against the world. There are others on here who like 'your men' too, though I know you want to claim them all for yourself.

He's got quite the little stable going it seems :shock: Has anyone informed the lucky gents?

Paul 8v

Froome is looking strong. It it was only a short TT and he definitely set his stall out. I hope the other two can put up a decent fight as it should make the tour very entertaining

mike6

adr82 wrote:

inseine wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

ddraver wrote:

Yes frenchie - but how high

Very high. Enough to win this year several times with panache, to reach 4th in the rankings and to be the most points efficient rider. 3rd is my man Kwiatek, 2nd is my man Valverde and 1st is my man Quintana. Proper racers.

It would be nice to stay a little bit on topic instead of embarking on a one man rant against the world. There are others on here who like 'your men' too, though I know you want to claim them all for yourself.

He's got quite the little stable going it seems :shock: Has anyone informed the lucky gents?

And what is a proper racer, pray tell? Contador took it easy cos he was frightened he might fall off? Wuss. Froome gave it everything to win the stage, now thats aproper racer.

Dorset_Boy

frenchfighter wrote:

... Contador has been at altitude so will take him some days to adjust...ditto Nibs...Froome has been riding flat land for a good few days....
.

What are you going on about? Moving from altitude to lower levels enhances performance because your red blood cell count is higher. Only lasts a short time though. So it should have been advantage Contador and Nibbles, not the other way round.

But that wouldn't suit your (corrupted) narative.

mike6

Save your breath Dorset, we all know how the forum will pan out once the Sky big guns come out to play. All the stage winners performances in the Giro were wonderfull rides, nothing to discuss. Once a guy in black and blue starts to do well, suspicions will be raised by the usual suspects.
Pathetic but true. :roll:

d_o_g

mike6 wrote:

Froome gave it everything to win the stage, now thats aproper racer.

I do believe the correct term is TRUE HEAVYWEIGHT.

UncleMonty

frenchfighter wrote:

Contador definitely wasn't going all out and was all over the bike

He didn't look comfortable to me, he was moving his seat position every 3 or 4 pedal strokes at one point, just wouldn't sit still.

Froome stays seated more that any other rider, I only saw him out of the saddle once on the climbs, full on time trial mode all the way.

Mad_Malx

Joelsim wrote:

Turfle wrote:

It was a moral victory for Contador, if not a real one.

Not entirely sure I agree with that. Froome has put down a marker which says he is better than ever.

Since Frome has been the (slightly) better TTer just about every time they have both been racing, I would say Bertie's close second will be a bit worrying for Frome.

Dorset Boy wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

... Contador has been at altitude so will take him some days to adjust...ditto Nibs...Froome has been riding flat land for a good few days....

What are you going on about? Moving from altitude to lower levels enhances performance because your red blood cell count is higher. Only lasts a short time though. So it should have been advantage Contador and Nibbles, not the other way round.

But that wouldn't suit your (corrupted) narative.

It's difficult to build strength while training at altitude - RBC and aerobic capacity yes, but the low pO2 mean it is very hard to do sustained full power (even when acclimatized). Put simply, you don't have enough O2 to do a full workout. Hence it is not really unlikely that TT performance will not be at the rider's best. For power disciplines like the TT 'live high, train low' is likely more effective.

RichN95.

UncleMonty wrote:

He didn't look comfortable to me, he was moving his seat position every 3 or 4 pedal strokes at one point, just wouldn't sit still.

He's always done that.

ddraver

RichN95 wrote:

UncleMonty wrote:

He didn't look comfortable to me, he was moving his seat position every 3 or 4 pedal strokes at one point, just wouldn't sit still.

He's always done that.

except when he was "good" at it

Macaloon

Mad_Malx wrote:

Joelsim wrote:

Turfle wrote:

It was a moral victory for Contador, if not a real one.

Not entirely sure I agree with that. Froome has put down a marker which says he is better than ever.

Since Frome has been the (slightly) better TTer just about every time they have both been racing, I would say Bertie's close second will be a bit worrying for Frome.

I think that was a great time for Contador. At that level he'd only need to nick 30s uphill/crosswinds at the Tour to be in with a serious shout.

Some of the riders at the Giro (Uran from memory) talked of struggling in the first week as they returned from altitude.